Adam’s shoulders fell, and the smile died from his lips. “You don’t know what you’re asking. People don’t want to come here and be reminded of all Malaura did to ruin me. They want to go about their lives and leave me to my transition. No one wants to get near the wolves.”
Belle moved over to him and placed her hand on his chest. “You’re not a wolf, Adam. You’re a man. If you’re going to give all of this up for your transition, don’t you want to have enjoyed it while you could? You don’t have to throw a huge party, but you should let people in who aren’t on payroll.”
“So if I invite someone over, you’ll have a dance with me in the ballroom?”
A bashful smile found Belle’s lips. “Best offer I’ve ever had. A girl would be crazy to say no.”
Adam covered her hand on his chest with his own larger, hairier one, but she didn’t pull away from his touch. The desire to Pulse her with his ability to strip away her inhibitions was a glowing temptation he fought to ignore. Gabe had taken her against her will. He would not do the same. He resolved himself to be unselfish with Belle, even if it killed him. Slowly, he brought her hand up to his lips and blessed her fingers with a kiss. Satisfaction like he’d never known bloomed in his heart when he took in the rosy hue that colored her countenance. “Beautiful,” he whispered as he thumbed the apple of her cheeks. “Let me make some calls.”
Adam had never been much for putting time into romancing a woman, but suddenly the most important thing on his mind was getting time with Belle in his long-forsaken ballroom.
21
A Present for Belle
Adam tried not to let his disquiet show when he entered the dining room Belle had set up for them. The gift he’d gotten her still remained tucked away, waiting for either the perfect moment, or for him to gather up the courage to give it to her. He’d tried twice already that day, but each time, he’d been reminded by the mere sight of her stark beauty that he was no one to be giving someone of her caliber presents.
The table was always nicely set, but tonight there were two flickering candles in the center of the long table. The lights were dimmed, making the whole room practically glow with hushed secrets. He smirked at the setup, wondering if he should comment on the romantic nuance, or if that would embarrass her. For all her confidence in bossing him around and taking charge of the household, she grew nervous and skittish at romantic advances. He had a feeling it wasn’t just because he was cursed that she put on more conservative airs, deciding this wasn’t the time for him to give her the gift he’d been stressing over.
He set his book down at the table, loving their routine of reading quietly over dinner. It seemed ages ago that he’d reduced himself to eating dog food off the floor. Now that things were starting to get back to normal after their bout with the snowstorm, he was looking forward to their quiet companionable dinners, in which he was a man dining with a woman. She gave him a reason to sit up straight and put to use the etiquette lessons he’d endured in his youth.
Belle and Audra came in with the teacart and set out the salads. “I hope you’re not hungry,” Belle said as her skirt swooshed while she moved to his place setting. “Because the sauce is so good, I might just eat it all.”
“It smells amazing.” Adam followed her to her chair, moving her seat out for her. When she froze, quirking her eyebrow up in question at the gentlemanly gesture, he tried not to grow frustrated with how out of practice he was with all of it. “Just sit.”
He’d seen his father do this for his mother every night at dinner, and though he’d never performed the ritual of courtship on a woman before, Adam found himself acting on impulses he only entertained around Belle. He slid the seat underneath her, and touched her hand before returning to his seat and opening up his book.
After a few bites, Adam noticed Belle staring at him. “Everything alright?” he asked, hoping he sounded like a nice guy, and not aggressive.
“Yeah. I just miss reading. My book is out in the snow still, totally ruined and breaking my heart. It was my favorite, and now it’s gone.” She closed her eyes and let out a pitiful groan. “I hope the wolves didn’t pee on it.”
“I ordered you another copy, but I can’t imagine the mailman will make it out in the blizzard. Do you want to read one of my books in the meantime?”
Belle blinked at him from across the table. “You ordered me my book? You didn’t have to do that.”
Adam shrugged. “It’s your favorite book. You read it every night. I figured buying you a new copy would be easier than trying to break you of your addiction.”
“Thank you.” Belle picked up her fork and poked at a tomato. “My papa gave that book to my mom before she died. It’s got a love note to her from him in the front cover. Now the ink’s probably all wet and smudgy. I wonder if he’ll write a new note inside the copy you got me.”
“I’m sure he would.” Something inside of him pushed him forward, shoving his hesitation over giving her the present he’d obsessed over to the back burner. “Let’s pick you out something from my collection while we wait out the weather. Shall we?” Adam stood and extended his arm to her, putting on the mannerisms of his father and doing his best to behave like a man. For too long he’d seen himself as only a beast. He tucked her hand under the crook of his elbow as they walked together, noting the daintiness of her wrist.
It was strange how easily Belle fell into step with him, even going so far as to lean into his side while they walked. They turned corner after corner, bringing them to a whole new series of doors.
Belle frowned at the low-hanging cobwebs. “Oh, I haven’t gotten this far in my cleaning yet.”
“Vivienne and Lucien keep the library clean for me. It’s one of the few rooms I use regularly.”
“You have a library here? You mean, like, a bookshelf?”
“Slightly grander than a bookshelf. I think you’ll like it.” Adam’s palms started to sweat as he rethought over his gift to her. Perhaps it was too simple, too practical. He’d had the surprise set up since yesterday, but hadn’t found the right time until that evening. Belle was the kind of girl who deserved to be romanced with flowers and chocolates, but his gut had led him here instead. He paused before opening the doors. “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to pretend you do.”
“What’s not to like about a library?”
With a steadying inhale, Adam threw open the double doors with a flourish that made Belle gasp. There was nothing coherent in Belle’s mind when she took in the enormity of the library. It appeared to be four stories tall and stocked with every book imaginable. The shelves were rich cherry wood, giving everything a polished look of wealth to it. There were ladders attached to the shelves that rolled from side to side, so you could reach anything without too much effort. In the corner was a fireplace with two brown leather chairs set before it. One looked big and regal with a high back, and the other slightly less imposing, adorned with a big red bow atop it.
“Do you like it?” Adam asked, the knot in his chest tightening.
Belle wished her eyes weren’t misting over, clouding the most beautiful sight she’d ever witnessed. “It’s… This must be what it’s like in the movies when someone’s so overcome with emotion that they faint.”
Adam chuckled at her gaping mouth, and held her wrist tighter to his ribs. “Then I guess I’ll just have to hold you closer.”
Belle was still drinking it all in, unable to steady herself under the weight of such unfathomable beauty. “The library in the West Village only has three shelves of books. I’ve read them all at least twice. This… I can’t… Adam, I…”
Adam exhaled contentedly at the sound of his name on her lips. “Pick whatever you like to read during dinner. Then if you want, we can have a nightcap in here by the fireplace. That’s your present, if you couldn’t tell by the red bow. I’ve decided that every time I yell at you, I should get you a gift. I think that sounds fair.”
“You got me a chair?”
Adam stiffened. “If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else.”
Her eyes combed over the buttery leather beneath the red bow. “No! I love it. Let me get this straight: you lost your temper, so I get a gorgeous chair by the fireplace? A chair that’s just for me? Are you serious?”
Adam’s shoulders lost fifty percent of their tension at her joy. The simple sound of her happiness brought a contentment into him that loosened the knot of consternation that was always tightening behind his sternum. “Of course. I’m thinking each time I lose my temper, the present should be bigger, so I’ll have double the reason not to be cross with you.”
“I like this plan. Jeez, what happens the next time you yell at me? New car? Elephant? Skyscraper?”
“Well, you do need a new car.”
Belle held up her finger. “Don’t you dare buy me a new car. I was kidding.” She walked over to the new chair, but didn’t let go of Adam’s arm. She clung to it, as if she needed him to steady herself under the weight of the shock. She glanced up and noticed a series of oil paintings in between the third and fourth story shelves. “Is that you when you were a boy?”
“It is. And my mother and father. Then my father’s parents, and my great-grandparents. It’s quite the spectacle, but it made my mother happy to look at them, so I supposed I can’t complain.”
“One day, you should get a new one of you as an adult,” she suggested.
Adam’s jaw stiffened. “One that will scare small children? I’ll pass. Perhaps you can put up one of me in my wolf form. That should draw the eye. Mother would be so proud.”
Belle moved to stand in front of him and pressed her palms to his cheeks. “Do you want me to feel sorry for you?”
His upper lip curled in disgust. “No.”
“When your transition happens, it happens. Until then, you’re a man. You’re the man of this house, and you run the Fontaine Mortgage business, along with the Fontaine Security Firm. You deserve to have your portrait up there, next to your father’s. He would be proud to see all you’ve accomplished. There’s too much you’ve built to throw it all away because you might not win a rigged beauty pageant.”
Adam’s nostrils flared as he debated whether or not he wanted to fight her on this, but finally his shoulders deflated. “Our profits are up eighteen percent since I took over the business.”
“I honestly don’t know how you do it. I mean, I know there’s an office in town where you have a team of people who work for you, but there’s so much on your shoulders. Then you go and do this for me?”
“It’s the beauty of not having a social life. You like it?” he asked of the chair.
“I love it. Thank you.” When he made to remove the oversized bow, Belle placed her hand on his. “No! I haven’t had a wrapped present in ages. Leave the bow on a little while longer.”
“Your father doesn’t get you presents?”
“He makes me things in his workshop, but when money’s tight you don’t spend on things like wrapping paper. A bow is a luxury.” She fondled the edge of the ribbon with rapture.
“Come, let’s find you a book. I fear if you keep looking at the bow like that, I’ll find myself giftwrapping llamas and whole buildings just to get a repeat of that expression on your face.” The fact that he had fulfilled such an obscure childish fantasy of hers – giving her a wrapped gift – was a heady incentive to do whatever it took to give her the world. He cleared his throat in an attempt to rein himself in.
“A giftwrapped llama would be a little much.”
“Come, now. Someone made pasta that smells so good, I’m about to ditch you and go grab some. Let’s get you a book.” Adam guided the ladder while she climbed up it, and slowly slid it to the right so she could see the spines up close.
A wistful expression washed over her face. “Forget dinner. Let’s just do this all night. I’ll hang on the ladder, and you push me.”
Adam feathered his fingers across her ankle, giving her a light tickle. “I’ve got too much wolf in me to go skipping meals.” Then he pretended to bite into her calf, drawing out her giggles with a satisfaction he felt deep down in his soul. Then he checked her creamy skin twice to make sure he hadn’t cut her with his fangs by mistake. The prospect of causing her physical harm made him sick to his stomach.
Belle selected a book, and Adam helped her off the ladder, his arms holding her hips like a man who knew exactly how to touch a woman’s body. Belle didn’t move away, but stood in his arms when her feet touched down on the floor.
She pressed the book to her breast as if it was a beloved teddy bear. “Why are you so good to me?” she asked, not wanting to jinx her good fortune, but unable to shake the change that had come over him in so short a time. He’d been distant and surly. Now he was the gentleman holding onto her waist and showing her his vast collection of books. There was nothing sexier to Belle than a man who read. It was a rare commodity in her hometown, and she didn’t take for granted the gift he’d given her in the library. Perhaps the grandest gift of all – even more so than the chair – was the doting smile he blessed her with, as if she was precious and important.
Adam didn’t answer, but met her eyes with sincerity and humility he would never admit to aloud. He needed her. It was the goodness she exuded that fascinated him, and made him want to learn how to be a decent person.
Belle had never been looked at that way by a someone like him. The softness of the green in his eyes lured her in, reminding them both that he was a man – however long that would last. She threw caution to the wind and reached up on tiptoes to kiss his furry cheek, running her fingers along his jaw to enchant them both. “Thank you.”
22
Dining Alone
That night after dinner, Adam didn’t retire to his bedroom or his office. Instead he brought a narrow table into the library, so he could sit with Belle and work while she read. “You’re sure the typing sound doesn’t bother you?”
“Why would it? I don’t think anything could bother me at all right now.” She motioned around the library. “This is my happy place. It used to be the ice cream parlor on fifth street. This is better.”
Adam chuckled as he read through his emails from the office manager at the security firm he owned. “Perhaps we should have ice cream brought in from there when my guests come over to join us for a spin around the ballroom.”
Belle sat up straighter and rested the book on her skirt. “Guests? You invited someone over?”
He kept his eyes on his screen to avoid meeting her gaze. “Yes. That was my way of telling you.”
Belle rubbed her forehead. “I was kind of hoping you would chicken out; I’m such a hopeless dancer. I didn’t think you’d actually have people over!”
Adam smirked at her. “I thought as much. Still, a bargain’s a bargain. Looking forward to spinning you around the ballroom.”
“You seriously are going through with this?”
“Well, you didn’t give me much choice in the matter when you said you wouldn’t dance with me unless there were more people than just us to fill the space.”
Belle deflated slightly. “But if we dance together with tons of people watching, they’ll see that I have no idea what I’m doing!” She groaned with dread. “They’ll think I only got this job because I’m sleeping with my boss. Maybe my idea to invite people to the ballroom wasn’t so great.”
Adam smiled at her frown, thinking again to himself how lovely she was when her mouth drew to the side, as it often did when she was contemplating things that bothered her. “I knew you’d land there, so I only invited Henry and a guest, plus Rory and her husband. After she read all my letters you mailed her, I guess it’s time for us to reconvene our friendship.”
“They won’t think I’m…” She cast around for the right words. “A loose woman?”
Adam barked out a laugh, holding his stomach. “Oh, I’m so glad I got to hear you say that. Yes, I’m sure they’ll draw all sorts of tawdry conclusions.” He waved
away her concern. “I told Rory and Cordray all about you already. And Henry knows you live here. It was his idea. It’s fine.” Then he caught his mistake, letting his cards show too early that he thought about her when she wasn’t around – that he’d told his friends about her. He cleared his throat and straightened in his high-backed leather chair. “They’ll come over when the snow lets up.”
“I can’t believe you actually did it. Is it too late to take it all back? How about I dance with you tonight without witnesses.”
“You want to dance with me unchaperoned? Think of the scandal. Now I’ll call you a loose woman.”
Belle laughed through her nose and, without thinking, she leaned over and brushed her fingers over the furry curve of his cheek, loving the way his face lit up when he was truly happy. Her eyes widened at her gall, and her hand froze on his face before she tore it away, chagrinned.
Adam reached over and dragged her chair closer to his, holding Belle’s hand before she could crawl back inside herself. He rubbed his thumb over the smooth back of her hand, his eyes drifting to his computer screen as he spoke. “You should know Rory’s husband is a Lethal.”
“I heard rumors to that effect.”
“They’re all true, but you don’t have to worry about him. He’s on the pill, so his abilities won’t be a danger to you. His deadly powers are completely muted. Still, if it makes you uncomfortable to be in the same room as him, I can tell Rory to leave Cordray at home.”
Belle shook her head, a note of compassion weighting her tone. “Lethals can’t help what they are. And it sounds like he’s doing all he can to make sure his wife is safe from him accidentally killing her. I would think anyone who goes to such lengths to protect their family is someone we should be friends with.”
“‘We’, eh?” he teased her.
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