Blood roared in Atriane's ears as his heart knocked against his ribcage with all the fury of a hurricane. His head swirled with indistinguishable thoughts, imperceptible and fading as quickly as they manifested and his ability to rationalize had gone awry. The beating of his heart was heavy and thunderous, but quick and innumerable. But he managed to keep his breath controlled as he held her to him. Atriane almost had to strain to hear her words of love and that, with time, she would love him. He couldn't help but feel a small sense of reassurance at the fact that she would be willing to surrender her heart to him, even if he refused to love her. But his rationale almost rushed back to the surface of reality in the way she regarded fate as a 'meddler'. Atriane regarded the concept as not so much a meddler but rather in terms of 'if it's meant to happen, it will happen' in accordance with the free volition of beings. He knew that only if Adelaide chose to love him it was because it would perhaps be the course of her life, chosen by she. She was the master of her destiny as he was to his own and only with what he decided would happen, so would the fate of his life change; his story would be his own and his character would undergo the choice consequences that would accommodate his actions as he did them.
Still, he examined her words more closely. She would love him! He knew what she meant that it was only a matter of when but again the question of how he would react to it remained. He wanted to be loved, yes, this reason existed always, but the wolf cared nothing for it. He knew that it was dangerous for him to love her, should he choose to do so, and such a reason made him hesitant to reach for the fruit that tempted him so. But the beast always understood raw emotions like lust, and if it interpreted Atriane's passions for Adelaide as merely lust, perhaps it would know nothing of his decision to love her, if he did indeed decide to do so.
The burst of rationale he felt a moment before dissolved as quickly as it came and Atriane was once again overcome by the pounding in his chest. At this moment all he noticed were the physical aspects that hinted with scarcely conceal lust: her shortness of breath, wandering eyes, warm voice, and soft sighs. His eyes grew misty with obscurity, as they did back in Adelaide's bedroom. His pulse leapt every time she drew her mouth to his skin, a reaction that was natural for him, sending a shock down his spine and such was no surprise to him for he knew it to be only natural for someone of his flame to want a woman as much as he wanted Adelaide at this moment. His passion was just about to burn him alive when finally he felt her arms around his neck and her mouth upon his. He was dismayed only for a moment when he found that the kiss was delicate rather than filled with the desire he detected in her. But this feeling was soon corrected when her mouth became hot on his, prodding him, provoking his spirit with the same intentions as he would have to her. And his spirit answered the call as she desired. His arms squeezed her to his frame, melding their bodies perfectly together in a harmony unknown to him and his lips reciprocated her heat twofold, the only space between them were the clothes that remained on their bodies.
Atriane used the moment that Adelaide took to lay teasing kisses along his jaw to catch his breath. Ever moment he inhaled, he took in her scent and with every heartbeat came a tingle down his spine, a current that ran rampant through him. And then the words he had half expected to hear had escaped her lips in a shallow articulation. He said nothing in response but as she peered into his eyes, the clouds within the magenta coloring grew and broiled with a heated intensity. In answering her demand he lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed. "Then I'll take you," he whispered quickly before pressing his mouth hard over hers. He leaned over her, with one knee on the mattress, the other leg poised in a balanced position, and his arms around Adelaide, pulling her torso up against his frame. He found it slightly frustrating that the smooth fabric of her chemise his hands grated against was the only obstacle that kept his hands from her skin; a defense less than a millimeter thick. Suddenly, Atriane's own clothing made his body too hot for comfort and with a free hand he tugged at the cravat around his neck until it came loose and cared not to carefully unbutton his waistcoat. Instead, he pulled so quickly it released his lean form from its confines and he tossed to the ground and before he knew it so was his shirt as he peeled it off and threw it just the same.
All the while his mouth remained locked to hers, so unashamedly demanding. His fingers ground into the cloth of her chemise at her back and gripped at it with a clenched fist. He tore it slightly with a swift yank, in a fashion that dripped of his impatience. In truth, he really did not want to wait for her to take it off neatly. And little did he know that the wolf had given him extra strength, for it too desired Adelaide. Atriane held her to him with voracity and let go of her mouth to lay moist kisses upon her neck. All the while his mind was swept up in a dark cloud of desire.
