He turned more fully toward her. “Faye, I told you that I would never hurt you. And I meant it. You have nothing to fear from me. EVER.”
“But, what if?—”
“EVER,” he told her. “Even if I shifted right now and no one else was here, I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’m still me when it happens.”
She got quiet again.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Her bottom lip was between her teeth, and he reached up and touched her face, running his thumb over the plump flesh before pulling it out and smoothing his thumb over the bite.
“This is a lot to take in,” she whispered. “I still feel like I’m going a little bit crazy.”
“You’re not crazy,” he told her.
He was still touching her face. “I want to touch you.”
“You are touching me.”
One side of his mouth turned up. “And you’re not screaming in terror.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“I want to touch you more.”
Her breath quickened and her nostrils flared slightly. That earthy smell that was all her grew stronger, teasing his nose and igniting his blood. His cock was painfully hard now.
“You were just bleeding all over my floor,” she argued. “You’re still too pale.”
“I’ve got enough blood left to handle making you feel good.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she told him. “Or what to think. Or how to feel.”
“Faye, I’m just asking for a chance here. That’s all. I want to get to know everything about you. What you like. What you don’t like. Your favorite thing to eat when you’re home alone watching chick flicks. What you sing in the shower.” He took her hands in his. “I shared my biggest secrets with you. I’d really love the chance to get to know yours.”
“I don’t have any secrets.”
“We all have secrets. Some are just a little stranger than others.” He smiled at her, and after a moment, she smiled back. “I’d like the chance to prove to you I can be a real boyfriend. And maybe someday, in the not so far future, a real fiancé.” As soon as he said the words out loud, Adam knew in his gut that this would happen. Faye was his. And he was hers. All he needed was the time to prove it to her. “So, what do you say?”
“This is all just…I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“I know,” he told her. “It’s a lot. I’m a lot. But I swear, other than the fact that, occasionally, I’m as furry as Rocky over there, I’m just a guy. Who’s head over heels crazy for you. Is it all one sided?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not one sided. I just…”
He waited for her to say more, and when she didn’t, he made her an offer. “How about this? Tonight, we’ll eat pizza, and drink wine, and maybe watch a crappy movie. Then tomorrow, we’ll go pick you out a new table. If you want to talk, we’ll talk. If you don’t want to talk, we won’t.” His eyes roamed over her face. “A chance, Faye. That’s all I’m asking for.”
She stared at him for a long time, and he could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. But then, she surprised him again. “Okay,” she told him.
He lifted his eyebrows. “Okay? Really?”
She smiled. “Yeah. Okay. But I don’t want to watch a movie.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to talk,” she told him. “In bed.”
Adam grinned. “Whatever my lady wants.” His heart pounded in his chest. Somehow, he was going to convince this woman to be his one and only.
And if he had to keep her naked the entire time to do it…
Well, that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
* * *
