CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The Doctor Is In

As she stared into Adam’s eyes, the last of Eve’s defenses came crashing down. She sighed with pleasure. She knew some women felt that losing their virginity was a dreadful experience. She knew some women hated to “do their duty” and let their husbands lie with them. But that was not the case. Not with her. Her body warmed at the thought of what magic they were about to make.

Gazing down at Eve, Adam admired how her eyes sparkled like blue diamonds, how her nostrils were flaring with passion. His blood was surging, and the conservatory felt as though it had risen several degrees in temperature.

Surrounding them were deep green foliage and brightly hued flowers. Eve lay upon his jacket beneath a massive fern near the Venus flytraps. Her rich auburn hair was now in a tangle about her shoulders, a visual feast. He had unbuttoned her bodice and her breasts spilled free. So firm, the coral nipples beckoned his lips to suck and cherish. Her gown was raised to her thighs and her skin looked very soft and pale. A sprinkling of freckles lay high near the nest of springy auburn curls. He wanted to kiss every adorable mark.

Lowering himself hastily beside her, he moved his fingers quickly. Caressing her leg, he savored the way she moved, restlessly, shifting her weight from side to side. In a sense, this was a first for him: to truly make love to a woman, to love a woman with all his being. His other encounters had been lusty affairs of the body, but never had his heart been involved. “My treasure, my little jewel. I adore you.”

“I’m mad about you, too.” His hands were wandering heatedly over her body. The touch of his fingers and the wonder of his mouth had Eve eager and hungry—hungry for experience, hungry for passion, and hungry for her handsome husband. She gasped with wonder as he suckled her breast. “Oh, Adam!”

His kissed her hard, and her toes curled. Running her fingers up and down his back, she gloried in his body’s strength. “Don’t you need to be undressed for this? It seems I remember you promising something about burying the family jewels.”

In Adam’s haste to undress, his trouser fly lost two buttons. His arms got tangled in his shirt. It was ridiculous, Adam thought; usually he was a master of seduction, yet tonight he was like an untried schoolboy. He admitted it to her. “You don’t know how I’ve longed for this moment. I almost can’t believe it’s here.” And at last he stood nude before her.

Eve’s body clenched in instant appreciation at the sight before her. Forget the fig leaves or modesty; she found herself unable to tear her gaze away from his proud form. He had powerful shoulders, the muscles of which rolled and bunched as he lowered himself to the floor beside her. He was tanned a deep golden color to the waist, and his leg muscles, though not large, were well defined and wiry. He was like a Greek statue come to life, a magnificent specimen.

Slipping a finger inside her, he found her wet and creamy, causing him to groan at the sensation. She was tight. “You’re so hot, darling. Just for me.”

She felt so many different feelings, actually: hot and yet clammy, tingling and beginning to ache. His fingers were long and well manicured—they were beautiful hands, pushing her thighs apart. It was shocking to feel his finger inside her, to feel his thumb pressing on the little nubbin of pleasure down there. But it was even more shocking to look down and spy his arousal, which jutted proudly out of a thick nest of dark brown curls. Soon it would push its way inside her.

Eve had seen men’s members before, unexpectedly sometimes on the Jolly Roger, when the pirates relieved themselves. Also, she’d seen them when Jack the Rip stripped off his clothes, or that time with Frederick in the rainstorm. There had been cadavers and patients in medical school, too, though usually she had not given them the same attention. But the truth was, none were as impressive as Adam’s display, and she would just have to revise her opinion on Dr. Sigmund’s theory.

She lovingly touched the tip of his penis and watched it jerk. Giggling, she glanced up to see Adam giving her a tight little smile. “Hmmm,” she said. “You look like a pirate bent on plunder.”

“I am,” he replied, his voice taut with unleashed passion. “And I can’t wait much longer. But darling, if you touch me again it will all be over before it begins.”

He leaned down and kissed her, his eyes heavy-lidded with passion. “Oh, Eve. I’ve been waiting all my life for you.” Not only was he physically involved, but also spiritually. It was almost unnerving to realize it.

Running her fingers over his buttocks, Eve arched against him, feeling the tingling inside grow quickly into a rush of pleasure as he settled his weight between her thighs. Then she felt him at her entrance, probing and hard and hot. She gasped.

Adam plunged deep inside, breaking through and into his wife’s virgin’s sheath. Somewhere deep within his sensual haze of possessive delight, he heard her shocked gasp. She was his! Glancing down, he saw her wince and bite down on her lip. Though he wanted to pump fast and furious, he patiently waited, watching, buried deep inside her. He wanted to cause her pleasure, not pain.

Eve opened her eyes to find him staring down at her, an expression of tenderness in that burning gaze. “I think I could do without that last part,” she managed to say.

He lowered his forehead to hers, groaning in agony. “I’ll never willingly hurt you again, my love.” His flesh twitched within her, and his primal instinct urged him to thrust. But no. By a slender thread, he held on to his willpower to wait until she was ready.

She moved just a bit, her muscles relaxing. The burning was gone, replaced by wanton need and lust.

“I love you,” he said.

She moved again, and her breath came whispering out, her eyes steady on his, a wicked smile on her face as she said one word: “More.”

Adam found himself laughing, and he withdrew, then plunged again and again into her. Tiny shocks radiated outward like a raging storm-tossed sea. Bracing himself upon his arms, he flexed his buttocks, surging deeper within her. He groaned, “Oh, my darling!”

Hearing Adam’s husky words made Eve experience a whole new sensation: feeling uniquely feminine. She had driven Adam almost insane with lust! It was a heady notion, and it deeply stirred her. She could feel something tremendous building within, too. She breathed deep, smelling his skin, a scent of earthiness mixed with musk. His flesh was filling her to overflowing, and she felt her wetness became a liquid gush. Spiraling skyward she felt herself swept under in a huge tidal wave of pleasure. Her toes curled until she felt that they would touch her heels.

“Adam, my love!” she cried.

The tremendous force of his wife’s release had Adam clenching his teeth. His body tightened as he surged to follow. He thrust hard and deep, marking her as his mate. She was whimpering in delighted abandon, thrashing her head from side to side. At last he thrust hard and came with a lusty piratical shout. Deep within her womb his seed spurted, over and over until he felt the last shuddering release. Breathing harshly, he sank down upon her in sated weariness. And a beautiful thought came over him: Perhaps they had made a child this night. A child of love.

He finally managed to muster enough strength to roll over, taking her with him, kissing her. Gazing down at her sweet expression, he managed an impish grin. “You’re mine now, my love, forever. No matter what, come hell or high water or captains with hooked hands.”

Drowsy, feeling as if she had touched the stars, Eve laid her head against his chest. After tonight she wholly trusted her heart in his steadfast care. At one time she might have wondered if he would wound or break it, if he would be faithful. At one time she might have thought it better to remain alone. But love’s grasp had set her free, and tonight she had become a woman.

“Is it like this often between a man and a woman—this miraculous journey of the senses and the heart?” she asked.

Leaning over, he tenderly kissed her forehead. “No. What we just shared is very special. This is what lovemaking is supposed to be, but rarely is.” And he began to prove it to her again, pushing inside her welcoming warmth.

Eve had been thinking. She had wanted to speak with him about the funding for her asylum. Now that she and he were joined as man and wife, Adam could help her with her financial woes. But his deep thrusts had her mind spinning, and Eve forgot her patients and the committee’s decision. Everything was Adam. And afterward, she fell into a gentle slumber.

Staring at the sleeping woman by his side, Adam ran his hand through his hair. Eve was more than he had ever dreamed. He never wanted to let her go. Although replete from his spent passions and the warm glow of love, he was still restless. He felt the increasing pull of the moon. Tomorrow it would be full. He felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if perhaps he should have told Eve about what he was before they’d made love. He had intended to reveal his shape-shifter ancestry, but his mind had been too occupied with enjoying this. He hoped they wouldn’t regret it.

Slipping on his trousers, he walked over to the large window of the conservatory. Pushing aside a fern, he looked outside, his mind hard at work. Eve had taken the committee’s decision better than he had anticipated. How he had dreaded telling her. She loved her asylum and her patients, but he’d been able to cheer up her disappointment. This thought pleased him immensely, and had him smiling.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he thought about the gold Bluebeard had given him. He had already used much of it to buy back the Hawkmore estate in Ireland. It was impossible to help Eve from that particular chest. But perhaps they could move to his ancestral home. Although the estate wasn’t as large as the Towers, it was a nice-sized manor and had no bell tower.

Speaking of the bell tower, Adam found himself staring at a dim light near it. Someone was out there. Was it Hook? Would the pirate captain try again so soon? Surely not, Adam reasoned. He hoped not.

He knew Hook was going to be a formidable enemy, but he would never prevail. The quicker Hook realized that pertinent fact, the better for all concerned. And if the one-handed pirate didn’t agree, then a dawn meeting with pistols or swords could easily be scheduled.

Throwing on his shirt, Adam went to investigate the dim light. It was Fester, busy digging another hole. Adam shook his head. He had begun to doubt that the leprechaun had any coins at all. He certainly had no sense, as he was breathing heavily, his shirt covered in sweat.

“Fester, let me help you dig.”

The crusty old leprechaun nodded, a sly grin on his face. “I found me treasure map, I did! Forgot I stowed it in a ship’s bottle over a hundred years ago. But I found it tonight.” He chortled gleefully. Then his grin faded and his brows furrowed with a scowl. “That daft widow woman cleaned me bottle of its ship tonight. I can’t get it back in! I guess it was fortunate, though, since the map was tucked in the sail.”

Adam shook his head in amusement. “Thank heavens for small favors—and deranged widows. So, you hid the gold here? But, a hundred years? That’s a long time, Fester. How could you have a map of this place when you lived in Ireland at the time? And all those years ago? It doesn’t add up.”

Chortling, the leprechaun pointed to the new hole he was digging, one just to the left of a massive chestnut tree, which was centuries old, its trunk enormous. Inside the large hole was something that glinted.

Fester swung his lantern over the hole, explaining as he did, “A hundred years ago, I had come to England as a young lad following me rainbow. I met and fell in love with a lovely lass, an elf, and was to be married. Unfortunately, her father was a grand ol’ earl and didn’t want his daughter marrying anybody who wasn’t an elf. He especially didn’t want an Irish leprechaun. He had me imprisoned and stole me pots of gold.” Fester began scraping the dirt from the glinting object while Adam helped by shoveling the hole wider.

“I escaped and rescued me gold. But they were hard on me trail, so I buried me pots by an old church and a house with a bell tower, and I drew a treasure map. I got away, but was cursed on me way back to Ireland. That blasted bloody earl hired some wayward witch to do the evil deed, and I ended up asleep for sixty years. For a long time I forgot the gold.”

“And you remember it now?” Adam asked, eagerly lifting what seemed to be several pots out of the ground. His breathing hitched and his eyes had a glazed look, and he stared down at what seemed to be many more pots still in the ground.

“Right. I remembered only recently about the gold. And I couldn’t for the life of me remember where I’d put it. Still, I remembered enough to find me way back here to the Towers. Luckily I’m a little bit mad, so Dr. Eve took me in. She even lets me dig, although it drives her crazy.” And with those words, the lucky leprechaun pulled up two more pots and wiped away some of the dirt. Underneath were golden nuggets.

Adam burst out laughing. The little pots were all filled to the brim with golden coins! He must be living a charmed life—he’d not only found Eve in Eden; he’d discovered the pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.