Reclaiming Her Heart

Chapter 34 - TLC

Adam

Slowly, I untied Jadea from her restraints.

We were finished with the scene for today.

While I unbound her, I reflected. She had said the first couple of months were the easiest. Easy was probably a good thing. It would help set the tone and flow for the remaining scenes.

Once she was free from the restraints, I picked her up and laid her down in the middle of the bed and proceeded to give her a full body massage. As my hands moved towards the juncture of her thighs, though, she stopped me, asking me not to touch her there. I didn't catch on to any unwarranted emotions, and figured she just wasn't feeling up to that sort of play today. Which was perfectly fine.

Working her calves and feet, Jadea's voice broke the silence. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course," I encouraged.

"Did you feel me, when we connected in our dreams?" It was a tentative question.

"Yes," I replied evenly. "Though, I believed at the time it was my mind playing ungodly tricks on me."

"How do you feel about it now, after you realized it wasn't just a dream?"

I mulled over the question, allowing it to embed in my mind. It made me a bit uncomfortable, but that was okay. "I feel both relieved and upset by this realization. Relieved, because you weren't entirely alone. You could feel my love for you, even if it was confusing and went against what Silas said. It put a seed of doubt in your mind and kept you striving for answers. And, upset because if I had known we were connecting in our dreams, I would have focused harder on connecting with you. That way I could have answered your questions, and possibly rescued you sooner."

It was something I would carry heavily on my mind for years to come.

"You realize very few mates—even many of the soul-defying ones—cannot connect in the dream world. There are only a handful," she soothed. "Just the realization we walked in the same dreams is amazing in and of itself."

I could feel her going down that rabbit hole as she worked through just how pure our connection was. It was interesting to see from her point of view, seeing as she'd heard about such rare feats growing up. She even knew a few bonded pairs who had been able to share their dream world. It soothed some of the worries she harbored about our relationship.

"Please don't beat yourself up over this," she stated, sitting up so we were almost nose to nose. Her fingers traced my jawline and I leaned into her caress. "Thank you, Adam, for always being you. And for always believing in me. For never giving up on us."

Tenderly, I placed my hand over hers before turning into her palm to place a kiss at its center. Forcing the tears to stay at bay. "Of course, baby girl," I said gruffly.

Before I could slip away and gather myself, she grabbed my arm and pulled me on top of her. While she was the sub in this certain instance, I knew it was difficult for her to switch her inherent alpha off. She knew I needed some TLC too, and she wasn't about to let me face my thoughts and feelings alone.

"Just because you are the Dom, doesn't mean your feelings get set aside," she gently reminded me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as my head rested on her chest, her legs cradling my hips. Winding my arms around her, I settled into her warmth and comfort. I listened to her heartbeat for a long time before the dam within me finally broke.

Tears fell freely as everything came crashing to the forefront of my mind. Everything I'd felt during the time I truly thought she was gone. Then the tentative hope, and the absolute elation when I knew she was alive. Then there was the fear of losing her again, and the unfairness of her memories of us being so crudely ripped away. She held me silently through the storm, knowing nothing had to be said. Just being here, in her arms, was enough.

***

After a couple of hours passed since our aftercare, I found Jadea working out in the home gym. There was a lot of weight-lifting equipment spread throughout the spacious room, along with a treadmill and free-weights.

Honestly, I was glad to see her here instead of taking to the perimeter.

Jadea was sitting on the incline bench wearing the same sports bra and yoga pants she'd had on earlier, repping a set of dumbbells. Her skin had a sheen of sweat. The muscles of her arms and upper body were swollen from her intense workout. She looked like a delectable snack laid out just for me.

Unable to stop myself, I marched over to her and knelt down between her thighs. She paused, her weights resting against her chest, those bright green eyes of hers watching me curiously. "Don't stop on my behalf," I told her, my hands massaging the insides of her thighs as I pressed my face into her stomach, inhaling her scent deep into my lungs. I was infatuated with her.

Taking it as a challenge, she smirked and continued her reps.

With a growl reverberating from deep within my chest, I accepted her challenge. I knew all the ways to drive her crazy, even if she didn't remember any of it. I licked her from naval to sternum, my hands moving up her thighs, hips and waist. I made sure to scrape the short scruff of my beard over her sensitive skin. Just the way she liked it. My thoughts delved into the depths of my desire. Of how I wanted to pull her pants down and bury my face between her thighs, eating her as she did her workout. Stopping when she paused and showing her just how far I could take her pleasure when she completed her sets.

She faltered as my projected thoughts infiltrated her mind, her heart beat increasing as lust swamped her.

My wicked smile wasn't lost on her.

"You dirty dog," she laughed, easing the weights down to the ground before her hands delved deep into my hair yanking me up to her face. She wasn't gentle about it. The roughness only added fuel to the fire.

"Admit it, you liked it," I groused, my gaze hooded with passion, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," she mused thoughtfully.

"I could make this little rendezvous a reality," I winked as her hold on me softened.

I felt the rejection before she said anything aloud.

She just wasn't ready to commit to that level of intimacy. And that was okay.

From my internal thoughts, she relaxed. Knowing there was no pressure or resentment on my part.

"I think we should do another scene tomorrow," I said, shifting the focus and conversation so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. I stood up, putting some distance between us so I could rein in my libido. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yes," she agreed, standing to put away the weights. "I really liked how today's scene went, especially being bound by the ropes."

I nodded, appreciating her feedback. "I can do the same for tomorrow's scene if you would like?"

"Yes. I would appreciate that."

"Perfect! Now, why don't you tell me what happened during your third and fourth months with Silas?" I prompted.

We both settled down on different pieces of equipment, and Jadea recanted her story. She told me about the holidays. How Silas included her in them, and had even gifted her a beautiful necklace and squishmallow. "Silas treated me like part of the family. He never made me feel left out, even though I was technically an outsider. Maybe, he saw his own daughter in me?" she mused thoughtfully.

That was an interesting connection, I agreed silently.

"There was a period of calm—of the monotony of the routine—before the storm hit," she continued on, telling me about her trip to the bowling alley with Mateo and how she figured out where she was based on this outing. The way she spoke about Mateo gave me the feeling he had a crush on her, though Jadea didn't specifically say anything happened between them.

"Right as we got back from bowling, Silas called me into his office," Jadea continued, her voice receding as the memories bombarded her. "He realized I had taken one of the photos. As punishment, I was tied to a post outside, whipped and left there for two days." As much as she tried to detach from her emotions during this pivotal time, I could feel how much Silas hurt her. Not physically from the whipping, but emotionally. The anger I felt ripping through my chest was nearly unbearable. It was something new, something I never felt before. I could only pray Silas wouldn't cross my path, because if he did...

"It was during this time I confirmed I was being poisoned though," she continued on, unaware of my tumultuous emotions. "And based on when those symptoms returned once I was allowed to eat again, I narrowed it down to the morning meal. Since I knew I was being controlled by a toxin, I started drinking more water to flush it out and running the perimeter to help burn it off. I stayed to myself, kept my head down, and just tried to survive. Not long after, I learned of Lucien's passing... Silas was comforting, though he made it seem like I was responsible for his death."

I could feel her sharp emotions surrounding her father's passing. She didn't go into any more detail, which was okay. I could delve into this more tomorrow and help her confront and deal with all of these pent-up emotions.

"During this low, I had my first memory come back during a dream." She told me what the memory had been and my heart constricted. Hope flooded me. This was a good sign. She'd had a few break-through moments where memories came back. I was convinced it wouldn't take long before she was able to reconnect with that part of her mind. "May I be excused?" she asked abruptly. I could feel her need to isolate, to run away from everything she'd relived so far.

Nodding, I let her go. Her bare feet padded down the hallway and disappeared in her room.

As I mulled over the things I wanted to question her about the next day, I reached out to Garret to check in on the pack.

"Everything is going well here, Adam," he assured me. "Aidan and Anika are both enjoying their time with Ty and everyone else here."

I was glad to hear that. "The day after tomorrow, I will be coming back down." I related the things I would need, and what I wanted to do while at Ty's. Garret assured me he would get everything ready to go.

As the day wore on, I wondered how hard Jadea would fight me tomorrow when I dug into the hurtful, jagged wounds Silas left for me to heal.