Imagining a life with Taylor only ever came easier and easier for the dark-haired woman as the days turned into weeks since the first night they'd met. With every little new thing that she learned about the man, in every look that he would give her as they stole those fleeting glances behind the Englishman's back, Adelaide only found herself falling for him further. Was this how Townsend had once felt for Clarabelle when that first seed of love has been planted into their hearts? She could only believe that it was. At first, she had been uncertain. Never would she be able to forget how that drunken fool had dared to lay his hand on her, how the fury that burned with such an intensity in those sage depths that surely if she had been born a wielder of supernatural gifts she could have set the man ablaze had been quickly diminished at the sudden appearance of a stranger who decided to stand up for her. Despite Adelaide having been certain that she would have been able to get away from the horrid man herself in the end, Taylor stepping in when no one else seemed to even bat and eye had been that very first moment shared between them. At first, she had wondered if the only reason he'd come to her side and defended her when her demand had been left unheeded by the burly man who thought he could have her simply because he wanted her was because Taylor had wanted the dark-haired woman for himself. Much to her surprise, the only thing he'd done after effectively dispatching the drunkard was ask if she was alright... From that moment on, she'd wanted to know more about him, see if he could find out why it was that he didn't try as take her for himself or even try to ask that she pay him for his act of valor Adelaide had been almost certain was extinct in this modern day and age. Before that night, she'd been so close to believing chivalry to be nothing more than what was once a great quality in men of a time long ago. It had been Taylor who saved that nearly vanished faith that there were still good men out there, men that were worth more than the world took them for. From that night, she sought to see more of him, and for every piece of himself that he shared with her, she became more certain that he was real, that his actions in the burlesque were not just some facade to try win her favor to gain something in return.

Unbeknownst to her and entirely beyond anything she had ever expected to happen, she'd found herself quickly captivated by him. In only moments, he'd been able to accomplish the very thing so many others had failed to do in a matter of days or weeks, not that those arrogant and empty men had even stood the slightest of chances from the very second they approached her. Still she couldn't quite say how it was she knew that then he was different from anyone she'd ever met, but she had and suddenly those fiercely guarded walls Adelaide had built around herself with the intention to keep the world out began to crack and fall away. In spite of the voice in the back of her mind and how it had once warned her against letting Taylor in for fear that she would only end up sorely mistaken and regretting such a decision like she had in the past, the dark-haired woman opened herself to him, drawn to the man in such a way that she found herself willing to take the chance - something Adelaide had been so certain she would never do again after the wounds which had been afflicted onto her by the world she'd been born into. Little did she know just how he would return that trust when she'd given him her own, tattered and chipped from all the scars left behind by the ghosts of her past she was determined to leave behind and never look back on no matter what. It wasn't long at all before the French woman discovered she could hardly keep her thoughts away from Taylor and that charming smile he wore so easily, the way he would look at her and see what no one else seemed to understand. Soon, she was telling him of those deepest wants and dreams, telling him of the ache in her heart that she'd kept hidden in the darkest crevices of her spirit from even Townsend. No, it wasn't because she didn't think that the Englishman would understand that part of her that wanted nothing more than to see and feel everything that she could. Rather, it was simply out of knowing he would worry about her, perhaps even try and talk her into living a more peaceful yet still very much free life, one that was not too unlike a gently flowing river that weaved through gently rolling hills instead of the fork which held whitewater rapids and waterfalls as those racing waters would cut through canyons and tumble wildly over jagged cliffs. The last thing Adelaide ever wanted was to worry or hurt William, but the life of a calm mountain lake was not the life that she wanted.

While the French woman had never truly considered the idea of raising a family all her own before, as she sat there beside the roguishly handsome man that had her desire for him only intensifying with each moment that passed them by, she found herself wondering of those very things. Before Taylor, she hadn't been given a reason to think of such a future and yet now, it was hard for her not to dare fantasizing about it. She imagined him as a father, holding a small child in his arms with that same bright glow of pride in his hunter green eyes that lit up his chiseled features when she'd made the remark on his talents of the simple yet certainly satisfying dinner he'd prepared for them. She pictured the man, so strong and capable of so much, suddenly becoming so gentle and so careful as he cradled that new life in his arms. It was easy for her to see him as the father that neither of them had been foetaunte enough to have. Perhaps it sounded silly to think of such things when they'd hardly just begun this adventure together to wherever it was that it would lead them, but the dark-haired woman could hardly help seeing him playing catch with a boisterous son with those same hunter green eyes so bright and full of life or perhaps even sitting at the foot of a small bed telling bedtime stories to a little girl tucked cozily into pink floral covers... It was enough to make Adelaide soften, thinking of him in such a light. And then, when their little one - or maybe even little ones - were sound asleep, he's come to bed and kiss her softly, whisper gently into her ear those sweet nothings as she would fall asleep in his arms and surrounded by his warmth. Such a life truly seemed like the life that Adelaide wouldn't want, but the more she thought about it, those tender and heart-warming moments that no number of mountains climbed or canyons explored could ever offer, the more she found herself believing that there would be an entirely different type of adventure in such a life with him. It become just as easy to see them sitting on a sun-bleached shore as together watching the creations borne from their love for each other running and laughing in the froth left behind by lapping waves as it was for them to be standing there on the edge of The Grand Canyon watching the sunrise or chasing after the other in a golden field beneath a clear summer sky, maybe even slow-dsncing beneath the milky way in the headlights of his Harley in the middle of nowhere. And, as she laughs and suggests that just maybe she should stay here if he were truly so eager to share in another meal with her and her alone, she can see his own gaze soften and she would swear that she could see similar thoughts flickering across those hunter green eyes of his as well.

Gently shaking his head in near hesitancy, Taylor reaches a hand out to her face and brushes his thumb softly against her jaw with a soft smile etching into his lips. When tenor tones fall from the man she was unquestionably falling for faster and deeper than she would have ever imagined, she can't help but soften her own smile for a moment as sage eyes search his features in a breif silence, dark lashes blinking slowly over them."Yes, well, they will have to learn to share me with you then. I hardly intend on devoting all my time to them, my dear. Townsend is a grown man in his own right and the bistro is running smoothly whether I'm there or not", she says gently in return as she makes it clear there was no other place she's truly rather be than beside him, regardless of how wild or calm their lives tonight would be. All that mattered for Adelaide was that he stayed in it. That softness melts away though beneath the return of that impish smile as her hand falls to those sparse buttons of her blazer. She can hardly hide the almost devilish delight she took in the way his gaze followed her hand to watch as she undoes them, Taylor beginning to chuckle at her words before it is overwhelmed by the low groan that resonates from his throat in wanting as her breath brushes against the skin of his ear. Oh yes, she knew what would do just fine for payment, and the would hardly cost her a penny. It's her turn to laugh softly now as he is almost unable to push those words past his lips as she steals that plate from him and replaces it with her slender frame. Hardly bothered if not entirely expectant of the way that his body reacts to her sudden and bold advance, if only even igniting her own desire for Taylor to take her as she allows for her hand to move over his toned body, reveling in the hardened muscle she found as those soft fingertips slid over the fabric of his shirt, hungry to feel his bare skin instead. Taylor gasps, shifting beneath her touch as his body practically seems to come alive and move into her touch even as his more sensitive parts seem to grow harder and more easily felt through her own silken dress slacks. She does nothing to hide the sultry smile on her lips before she is kissing him only for the man to return it with eagerness fused with a gentleness she was so unused to, making her crave him even more. She gasps in pleasure beneath his touch as his hands brush against her waist and move up her arms, hips almost reflexively shifting against him encouragingly even as she pulls away ever so slightly away from him. She can see his gaze searching her own now, seeking validation as they asked without words what it was that she wanted and her own burning brightly with the only answer that he would need to find there.

His name falls from her lips in a soft and breathless plea as the desire sets all of her on fire, his hands on her like electricity as her breaths come in soft pants of anticipation as she presses into him, wanting no amount of distance to separate them. Finding his answer, Taylor pulls her in and kisses her deeply, Adelaide feverishly returning it with the same passion and desire that threatened to overwhelm her entirely as her hand continues its administrations of the toned muscles at his core, daring to venture ever lower. With lips locked and her breaths coming in soft yet quickening gasps, a soft moan slipping into his mouth, fingertips make quick work of that button on his jeans so dividing their skin. She can feel him smile into her kisses then before nipping gently at her lip. Another gentle and near desperate moan of desire is brought from the dark-haired woman as she allows his tongue entrance, her own brushing against his teeth as their kisses becoming hungrier that it has her grinding in his lips almost involuntarily in unspoken yearning. Whispering his name between those deep and passionate kisses, Taylor pulls away now, the two of them gassing quietly beneath the fire that nearly has them entirely consumed. Hunter green eyes soften as they interlock with glittering sage that look right back into his gaze, wanting to know if this was what he wanted. Pulling her close, again their foreheads touch as breathless tenor tones whisper to her. She takes in every word, every syllable, and her heart melts beneath them. Never had anyone ever said such things to her, professed those same deep and true words that fell from parted lips lingering only a breath away from her own. She can feel her very soul ache, as if it had been waiting all this time to hear that promise on Taylor's tongue. It was as though his heart was calling out to hers with the very same song, like they where the missing harmony to her heart's melody found in each and every beat.

Breathlessly, she leans in to kiss him as he searches her gaze for the answer. It was a gentle kiss, soft and fleeting and yet there was so much passion to it that it nearly took her own breath away. It was not just the passion of the moment that surrounded them, though. No, it spoke of so much more, not needing single word to explain all that there was the be felt in it, taken from it."Oh Taylor...", she sighs gently, affectionately when she finally pulls away from that kiss so that those warm sage eyes can peer into those hunter green depths she so adored."I believe you. I believe every word", she answers gently then, a tender smile dancing across her lips as desire blends perfectly with those feelings she was finally no longer afraid to name as that four letter word replays in her mind. She can feel her heart beat faster still beneath those soft panting breaths that make her chest rise and fall."I've fallen in love with you, too Taylor. Truly, madly, deeply... There will never be a moment that I want to be without you. No matter what, there will only ever be you", she continues softly, lilted voice hardly above a whisper as that hand of hers still roams the toned muscles of his core, the other sliding out of his hair to rest over his collarbone, sage eyes lingering deeply into his gaze."You won't be taking advantage of me, my love. I promise. I want you, but not just tonight... I want you for every night, every day hereafter... I love you", she says to him then, all her feelings finally rushing forth and intensifying her desire. It is softened and strengthen all in the same moment as she dares to say to him what she was now so certain she felt for him. She'd been... fearful of calling it by the name she knew belonged to it for a little while now, and even now her heart is racing and her thoughts reeling as she searches his gaze. Was it too soon? Had she gone too far? She wasn't sure in that fleeting moment and so she hangs there on a single breath, and yet there was no way she could hold back the confessions of her heart any longer, not after those words of his own so seemingly filled with the same feelings that illuminated her soft sage eyes now.