Belle propped herself up slightly on her elbows, breath still coming in shuddering gasps as her body kept humming from his touch, watching him undress with a tender curiosity. She'd imagined him before, in the darkness, but so much had been hazy and faint and none of it this body. Of course she would have loved him, and had him in this way, if he'd been covered in scales as she'd dreamed, no matter that other woman would have screamed. And she knew the form he had now would probably have made others turn up their nose and laugh. But her eyes were full of delight, seeing him as she knew no one else would.
Although a tiny tremor of anxiety raced through her when he settled his body between her legs, Belle still beamed up at him, reaching with only slightly-trembling fingers to press her palm to his face. "I love you, too," she whispered, reaching her head up to kiss him lightly, "More than I can say."