"No...Get off of me!" she cried.

Her eyes suddenly snapped wide open at the sensation of a pair of strong hands gripping her shoulders.  She was about to scream when she realized the person holding onto her was Adam - not Matt Hardy.

"Oh, my God...Oh, God..." she chanted in a mantra.  It had all been a dream.  Matt had not attacked her, had not raped her.

"Amy...sweetie, are you okay?  You were having a nightmare," the blond man said softly, his emerald-green eyes caressing as they drank her in.  God, she looked so scared and small and lost, he just wanted to gather her up in his arms and embrace her for all she was worth.

He'd awoken when he'd heard a slight thrashing and moans coming from her bed.  When he'd become lucid enough to realize what was going on, he'd gone to her bed to shake her out of the horror of her slumber.

"Adam..." the redhead breathed.  Then, without another word, she reached over and pulled him against her, holding onto the Canadian tightly, as though her life depended on it.

The blond man stroked a hand through the woman's slightly damp hair.  "Wow...That must have been some horrible dream..."

She continued to cling to him.  "Yes...it was," she admitted, nodding against his chest.  Then, Amy pulled back slightly, just enough to gaze up into his eyes.  "I...I dreamt that Matt attacked me...that he...raped me..."

Adam stiffened at the last two words she spoke, and he knew the diva felt it, too.

"Ames...That will never happen.  I would sooner skin him alive than let that happen."

That actually brought a small smile to the diva's lovely face.  She was so glad she had this sweet, kind, caring man and counted her lucky stars that she did.

Then, gently biting her lower lip, she moved her hands up to tangle into his long blond hair.  Tentatively and slowly, she pulled his head down to hers, pressing her lips against his, which felt warm and soft.  Their kiss was sweet and tender, and Amy felt so incredibly safe... She always felt that way with him.  But then, she also felt loved.  She recalled his admission of being in love with her the night of their first...well, kisses.

And then, she realized something - she'd never said those three little words to him.  She knew she felt it, though.  She'd known back after she'd caught Matt in bed with Torrie - and then later fled to Dawn Marie and then Adam himself.

Afterward, she clung against him, her arms clasped around his neck.  "Thanks... I love you..."

Amy was barely even aware of the fact that she'd spoken the words aloud when Adam suddenly pulled back a bit.  He gazed down into her eyes intensely, the colors in his orbs shifting slightly.

He smiled gently as he slid a hand up to her cheek.  As he caressed it, he moved his face closer to hers so that he was just nuzzling her.  "I love you, too..."

There was a comfortable moment of silence between the two for a moment, then the blond man pulled back a bit so as to gaze into Amy's hazel eyes.  "Wow..." he said gently, the smile returning to his face.  "That's the first time we've ever said that to each other..."

Surprised, the redhead arched a brow at him.  "Actually, you did say it to me once already, but in different words... Think back to the night we first kissed..."

Adam thought about it for a few seconds, and then he did recall what she was talking about.

"Oh, yeah - that's right...I guess I sorta conveniently 'forgot' about that - because you didn't say anything after I said it..."

"It was just such a surprise," Amy explained, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up into his handsome face.  "A bit overwhelming, but a very pleasant surprise..."  She smiled, and that caused his grin to widen.  He held her close against him again.

As the redhead snuggled up against her new, handsome, strong boyfriend, she couldn't help the naughty but romantic thoughts that entered her head.  As she'd been doing when she'd first realized her feelings for Adam, she wondered what it would be like to make love to him...