It felt odd to be the one leading him through the tunnels, Catherine thought, bemused, as they approached his chamber entrance. She still held his hand firmly in her own, but he lagged a foot or two behind her, a hesitancy in his stride that was atypical. She ignored it, though, as he offered no further resistance. As she entered the chamber she found that the glow from the single candle on the center table still remained, though only an inch or so was left, leaving the chamber lit with a low amber glow. It suffused the space with a mellow softness that dimmed at the edges, leaving the walls and most of the precious possessions therein hidden in shadows, only a glinting light here and there reflecting off the metallic objects to reveal their presence. The twenty-four hour candle behind the stained glass insert had gone out and not yet been replaced, so it was dark near the back wall as well. She stopped near the table, glancing surreptitiously over toward the bed, and then away again quickly. How she wished they were enclosed within the comfy quilts there, whispering of their future plans in the cozy, comforting darkness. It would have made it easier for them both.
"Vincent..."
Her words were cut short as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. The kiss was not subtle. It was not soft or innocent. It was deep and it was passionate, his tongue drinking in the tastes and textures of her mouth with an ardor that stunned her into abject submission. She hung limply in his arms, unable to do anything else but comply willingly to his feverish caresses. When he finally ended the kiss, she gasped for air and sagged in his arms.
"You want to stay, truly?" he demanded hoarsely, his bright gaze pinned fiercely on her own.
She gasped again, his words, like the actions before them, completely unexpected, leaving her dazed. Could it possibly be that he accepted her decision already, without further discussion?! Never, never had she anticipated such an outcome, and she thought she'd imagined them all. He held her limp body tightly, his strength unflagging despite the trembling of his own muscles. She felt it clearly, and stared up at him in stunned awe. Was nothing beyond his capabilities? Even more astonishing was the feel of his steely erection, pressed tight to her belly as she sagged against him. Even through their clothing she could feel its heat as it surged and grew. He stared back at her, a hungry yearning in the azure depths of his eyes, mixed with a fearful uncertainty as he waited for her reply.
"Yes," she whispered, her voice ragged and shaking. "Please, let me stay."
At that soft plea, his head dropped back and a low moan rumbled through his throat and past his lips. His hands tightened around her and his head fell forward once more, buried at the curve of her shoulder and neck. "Yes... Yes..." he murmured huskily, over and over again, his lips quivering upon the naked flesh of her throat. "I need you to stay, Catherine. I need you here with me. I need you..."
"You need me?" she whimpered with stunned disbelief, her hands twining in his hair to keep him close.
He groaned, the sound turning to a low growl which vibrated through the delicate bones in her shoulder. "Yes, I need you, I need you so much. I need you with me all the time. I need you by my side each day, I need you in my bed at night." His arms tightened as he felt her shuddering response to his last words, but still he continued on. "I need to love you, and I need you to love me, always, my love, always..." he finished, the words growing fiercer by the minute and interspersed with wet kisses pressed passionately along the slim column of her neck, along the pulsing line of the artery there.
Oh, god! Her knees collapsed completely, but he was there, his arms tightening even more. He pulled her willing body closer to his, pressing the proof of his desire firmly against her, not attempting to hide it, not attempting to deny it. His hands swept up her arms until they bracketed her face, and she stared at him stunned.
"I need you always, Catherine," he repeated hungrily, "I need you now!"
"Yes, oh, yes!" she cried brokenly, stunned at both the admission and the implied request.
He closed his eyes briefly, groaning with relief, then swung her up in his arms. A moment later she was deposited on his bed. Stepping back he began to strip off his clothes with frantic haste. She watched him, open-mouthed, then abruptly knelt upon the mattress and tugged her sweater over her head, pulling the t-shirt beneath it along, and throwing both onto the floor without thought. Her bra joined the pile and then her fingers flew down to fumble with the button and zipper on her jeans. Her fingers hooked into the waistband of the loosened denim, and caught the satiny fabric of her panties, pushing both down her thighs with a quick wiggle of her hips. When they reached her knees she slid down on her bottom to kick them over her calves. Her progress was impeded at her ankles, however, by the bulky sports shoes she wore. With a growl of frustration she leaned forward to remove them, but Vincent was there before her. He grasped her left heel and pulled her foot outward, stripping the shoe off and then its stocking, before tugging the leg of her jeans and panties down and over her foot. He released that foot and she brought her knee up until the heel rested on the edge of the mattress, then held out her right foot for him. The shoe fell with a solid thud behind him, and in seconds she was completely bare. He stepped back from her and gasped, staring with a blatant hunger that undid her completely.
She sat on the bed just as he'd left her, leaning back on her hands, her heels resting on the edge of the mattress, her knees open. She shivered as he gazed at the openness of her position, both embarrassed and excited. She felt so wanton, so lost in the passionate need surrounding them. She needed him there, at her center, needed him to touch her, to kiss her, to love her completely, to possess her utterly. Still, a moment later her embarrassment superseded everything else, and she swung her knees together as she began to slide backward on the bed, making room for him. Her actions were halted as he stepped forward again, a low growl rumbling through his chest. His hands gripped her knees, holding them gently still for a moment before he eased them apart once more, baring her to his hungry gaze. He stared at her hotly, his chest heaving with emotion and she held her breath, unable to believe he had done such a blatantly erotic thing. A whimpered moan finally escaped her, rousing him to action. His stillness ended as he resumed the task interrupted, that of removing his own clothes, but his eyes never left her body, scanning from her face to her breasts to her belly and below, then back up again, over and over again.
Catherine watched him, her breath coming in gasping pants, as his body was exposed to her eager eyes. His cloak, vest and outer belt were already gone, and his shirt hung open, revealing a lush thatch of golden hair. He stripped it off quickly and she drew in a deep breath of delight at the sight of him. She'd seen him like this only a few times before, most recently in the bathing pool almost five days ago, but it made no difference. Every glimpse of him was as shocking and as exhilarating as the first. He was so beautiful, so virile and strong, his muscles flexing with every small movement he made, the rugged delineation of them clear, even beneath the silky coat of hair, sometimes fine, sometimes coarse, as it coated his body. It grew sleek and almost ingrained to the skin along his upper arms and along the sides of his torso, but thick and riotous along his forearms and at the center of his chest, narrowing as it made its way down his belly, until only a thin line remained, disappearing beneath the waist-band of his trousers. She sucked in her breath hard as she traced that line, frustrated by the denim fabric. Her avid gaze was cut off for a second as he leaned over to pull off his boots and socks, his hair falling forward to thwart her view, but he unfolded himself in an instant, and she sighed again with relief, her eyes returning to the scene which had momentarily been denied 
her. He was fully aroused, that much was plain, even through the thick weave of his last remaining item of clothing. His erection was constrained by the fabric to the left of his hip, just above the curve where belly met thigh. She could see the outline clearly, could see the thick, rigid staff and the even thicker, rounded head. She could even see the pulsing vein running along the stalk, pressed into prominence by the tight trousers. His state of arousal was complete, and she knew he had to be in some pain. That thought was confirmed a minute later when his shaking fingers undid the buttons of his trousers and the fabric loosened upon his flesh, resulting in a gasping sigh of relief mixed with the ever-present lustful growl. He leaned over to strip the trousers down his legs, then kicked them aside as he stood up again, completely naked to her eager eyes.
Oh, god, he was so beautiful! She couldn't stop thinking it. The thin line of hair ran down his belly then thickened once more, surrounding his genitals. No
doubt the lush thickness provided a protective covering when those sensitive organs were in their flaccid state, but right now the amber rust thatch was no more than a background display for the proud erection and pendant weight beneath. Her eyes widened with lustful eagerness and she pressed off her hands to lean forward, her feet slipping off the bed and toward the floor. He stopped her, his hands catching the back of her knees to lift them slowly. Her center of mass shifted and she fell to the mattress, staring up at him with trembling excitement and anticipation. His hands held her firmly, and her own grasped shakily at the bedclothes beneath her, watching him gaze over her naked body, so open and vulnerable to him now. She felt a blush heat her cheeks and knew he saw it, just as she knew he perused the taut peaks of her breasts a moment later when they hardened to a pulsing ache under his searching gaze. Her breath came fast and furious, her belly tight and quivering as hot eyes traced abdomen muscles concave with tension. When his gaze reached the core of her femininity, her thighs began to shake, held suspended, aloft.
"Oh, god," she moaned hoarsely, unable to look away.
He glanced up at her face again, noting the full signs of her arousal, then back to the petalled lips now exposed. She felt hot and flushed, engorged with blood. Her sex was dripping with creamy heat, and she blushed even harder, knowing he could see it even now, could see the glistening there and on her inner thighs, wondering what he thought of her, how wanton she must appear to him now, how shameless...
Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as he sank to his knees on the floor before her, then leaned forward to place a tender kiss on the inner curve of her right knee. He froze abruptly and took a deep breath, then shuddered, his hands tightening on her knees until the nails pressed into her skin. She was astonished he would allow such a thing, but as she suspected, whether consciously or unconsciously done, the skin was unbroken, and she herself unharmed. The feel of that sharp pressure was deliciously exotic, both sensual and titillating in the extreme. She trembled as she watched him, his head bent over her, his golden hair, darkened by shadows, trailing over her legs. Heat pulsed over her sensitive flesh as he panted, and when he finally moved again, it was to repeat that kiss higher up along her inner thigh. This time she knew he tasted the salty-sweet drizzled honey, knew that he had sought out that taste intentionally, overwhelmed by the scent drifting down from its source, just above. The nuzzling kisses increased in intensity as he moved from one thigh to the other. Soon all pretense was abandoned as the kisses gave way to lusty licks of his coarse tongue as he lapped every drop from her quivering flesh, moving ever closer to the prize. He held her legs apart and she groaned loudly, her whole body now trembling with a fearful anticipation. How she wanted this from him! And yet she didn't know if she could survive such a thing, the pleasure she felt now so intense it almost overwhelmed her entirely. Days ago his caresses upon her breasts had brought her to climax with effortless ease, and now she trembled on the razor's edge once more, certain of one thing only, that her body would respond to his demands without question and without hesitation.
Vincent pulled back and she drew in a shuddering breath, exhaling a keening whimper. Please don't stop, she whispered fervently to herself, over and over again. He was absolutely still now, staring down at her, a look of thunderstruck awe on his face. Slowly his hands slid upward, hot palms stroking her tender flesh from knee to mid-thigh, where he stopped once more. His eyes narrowed then, the planes of his face taut, as the pressure of his hands increased, gently easing her legs open wider still. She gasped and trembled, letting him guide her as he would until the tunnel air wafted coolly over her super-heated flesh. She shivered, though not from the chill. His hands finally stilled again, though not until she felt the outer lips of her labia pouting open, and the inner ones pulsing lightly, now exposed completely. She groaned loudly as she watched him watch her. A fresh flow of creamy heat coated her inner thighs and she groaned again when he trembled before her, overwhelmed by her body's response to him. Slowly he leaned back to her, his eyes heavy-lidded. She jumped and yelped, startled, when next she felt his tongue upon her. He barely touched her, using just the tip as he lightly traced the inner curve of her thigh. So close, he was so close! She could feel his hot breath upon her swollen sex as he moved slowly along the tender crease of flesh. The caress was repeated on the other side and she bit her lip as she tried to suppress a moan of frustration. The sound emerged full-blown a second later when, after a hesitant pause, the tip slid lightly along the ridge of one fleshy lip. Her whole body shuddered, and she felt the smaller, delicate inner petals flutter in response. Her face flamed bright red and she moaned again. What must he think of her?! He obviously read her thoughts and felt the chaos of her emotions through their bond, but though his hands tightened momentarily on her thighs, he didn't stop, moving to trace the other outer lip with a delicacy that left her gasping. Those gasps changed to pants when he repeated that same caress, though this time along the slick, heated flesh between the outer and inner lips on that side.
"Oh, god!" Catherine arched up off the bed, unable to contain her response.
His hands tightened once more, holding her still, but his growl rumbled like thunder in his chest, rolling up his throat until the vibrations shuddered against her delicate skin.
"Oh please, oh please..." she whimpered shamelessly, writhing beneath him.
But he would not be rushed, his breath harsh and panting as he explored her slowly, hesitantly. He traced the inner curve on the other side now, this time his touch firmer, allowing his tongue to press flat between as he tasted her. She gasped at the exotic coarseness of his tongue there, and jerked away instinctively, her body overwhelmed with sensations. She couldn't really go far, held captive as she was, but at even the hint of such a retreat he growled and lunged forward, catching one fleshy outer lip between his teeth to keep her still. She cried out, shocked, and his teeth released her, though his mouth did not, his lips closing over the silky flesh to suck softly upon it with a muffled growl of delight.
Catherine writhed feverishly, but she could not escape his erotic ministrations, nor did she wish to. She wanted more, though she was quite sure that any more than this and she would ignite in flames, leaving behind nothing but ashes. His mouth released her abruptly and she cried out in dismay, wanting him back. A light flick of his tongue at the very center of her blood-engorged sex, between the small, inner lips, was enough to send her mind reeling. He was breathing her in deeply, she could actually hear it, and in between those great, gulping breaths, his tongue teased fleetingly at the very entrance to her silky sheath, gasping growls following each taste of her he took into himself, his tongue delving just a bit deeper with each return. The growls were increasing in strength, and finally he turned his head and pressed himself to her once more, his lips enclosing the translucent inner petals completely. He sucked at that delicate flesh, pressing both together tight between his nuzzling lips and she whimpered, both frustrated and intensely aroused. After several minutes of this torture, his tongue flicked out again, gently easing between the sensitive folds as he held them tight. She shuddered and moaned, the feel of his tongue there now, when she was held closed by his questing mouth, erotic in the extreme. Slowly he slid inside her, impaling her silky, sensitive sheath with the coarse length of his tongue while his lips continued to suckle at her tender inner lips, his kiss so sensual and so erotic it undid her completely. She writhed and moaned feverishly upon the bed, her muscles tensing and flexing with shivery, jerking motions, but he didn't seem to notice, kissing her in that way as though he would never stop.
Finally, though, he did, and she almost screamed, the absence of his mouth upon her almost too much to bear. She had been so close! There was no time to complain, no time for her to voice a coherent thought, before his hands slid down her thighs to grip her knees once more, this time curving beneath to the sensitive skin in back. He lifted her legs abruptly, folding her knees back to her chest, then pressing outward. She gasped, shocked at the openness of her position before him now. Before she could speak he'd delved downward once more. His mouth covered her completely, lips opened wide around the full, swollen flesh of her labia. An instant later his tongue swept up from behind and over the tender flesh, plowing a deep furrow between the tender inner petals. The sweep continued on, brushing flatly and coarsely over the hyper-sensitized nub at the apex of sex, now completely exposed by the wide-open position of her legs. She shuddered and shook, and the next second, when he plunged the thick length of his tongue deep inside her, the world careened wildly and an explosive climax thundering over her. She arched up against him and screamed, overcome with an agonizing, dizzying pleasure, then fell back to the bed shaking and writhing as sweeping waves of bliss rolled over her again and again, timed to the lusty, driving thrusts of his tongue within her. His growls were non-stop as he urged her on, higher and higher, and only when the convulsive contractions gripping her core began to lessen did he slow his fervent caresses upon her. Finally she collapsed completely, and for a moment everything went dark.
Some time later - she was never sure how long it had been - the world congealed around her again. She lay on the bed, her legs now limply dangling over the edge, and he knelt on the floor between her thighs, just as he had been all along. His mouth still laved over her, but it was a lighter, more delicate caress now, his tongue lapping gently at the swollen, post-climactic flesh, taking the honeyed-sweetness from her and into himself with an erotic hunger that had never abated, but for the moment was channeled to this more soothing, comforting touch. She rolled her shoulders against the mattress and stretched her torso with a groaning sigh, his name whispered within it.
"Oh, Vincent..."
His hands tightened fleetingly upon her now relaxed and limp thighs as he stared up into her heavy-lidded eyes, the light in his own fiercely intense. Releasing her abruptly he stood up and swept his arms beneath her recumbent form, lifting her body until she rested fully upon the bed. He held her close and stayed with her, until they were both cuddled together at the center, soft pillows now beneath their heads. He stroked lovingly along the curve of her cheek and jaw, then held her gently, staring into the hazy depths of her green eyes, a tentative hesitation now coloring his own.
"Are you all right?" he whispered hoarsely.
She had to smile at that question. Surely he must know she was all right, more than all right, after that tumultuous response. Still, she knew how sensitive he would be to these intimacies after years fearing such a thing, and answered seriously.
"Oh, yes. That felt so wonderful," she said, stretching her muscles against his still-trembling length. "Are you all right?" she asked in turn. The rigid strength of his erection pulsed hotly against her thigh, and she knew he had somehow managed to hold off his release despite the power of her own. She tried to ignore it for the moment, though, sensing that now was not the right time for teasing. Soon, she promised herself, soon.
She felt a warm wave envelope her from their bond, and had her answer even before the shy nod of his head. He buried his face against the curve of her shoulder abruptly, his arms tightening about her. His cheeks were hot against her rapidly cooling flesh, and silky bristles nuzzled against her throat as he pressed fervent kisses there, soft murmurs rumbling through his throat to vibrate into her own.
"Yes, oh yes. You don't know how long I've wanted to do that, Catherine! I thought I was depraved, that you would be disgusted if you knew of my desires..." His voice trailed off weakly, as if even now he wondered what her response might be to such a disclosure. She chuckled softly, reassuring him at once.
"Oh, Vincent, if you're depraved then so am I. I've wanted that too, for so long! The things I've wanted you to do to me, the things I've wanted to do to you..." She sighed raggedly. "We can share all of that now. Believe me, Vincent, I don't think there's a thing you could have imagined that I haven't, and if by some chance there is, I want to hear about it - immediately!" she finished warmly. She felt his tremulous smile against her throat, and sighed happily.
Suddenly he stiffened against her and she froze, her senses abruptly turned outward. Though she could hear nothing, it was obvious he did, his head cocked toward the chamber exit. A moment later he left her side, swinging on his cloak and clutching it close. She drew the blankets over her naked body and watched him leave the room, grabbing two unlit lanterns along the wall as he went. She knew he found their visitors instantly, their voices clear to her, though she was inside the chamber, and they without.
"There you are!" Jamie exclaimed. "James has a few ideas to supplement the security system and we thought we might be able to go over them before supper," she said.
Catherine prayed it was dim enough in the outer corridor for Jamie not to notice his disheveled and questionable state. Hopefully the ebony folds of his cloak were sufficient, because there certainly was nothing else.
"Jamie, James," Vincent replied in greeting.
Catherine thought he sounded somewhat breathless, and hoped they didn't notice that as well.
"Has something happened with the system? A problem?" he probed, his voice steadier now.
"No, nothing like that," Jamie replied, reassuring him. "Just some little things that might improve the system overall."
"Tomorrow then. Later in the morning, in Father's study?"
"Okay, sure, but we've got the diagrams now, it wouldn't take much time..."
"Tomorrow, Jamie," James' voice interrupted firmly.
Catherine sucked in her breath, hearing an undercurrent there that gave her pause. Could he possibly suspect what they had interrupted? Apparently they were moving down the tunnel now, retreating toward the main path, because Jamie's agreement and farewell grew slightly lower in volume with each word. Catherine clapped a hand over her mouth, resisting an intense urge to giggle. She suddenly imagined James pulling Jamie down the tunnel path while she continued to talk and wave to the shadow figure of a bemused Vincent, standing just outside their chamber door. He didn't re-enter immediately, and she knew the delay was due to the placement of one of the unlit lanterns some distance down the passageway. No doubt he was taking no chances on anyone getting this close to them again tonight. His figure flashed by the door a minute later, heading in the opposite direction, and she knew that the second lantern would soon rest some thirty yards down, just in front of his entrance to the bathing pool. Should Father think of making a visit via the shortcut, this would ensure their privacy, though she shivered somewhat as the scene of that occurrence flashed through her mind.
Shaking that thought from her head, she threw the blankets back and sat up abruptly, her legs curled under her. She shivered as the cool tunnel air brushed over her glistening, still-sensitized skin, but loved the sensation, stretching her arms over her head just to see if it were still possible. She felt molten, as though all her bones had disappeared. Vincent returned at that moment, pausing abruptly in the doorway to watch that languorous stretch. His eyes traced her body hungrily, pausing at the taut tips of her uplifted breasts. She laughed lightly, in sheer joy, then swung her feet to the floor and moved slowly toward him, her hips and breasts swaying provacatively. She felt positively decadent!
"No one will bother us now, will they?" she asked.
He shook his head, mesmerized by the sight of her.
"Good, because we're definitely not through," she said, a teasing note in her voice.
"Catherine..." he began, a hesitant note in his voice.
"Yes," she purred.
"What...?"
She smiled, wondering whether to tease him further, to make him articulate the questions which hovered so close.
"It's my turn, Vincent," she replied enigmatically.
"Your turn?" he asked, bemused.
"My turn," she repeated, "and yours."
She was before him now. His hands were knotted in the folds of his cloak, just below the waist, holding the edges together tightly. She covered his trembling fists and gently pressed outward.
"Let go," she urged.
She felt his reticence, but after a momentary pause, he did, his hands falling down to his sides. The folds of the cloak were in her own hands now, and she pushed the edges aside to bare his body. Her eyes swept down to his center and she couldn't stop the mewling whimper that shuddered through her at the sight of him. He was so aroused, so virile, so... large. He surged upward, toward his taut belly, the round, tumescent head dripping with transparent fluid. The pendant weight below hung heavy and full, as though anchoring the hot urgency of his sex. She licked her lips with anticipation, remembering how the large round head had impaled her delicate flesh, as though plowing a furrow through fertile soil, preparing it for what was to come. She remembering the feel of his thick length buried within her, hot blood pulsing through the vein so that she could feel its strong, rhythmic throb against the slick inner walls of her body. She trembled as those sensations filled her, and knew he felt it all through their bond. His hands stayed at his side while she perused him, but glancing down she saw them clench and unclench in the folds there, and knew how difficult it was for him to stand before her in this way, so vulnerably exposed. He was giving himself to her, she realized abruptly, and her eyes lifted to his full of love and compassion. One hand rose to cup his jaw, her thumb stroking lightly upward over the soft bristles of his cheek. She rose on tiptoe to place a soft kiss on his lips, not moving further as he trembled beneath her. When his lips parted with a low moan, she deepened the kiss, her tongue slipping in to caress him further. She didn't let it grow beyond that, though, ending the kiss before it got out of control. She knew he couldn't take too much stimulus, not now. She could easily feel the urgent need trembling near in the tense posture of his body. Soon, she promised him silently.
Settling back on her feet, there was now a foot of separation between them. Her eyes returned to the part of him which drew her most avid attention just now. The hand on his jaw left him and slowly drifted downward. Though she kept her gaze pinned on his midsection, she knew he too watched helplessly by the sudden concave tension that rippled through his already taut abdomen. When her fingers closed around the turgid staff, those muscles clenched tighter yet, and he let out a groaning growl. He gasped as she squeezed lightly then began a stroking motion along the impressive length, her fingers not able to meet around the equally impressive, circumcised girth. He was completely hairless here, his flesh a deep tawny shade darkened almost to mahogany now, no doubt by the dramatic infusion of hot blood. The skin was hot and silky soft, but beneath it lay a core of iron. Her insides fluttered as she caressed him, the sensations translated to her own silky core. Creamy warmth drizzled down anew, and she gave a mewling coo of pleasure as the heat began to build in her again. Glancing up she found his gaze pinned upon her hand in stunned amazement.
"I've wanted to see you like this for so long, Vincent. Wanted to touch you like this. I knew you were afraid of what I would think, but there was no way I could tell you how much I looked forward to it. You wouldn't have believed me, not then."
She glanced down at her hand upon him once more, and after a slight pause removed it. He groaned with frustration but sighed a moment later when she cupped the full, pendant softness beneath it and kneaded him gently. A light, downy silk coating covered him here, almost invisible to the eyes, but apparent to the touch. It was erotic in the extreme. He was so heavy, so full, both taut and soft, and at her touch he shuddered, his stomach muscles quivering visibly.
"You like me to touch you like this, don't you?"
It wasn't really a question, and he drew in a gasping breath, speechless.
"You liked it in the bathing pool, too."
"Yes," he finally replied, the single word emerging strangled and hoarse.
"Of course you do," she said, her eyes seeking out his. When he finally met her gaze she saw a yearning need for reassurance. "Everyone responds to sexual stimulation, Vincent, surely you know that. It's part of our make-up, part of our biology. And when you love someone as much as we love each other, when you have a bond like we do..." She shook her head, her emotions getting the best of her for a moment. "How could you not want my touch? How could I not want yours?" she whispered, overcome.
A whimpered moan breathed out in response. "I do, Catherine, I do," he finally said, as overcome as she. "I want to touch you so much," he whimpered. "And I want you to touch me. Oh, god," he cried out hoarsely, "Please don't stop touching me!"
Her hand tightened upon the full sac and he groaned loudly. "I won't, Vincent, I won't. Trust me, my love," she said. Her hand returned to the thick staff, the other curling around his arm. Both tightened as she tugged him gently forward. He gasped, but followed, as though hypnotized by her intimate touch. She led him a few feet forward, then pressed him down, into the red-cushioned velvet of his chair, her hands releasing him. He groaned again, this time at the absence of her hands, then gasped as she sank to her knees before him, pushing his trembling thighs outward in the process.
"Catherine!"
He spoke that single word with an urgent intensity, as though to stop her, but she interrupted him, repeating her earlier statement firmly.
"My turn."
He groaned again, his eyes closing and his head dropping back against the high, velvet-covered seat back. They flew open a minute later, though, as her fingers began to stroke over the silk covered steel of his surging erection once more.
His head flew back and forth upon the velvet covering, strands of golden hair streaming wildly about his face. "I want... I can't..."
She took her hands from him immediately, noting the growing signs that his arousal was rapidly spinning out of control, then sat back on her heels, letting the cool tunnel air blow over his super-heated flesh.
"Tell me, Vincent," she said softly.
He stared at her wild-eyed, and she could see that he didn't know how to say it, so she helped him.
"You want me to touch you, don't you? You want me to love you with my hands, with my mouth..."
He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut tight for a moment at her last words, but finally nodded tersely, his eyes opening again to meet her own.
"Yes," he gasped, his breath coming in harsh pants. "I want that so much. But I can't..." He faltered again, and again she helped.
"You're afraid you won't be able to last much longer if I do that?"
He nodded, heat flaring over his face with shame and dismay.
She paused for a moment, considering her words.
"Vincent, in Paracelsus' cage..."
The heat flamed higher, and she hurried on.
"You told me later that you wanted to go slower."
He exhaled a gasping breath and nodded, wide eyes pinned on her own.
"Tonight, when we finally make love, do you want to go slower than we did before?"
A surge of heat swept through her from their bond at the assumption made and so simply stated, but then he nodded again, fiercely, immediately, his whispered "Yes!" emphatic and absolute.
"You might not understand this," she whispered, heat rising in her own face, "but I can't deny that I loved how it was that first time." He blushed scarlet but she continued. "I loved the wild urgency of you, the sudden feel of you so thick and hard and full inside me." She shuddered, her own eyes closing tight for a moment before they opened again and she was able to go on. "Slow or fast, hard or tender, I know I'm going to love making love with you in every way possible." He whimpered, as though she had revealed his deepest fears and wishes. "You want to go slower this time, but trust me, Vincent, it's not going to happen, not with you in this state," she said, blushing, her eyes glancing down to his fully aroused sex and the watery-thin liquid weeping from its tip. She felt his own blush increase by the wave of heat over their bond. "But it doesn't have to be that way." Her gaze held his own tenderly, firmly. "Please, Vincent, let me..."
The request trailed away, unfinished, but there was no way he didn't know what she was asking of him. The flush in his face had grown to the point where his skin tone had actually been affected, something that rarely happened with him, given the golden shade of his skin and the amber coating of hair upon it.
"Please," she repeated quietly, her eyes still holding his with a tender appeal. "I want to do it so much. I've wanted to for so long.
You want it, too, don't you? Tell me you do," she pleaded.
He groaned, and she could easily feel his emotions. He had dreamed and fantasized of this, no doubt, and each time been disgusted with what he thought must be a degradation of her. She could tell that even her position before him, upon her knees at his feet, made him intensely uncomfortable. At least that was something concrete she could address.
"You were like this in front of me a little while ago," she reminded him. Another surge of heat engulfed her. "You were worshipping me, weren't you?" she finished speculatively, in a whisper. He nodded hesitantly. "You know how that made me feel," she urged him. "You know the pleasure it gave me." Another pause and then he nodded again. "And I know it gave you pleasure, too." Another wave of heat. "It's all right, Vincent," she rushed on. "It's all right for you to take your own pleasure, too. You deserve it, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Please believe me!" His frantic gaze stilled on hers, caught by the fierce insistence of her own. She smiled, then continued with her line of reasoning, hoping he would see all of it. "I want what you want. I want to worship you, to give you pleasure, and gain my own in the giving." His eyes widened, as though she had pushed him up against the wall of his own logic. "Please let me," she finished softly.
"Oh, Catherine," he groaned, helpless in his surrender.
A surge of joy filled her at that sound, and she leaned forward to hug him tight, her arms slipping beneath his cloak and around his waist. Her cheek was pressed to the center of his abdomen, just below his breast, and the steely strength of his erection was trapped between their torsos. The soft curves and taut peaks of her breasts brushed against it and he moaned loudly, clutching her to him convulsively. She pressed fervent kisses along the concave hollow of his breastbone, her fingers gripping the muscled flesh of his back with a feverish intensity. His sex surged and throbbed between them and she groaned, rubbing her breasts more firmly against the steely strength of him. Slowly she began to sink down onto her haunches, tracing tender, wet kisses along the center line of his belly. He drew in a gasping, frantic breath, but she didn't stop, and he didn't try to impede her progress.
Finally she reached the prize, immediately pressing a warm kiss along the slick tip and taking the taste of him within her. He jolted beneath her, his muscles flexing massively, and groaned loudly, the sound turning to a rumbling growl, a plaintive, wordless plea within it. She leaned back a few inches to inspect him closely and sighed with delight. The broad tip throbbed, the crown jutting out around the thick stalk. The rim looked so enticing. She leaned in again and closed her lips around it at the underside of his shaft, sucking softly upon the tender skin there. He cried out and sucked in his breath, and for a moment the tempting taste and texture of him was gone. She retrieved it again almost immediately, though, leaning in to trap his pulsing erection between the rock-hard muscles of his belly and her questing lips. She kissed and nibbled her way down the straining shaft, nuzzling the sensitive area where it met the sac below, before sinking further down to lick and kiss that heavy weight all over. He was so warm here, his scent so musky and compelling. She had to have more, taking one velvet-encased sphere into her mouth to lave it with tongue, lips and teeth, then moving to repeat that caress on the other. He groaned and trembled beneath her, his breath coming in gasping, churning pants, the chamber filled with breathless moans and cries. Through their bond she could feel him beginning to spiral out of control, could feel it in the possessive hold of his hands upon her as she loved him and in the yearning, wordless cries for completion. There wasn't much time, and she was in no mood to tease him further, wanting to give him the release he so desperately craved. She kissed her way back up the stalk, but couldn't resist pausing for just a moment at the delicious rim once more, nipping and licking her way around it until it was wet and glistening. With a sigh of delight she contemplated the broad head before her, so round and firm and full, the tiny slit weeping delicately as his body prepared itself for her. Her tongue flicked out over the slit, gathering up delicious drops, and when he jerked in response and moaned, her hand moved to close around the shaft once more, holding him still for her tender ministrations. Leaning her head back, she let her tongue drift out provocatively, then guided the round head down to rub it along that velvety surface, watching him through narrowed slits of sea-foam green. He was breathless and stunned, gasping helplessly, watching her as though he couldn't believe such a thing was happening. Slowly, oh-so-slowly, she let her lips close about the tip, sucking the tender rounded flesh between her lips, holding them pursed about him in the most delicate and intimate of kisses. Held tight between her questing lips, her tongue flicked over the rounded surface, urging him on to the explosive rapture awaiting.
Vincent writhed frantically, snarling growls growing more feverish by the second as his trembling hands twisted in her hair then swept down to fervently trace her shoulders and upper back, before returning to cup her cheeks, a look of erotic adoration on his face that filled her with a joy too intense for words. Within her hand his erection surged and swelled, filling her fingers and palm with blazing heat. Her other hand joined the fray, sliding along his inner thigh with a soft caress until she cupped the heavy weight at the apex. The tension was felt here, as well, and she moved her fingers over him, matching the inexplicable building rhythm she felt from him, from this spot, and from their bond. He cried out fiercely at that touch, and she knew he was ready. Now, now... Sliding her lips over the jutting rim, she enclosed the broad head completely, her lips pressed tight beneath it, along the pulsing shaft. She could feel the throb of hot blood pound furiously through the vein running its length, could feel him tense all over, both with her body and their bond. Her tongue pressed itself flat to that throbbing line and she suckled deep and hard. He groaned hoarsely and arched up against her, the sound growing until it became a rushing roar and pulsing jets of hot seed gushed against the back of her throat. She took all of it, staring upward at his face while she guided him with her hands and mouth as his climax convulsed about him, engulfing him completely. His head was thrown back against the cushioned velvet, his mouth open wide in panting gasps, sharp incisors fully exposed. His chest, arms and abdomen flexed in a massive display of virile masculinity while sweat glistened along each line, darkening the various patches of amber, gold and wheat-colored hair to a deep, burnished copper. Along either side she could feel the powerful contractions of his thigh muscles. Heat radiated off his body in dizzying waves, especially from his center, where she loved him so completely now.
An endless time passed as he was held captive in that moment of bliss, and she wished that it would never end, the look on his face worth everything she had waited for in the months and years gone by. Finally the sounds tapered off to hoarse, moaning mewls of pure pleasure, the hot, salty stream slowed until only sporadic drops remained, and a shivery wave passed over his body, leaving his muscles abruptly relaxed. He collapsed into the chair and through their bond she felt a wonderful calm of blissful satisfaction, all tension now gone. She leaned back on her haunches, her palms moving to rest along his inner thighs, and stared at the recumbent form before her in awe. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She wouldn't have changed a thing about him if she could. Face, body, mind and spirit, he was perfection, and he was all hers.
For a long time she watched him, reluctant to wake him from the place he was, reluctant to lose such a marvelous, erotic sight. But it was cool in the tunnels, and even now the glistening sweat from his fur was drying, the darker color there lightening once more to an infinite number of golden shades. A huge yawn broke out and his arms reached upward while his torso twisted in a shivery stretch, muscles flexing and relaxing in a virile display that delighted her. She smiled, inordinately pleased with herself, then stood up and took his hands, tugging them lightly.
"Vincent," she whispered softly.
His eyes blinked hazily, then finally focused on her as she stood before him naked. He stared at her, a stunned, guarded look filling his eyes, as though he were seeing her for the first time. She smiled tenderly at that look, reassuring him through their bond that all was well. The wariness disappeared slowly, replaced with a bright light of astonished exultation. He pulled her down to his lap and hugged her hard, then cupped her face and tilted it upward for his kiss. His tongue searched hers out with a slow thoroughness that left her gasping. He tasted her everywhere, tasted himself upon her, and she tasted herself upon him as well, their scents intermingling in a heady wave that filled them both with a joy beyond description. When the kiss finally ended, he pulled back reluctantly, his eyes searching out hers.
"Catherine..." he whispered raggedly, the word trailing off with astonished disbelief.
She smiled and stroked lovingly along his cheek, whispering in turn, "Come to bed, my love."
He nodded shyly, and they stood up together and three steps later slid beneath the covers. She moved into his arms immediately, and after a slight pause his arms closed tight about her. She knew that hesitation had more to do with the state of disbelief which had not yet quite left him than with any doubts or fears which still remained, though she was sure that that was true as well. She snuggled closer. At the apex of his thighs, pressed lightly to her own, she felt his sex stir. A quiver of excitement shuddered through her. It seemed he might be amazing in this regard as well. She wondered if his recovery rate would always be so rapid, that thought making her heart suddenly pound faster.
"Catherine?" he whispered again, bemused.
She blushed, but smiled up at him. "I was just thinking about how amazing you are," she answered truthfully.
"It's you who are amazing," he corrected her, misreading her initial meaning in his innocence. "That you could feel for me as you do, that you could love someone like me..."
He sounded incredulous, and she shook her head, all teasing aside. "How could anyone not love you?"
He shook his head in turn, and she knew he thought her somehow bewitched, which no doubt was true. She was indeed bewitched, bewitched by him, by his gorgeous body, his sensual nature, his inherent goodness, wisdom and strength. She was bewitched by everything about him, and would have it no other way.
"It's true, Vincent," she urged. "Everyone who knows you loves you, the children below, the adults, tunnel-dwellers and helpers alike. You fear the world above, and perhaps with good cause, but they don't know you. If they did, how could they help but love you as I do?" she asked in all seriousness.
"Catherine..." he began, shaking his head again.
She hugged him hard. "No matter whether they do or not, I love you, Vincent. I'll always love you," she said in complete seriousness.
He stopped abruptly and stared into her eyes, mesmerized by what he saw there. She eased closer, then slipped a leg over his thigh. He hesitated for just a moment, then his hand slid down to cup her bottom and draw her in tight, his thigh pressing upward to rest warmly against the creamy heat waiting. The look on his face told her he hadn't expected that, and his words confirmed it an instant later.
"You're still..." He stopped and a wave of heat passed over their bond, indicating the flush so difficult to discern in his face.
"Yes," she whispered. "Whenever I'm with you... or near you... or thinking of you," she added.
He continued to stare into her face, amazement now superseding surprise. That he found it so hard to believe she felt this for him had always been dismaying to her, but the realization obviously sweeping over him now was thrilling, pushing those thoughts away and relegating them to the past. A low growl rumbled through his chest and he buried his face against the curve of her shoulder abruptly, overwhelmed.
"Catherine," he whispered hoarsely, "You don't know how I've wanted you, how I've needed you."
"I know, my love," she murmured soothingly, rubbing his back. "I know."
He shook his head, golden strands of hair tickling her throat and breasts. "I love you so much, and for so long I thought these desires were a corruption of that love. I hated myself for those thoughts, for those feelings, but they wouldn't go away, they plagued me night and day."
"I know," she repeated. "I could tell how frightened you were of those emotions." She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how he would take her next words. "I tried so hard to suppress my own because I knew you'd feel them over the bond, and I was afraid you'd distance yourself from me even more, or send me away in search of another, like you did in our first year together."
He grew still in her arms, then pulled back just a few inches to stare into her eyes again.
"I tried to do that many times," he admitted, another surge of heat filling them both. "I thought I should, but I couldn't," he finished huskily. "I needed you too much, and..." He stopped, his shame now apparent as his eyes slid away from hers.
She cupped his chin and determinedly turned his gaze back to her own. "And what?"
His face turned pale and the heat in their bond dissipated in a rush, leaving her shivering and cold.
"The thought of you with another was too much for me to bear. The thought of someone else holding you, touching you, loving you..." His words grew quieter though each one quivered with a growing intensity. "I wouldn't let myself have you, but neither could I give you to anyone else." He shuddered, and an intense surge of shame swept over her from their bond. "Oh, Catherine, I'm so sorry! You offered me the love I'd always craved but never thought to have, and I pushed you away." His voice was incredulous in its dismay.
She drew him down to her again and held him tight. "Shhh, it's all right, everything's all right now," she crooned lowly. "I love you and I'm here for you. I will never stop loving you, Vincent, and I'll want your love always!"
The rocking of her body against his was both soothing and erotic, and his body responded quickly. She shifted a bit to let the growing length of his erection swing upward, then pressed close once more, rubbing the silky hard flesh with the undulating muscles of her belly. He moaned softly and she smiled, her arms tightening around him.
"You know that I'm yours, don't you?" she whispered. He moaned again, his head shaking against the curve of her shoulder. "Yes, I am," she insisted. "You can hold me whenever you like. You can touch me and love me to your heart's content." His groan was louder this time. "Believe me, Vincent, I won't be dismayed by your desires, or afraid or disgusted. I want you as badly as you want me. I want to hold you and touch you and love you all the time. Sometimes," he said, her voice sinking lower, "when we were alone together, on my balcony or in your chamber or our music chamber, I found it almost impossible not to put my hands on you. So many times I wanted to slip my hands beneath your cloak, to touch you, to love you." She drew in a shuddering breath at the exact moment he did. "I've wanted you for so long," she said, the desperate intensity of her statement making it impossible to dismiss. "I want you now," she finished quietly, pushing him away from her shoulder to seek out his gaze with her own. "You can feel it, I know you can, both through my body and through our bond. I'm done hiding this from you, Vincent."
He exhaled a gusting breath, a moan escaping with it. His hand slid up to cup her cheek as he stared into her eyes, searching their green depths with the deepening blue of his own. Finally he nodded.
"I don't want you to hide it from me, not anymore. These feelings from you..." He looked stunned at the thought of them. "They're overwhelming. They frighten me," he added in a whisper, "and yet I only crave them more with each glimpse you give me." The hazy look cleared a bit as he focused more intently upon her face. "Watching you respond to my touch, watching your face as you touch me..." He swallowed hard. "It's indescribable, Catherine," he murmured brokenly. "The pleasure I see in you, the pleasure I feel..." He swallowed again. "Will it always be this way between us?" he asked, obviously stunned by such a thought.
"Always," she whispered fervently. "I promise, my love."
She held his gaze while her hand sought out his, then guided it between their bodies. He drew in a gasping breath, and the muscles of his belly flexed hard, concave and taut. She trailed her fingers and his over his surging erection and he moaned softly, but she didn't stop there, urging his hand further down until it nestled between her thighs, amidst the creamy heat waiting. He whimpered, and though the sound had an element of distress, she felt his fingers begin to move, lightly stroking the silken, honey-covered flesh. She drew in a deep sigh of pleasure. He had avoided touching her there with his hands until now, and she knew it was because he feared the effect his nails might have on her tender flesh. Maybe he was finally beginning to see his way past that. It would take a while, but she was sure that eventually he would, imagining the pleasures awaiting them once all the barriers finally crumbled. She whimpered, too, stunned by the sheer magnitude of that thought.
At that moment his hand stroked lightly over the hooded button at the apex of her sex and she shuddered, a keening moan escaping, all other thoughts flying, nothing more than wisps of air. He shuddered as well, her emotions communicated to him in an instant, then growled and turned, his weight bearing her down to her back, without ever removing his hand from the warmth between her thighs. He buried his face against her throat and nuzzled, licked and nipped along that curved length, his caresses growing deeper and surer upon her. Suddenly his hand left her and she moaned with frustration. The sound changed a moment later, though, when his fingers began to massage the slick ambrosia upon the taut peak of her breast. Over and over again his hand shifted between her thighs and her breast, and finally, when his hand had retreated to the dark nest below once more, he dipped down and captured the taut, rosy, glistening nipple in his lips, suckling upon her as though he would never stop, hoarse moans and growling groans filling his chest and throat to rumble and vibrate across his lips and unto her breast. The sounds sank deep within until she could feel them echoing in her heart, feel it pulse to a new rhythm controlled by his desires. She was his. She exulted in it, arching her back and spreading her legs open wide to give him full access to her body. He acknowledged that submission with a primal growl, nipping her breast even as a finger slid tentatively into the creamy depths. He stroked her silky sheath gently, probing carefully, then finally pulled away with a whimper, his body moving to cover her heavily, completely.
"Now, Catherine, I need you now," he gasped, breathless.
"Yes," she whimpered raggedly, "oh please, now!"
He drew up on his knees, but kept his weight lightly upon her, unwilling to lose the touch of her flesh against his own. Her legs slid up his powerful thighs and along slender hips until they locked tight about his waist. He growled fiercely, and the sound might have appeared menacing to another, but Catherine shuddered in ecstatic anticipation. She reached between them and wrapped her hand around his throbbing shaft, and the sound of his growls shifted, a keening wail escaping momentarily to echo off the rocks about them. Guiding him to the silky sheath at her center, she positioned him and held him tight, feeling the surge of hot blood throb through his length, and the swelling response which resulted. His flesh surged strongly, thickening and lengthening in her hand, while amazingly growing harder still. She hadn't thought it was possible. The pressure increased with his rumbling growl, and slowly, carefully, he began to enter her as she watched, mesmerized by the sight.
"Catherine," he whispered hoarsely.
Her gaze jerked upward to his and was locked there, held by the heated light burning in his eyes. The moment, so intimate and vulnerable and erotic, was caught forever in that shared gaze, and they continued to fall into each other's eyes as the swollen head of his sex tenderly impaled her silky sheath. Quivering muscles convulsed in shattering, random bursts, contracting tightly over his pulsing flesh, only to ultimately give way to his primal, commanding presence within her. Slowly, oh so slowly, he filled her, as though to mark this moment in dramatic contrast to that other time, dragging out every nuance of sensation until the very fibers of their beings were aware of what was happening between them.
"Oh, Vincent," she moaned softly.
"Tell me," he insisted roughly, his eyes never leaving hers as he sank deeper within her hot, welcoming sheath.
She gasped, a sob caught in her throat as she felt him delve deeper within her, felt her womanly depths plumbed by the fierce thickness of his virile sex.
"Oh, god, please, don't stop!" she cried out sharply. "I need you inside me, all of you. Please, please," she moaned in a mewling whimper, the words trailing off as a keening cry shuddered through her moist, parted lips.
The rumbling growl in his throat spiraled upward, growing louder and rougher, until they both shook with the force of it. "Yes," he muttered hoarsely, "you're mine, Catherine, mine!"
They both groaned loudly as the blunt, round head of his sex finally reached her cervix. He writhed his hips in a slow, circular, grinding movement, pressing himself tight to her, but there was no place left to go. The luscious thatch of golden hair at his groin meshed intimately with her own brown curls, and lifting her legs higher about his back, she felt the heavy weight of his lightly-furred sac settle warmly against the curve of her bottom. His eyes met hers and he stared at her in open-mouthed astonishment. The feeling of being so deep inside her, the tightness of her velvet flesh holding him, it was unbelievable. Tears welled up and dripped down suddenly-darkened lashes, to fall heatedly upon her cheeks below.
"My love," she whispered soothingly, her tongue flicking out to catch a salty drop that splashed upon her upper lip.
His gaze dropped to those luscious curves, and with a shuddering groan he sank down and kissed her deeply, passionately, all his love and longing finally released.
"My love, my love," he whispered in turn, his voice aching and hoarse as the words rumbled against her lips. In the midst of that all-encompassing kiss, his hips jerked sporadically, unconsciously against hers. The throbbing length of his erection slipped out an inch and with frantic haste he thrust down again, desperate to be enfolded completely by her once more. The strength of his body jolted hers, the tender flesh of her core shuddering and convulsing suddenly with the abrupt movement of his swelling sex within her. They both groaned, their eyes fluttering heavily as their bond began to weave a sensual web around them, drawing them together, close and tight. Finally their eyes opened once more, though now they were heavy-lidded and hazy with erotic furor.
"Again," she whispered, her tongue peeking out to lick sensually over the spot where she had gathered his tears a moment ago.
He growled but his eyes never left her face as slowly he withdrew his body from her silky sheath. When the chill tunnel air raised prickling sensations along his lower shaft, he groaned and thrust forward, filling her with a deliberate firmness that made her eyes roll back in her head.
"Oh, god," she murmured brokenly.
His growls increased, the primal side of him responding instinctively to her whimpering cries of need.
Her eyes closed and her mouth fell open, but no sound emerged, though he could read the motion of her lips, forming the word 'again' once more. He responded immediately, pulling back and then stroking forward to penetrate her tender core completely, filling her with the heft and weight and length of his pulsing sex.
Her own tears spilled out as she was overcome by the growing sensations of their bodies and their bond. With a wordless cry she urged him on. His thrusts were complete now, long and full, leaving her until she was almost empty, then returning with a force and strength which jolted the air from her lungs. Slowly at first, then faster and faster he stroked into her, his flesh impaling hers over and over again. He was beyond speech now, snarling growls and rasping, panting breaths gusting against her face and neck as he nipped at her lips and throat in an erotic frenzy. Her body shook beneath him, and he trembled within her, his muscles flexing in a massive display that drew her fingers along furrows and grooves both deep and hard. Too much, it was too much. The sensations tightened and spiraled upward until they escaped the bounds of earthly force. An explosive heat encompassed them both and her cries escalated to a wailing, keening pitch, her nails digging fiercely into the steely strength of his back. Around his throbbing erection her sheath clenched and convulsed, the sudden force milking his shaft with a heat and strength that was irresistible. His motions increased with piston-like speed and strength, and then he was arching against her, pressing his sex deep and hard to the very entrance of her womb. Explosive contractions wracked his body and salty seed poured from him in a potent flow of gushing spasms. His own growls wrapped around hers, until a roar of exultant triumph split the night, thundering about them and lifting them higher yet on the cresting wave of their release. With a final savage thrust he claimed her completely, holding himself tight and deep within her. She felt the mouth of her cervix shudder and quiver, felt it gaping open to take his life-force in, her body demanding everything from him, unwilling to accept anything less. They pressed tautly together for some time unknown, until suddenly their bodies were released and they collapsed to the mattress together, already sinking into the dark well of their bond.
Vincent was lost to the overwhelming power of their lovemaking, completely undone by it, but Catherine forced herself to stay awake for just a little while longer, desperate to absorb a few more moments of conscious bliss with her new-found lover. Their bond held them close and secure. It swirled around them, pictures from the past, visions of the future. Catherine sank into those images with an easy surrender, accepting everything, as she had always longed to do. There would be no going back now, not after all they'd shared, all the vulnerability given, the protection and love returned. They belonged to each other, and she knew that they would be together, that though she might be a woman of both worlds, his world was now her own as well, that this was the world they would share, that his joys and sorrows would be hers, and hers his, their journey traveled down one path as they sought their happy life together. She knew now, forever and always, that they would never, ever be apart, and this time there was no sadness in that thought, but only a wonderful excitement of pleasures to come, humbled by a gratefulness that their bond had brought them through so much to reach this point, safe, secure and together. She would love him always, and he would love her, of that she had no doubt. The thought of children crept into her mind, and she smiled dreamily, stroking his hair as he slept. She let that image ease her into sleep beside the man she loved. No, their bond and their dreams were not through with them, and in her drowsy slumber the visions came, new ones joining those just born, stretching out through their years together with a happiness that defied description. Their bond sang with the wondrous possibilities waiting, and in his sleep, Vincent sighed with pleasure and turned to cuddle her closer. Now and forever, they dreamed their dreams together...
And they lived happily ever after.
