UNDENIABLE
Authors Note:
Hey all, it's been quite a while since I've written a one shot but my excuse is that I have been working on my vincat inspired debut novel, Fractured. See my profile pic for the poster. I'm thrilled that it's going to be released this November! If you aren't already following my blog, then please do so because that's where all the news of things will be released.! Simply go to my Wordpress page and you'll be able to see the progress. If you are following me, then I hope that you will help spread the exciting news to your contacts and help me promote the book. In fact, I'm going to ask all of you to share and retweet and recommend and do anything you can to get the word out. All my contact links are listed above in my profile and you can also use zelly309 to find me on Twitter and Instagram.
You know I still love reviews. In fact I've missed hearing from you here on this site, so I hope you'll drop me a line and say hi along with your review.
This story was inspired by my friend Kerry...who wanted to know what happened after "About Last Night". I knew immediately what I wanted to write! This is what I envision happened when they "faded to black" and if you know me, you know I hate when they do that. Grrrrr. So, I hope you like what I think our favourite couple did during the "Great Rooftop Reunion."
Looking forward to your reviews and thankyou Kerry!
-/-
He caught the look in her eye.
That glint, so long unseen, shining forth from her beautiful eyes. He saw it, felt it and his heart soared. His breath shuddered in his chest and it took all he had to turn and walk away, each step an excruciating twist to his battered heart.
But he knew now. He'd looked into that stunning face of hers and he knew.
And he knew what he would risk tonight.
He would risk it all.
-/-
She watched him walk away and he took her heart with him, a willing captive in his large rough hands. Her soul cried out his name with each step he took, his wide muscular shoulders smoothly encased in tuxedo black, his hands in his pockets as they usually were and she knew.
She knew what she'd lost. What she'd pushed away in her stubborn refusal to see with clarity.
What she'd fight to reclaim.
-/-
Timing was everything.
While she eliminated the wrong man from her life with the truth of her non existent feelings, reluctantly hurting him with care till his anger spewed in threatening gusts of spite; till she walked away from his vitriol - plans began circling faintly in her mind. And as she entered her home they became lucid; the moves she would need to make to open her true love's heart to her again, to rebuild what they had once had: a love all consuming, so deep and instinctive that it lived in every beat of her heart, every breath she took and every fibre of her being.
How blind she had been.
She sighed regretfully but determined she would never be so again.
-/-
He stood straight and tall as he watched over the cityscape spread out in front of him, the twinkling lights of many buildings sparkling in the dark night sky. He told himself that he would calmly wait, that she would come.
That she would not be with him.
The woman he loved, the one he knew so well - she would not deny the look she'd given him, the reemergence of her true self. She was brave and bold. She'd follow the hint he'd left her, the open door back to him. Or the open window in this case.
She'd come.
-/-
The gentle flutter of the sheer white curtain over the window drew her eye and stopped her heart. Everything within her held its breath for a moment as exquisite joy rushed through her body, elation and soul deep relief pouring thickly through her veins.
Of course.
Of course - she should have known he'd make this move. The veil had been lifted from her eyes tonight and she should have known he'd see it, take it. He was brave and bold, much braver than she. Her plans were for nothing - he'd understood her without a word spoken. Better than she understood herself at times.
Her hand shook as she left her small purse on the stand. And she smiled a gentle loving smile, looking upwards to the roof where he would be. Her brave, beautiful beast.
-/-
As the roof door opened, he turned slowly from his view of New York, hands still folded behind his back. Their eyes connected, hooked and held, never letting go as she walked to him, her green shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders against the cold.
Silently, she came to him, stopping mere inches away - every step echoing with renewed acceptance of undeniable love. Of inevitable fate. He watched her just as silently, this woman that he adored whose very existence gave him a reason to live. And he stepped closer, his heart thudding with need.
She looked up at him and he lost himself in the depths of her beautiful green gold eyes. Then, remembering, he drew out from his inner jacket pocket a long stemmed single red rose, as red as the blood he'd spill for her any time, for all time. He held it out to her and she laughed in delight, the sound husky and feminine. His mouth quirked a little, loving the sound, entranced with her smile.
There was so much that needed to be said, so much to explain then clear away, never to be spoken of again. But all he could say, in this moment of reconnection, was the one thing that reverberated through every single atom of his being.
"I love you, Catherine," he stated, his voice gravel rough with emotion, his eyes locked on hers.
"I love you, too," she replied softly and the truth of their words beat with stunning beauty in their relieved, yearning souls.
He leaned down slowly to place the gentlest of kisses on her soft sweet lips, pouring every ounce of love into the touch. It had been forever since he'd kissed her, touched her. In reality, it'd been just yesterday but in his mind, in his lonely heart, it had been an eternity.
But now... Now as she kissed him back, he was reborn - his heart and body filling with deep exultation and gratitude that she returned to him, that she loved him still.
Never again would he let anything come between them. He pulled his mouth away for just a moment, to look into her eyes again. Everything he felt - the intense appreciation of their bond, the joy of their reunion, all of the deep happiness surging through his veins, through his entire system - it was all reflected there in her eyes, her matching emotion further solidifying that unspoken, visceral and instinctive connection that throbbed like a lifeline between them.
And he lay his mouth back on hers, tasting her lips with smooth slow swipes of his own, leisurely, thoroughly. She kissed him with a deep slow-burning passion, sliding her arms up over his shoulders and sinking her fingers into his short silky dark hair, pressing her body closer to his.
His rough hands slid around her back, pulling her body ever closer, always closer. He could never have her close enough, endlessly hungry for her - a fact he'd accepted a long time ago and he kissed her with all the love burning in his heart. And as the heat started to build, he gentled his kisses, knowing he needed to say some things to her first; to explain. Then they wouldn't have to ever speak of these things again if she didn't want to.
Reluctantly he pulled his mouth away, laying one hand on her cheek and his forehead against hers briefly before he pulled back to meet her eyes. He wanted to be looking into her eyes as he apologised.
"Catherine..." He sighed, voice gritty with emotion. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
She gazed at him with such gentle love, running her hand through his hair comfortingly. "Shhh, Vincent...let's not talk about it right now." But they needed to.
"No, please." He said earnestly. "Let's talk about it now and then put it aside for good. The next time I make love to you I want it to be with all slates cleared. Catherine, you deserve that. We deserve that, after everything we've been through. You should know everything." He gazed intently into her eyes, watching as her face registered a faint trepidation.
"What don't I know?" She asked hesitantly, a slight frown crossing her forehead.
"How much I hate myself for giving in to your father," he replied with complete honesty.
"What?" Catherine said, puzzled. "I don't understand."
With a sigh, Vincent leaned in, gave her a quick soft kiss before stepping back a little, edgy over his next words to her, knowing they needed to be said. "Thanksgiving dinner," he began reluctantly, watching Catherine's face carefully. "He threatened to turn you over to the Feds if I didn't walk out of your life. He'd turn you in, his own daughter - ruin you for covering for me. Just to get rid of me."
Her face fell, eyes widening in shock.
"But...oh my God, but that...oh Vincent," she said in a shaky voice, her lips trembling. "I had no idea."
Vincent, seeing the distress, stepped in close again and grabbed both her hands, taking them up to his mouth and kissing each in turn; in comfort, in understanding.
"I know you didn't. And there was no way I could risk you being exposed that way." He'd move heaven and hell before letting that happen.
Catherine felt the pain of more betrayal from her father acutely. It shouldn't have surprised her that he'd be so cruel and evil but it did. How could he claim to care about her and then do this to her, threaten this? God, she had been such a fool, she admitted with self disgust.
Furious, she gritted out through clenched teeth: "And he stood there threatening this, while he was the one sending you on those kill missions?! While he blatantly lied to me and to you?! Manipulated you! While he ruined your life?" Her voice was rising with each successive word, her body trembling with livid pain and he hated to see her so traumatised. Her bastard father had done so much already to hurt her, hurt them and she didn't deserve a moment of it. He wished he had killed the asshole when he'd had the chance. But Catherine had asked him not to and he couldn't go against her.
He kissed her hands again, holding onto them tightly to anchor her flaying emotions, steadying her.
"It's part of why I let Tori make a pass at me. I couldn't find a way to make you walk away from me and I couldn't find the strength to do it myself. I'd just gotten my memory back and I ... I couldn't do it. But then I sensed you walking towards the woods and she made a pass at me and I...I realised I had the perfect situation. So I used it," he confessed, his hushed voice loaded with self recrimination.
She could see the deep, remorseful pain in his hazel eyes and she now knew how difficult that must have been for him to do. What she had seen as coldness at the time had actually been his method of self preservation - in times of great stress, Vincent shut off his emotions, locked them down stoically.
She knew that about him.
She should never have forgotten that about about him.
But she had.
Her heart twisted as she remembered that awful scene in the woods around her father's Montauk home. Desperately trying to stay on track, before the pain of their past overwhelmed her, she said; "You claimed it was beast pheromones..."
"Actually no, I didn't," he denied quietly. "Everyone assumed that was it and I didn't correct them. I let it go because... Because there was some kind of beast thing happening but not in the way you think." He was growing agitated, struggling to find the right words to explain the unexplainable.
Needing to move, he paced away a few steps, stuck his hands in his tuxedo pants and sighed heavily before turning back to face her as she waited patiently. "She...uhhhhhh...brought out the rage, the...aggression. It was like whenever I was around her, everything was amplified - the anger... the violence...the inhumanity..."
"The passion?" She couldn't help it - she had to ask and she braced herself for his answer, determined to withstand anything he revealed, no matter how painful. A shiver slid down her spine.
"God, no," Vincent immediately denied. She stood there looking so beautiful, so vulnerable as she asked a question he knew she'd hate to ask but the fortitude it took to ask it was simply incredible.
"She amplified the nothingness," he continued. "Even when I was with her...errr...being around her, with her, just made it all the more clinical, unemotional." He clumsily stumbled his way through the explanation, the cold awful truth of it.
"Look, I'm not proud of this but I admit I used her. Even for sex. I felt nothing for her, not even remotely and I took the rage I had against your father and pushed you away - I was so damn angry at everything that had been done to me." Their gazes were locked on each other, each revealing so much more with their eyes than with words. It had always been that way with them - their instinctive and unspoken communication on a level soul deep.
"But Catherine, that was because her beast influence took away my ability to think rationally - to feel human. All I felt was this constant haze of anger. I was on the verge of beasting out 24/7. And because you were gone, I couldn't see what was happening to me."
Catherine's eyes glistened with unshed tears. Understanding and anguish trembled in the air around them, thick with regret and sorrow. He hated to see the pain there in her beautiful green gold gaze but pushed himself to get this all out in the open and bury it, forevermore.
"She latched herself onto me because she thought I was her only hope," he said in his dry husky voice. "And because I didn't care - I didn't care about anything anymore, I let her. I used her to fool myself into thinking everything was normal. But it wasn't normal. I was hunting that damn gem and I used her for that too. I know now that if I hadn't been blinded by whatever beast thing she put on me, I would've been able to work out how to beat your father's threats. I would have told you about it and we would have worked it out, like we always do. But I wasn't myself."
One lone tear slipped down her smooth cheek and his hand clenched with the effort of holding back. He desperately wanted to touch her but wouldn't until he'd said it all.
"Look, I'm not making excuses by blaming Tori but it's the truth - she took away my humanity and I became everything I swore I'd never be. I didn't fight hard enough, didn't see clearly. And I'm so sorry for that, Catherine. For what I put you through." More sorry than he could ever express.
He fell silent, his confession leaving him exposed and raw and he stood there, letting her take the time she needed to absorb his comments, the ugly truth of his unworthy ass.
Catherine wiped away her tears with a trembling finger. This man that she loved so much - this extraordinary being - he floored her with his honest bravery in admitting his mistakes. But he wasn't alone in that - she was as guilty as he.
Taking a deep breath and blinking away the moisture hazing her sight, she asked; "Can I talk now?"
One corner of his mouth quirked ruefully at her implication that he'd rambled on. He hadn't but her words softened the heavy emotion of the moment a little.
"You weren't to blame for it all, Vincent. I didn't try hard enough to get through to you. I let my father influence me, let him tell me that you were bad, over and over. I let Gabe say the same and..."
Vincent growled at the mention of that name, a low mean rumble emanating from his chest before he was able to rein it in.
"And I let myself believe them," she admitted huskily. "But Vincent, I...I latched onto their words as excuses because you were slipping away. I could see it...feel it and I couldn't stop it. I didn't know how to stop it and my heart was breaking watching you... I saw your attraction to Tori and I couldn't...it hurt too much to..." Her voice caught on the remembered pain, her breath stalling in her chest.
"No...Catherine..." He stepped closer, his raspy voice gritting out in promise. "No, I wasn't attracted to her. Not in that way. Not like with you. Never." His eyes bore into hers, the fierce sincerity burning hotly at her.
Her heart skipped a little. "Okay, but at the time, I saw it as an inevitable beast thing that I couldn't compete against and..."
"Compete against?!" He burst out in shock, raking his hand through his hair in agitation. "Jesus Christ, you didn't ..." Words failed him. How the hell could they have travelled so far off track?
"You were slipping away and I didn't fight for you. I could see the pain you felt over my father and I felt so guilty. This was my father. And with my mom's involvement..." Her voice shook and she clutched her shawl tighter around herself, not just against the cold evening air but against the bitterness of her parent's perfidy.
"Cat, no..." His heart turned over. Her eyes were welling up again and that was it - he couldn't not touch her anymore. Reaching out, he pulled her against him and wrapped his hands around her waist, needing to comfort her.
And himself, truthfully. The harrowing mistaken beliefs that had pulled them in opposite directions...guided by cruel hands ...Christ Almighty. His arms tightened around her small frame, locking her safely in the cage of his embrace.
Hands clutching his lapels, she stared up at him, determined to say her piece. He deserved her complete honesty.
They deserved it.
"I felt so guilty over what my family had done to you," she told him, finally voicing that deeply buried emotion. For so long she'd been in denial over how she truly felt about her parents' wrongdoings - she'd told herself over and over that she wasn't responsible for their actions, which ironically was the truth. But it didn't negate the horrific guilt she felt by association. Even though she'd buried it as deep as she could, the twisted emotion had bubbled away under the surface, like toxic lava. That toxicity had poisoned her view, her rational intelligence and she too had turned into something she wasn't.
"That guilt was eating me up inside but I lived in denial of it," she confessed. "I thought I was being strong and level-headed but I wasn't. I should have seen what my father was trying to do, how both he and Gabe were trying to drive us apart." Her voice grew huskier, lips trembling as she admitted with heart wrenching remorse; "But I didn't and they succeeded because I was so afraid to watch you walk away from me."
Vincent's hands clenched against her back as her voice broke with the words, choked with the tears she held back. "I told myself it was better I was the one to walk away, even though you threatened to do it if I didn't," she continued. "But I was an idiot because nothing was better. You were gone and I didn't care anymore. So when Gabe began to...errrr..."
Knowing his anger would steady her, he didn't mind showing her his jealousy - not if it held back the gut wrenching pain he saw in her face and he hated that he couldn't take it away for her. So he growled again, a deep rumble that shook the air. "I don't wanna hear that asshole's name," he said and watched with silent relief as she latched onto that cue with a desperate grasp.
"I didn't want to hear Tori's," she retorted back in a stronger voice, quiet gratitude in her gaze - she knew what he'd done. "When he and I started...dating, I felt nothing. Except somewhere in the back of my mind, I... I hoped that you'd get angry, that it would somehow pull you back to me and away from Tori. But that failed too because you started telling me he was a good guy, that I deserved..."
"Oh God, no," he interrupted, greatly aggrieved by the colossal misunderstandings between them. "Dammit, Catherine. I only said that to try..."
"Vincent, I ..."
But he overrode her, letting go of her waist to cup her jaw, his rough thumbs smoothing over the softness of her flawless skin. "No, babe," he insisted. "Let me explain...I only said that to make you see how reasonable I was being, that I was getting my humanity back again. Tori was gone by then and I was coming back to myself and I wanted you to see that."
Their eyes held, the connection between them immeasurable, vital.
"I thought," he said with heavy irony, "if you could see I was returning, if you could see me, then you'd tell me Gabe couldn't be a good guy because he's...Gabe - a lying sanctimonious asshole. But it backfired."
Catherine's eyes popped wide and her brows lifted in complete surprise. "You're kidding." It wasn't really a question.
"Yeah, I know. I'm an idiot." He gave a sardonic half smile. Looking back at his reasoning at the time, he could kick himself.
"But you wouldn't have tried that if Tori was still alive, so I'm..."
"No, not true," he denied immediately. Exactly how many misunderstandings had they suffered under?
"...glad she's dead. What?" Startled, Catherine frowned, not certain she'd heard correctly. She'd been so focused on admitting that awful little detail that she'd spoken over him.
"It's not true," he repeated, clearly and earnestly, tucking a stray lock of her hair back behind her small ear. "I'd already broken things off with her by then. Whatever voodoo thing she had over me was getting weaker and I told her we were done. That's why she was in the dungeon - she was trying to impress me. But we were done and over before she died."
Even though he'd initially felt a small measure of guilt that Tori's ill-placed dependence on him had led to her death, he'd quickly gotten over that as the full ramifications of her beast influence had become clear. If it hadn't been for her...
But he refused to let himself go down that path.
"Are you serious?" Catherine asked, watching his face as her heart pounded, hardly daring to hope...
"As a heart attack," he vowed, his voice gravel rough and deeply sincere, his heart aching as he realised the significance of her question - only now seeing how she had mistakenly thought of herself as second choice. Dear God, how could she ever doubt that she was anything but his first and only choice?
The injustice of it all threatened to overwhelm him and he vowed he'd never let her doubt him ever again.
"Oh, Vincent," she breathed, eyes welling up again even as she smiled at him. It meant so much to her that he'd finished with Tori before she died. It threw a different light on so many things and she could finally rest her battered and bruised heart that had questioned his overtures in the wake of Tori's death.
Vincent pulled her in close against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her small body as she lay her cheek against his chest. He dropped a kiss on the crown of her head before nuzzling his face into her neck. With a sigh of release, he felt the weight of the heavy conversation lift and slowly dissipate into the cold air.
Catherine took in a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating blend of Vincent's cologne and his own personal scent; a rich woodsy aroma filled with the masculine undertones of musk and sandalwood - heady and gorgeous just like the man himself. For long, long minutes, they did nothing but hold each other close, content to enjoy the simple wonder of being in each other's arms again and grateful the worst of their distressing talk was done with. Both were feeling raw, stripped bare and the only comfort they wanted was each other.
As Vincent's arms surrounded her with pure male strength and a pervading sense of security spread warmly through her body, she realised she had one last confession to make and she muttered it against his jacket, not wanted to move from her spot. She might burrow there forever in fact.
"I'm just as bad as you because I used Gabe in lots of ways," she admitted.
But Vincent spoiled her comfy spot. He pulled his head back to look down at her and when she didn't look up, still burrowing, he lifted her chin with a gentle finger and she was forced to meet his dark frown.
"That's BS," he said adamantly, hazel eyes fierce. "He used you. He manipulated and lied to you just to score you. And you can accuse me of being bossy and possessive all you like, but you're not to see him again. You're mine. If he comes anywhere near you, I'll kill him. Understood?" By now, he was growling, edgy and earnest in his intent.
Normally Catherine would have said a word or two about this bossiness - purely to upkeep her independent strong woman vibe. But in this case, she didn't mind his possessiveness at all. In fact, it gave her a feel good tingle under her skin. She'd lost that vibe while seeing Gabe, becoming a Stepford Wife without the wife bit...spineless and simpering. She'd lost herself, she realised now. And her belly turned over sickeningly in remembrance.
Pushing that aside, she gave Vincent a small half smile and said; "Good thing I already ended it tonight."
"You did?" His eyes lit up victoriously and he grabbed her face, kissing her wildly, thoroughly. Of course she did, he thought. She was a woman of integrity - she'd known it had to be done, that it was inevitable. He was just damn thrilled she didn't have to go back to him for the break up talk. In celebration, he peppered kisses on each cheek, her nose and then another on her mouth before leaning back to grin at her. Her eyes twinkled at him, as bright and shiny as the stars in the dark midnight sky.
But after a moment, a shadow crossed over her face and she lifted her hand to cup his cheek, the twinkle dulling as she looked at him with solemn eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Vincent, for not fighting for you. For not seeing what was being done to you and turning to Gabe. Please forgive me?" she implored with devastating vulnerability.
Vincent lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, his lips warm against her cold skin, tacitly offering his complete and unwavering forgiveness. The same way he knew she'd offer hers. "And I'm sorry for not trusting you to know what your father had threatened, for not fighting Tori's beast influence harder." His deep voice rasped with sincerity.
Her eyes filled with soft love, a melting warmth that flooded the pretty green gold to overflowing. She turned her hand around within his grasp and - just as he had done - raised his hand to place a gentle kiss on his rough skinned knuckles - a silent returned promise.
"I can't believe how stupid we were," she said quietly with a small shake of her head.
"And I can't believe how stupid we are, staying up here in the cold so long when we could have been downstairs," he smirked playfully.
Catherine laughed and with a quick grin at him, she said "Let's go!" But as she turned away, she let go of his hand and he was having none of that.
"Wait..." He called, grabbing her hand back and she stopped, turned back to him with a raised brow. "I'm never letting you go again, you realise that?" He squeezed her fingers pointedly. "Never again."
Catherine smiled into his intense gaze. "I like the sound of that."
And hand in hand they walked through the rooftop door.
-/-
He didn't let go of her hand once...not while they took the stairs to her floor, one level below. Not while he unlocked the front door with her key as she carried her rose in her other hand. Not while he locked up behind them and led her down the corridor towards her bedroom, their steps thudding against the carpet runners overlaying the timber floorboards.
And not while he closed the bedroom door, feeling the warmth of her apartment seep back into his bones, his veins - this apartment that he knew so well - instilling a deep sense of homecoming.
He led her to the rug by her bed, then stood facing her while he once again raised their joined hands to his mouth, laying baby kisses along her small knuckles, his eyes sinking into the love that blazed so fiercely from her own.
Catherine's heart thudded in anticipation, the need that she felt for Vincent all consuming and never ending. Now that she'd released the chains of self deception, she wondered how she'd ever been able to deny herself the love of this amazing man. She watched as he reached out and took the rose from her hand, laying it down on the side table before his fingers delved into her hair, cupping her face with his palms, the scrape of their masculine roughness sending shivers of desire over her skin.
His kiss, when it came, was one of adoration, of reconnection - their lips sighing blissfully, rubbing gently with leisurely want, exploring each other's taste with the fascination and hunger of first time lovers. And as the heat began climbing, as Catherine pressed her body tighter to his, Vincent pulled back, keeping himself in check as he determined that this first time tonight would be slow and easy - that he would show her with his body and his words the endless depth of his love for her.
Meeting her confused gaze with a slight smile, his hands slid down her sides to her waist, turning her around, her back to his front and brushing the thick curled ponytail over to her other shoulder. Leaning down, he pressed a slow kiss to the smooth skin joining her neck and shoulder, his hands cupping her hips. She sighed, shivering in delicate delight at the touch of his mouth, stretching her neck languidly for more. He dragged his open mouth over her fragrant skin to her nape, his fingers searching for and finding the tab of her zipper, well hidden in the vivid green of her long elegant dress.
Lifting his head, he watched as he oh so slowly dragged the zipper down her spine, her beautiful flawless skin revealed inch by inch. Catherine peered over her shoulder at him, a secretive smile twisting her lips.
She held her breath, anticipating his reaction, knowing how much he loved her "little surprises" as he called them. And sure enough, as the zipper revealed that she wore no bra, his breathing hitched, a low rumble sounding at her back. She felt the slight shake of his hands as they came to her shoulders, resting them there for a moment before pushing her dress gradually to the sides until it slid smoothly down her body to the floor, puddling at her heeled feet.
She heard the deep snarl, saw the brief flash of gold in his eyes and every nerve ending in her body curled in female satisfaction. She loved how primal he became in his sexual need. It matched the desperate craving within her - the insanely aroused, deeply needy core of her that clawed and scratched and bit in a frenzy to be with him; mate with him; love him.
She stood there in front of him, a sea of green at her feet, long dark hair swept to one side, completely naked except for the tiny straps of an emerald green thong riding the top swells of her rounded, taut butt. A vision of sensual beauty that ripped through his body with a keening brutality.
His knees shook.
From her small silver shod feet, his enthralled eyes travelled up her long legs, lingering over the luscious flesh of her derrière framed so enticingly in green lace, working its way up her spine, to find the melting heat of her long lashed gaze peering over one silky shoulder. Hooking deep and refusing to let go, he shrugged his tuxedo jacket off and threw it with familiar accuracy onto the corner chair, followed by the black tie he smoothly pulled free. He hastily undid the top few buttons of his shirt before finally allowing himself to break eye contact and step up against her back, his hands returning to her tiny waist and mouth falling to her neck with heated passion.
Catherine let her head fall back onto Vincent's chest, moaning as her body stretched in pleasure against him. She laid her hands over the back of his, anchoring herself as deep desire curled and throbbed through her core; riding them as they slid from her waist, down her hips and over her taut belly, the roughness of his palms against her soft skin a delightful friction. He pulled her back tighter against his clothed body, tasting every inch of her nape before licking across to the other side of her neck, her circling hips pressing back into his throbbing erection.
His fingertips brushed along the edge of her tiny panties in a slow tease before he slid them up, up - her hands still riding his - till he cupped the undersides of her small full breasts, thumbs sliding silkily over her tightly budded nipples, circling and strumming the sensitive peaks. She moaned throatily, one hand reaching to clutch the back of his neck, pulling him in tighter, her other hand squeezing his fingers into her breast harder, demanding more and he strained to keep the slow pace, his heart thudding madly.
Catherine turned around suddenly and he steadied her as she did so, not wanting her to trip on the dress with her heels. Their mouths crashed together hungrily, devouring each other for long minutes as the heat of a biting passion scorched the air around them. Vincent's hands slid over her back until his palms clasped the rounded supple cheeks of her butt, kneading and caressing the lush curves and groaning lowly at how good she felt.
Arms wrapped tightly around his neck and fingers clutching his short hair, Catherine kissed him with devastating want; her tongue sliding against his with wet sensuality and wreaking havoc on his every sense.
Her naked body pressed wantonly against his, hard little nipples poking at his chest through his shirt, taunting him with their sweetness and dark impatience hissed through his nerves, the craving to feel her skin to skin imperative - as necessary as breathing. So, without breaking their kiss, he bent and picked her up with a hand under her knees, lifting her out of the green fabric to carry her to bed, a mere two steps away. With one knee on the edge, he lay her down, reluctantly pulling back from her mouth.
Straightening, he began unbuttoning his shirt, eyes glued to her as he stripped. The picture she made lying there - naked except for those tiny panties and silver heels - sent lust sparking like wildfire along every nerve and sinew he owned, his body shaking and burning.
Her eyes were drenched with desire, pupils so dilated there was nothing but a ring of green gold around the black and they scorched across every inch of him that he revealed. Shoes, socks and shirt were dispatched hurriedly, the rasp of his zipper loud as he stripped off his pants, leaving him in only a pair of tight black boxer briefs that did nothing to hide the thick length of his throbbing erection, the tip of him peeking over the top, he was so big.
Catherine's eyes darkened even further and she licked her lips. He felt the fire of her gaze as a physical touch, searing a trail over his "V" lines, his belly and chest; a visual caress.
"Honey... my heels..." She said in a throaty breathless voice, raising a dark eyebrow at him.
Flicking a brief glance at the pretty, strappy things gracing her delicate feet, he smiled lopsidedly. "Yeah...I'll take care of them...Later."
She smiled at him as he climbed onto the bed, using his powerful arms to hold himself off her while leaning in to take her mouth and kissing languorously, deeply, with stunning intimacy. Letting his body slowly sink down on top of hers, they both sighed in pleasure as their skin touched. He'd kept his boxers on for now as a measure of control, knowing he needed every bit of it tonight.
With agonising slowness, they explored each other's bodies, as if they had never loved before, delighting in discovering anew all the secret hollows and curves, the sensitive spots that brought moans of pleasure - the delicate undersides of her breasts, the hard muscles of his abs, his pecs; the scratch of her nails over his nipples sending shivery sensation down his spine; the softness of her inner thighs as he trailed his fingertips up her legs, skimming the ultra sensitive skin along her panty line and causing her breath to catch, her nails to dig into the small of his back.
Groaning, she thrust her hips into his and sunk her teeth into his bottom lip. Her pleasure was intoxicating and he could never get his fill - the need to make her quiver and shake in sexual heat an addiction he knew he'd never recover from beating thickly in his blood, his heart.
Needing air, he trailed his tongue down over her neck, climbing over the lush fullness of one breast and circling her beaded nipple, over and over, teasing, caressing. Catherine slid her leg over his hip, arching her body as sweet sensation rushed through her, belly tightening and coiling. She gasped loudly as he wrapped his mouth around her nipple, sucking hard, his hand giving her other breast equal attention, tweaking, pinching and rubbing, stoking the fire inside her relentlessly.
Her wandering hands slid down his spine and into his boxers, grasping and kneading the taut muscled cheeks, and his heart beat kicked up higher, skin afire from her touch. He switched his mouth to her other breast, biting down gently and she cried out, harsh twists of shuddering desire racking over them.
With every ounce of restraint he owned he kept the pace slow, pulling back teasingly when the heat burned too hot only to build it up again, driving their need to the point of pain. She was merciless in her assault on his control - pushing him to his back and climbing on top, silky thighs spread wide over his hips, thrusting her heated core into his aching groin. Her hard nipples scraped torturously against his heaving chest as she trailed hot kisses across his neck, his jaw before meeting his lips in a deep open kiss, tongues mating and exploring.
"Catherine..." He groaned, his voice like sandpaper. "Oh God..." His heartbeat threatened to smash through his chest as she began sliding down his body, running her pointed tongue over his abs, his hard belly, down towards the edge of his boxers and swiping a scorching lick across the head of his erection. With his whole body clenching in fierce, painful pleasure, he wrestled back some control by flipping her onto her back and kissing her wildly, his hips grinding her into the mattress, hitting her sweet spot and sending shudders through them both.
"Vincent...please..." She moaned breathlessly. But he ignored her begging for now, kissing his way back down over her breasts, down the centre of her torso, planting love bites over her quivering belly till he reached her panties and took them between his teeth. His eyes flicked up to her face, waiting until she looked down and met the burning gold in his hazel gaze, her own hotter than molten lava. Only then did he start to drag her panties off and she watched him with pounding anticipation.
Despite her heels, he somehow managed to drag the minuscule fabric down and off and as he tossed them over his shoulder, her body clenched in excitement. She was mesmerised with his sleek, graceful movements, the animal core of him so obvious - long, lean strength in the powerful muscle and sinew of his masculine lines. He was beautiful and her woman's body ached with want of him.
He took one ankle and raised it up high, silver heels glimmering in the low light as he placed a sweet baby kiss on her arch, then another on her ankle, then more and more, travelling up her smooth leg slowly as he whispered how much he loved her, adored her; his gravelly voice skating across her skin with tantalising roughness.
"I love you so much, Catherine... You're everything to me..."
"Mmmmmm," she moaned. "I love you too...ohhhh..." Her body was liquifying, blossoming; the scent of her arousal inflaming them both.
"I couldn't live without you," he said, kissing the smooth skin of her inner thigh and as his mouth skimmed towards her centre, he slid her knee over his shoulder.
The first touch of his hot tongue against her slick bare flesh sent moans of ecstasy rumbling through his body and she arched high and hard against his face, groaning loudly. Her hands dived into his hair, clutching madly as her body blazed in carnal heat. He adored how responsive she was, how vocal and as her other leg wrapped around his back, he feasted on her - his mouth devouring, tongue swirling and lapping at her folds, drinking up her exquisite taste, his thirst unquenchable. Flickering against her clit one moment, then laying out flat to lick at her like a lazy cat, he pushed her arousal higher and higher, watching her belly undulate as she climbed closer to the pinnacle, body burning and stretching as he teased her endlessly, not satisfied until he heard her begging.
"Vincent...honey, please...please." Breathless, quaking, hips thrusting against his mouth, she was almost incoherent with desire. Only then did he bring his fingers into play, sliding two thick digits into her wet and greedy flesh. Her fiery heat singed his skin and he couldn't wait to feel her slick walls swallowing his length as he entered her. But he needed her climax first - he hungered to see, once again, the woman he loved beyond all measure spasm and unfurl in agonising release.
Fingers thrusting slowly at first, tongue flickering and circling tighter and tighter around her clit, he pushed her higher, higher...watching for the signals her body gave when she was close - the hitched breath, the quivering belly, clenching hands. And when they came, he plunged his fingers harder, deeper and bit down gently on her engorged nub. She screamed, shuddering as she came hard, hips undulating wildly. Her slick flesh contracted around his fingers gloriously and he watched her face, masculine pride and satisfaction swelling in his soul as pure pleasure contorted her beautiful features.
He'd never tire of seeing that. Never.
Catherine's entire body flushed with intense release and she dragged in desperate breaths as Vincent began kissing his way up her body, giving her only a moment or two of reprieve before he hastily pushed his boxers down his hips, giving him enough room to line up against her nether lips; the wide wet tip of his hard flesh pushing and sliding, invading her welcoming core to the very hilt and holding briefly as searing pleasure scratched down his spine.
Careful to give her body time to adjust to his rather large size, he began a slow leisurely rhythm, kissing her languidly, lovingly, gradually picking up the pace as her body stretched and recovered. Soon, Catherine's hunger matched his, her need ferociously demanding as if she hadn't just climaxed mere minutes ago.
Sliding deeply into her, over and over, the wet friction sparking fire along trembling muscles, he held tightly to his control, letting the heat build and build until it was an inferno, burning him from the inside out.
As need coiled in her belly again, she felt the tension in his body, the intensity with which he held back, pushing her towards another release while withholding his own and she groaned. As much as she loved his unselfish lovemaking, she also loved to make him lose control, enthralled with him taking his pleasure within her body.
As his strokes lengthened, deepened, she ran her nails down his back, knowing how much he loved her scratching; the feline reaction calling to his primal nature and with a guttural groan, he thrust harder, faster.
"Vincent...please...I need you...more...oh GOD!" Her orgasm hit without warning and she cried out, her body clenching wildly around him, milking him mercilessly until he couldn't hold back any longer and he exploded with bone melting force, back snapping into an arch as he snarled and roared, the pleasure blinding.
Their bodies throbbed in endless release, her arms and legs quivering around him while he spilled his essence in great waves within her grasping wet flesh, a long moan ripping harshly from the depths of his being.
Collapsing shakily on top of her, they clung together, desperately dragging in much needed breath, their bodies slick with perspiration, steamy and swollen. It took awhile for him to gather enough brain cells to move off her even though she didn't really mind, loving his solid warm weight.
But with a great heaving sigh, he turned to his back and wrapped her up against his chest, where she belonged.
Drifting, deeply content, neither moved for long, long minutes. Not until their cooling skin demanded cover and with a hugely aggrieved sigh, Vincent briefly sat up, grabbed the throw blanket from the bottom of the bed and covered them with it, immediately returning to his previous position and wrapping his arms around her again, her cheek on his chest. Dropping a quick kiss on top of her head, he closed his eyes in bliss.
He knew the night was far from over - their love and passion was never satisfied with just one round and they'd turn to each other again and again in the night, Catherine's appetite as fierce and demanding as his. With a lazy inner smile, he remembered the rose and visions of how he'd tease her with it began to play in his mind.
Catherine traced her fingers lazily back and forth over Vincent's side, from ribs to hip and back again, her body awash with supreme satisfaction. Happiness surged in her heart, thrilling with the knowledge that her man, her beautiful beast, still loved her despite all their trials. Their love was even deeper now, forged and strengthened through their hard times, their heart aches, and now - even more than before - they were stronger together.
-/-
They were nearly asleep when she remembered.
"Honey?" She whispered quietly, reluctant to break the peaceful silence.
"Hmmm?" He muttered.
"My shoes are still on," she said ruefully. A beat of surprise then his chest rumbled with something resembling a cross between a laugh and a groan.
"I don't want to move, babe," he said without opening his eyes, too damn relaxed and lazy to move a muscle. He sensed her smile as she pressed her lips against his pec briefly before resettling, cuddling her naked body into his side, warm and smooth.
"I'll take care of them later," he mumbled.
And he did.
Eventually.