Chapter 5

The gang was all back together at JT's, Vincent and Catherine explained everything that Bob had told them. At first everyone was quiet lost in their own thoughts about what this might mean. Then leave it to JT… "So you're like Beast Catnip?" That broke the ice and they all laughed.

"More like a Beast Whisperer," chimes in Tess.

"Or maybe a Beast Wrangler, says Catherine laughing…

"Giddy up" deadpan's Vincent, eyebrows raised looking at Catherine.

Catherine blushed as everyone else laughed, tension broken.

"What exactly are we going to do?" Asked Tess, "And why Gabe? Why is he so invested in this, starting a relationship with you to get the gem, just to give it away, what's in this for him?

Catherine spoke up, "That is what we need to figure out. Do you think he wants to be a beast again? He seemed truly frightened when Sam was about to inject him."

All at once they all realized, Sam was still out there and still wanting to make beasts and they had no idea what for. JT in full panic mode says. "So we have Sam running around making new beasts from my serum, with no idea why and we have Gabe trying to get the gem so some ancient organization/black ops agency can control Vincent and experiment on Catherine. Have I left anything out?"

Tess placed her hand on JT's arm, "Nope I think you got everything covered. Don't freak out we will figure this out."

"I am thinking that this is the perfect time to freak out!"

Vincent interjected, "Look Sam is the biggest problem right now, so let's deal with him first. We know what Gabe is up to so just let it play out and we will deal with things as they come up. For now, I say we call it a night and figure out what to do about Sam in the morning."

Catherine and Vincent went to the houseboat. "I can protect you better here, it's smaller and less crowded so I can hear anyone coming."

"Vincent, you don't have to protect me, I can take care of myself"

I know you can, and it's not that you need to be protected as much as it is that I need to protect you." "Oh Vincent", Catherine sighed and moved into his arms.

Vincent pulled Catherine close and placed his hand on her face. "I couldn't handle it if anything happened to you. If what your Dad said is true, kidnapping you and experimenting on you is their plan and I cannot let that happen, Catherine, it would destroy me."

Catherine covered Vincent's hand with her own, her eyes shiny….. I know, because it almost destroyed me, I don't know how much longer I would have made it if we had not found you when we did. And then to see how much you had changed, to know what they must have done to you. It almost broke me Vincent; sometimes I am not sure that it didn't.

Vincent looked into Catherine's eyes, placed both hands on the side of her face. "You are the strongest person I know, you saved me, and you brought me back to myself. I owe you my life and I will spend the rest of it making sure that you never regret a single moment."

Vincent kissed Catherine, gently at first, and then as Catherine pressed herself against him the kiss took on a life of its own. Their tongues dueling as one tried to consume the other. Vincent picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her upstairs, Catherine kissing his neck and behind his ear.

As they got near the bed, he let Catherine go and she slid down his body, she could feel his erection, he was near to bursting. He could hear her heartbeat, she was panting and he knew once he got her out of her jeans, she would be wet and ready for him.

They looked at each other breathing heavy, Vincent smiled and Catherine's breath hitched. She placed her hands under his t-shirt and lifted it up; he let her take it over his head. She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his back, God she loved his back, the way the muscles bunched under her hands. She bit her lip as she unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his fly, his erection pushing against the fabric of his boxers. She hooked her fingers in his waistband and slid everything off. He stood there naked in front of her, like a God built for sex.

Now it was Vincent's turn and he was determined to take his time, even when he was desperate to bury himself to the hilt inside her. He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently, he turned her around and swept aside her hair and placed feather light kisses along her neck, Catherine shivered….She could feel Vincent smile against her skin. She let her head fall back as Vincent's hands came around and cupped her breasts through her shirt. He unbuttoned her shirt and kissed each shoulder as he exposed her to his mouth. He unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor. He cupped her breasts again as his thumbs caressed her nipples causing them to tighten and lengthen

Catherine was breathing heavily now and pressing back up against him. "Vincent please…" "Not so fast, I am going to take my time and savor this." Catherine turned around as she did she grasped him in her hand. "You can savor it later; I need you inside me NOW." Vincent lifted Catherine up and laid her down on the bed, pulling the rest of her clothing off at the same time. In seconds he was sheathed to the hilt and struggling to hold it together. Catherine smiled as she wrapped her legs around him. "That's what I am talking about, Giddy Up!" Catherine held on as Vincent gave her the ride of her life.

After, as they lay in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Catherine's head on Vincent's shoulder she sighed, "That was pleasant." Vincent chuckled, "Pleasant huh, well I guess I have my work cut out for me." Catherine stretched and laughed, "Well you did say you wanted to take your time…." Vincent rolled over and pressed her down into the bed. "Yes I seem to remember saying something like that."

Catherine fell asleep perfectly sated, spooned against Vincent, his breath in her ear, the perfect music to drift off to…..

The next morning, Catherine opened her eyes and moved her arm looking for Vincent, the smell of coffee reached her nose just a she realized he was not in bed. Catherine pulled on one of Vincent's t-shirts and his boxers and headed downstairs. The sight of Vincent standing at the kitchen sink pouring her a cup of coffee put butterflies in her stomach.

Vincent watched Catherine walk down the stairs, his chest hurt, she was so beautiful with her tousled morning hair and wearing his too big for her clothes. "Good Morning" he said as she took the coffee cup out of his hand. She smiled, "Good Morning" as she stood on her tip toes to give him a kiss.

Vincent cooked her breakfast while they talked about what to do next. "We need to find Sam before he finds another person from the orphanage." Catherine said.

"Maybe we can get Gabe to come up with a list of all the kids from the orphanage that will make it easy to keep an eye on him, while looking for Sam." Vincent suggested. "Between the 5 of us, we can track the ones here in NY, hopefully keep surveillance on them and catch Sam before he has a chance to inject anymore.

"Sounds like a plan, lets hit the shower and head over to JT's" Catherine turned to head for the stairs only to be swept up by Vincent. "I like the sound of that, let's hope my shower is big enough for two."

After, Catherine realized that she did not have any clean clothes at Vincent's. "I guess we did not really think this through last night," she said as she put on her clothes from yesterday. "We need to stop by my place on the way to JT's"

Vincent stopped in the middle of pulling his shirt over his head, "Yeah not much thinking going on last night. You also need to pack a bag; you're going to be here for awhile."

Catherine smiled, thinking of their shower this morning. "I like the sound of that!"