Morning came..but it was difficult to tell morning from night Below. At least, it was for Catherine. Vincent, who had lived by the rhythm of these tunnels all his life, had no problem with it. Catherine stretched and yawned, snuggling into the warm, soft linen shirt that covered his chest.
"Good morning, Catherine." he said softly, kissing the top of her head. The previous night had been one of the most wonderful of his life and he was amazed to wake up and find her still by his side.
"Good morning, Vincent." she replied softly, nuzzling him which caused him to throw his head back and stifle a groan.
"If you keep doing that.."he said through gritted teeth.
"Then what?" Catherine replied playfully. "You're gonna spank me for being a bad girl?" Vincent shook his head.
"I just might."
He pulled her to him and held her, her head tucked under his chin. "Was last night as wonderful for you as it was for me, Catherine?" he asked thoughtfully, gazing wistfully somewhere into the distance.
"Of course it was, Vincent. It was..amazing. There are no words to describe.."she trailed off, one hand running down his chest to settle at his waist. "I would do it again..a thousand times."
Vincent chuckled. "It did feel like a thousand times."
Catherine looked up at him in mock horror and swatted at his chest.
There was a knock on the arched entrance to his chamber. and Vincent half sat up, pulling up the blanket that covered them to protect Catherine's modesty.
"Vincent?" a voice called out from the shadowy depths of the tunnel just beyond. It was Mouse, arguably one of Vincent's best and oldest friends.
"What is it, Mouse?" he called back curiously, wondering what the young man wanted.
"Can I come in? Need to talk." Mouse replied, inching forward but not quite coming through the doorway.
"Not just now, Mouse. I need..some privacy." Vincent told him. He could hear Mouse muttering to himself about always needing privacy, always being alone. "Ok good. Ok fine." Mouse finally spoke up and Vincent could hear his footsteps retreating.
"Now..where were we?" he asked Catherine, who was smiling up at him. "Ah yes..I remember. Just here." he said, cradling her face in his hands as he kissed her.
There was another knock at the chamber's entrance a few minutes later and Vincent quietly muttered a curse. Why WAS it when he most wanted to be alone, everybody needed his attention? With a sigh, he called out. "Yes?"
"Vincent..sorry. Mouse said you wanted to be alone, but breakfast is ready. And Barnabas and some of the guys on the team working on expanding the east side tunnels need your advice on something. The number of chambers to be built for personal use, I think." Kipper replied. Vincent shook his head. It was always SOMETHING.
Catherine glanced at her watch. "I need to be going anyway..I'll be late for work." she said with a sigh of regret. She would have rather stayed here all day, making love to Vincent. "Duty calls."
Vincent nodded. "So it does."
