"I should never have taught you how to do that!" William laughed.
"But it's so much fun!" Kat retorted as she tossed the pizza dough into the air again and deftly caught it.
William shook his head. "I must admit that you're better at that than most people. Why, I once had Mouse in here helping and … well, let's just say that I didn't know pizza dough could stick to the ceiling like that!"
Kat laughed some more, glancing up to the ceiling as she did, just to see if the famed pizza was still there. It wasn't.
"What's Mouse's story anyway?" she asked.
William spread some sauce on his dough and started to sprinkle some cheese. "The story is that we don't really know the story. Vincent found Mouse down here, lurking in Tunnels that were uninhabited." He laughed. "Stuff would go missing, other things would be moved to different spots than they'd been placed. If my great-grandma'd been here, she would've said it was the fair folk."
Kat smiled, imagining a puzzled expression on Vincent's face as he noticed his novel was no longer on the table, but was now on the bed.
"Vincent finally caught the boy. He didn't know how to speak – we're not sure if he'd ever been taught – so Vincent taught him. Took him under his wing, Vincent did. Taught him to read and write, taught him to bathe and dress. Even had to teach him right from wrong." William chuckled. "Sometimes we find ourselves still teaching him right from wrong. Mouse likes to create grey areas in order to get away with stuff."
Kat knew a lot about grey areas. She's been raised to keep herself pure for her husband and now she was having sex with a man who wasn't married to her. A man who was still grieving for his dead lover and might not ever marry her.
Where had that thought come from? Marriage? She'd been engaged only a few months back, before she'd been turned. She shouldn't be thinking about marriage to another man so quickly.
But she found herself envisioning a future with Vincent, here in the Tunnels. A future with his son and – dare she hope – other children.
A feeling of contentment washed over her as Katrina realized that she could be very happy here, if only she were allowed to stay.
"A penny for your thoughts, Katrina."
The deep rumbling voice came from the doorway and washed over Kat like a caress. Though the lust wasn't burning in her veins, she was instantly aroused. She turned to find Vincent smiling at her.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
Vincent tilted his head slightly, an acknowledgment that she'd avoided his question, but he didn't pursue it. "Why would you be in trouble?"
"Because I'm not doing laundry like Father instructed."
Vincent smiled again. It was true that Father had not been happy when he'd learned that the girl, as Father had begun to call her, had disobeyed. Mary, however, quickly diffused the situation by commenting that she was pleased Katrina had found an occupation better suited to her personality.
Father had grumbled something about the girl not being allowed to wander the Tunnels freely, but in the end had not ordered her to be reprimanded.
"Mary is pleased you were able to find something you liked."
It was Katrina's turn to tilt her head in acknowledgment that he'd deflected, but she didn't pursue it.
William cut in. "What brings you to the kitchen, Vincent?"
Embarrassment flooded into her through the Bond and she watched as Vincent's cheeks turned slightly darker. She doubted William noticed, though; Vincent's coloring and fur did wonders for masking emotion.
"I wondered if I might steal your new apprentice for a while. There are some things I would like to show her."
I'll bet there are, William thought with a smile. If the gossips were to be believed – and just about anyone Below with news about anyone else Below was a gossip – then Vincent and Katrina'd been having some passionate sex in his chambers. Instead of embarrassing them, however, William just nodded and shooed her to the doorway. "Of course, I won't know what to do with myself when she's gone, but I think I'll make do." He winked at Katrina. "Have fun, girl."
Katrina blushed, wondering if he'd meant that the way she thought he'd meant that.
For the first time in a very, very long time, Katrina'd been rendered speechless. The cavern that Vincent had led her to was huge, with an immense waterfall cascading into a pool the size of a small lake. The beauty made her breathe catch, but what made her incapable of speech was the blanket that had been laid out, with two candles creating a soft glow and lighting up plates of delectable finger foods.
Vincent, though he felt her pleasure through the Bond, still felt obligated to give her an out. "I thought that we might dine together and be together before the lust takes control." When Kat said nothing, Vincent pressed on nervously. "I thought it might help keep the lust at bay, but if you don't want to -"
"No!" Kat blurted, then shook her head. "I mean, yes, I do want to. Please don't take this away. This is the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me."
Vincent smiled at that and Kat blushed. She felt strangely awkward. They'd just agreed to make love, but without her body controlled by the full moon lust, Kat wasn't really sure how to start.
Fortunately, Vincent gestured to the blanket. "Shall we sit?"
Kat nodded and sat down. Vincent shrugged out of his cloak, setting it on a nearby rock, and sat down next to her.
She tentatively reached for a strawberry, not certain if she should say anything. Vincent reached for a cracker with meat and cheese piled on top, but he didn't break the silence. Kat tried to feel what he was feeling through the Bond, but all she felt was a strange mix of contentment and nervousness. Was he as nervous as she?
Vincent picked up a strawberry and held it in front of Kat's lips. She bit it in half and watched as he finished it. Green eyes met blue and she could see the desire in his eyes. And something else. Hope? She realized that this would be the first time either of them had made love. After all, he'd confessed to being under the madness when with Catherine, and every time he and Kat had sex, it was controlled by the lust.
He leaned down and Kat pressed her lips to his. The kiss was hesitant, at first, and then they slowly opened their mouths to discover the taste of the other. His tongue plunged inside, tasting the strawberry as well as something else that tasted like sunshine and light and was distinctly Katrina. Her tongue danced with his, tasting strawberry and something else wild and fierce. Her tongue darted across his large canines, and Kat knew that she should be afraid of his strength, but she wasn't. He leaned her back, until Kat was lying on the blanket and Vincent was on top of her. He hesitated a moment and leaned over to blow out the two candles.
"Afraid we'll start a fire?" Kat's voice was husky to her own ears.
"We've already started one." Vincent pressed his groin into the area between her legs and Kat felt his arousal.
They were wearing far too many clothes, but when she moved to take off her shirt, Vincent's hands covered hers. "Please, allow me."
Her vest was tugged off and her sweatshirt quickly followed. There was a thin shirt still left, which left nothing to the imagination, and Vincent stopped for a moment to stare. Her nipples peaked under his gaze, warm as a caress, and she wiggled beneath him, itching for him to do something.
He didn't disappoint. His rough, furred hands came up to cup and knead her breasts, the balls of his clawed fingers he used to brush across her straining nipples. Kat gasped and arched into his hands, begging him to keep touching her. He pulled the shirt over her head, baring her breasts to him. His gaze traveled across the bare half of her body greedily, drinking in her full breasts, her flat stomach, her neck and the area where her neck met her shoulders. He kissed her there for a moment, licking her skin, and then moved lower, kissing and licking until her reached her breasts and began sucking and nipping at them.
Kat's hands flew to his hair. She'd been clenching the blanket, but gave up that hold for the silky mane. She tangled her hands in his hair, pulling him closer, begging him to suckle her like a baby would.
"Oh my -" Kat would've liked to say more, wished she could encourage him with words, but instead could only moan her satisfaction. He left her breasts briefly to pull his own vest and shirt off, then he returned to his licking. He gently nipped at her breasts, conscious of his fangs but even more aware of Kat's increased moans. He accessed the Bond and felt only pleasure from her. No fear, no worries about his teeth marring her perfect body, only pleasure and a desire for him to continue.
Kat moved her hands to Vincent's back, stroking the soft fur in the same rhythm as his tongue lavishing her skin. His mouth moved lower, dipping into her bellybutton and causing Kat to laugh as his fur tickled the tender skin of her lower belly.
He moved down her body, straightening only to unbutton her patched-up jeans and pull them off her body. Vincent hesitated. He wanted to lick the area between her legs so badly, wanted to taste her arousal, but he didn't want to scare her. Perhaps he could just smell her and then focus his attentions elsewhere. He leaned toward her most private place and breathed in deep. Oh, she smelled of heaven!
"Please," Kat pleaded.
Vincent looked up, meeting her eyes. What was she asking for? Surely she wasn't asking for what he most wanted to do, was she?
"It's okay," she said. "I want you to."
Still hesitant, Vincent leaned forward again and gave her folds a tiny lick.
Katrina reaction was immediate and positive. She moaned and thrust her hips toward him. "More, please," she begged.
He felt nothing but pleasure pulsing through the Bond, so Vincent continued. Oh, he loved tasting her! She tasted like everything good and pure in the world and he wanted to go on licking her, but he felt that she was too close to climaxing. He wanted to be inside her when she exploded with pleasure.
Vincent was pretty close to exploding himself. His manhood was straining against his jeans, so painful he thought he might die. He pulled away from her for just a moment to yank off his jeans.
Kat's creamy skin was flushed with pleasure as he watched her watching him. She looked so at home, sprawled out on the blanket, her hair fanned out around her shoulders, waiting for her lover to come back to her arms.
Her lover? Oh, hell, she'd been thinking of him as a lover and a potential husband for the past hour. Why stop now, in the throes of passion?
Vincent covered her with his body and entered her slowly, allowing her tight sheath time to accommodate him. He paused when he'd entered her completely.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
Kat blinked. "How can you even ask that? I feel how good you feel. Can't you feel my pleasure?" She put her hand on his cheek and forced him to look into her eyes. She rubbed her nose against his and nuzzled his cheek. "This is how it's supposed to be, isn't it?"
"I believe so," Vincent said, pulling away ever so slightly and then thrusting back. "I feel complete."
"At home," Kat supplied, meeting his next slow thrust with her hips.
"Yes, as if right now, the world is as it should be."
Kat smiled coyly, wrapping her legs around his hips. "It is."
The thrusts were slow and the kisses tender. Kat felt like they made love for hours. As the pleasure built, Vincent's thrusts quickened, only to slow down before they climaxed. He did this two or three times before Kat begged for release.
Vincent sped up his thrusts, feeling the pleasure building in Kat until finally he brought her to heaven. Kat yelled his name as Vincent roared, emptying his seed into her and then collapsing on top of his lover.
When his breathing returned to normal and Vincent was finally able to create actual thoughts, he moved to get off of Kat.
"No, don't," she moaned. "I like how you feel inside me."
"I'm crushing you," Vincent protested, not wanting to admit that he liked being inside her.
"Doesn't matter," Kat mumbled, licking his cheek in a very animalistic form of showing affection.
Vincent gathered Kat close to his body and then rolled them over. She sprawled on his chest, clenching her muscles around him as if to make sure he was still inside.
His breathing hitched and he reached to cup her bottom. "If you keep doing that," he mumbled huskily, "I won't be held responsible for my actions."
Kat yawned, running her fingers through the fur on his chest, making invisible patterns that only she could see. "I like it when you're not so responsible. It feels good here," she placed her hand over his heart. She yawned again. "Maybe just a tiny nap, then we can do it again?"