I don't own Beauty and the Beast.

Thank you for the feedback, you all. This is chap 17. :)

And thank you guys for the reviews!

Sorry you all, that I haven't been able to update my stories. Life happened. So sorry. :(

But here's a new chap! :)

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ONE WEEK LATER.

At the moment, Catherine was chatting with the others. JT and her father were discussing about politics, while Heather was busy with her phone, laughing loudly. Apparently one of her friends had posted a hilarious joke on her wall. Calinico was busy in the kitchen, while Catherine's eyes landed on Vincent's.

He had been watching her the whole time. But they hadn't had the chance to speak in private with each other since their phone conversation that afternoon, one week ago. Her cheeks immediately turned a shade of pink, making her avoid his gaze.

She let out a deep breath and her mind drifted off to their passionate kisses in the limo…

Vincent couldn't take it any longer; he desperately wanted… no needed to be alone with her. So Vincent decided to just go and 'kidnap' her, so he could have her all to himself. He got up and walked straight to Catherine. With a smile on his face, he stood in front of her. He cleared his throat, making her look up at him.

"Catherine, would you like to get some fresh air?" he asked, his eyes boring into hers. She swore that he probably saw right through her soul.

Catherine nodded and got up, letting him lead her outside.

"Prince, make sure you bring her home before the clock strikes 12!" Heather exclaimed, making the others chuckle while her dad shook his head.

()

Hand in hand, Catherine and Vincent walked down the path and they ended up in the garden. They both were silent, afraid that words were going to ruin the perfect evening. Her eyes landed on the double swing set, making Catherine laugh softly.

He turned to look at her." So… you wanna try it out?" he asked.

"Yes, I'd like that. But only if you will join me." she said, her heart beating so fast.

He smiled." That won't be necessary. I'll push the swing for you." Vincent said.

"No! Your knees, Vincent." she exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I… uhumm, I swallowed some painkillers this afternoon." He replied.

Catherine frowned and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Don't worry, I only use them when I really need them, Catherine." He promised, so she let him help her sit on the swing. Vincent stood behind her and began to push the swing with one hand, making Catherine smile widely.

"Heather and I used to go to the playground. My mom used to take us." She whispered.

Vincent heard the joy but also the pain in her voice. Her dad once told him that his loving wife died years ago. Vincent wanted to ask her about her mom, but he hesitated. He didn't want to hurt her by bringing up the past… her past. From his own experience, he knew that bringing up the past… talking about the past hurt a whole lot.

So, he just sighed and silently pushed the swing… Vincent hadn't come near the swing in a while now. Since Demetrios, he never came to this side of the garden. When his son was 1 year old, he asked his employees to install the double swing set. Vincent used to come here a lot, sitting on one of the swings with Demetrios on his lap. The little kid always enjoyed it, asking his father to go higher with the swing...

Suddenly Vincent felt a huge lump in his throat and the memory of his son caused a gut wrenching pain in his heart.

"Vincent…" Catherine began, reluctant to continue with her sentence.

"Yes?" he asked, his mind now focused on only her.

But because she hadn't continued, he walked around the swing and stood in front of her. She had her head down, studying her hands, so he tilted her head up. She then looked at him with her gorgeous, hazel eyes. Vincent saw that something was bothering her immensely.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice sounding very concerned.

She sighed and nervously played with a lock of hair.

"Well, I'd like to know something. It has been bothering me since I visited you at the hospital." She whispered, her fingers still moving around.

Vincent raised his eyebrow, wondering what it was that she wanted to ask.

"Okay, here goes... In the hospital, when I was in your room with Alexia… Why, uhumm… why did you call her name first? I mean ok, you and I hadn't talked yet about us… and you were out for quite some time and I know I don't have the right to…" she blurted out, but he cut her off.

"I woke up, my eyes slowly opening and the first thing I see was you sitting next to her and I knew… I just knew that she was trying to manipulate you in some way… I knew she was trying to keep you from me… So… the first thing I said was indeed her name, but you didn't stay to hear the rest of my sentence, Catherine. Instead, you ran. In that split second, I wished that I was able to run after you and stop you and tell you that I wanted you by my side. But I couldn't, cause I wasn't able to walk yet..." he explained.

A tear rolled down Catherine's cheek, so he wiped it away.

"What… uhum, was the whole sentence? What did you tell her?" she asked.

Vincent sighed."Alexia… Alexia, why don't you get the hell outta here. Leave Catherine alone!" he said.

Okay, that did it for Catherine. She began to laugh out loud, making Vincent join her too.

"You really said that?!" she asked, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

He chuckled and nodded."Oh, definitely! Do you know how long I have been waiting to say that to her?" he responded.

Catherine giggled and looked at her watch."Oops! Its almost midnight." She whispered.

"Aaaah… I have to bring you home before the clock strikes 12… says your baby sister, right?" he stated.

"Yup." Cat answered and nodded.

"Okay, then. Let's go get you home." He replied.

()

Again, they silently walked back to the mansion, still hand in hand. They arrived at her bedroom door, so Vincent grabbed her hand and kissed it softly.

"Good night, Catherine." He whispered, looking her deep in the eyes.

Vincent wanted nothing more than to kiss her lips instead of her hand, but after the fiasco in the limo, he didn't dare to. She had forgiven him for the way he acted earlier that week, he didn't wanna push it. He didn't want to pressure her to do anything, so he smiled at her and walked away.

The second, he kissed her hand, Catherine's stomach did the infamous flip flops. Her heart began to beat 80 miles an hour and she was almost afraid to breathe. But when he walked away from her, she decided to stop him.

"Vincent…" she whispered.

In that moment, he totally lost control over himself. He walked back towards her… it was then when she grabbed his hand and led him to her bedroom. She asked him to sit on her bed, so he did. All he wanted right now was to wrap her in his arms and never ever let go. His heart began to beat erratically, he almost wanted to run away. He hadn't been with a woman since he divorced Alexia… And that was years ago.

Vincent was nervous and afraid that he would do something wrong… Plus he didn't want her to do something she wasn't ready for.

He shook his head and got up from her bed."Catherine." He desperately said.

But she shook her head and placed a finger on his lips."Shhhh…relax, Vincent."

Catherine really didn't know what she was doing, all she knew was that she had fallen for him. And she wanted to be with him…

The look in her eyes made Vincent sit back on her bed. She sat next to him on the bed and gave him a peck on the lips and looked him deep in the eyes. Oh, that was it! In that second, he got so lost in her gorgeous, hazel eyes. He was so afraid that she would change her mind, making him hold his breath. She ran her fingers across his cheeks, making him shut his eyes instantly. The sensation of her fingers on his skin was almost too overwhelming. He shivered at her touch and leaned into her. The feeling of his lips brushing on hers, made her whole body tingle. His lips tasted sweetly, but she wanted… needed more. More of him! So she bit on his bottom lip, making him growl softly. She took that opportunity to slip her tongue inside his mouth.

"Mmmmmm." He murmured enjoying her warm body close to his. Vincent cupped her face with his large hands, while she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. As they deepened the kiss, her fingers traveled up to his dark locks. She also began tugging hard on his hair, making him moan softly from pain and total pleasure.

God! She was killing him. Was he doing it right?

But when she whimpered softly, while his hand landed under her shirt, caressing her soft skin, he knew that he was indeed doing it right. At one point, both their chests were heaving and their breaths ragged. But still she wanted… needed more. She helped him out of his shirt, making her eyes land on his gorgeous chest… and muscled stomach…

Her fingers trailed a path on his bare skin, making him shut his eyes tightly. But after her sweet torture, he was the one who needed more. More from her… So he grabbed her hand and crashed his lips onto hers again. She felt the passion and love in that kiss, making her heart swell gloriously.

Catherine was wearing a long skirt and a white blouse with spaghetti straps. Vincent lowered each side of the straps and kissed her shoulders one by one. His lips on her shoulders made her knees turn into jelly… it felt SO damn good!

The soft moans that escaped her lips, drove him crazy! But still he wanted to pleasure her more, so he kissed her jawline, then her chin and then he went for one of her most sensitive spots; her neck, kissing it softly…

Feeling his lips on her collar bone, made her sigh with content. Catherine then grabbed his face roughly and brought his lips back to hers. She needed him so bad… Their kisses became more passionate by the minute, their hearts and bodies leaving their minds behind…

Vincent tugged on the hem of her blouse and pulled it over her head. His eyes landed on her chest… Catherine was indeed a true beauty.

She was wearing a red lacey bra, his eyes admiring her form. Vincent ran his finger along her bare stomach and chest… she needed to hold onto something cause his touches were driving her insane! So she shut her eyes tightly and her fingers landed in his hair, tugging on it real hard, making him growl softly…

"Vincent…" she whispered.

But in that split second, she went back to reality. She felt his thumb graze the scar near her hip... the only scar her whole body owned… In that split second, instead of Vincent's loving touch, her mind brought her back to the past… to her horrible past… to a time where she was afraid to even step out of her apartment… Scared to see him… her ex…

The flash of memories were too much and too painful for her to handle! Catherine pulled away and whispered.

"Don't… don't touch me… Stop, please stop…"

With pain in his heart Vincent looked at her. She had wrapped her arms around her knees, sitting on the bed, while tears flowed down her cheeks, fear written all over her face.

"Catherine…" he pleaded.

But instead of listening to him, she turned her head the other way. Catherine broke down and sobbed uncontrollably. She thought… she really thought that her past was in the past, but it clearly was still haunting her. She didn't know what to do… she was so torn… So even though she knew it was going to cause him pain and it was going to gnaw at her heart, with her eyes focused on the floor she said.

"Vincent… please leave?" her voice a mere whisper, while it trembled heavily.

A/N: Oh my... poor Cat... poor Vincent.. :(

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Ruby.

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