The only thing that had kept Vincent from following her in that cataclysmic
orgasm was a deep, primal urge to hold back his own release until he was inside
her. He needed it, now, with a desperate urgency. Catherine's scent, her taste,
her pleasure, had driven him to a frenzy, and even though he knew he must give
her some time to recover, he felt unable to wait any longer. He had to take
her! At loss he lifted his head from her. "Catherine!" he managed
to growl, amazed to be still able of any articulate speech.
Catherine's eyes snapped open as the force of Vincent's need reached her in her blissful limbo. She gasped at the sight of him as he towered over her, kneeling between her open thighs, his whole body tense with barely leashed sexual energy. He was a living image of aroused masculinity, his disheveled hair falling on his broad shoulders, his fangs showing as his mouth opened for shallow, ragged breaths. His eyes shone with the dark fire of an irrepressible desire, and her own body instantly responded to his plea with a matching hunger, as if it hadn't known release only moments before.
She reached out to pull him down, but he stilled her with an imperious growl. Staring down at her with dark, haunted eyes, he let his hands trace their way down from her shoulders, his claws enough in evidence to leave a trail of fire without breaking the skin, making her whimper. As he reached her hips he gripped her flesh firmly, and with a last searing look, turned her swiftly over on her stomach.
All coherent thought had deserted Catherine. When he lifted her hips she eagerly complied and rose on her hands and knees, keenly aware of Vincent's powerful presence, of the heat emanating from his body as he loomed over her. She was only desire and aching emptiness, craving for the feel of him inside her.
"Vincent!" she pleaded, hardly recognizing her own voice. A soothing,
growling sound answered as his warm palms caressed down her back to cup her
buttocks, coaxing her thighs slightly apart. One of his hands left her and she
gasped when she felt the tip of his swollen manhood nudge her waiting flesh.
He gripped her hips firmly and she braced herself with a whimper of impatience.
He filled her in a single, mighty thrust, his satisfied growl echoing her shrill
cry of pleasure.
Again and again, Vincent plunged deep into Catherine's body. He held nothing back, aware at the most basic level that not only could she stand it, but nothing less would satisfy her fierce hunger. Sobbing his name, she met every thrust with a matching strength, her tight sheath releasing him reluctantly when he withdrew only to grip him with renewed avidity as he filled her again.
She ground herself back against his body to feel him deeper still, demanding all he had to give.
And he gave her what she wanted. He thrust deeper, faster, glorying in his ability to fulfill his woman's needs. He felt her begin to soar and eagerly joined, becoming one with her as an irresistible tide carried them to unimagined heights. All his power unleashed, he increased the rhythm of his strokes to bring them higher still.
Catherine's sobs turned into moaning cries, and her core began to convulse around him, causing an inevitable response from his own aching flesh. Together they teetered on the brink for a few seconds of eternity, before being hurled into the velvety, starlit depths of timeless, almost unbearable ecstasy.
With a scream she arched her head back, offering the tender curve of her neck to his loving bite. He held her thus a long time while his essence poured into her in explosive, rapturous waves. Only when the last of it had been claimed by her greedy flesh did he release his imperious hold to throw his head back and roar his completion, wild tremors of pleasure still coursing through their bodies.
The storm finally quieted down, leaving them both drained and shaking. They
fell to lie on their sides, still deeply joined, Catherine safely spooned in
the curve of Vincent's body. He cuddled her close, his hands cupping her breasts
as he nuzzled in her hair. His mouth found the spot where his teeth had held
her, and he tenderly kissed and licked the slight soreness away, breathing in
deeply the sweet scent of her. A contented purr arose from his throat, echoed
by Catherine's soft moan of delight.
Everything was right in Vincent's world, and he knew it was the same for Catherine.
He felt in both of them the same bone-deep satisfaction of body and soul, a
fulfillment that went well beyond mere sexual release, even beyond what they'd
experienced before. Their wild, unrestrained lovemaking had satisfied some basic,
primal need in both of them…and suddenly he understood what that need was!
He knew why Catherine's scent had been so irresistible, why he had felt driven
to find his release inside her body. His very first reaction was a sharp burst
of proud joy, soon smothered under shame and anguish. What had he done? His
purr stopped abruptly and he jerked away from her.
Catherine gasped as the warmth of him left her and his dismay reached her through the bond. She turned to face him and met his tortured eyes.
"Vincent!" she cried. "What's wrong? Please, tell me!"
He first lowered his gaze, and she could feel overwhelming shame with something else buried deep underneath, then a spark of determination as he looked at her again, and finally spoke.
"Catherine…I have given you a child."
Her eyes widened. "But how can you…yes, you can, can't you! Oh, Vincent, it's wonderful"!
The wild surge of joy almost stunned him, as he understood how much, and for how long, Catherine had hoped for this. One more longing she'd kept hidden to spare him, and he felt humbled by her care of him. There wasn't the smallest doubt or fear in her, just blissful happiness, and his misgivings melted away. Yes, this was meant to be, too. He crushed her against his chest and allowed his own joy to surface, finally admitting to himself that this had always been a secret wish of his, too, one he'd never thought he had even the right to dream of.
Somehow he was absolutely certain the child had been conceived during their
last encounter, and not before. Only the lowering of his last barriers, giving
his wild side complete command, had made it possible for it to happen. This
realization brought him to another, obvious one, that shocked him, even as it
evoked a new surge of fierce satisfaction deep within.
"Vincent, what's wrong?"
"The child…will look like me."
"I'm glad." she simply said, the plain truth of her words filling the bond. She would love this child and find it beautiful, as she found him beautiful. The strength of her joy, of her unrestricted acceptance washed over him, fighting the deeply ingrained certainty that he should never take the risk of condemning a child to share his wretched fate.
Wretched? Has the Destiny you so often cursed really been so harsh to you? Stop whining and count your blessings! Vincent paused to consider this. Did he really have so much to complain about? All his life, despite his differences, he had known love, and the warmth of a caring family, which was more than many "normal" children ever got in the world Above. He had a home, a place where he belonged, and many friends.
And, beyond all, he'd been blessed with Love. Love of a rare, exceptional kind, demanding, and sometimes source of unbearable pain, but of so much joy, too. Unconditional, all-encompassing, miraculously reciprocal love, strong enough to finally overcome all obstacles. No, he certainly wouldn't want to change a thing to a life that had led him to his present happiness! With love, all things had been made possible, even those he'd always believed unreachable, and love, he vowed, was something their child would never lack.
Catherine held him close, knowing he was confronting one of his last and deepest fears. The idea of holding in her arms a tiny replica of the man she loved filled her with a blissful delight she tried to communicate to him through the bond, along with her trust that everything would be all right. She soon felt his turmoil recede, leaving place to a serene acceptance, a joy matching her own. He laid a possessive hand on her stomach, and from the deepest reaches of him rose a current of ferocious contentment.
"I am glad, too." he said quietly.
She brought her mouth to his for a long, deep kiss, then laid her head on his shoulder and caressed his chest tenderly. "You'll be a wonderful father, Vincent!"
A father, he was going to be a father! The idea of being to a little one what Father had been to him filled him with awe. And Catherine would be a mother. So many things would have to change in their lives. This child would tie Catherine to his world, and he felt a mixture of joy and guilt at the thought. "Catherine, your life Above…"
She patted his chest reassuringly. " We'll find a way, my love! We'll have all the time to think about that later." She thought of the beautiful brownstone with it's cellars going "down to the center of the earth" and smiled happily, already imagining the trampling of little feet on it's wooden floors." We'll work it out. Trust me."
He felt her happy certainty, along with a hint of playful anticipation, about which he decided not to enquire. She was right, they had time.
He disengaged himself gently from her and rose. "I will be right back."
She watched him move naked around the cave to put out all the candles but a long-lasting one in a corner, the golden fur on his body turning to a darker shade as the flickering lights disappeared one by one. He walked back to the bed, silhouetted against the remaining light that made his hair shine like a halo. He looked both like a dark pagan god and an angel, she mused, and he was her man. Her own, wonderful, unique man!
She opened the bed covers to slip underneath, holding them up so he could join her. With a sigh of pleasure, she snuggled against him, running eager, possessive hands on his body.
"Mmmm, you feel wonderful! I love to touch you." She giggled with delight when her questing fingers encountered his reawakening arousal. "Vincent, again?"
With a deep throaty chuckle, he gently brought her hand back to his chest.
"Catherine, please have mercy! I want you always. I will want you always. But we do have to rest sometimes. Now sleep, you're exhausted."
"Spoilsport!" she teased, but lifted her face to his kiss. "Good night, Vincent!"
"Sleep well, Beloved." he answered, cuddling her close.
She was indeed totally drained. She couldn't remember when she'd last had a normal night of sleep, and the last hours, blissful as they had been, had nevertheless added to her exhaustion. She nestled gratefully into Vincent's arms, and soon her breathing slowed.
Vincent felt her drift away and instinctively tightened his hold on her. Never had he felt so complete, at peace with everything that he was. Watching over his sated, sleeping mate in the dark cavern, he acknowledged the feral, possessive pride rising in him. This beautiful woman was his, and she would bear him a child. He knew he would keep them both safe at all cost, and quietly rejoiced that he had the strength and ferocity to do so if needed.
The warm, trusting contact of her body against his filled him with a fierce tenderness that he knew came from both sides of the now destroyed barriers within him. Searching his soul, he could find no trace of them left. As if they'd never existed. For the tender platonic lover which was all he'd allowed himself to be for so long, and the wild beast he'd so feared to become had always been the same man. The man who loved Catherine. The man Catherine loved.
At the border of consciousness, just before joining his beloved in a blissful sleep, Vincent heard the ironical voice rise one last time from inside him, before fading away for ever.
Told you so!
The End