How Shall I Love Thee, Catherine
Part 3
By Barbara Hill

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Catherine stared in delight at the sight that greeted her as they emerged on the other side of the falls.  The huge cavern was lit by a soft, iridescent glow that filled every nook and cranny.
     The rough walls were covered with dark green moss, and the ground was carpeted with thick soft grass.  The ceiling seemed to go on forever, so Catherine could only guess at its height.  It was a sight almost as impressive as the falls itself – another place that should not exist, but inexplicably did.  It was, however, the silence that stood out even more.
      Catherine could see the water as it cascaded silently over the rocks into the river below.  Yet, there was no sound.  None!  Closing her eyes, she felt as though she’d been wrapped in a sort of cocoon.  The silence was almost palpable.  She felt as if she could reach out and touch it.  The words to an old song came to mind, and for the first time Catherine believed she knew just what the expression the sound of silence truly meant.
      “Vincent, it’s so quiet.”  She turned to look at him.  “I can hear my heart beating.”
      Vincent walked slowly toward her, putting his arms around her.  Catherine closed her eyes and swayed gently against his sturdy frame, her small hands resting on his chest.  She could feel the rhythmic pulsing of his heart against her palm, and the soft thumping sound it made seemed to vibrate throughout the entire cavern.  She gazed up at him and whispered, “I can hear your heart beating, too.”
      The steady beating of their hearts grew louder and faster as Vincent leaned down slowly to capture her mouth in a long, deep kiss that sent her heart and mind soaring.  Catherine moaned softly and clung to him as though she would never let go.  Vincent kissed her again and again, unable to get enough of her.  Like a man dying of thirst, he was unquenchable.
      Catherine’s mind reeled with each kiss.  She had waited so long to taste him and she, too, could not get enough.  Finally, the need for air separated them, but just barely.  She gazed up at him, her eyes shining bright with a passion she had never before felt.
      Vincent smiled softly, assured himself that Catherine was steady enough to release, then moved away.  Catherine watched with fascination as he removed his cape and spread it on the ground.  As he took her in his arms again, she wondered vaguely just how far Vincent intended for things to go this night.  He leaned down to kiss her again and Catherine restrained him as best she could by placing her hand on his chest.  Her voice was shaky as she tried to get her emotions under control.
      “Vincent, wait.  Maybe we should slow down a bit.  This is all happening pretty fast.”  Amazed that she could find it in the first place, Catherine tried to make her voice light, teasing.
     “You take me home right now and a cold shower might just get me through the rest of the night, but one more kiss like the last ones and no amount of cold water will help.”  Her eyes held his gaze.  “Trust me in this, Vincent.  Since meeting you, I’ve become an expert on cold showers.”
      Vincent lifted her hand to his lips, placing a kiss in the palm as his eyes searched hers for any hint of fear or doubt.  Finding none, he made up his mind.  He pulled her against his chest, his unique mouth once more claiming hers and Catherine felt her legs turn to jelly.  Sweeping her off her feet in one swift, graceful motion, he carried her to his cape and settled her trembling body next to his.
      “A cold shower will not be necessary tonight, Catherine.  I can offer a better solution if you will . . .”
      Catherine let out a short squeal of excitement and dove after Vincent, pinning him between her body and the soft ground.  Her trembling hands made fast work of undoing the buttons that held the ruffle of his shirt in place, and she soon uncovered lots of silky curls for her eager fingers to play with.
      Suddenly Vincent was holding her hands, refusing to let her touch him.  Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Catherine looked at him searchingly. Grasping her shoulders, Vincent rose up slowly until they were both in a sitting position and smiled sheepishly.
      This time it was Catherine’s turn to be guilt stricken and embarrassed.  ‘Tonight seems to be a night for that’ she thought to herself.
      “Vincent, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to . . .”  She lowered her head unable to look at him.
      What must he think of her?  “I’m so sorry, I thought you wanted to . . .”
      Vincent gently tugged on her chin so he could look at her.
      “Please, Catherine, don’t be sorry.  You are right in your assumption that I want . . .”  He shook his head, his eyes tender and apologetic.  “I cannot do what you wish, Catherine.  I’m not sure that I am even capable of such a relationship.  And even if I were, I cannot trust myself to allow it to happen.”
      “So, we’re back to the ‘I’m afraid I might hurt you’ routine again, Vincent.  Is that it?” He could feel her frustrations mounting as he nodded his head slowly.
      “Then why did you say I wouldn’t need a cold shower tonight if you didn’t intend to make love to me?  I don’t understand, Vincent.”
      “I cannot make love to you in the way you want, Catherine, but I think I can give you a certain amount of pleasure in another way, if you will allow me.”  He kissed her mouth lightly.
     “Trust me, please?”  Through their bond Vincent could feel her still highly aroused state and fought to keep his own desires in check.
      Catherine laughed softly, shaking her head in disbelief.  Though she had no idea what he had in mind, she found it impossible to believe that Vincent could ever doubt her trust in him.   She reached up to caress his cheek.
      “Of course I trust you.  I always have.”  Her arms came up to wrap around his neck as one hand burrowed under his long mane to gently massage the warm skin at the back of his neck.  “I always will.”  Nuzzling the end of his furry nose with her own, Catherine whispered the same words that had so unnerved him earlier.  “Do with me what you will, Vincent.  I trust you.”
     She kissed him softly.  “I love you.”
      Vincent pulled her close and slowly lowered her to the ground, stretching his long frame out next to her.  Catherine held onto his broad shoulders and tried to still the strong desire she felt to touch him intimately.  Whatever would happen tonight was up to Vincent.  He was in total control and she was ready and willing to give herself to him.
      Vincent buried his face in the warm curve of her neck and slipped his hands under her to cradle her back.  As his mouth gently kissed a path across her neck and shoulders, Catherine was vaguely aware of the sound of rushing water and thought it odd that she could hear it now and not before.
      He stopped for a few brief moments, allowing Catherine to catch her breath.  His mouth began slowly covering her face with tiny, moist kisses.  The roaring sound in her head grew louder and she realized with sudden clarity that it was coming from within her.  It was the sound of blood rushing through her veins as every nerve in her body screamed with pleasure at this most exquisite torture.
      Catherine moaned loudly, giving herself up to Vincent’s gentle loving.  The hands he once said were not meant to give love were now driving her crazy with desire.  Strong, demanding, gentle, his hands teased and caressed all the secret, sensitive places she had yearned for so long to have him touch.  Her skin was on fire.  His hands . . .
      One vague thought filtered through the foggy haze of passion filling her mind.  Vincent’s hands could not possibly be touching her so intimately.  His hands were still under her, cushioning her back where they had been all along!  Yet she could feel them touching her!
      “Vincent, how . . .?  What are you doing to me?”  Catherine’s passion filled voice was shaky with emotion.
      “Loving you, Catherine.”  His mouth nipped the tender skin of her neck gently.  “Just loving you.”  And suddenly Catherine didn’t care how or what he was doing.  She just wanted him to never stop.
      Vincent’s gentle attack continued until Catherine could no longer keep herself from reaching out to touch him, wanting, needing to give him a taste of the joy and pleasure he was giving her.  As her hands slid down his chest to rest on the belt of the shirt he wore, Vincent stopped her.   Twinning his long tapered fingers with hers, he brought her arms up, pinning them down at the sides of her head and whispered softly, “Please, Catherine, you must not do anything.”
      His mouth began another long trail of sweet, moist kisses starting at her right wrist, trailing along the sensitive underside of her arm, then across her shoulders.  He lingered a long moment at the hollow between her breasts before slowly giving her other arm his undivided attention.
      Catherine’s body shuddered violently and arched sharply against his as his kisses caused the most delicious little tingles to spread through her from head to toe.  Though the release she ached for was close, Catherine felt a slight twinge of guilt that she seemed to be getting the most out of this rather unusual situation.  She turned her head, reluctantly avoiding the kisses she had long waited for.
      “Vincent, this just doesn’t seem fair.”  Her voice came in short gasps.  “Please, Vincent.  I want you to enjoy this, too.”  Her green eyes pleaded with him.  “I want you to feel pleasure as well.  I want to share this with you completely.”
      Vincent freed her arms, allowing her to at least wrap them around his neck.  Pulling back to look at her, his breath was warm on her face as he whispered, “Hush, Catherine, hush.  I am sharing this with you.”  His eyes smiled down at her lovingly.
      “I feel what you feel when you feel it.  As if we were one.”  He kissed her eyes.  “Your pain is my pain.”  He kissed her cheeks, his voice a quiet whisper in her ear.  “Your pleasure is my pleasure.”
      Once more his mouth claimed hers.  His tongue thrust gently between her parted lips and found its sweetest reward as it met her own eagerly waiting tongue.  Catherine whimpered softly and shuddered in his strong embrace as her body seemed to explode into a million pieces.
      With a deep moan, Vincent collapsed heavily on top of her, burying his face in the warm hollow of her breasts.  Catherine held him tightly, welcoming the weight of him pinning her to the ground, while the shattered fragments of her body slowly pulled themselves together.
      Tiny electric ribbons of pleasure danced through her as she held him close, stroking and petting his strong back and broad shoulders.  Vincent’s body trembled beneath her touch and his powerful hands clutched her possessively.  Unable to reach his face, Catherine settled for kissing the top of his head.
      “Vincent, that was . . .”  She hugged him closer, suddenly at a loss for words.  There were none that would tell him her feelings.  Knowing he would sense what she felt through their bond, Catherine continued to caress as much of his large frame as she could reach and channeled every ounce of the love she felt for him through her heart and into his.  Vincent murmured her name softly as his nose nuzzled against her breast.
      “Oh, Vincent.”  Catherine buried her face in the top of his hair, laughing softly.  “This is sure one for the books.”  She laughed again.  “On second thought, I doubt even Ripley would believe this one.”
      There was no response.  Catherine tilted his face up to look and him and found his eyes closed.  She shook him gently and was rewarded with only a slight grunt as Vincent held her with a gentle, iron grip and hoarsely whispered one word, “No.”
      Catherine understood.  He was afraid she would leave him.  She hugged him closer and whispered lovingly, “It’s all right, Vincent.  I’m not going anywhere.”
      Whispering her name softly, Vincent rolled on his side, pulling her with him.  Catherine held him, assuring him with her words and her touch.
 “I’ll always be here, Vincent.  Always.”
      Catherine was confused and a little worried.  He was whispering her name over and over so he was at least aware that she was with him even if he wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings.  She realized that until Vincent came fully to his senses and could tell her what had happened, she would simply have to wait.
      ‘So wait is exactly what I’ll do no matter how long it takes’ she thought to herself as she toyed with the soft down peeking out from the neck of his shirt.  Besides, lying beside Vincent in this quiet peaceful haven with the delicious feelings he’d evoked in her still toying around the edges of her senses wasn’t exactly torture.
      Catherine laid her head on his chest.  His breathing was steady and his heartbeat seemed normal.  In fact the only unusual thing about him, except for the fact that he was only semi- conscious, was the strange humming noise that came from his chest.  A noise that grew louder with her every touch.
      One hand played with the tantalizing curls while the other one gently massaged his shoulder.  The soft hum increased as Catherine rubbed her face against the material of his shirt.
     The delightful vibrations the humming caused seemed to flow right through her.  With a start, she recognized the sound.  Tonight was certainly a night full of surprises.  She didn’t know Vincent could purr!
      Cuddling him close, Catherine closed her eyes wondering just how many more surprises this unique creature she loved so very much had in store for her.