"I'm here to escort you to DC." Vincent addressed me with calm reserve, but his eyes were pegged on Charles, who didn't appear at all intimidated by Vincent's looming presence. "I wondered if you might do me a favor and trade seats with me. Mine has extra leg room."

Charles straightened his shoulders as he met Vincent's stormy gaze. "I'm good. I've got this superstition that I need to sit in an even numbered seat next to the aisle."

"You're in luck. I'm sitting in row two in an aisle seat."

With very little hesitation, Charles continued. "Oh, I forgot to mention. My superstition requires that a beautiful woman sit in the window seat next to me."

Clouds formed behind Vincent's eyes, making them look significantly more stormy. "Excuse me. That's my girlfriend you're talking about."

I raised my eyebrows, but Vincent wasn't sparing me a glance. He was busy boring holes into Charles's head.

"Pardon my ignorance," Charles said. "But it appears this woman is surprised to see you, which makes me wonder if there should be an ex in front of girlfriend."

Charles turned to look at me, and I suddenly felt like I was under the scrutiny of the camera lens. I had always preferred to be behind the camera, not in front of it, and I definitely didn't want to trigger a reality show scene at thirty thousand feet.

"Actually, there should be a The jury is still out sign in front of girlfriend, but since Vincent went through the trouble of getting himself on board a packed flight, I should give him an opportunity to say his piece."

Vincent pulled out his wallet and flashed two one hundred dollar bills in front of Charles. "I'll make it worth your while."

Charles shook his head as he pushed Vincent's money away. "Don't bother. Just do me a favor and don't be an asshole to her. She deserves better." Charles winked at me, which didn't come across as skeevy since it was accompanied by that boyish smile. I thanked him as he yanked his backpack out from under the seat and brushed past Vincent, making for the front of the plane. When Vincent took Charles's seat, a heavy fog descended with him.

"You really are a nut job," I said as I faced Vincent head-on. "I hope you don't think you're impressing me by showing up on an overbooked flight."

He leaned in as if he thought we might be heard over the drone of airplane noise. "I'm not trying to impress you. I just want to keep you safe."

"How the hell are you going to keep me safe on an airplane? Are you a licensed pilot?"

"I'm not here because I don't have faith in the pilot, although there are things I can do to make sure you don't go down with the plane. I'm here because you need to know what's going on. It's not all pleasant, but it has to happen before more damage is done."

I shrugged as I watched Charles take his seat several rows up. He caught my eye and nodded, offering the unspoken reassurance that he had my back if Vincent misbehaved. Vincent noticed the exchange and his fingers tightened around my hand. When had he taken my hand?

"Reese, listen to me. I have something important to tell you." Vincent had the look of a desperate man, and I felt obliged to humor him despite the knot forming in my gut, warning me that shit was going south.

"I'm listening, but I should remind you of what happened the last time you divulged unpleasant information to me. I don't think they have showers on board this airplane."

"Ego in pace. Recite that mantra if you feel anxious. It translates to 'I am at peace.'"

"More Latin?"

He tightened his lips as his fingers twitched against my palm. "We aren't like other people. My family and me."

I snorted. "Tell me something I don't know."

Vincent sat stiffly in his seat, looking more distressed than I'd ever seen him, and I felt a twinge of sympathy. What happened to make this guy so intense? "On March sixth nineteen ninety-five, my father was asked to join a search party. A young member of a domus had been kidnapped from the Chicago area, which is where my mother grew up, although the child was not part of her family. In fact, there was some mystery surrounding the child's domus affiliation. She and her mother lived at a convent. After her abduction, four males went out in search of the child, but only three returned. For days we waited and hoped Roberto would show up, until the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months."

Oh, crap. The man of few words and even fewer emotions was sharing personal information with me. For some reason, I felt the weight of his pain as if it was strapped to my shoulders, and I slipped my hand over the top of his. "I'm sorry, Vincent."

He didn't seem to hear me as he continued his confession. "News traveled to us from Buffalo that Roberto had died in battle and the child disappeared without a trace. But the source was unreliable, so each of us made up our own versions of the story. When you told me about your trauma at age four, I held out hope you might be that child. Her name was Elise, which sounds a lot like Reese."

Vincent met my stupefied expression, his gray eyes sober and impenetrable, and I felt obligated to say something. "Did you say your father was in Buffalo?"

"Yes. According to the information that traveled back to us, his body was burned beyond recognition inside a small outbuilding connected to an abandoned detergent factory."

"My parents said I was found on March seventh nineteen ninety-five. And the circumstances do seem to fit, but... My name is not Elise."

"But you said you couldn't pronounce your name when you were found. They could have mistaken Elise for Reese."

"And you said your source was unreliable. How do you know your father didn't die under some other circumstance?"

His face went rigid, and I immediately regretted bringing up his dead father. "You carry the mark, Reese. Your ex, the one who abused you. He must have been the one who marked you." He pinned his gaze on me, making me feel guilty for having let such an atrocity happen.

"Heath?"

"So, it is Heath?" Vincent bobbed his head as he blew air through his nose. The fact that he used Heath's name in the present tense made me feel a bit better. The guy was an asshole, but he didn't deserve to have his neck broken.

"I doubt Heath was the one who abducted...this child. He's around my age, although he never confirmed it."

"I expect he is older than you think. He still lives in Baltimore, I take it?"

"As far as I know. He's the bastard you need to take out, isn't he? The one you and Colin were talking about on the phone?"

He took his time inhaling and exhaling before giving me his answer. "Yes."

"Well, I have no intention of reigniting that flame, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm not worried about that,  but if he had something to do with your kidnapping don't you want to see him brought to justice? He was also an asshole to you, so I'd like to take a shot at him."

"Two wrongs don't make a right, Vincent. I may still have the emotional marks Heath left on me, but seeking revenge is not going to heal them."

A serious scowl marred Vincent's handsome face as he looked pointedly at me. "In this case, it can. What if I told you there was a way to remove the marks he left on you?"

"I'm not interested in more psychotherapy."

"I'm not suggesting psychotherapy. I'm saying that as long as Heath is still in the picture, it will be too dangerous for us to be intimate. So, any information you can give me about him will expedite that."

Well, slap me and call me darlin'.

While my brain absorbed Vincent's proclamation, I studied his face, all concrete and masculinity. This man had a dark side I wasn't sure I wanted to get close to, and I definitely didn't want to entertain the possibility that he meant to take Heath out...for good.

"What are you saying? That Baltimore is too close? That you'll threaten him with bodily harm if he doesn't move to Australia? I'm not condoning violent actions against Heath, whether he deserves it or not. It won't solve anything."

Vincent appeared to be struggling with guilt as he offered his rebuttal. "You have a lot of goodness in you, and I don't expect you to condone any violent actions, but I believe you will feel like your old self again once this is done. You'll be more in control of your emotions, especially the rage."

"My old self? You don't even know what my old self was like. Maybe I've always been this way."

"Have you?"

I turned away from him. I had to. His eyes held far too much judgment, and I didn't like the way he was talking about Heath like he couldn't wait to get his hands around the guy's neck. While I appreciated Vincent's decision to finally fill me in, his timing sucked. He also had me more confused than ever. All this talk about marks and missing children named Elise. I gazed out the window as I tried to rope in my emotions, although there was very little to see apart from the faint purple of the approaching sunrise.

The captain announced our initial approach into the DC metro area, and I turned to look at Vincent. He was watching me with a bleak expression, like a child waiting to be forgiven after a harsh punishment. I decided to ask him a question of my own, since he seemed to be in the sharing mood.

"Vincent, I need to ask you something, and I need the truth."

"Of course." He didn't appear eager to hear my question, but he remained attentive.

"Are the wings real, or are they some kind of James Bond gadget you and your friends wear whenever you fight bad guys in alleys?"

Vincent raised a single eyebrow. "Think about it a minute. The bad guys had wings too. What are the chances they own the same gadgets we do? Is that the only unusual thing you noticed?"

While his answer was somewhat noncommittal, a shiver wracked my body when I recalled the scene. The wings did look and function like the real things. "There was a lot going on, and my head had been recently fucked with. But I thought I saw horns on the forehead of one of the guys. Kelly called him Christoph."

"The horns are a sign of maturity and dominance. Christoph is the leader of his group."

Aw, damn. 

I hugged myself against another shiver, and Vincent's hand came to rest on my leg. "There's a lot you need to know in order to protect yourself from these predators, and most of it is going to be difficult to believe."

"Ya think? What are you, some kind of mutant human? Were you experimented on in a lab? How do you hide the wings? And what about those teeth? Do they show up when you need to take out an enemy, or just when a girl touches your man parts?"

My pulse began to race under my skin, and I was doing a terrible job of slowing my breathing the way Shay instructed me to. I shoved my hands under my armpits and rocked in my seat to keep the anger at bay, although it might have been too late.

"Ego in pace." Vincent recited his stupid mantra as he rubbed his hand across my knee, but all it did was rub me the wrong way, and I pushed it off.

"Shut up with the Latin."

A woman across the aisle glared at me, and I glared back. She'd been eyeing us the entire flight, probably trying to eavesdrop. The witch needed to keep her pointy nose out of our business.

"Reese, you're letting your rage get the better of you."

Vincent adopted a soothing tone but it only made me angrier. I was spiraling, and the only way I knew to calm the storm was to assault something, usually a pillow, or a face if the mouth attached to it needed to be shut. Clenching my hands, I pounded the seat between my legs, imagining the nosy woman taking the brunt of my violence. She might have been a perfectly nice lady, with kids and grandkids and the only true soprano in the church choir, but her accusatory gaze served as the target for my knuckles as I pummeled the blue tweed.

The plane landed safely, and by then I had attracted the attention of several passengers. Vincent hadn't taken his eyes off me either, but he kept his hands out of the strike zone, proving he wasn't a lost cause. The aircraft lights came on and everyone occupied themselves with snatching their bags from the overhead bins while I took my breathing down a couple of notches.

By the time the aisle emptied, my fingers had stopped tingling, and I turned on my phone to send Mom a message. I knew she was heading to her Friday morning Zumba class, but I promised to let her know when I arrived.

I'm in DC. See you at ten-thirty.

"Do you have a ride to your parent's home?" Vincent asked as he backed into the aisle to let me escape my seat.

"Yes." I left him with my one word response as I walked toward the exit. The flight attendant wished me a pleasant day, and I acknowledged her with a forced smile. Charles was waiting at the door, and he pulled up next to me as I stalked through the tunnel. I considered it a true act of bravery on his part, given that Vincent was right on my ass.

"Is everything okay, Reese? Do you need me to call security?" Charles glanced at Vincent, knowing full well Vincent could hear every word. Okay, maybe he was a little crazy.

"No thanks, Charles. I have plenty of experience dealing with controlling men."

"Okay. You strike me as a woman who doesn't do bullshit, but I wanted to offer. Maybe I'll see you at the Pigeon's show. If not, take care of yourself." He picked up his pace, leaving me with a boy-next-door smile. For a fleeting moment, I wanted to run after him and admit I didn't really know how to deal with controlling men.

Vincent arrived at my shoulder as we left the tunnel. "You have no idea how difficult it is for me to watch you talk to other men."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." I gave Vincent a long, examining look. He was incredibly handsome; chiseled jaw, piercing gray eyes, statuesque physique. How much of that was real? Was he part of an experimental species? A wolverine with wings? 

I slipped into the adjoining waiting area, which was empty save for a single passenger reading the newspaper, and I dropped my bag to lean against the wall. Vincent took up residence in front of me. Very close in front of me.

"I don't know what to do with this information," I said as I focused on my breathing and not on Vincent's overwhelming presence. "You've got me thinking you're part of some mutant family, like Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Do you know how crazy your story sounds?"

Vincent dragged his fingers through his hair before pressing his hand into the wall next to my head. Damn, he smelled good. "I don't know how else to explain the truth. I've never had to before, and I'm finding it hard to do without sounding crazy. I assumed you would already know."

"Know what? That I was kidnapped by my ex-boyfriend when I was four years old, or that the guy I'm currently dating is a Goliath with wings?"

Vincent acknowledged my statement with a nod, but that didn't give me a clue, and his face remained rigid. "I don't know if Heath was directly involved in your abduction, but his family may have been. Just give me a chance to prove my worth. I'm re-evaluating everything to accommodate you. You've got me second guessing my future, my business decisions, my emotions. All I know is, I need you in my life."

I allowed his gaze to hold me prisoner as I attempted to read him through his eyes, which were shimmering like glass. What I saw there convinced me he was being sincere. "Vincent, I don't know what this is between us, but it feels too close to what I had with Heath. Passionate, but also volatile and dangerous. You say you need me in your life. Well, I need to feel normal again or I'll end up back in therapy."

Vincent brought his fingers to my face and brushed his thumb over my lips as his eyes devoured me like I'd been drenched in honey. Suddenly, I had the insatiable desire to kiss him. Was he sending me a subliminal message, willing me to do it? We both knew where that would lead us. He ignited such a hunger in me that even as we stood in the busy Dulles Airport with people rushing past, I wanted to tackle him to the ground and screw him right next to the concourse.

"Please, don't push me away, Reese. It won't always feel volatile, but I guarantee it will always be passionate. There's a reason we feel so carnal toward each other. It's in our blood. I want nothing more than to pin you to this wall and grind you until you come."

His salacious words had my breath rushing out in a gasp, and my head sagged against the wall. The crowd quickly faded into the background, and I replayed the scene of him dry humping me on my bed. The memory had my sex aching, until I got to the part where he punctured my neck with his fangs. I strong-armed him in the chest, holding him at bay as I squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted to block out the sensation, to get a grip, but it only made the feeling stronger.

"Tell me what I need to do to keep you wanting me. I'll do anything." Vincent's mouth had to be close. I felt the warmth of his plea on my lips, and I relaxed my arm to let him close the distance between us. How could I possibly resist him? He was a force of nature.

I opened my eyes and leaned into his face. "Only this," I said as I kissed him. 

Moist heat swept across my skin like the gust of a summer storm, and he caged me in with his arms as he responded. Despite the passion behind his kiss, which I felt in the way his tongue glided across my teeth and the moan that vibrated against my mouth, he held his body a safe distance away. Experience told me this was practical thinking on his part.

When Vincent released me, his cheeks were flushed, and he casually straightened his crotch. "Can I buy you breakfast? Do you have time before your ride arrives? We can talk about normal things. Whatever you'd like to talk about."

He spoke in a rush, and it took me a moment to register what he'd suggested, especially with my head spinning from our very public exchange. I nodded lazily. I really did like having him around, even when he was making me crazy. A breakfast date with Vincent involving conversation about normal things. That, I could do.

PLAYLIST SONG: Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne