"How long have you two known each other?" Colin asked Sylvie as they hunched over their pizza plates at the counter.

"Reese and I met at MICA about four years ago. After we hit a few clubs together, we realized we were perfect for each other, so we became roomies." Sylvie smiled at me as she finished off her slice and reached for another. "We used to take walkabouts with our cameras, and while I focused on interesting people, Reese hunted for gothic architecture, anything with gargoyles. The girl is nuts for them."

"Is that right?" Colin smiled at me, and I offered an innocent shrug, while Vincent avoided our conversation like the plague, choosing to eat his pizza in moody silence. I couldn't blame him. It had been a long, painful twenty-four hours, and he hadn't slept a wink. Come to think of it, neither had I.

I rubbed my hand across Vincent's back, reminding him I was there, while Colin and Sylvie made their love connection. Based on my experience with Sylvie and the plethora of expressions she wore when chatting up a guy she was hot for, she was likely to end up making it with a gargoyle. The thought had me smiling for some reason. She was going to flip her shit when she found out the truth. Would she think I was a terrible friend if I waited until afterward to tell her?

Vincent was the first to call it a night, giving me a kiss on the cheek as he politely excused himself from the room. Although I had become accustomed to his cold, sterile side, that didn't mean I liked it, but Colin and Sylvie didn't give me a chance to wallow.

"Do you want to come next door and watch a movie with us, Reese," Sylvie asked as she threw her paper plate in the trash. "I think we're going to watch Pacific Rim."

I glanced at the clock on the stove, which read ten minutes past two. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm wiped out. You two enjoy yourselves. I expect to get full details in the morning... about the movie, of course." I shared a grin with Sylvie as she and I hugged, and she took the opportunity to whisper in my ear.

"Thanks for inviting me to stay, chica. I'm going eat this tasty man alive."

"Have fun, just don't overindulge. You know how bloated you get when you eat rich foods."

We both laughed, but Colin didn't seem to care if he was the butt of our joke. Based on his dilated pupils and flushed complexion, he was looking forward to dessert. After I saw them out, Bonnie and Clyde followed me into Vincent's bedroom. He lay on his bed, still fully clothed, but his feet were bare. Somehow this turned me on, although everything about Vincent turned me on, even his cold, sterile side. The guy took intense to the next level.

The dogs made themselves comfortable at the foot of the bed, and I slipped under Vincent's arm where it was slung across his forehead. He smelled so pungent and powerful, I wanted to lick every part of his body. I didn't expect him to be asleep yet, but I didn't know him well enough to assume he wasn't, so I just enjoyed the feeling of being close to him as I shut my eyes.

"Are you disappointed?" Vincent asked, his voice rolling out in a throaty whisper.

"Disappointed in what?" I opened my eyes to look at him, but he hadn't moved.

"Disappointed in me."

"Why would you think that? Am I acting like I'm disappointed in you?"

"Not exactly, but I have a feeling I'm not living up to your expectations. I don't make jokes or watch movies or play games. I think the most I've done is frustrate and annoy you." He finally lifted his arm from his face to look at me, drawing me in with those mesmerizing eyes. "I'm trying to figure out why you're still here with me."

"First of all, you played a heck of a game of Scrabble the other night. I like a man with more than half a brain. And secondly, you have gone through a lot of trouble to keep me alive and well. I am definitely not disappointed in you."

"Good." Vincent rolled onto his side and tucked me into his chest, nuzzling his nose in my hair and reminding me of my unshowered state. He didn't seem to mind as he swept his hands across the contours of my body, dipping through the valleys and caressing the hills. He hesitated only when he reached my breasts, which were barely concealed beneath a cotton tee shirt. "I am going to take you to paradise, Reese. No first aid required."

"Should I start packing my fishing gear?" I whispered into his ear as I gently teased his lobe with my teeth.

He released a guttural sigh as his hand snuck under my shirt. "We should probably wait on being alone in the wilderness. I still don't trust myself with you."

His fingers teased the nipple of my breast, which had me thrusting upward, and a delicious shiver echoed through me when his erection grazed my thigh.

"I don't think I can wait much longer, Vincent. I have wanted you since the first time you carried me to the shower."

"I feel like I have waited a lifetime for you."

His confession had me feeling like I was soaring through the clouds carried by my own wings. "Okay, you win. Now, what do we do about it?"

He kissed me tenderly, taking his time to explore my mouth with his tongue while his fingers continued to torment my breasts. I was hyperfocused on the ache between my legs when his lips moved from my mouth to my neck, and my muscles stiffened. It was an unconscious reaction, but Vincent immediately responded by pulling away.

"Maybe we should wait," he said. "It has only been a few hours since the connection was broken, and I can tell you're having reservations."

Was I having reservations? Not about wanting to feel his hardness inside me, but maybe about feeling his teeth sink into me. "Can you still smell the mark? Should I shower? Do you have a scarf?"

Vincent sighed as he sat up, scrubbing his hand over his unshaven face. "A shower might be a good idea."

With my hormones raging, I reluctantly slid off the bed. I knew he wasn't rejecting me, but I felt like I'd been slapped in the face. Why did he have to be so paranoid? Sure, I was a little skittish. Who wouldn't be? But we'd been holding back so long, and now the evil deed was done and I was free of the mark. We both needed this. I turned my so-called lethal eyes on Vincent, hoping they would have some effect on him.

"Why don't you join me in the shower?" I said. "Not that you need it. I could eat you just the way you are."

A deep rumble emanated from his chest, and my name hissed out of his mouth, causing my nerve endings to tingle. The tingle felt like a warning, but did I listen? No. I was crazy hungry for him. So much that I felt invincible against the threat of injury. I decided not to use words to convince him this should happen now. I started undressing right there, which I did in a slow, tantalizing dance, grasping the hem of my shirt and lifting it over my head as I shimmied my hips from side to side.

Vincent's steady gaze had me ensnared as I reached for the zipper of my jeans and slowly lowered it. As soon as I tugged them over my pelvis, his mood switched. I saw it in the way his eyes morphed from a smoky gray to a steely silver, and the muscles of his shoulders tensed. Vincent's reaction had my blood surging so fiercely, my ears began to ring. This was totally hot, and I felt myself getting wet as I continued my strip tease, dislodging my panties as I dragged them down with my jeans. In the time it took to step out of my clothes, Vincent scrambled into a crouched position on the bed, cocking his head like a predator weighing his options.

"Safe words, Reese. Do you remember them?" His voice came out in a rasp, like it was all he could to do hold his position.

"Et receptum release."

Vincent's shoulders lowered in response to the mantra, and my body reacted as well, but only with respect to the ringing in my ears. While the storm in my head calmed, I still felt like a desperate woman as I posed for him.

"We can do this dirty or we can do it clean. Make your choice, Vincent."

Vincent's chest rumbled again as he slowly climbed off the bed and came to stand in front of me, bringing with him that tantalizing scent. There was nothing store bought about it, and as he shadowed me in his supreme masculine hotness, I wanted nothing more than to be his prey. Without waiting for permission, I helped myself to his shirt, lifting it over his head with a small amount of help from him. I had to pause a moment to bask in his sublime ambience, admiring the smooth curves and planes of his rock solid torso. The man was built like a fortress.

When I reached for his pants, his muscles twitched, and I redirected my hand to his chest, soothing him with a caress. He caught my fingers and brought them to his lips, sucking one into his mouth and tonguing it. Then he nipped the end and set my palm back on his chest. My sex clenched deliciously, and I continued my mission, trailing my fingers southward until I was lowering the zipper on his pants.

Vincent wasn't fooled by my casual transition, and the energy ratcheted up several notches, so much that I thought he might pounce on me any moment. It was both terrifying and insanely erotic. With his zipper no longer an obstacle, there was only one border left to cross, and I realized he hadn't stopped me. The ball was in my court. So, I did what any hot-blooded woman would do in my position. I grabbed both sides of his pants and crouched in front of him, pulling them down, briefs and all.

When he sprang free, I wanted to say a little prayer. Gifts like Vincent's were rare. I'd seen enough in my day to speak from experience, but I didn't waste precious time marveling at his awesomeness. I took him into my mouth in one decisive movement, giving him no chance to escape. He tasted divine, all salt and spice and everything nice, and he filled me so completely that my jaw popped to accommodate his girth. This didn't bother me. I loved being possessed by him, the way his thick head swelled at the back of my throat, and the sounds he made when I stroked him with my tongue.

"Damn, baby. That's so fucking good." Vincent purred his adulation as his fingers slipped through my hair. It was the gesture of a man being tamed by the touch of a woman.

I continued to suck him off, flexing my fingers across his ass while he did the same on my scalp. He could have come a hundred times, but I knew he was restraining himself, never quite letting go of his control even when I gave it my all. Finally, his movements became urgent, pushing himself so deep that I worried it would trigger my gag reflex. That's when I knew I had him, and my body quivered in response to his building orgasm. I held him at the base as I pulled back to suck the crown, and the muscles in his legs bunched. There was no turning back now.

"Et receptum release." Vincent ground out the words as he stepped away from my mouth, and I was forced to submit, following the instincts of my body. I sat back on my heels and looked up at him. His eyes had taken on the sheen of freshly polished chrome, dazzling me and pinning me to the floor. "Shower. You. Now."

All I managed was an opened mouth stare, but Vincent must have seen it as the prelude to an argument.

"Now, Reese!"

Wearing a very obvious pout, I stumbled to my feet and followed his command. With every step I made towards the bathroom, I expected Vincent to appear at the nape of my neck and devour me. Dammit. I wanted him to devour me, but I reached the door and closed it without any interference. I stared at the doorknob a few moments, deliberating on whether to lock it as I listened for sound. I didn't hear a peep on the other side. No growling or gnashing or even heavy breathing. It was as if Vincent had turned into a stone statue.

The shower didn't do anything but make me wetter and hornier. All I thought about was Vincent and his magnificent blade. It wasn't just a penis. It was a weapon of seduction, a cutlass of the finest class, and the more I imagined it, the more my sex throbbed. I slipped my fingers between my legs to extend the feeling, allowing the water to wash over my body as I visualized Vincent touching me. I must have closed my eyes, because I didn't notice movement until I felt a presence behind me, and my fingers stilled.

"Don't stop." Vincent's voice keened softly over the shower spray, and the longing behind his plea had me shuddering.

I opened my eyes to find him standing completely nude at the back of the shower, holding his erection in his hand and stroking it leisurely.

"Vincent."

"I want you to come for me, but you have to stay where you are," he said.

I didn't have to be told twice. The guy was so hot, so smoldering, steam billowed off his skin, and his muscles rippled as he gripped himself tightly. The dangerous gleam in his eyes hadn't faded since our lusty engagement in the bedroom, but his rigid posture told me he had put a harness on his inner gargoyle. I continued to finger myself, holding his gaze while my peripherals enjoyed the show he offered me. I'd been involved in nontraditional sexual situations plenty of times, but I had never been so turned on by a guy getting himself off.

Having already triggered the sweet sensation between my legs, it didn't take long before I was making an effort not to let go. This was too much fun, and I groaned as pleasure blossomed and spread through my limbs. I watched Vincent's lips part, and his eyelids drooped with salacious intent. He was ripe and ready, and I slid one hand over my breasts, taking a nipple between my fingers and squeezing.

"Dammit, Reese." Vincent leaned away from the wall as if pulled by an invisible rope, but his feet remained rooted to the spot.

"Come closer, Vincent," I encouraged him. "Come on me."

I made a subtle move toward him, fully expecting him to retreat, but he never flinched, and his hand continued to glide up and down his impressive length. I was so wound up I had to focus hard on not losing it as I took another tentative step in his direction, near enough to see the veins protrude from his erection as he closed in on his climax. The image was so erotic, I felt my sex quiver as I inadvertently slipped over the edge.

"Oh, Christ," I gasped and squeezed my eyes tight, embracing my orgasm as it quaked through my body.

In a nanosecond, Vincent had me pinned to the wall as he thrust against me, and I felt the heat of his release on my belly. "Ah, Reese." His lips found my mouth and he kissed me hard as he continued to hump me, and the next thing I knew he was rubbing himself through my slick sex. "You feel so good. Holy fuck."

While I desperately wanted to feel Vincent inside me, the risk of pregnancy was too great, not to mention injury. "Vincent, we can't." I tried to push him away but he was too strong, and my resistance only seemed to provoke him. He growled and slipped his hand under my thigh, hitching it over his hip as he pressed his engorged head into me.

"Oh, baby. Oh, yeah."

As he cried out his epithet, his eyes locked onto my face. They were shining like diamonds in the sun. He was a goner, and it was up to me to be the responsible one. That was a switch.

"Et receptum release."

It took a moment for my words to register, but Vincent's muscles finally slackened, and he staggered back, holding himself loosely in his palm. He hung his head, then shook it violently before lifting his gaze. His eyes had paled to slate, and he wore an expression of regret. Not the best postcoital emotion by a long shot.

"I feel like I owe you an apology," he said. "But that felt too damn good to be sorry for."

"I'm with you there. And, my neck is free of punctures, so I'd say it was a win for both of us."

PLAYLIST SONG: Molasses by Kan Wakan ft. Elle Olsun