I stood under the shower's spray as I recited the terminus mantras, a series of cryptic Latin words that I couldn't have memorized if I wanted to, at least not anytime soon. Hopefully, I wouldn't need to. My first lesson with Vincent had been intense, and although I hadn't sprouted wings, I figured my task master wouldn't let me rest until I was speaking in tongues and doing backflips off the balcony.

Vincent seemed pleased with my progress though, and he encouraged me as he helped me peel my clothes off. "You're doing very well, Reese," he said as his fingers glided over my back, leaving hot chills in their wake. "Your body is responding just as it should."

"So, my body is supposed to quiver at your touch? I'm glad to know it's responding properly." I turned in his arms, pressing my bare chest against his drenched V-neck, and he gazed at me with a lusty gleam in his eyes.

"You wreck me, you know that. Your body is so beautiful. So... curvy." His hands continued their exploration, drifting down my shoulders, over the contour of my belly, then sliding across my hips toward my backside. "And this ass. The things I could do to it..."

"I seem to remember you saying there were other things we could do to enjoy each other." I offered him a shy smile and he leaned in to kiss me.

"What do you suggest?"

"I'd like to finish what we started the other day."

Before Vincent had time to overanalyze the situation, I took hold of his waist and unzipped his pants, tugging them over his hips, underwear and all. He didn't try to stop me, which I took as a good sign, and I gave myself a moment to drink him in as he stepped out his pants. He stood naked from the waist down, glistening with water, giving me an unobstructed view of his finely-toned legs, although I hardly noticed those.

"Oh, Vincent. The things I'm going to do to you." I slipped my hand around his erection, reveling in its strength and the thick veins that snaked up his length. He peppered my face with kisses, groaning as I primed him. He sounded so wanton, so desperate.

How long did we have together before the spell was broken? When was this challenge? Would Rafael win? Would Cecile succeed in keeping us apart? I didn't feel infected. I felt normal, except for the fact that I wasn't normal. I was a gargoyle, a passionate, demon-fighting gargoyle, but I didn't want to fight. I wanted to love and be loved.

"I love you, Vincent."

The words spilled forth without contemplation, and I pressed my face into his chest, fighting the suffocating feeling taking over me, the feeling that I couldn't live without him. Vincent purred into my ear, his voice calming me amid the rush of water.

"I love you more every day, every hour, every second."

His words reached deep into my battered heart, past all the barriers. Not just the ones I'd put up, but the ones keeping us apart. I needed Vincent to ravage me, to pummel me from the front, the back, and every angle in between. My desire for him went beyond lust. It was necessary for my survival. If I didn't have him, I would wither like a flower in the Sahara.

I lowered in front of him, eager to take him into my mouth, desperate for his taste on my tongue. Vincent didn't move, giving me license to usurp control. Maybe his mind was just as tortured as mine, and he wanted to seize this opportunity before it evaporated like fog in the morning sun. I sucked him in hungrily, devouring his plush head and savoring his salty essence, indulging myself unabashedly as I strained to accommodate his thickness. Damn, I wanted to take him deeper, but he was a fucking beast.

Vincent dragged his fingers across my scalp, gently encouraging me, moaning in time with his thrusts. I felt his skin tighten and his vein pulse under my tongue, and I prayed he would give in this time. He held my head steady as he drove himself further, and he softly keened my name as he shot his load against the back of my throat. I swallowed greedily, shivering against the sheer quantity of his offering and the magnitude of my adoration for him. My sex spasmed at his vulnerability, and a moment later, he pulled me upright into his arms. His eyes had become discs of steel, and he slipped himself between my thighs, rubbing against my slick, hypersensitive flesh.

"I want to be inside you so badly," he said. "The ache never leaves me. It's torture."

I imagined what Vincent would feel like inside me as I panted into his ear, reeling from his seductive confession and using it to fuel me. "The feeling is definitely mutual."

Vincent silenced me with a kiss, and although his taste was still on my tongue, he didn't seem to mind. A moment later, his hands were gripping my hips and he knelt in front of me, taking possession of my aching cleft, tonguing me wildly, insatiably. I ground into him, absorbing his erotic torture, wishing I wasn't so close to losing it, but I had no choice. My body let go in an explosive release as he continued his assault, lapping up my juices until my legs were quaking under me.

Slowly, Vincent rose to his feet, holding me close for a while as the water pummeled us. Then he escorted me to his bed, and we sprawled across it wrapped only in our towels. Well, I was wrapped in a towel. Vincent changed out of his wet shirt and put on a dry one. Bonnie and Clyde quickly took up residence at our feet, and everyone found peaceful sleep.

When I woke up, the sky was still tucked under its indigo blanket, and Vincent had vanished. The silence in the place felt absolute, apart from the respirations of my canine companions, and I hugged the towel to my chest as the dogs and I wandered into the kitchen. A note lay on the counter.

Responding to a disturbance. Be back ASAP.

Vincent always seemed to be the one responding to disturbances when there were plenty of other gollums in the city to handle it. Was it something he enjoyed? Had the others become dependent on him? After a quick survey of his fridge, I found my favorite yogurt and spooned some into a bowl, wondering idly whether Vincent knew it was my favorite. Had he bought it for me? Did he even go shopping? Maybe Bates did the shopping. Why did Bates hate me?

The clock in the kitchen told me it was almost three in the morning, but I knew I would find one of the Valentinos awake. After changing into sweatpants and a tee shirt, I walked to Wren's apartment, hoping she would be willing to share more about this evil demon queen, but she didn't answer her door. I backtracked to Amelia's apartment and knocked. The response was immediate.

"Reese! Come in," Griffin shouted unnecessarily. "We're making cheese cakes."

She hauled me into the apartment, and I found Wren and Amelia baking in the kitchen.

"Do you like cheese cake?" Griffin asked as she pulled out a barstool and patted she seat.

"Absolutely. What kind of cheese cake are you making?"

As soon as I asked, I noticed the cocoa powder and bottle of Kahlua on the kitchen counter.

"Chocolate Kahlua cheese cake," Griffin answered. "But the Kahlua isn't as strong when it's cooked." She picked up the bottle and read the label. "The alcohol content is not that high, but it's higher than wine. I've had wine before."

Wren and Amelia threw furtive glances at Griffin but the spunky girl shrugged them off. "A lot of gollums don't drink alcohol because they're worried it will dull their senses if they have to fight unexpectedly," she explained. "Do you drink alcohol, Reese?"

"No. I used to, but I stopped after my brother died from a drug and alcohol overdose." Griffin lowered the bottle to the counter, doing the same with her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Don't feel badly. Everyone is entitled to choose their own path. I make it a point not to judge people based on their lifestyle choices. I'm definitely no example of perfection."

Griffin nodded grimly as she climbed onto the seat next to me. "What were you like when you were my age?"

Yikes.

I suddenly felt like all eyes were on me, probably because they were, and I looked pointedly at Wren and Amelia for guidance. Would they be angry if I divulged the less than complimentary details of my life as a promiscuous teenager? When Amelia offered me a resigned shrug, I figured I was good to proceed. Keeping it clean, of course.

"Well, I think I was influenced by my gollum nature without realizing it," I began. "I've always been interested in gargoyles and vampires and anything supernatural. One of my favorite movies is Hellboy."

Griffin's eyes lit up. "I love Hellboy! Have you read the comic books? I love comic books."

"I'm actually more impressed by the newer graphic novels. As far as reading, I'd rather watch the movie adaptations. It doesn't take as long."

The conversation progressed pleasantly from there, with Amelia trying to tone Griffin down whenever she got too excited, and by the time the cheese cakes were sitting on the counter, Griffin had talked Amelia into queuing up Underworld on Netflix, appealing to my interest in vampires.

"Wouldn't it be cool if vampires and werewolves really existed?" Griffin said as she gushed about her adoration for the hybrid, Michael Corvin. "I've always wondered if gollums would be friends or enemies with them. What do you think, Reese?"

"I'd like to think gollums would be friends with the vampires, at least. Vampires seem to be more refined. Have you ever seen Bram Stoker's Dracula? Gary Oldman is totally hot in that."

Realizing too late that I was talking about hot guys with a pre-teen, I glanced uncertainly at Amelia and received a smile. "I'm with you there. Gary Oldman plays a sexy Drac."

"I think I'll call it a night," Wren said suddenly. She rose from her seat, and Griffin hopped up, offering to walk her home.

After the two had disappeared through the door, Amelia turned in her seat and captured me in the beam of her intense eyes, although she seemed to be trying for a friendly gaze. "Wren still gets upset about certain things," she said. "We never know what's going to set her off. I think she will always lament the loss of Roberto."

"That sucks. Do you think she will ever find a new mate?"

"No. She would never leave the domus. She still has family in Chicago, of course, but her sons are here."

"I'm sorry, Amelia, but gollum traditions seem seriously restrictive and outdated."

Amelia rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "You're preaching to the choir, sister."

PLAYLIST SONG: Satisfaction Guaranteed by The Firm