Beauty and the Beast (47 page)

“Oh, Vincent,” She cried, “You did come for me!”

Vincent ran to the tree, kneeled down, broke the chain from her wrist, and then picked Catherine up in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as he stood up with her, and looked into his eyes. He said, “Catherine, I will always come for you. Never forget that, and never give

up hope!”

She had stopped crying, and she nodded. “I won’t, Vincent.” Then she buried her face in his neck, and he sat down on a nearby fallen tree trunk with her on his lap.

Vincent was on the verge of telling her that she was trapped in a nightmare and that none of what she was experiencing was real. However, a strong feeling came over him that this was not the right time for that revelation. Now, it would only serve to confuse and frighten her. He needed the mental support of the others before he explained what was happening to her. Instead, he decided to put an end to this particular torture that seemed to stem from her feelings of guilt.

Vincent stood up and gently placed Catherine on the tree trunk. He kneeled in front of her, took her small hands in his huge ones, and looked into her eyes as he said, “Catherine, Gabriel is dead, and our baby is safe at home with me. I have named him Jacob for Father. You are right. He is a beautiful baby boy!”

Catherine was struggling to understand what Vincent was telling her. “Gabriel is dead?” She said it with wonder in her voice. Then, she added, “Our baby is safe?” Vincent nodded. Her voice was still filled with wonder as she continued. “His name is Jacob! That is perfect!”

Then she looked confused as she said, “Vincent, I feel so lost, and I can’t ever seem to find my way home to you. I keep ending up here. Where am I?”

Instead of trying to break through the nightmare fog in her mind, Vincent simply said, “You are with me!”

Catherine mulled that over for a moment and then said, “Oh, yes, I’m with you. That was a silly question, wasn’t it?”

Vincent smiled at her. “No, Catherine, that wasn’t silly at all. Now, watch me get rid of this little problem for you.”

Vincent stood up and went to the offending oak tree.

He knew that it was an illusion, and he could feel that he now had the power to control some of the elements of Catherine’s nightmares. He put his booted foot up against the tree, and he pushed it over. The big tree crashed to the ground as its roots came up all around Vincent but didn’t touch him.

He walked back over to Catherine whose expression was one of total amazement. She asked, “How did you do that, Vincent?”

Vincent bent down and picked her up in his arms again. “Do you remember the journal you brought to me as a gift after my illness?” Catherine nodded. “Do you remember the inscription you wrote inside the cover to me?”

Catherine thought for a moment, and then she said, “With love all things are possible.”

Vincent nodded, “Yes, Catherine, the power of my love for you brought that tree down. Now, I want you to think about your special place that you told me about once.

You said that it was a place you liked to go to be alone

when your parents vacationed near it. Do you remember?”

Catherine smiled with delight at the memory. “Oh, I do, Vincent! It was a beautiful glen near a lake in Connecticut. It had tall lush grass, and if I lay very still, the deer would walk by. I thought that it was the most enchanted place I had ever seen. It was my special place, and I wanted to take you there, but I couldn’t because it was too dangerous to travel above ground for you.”

Vincent set Catherine down in front of him and put his hand under her chin as he tipped her face up and looked deeply into her eyes. “Catherine, I promised you then that someday we would see it together. We can go there now.” Her eyes widened, “How, Vincent?”

Vincent wrapped his arm around Catherine and turned her toward the fallen tree. He gestured toward it and said, “As you said in that inscription to me, with love all things are possible.”

Vincent took Catherine into his arms and gave her an intensely passionate kiss, which she returned with equal hunger as they both surrendered eagerly to their need for physical closeness with one another. When their lips finally parted, Vincent was struggling to regain control of himself as waves of intense desire were sweeping over him. Catherine was smiling softly up at him, and her own overwhelming desire for him was apparent. He needed to change the setting, though. Vincent whispered, “Catherine, close your eyes.” She closed them. “Now, think of your enchanted glen by the lake in Connecticut. Can you see it?” Vincent could see it in her mind, and he smiled as she nodded. “Now, open your eyes, Catherine.”

When Catherine opened her eyes, she giggled with the delight of a child as she left Vincent’s arms and slowly turned around in a circle. They were standing in her glen which was carpeted with tall soft thick grass. It was surrounded by beautiful trees beside a shimmering lake. There was a warm breeze blowing, and the sun was shining brightly. Eagles were flying overhead, and they could hear song birds in the trees. A small herd of deer was grazing at the edge of the woods. There was a large velour blanket laid out on the grass a few yards away.

Catherine’s eyes filled with tears of joy as she looked up into Vincent’s eyes. “Oh, Vincent, I have needed you so badly for so long. Please make love to me!” She held out her arms. “I want you! I need you desperately!”

As he took her in his arms, Vincent could feel Catherine’s terrifying nightmares swirling all around them, and it was taking considerable mental effort on his part to keep her happily distracted in a protective bubble with her attention focused on him. His goal was to keep her awake in this dream and satisfy her every emotional need for love and physical intimacy. Afterwards, Vincent wanted to put Catherine into a profoundly peaceful sleep which would then strengthen her, so he could finally awaken her from her nightmares tomorrow. Then, they

would truly be reunited in the waking world.

Vincent kept his arm around Catherine as he reached down and pulled his boots off, kicking them aside. He stroked Catherine’s hair, kissed her neck, and then whispered in her ear. “Remove my clothing, Catherine.”

Both of their hearts were pounding as Catherine removed the layers of Vincent’s clothing. When he was finally standing before her unclothed, Catherine’s eyes swept over his body, and Vincent felt her intense desire for him. He barely managed to maintain his control as she said in a breathless whisper, “Vincent, I had almost forgotten how magnificent you are! You have the body of a powerful mythical god!” Vincent closed his eyes in ecstasy as Catherine’s delicate hands began gently stroking his fur-covered muscular body. She begged, “Please, Vincent, please undress me now!”

“As you wish, Catherine Love,” Vincent whispered as he began removing her clothing, kissing each part of her body as it was exposed. Catherine sighed with pleasure at each kiss. When she was fully unclothed, Vincent lifted her into his arms and carried her to the blanket on the ground. He laid her on it and then lay down beside her. The grass underneath was so thick that it felt like a soft mattress. Vincent looked deeply into Catherine’s eyes as he softly caressed her ivory skin. “You are my exquisitely beautiful goddess, Catherine, and I love you more than life itself!”

Catherine was arching with pleasure as she replied, “Oh, Vincent, I can’t even express to you how much I love you! It is beyond description. My life didn’t truly begin until you loved me!”

With patience, tenderness, and great love Vincent spent hours on gentle foreplay with Catherine. He took his time with the same great care that he always took bathing her, and he was thrilled by every intensely exciting touch and kiss Catherine returned as she responded to Vincent’s slow sensuous lovemaking. Catherine’s expression was one of pure rapture, and watching the love and joy reflected on her lovely features intensified Vincent’ own pleasure.

Finally, Vincent caught and held Catherine’s gaze as he urgently whispered, “Catherine!”

Catherine responded with an equally fervent, “Vincent!” As their bodies finally merged in a sweet passionate embrace, Vincent was elated that he was still able to maintain control over himself and put Catherine’s pleasure and fulfillment before his own. It was a deeply satisfying feeling for Vincent, and his enthusiastically responsive little Catherine was making it well worth the enthralling effort.

When they were at last lying in one another’s arms, completely satiated and relaxed, the stars were twinkling overhead, and there was a full moon. Vincent managed one more illusion for Catherine’s enjoyment. Spectacular fireworks began bursting in the night sky, and Catherine giggled with delight as they watched them. Vincent could

feel Catherine tiring, but he wanted to be sure that he put her to sleep with happy thoughts instead of having her disappear into another nightmare, so he ended the fireworks. Vincent pulled Catherine closer, kissed her deeply, and snuggled her against his chest. Then, he began singing her mother’s lullaby to her.

Sleep my pretty one.

Rest now my pretty one.

Close your eyes.

The day is nearly done.

Rest your head.

Tomorrow will surely come.

Catherine sounded very drowsy. “Darling Vincent, you have the most wonderful bass voice! I didn’t even know you could sing. Somehow, though, I’m not surprised. I have this feeling of deja-vu, like you have sung my mother’s lullaby to me before. Isn’t that strange?”

Vincent didn’t try to explain that he had sung it to her before. He simply said, “I’m glad you enjoyed that.” Then, he began purring, and he felt Catherine relax into peaceful slumber. For the first time since Vincent had been entering Catherine’s dream world after finding her alive, he felt that Catherine was not having a nightmare as she slept.

With great relief that he had accomplished his goal, Vincent relaxed his mind and was back in bed with Catherine in the guest house. Vincent gave Catherine a tender kiss on the lips, slipped his arm out from under her, and settled her back on her pillow. He realized with a smile that he needed a shower, so, he got up and went into the pool chamber to collect his toiletries. He took them and his pajamas into the bathroom, leaving the door open to listen for Catherine, showered quickly, and redressed.

When Vincent came out of the bathroom, he paused at the vase of roses on the reading table and fingered the pretty blooms. He smiled as a revelation of sudden awareness ran through his mind. “Red and white make pink!” Vincent chuckled as he realized that making passionate love to Catherine and the exhilarating release of his sexual tension had made him giddy. He said softly, “I’m drunk on Catherine’s love!”

Vincent went into the kitchen and checked on the soup. It smelled delicious, and he turned the cooker down to a slow simmer.

Vincent knew that he needed to sleep, but he was too keyed up. The thought of actually being able to wake his sweet wife up tomorrow made it difficult to settle down.

The anticipation of that happy reunion with Catherine fully awake was simply too exciting. He finally decided that he was just going to have to surrender to his need to hold Catherine and watch her sleep until he could relax. Vincent gathered Catherine up off the bed and walked to the huge plush recliner and sat down on it with her. He reclined the chair with Catherine curled up on top of him. Her face was tipped up toward him, and in the soft light glowing from the bathroom doorway, Catherine truly looked like an angel. Vincent sighed with profound happiness as he watched her sleep. Gradually, he relaxed himself, and sleep finally claimed him.

When Vincent stepped off the elevator into the nursery the next morning with Catherine in his arms, he was greeted by the happy sound of baby boys giggling. Tony was seated in the playpen, which was hilarious by itself, but he was also making funny faces at the babies, and they were thoroughly enjoying his antics.

Vincent chuckled as Nina got up off the rocker to greet him with a smile. He said, “I see things are under control here!”

Nina laughed and replied, “I’ve never seen a teenage boy with better instincts for knowing what babies like. Tony is a genuine phenomenon! Ill get Little Jacob, and well take Catherine into the bedroom to nurse him.” Nina picked Little Jacob up out of the playpen, and Donner looked crestfallen. Tony picked the baby up and began

talking to him. Donner was then perfectly happy with that arrangement.

Vincent followed Nina into the bedroom, laid Catherine gently on the bed, and then he settled on the bed himself snuggled against Catherine’s back. He unbuttoned the front of Catherine’s nightgown and supported her breast with his hand, so Little Jacob could nurse. When Nina put Little Jacob to Catherine’s breast, she looked at Vincent and said, “Thank goodness! I was a little concerned that Catherine might be uncomfortably engorged this morning from not nursing. I half expected you to call me or Mom to bring a breast pump for her. I guess that you must have had one with you?”

Vincent smiled at her. “You’re looking at him!”

Nina giggled at him. “Well, what a smart and thoughtful husband you are! I’m not sure any other man would have thought of suckling the milk from his wife’s engorged breasts himself. I can definitely tell you that your solution was a lot more comfortable for her than any breast pump would have been!”

Vincent nodded his head. “That thought occurred to me also. We didn’t realize you would be available to wet-nurse Little Jacob, so no one thought of bringing a breast pump. Catherine’s need was real and immediate, and it was a joy to take care of it myself. Nina, it was both a treat and an education to drink Catherine’s milk. I had read that it takes five teaspoons of lactose added to a quart of cow’s milk to make it equivalent in sugar content

to human milk, but I had no contextual understanding of what that meant before. It was almost like drinking warm ice-cream!”