"So, what do you do for fun?" 

Sylvie drilled Vincent for information as we shared a cab ride home. She'd had my back more times than I could remember, and tonight she was acting under the influence of alcohol and adrenaline, which made her unstoppable.

"I play the stock market."

"Lame. Try again."

"I translate ancient Latin texts." 

"That's boring as fuck. I'm talking about stuff normal people do."

Vincent raised his eyebrows at me, which I interpreted as the silent gesture for control your friend. But it was better to let Sylvie get it out of her system now, or we'd be repeating the whole business in the morning.  

"I listen to music. Will that suffice?" Vincent unsheathed his cellphone and tapped his Spotify app. After a few flicks of his agile finger, he brought up a Pigeons Playing Ping Pong playlist. "I had not heard of this group until Reese mentioned them, so I spent a couple of hours familiarizing myself with their sound. They're very...unique."

Sylvie laughed while I helped myself to Vincent's phone, scrolling through his other playlists. He had varied musical tastes; from Pink Floyd to Yo-Yo Ma to Three Days Grace. I didn't know.

"You have good taste in music, Vincent." I smiled at him as I handed back his phone, and he offered a matter-of-fact nod.

"Music is an effective means of escape. The whole family listens to music in one form or another."

"Tell me about your family, Vincent." Sylvie said, continuing her onslaught. "Do you have siblings?"

"I have several. I'm surprised Reese hasn't told you. She's met a couple of them."

"Really? I seem to be totally out of the loop here." Sylvie turned her scrutiny on me, and I wanted to clobber Vincent for throwing me under the bus. I knew he'd done it on purpose.

"I told you about Colin, Sylvie. Do you want me to call you every day with a blow by blow?"

"Yes. I want to know every instance of blowing. I'm a lonely, single girl, remember?"

A throaty chuckle escaped Vincent, which had me leaning forward to stare at him. Apparently, he did have a sense of humor. By the time we arrived home, Sylvie appeared to be on board with my non-boyfriend. Of course, the fact that Vincent was hotter than Siracha might have helped sway her allegiance. 

"Can we talk alone, Reese?" Vincent asked. "It won't take long." He directed the second half of his statement to Sylvie, and her lips lifted into a smirk.

"You two can shag on the back porch if you want to. I'm going upstairs to call Eric and engage in some heavy breathing." She leaned in to my cheek and kissed it as she whispered covertly. "You need to get on with it while the gettin's good."

She toddled off to the side entrance, while I took Vincent's hand and walked him around the house. We stopped at the garage, which was set back a few yards from the sidewalk and offered cover. Without preamble, Vincent pulled me against his musk-infused chest to stare into my eyes, and I realized I'd been craving him as I submitted under his balmy gaze.

"I failed you tonight, Reese. I told you I would give you space. And I did give you space. But when I saw you leave the venue with that asshole, my resolve broke. I rushed in like a fool without giving you a chance to handle the situation yourself."

"His name is Charles, and he's not an asshole. I know what an asshole is."

Vincent acknowledged me with a nod, but he looked frustrated. "Charles is right. You deserve a man who will appreciate you and trust you to make your own choices. This relationship has me tied in knots. It's the most difficult challenge I've ever faced."

I'm a challenge, am I? No argument there.

"What's so difficult? Have you never been in a relationship based on trust?"

"Not with a woman I feel this strongly about."

He didn't meet my gaze as he spoke, choosing to stare into the pyracantha bushes, instead. Since our first meeting, Vincent had never shied away from a stare-down, which only proved his point. He was tied in knots. 

"How do you feel about me, Vincent? Can you describe it?"

His chest lifted and lowered slowly, as if breathing had become difficult for him, and he finally let his eyes meet mine. "First, you have to understand something. After my father died, I focused all my energy on family and work. I absorbed myself in distractions, many of them female, to keep my thoughts from driving me insane. When I stood in front of you that night at the club, even as Colin's arm was wrapped around you, I felt like my life finally had purpose. I knew I needed to have you in it.

"Roberto once told me how I would know when I had found my soul mate. He said she would be someone who never left my thoughts no matter where my mind was. And she would bring me peace of mind during times of adversity." Vincent's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and his eyes revealed the sheen of emotion. "Imagine what it would be like to have your brother returned to you after you thought you had lost him forever. Then imagine what lengths you would go to to keep him safe so he would never be gone from you again. That is how I feel about you."

Holy crap. 

Despite Vincent's ability to mimic the unmoving form of a skyscraper, he managed to move me like no man had ever done. I was in deep, and I wanted this man even though our love affair was so far from normal it had punched the ticket to crazy town.

"So, what do we do now?" I whispered the question so close to his mouth that even a moron couldn't miss the invitation, and his sensual gaze had me melting inside his arms. Despite what I knew about Vincent's dark side; the wings, the claws, the sharp canines, I felt completely at ease there. 

"I'd like to meet your parents." 

Not the answer I expected.

"Right now?"

He glanced up at the crescent moon. "Tomorrow may be better, although I would like nothing more than to keep you close until then."

"You mean, this close?" I gave him a smile just before pressing my mouth against his. The details of our future could wait. I needed to taste him now, and I snaked my arms around his waist, lifting onto my toes as I parted his lips with my tongue.

Vincent accepted me willingly, dragging his fingers through my hair and scattering chills across my scalp. The heat between us quickly intensified, as did the stiffness between his legs, and I leaned into his hard-on. I knew he wanted me badly, and I had made it clear the feeling was mutual. I wanted to touch him, stroke him, ride him until he found sweet release. How long did he plan to hold back? 

I moaned as my lusty thoughts had my thighs clenching, and the next thing I knew, Vincent's hand was sliding over the zipper of my jeans, drifting lower until he met with my sex. I ground against his probing fingers, and the question resurfaced. How far would he take us before his resolve broke? As Vincent became more ravenous, his teeth teased my lips, and I felt a sharp sting as he threatened to bite down.

"Don't hurt me." My body tensed, and he jerked backwards, blinking away a wild, desperate gleam from his eyes.

"I wasn't going to hurt you. I promise." He continued to back pedal across the driveway, putting several feet of separation between us. "I would never purposefully hurt you. You have to believe that."

"I do, but I don't understand why it gets so intense between us. I just want to kiss you and touch you like a normal person."

He glanced down, shaking his head as if to cast away an unpleasant thought. "We are not normal people."

Really? He was including me in his mania? Granted, I was far from perfect, but I was not like him. I crossed my arms and assumed my tread carefully stance. "Explain 'not normal'."

The realization that he had misspoken was painted on his face as he cleared his throat. "I didn't mean it in a negative way. You handle adversity better than most. I sometimes forget you don't know everything."

I breathed out a frustrated sigh, dropping my head back to speak to the sky. "Why? Why couldn't I fall for a normal guy?" When I returned my gaze to Vincent, he looked sad. Almost vulnerable. "If we're going to be boyfriend and girlfriend, I need to know everything."

"You want to know everything now?" 

"Why not now? Or were you planning to string me along until I was so hung up on you that it wouldn't matter whether you were an ex-con with a history of murdering your girlfriends?"

Vincent's mouth dropped open. "Do you really think I'm capable of that?"

I closed the gap he'd put between us and stroked his arm. "There's a lot of 'not normal' out there. I dated an asshole for eight months before I escaped the insanity. And I haven't forgotten the show you gave me last night. The one involving wings and horns."

"I do not have horns." His expression hardened as he spat out his response. "I am not like the lowlifes I battle. To a civilian, we both look sinister, but my family and I fight for the side of good, not evil."

Although the conversation had taken a seriously strange turn, the logical side of my brain encouraged me to get this shit worked out. "Why does your family battle evil? Are the wings real? Do you use them to fly?"

The questions sounded ludicrous, but they seemed to trigger something in Vincent. He closed his eyes, taking in several deep breaths, and I watched him clench and unclench his fists. When he opened his eyes again, they shone a brilliant silver, the color I only saw when he loosened the reins on his emotions.

"Do you trust me?" He offered his hand, and I rode a wave of adrenaline as I rested my palm over his. 

"Yes."

With a deliberate glance in all directions, Vincent held onto my hand as he retreated deeper into the shadows until he had sandwiched himself between the shrubs. "Don't let go," he said as he kicked off his shoes. "I want you to feel what I feel."

The sound of ripping fabric had my body tensing again. I thought it was his shirt catching on a branch. Then I felt his hand swell inside mine, and I watched as his body expanded in all directions. His shirt split over his shoulders as the muscles bulged, and his pants did that same,  tearing down the sides as his thighs pushed the seams past their breaking point. 

His skin darkened from pale ivory to a smoky grey, and his features broadened and sharpened until his face resembled a stone statue. A gasp caught in my throat, and I had to fight the instinct to pull away as I stared up at the monster before me. He still looked like Vincent, only much larger and more bestial.

As he stepped out of the shrubs, I realized he had sprouted wings. They were black and leathery, with sharp, curved tips reaching at least a foot past his head. His ears had become pointed as well, and when I looked down at our clasped hands, I noticed his fingernails had morphed into talons. I understood why he had ditched his shoes. His feet looked like they belonged on a bird of prey, with a large dewclaw protruding from each heel. But, despite his size, his grasp on me remained gentle.

My mouth must have been open for some time because he wore a concerned expression as he looked down at me from his towering height. "Are you alright? Please, don't be frightened."

I snorted, which came out completely unbidden, but it fit the situation perfectly. His voice had lowered a full octave, making him sound like a foghorn, and when he spoke, I glimpsed those sharp canines that seemed to show up when he was turned on. I forced myself to stay put and not bolt for the house. 

"What are you?"

Vincent appeared unfazed by my inquiry. Surely, he'd expected a similar reaction. "The Latin term is gargollum, although we refer to ourselves as gollums. Or, gargoyles for those unfamiliar with the translation."

Oh, dear God.

"A gargoyle?" I said halfway through a swallow. "But, I thought they were architectural ornaments used to direct water away from buildings. You're not made of stone...are you?"

I tripped over the edge of the driveway as I backed up, but Vincent never let go of my hand, and I heard his talons scratch the concrete as he followed me. "I assure you, I am not made of stone. I would never be able to fly. Please, don't fear me, Reese. I swear, I won't hurt you. I just want you to know the truth about me... About us."

"Are you saying everyone in your family is... All the Valentinos are gargoyles?"

"Yes. Our kind have been around for centuries, protecting the innocent from the forces of evil. I know it sounds like a movie script, but I speak the truth. The gollums you see decorating the gothic stone structures, they were designed by gollums of the past as a means of disguise. A gollum can perch next to his stone counterpart and be mistaken for granite. A clever idea that still serves us today."

His mercurial eyes never left my face as he watched me panic. Although he couldn't see my heart pounding against my ribs, he could surely feel my fingers trembling inside his hand. And I couldn't stop staring at his wings. The sharp tips had ripped through his shirt, and the remains of the fabric hung loosely over his shoulders. How often did he have to throw away clothes? Was that why he kept a duffel in his car? 

"How do you... How do you change?" I sputtered.

Vincent stepped further into the shadows, tugging on my hand and forcing me to follow him. "The transformation is triggered when a mantra is repeated. The mantras are spoken in Latin. I have been changing since the age of five, so I am able to recite them rapidly and silently. Sometimes when I'm already engaged in battle."

"Is it painful...the change?"

He hesitated long enough that a shiver passed through me. I knew his answer would be a watered-down version of the truth. "It is not all pain. The transition only takes a few seconds, as you saw."

I looked down at his hand where his thick talons curled carefully around my fingers and warmed my skin. The pulse I felt could have come from either of us, and I lifted my thumb to trace the veins protruding from his knuckles. Although I was pretty sure my body was in shock, I ignored the rapid thumping in my chest to continue my exploration, following the hard ripples on his stomach. 

At my inquisitive touch, Vincent stilled, closing his eyes as he allowed me to study the contours of his body; his massive arms, the rock solid pectorals, and finally his face, which I had to stretch to reach. I left his wings alone, more out of respect, but also out of fear. I didn't know how sensitive they were or what kind of reaction it might provoke.

When I lowered my hand, he opened his eyes and stared down at me. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. I need you to trust me. Do you think you'll be able to do that, now that you know what I am?"

I wanted to reassure him that his alter ego, the Goliath with wings, didn't change the way I felt about him, but I wasn't sure if that was true. There was a part of me that had been in denial ever since I witnessed the battle in the alley. That everything I saw was imagined and induced by nerves and adrenaline. I'd even convinced myself that Kelly had slipped me a drug with her tongue  to lure me away from the club, but I was starting to doubt that too. Who were those people, anyway? 

"Why don't you have horns?" I said, in lieu of an answer. "When I suggested you had them, you seemed offended."

"Gollums do not possess horns, just as humans do not possess them. We are more human than our enemies."

"Who are your enemies? Are they the ones who have been tracking me? The ones you fought in the alley at Dungeon Masters?" I knew I was wading into dangerous waters with my question. I could tell by Vincent's pinched expression. Did I really want to hear the answer?

"I think you have endured enough revelations for one night. Let's leave that one for another time."

I nodded without argument, distracted by his hand as he brushed it across my cheek. His gesture felt incredibly tender. The opposite of what one would expect from a giant armed with razor sharp claws and teeth. I figured he was still waiting for my answer to his question about trusting him, and it seemed the more time I spent in his titanic presence, the surer I felt about him.

"I trust you, Vincent. I think I always have." I closed the distance between us, and his silver gaze tracked my movements. I had to crane my neck to stare into his eyes, which appeared to be endowed with their own power source. They mesmerized me, and I lifted onto my toes to get a closer look. 

Vincent held perfectly immobile as I pressed against him, feeling the hard ridges of his torso where it met with my weighty breasts. Even in his monstrous form, there was no denying the attraction between us, and I lowered my gaze to his mouth where the points of his canines touched the inside of his lips. The lips I loved having on me. "Can I kiss you?"

Vincent's chest heaved as his lungs filled up with air. "Not while I'm in my gollum form. You have tested my limits at every turn. But, eventually, it will be safe for us."

I frowned, letting him see my disappointment. "You just asked me to trust you."

"And I meant it. But there is still something I need to do before we get close. When that is done, you will have all of me, and we won't leave the bed until..."

My cell chimed with a text, making me jump, and I redirected my thoughts away from the erotic image of Vincent pounding me against the wall with his wings wrapped around us. 

Where are you? If you're screwing Vincent don't bother responding. I'm going to bed.

Vincent said nothing as he watched me type out a response to Sylvie, and I wondered if he was suppressing the urge to ask who the text was from.

Not screwing, just talking. I'll be up in a few.

"I should call it a night," I said as I slid my phone into my pocket. "I invited Sylvie here and I don't want to be rude to her."

"I understand. Will you call me tomorrow? I can arrange for brunch at Zaytinya. I'm friends with the chef."

Although it seemed strange to have a conversation about brunch and gourmet chefs with a winged gargoyle, I had to smile at Vincent's casual manner. He appeared more comfortable in this form than when he played his role of ultra-guarded mega mogul.

"I'll mention it to my parents. I think they had plans for us, but if I tell them they'll be meeting a guy I'm interested in, I'm pretty sure they'll drop everything to make it happen."

Vincent lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. "I will do my best to impress them."

He grabbed his shoes and walked me to the side entrance. When I had let myself in, I hurried to the window, curious about how he would make his exit. As I watched, he stepped into a cluster of trees in the backyard and unfurled his wings like a black leather sail. With the trees providing cover, he leaped into the air, propelling his body higher with wide strokes. I worried someone might see him, but he blended seamlessly into the night. If I hadn't been watching, I would have missed him completely.

I stared at the sky until Vincent's body was out of sight, and the emptiness I felt at his absence hit me like a ton of bricks. My lungs couldn't take in oxygen quick enough, and I had to force myself away from the window so I wouldn't be tempted to run outside and flag him down. Damn, I was a goner.

PLAYLIST SONG: I Am Machine by Three Days Grace