Page 30 of Missing Piece
Vincent rested his head on Adam’s shoulder, peeking over him to look down at the device. “I looked up how to put one of those on,” he said nonchalantly. “They’re not as simple as they look and I prefer to do things correctly the first time.”
Adam released the pant leg, letting it fall back into place to hide his disfigurement. He didn’t know what to make of that. Again, it seemed like kindness. But kindness from his captor was fleeting, subject to change on a whim. Still… “Thank you,” Adam said.
Vincent’s lips brushed his ear. “You’re welcome.”
Adam’s body hummed with awareness of Vincent’s proximity. He knew Vincent wasn’t oblivious to the effect he had on him, especially when he murmured in his ear like that. Adam had to exert every ounce of self-control to prevent himself from reacting. He needed to keep a clear head, especially now that Vincent had unexpectedly moved up the timeline by returning his foot.
All it cost was an intimate moment under the stars, a moment that could’ve been much worse. Adam had certainly compromised himself more for less in the past.
“Why are you so insistent I wake up? You usually just leave me in here,” Adam asked, rubbing the back of his head.
“We have things to tend to today,” Vincent said as he pulled away.
“Such as?” he asked as he planted both feet on the ground. He had only been over a week without his foot and yet his prosthetic felt foreign and strange. The weight distribution felt off, and he had to concentrate on each step in a way hehadn’t needed to in years. Perhaps he had gotten used to hopping around and relying on balance alone.
He literally used it every chance he got after it was fitted. Even when his skin was rubbed raw and his joints ached, even after all the physical therapy and occupational therapists told him he needed to let his leg breathe. He just endured the discomfort and pain until he could medicate it. Anything to be whole.
And it seemed like after six years of fighting against the simple fact that was his body, he was getting used to his missing piece.
Out of an abundance of caution, he kept a hand on the nightstand as he rose to his feet, the prosthetic clicking loudly as he shifted his weight onto it.
“Is it supposed to make that noise?” Vincent asked as he moved around the bed and held his hand out to Adam.
“It does this for a little while after I put it back on.” He didn’t want to take Vincent’s hand. He didn’t want the help, and he really didn’t want more of that weirdly cool, soft skin on his own again. He was already struggling to push away the arousal he woke up with and the intrusive memories of the night before. The thought of those hands touching him, feeling him, that mouth full of sharp fangs tasting him…
A shudder ran through him as he tried to fight the tingle in his lower abdomen.
The loud knock at the door made him flinch. Vincent rolled his eyes and grabbed Adam’s hand. “Yes?” he called.
“Can you hurry the fuck up? I’m bored,” a high-pitched voice said from the door. “And I swear to God if I open this door and I see your ass I’m going to stab you.”
Vincent huffed in amusement. “I’d like to see you try.”
The door flew open and Adam stepped back, grabbing Vincent’s hand instinctively to keep from losing his balance.
Adam looked from the young woman standing in the doorway to Vincent, who seemed unfazed, back to the young woman. She held a hand up, flipping open a switchblade. For a moment, Adam thought she had to be another vampire, but that didn’t seem right. There was something even more unsettling about the expression on her face, worse than the first time he saw black eyes and fangs. She had a round face, almost doll-like in proportions, but it was her big brown eyes that seemed to suck the light out of the room, her expression blank as she cocked her head at him.
There was nothing behind those eyes. No surprise. No curiosity. Not even boredom like she said. Just nothing.
Whatever she was, he needed to stay very far away from her.
Vincent yanked him forward. “Come meet my niece,” he said.
Adam tried to ignore his clicking leg as he was led back out into the den, his face flushed and hot. Maybe it was from the embarrassment of his leg, or the way the woman’s creepy blank eyes studied him as they walked, seeming to take in everything about him and nothing at the same time. Or maybe it was the way the inside of his jeans was already chafing his dick. Vincent had destroyed his boxer briefs the night before and he was suddenly very aware of how scratchy the inside of the zipper could be.
“You introduce all the people you kidnap to your family?” Adam asked sarcastically.
Vincent laughed. “You’re the first,” he said as he released Adam’s hand. “‘Phelia, keep an eye on him while I grab a fewthings.”
The young woman nodded before she pulled her phone out of her oversized hoodie.
Vincent disappeared towards the foyer, leaving them standing near one of the couches a few feet from each other. She was short. Really short once Adam realized some of her height was just the explosion of brass-colored curls that made up her hair. She just looked so bored, like she couldn’t be bothered with the information that she was standing next to a guy who had more than a foot on her and easily a hundred pounds.
If Adam had no reservations about striking a woman, he could have knocked her out before she ever saw it coming. But that didn’t seem right, even in his desire to escape, and she still held a switchblade between her hand and her phone, like a casual threat.
“You gonna keep staring at me or ask a question?” she asked without looking up from her phone, tapping away with her thumbs.
Adam took a step back. Her voice was another unsettling thing. It matched her features, but not her demeanor. “What are you?” he asked.
