Page 58 of Missing Piece
Adam waited for him to say something. Do something. But he just stood there, taking Adam in. There was something different about his demeanor, more cautious, almost uncertain. “Your friend said that we’re staying in that room,” Adam gestured to the door behind him.
Vincent grinned. “He’s trying to get you in trouble. That’s not one of the guest rooms.” Vincent brushed past him and cracked the door open. “This is Ophelia’s room and he definitely knows that.”
Adam pivoted on his good leg, leaning forward to peer into the room. It was so…pink. From what he could see, a pink feather boa lining the dresser mirror, pink sheets on the bed, a Hello Kitty plush sitting on the bed that was way bigger than any plushie should be. “Is this supposed to be ironic or something?” Adam asked as he felt a disturbing fit of laughter working its way up his throat.
“She’s an odd kid.” Vincent pulled the door shut. “Come on, we’re staying down here. And don’t tell her you saw herroom, she may gouge your eyes out or cut out your tongue.” He opened the next door. “Or both.”
Adam bit back a laugh as he made his way into the small bedroom, slowly lowering himself onto the twin bed. So he’d be sharing a bed with Vincent again?
Vincent stood in the doorway, watching him in a way that made Adam’s chest tight with anticipation. He wanted those unnatural hands on his skin again, to feel his breath on his neck…He ran his finger over his lower lip, lowering his gaze as he tried not to imagine it, but his cock stirred to life.
Just don’t think about it. You made a huge ass of yourself last time.
“Are you okay?” Vincent asked, breaking the silence.
Adam nodded, his face flushed. “Yeah, just tired I guess. Unnaturally tired.”
Vincent walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, his thigh brushing against Adam’s. “You’re recovering from some nasty wounds, and getting mini-doses of adrenaline with the lidocaine probably doesn’t help. I also read that people early in sobriety can experience fatigue and lethargy.”
Adam raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve been reading up on sobriety?”
The vampire shifted uncomfortably. “Just a little,” he admitted. “I just wanted to make sure we weren’t going to mess something up for you.”
How the hell was he supposed to respond to that? Vincent seemingly cared enough to look into all sorts of things like what medications to give him and how to properly put his prosthetic on. But at the same time, he had also kept him chained to a bed and smacked him around a few times for good measure, though after their conversation yesterday,those memories felt different now. More complicated. Nothing in the world made sense anymore.
I mean, does it? There are vampires crawling all over town, running businesses and adopting children and God knows what else. Nothing makes sense.
But it didn’t need to make sense. He could just…accept whatever this was. Sure, things had gotten off on the wrong foot, but then again, he had spent so many days fighting his family, his addiction, his own body, his memories…maybe it was okay to just stop and live in the moment? Like they said during NA meetings, “Accept the things you cannot change.”
Trying to change the ways of someone who had been alive for 129 years didn’t sound like something he could change. He could choose to be 100% on board with the do-over and just…accept the affection?
He rubbed at the back of his neck and closed his eyes. “I still feel like I should apologize about the other night,” he said.
The bed dipped as Vincent shifted closer, then a hand on his back, rubbing up and down in small, slow circles, carefully avoiding the parts that were injured. He didn’t mind it. It felt so good to be touched.
“You don’t have to apologize. I pushed the issue—”
“No, I really over-reacted. I got upset…” Adam let out a sigh. “I was acting like a dick because I felt bad and I used you to make myself feel better, and that’s a really shitty thing to do to someone. I—I’m sorry.” Adam bowed his head.
“Seriously, you don’t have to apologize,” Vincent said. “But you should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for both of us. You’re going to meet the rest of thefamily, so to speak.”
Great. More vampires.
* * *
He tried to focus on the ceiling, the white surface barely visible in the pale light of the alarm clock on the nightstand. His mind bounced between the embarrassment of everything he ever said and did, then sharply veered off into sudden flashes of Vincent fucking him senseless. His whole body boiled beneath the thin top sheet of the bed he covered himself with, but he had already removed his prosthetic and wasn’t willing to just let it hang out.
Vincent must have come into the room without him noticing, because he felt the mattress dip toward one side and his heart began to race as a familiar scent settled beside him. He didn’t dare glance over. There wasn’t much space between them on the small mattress, and though it seemed like Vincent was trying to keep some distance, Adam didn’t want any distance at all. He wanted the vampire to wrap around him and whisper in his ear and fuck the gnawing guilt right out of him. He squeezed his eyes shut.
Stop thinking with your dick and go the fuck to sleep.
“I know when you’re awake. Your heartbeat is very loud,” Vincent said.
“That’s a very intrusive skill to have,” Adam replied. He turned over to face Vincent, barely able to make out his outline in the darkness, but he had a feeling Vincent’s eyes were open, just staring at him. “How good is your hearing?”
“I can hear a heartbeat from about twenty feet away, further if they’re running or have high blood pressure.”
“Smell?”
