Page 78 of Missing Piece
“So you have your new pet attached to your hip right now?” Vincent taunted as he made his way to his nightstand on the other side of the bed.
“No. No, I already told you, it’s not like that. You know what? I’m going to hang up. Remember, you have four daysleft, and you better act like a choirboy when four days is up or we’ll have a repeat of ‘96, got it?”
Vincent began laughing as the call ended, clearly pleased with the response he had gotten from the older vampire. He pulled a tub of cream from the bottom drawer and crawled back over the bed, settling beside Adam again.
“What happened in ‘96?” Adam raised an eyebrow.
“Marcus and I had a bit of a feud going in the ‘90s. He was becoming, as your generation says, ‘woke’, about the kind of people we fed on and started trying to convince the assholes in power we needed to kill less. I disagreed with him, but I’ve known the guy since the ‘70s and all the kinds of fucked up things he used to get up to, so I just ignored him. I thought it was a phase,” Vincent explained, rotating the small white tub in his hands. “He was serious though, and it got to where he would interrupt others feeding, fight them, just generally act like a menace. I was sick of hearing the complaints, and it was annoying, so I tried to put him out of commission for a little while.”
“What do you mean by ‘put him out of commission’?” Adam asked, both apprehensive and excited to hear what Vincent might say. It was fucked up, there was no denying that fact. Vincent was glossing very casually over the whole killing people part of the story, but it didn’t seem like it was because he was ashamed of it. It was because it was routine, a matter of fact that couldn’t be separated from what he was.It doesn’t even register like it used to when he mentions killing people. What does that say about me?
“I gouged his eyes out and had Petrov put a nail in his spine, which in hindsight, may have been a bit much,” he said, scratching his chin with a wistful look in his eyes. “Even withour ability to heal, getting a vampire’s body to push out a foreign object takes a long time. But things were quiet for a good two weeks in our area of the city without him. He got me back though. He got me back good.”
Adam ignored the roiling in his gut at the description as Vincent huffed out a laugh at the memory. “What did he do?”
“The old bastard got the drop on me when I was alone. He broke both my arms, dislocated my shoulders, and ripped out my fangs with a pair of pliers. It took 3 months for them to grow back.”
Adam stared at Vincent, wide-eyed. “How the hell are you guys still friends?”
Vincent laughed. “We get over silly little fights like that quickly. Our kind isn’t exactly known for our incredible emotional stability, so spending a couple years at each other’s throats and making up later isn’t uncommon at all. He’s had my back more times than not, and I’ve had his.”
Adam nodded, just taking in the information. It was a hard concept to wrap his mind around—to forgive that easily.Don’t let this pull you down. You’ve had enough sadness and despair.
“This is for you,” Vincent said, placing the tub in Adam’s lap.
Adam furrowed his brow at the container, not recognizing the brand. “Adapt-a-Skin? Are you telling me I have dry skin?”
Vincent shook his head. “No, it’s for your leg. I noticed you have a callous on the bony part of your residual limb. The internet says that is supposed to help prevent it from cracking and bleeding, at least until we can get you to the prosthetist in town to see if it needs to be refitted,” he saidcasually, rolling onto his side to play with the frayed edge of the towel around Adam’s waist.
It was almost too much to take in. He had never encountered such attentiveness and kindness before, not even from his parents, and in spite of everything, it made him feel safe. His throat tightened as he continued to stare at the container, feeling silly for having such a strong reaction to something so small. Something probably no one else in his situation would bat an eye at. But this was everything he didn’t know he wanted.
Vincent—and to be fair, the brothers—who all were dangerous in every sense of the word, had known him for such a short period of time and shown him more consideration than his so-called friends and family ever had.Vincent accepts who I am, no strings attached.
“Thank you,” Adam said softly, worried that if he said anything else he would start crying.
Vincent’s fingers stilled on the towel, and he glanced up at Adam with a genuine smile. “You don’t need to thank me. It’s just a small thing.” He sat up, leaning closer to Adam as he reached out to stroke his cheek. “I will give you anything you want, whenever you want.”
Adam felt his chest tighten with gratitude and something deeper, more dangerous. The urge to deflect, to make a joke before the moment became too heavy, won out.
“Anything?” he asked, forcing a grin. “What if I want something obscenely expensive, like a Corvette?”
“I’d insist on something electric if you want a car, but I’m sure we could find you a nice Rivian or something,” Vincent said with an indulgent smile.
He’s hot and fiscally irresponsible. Just my type.“You’reinsane,” Adam chuckled.
Vincent’s expression shifted, the playfulness fading into something more serious. He leaned closer, his eyes searching Adam’s face. “Maybe I am.”
The distance between them seemed to evaporate. Vincent’s cool lips found his, and all of Adam’s careful deflection crumbled.
Finally, he thought as he reached out to touch Vincent, parting his lips to invite him in. A simple kiss wouldn’t be enough to satiate the pent up desire he had tried to push away for the past few days. He had been drowning in the need to taste Vincent on his lips, to touch him and connect with him. He ran his fingers over the back of Vincent’s neck, the short hairs at the nape tickling his fingertips, and he pressed forward, trying to get closer, to feel that chilly skin against his own.
A disappointed sigh left his lips as Vincent pulled back.
“Did you have something else in mind?” Vincent asked, running his fingers over his lower lip.
“You could say that,” Adam muttered as he leaned in for another kiss, melting as the Vincent obliged his silent request and consumed his mouth with his own. Adam shivered as Vincent’s hands wandered from his face, down his throat, and to his chest, resting there for far longer than Adam wanted them to. “You’re teasing me.”
“I want to take my time with you tonight,” Vincent said in that familiar commanding tone that made Adam’s pulse spike. “I want to feel every inch of you surrender to me.” His hands gripped Adam’s wrists, pinning them against the mattress. “But I need to know you can handle it. Your back, your ankle…”
