“If you want to dig into that, I’d be happy to help you, but I want to know what’s going on with you. What was Ian giving you at the warehouse? In the IV bags.”
“They don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m anemic, and they have no clue why. I often get iron infusions. They help for a while, but it never seems to be enough. A few times they had to give me a blood transfusion, too.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“A few years.”
“You had no problems before then?”
I shake my head. “It’s getting worse.” I lick my lips, my eyes going to Vincent’s neck. The urge to sink my teeth into him is almost unbearable. What, pardon my French, le fuck?
“And you keep wanting to bite me? Did you enjoy the taste of my blood, poppet?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “Am I turning into a vampire?” I reach up and touch my teeth. They still feel like normal human teeth.
“I don’t think it works that way.” Vincent gives me a sexy smirk.
“Well, your heart is beating and you’re….” I trail off.
“Hard, poppet. I’m hard as fuck.” He reaches down and adjusts his cock. Heat rushes to my face. “It’s not that surprising. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen, so it was bound to happen.”
“You think I’m sexy?”
“You are sexy.” He leans in to kiss me again but jerks back suddenly. “I’m starting to think you're the one that’s using mind powers.”
“No more kisses?” I huff.
“As much as I want to tell Ian to fuck all the way off, I don’t want to hurt you, and my control isn’t great with you.”
“Okay,” I agree, smiling. “Let’s solve these murders then.”
“After I feed you.”
I glance at the casserole the old lady from next door dropped off. He follows my gaze. With a quick swipe, he sends the whole thing into the garbage can. “I’m going to feed you. Not Mrs. Brewster.” He opens the fridge and starts pulling things out.
“You have food in there? Can you even cook?”
“I can do a lot of things, poppet.” He winks at me. “And my fridge is very newly stocked.”
Did he order groceries for me? Before he even knew I was coming? Why does that melt my heart so much?
His hands move quickly, sorting through meats and cheeses that make my mouth water. “Now tell me about the murders. What do you know about the teenage boys who were killed?”
That question curbs my appetite a little. “Found dead less than half a mile from here in one of the boys' vehicles. All the blood had been drained from their bodies.”
“That’s sloppy. If I was going to go killing for blood, I wouldn’t leave them close to home. Especially drained of their blood. That’s all but putting a bullseye on myself.” He has a point.
I can’t see Vincent being so reckless. He seems more refined and calculated.
“Not just any home, either. You’re putting a lot of work into this place.” I jump down from the counter, wanting to get a better look around. I don’t know much about renovations, but I’ve seen some HGTV in my time. It looks like Vincent is taking his time and preserving the history of the home. From what I can see, the work he’s done so far looks incredible.
“This is the original wood?” I ask, running my fingers up the trim of the door.
“The trim, yes. It is. Someone did that by hand. You can’t get that sort of craftsmanship anymore.”
“I really love this place. Is it crazy to be jealous of a house? It has a whole history with fine details.”
“Everyone has a history. You just don’t know what yours is. I think once we start digging, you’ll find it’s deeper than you first thought.”
“Right,” I agree. Everyone has a history. It’s just a matter of finding it or even restoring it. “You think finding out my past might help find out what’s wrong with my blood?”
“We’d be dumb not to think there’s some kind of connection to you having issues with your blood and now wanting to bite a vampire whose heart you made come back to life.”
“And the fact that vampires always want to kill me. I attract them. I’m like vampire catnip,” I joke. Vincent doesn’t find it funny at all. A growl rumbles from him. Goosebumps breakout across my skin, my nipples tightening. My body can’t hide my reaction to him either. It’s crazy, because I’ve never been attracted to anyone before. I was starting to think something was wrong with me.
“Have you wanted to bite any of them?” His blue eyes start to darken.
“Only you,” I admit. “You’re different.” That’s putting it mildly.
Even knowing Ian was trying to protect me from Vincent before, I had thoughts about attacking Ian if he tried to come after him. I’d left my own weapons in the car when I knew I was going to poke around Vincent's home. On some deep level, I never considered Vincent a threat to me. I wonder if that’s why I’d been so fearless the first time I’d come to his door.