Vincent kissed her exposed shoulder from the nightgown that was sliding down her slim frame. "I do sincerely apologize for going into bloodlust around you when you had your guard down and were weak."
She lifted his head and ignored his comment about the weak part since her pride was already blown. "What is bloodlust?"
"Vampires go into bloodlust if they haven't fed in roughly three months. I can't swallow animal blood, so I try to fend off bloodwine which is blood from donors that is mixed in red wine. It isn't enough, and I can't go through the normal process of finding my person out in clubs or where ever because I am a cavalier."
"I see," she responded. "I don't understand why Natalia and Sebastian had to doll me up yesterday though."
"I was sure that you caught onto that," Vincent said. "They predicted my schedule well and thought you would be my blood partner for that evening."
"Do your partners... always have intercourse with you?"
"No," Vincent immediately answered. "The staff makes sure to dress them up, because..."
Charlotte pushed him over so that they were laying side by side. "Finish your sentence truthfully. You know that I'm in too deep to escape without you."
He averted his eyes, and her nails landed on his chin, pushing his face back to look at her. "It is just that they often don't make it out alive."
"What?"
He blew out an agitated breath. "I try to restrain as much as possible to only drink what I need, but sometimes, their bodies don't take it well and die. My staff takes care of the aftermath."
"They sacrifice themselves to you?" she asked in horror.
His lips settle in a grim line. "Yes. There is no better way, Charlotte. Those who go down this route tend to be debtors, criminals, and such that want a peaceful death."
Charlotte sighed. She wasn't one to judge vampires for their lifestyles nor anyone for that matter. "Why don't you only settle on one person?"
"It complicates matters," he said. "My mother was that person for my father, and she died."
She froze from the way he said it so forcefully and wiggled forward to kiss him gently, her heart breaking for her since she could still feel the poignant pain fresh on his lips. Charlotte knew that she had to tread carefully from there, so she changed the topic.
"Am I alright now?" she lightly asked.
"Yes. You have been cleared by doc yesterday. Your concussion wasn't as bad as it seemed."
Charlotte could still remember that sharp pain of the butt of the gun slamming into her forehead bright as day, but it was definitely better to hear that she would suffer no long-term damage. Her body felt sore yet somehow refreshed.
The bandage wrapped around her arm was freshly done and thinner than the last time that she saw it. She was able to move her arm freely, and she settled back into the mattress satisfied with her condition. Charlotte still felt uncomfortable from the cold sweat sticking to her skin, and finally gave in. She nudged his shoulder, and Vincent took her sign to lift her into his arms. Charlotte ran a hand through her hair and grimaced.
"I need to shower," she whispered.
"I'll take you."
"No," Charlotte said. He froze from her forceful response. His hand carefully slid down her back and balled into a fist by his side. It was just that she needed time to think alone. She gave him a soft smile to soothe him. "I'm sorry. Will you do this for me?"
"Yes. Go ahead. I'll wait for you here."
Thanking him silently with an incline of her head, she padded into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and shutting away the obtrusive thoughts swirling in her mind. She wasn't one to fret over little actions like this, and she went over to the bathtub to start it up. Charlotte lightly dipped her toes in the steaming water before fully submerging her body into the warm embrace with a long sigh.
She didn't understand their relationship, and now, she couldn't look at Vincent the same after what had happened. Her whole body heated up just from being next to him. She splashed the water on her face and washed well while making an arbitrary decision about what to do.
Her main goal was still to escape from the vigilantes since they were threatening her ordinary life just as much as Vincent was, but Vincent wasn't out to kill her. Goosebumps rose from the chill in the air, and she sank deeper into the tub.
It was good that her and Vincent's goals somewhat aligned since he wanted to eradicate them, and she wanted to protect herself and her family. She tilted her head back wanting to let out a sarcastic laugh after wrapping her head around the whole situation.