Vincent pushed her shoulder gently to try and make her lay down on the island to which Charlotte glanced at him in confusion before her back was pushed flat on the countertop with her exposed skin on the cool quartz sending a chill down her skin from the contact.
"Wait," Charlotte said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm saving the best for last," Vincent said with a light smile.
"What?" Charlotte sputtered incredulously. "There might still be vigilantes in here!"
"Luckily, your wounds aren't too bad. Just a few nicks and scratches here and there."
Charlotte rolled her eyes at his quick change of topic and hissed when he blew on the large wound on her abdomen. His eyes flicked up her body, and Charlotte held her breath waiting for what he was going to do next.
"Are you fine?"
"With what?"
Vincent smirked and leaned down to press his lips against her wound, and she her eyes never left his. She couldn't help it, but Vincent was the most handsome person she had ever laid her eyes on.
His tongue brushed against it, and Charlotte squirmed from the sensual touch. She didn't know if it was supposed to be intentional or not, but she widened her legs open for him.
He nipped her flesh, and Charlotte squeaked, pushing at his shoulder. "That hurts."
"I'm sorry. I'm closing up the wound now."
Her breathing picked up as he continued to touch her, his fingers skimming down the planes of her back and dipping where her hips curved. It was moments like these that made her doubt whether or not they were compatible.
She loved the way he held her, and she kicked her feet when he pulled her up to a sitting position.
Charlotte tucked her hair behind her ears and wet her lips that wet dry. She glanced down to see that her wound did close perfectly, looking as though nothing was ever there in the first place. "I forgot that you could do that."
"It is useful, a skill that all vampires have."
"If that's the case then why are Sera and Darion needed?"
"There are some questions that arise at times that need to be tested. They are there for help in case of any dire need."
"Why didn't you feed off me?" she pressed a hand to his forehead. Vincent was going pale despite already being the color of fresh snow, she knew that he was losing strength after all that bloodshed that was healing slower than it normally would.
"You lost a lot of blood, Charlotte. If I took your vein now, I would drink you dry."
She didn't know whether or not that was a threat or not but took it as a warning, and she sighed. "It's fine. You should find another human to drink from."
He grabbed her chin. "I didn't mean it like that. Your life in danger puts mine in danger as well."
Charlotte weakly lifted a shoulder. "Despite me being your contractor, I practically hold no other power over you except for the measly promise I made you make."
"But it goes deeper than that. Trust me."
She didn't get to answer since he slid her shirt over her head again and lifted her off of the island. He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm before dragging her throughout the apartment to gather more clues about what went down here when they were gone.
Vincent didn't bother to pick up anything but picked up the water jug from the ground that was leaking and making a mess. "Judging by the level of the water, the vigilantes must have snuck in only recently."
"When we went to go eat dinner?"
"Probably around then."
Charlotte placed a hand under her chin. "I wonder what was their plan to tail us like that."
They carefully went up the stairs to peek their head into the bedrooms that were completely turned over with all the pillows shredded, mirrors shattered, and other furniture splintered around the room and came across the master bedroom that looked like a crime scene waiting for their arrival.
Vincent spun and blocked Charlotte from the view of the bedroom, but she had already gotten a glimpse of what was inside. Charlotte covered her gasp while her eyes watered and gagged when she saw the gore-filled scene in front of her.
The walls were already painted crimson, slowly dripping from the walls along with the shine and scented strongly of fresh blood with a frilly black box presented in the center of the bed that was surprisingly still perfectly made by the housekeeper.
There were words from black paint scattered among the walls that were full of disgusting words to call them out.
Vincent pressed her head into his chest. She could hear his heartbeat loud and strong. "Do you want to see it?"
Charlotte swallowed thickly. "We'll have to look at it anyway."