Music Recommendation: Friedrich Dances with Jo- Alexandre Desplat

The clouds in the sky lightly rumbled, and the lighting hit the ground, which flashed through the room's windows. The light reflected on the vampire's face, which made Eve's heart jump as his eyes were no more closed and instead looked straight at her.

Vincent's eyes held a tinge that even the darkness in the room couldn't compete with it. The darkness that lingered behind his dark and rich red eyes looked as if ready to engulf Eve in it. As much as he had saved her today, she couldn't deny that this vampire intimidated her more than anyone had until now.

"I--I thought you were a bat," Eve responded to his earlier words while softly gulping.

"It was an expression. I am sure you have heard about it?" Vincent stared at her like a hawk. Eve nodded, and she tried to pull her hand, but he held it quite firmly. "I have been holding back from sinking my teeth into your skin, yet you are intent on provoking my patience."

"The weather is cold, I thought you might be cold," Eve felt Vincent slightly tug her hand.

"And what did we speak about not helping people? It seems like a little lesson is required in your case, little girl," Vincent's words were just above a whisper.

When Vincent pulled her to the desk, Eve's eyes turned wide. He stood up, hovering in front of her. He trapped her between his hands as he placed them flat on the desk's surface.

"M-master Vincent, I should get back to the couch--"

Vincent placed his finger on her lips, hushing her, "The first time is always scary, but once you get used to it, it isn't so bad," he coaxed her.

"It is hard to imagine losing blood to be not scary," came the ushered words from Eve's lips.

"Don't you know that we vampires are cold creatures. Inside out," said Vincent, pushing her slightly wet hair away from her shoulder from the bath she took. Eve's hand tried to find something on the desk, and on finding a book, she quickly brought it between their faces so that only her eyes were visible.

"I will keep it in my mind next time," Once Eve was done speaking, she felt the book being pushed downwards. Soon drops of water started to hit the ground and rain poured.

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"I am sure you will," Vincent's eyes darkened further at her, and he ran his tongue across one of his fangs.

Eve didn't have anywhere else to go, and she said, "Master Vincent, I just lost some blood."

As they stood close, Eve noticed the evil glint in Vincent's eyes, and he looked slightly annoyed and angry. She wondered why such a simple gesture of putting a blanket on him had evoked such emotions in him.

"I know. I will leave enough for you to live."

Vincent was not used to people caring for him, and it had always been something he didn't need. People often tried to act that they cared when they wanted to gain some sort of favour from him. Being a man of perception, he could sniff people's intentions from their words. At the same time, he didn't like people getting into his personal space, which included his food.

All these years, no one dared to step close to him. He definitely enjoyed this little mermaid's company who did things to amuse him, and though he had named them to be friends, but it didn't remove the fact that he wanted to drink her until the very last drop of blood in her body.

It seemed like she forgot what they had spoken, not understanding the danger in front of her and liked to play with fire. Vincent couldn't help but want to remind her.

Eve felt his fingers brush her neck, and she trembled under his cold touch. His fingers curled around her neck in dominance, and he leaned towards her neck with his lips parting.

"Is it going to hurt?" Eve whispered while she had closed her eyes.

When Vincent's fingers uncurled around her neck, she let out an internal sigh of relief, believing he had only meant to intimidate her. But then she heard him say,

"Tell me about it."

The next moment, Vincent's fangs broke into Eve's delicate and pale skin of her neck. She winced only for a moment, and then she felt no pain but the vampire's mouth, sucking the skin to draw blood from her.

This feeling she felt right now coursed through her veins like a flood that broke through the dam, rushing and increasing the colour of her skin while also moving to where Vincent had bitten her. There was evident fear, nervousness. But that didn't stop the vampire from sucking her blood into his mouth.

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The pain Eve felt in her neck was barely negligible, and once the fear dissipated, it was replaced with embarrassment. It wasn't anything new to vampires, but she was no vampire and not a woman who had let any man touch her. Her hands gripped the desk tighter when she felt Vincent's lips suck on her tender skin.

On the other hand, Vincent was turning into an addict of Eve's blood as it tasted nothing less than an elixir. Every drop that entered his mouth was sweeter than the previous one, and it was urging his senses to drink more from her. Wanting to keep her alive for his very own selfish reasons. Wanting to have more of her, his hand fell on Eve's waist, and at the same time, the mermaid's eyes widened.

"Master Vincent," Eve's words came out rushed, and one of her hands, which gripped the edge of the table, shot up to move his hand from her waist.

But Vincent quickly moved his hand and caught hold of her delicate wrist as he continued to drink from her. Eve shivered when his coarse tongue licked where he had been drinking before sinking his teeth again.

As seconds started to trickle away, Eve started to feel faint, and she whispered, "...ter Vincent."

Vincent, who wanted to devour Eve because of his thirst and hunger for the mermaid, he opened his eyes, listening to her breathing softly. He pulled away from her neck, and his other hand cradled the back of her head as he stared at her.

Her eyes had closed, and she had fallen asleep.

Vincent stared at an unconscious Eve for many more seconds without moving an inch. Finally picking her up in his arms, he placed her on the couch and put the blanket on her.

He walked to one of the cabinets and pulled it open, where four bottles of liquor sat. Picking up the dark blue bottle, he poured himself a glass of the liquor from it.

Vincent's thoughts went back to the past when he was young, where he could hear screams. People who belonged to the lower class of the society often couldn't survive on this side of the world that he lived in, which was filled with nothing but darkness.

His gaze returned to the woman sleeping on his office couch.

"I wonder how long you will survive," he murmured before taking another sip from his glass.

After a while, Vincent stepped out of the office room and when he was turning the lock on the door. One of the members of the Inner Circle caught sight of him and questioned,

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"You seem to be locking the door quite carefully. Have you collected treasure there, Vincent?"

Vincent slipped the key into his trouser pocket and said, "Something like that. Considering the number of thieves that walk up and down in the council, one can never be sure," he offered a bright smile to the man, who was shorter than him in height.

The member of the Inner Circle laughed at Vincent's words and said, "Always joking, aren't you? Work is being hard?"

"Mhm. How about you Sylvester? What are you doing walking like a ghost?" Vincent returned the question to the man, leading him away from the room.

"I am trying to spend more time here so that I don't return to my lonely mansion. Things have been hard since Martha passed away," sighed the vampire.

"This is why they say not to marry someone you cannot turn to and isn't of your own kind. Nothing that cannot be fixed," replied Vincent, his eyes cooly looking at the corridor ahead.

Sylvester hummed and said, "Maybe I will. It is the right thing to do, and you must know--" when the man's eyes met Vincent's that glared at him. The man cleared his throat and said, "I should get going. Keep your doors closed," he laughed.

"I will," chimed Vincent with a bright smile before it vanished along with the man's disappearance. He continued to walk down the corridors, taking the stairs that led underground before entering the laboratory.

"What did you find?" He questioned the woman named Clarks.

The physician of the council looked pleased to see Vincent here, and she said, "Please, follow me. It is regarding Mr. Fowler's case." And as they made their way, the woman asked, "Does she taste well? The mermaid."

"She's not for sharing. If that is what you want to know," stated Vincent, and he said, "I am hoping you keep this information to yourself, Clarks. Or I could help you forget it for good."

The woman shook her head, noticing the colour of his eyes darken, "I know to keep a secret."

"Fantastic," Vincent smiled at her brightly.

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