Eve stared at Vincent as if she had turned deaf because of the thunder that had struck a moment ago. Her eyes narrowed, and she said, "I told only my neck and hands."

Vincent clicked his tongue, "Rude. You just said I could bite anywhere I want, and now you are taking your words back?"

Eve knew that Vincent had a better hearing ability than the other vampires. Even over the thunderous sound of the clouds, he had perfectly heard what she said and was now behaving dumb with her. She asked, "Are you not ashamed to twist my words for your benefit? Taking advantage of the person who offered you shelter and clothes?"

"No," came the nonchalant response from Vincent, who now smiled, and the smile was enough to have her heart flutter.

"I think I am sick," Eve muttered to herself.

How could her heart skip a beat for this vampire? Vincent's head missed too many screws which she was already aware about, but was her screws falling off too?

"Let me take a bite and see if you are really sick or if you are only feeling hot at the thought of my lips brushing against your skin," Vincent suggested, and Eve quickly shook her head.

Eve raised her hand straight while her fingers parted to keep the vampire away from her. She said, "What you want is my blood, so it shouldn't matter which part of me you bite. A mermaid's blood should circulate like a human, everywhere. There shouldn't be much change." She doubted she would be able to keep her heart still if he did what he did the last time he had bitten her.

"You are stalling, when you know it is inevitable," Vincent's eyes glowed red. He said, "There have been plenty of opportunities for me to drink from you, but I have been considerate, haven't I, my little mermaid?"

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Eve's mouth and throat went dry. In the past, no matter how he addressed her, she often brushed it away. But she couldn't anymore and her heart softened. It was hard to be indifferent towards him when her mind tried to conjure its own assumptions about Vincent's words.

She couldn't deny his words because it was true. If it were another person in Vincent's place, they would have bitten her harshly, similar to how Lady Camille had bitten her without consideration.

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With his trousers hanging low on his waist, Vincent made his way to where Eve stood. The fireplace continued burning brightly, its warm glow falling on them. The glow in the room hid Eve's feelings.

Eve knew if she wanted, she could try to escape, but that didn't mean she could escape the reality that Vincent would catch her. The roots of her newfound feelings for him had crawled around her feet, and even though she knew it had thorns on it, deep down she craved it.

When Vincent came to stand in front of Eve, she craned her neck to meet his eyes in the silence that surrounded them and the rain that numbed everything except for their presence that pulled them near each other. When he raised his hand, Eve closed her eyes and heard him remark,

"For someone who didn't dry her hair properly, you seem to be interested in helping another person," Vincent picked up a piece of her hair between his fingers, feeling the dampness, and Eve opened her eyes.

Though Eve didn't feel his actual touch, it didn't mean him running his fingers on the length of her hair didn't affect her. She watched him look at the piece of her hair that he held. Pushing the nervousness away, she replied, "I did. It takes some time before it dries."

"Mm," Vincent hummed for a response as he continued staring at her hair. "The blonde in your hair... it is unique." He then asked her, "Did you ever bite a vampire?"

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Eve was stunned by his question. Did he want her to bite him?

Vincent's eyes shifted from her hair to look at her blue eyes. He didn't know why, but there was something very familiar about Eve. Deep down, he questioned if she was the one he had been looking for. But he couldn't place her face in his memory.

With both their mother's death, Eve had forgotten such minute details about her life as it was replaced by death. Vincent's memory about the small girl he had met years ago had faded, turning the person faceless and almost silhouette-like.

Eve shook her head, "Not that I can remember of," she replied, noticing the question in Vincent's eyes evaporate and turn cold.

Vincent enjoyed Eve's company more than any other woman from any status, and he didn't like it earlier when she unconsciously questioned if Noah was stronger than him. The slight irritation he felt didn't disappear. He said to her,

"Did you know that drinking blood from someone is an art in itself?" His hand let go of her golden blonde hair. "Women and men from high society, like their blood being taken."

"Most of the people from the high society must be sexually dissastisfied," Eve whispered, feeling her mind slightly turning blurry as Vincent's upper bare body was too close to her, and all she had to do was raise her hand to touch it.

Eve's reply brought a crooked smile to Vincent's lips. He said, "Has the subject never interested you?"

"You seem more interested in it."

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"You are deflecting from the question."

Eve turned flustered, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"I haven't even done anything yet and your heart is already racing. There's no need to be ashamed of how you felt at the night of the soiree, I know you enjoyed it as much as I did," all it took was Vincent whispering to have her knees slightly shake. He caught her waist with his hands before she would fall. "Unless you are telling me that you are scared of wanting more and have no self control."

Eve snapped out from her dazed state and glared at him. "I have far more self control than you think," but her voice cracked at the end when she saw him smirk.

Eve didn't want a repeat of Vincent biting her inner thigh as she doubted her poor, fragile heart could take it when it was so affected by the vampire in front of her.

"Fine," Vincent let go of her waist, and a hint of disappointment appeared in her eyes.

That was it? He only wanted to scare her? Eve asked herself. But then he said, "I will honour your words as I respect you."

Her heart squeezed at his words. Was he doing it on purpose? This push and pull, but no. Vincent Moriarty wasn't a man who would pull a stunt as such, and he seemed like someone who went after what he wanted. He was twistedly nice to her, which drew her towards him.

Vincent stepped backwards, pulling the chair around. He said, "Your hands and neck are where I will bite you."

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He sat comfortably on the chair in front of the fireplace and looked at her. He stretched his hands towards Eve and said, "Enough of stalling."