Music Recommendation: Consolations, Franz Liszt

The burning candles in the room had turned half their original size, their wax falling on the candle stand's surface, while the flames continued burning and kept the room as bright as possible. The snowstorm had not reduced, and one could hear the strong winds that moved outside the inn now. The wind had picked up the loose snow from the ground's surface, creating a mist in the atmosphere.

A couple of minutes had passed since Eve had joined Vincent in the bathtub, and though the earlier warmth of the water had disappeared, it still kept the couple in there.

Eve felt her heart skip a beat every time Vincent pressed her fingertips between his, while her back continued to lean against his chest.

"You are quiet," Vincent stated, his words falling next to her ears and he asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I never knew you had this side to you," Eve confessed to him. His demeanour and behaviour from the past and the present was as stark as day and evening. Evening because, there were rare times she had glimpsed his care for her.

Eve felt Vincent's arm around her waist pulling her closer to him against the water that tried to pull her away from him. He said, "How did you think I would be?"

"I didn't think... I didn't know you would accept me," Eve softly said, and she heard him hum.

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"And how do you find it now?" Vincent asked her, and she felt a jolt run down her spine when he squeezed her hand.

"Affectionate," Eve answered and Vincent pressed his lips against her shoulder.

Truthfully, it was the opposite of his previous behaviour. In the past, even though Eve and Vincent held a rapport between them, where they would fight with words, it was far from how things were right now. There was no hint of coldness in his actions or words; all she could feel was the warmth he offered to her.

He didn't just squeeze her hand, but also her heart sweetly. Who knew Vincent was capable of making her feel like this as if he didn't want to let her out of his arms or his sight, ready to spend an eternity in this bathtub even if the water eventually turned into ice.

"Who will I be affectionate with, if not you," Vincent spoke next to her head, letting go of her hand and wrapping it around her waist. His words such as these were enough for Eve to question if what she was experiencing was real or just a dream. He said to her, "I didn't think I would fall for someone, less a mermaid. What would you think, if I said we have met before?"

"Like in dreams?" Eve asked him, her eyebrows raised in question, and Vincent smiled.

He responded, "Better than that. When we were young, I found you in a fair. It was before the abduction took place. We met each other in Crowbury."

At that time, Eve was small and unlike Vincent, the memory of him in her mind had been erased, leaving no recollection about the small vampire boy, who had saved her from one of the high-status men. She replied, "I am sorry. I don't think I remember it."

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"It is fine," Vincent replied, adjusting his chin on her shoulder. He repeated, "It is perfectly alright. What matters now is that you are here with me."

A small, shy smile crept up on Eve's lips and she stayed in Vincent's arms, soaking in the water. Accustomed to the light on this side of the room, she stared at her feet under the water. With the little space in the bathtub, she hadn't turned her lower half body into her mermaid self. Earlier at the lake, she had turned into a mermaid after being suddenly pulled beneath the surface of the water. She wondered what the spirit mermaid wanted to tell her. More than telling her something, it felt like the spirit wanted to hurt her.

Eve asked Vincent, "How were things at Meadow when you left?" She hoped Eugene was doing fine and wasn't being pestered or questioned by the townsfolk.

"Stacks of hays are being placed on the roofs. In every town of low and middle class people, to reduce the effect of the snow once it starts. If you are talking about the people, they know not to mention a word about what they did to you," Vincent protectively held her in his arms. "You don't have to worry about them. They know better than to irk me."

When Eve sat upright, Vincent loosened his hold of arms around her, and he tilted his head. He asked her, "Did my words upset you?"

Eve turned to look at him with a smile and shook her head, "No."

She then turned her body such that she sat face-to-face with Vincent in the bathtub.

Her action led to water splashing out of the bathtub, softly spilling, while the surface of the water wavered where they sat.

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Eve then put her arms around Vincent's neck, hugging him. She was glad for Vincent's existence in this world, that in however form or time he had met her, he had come to look for her even after she had stubbornly told him that she was leaving for Berkshire. If it weren't for him, she knew she wouldn't be as happy and safe as she felt right now.

"Thank you for everything you have done for me, Vincent. No matter how much I thank you, I don't think it would be enough," Eve whispered to him.

Vincent put one arm around her waist to keep her in place while he placed his other hand on the back of her slightly wet hair. He said, "Silly, what are you thanking me for? Didn't I always tell you that I have your back. And now I have your front, softer than I expected it to be."

Eve's eyes widened and she quickly pulled away from him. In the flow of emotions and the soft atmosphere that surrounded them, she hadn't taken note of her breasts pressing against his taut chest.

The inner off-white dress's neckline was as deep as the outer dress she had been wearing until now, maybe even a little deeper to stop it from peeping behind the outer dress.

Vincent caressed the side of her face, and his thumb brushed against her jaw before he said, "I am turning thirsty. Mind if I take a sip or more?" He moved closer to where she sat, while leaning forward.

Eve asked him, "Where do you plan to bite?" Her blue eyes stared into his coppery-red eyes.

"Somewhere close to where your heart beats," Vincent informed her, his hand dropping to her neck.

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Eve felt him push one side of her hair behind her shoulder, and her heartbeat sped. Because of sitting in the bathtub for so long and leaning against him all this time, her inner dress had absorbed and soaked itself with water, which now stuck to her body, while her upper body was above the surface of the water.

The inner dress showed Eve's womanly curves and the colour of the tips of her breasts. And as aware as she was, she noticed the way Vincent's eyes followed the trail of his hand as it left her neck, trailing to the outer curve of her breast that elicited a gasp from her lips.