Page 39 of Missing Piece (Neon Scars #2)

H e didn’t like the crutch. It reminded him too much of physical therapy and made all those feelings of inadequacy come rushing back to him.

Sometimes his dad would stay to watch his progress and not-so-subtly clear his throat when he thought Adam wasn’t giving it his best, and after six months he just stopped showing up.

He’d say he had court or client meetings, but Adam knew he just didn’t want to watch his crippled son struggle through another hydrotherapy session or bitch about being tired.

Adam forced the memories from his mind as he moved up and down the hallway, finding his stride with the crutch.

It was nice to be able to move a little faster and know he wouldn’t have to rely on Vincent or the brothers for help.

It’d probably be hard to manage the stairs at Vincent’s house, but it was definitely better than being carried like a chihuahua.

His thoughts shifted to the reason they were there. What the hell was he walking into tomorrow? Meeting Vincent’s entire vampire family felt surreal enough without adding his own complicated feelings about where he fit into all of it.

Was he Vincent’s boyfriend? His talking blood bag? Some weird hybrid of both? He stopped mid-stride as he heard the deadbolt turn on the front door again. Vincent stepped into view and smiled at him. It wasn’t a full, toothy smile, but he had that warm haze again. Like he was happy to see him.

Adam tried really hard not to, but the smile was already on his face as he urged the muscles in his face to remain motionless. The anxiety about tomorrow melted away at the sight of him. “Nice to see you’ve found your sea legs,” Vincent said.

“Between my prosthetic and the clicking of the crutch, I sound like I’m just taking apart a series of large guns,” Adam muttered.

“I don’t know if they make silencers for that,” Vincent said, stopping a few feet in front of Adam. He dug his hands deeper into his pockets.

Adam waited for him to say something. Do something. But he just stood there, taking Adam in. There was something different about his demeanor, more cautious, almost uncertain. “Your friend said that we’re staying in that room,” Adam gestured to the door behind him.

Vincent grinned. “He’s trying to get you in trouble. That’s not one of the guest rooms.” Vincent brushed past him and cracked the door open. “This is Ophelia’s room and he definitely knows that.”

Adam pivoted on his good leg, leaning forward to peer into the room.

It was so…pink. From what he could see, a pink feather boa lining the dresser mirror, pink sheets on the bed, a Hello Kitty plush sitting on the bed that was way bigger than any plushie should be.

“Is this supposed to be ironic or something?” Adam asked as he felt a disturbing fit of laughter working its way up his throat.

“She’s an odd kid.” Vincent pulled the door shut. “Come on, we’re staying down here. And don’t tell her you saw her room, she may gouge your eyes out or cut out your tongue.” He opened the next door. “Or both.”

Adam bit back a laugh as he made his way into the small bedroom, slowly lowering himself onto the twin bed. So he’d be sharing a bed with Vincent again?

Vincent stood in the doorway, watching him in a way that made Adam’s chest tight with anticipation. He wanted those unnatural hands on his skin again, to feel his breath on his neck…He ran his finger over his lower lip, lowering his gaze as he tried not to imagine it, but his cock stirred to life.

Just don’t think about it. You made a huge ass of yourself last time.

“Are you okay?” Vincent asked, breaking the silence.

Adam nodded, his face flushed. “Yeah, just tired I guess. Unnaturally tired.”

Vincent walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, his thigh brushing against Adam’s. “You’re recovering from some nasty wounds, and getting mini-doses of adrenaline with the lidocaine probably doesn’t help. I also read that people early in sobriety can experience fatigue and lethargy.”

Adam raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ve been reading up on sobriety?”

The vampire shifted uncomfortably. “Just a little,” he admitted. “I just wanted to make sure we weren’t going to mess something up for you.”

How the hell was he supposed to respond to that?

Vincent seemingly cared enough to look into all sorts of things like what medications to give him and how to properly put his prosthetic on.

But at the same time, he had also kept him chained to a bed and smacked him around a few times for good measure, though after their conversation yesterday, those memories felt different now.

More complicated. Nothing in the world made sense anymore.

I mean, does it? There are vampires crawling all over town, running businesses and adopting children and God knows what else. Nothing makes sense.

But it didn’t need to make sense. He could just…

accept whatever this was. Sure, things had gotten off on the wrong foot, but then again, he had spent so many days fighting his family, his addiction, his own body, his memories…

maybe it was okay to just stop and live in the moment?

Like they said during NA meetings, “Accept the things you cannot change.”

Trying to change the ways of someone who had been alive for 129 years didn’t sound like something he could change. He could choose to be 100% on board with the do-over and just…accept the affection?

He rubbed at the back of his neck and closed his eyes. “I still feel like I should apologize about the other night,” he said.

The bed dipped as Vincent shifted closer, then a hand on his back, rubbing up and down in small, slow circles, carefully avoiding the parts that were injured. He didn’t mind it. It felt so good to be touched.

“You don’t have to apologize. I pushed the issue—”

“No, I really over-reacted. I got upset…” Adam let out a sigh. “I was acting like a dick because I felt bad and I used you to make myself feel better, and that’s a really shitty thing to do to someone. I—I’m sorry.” Adam bowed his head.

“Seriously, you don’t have to apologize,” Vincent said. “But you should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for both of us. You’re going to meet the rest of the family, so to speak.”

Great. More vampires.

* * *

He tried to focus on the ceiling, the white surface barely visible in the pale light of the alarm clock on the nightstand.

His mind bounced between the embarrassment of everything he ever said and did, then sharply veered off into sudden flashes of Vincent fucking him senseless.

His whole body boiled beneath the thin top sheet of the bed he covered himself with, but he had already removed his prosthetic and wasn’t willing to just let it hang out.

Vincent must have come into the room without him noticing, because he felt the mattress dip toward one side and his heart began to race as a familiar scent settled beside him.

He didn’t dare glance over. There wasn’t much space between them on the small mattress, and though it seemed like Vincent was trying to keep some distance, Adam didn’t want any distance at all.

He wanted the vampire to wrap around him and whisper in his ear and fuck the gnawing guilt right out of him. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Stop thinking with your dick and go the fuck to sleep.

“I know when you’re awake. Your heartbeat is very loud,” Vincent said.

“That’s a very intrusive skill to have,” Adam replied. He turned over to face Vincent, barely able to make out his outline in the darkness, but he had a feeling Vincent’s eyes were open, just staring at him. “How good is your hearing?”

“I can hear a heartbeat from about twenty feet away, further if they’re running or have high blood pressure. ”

“Smell?”

“I can smell peaches on you.”

Adam smirked. “What about sleep? Do you have to sleep? Or do you just like laying down next to me to smell my hair like some kind of pervert?”

Vincent chuckled. “What’s with the twenty questions?”

Adam felt his cheeks burn, grateful he couldn’t see Vincent’s expression.

It seemed like a million things usually fought for his attention, but this time the only thing he could think about was the fact that Vincent was laying less than a foot away from him.

All he had to do was reach out and touch him…

Come on man, get yourself under control. “Tariq told me vampires have powers,” Adam blurted out. Sidetracking Vincent with a conversation about something Adam wasn’t supposed to know would help pull his mind out of the gutter.

“Powers?” Vincent echoed, sounding genuinely confused.

Shit. Was Tariq fucking with me? “Uh, is that not a thing? He said he could touch people and make them feel high…”

“Ohhh, ‘powers’. Yeah, no one calls them that,” Vincent chuckled. “Many of us have abilities. Some are more useful than others.”

Adam’s breath caught in his throat as he felt Vincent’s hand brush his bangs away from his forehead. “Why do you do that?”

“Hmm?”

Adam leaned into the touch. “With my hair. Does it look bad?”

There was a pause, both in the touch and Vincent’s speech.

The bed shifted and the top sheet pulled tighter around Adam as Vincent moved closer.

“I, uh, no, it doesn’t look bad. I just like being able to see your whole face.

” His tone was softer, almost like he was trying to keep a secret from himself.

I wonder if this is part of the do-over. I could get used to this.

“I want to know what your ability is.”

Vincent let out an amused huff. “Mine falls into the ‘less than useful’ category, but I’ve found ways to use it over the years,” he said as he trailed his fingers down Adam’s face.

Vincent grazed Adam’s bottom lip with his thumb. Just kiss him. Kiss him. It’s what you want. He leaned in until their breath was mingling, their lips a hair’s breadth apart. “Tell me what you can do,” he whispered.