Vincent took a step back, giving me room to breathe, and the spell broke.

"You're a shit shot," he said.

"I am not!"

"No, you're not. But you're not great either. Here," he placed his hands on my shoulders and spun me around to face the target. "Pick up the gun."

Doing as he instructed, I readied myself. I slipped the headphones back on without covering my ears, took my stance, and raised the gun. Vincent knocked my feet closer together with his foot and brought his arms around me so that he was holding the gun as well. He steadied me, and murmured instructions in my ear. I could barely hear him. My blood was pulsing through my veins and raising my body temperature. Shaking my head, I forced myself to concentrate. He gave me a few more instructions, slipped the headphones over my ears, and then stepped back.

I fired.

It wasn't a bullseye, but it was the closest I had gotten. When I glanced back at him, the small touch of pride on his face was enough to make my stomach flip. He nodded his head towards the target. I shot him a smile before refocusing on the task at hand. Each bullet I fired was closer and closer to the center. On my second clip, I managed to hit the bullseye three times in a row. A light chuckle left Vincent's lips when I jumped up and down a little bit. His laughter reminded me he was the reason for my excitement. Without thinking, I spun on my heel and threw my arms around him.

He stiffened for a moment, and then his warm arms wound around my waist. It was the safest I had felt in a long time. We stood like that for a long moment. I think both of us were shocked it had happened. Vincent withdrew from me, but he kept his hands on my shoulders. He said something, but I couldn't hear him. I removed the headphones and tossed them onto the counter. "Better," he repeated.

"Thank you," I said.

"Don't mention it. Clean up and meet me out front." He didn't wait for me to acknowledge him before he started walking away. I rolled my eyes at him. I didn't know why I was surprised at him being bossy. It was what he did. So, after I had gathered everything I needed to, I made my way back to the front. When I got there, Vincent was squatted down in front of Dexter. He was petting him, but his focus was on Tony. Dexter was loving the attention, but when he saw me he stood up. Both men turned towards me at his change in demeanor.

"Still like the way it shoots?" Tony asked, a broad smile stretching across his face.

"Yes. Remind me how much it was again?" I knew I had enough. I had rounded up so I would be sure to have the money. The exact price was escaping me.

"Covered."

"What?" My voice went flat as my eyes cut to Vincent. That had better not have meant what I thought it did.

"The gun is yours. I handled it."

"Tony, give him his money back, right now."

"Can't do that for ya, girl. He's kind of got a hand in what I do here."

I glared at Vincent. "I have been saving up for months to have the money for this gun. I have it. I don't need your help."

"Suck it up, princess," he told me, rolling his eyes. "What's done is done."

My eyes narrowed. "I'll get you back for this."

"Sure."

We said our goodbyes to Tony and exited the shop. I tugged on Dexter's lead and began to make my way back to my apartment without so much a goodbye to Vincent. I was irritated with him. I didn't need his help. How dare he do something like that without at least speaking to me about it first?

"Princess," he called, his voice lazy.

I picked up my pace.

Dexter let out a small whine as he looked over his shoulder. The little traitor. Of course he liked Vincent. It was almost impossible not to. As much of an asshole as he was, his sweet moments were incredibly charming.

Bad, Jules, I scolded myself. Just because you've realized you like the asshole doesn't mean you have to start sticking up for him.

A strong hand on the crook of my elbow jerked me to a stop. I was so focused on my thoughts I hadn't even heard Vincent's footsteps as he came up behind me. He whirled me around to face him and his forest eyes were fierce when they met mine.

"What do you want?" I fired off before he could open his mouth. I knew that my eyes were blazing just as hot as his.

"You forgot this." He handed me the gun. I scrunched my nose up at it. I couldn't even consider it my gun because I hadn't paid for it. "Take it."

"No."

"Don't tell me no. Take the damn gun."

"No."

Something akin to a growl rumbled in the back of his throat. "Juliette, you wanted this for a reason. Now. Take. It."

"I don't need your help, Vinnie."

He jerked my purse away from me. I made a sound of protest, but the glare he sent me caused me to fall silent. He placed the gun inside it, and then slid it back onto my shoulder. He let his hand rest on top of the strap. I could feel the heat of his touch through the thin fabric of my shirt. Our eyes held, and slowly, his hand slid around to the back of my neck. My breath hitched in my throat as he pulled me forward, bending down until our noses were centimeters away from one another. I was enraptured in his gaze, and I had forgotten how to breathe. The reason why I was angry with him retreated to the very back of my mind until I couldn't even find it anymore. Why was I mad at him? What had he done?

"I didn't even pay for it," he breathed.

Oh, right. He hadn't let me pay for the gun. What a stupid thing to be mad over.

"The gun you wanted is one that I specifically supplied Tony with. At the end of the day, it's mine. I'm the one the money comes back to. I don't want your money, princess. So just take the fucking thing."

"Okay."

His eyes widened the smallest fraction. I think we were both surprised by my answer. He held me close to him for another moment before nodding and stepping away from me. I felt his absence like a bucket of ice water.

This is stupid.

"Glad to see you coming around. Now c'mon," he said, nodding towards the SUV. "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"I'm hungry. And I'm guessing you and Dexter are too." The dog in question let out a small bark at the sound of his name. Vincent's lips twitched at the corners as he knelt to scratch my dog behind his ears. "That's what I thought."

So, that was how we ended up back in my apartment with Chinese takeout. A shit load of it. Dexter was looking dejectedly down at his dog food, so I opened a fortune cookie and tossed it to him. If the dog could roll his eyes, he would have at that moment.

"Don't look at me like that," I muttered, turning my back on him before he could start begging. I tried my hardest not to give him people food too often. His stomach was easily upset, and I didn't want to deal with him vomiting or having diarrhea. One of Vincent's rare, full-blown smiles graced his face when he caught my attention. "What?" I asked, my forkful of rice half way to my mouth.

"Nothing, princess."

"Liar."

"No."

"Whatever," I huffed.

We ate the rest of our food in silence. Vincent had won the argument about paying when we had gotten the food. It was a coin toss. He called heads, I called tails. When it landed heads up, I had pouted. He had already gotten me the gun for free that day, I didn't need him buying my food too. However, a deal was a deal. The thing that was still nagging at me, was the smug twinkle in his eye as he had put the coin away and sauntered over to order our food. There was something about it that had just seemed off. Unfortunately, I had no proof besides his coy smile. Shaking my head, I decided to let it go. It wasn't worth it.

I stood and picked up a couple of the empty containers. Vincent grabbed his and followed me into the kitchen. We tossed the garbage into the trash and then I placed the few things we hadn't eaten into the fridge. "Do you want anything?" I asked him, still holding the door open.

His gaze raked over me in a way that made me shiver. He saw it and his lips tilted. "Do you have beer?"

"Unfortunately, no."

His eyebrows arched, and he pushed off where he was leaning against the counter. He invaded my space for the umpteenth time that day. He bent down and examined the meager contents of the fridge over my shoulder. His body molded flush against mine and suddenly I couldn't think straight. My breath had caught in my throat.

He hummed, and his chest rumbled against my back. "What a shame," he murmured, before standing straight and stepping away from me. My stomach clenched in the most pleasant way and I had to take a deep breath. If he didn't stop pulling this shit I was going to end up doing something we would both regret. After a few more deep breaths and some time to compose myself, the thought was still in my head when I turned around. Vincent wasn't as far away as I had thought. He was directly behind me, and I ran into his chest when I tried to move.

"Can I help you?" I asked, crossing my arms to put some distance between us.

"I've gotta head out," he said. His voice was harder than it had been moments before. He wasn't looking at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Vincent." His eyes met mine. The muscle in his jaw twitched, but his eyes lost a little of their rigidity. He reached for me, and I let him draw me into him. One hand settled on my hip as the other cupped my cheek. I blinked at him, waiting.

"Something's gone wrong," he told me, running his fingertips along my jaw before tracing them down my throat. "The men need me."

"What happened?"

"Princess, I know you don't want to know. Everyone's fine. I'm going to be fine, but I have to go."

"Be careful."

"I always am," he said. That ghost of a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. His eyes clouded over for a moment, then they steeled as if he had decided something. He then proceeded to press a feather-soft kiss to my forehead. Our eyes locked when he pulled away from me. "Always."

Dexter whined at the door when he left. I, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded. What on Earth had just happened?

______________________________________

Hey guys! Hopefully, this is the start of me being a little more consistent. But, I know that I have said that before. So we'll see how it goes. In the meantime,

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-Erin