"Indeed. It'd be a grave mistake to think me on the same level as the Inquisition." Too soft for too long, no wonder their situation spiraled out of control. Oh how the endearment flowed like honey from her lips. Enough that Leon wanted to bask in its artificial sweetness as much as the vampire herself. A fanged creature made deceptively warm and inviting, possessing all the womanly softness and wiles to drag a pious man into the depths of Hell. Another low exhale left him as a pleasing shiver trekked down his spine from the caress of her breath along his neck and his chest tightened at the ghost of her touch. Leon wasn't made for holy lights that burned too brightly anyway, he thought, suddenly stricken by the desire to close their distance...
Until a nagging voice of reason made him recall why he cornered this prey in the first place. Stating his reasons, those pretty dark pools only became more guarded. Too good to be true, etched all across her face. But she was asking questions; a good sign. Another good sign when she rose from her window perch. Although Leon shifted back only a fraction, leaving her somewhat caged still. He smirked. "That's right, you don't know." Trust only went as far as the metaphorical knives they'd wield against one another's backs. And in a sense, it made their arrangement all the more sincere. She went on to prove his point, that she could present as much of a problem to him as him to her. He lowered his head to accommodate her reach, eyes holding a calm excitement at her almost affectionate gesture of fixing his hair while speaking words laden with sweetened threats.
Leon hummed with acknowledgement. "You very well could." The hold around her wrist grew lax, drifting up her arm as the gun wielding one lowered to her waist and drew her flush against him. The hard planes of one accustomed to 'field work' rather than sitting idly in a booth hearing dull confessions of perfectly reasonable human vices or pacing before a flock of sheep could be vaguely felt through his layers of vestments. "If you present a danger to us," fingers wrapped around her slender neck, lightly pressing his thumb into the fluttering hollow, "then I'll end you." He husked the threat like an ardent vow. "And should you flee," his hold traveled up the smooth column, stopping beneath her chin where he tilted it up with a slow-growing grin, "I'll chase you to the ends of earth." The cursive ink on the back of his hand flexed with his motions. Possessive almost, in his unrelenting embrace and in the way he regarded her. Leon lowered his head, drawing dangerously close to her lips. "What is your name, doll?" He coaxed, thumb tracing idle circles on her soft flesh. If they were to potentially work together, he supposed he should at least know that much.
Disentangling from her, he turned to lean his shoulder against the wall. He slid the revolver away as a gesture of 'good will'. He wouldn't kill her today. A reward for entertaining him so. "They'll accept you precisely because it's me." He'd get some flak and resentment for sure, but ultimately he was confident in having enough sway as Lancott parish's hired help to make them cave. They could equally be the other's undoing if betrayal was attempted. He thought that should be sound enough reason to make them the perfect partners. "So, what's it gonna be?" He asked again. Leon played nice, leaving the choice in her hands. Though it wasn't really one. "The most sensible thing would be to come along quietly. Or," a glint in his eyes flashed meaningfully with a guileless smile, "I can label you a priority threat."
To spend the rest of her days never knowing a moment's peace as the Inquisition hunted her down, surely that'd be undesirable.
Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)
