The mall was cold, the kind of cold that bit your fingers the moment you stepped into the air conditioning after walking in the sun. You were tucked under his arm, quietly nibbling on a cherry lollipop he’d bought for you.

Alucard walked slowly beside you — hair tied back, black coat brushing your calves with every stride. He was calm, tall, regal in the middle of the crowd like he wasn’t even from this world.

Which he wasn’t.

You kept licking the candy, lost in thought, when your nose scrunched. The cherry flavor suddenly felt too artificial, too sugary. You held it in your hand, unsure whether to finish it or throw it away.

He noticed. He always noticed.

“You don’t like it?” he asked, voice quiet but amused.

You shook your head. “Tastes too… fake,” you murmured.

Without warning, he stopped walking.

And then — so fast no one else saw — he grabbed your wrist, leaned down, and took the lollipop from your fingers with his mouth. No hands. Just lips and tongue.

You froze.

He straightened up, slowly sucking on it, never looking away from you.

“You’re too picky, baby,” he muttered under his breath. “Good thing I don’t mind finishing what you can’t.”

You were blushing so hard you felt lightheaded. Your fingers trembled.

And just to push it further, his thumb came up and brushed your bottom lip — wiping away a glossy smudge you hadn’t noticed.

“You’re sticky,” he teased. “Clean yourself up, pretty.”

Then he turned and kept walking like nothing happened.

But you could feel it — the eyes of strangers, the heat in your belly, the subtle growl behind his calm voice. That was his version of playfulness. He didn’t need a bed to tease you senseless.

He just needed... you.