The Vampire Playboy - Blood and Lust

Chapter 38

Charlie's POV

I wasn't sure what had just happened between Liv and me, her whole demeanour had gone from being relaxed and turned on to upset. I felt her body stiffen as soon as I said I wouldn't have done that if I'd known it was the first time someone had touched her like that. Her face looked crushed and I was 80% sure she was trying not to cry. I replayed my words back and realised my error, she thought I was rejecting her again, and I regretted it. s**t! I was clumsy with my words, I just meant that it shouldn't have happened somewhere like here. She deserved better than this for the first time someone had given her an orgasm.

Before I got a chance to soothe her fear Victor walked in with Noah. Liv quickly turned her head away from them and I protectively pulled her into my chest and wrapped an arm around her.

Victor had a smug look on his face that filled me with unease. Noah stood silently looking at Liv in my lap.

"You can leave us Victor" Noah commanded and now I had to stop myself from flinching, nobody told Victor what to do and Noah had never dared before, to my utter shock Victor simply nodded and left.

"You shouldn't have come here!" he hissed at me, his eyes wide and contorted, his words were hot like coal as they left his mouth.

"You left me no choice!" I spat back, clenching my fists in anger.

"You f*****g brought her here! Are you insane? Or are you just here to rub it in my face?" His stance is even more stance hostile than the words.

"We aren't together I mean we're here together but we aren't together as a couple," I replied trying to choose my words carefully as I felt Liv flinch.

Liv seemed to be holding her breath, she was almost trembling under my arm. This had been a bad idea to bring her here, I asked too much from her.

"You do know what David and Tom will do when he finds out you've compelled her?" His tone was serious.

"He hasn't compelled me," Liv said, her voice barely a whisper, she turned in her seat slightly and gave Noah a weak smile. "I came of my own free will"

Noah looked panicked, he moved fast to the booth, forcing me over and sitting beside us.

"Charlie, what the f**k are you thinking! It was bad enough when I thought you compelled her, do you know what Victor and the others will do if they find out she's not compelled?" Noah's voice was filled with concern, his voice lowered so that nobody listening at the door would be able to hear.

"I've told her everything Noah, she knows about us."

"Please come back home, I'll leave if it means you feel comfortable enough to go back home, I'm so sorry for what I did to you, what I did to you and Charles, I don't have an excuse for my behaviour." Liv sniffed and Noah pulled her into a hug, I watched her exhale and close her eyes, guilt tugged at me. She blamed herself for this so much that she was offering to leave so Noah could come home. How could this girl be so selfless to offer to leave the only place she's ever felt at home?

"I appreciate that Olivia, I do, I just needed space to think, you don't need to go anywhere, it's your home now too. We need to get you out of here though."

Liv shook her head, "Not without you."

Noah sighed and lowered his head.

"I know you're nothing like Victor and his crew, I'm sorry you felt you had to come here because of me, that I've driven you here but you know you don't belong here, if you need me to leave town so you can stay I will, but Liv is right, I can't leave here without you, I owe it to you to stop you from making this mistake."

Noah met my eyes and nodded. "I'll come because we need to figure out how to get Olivia out of here, Victor's probably already suspicious." Noah paused and straightened up, he's coming, I can sense him getting closer. You're going to have to pretend you're feeding from her and follow my lead."

Liv took a deep breath and I wasn't sure she had it in her to continue this little charade much longer. I could smell her fear now and I was sure that whoever came through that door would be able to smell it too.

"Go with it, all you have to do is just lay here" She nodded and I gently placed her on her back on the booth and turned her head to face the back, positioning her hair in front of her face, I hooked her leg up and over my shoulder and leaned down so she wouldn't be exposed but it would look like my head would be buried between her legs. I extended my fangs and ripped open my finger, taking the blood and wiping it on the inside of her thigh, I let it drip down before it healed itself. The door handle moved and I turned slightly.

"You've made your point Charlie! You've taken enough from her! You're going to kill her if you continue" Noah roared at me from a standing position.

I turned my head to Victor, a satisfied look on his face. "You care for this human?" Victor asked Noah. Oh f**k, I'd forgotten about the whole your makers are perceptive of your feelings and emotions thing.

"I do, she's a human I've become fond of"

Victor chuckled, "My son, you did always have a soft spot for these pathetic beings, if you were not my son I would not tolerate it. Alas you are, and my favourite son as well you know. Take your human now before I change my mind."

Holy s**t! How was it that easy? This wasn't the Victor I knew.

"I'll return tomorrow to finish our conversation, father, and you!" He said turning to me, "I'll deal with you shortly"

He took one stride over and pulled me off and away from Liv with force, my back hit the wall, and instinctively I jumped into a crouched defensive stance.

Victor chuckled again, he would love that Noah and I were at loggerheads. I watched as Noah gently scooped Liv into his arms, her body looked limo, her eyes remained closed and I felt guilt spiral, but I also knew that the only reason that Noah was doing this was because of Liv. If I'd been alone he wouldn't have agreed to come with me. Noah took off at speed and I took off after him, before long he was out of the door, I unlocked the car and let him place Liv across the back seats. "Just lay down until I tell you it's clear" I heard him whisper to her.

"Give me the keys he growled", I didn't hesitate to throw them to him before I jumped in the car. Noah put his foot down and began to speed away from the club towards the outskirts of the city, if I knew Noah well enough he would be taking a diversion route to make sure Victor hadn't sent anyone to follow us.

I looked back at Liv who had her eyes closed, I reached out and touched her hand, she felt cold. Concern entered me and I leaned over to check on her, she had a pulse and was still breathing but unconscious. I turned the heating up full to get some warmth into her and cursed that I didn't have a blanket or jacket.

"What's wrong with her?" Noah asked.

"I think she's just asleep or maybe fainted, she had a lot of tequila to try to calm her nerves."

"What the f**k were you thinking Charlie, we don't drag humans into our affairs"

"I knew I couldn't get into the club without a human and I wasn't prepared to compel one!" I hissed.

"I thought you cared about her, yet you put her in danger! The fact that Victor let us go like that was a f*****g miracle! You what a sadistic prick he is!"

"I know it wasn't the smartest move, I didn't think Victor would be there since you usually try to avoid him at all costs, but you're right it was dumb and I've ended up hurting her again."

"What do you mean again?"

"I told her that nothing could happen with her and me, not if it meant I'd lose my brother."

"So she was what? Another thing to get your d**k wet with?"

"No! It was never like that with her or about that, do you think I'd risk it all for a warm place to stick my d**k? She's my f*****g mate!"

Noah looked at me, shock spread across his face, he opened his mouth and closed it. Wordless.

I was grateful for the silence. I'd shocked myself by saying it. I'd never admitted it to myself, though I'd suspected it for a long time, Liv was my mate. The pull to each other, the immediate attraction, the fact I didn't affect her the way I did others, I knew what it meant but I wouldn't verbalise it before now. But the dam had burst.

We pulled into my parking garage and I carefully lifted Liv from the car, I was determined not to wake her this time, before I gently placed her into bed and covered her up. Noah was in the living room sitting with a drink in his hand, another sat on the table. I sat down and lift it.

"You believe Olivia is your mate?"

"I do"

"How is this possible? Wasn't Alexandra your mate?"

"You know as well as I do that I thought she was, that she was convinced I was her mate and that's why she turned me and I've always believed it, but I think it was just the bond between a maker and their creation that I'd convinced myself was more because she said it was. What I feel now, for Liv, my feelings for Alexandra don't compare even a fraction to that.

Noah c****d his eyebrow and sat back.

"And despite knowing this, you were willing to walk away from your mate for me?"

"Yes," I took a sip of the cool liquid.

"Then let's talk, from the beginning." Noah drank back the remainder of the liquid before refilling the glass.

I took a sip and started from the day Liv walked into O'Malley's, and told him it all, Richmond Park, the kisses, how I'd pursued her, all of it. He sat listening intently, not asking questions, expressionless.

"I tried to stay away from her Noah, and I think she tried to stay away from me too. I knew from that very first accidental touch when sparks literally flew, that this woman was who I was supposed to be with. But I panicked, you know better than anyone that I vowed never to have another relationship, the strength of emotion and feelings I had for her scared me, and I convinced myself it was just because she was a challenge but I couldn't even look at another girl without my stomach turning. There's been nobody else since that day I met her, Liv has consumed every single thought and feeling. It's like she came into my life and gave it meaning. And I've made so many mistakes because I just couldn't be upfront and honest with her or your or even myself."

"Does she feel the same?" He asked.

"I don't know, we're pretty crap at communicating and she didn't want to hurt you, but I don't think I should speak for her, she probably wants to talk to you herself. But I know I've hurt her countless times including tonight. She's incredible Noah, even the way she took the news about us, it was as if I had just told her I wasn't a natural brunette."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Does she know she's your mate?"

"No, and I want it to stay like that. I'm doomed to walk this earth for eternity but I won't choose that for her. I want her to have the option to walk away and be happy, to live a human life and everything that comes with it. I won't take those options away from her, she knows what I am and for the first time, we don't have a power imbalance. She needs to be able to walk away if she wants to. I don't want her putting it all on some divine connection between us and thinking she has to choose a life with me. If she wants to great, I'll spend eternity with her, if she only wants to spend a few years or months with me I'll take that too, and if she wants to walk away I'll accept that. I just want her to be happy."

"s**t, this is real. You aren't joking. I mean I knew about mates, we all did, the ultimate gift for any vampire, it's rare but it happens and well with a human? Even more rare but not impossible, I've heard of other cases. I'd bet Tom has too. I won't forget easily that you lied and betrayed me, but I get it a bit more now. I'd have approached you again eventually when I stopped being pissed you know." He laughed, "anyway if it's my blessing you want, you have it?"

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly.

"You're my baby brother, I want nothing more than for you to be happy. Besides I guess I always knew or at least had suspicions that you had feelings for her and her for you, I could see and smell the chemistry, I just chose to ignore it, and if I'm being brutally honest I always knew she was more into you than me."

"I drove you to Victor," I added.

"No, you didn't. I took off for some space, then I got word that some of the council were making moves to replace me. I approached Victor to see if I could get an agreement from him of an alliance without us having to compromise on the human part"

"He's never going to do that while I'm on the council, the guy hates me" I huffed.

"Maybe, he seemed more open to it than previously, and I think the little show tonight might have done us a favour. I'll try to close the deal or at least make more progress tomorrow after I've spoken to Olivia. I want to squash down any chance of rebellion in that council and I think Victor could help us do it."

"It's risky, but it might work. what about you and me?"

He smiled coyly, "You're still an asshole but we've been through worse than this. f**k, I can't believe you've got a f*****g mate" he laughed causing me to laugh too. He held out his glass towards me, "here's to Olivia" I clicked my glass to his and smiled. "You know Alexandra will lose her mind when she finds out about this"

"Not when, if. And I have no intention of her finding out, I won't let her near Liv, besides she's left me alone for years. She's probably found another pet project."

"I should have known when you bought her the f*****g car' he roared with laughter, "you never do anything like that for someone, it's usually a dine and dash" he laughed again, this time causing me to smile and burst out laughing. He wasn't wrong.

Tonight things were right with Noah, tomorrow I'd start to make things right with Olivia if she let me. My gut was telling me that I'd set something in motion by taking her to that club, something that when it came to pass wouldn't be good for any of us.