The Vampire Playboy - Blood and Lust

Chapter 5

Olivia's POV

"Careful" came a voice with a soft Irish accent.

I opened my eyes only to let my jaw fall open at the sight of Charlie holding the vase.

"Where did you come from? Er, I mean thank you"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I was right in front of you. Didn't you see me Olivia?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I heard Tom say it when you came in."

His response came fast and I almost felt guilty like I'd accused him of something. But I was sure I'd been the only person in the store when I came in and I hadn't heard the bell from the door opening.

I could see Tom peering at us both, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I'm Charles, but most people call me Charlie. Here, let me help you with some of those things before you drop them."

Charlie began taking some of the items from my arms. His hand accidentally brushed against the side of mine and I almost jumped. His skin felt slightly cold to the touch, but at the same time, it was like an electrical current went along my arm and made my stomach flutter.

I followed him to the checkout.

"Sure you should be going now Charles," Tom said as we reached him.

I looked at Charlie, and up close I could see his blue eyes really were quite striking and intense. Not only that, but his features were near perfect, his nose perfectly straight and just the right size for his face, his jawline was square but not harsh and his cheekbones looked like they had been chiselled out by hand. Thick black lashes framed those beautifully intense eyes of his. He really did look like he was a model or belonged to a boyband.

I realised I was staring right at him and he had noticed, there was that smirk again and right on schedule, my cheeks flushed pink.

"Charles, shouldn't you be going now?" Tom asked again.

"No no, sure I haven't got any plans this afternoon, and Olivia looks like she could do with some help to get this home, wherever home is."

Tom didn't look pleased with that answer. He shot Charlie a look but began to ring up my items, placing them in bags as he did so.

Wait, did he say I looked like I needed some help getting this stuff home? I hadn't planned on going home yet. Was he offering to take me? No, I must have misheard that or misinterpreted what he was saying.

I watched curiously as he leaned on the desk and then realised he was looking at me again, his head tilted like he was analysing me.

"I'll just be a minute, Olivia, with your stuff. Charles, can I talk to you in the back?"

I watched Charlie roll his eyes and then follow Tom to the back. I couldn't hear their hushed voices but they sounded heated. Every so often, Charlie would laugh and Tom would raise his voice slightly. When they finally appeared, Tom came to me to finish and Charlie left the shop without saying a word. Wow, how weird.

I left the store with two big heavy bags. Immediately, I was overcome with the feeling of being watched. I turned to the right to see that this time I was being watched. Charlie was standing, leaning casually against the front of a silver BMW, his eyes locked on mine. I felt frozen to the spot, but at the same time, my feet felt like they wanted to start walking toward him, like I should be right next to him and talk to him. He stood breaking whatever trance I'd been held in.

"Here let me give you a lift, you can't walk all the way home with those," he said, that thick Irish accent of his making the words melt as they came off his tongue.

How did he know I walked and didn't have a car with me? How did he know anything about me?

I didn't say anything which caused him to make his way over to me, carefully he took the bags from my hands and walked back to his car, putting them, into the back seat and then opening the passenger door for me. Stupidly, I followed. Dear God, I was pretty sure as a child my parents told me not to talk to strangers and certainly not to get into a car with them. So why the hell was I getting into a car with a stranger even if that stranger was a hot male model type?

"I can walk, you know," I said sarcastically.

He laughed, a sexy throaty laugh followed by that smirk. I really wanted to wipe that smirk off his face somehow.

"I know you can, but it's more fun this way. You're new here?"

"What gave it away?" I asked even more sarcastically.

Another laugh came out of his mouth. This time it seemed less mocking and more amusing.

"Well, yesterday was the first time I'd seen you around town and you have a thick Scottish accent. No make that a Glasgow accent."

"You know your accents" I teased.

"I've been around. Are you here for a holiday?"

"Ummm no, I've sort of moved in with my friend Sophie and her dad for a while."

His eyebrows went up and almost met in the middle at my response. Why was everyone in this town so difficult to read?

"How long is a while?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess I don't really know right now. A few months, maybe more, I haven't really worked it out yet."

"Have you been to Richmond Park yet?"

What sort of question was that?

"No, I only got here yesterday. That's not been part of the whistle-stop tour yet"

He smiled and looked at me, actually it felt like he was looking right inside me.

"Do you fancy going for a walk there?"

"Now? Today? With you?" Oh s**t, I really truly was awful at talking to boys, no wonder they ran a mile away at home. I wanted to put my face in my hands to hide my embarrassment but thought that might draw more attention to it.

"Yes, with me, now, why not?" His thick Irish accent betrayed a tone of amusement at my response, or was it at me? Was he teasing me?

"I don't know you." I blurted out. Oh s**t, my cheeks burned hot red and I knew he could see that my face now resembled a tomato.

He laughed and broke out in a broad grin that showed off his perfectly white and straight teeth.

"I'm not a killer, at least not today, I'm not" he winked and then continued smiling, "How about you come on this walk and get to know me? There's a pond with ducks and swans"

He turned his face away as though he was embarrassed by what he said, but quickly his composure returned.

"If it would reassure you, why don't you text Sophie and tell her you're with me and I'm taking you to Richmond Park?"

He did have a point. I could do that, though he wouldn't know that Sophie wouldn't get it until her break and that could be hours away.

Was I this paranoid back in Glasgow? Nobody showed any interest in me. I was a bit of a loner, so I had no reason to be paranoid.

The reality was that, paranoid or not, I really wanted to say yes, I wanted this beautiful boy to be interested in me, to talk to me, to pay attention to me.

"OK" I huffed, shivers going down my spine as I buckled my seat belt and turned to look at him.

We didn't speak on the way to the park. It wasn't uncomfortable like I'd imagined such silence to be. I kept stealing little glances at him, every so often he would catch me and his face would smirk once more. That smirk really infuriated me, but every time he would catch me I'd blush and turn away.

We pulled to a stop in the car park. The heavily wooded car park. Was I absolutely insane getting in a car and going to a strange place with someone I didn't know? I quickly pulled out my phone and wrote a text to Sophie telling her where I was and who I was with and that I'd be home later.

"You know, it's cute when you blush"

I almost choked. Did he just say that? My face felt heated again and I was pretty sure I was burning so hot right now that you would be able to see me from space.

Charlie leaned across and brushed a hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear, his finger lightly touching my cheek as he did so, his touch felt cool again but my whole body felt like it had electricity coursing through it. My eyes widened at the sensation. I'd never experienced this before, and Charlie quickly pulled his hand away.

"Come on, we can go for a walk around the pond while the sun is out."

He got out of the car and I followed. He was a few paces in front of me, and I noticed how the pale blue linen shirt he wore strained across his back and betrayed a hit of muscles beneath it. My gaze lowered to his ass, his navy shorts hugged his ass, showing it off perfectly. I bet he looks amazing under those clothes, I thought to myself.

Charlie had stopped and I walked right into the front of him. I'd been so wrapped in my thoughts of him with his clothes off that I hadn't even noticed he had stopped until it was too late. Quickly, his arms were around my waist to steady me and stop me from falling backwards. Our eyes met and, for some reason, I put my hands on his arms, which were still holding onto my waist. There was that feeling again, a look of shock came across his face. He couldn't feel that too could he? My heart quickened and my mouth felt dry as I couldn't take my eyes off his.

"Careful," he said as he let go of me.

I put my head down and silently followed him as he walked on. This was such a dumb idea. My dumbest idea to date. What the hell was I thinking? As if he would be interested in me. Wait, was I interested in him? I didn't know. My thoughts all seemed jumbled up around him, I couldn't think like I normally did.

A large pond came into view, a path snaked around the side of it with trees lining the other side. The path appeared to circle the pond with some paths cutting off into the wooded areas. I followed him as he began to walk around the pond. He slowed his pace in time with mine and eventually fell into step beside me. He was close enough that if I moved my hand I was sure it would brush against his. We continued walking in silence. It was unbearable and uncomfortable for me. As we reached the halfway point, I'd reached a fever pitch.

"Why did you bring me here, to just not even talk to me?" I demanded and stopped walking.

He didn't appear shocked by the outburst or my question. He stopped, placing his hands in his pockets and scuffing his feet on the ground.

I began to walk back in the direction we had just come from.

"Wait, don't go, I...I don't know, you confuse me, I can't work you out, you intrigue me"

"You don't know?" I said incredulously. "Wow" I kept on walking at a faster pace.

"Stop, please," he said as he gently clasped my hand. How had he moved so fast to catch up with me?

I gasped at the force of the electric shock that vibrated up my arm.