The Blood King

4: The Uninvited Guest

OLIVIA...

"GOODNIGHT KENNY!" I waved at him through the window as I walked down the street with Damon. He insisted that he took me back home because it was late in the evening. Just like yesterday, the place was already filling up with noisy people. I was fortunate my shift was over and that tomorrow I had a day off. I didn't want to take the day off because I knew how busy it was and Kenny needed all the help he could get but he assured me that he already had two more people on probation and they were starting that evening. The renovations in the new bigger place were going well and that coming week, we were going to move there. Kenny was also getting a new chef and an extra dishwasher. 

True enough, when Damon and I left, the two newbies arrived. Mikka and Anderson. They looked eager to start working and I was happy for them because I knew there was no better boss out there than Kenny. He was more of a father than a boss to us.

"So, what plans do you have for tomorrow?" Damon asked as he placed his hands in his pockets. It was extra cooler that evening that it was a wonder how people filled in the town in such weather. 

I shrugged. "Cleaning up I guess. Oh, and I need to go grocery shopping. I am running out of food."

Damon chuckled. "Seriously, Liv--you are social skills are still very rusty, aren't they?"

I turned to Damon and grinned. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Who do you hang out with in your free time?" He asked me.

"Myself, do I need anyone else? Have you heard me complaining about it? Nope." I assured him as we crossed the road and started for the park where I was attacked.

I put on a brave face in front of Damon to try and show him that I got over it but deep inside I was shivering with fear. The way the trees moved about in the light breeze, casting terrifying shadows on the ground and walls had my heart lurching to my throat. I could still recall that incident as if it happened yesterday. I remember how cold and numb I felt lying on that wet ground, fighting for my life. I recalled how devastated I was when my protector told me that Vela couldn't be saved.

I had asked him to end my life as well but he gave me hope. He told me I was special and I one day he would return for me. Was it the reason why I saw him that afternoon? Was he back for me? Then why didn't he come and say hi? A pang of disappointment settled in my heart when I saw him walking away without another look my direction. 

Maybe he must have forgotten me. I mean it was dark and I could have been any random woman in that town. How many women does he see everyday to recall a normal face like mine in the crowd? 

"It's not healthy staying by yourself. Human beings are very social animals. They need the contact with others. You are a human being, Liv, it's simple logic." Damon explained to me.

"But I constantly have human contact. I mean, I meet a lot of people at the eatery not to mention you, Boris, Kenny, Amber and Kip. I mean I am always surrounded by people." I was playing dumb but I knew what Damon meant. I was always the awkward girl since I was young. For one I really didn't have a family. My mother was never in the picture but my father raised me while he battled with cancer. Finally we put him to rest when I was twelve and I started moving from one foster home to another. I never made roots with anyone because I was always moving and I knew how it felt to lose someone you loved very much.

I loved my father and I knew he tried his best to raise me to be the woman I was at the moment but one thing he didn't teach me was social skills. We spent hours watching television and just being father and daughter. Even when my mother left us, my father never thought to remarry so he never went out to meet people. He also had the work, home, work schedule like me. 

I stepped a little out of my shell when I met the ever happy, party animal Damon and later Vela and Christopher. I felt like I was going back to my old habits after losing Vela and Christopher and having Damon so far away.

"Tomorrow, you and I are going trekking." He searched his jacket pocket and brought out a scrunched paper. He did a petty attempt to straightened it and showed it to me.

I frowned at him when I saw that it was receipt he paid for the trekking activity tomorrow. 

"We go early so that we can catch the sunrise and then there is breakfast and exploration in the Blackstone Forest before we come back. Interesting, right?"

"Interestingly boring." I grumbled then asked. "Why didn't you ask me about it?" I asked him.

"Because I knew you would say no. Come on. It's not that bad. You will get to meet new people and socialize." Damon grinned from ear to ear and he knew how I couldn't resist that grin of his. 

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

An owl screeched beside us and took flight and I found myself yelping in surprise and jumping into his arms. It dawned to me that we were right in the middle of the park and it was eerily quiet. I gulped hard as Damon chuckled softly but he didn't let me go.

"Calm down, Liv. It's just an owl." He said.

"This is where is happened." I felt my throat close tightly, preventing me from breathing properly. When I looked up at him, he frowned because I could feel tears swimming in my eyes. "This is where Vela and I were attacked. The animal was never found, Damon! It could still be here." I looked around frantically but Damon shook me and made me turn back to him.

"You are alright, Liv. Don't worry, nothing will ever harm you again. That animal is long gone and you are okay." He told me softly. 

I nodded vigorously as I tried to get a grip on my sanity. The fear that welled within me was like a past ghost, haunting me for all eternity. I didn't know if there ever would come a day when the fear would stop and I will get back to being normal. 

"Liv, do you need to see someone? Do you need to talk to someone about this?" The concern in Damon's voice almost sent my tears gushing out like a broken dam. I tried to tell myself that I was alright and that I could handle this but maybe I wasn't. 

"I don't need a shrink, Damon." I told him though my body was trembling uncontrollably. "Let's just get away from here."

He nodded and we started walking faster out of that park. We walked the rest of the way in an awkward silence and when we got to my apartment building Damon stopped and breathed in hard.

"So, should I expect you tomorrow for the trek into the forest?" He asked me.

I pursed my lips and nodded. What the heck? Maybe I needed the fresh air to clean out the ghosts howling in my head. "Sure, I'll be there."

"Great. Have a great evening." He pulled me into his warm arms and I felt him kissing my hair. "Keep warm at night. I know how much to hate sleeping with socks on but the weather has changed and I'd hate it if you caught a cold."

I nodded. "Of course, mother hen." I teased him.

He ruffled my hair, a habit he had forever and I frowned at him. "Go on inside." He instructed me.

I nodded again. "Take the cab back please." 

"Already sent an Uber request. Good night, Liv." He nudged me towards the steps that led up to the apartment building.

"Goodnight." I went up and waited in the hallway until I saw the car drive off before I made my way up to my apartment. 

I opened the door and embraced my bad habit of kicking off my boots at the door before ambling inside while I removed my jacket and dropped my keys on my coffee table. I almost jumped out of my skin when my flower vase near the window came crushing down and something hopped from the window pane and onto the floor.

"Meow..." the cat looked up at me in curiosity.

I had never seen such a cat in my life. There were no stray cats around the place where I lived but this particular cat didn't have a name-tag or collar to show he belonged to someone. He had a clean and fluffy fur and he looked fit and healthy too. He had the prettiest white, black and grey printed fur I had ever seen with brilliant amber eyes. That cat was just stunning!

"Hello..." I cautiously approached him, not wanting to spook him. I always lied to people about taking car of my cat when they asked me why I was leaving early. Though I used that excuse quite sparingly, I have never owned a cat. It was strange that here was a cat in the middle of my living room seducing me with his cuteness.

"Meow..." His lithe tail twitched in the air as he sat down on his hind legs and waited patiently for me to master up the courage to pat him.

"He doesn't bite." A hypnotic voice came through and I almost lost my footing in fear. 

A dizzy spell went over me as I jumped back when I saw the man leaning on the window pane with his hands in his pockets. This man literally materialized from nowhere and for the first time, my new ability to detect danger failed me. My eyes started from his fancy black boots, up his grey pair of jeans to his black shirt and leather jacket, all the way to the unabashedly handsome face and the black locks falling on his forehead. My mouth ran dry when his cobalt eyes glinted at me with knowledge and...amusement. How was it that I missed him when I entered my apartment? 

"What the hell?" I exclaimed and moved back, turning to where the door was. Drat, it looked so far from where I was. I turned back to him and I knew I would not be able to take even a step towards it without him pouncing on me. I decided on the second best thing; scream.

He straightened from the window pane as his eyes twirled slightly. "No screaming, Olivia..." his voice soaked its way through my skin and flesh all the way to my bones and made me lax and obedient. I couldn't find a voice to scream.

Truth be told, I really didn't want to scream but he just appeared from nowhere. And when his eyes did the little light thing, I almost lost it. No normal person could do that. Maybe I was just exaggerating and it was the light playing tricks with me. Either way, this man before me was pure sin. Not only was his structured body imposing but the scent of him but spell-binding and the fact that was so casual in my house although he was an intruder.

His eyes turned down to the cat who meowed before he made his way to her couch and laid languidly on it with his tail swishing lazily behind him. The man turned to me and I was still in the same position watching him, trying to figure out why I was just standing like an i***t. He could kill me right there and no one would know. My stupid legs wouldn't move.

"It's been a while, Olivia." He said my name in such a foreign way that I almost couldn't recognize it. He still had that strange yet mesmerizing accent that I couldn't place anywhere. He knew my name...wait, how did he know my name?

"H-how do you know my name?" I stuttered as I took another step back.

He pointed to my chest and when I looked down, I realized that this time around I did have my name-tag on. "The name suits you, love." he walked about slowly as he took in my apartment, running his hands over the books on my shelves and over my couches as if familiarizing himself with it. "Do you remember my name?"

Yes...I wanted to answer and bit back my tongue. I heard that name a thousand times over in my dreams. I ended up giving him a small nod.

"Say it." He prompted as he stopped moving and settled next to his cat then enticingly ran his long elegant fingers in the cat's fur. He looked a lot more comfortable in that apartment than I was.

"How did you get in here? I could call the police." I warned him. I didn't care that I couldn't feel any danger from him. He still entered my place without my permission! One part of me was ecstatic that he was there in real life and not in my dreams but the other side told me to still take precaution.

"You could...but you wouldn't. Say my name, Olivia." He said again and I felt the urge to do so.

"Rayn." I uttered and saw the way his eyes lit up with approval. A small smile appeared on his sinful face as he looked down at the cat and muttered to him.

"She remembers. I guess that trick didn't work."

I frowned at him. "What trick?"

"This is Karl. He is an Egyptian Mau and he is quite loyal." Rayn said as the cat tried to catch his hand while he stroked him. "Well, I thought he was loyal...until I followed him here." He sounded a little disappointed but I didn't buy anything he was selling at the moment. I wanted him out.

"What do you want from me?" I asked him, trying to relax but I couldn't even catch a breath.

"How are you doing? The night of the attack must have robbed a lot from you and I know how strong and brave you are but I also know you still recall the events and sometimes you get scared." He said as if he were reading my mind.

I found myself sinking into a chair at my open-plan dining room and wrung my hands together to disguise my nervousness. "I am doing better...I never got the opportunity to thank you for saving me that night."

"Consider taking care of Karl for me as payment." His gave me a wolfish grin and his pearly white teeth flashed against the light.

I was momentarily stunned at how such a small gesture could derail my line of thoughts completely. I was thinking along the lines of getting rid of him but the moment he smiled my mind sprouted its own wings and soared to the forbidden part of my thoughts. My face must have turned as red as a beetroot because amusement danced in his eyes as he sat forward and said.

"You are as beautiful as I remember... and I still can't shake away the feeling that you are very special, Olivia."

With the way that he kept pronouncing my name with his rich accent, Rayn could get away with murder on my watch. He sent a warm cozy feeling that settled at the bottom of my stomach and made me want to get comfortable in his presence. I wanted to be as comfortable as the cat that relished at Rayn's attention. I couldn't remember the last time someone called me beautiful or special. Heck I couldn't remember the last time someone called my by my full name! Maybe it was because I never got around to mix myself with a lot of people. These were the rusty social skills Damon was talking about.

"Come here, let me look at you." Again, his voice found a way to break away all my reservations and assure me that I was in no immediate danger.

I was completely surprised with myself when I actually complied to his request and found myself standing from the chair I was sitting on and approach him. He did a crazy thing, allowing his hand to snake itself around my waist before he nestled me leisurely on his lap. That blared all the warning bells in my mind but my body was on automatic and I was a just a passenger, letting it take me to where it wanted.

How I was sitting there, loving the closeness to him was beyond me. Rayn's eyes darkened as they roved over me. His hand followed them as he caressed my hair, pushing the broad curls from my face and cupped my cheek. His palm was warm against my cheek and it sent electricity cascading down my spine. My heart was about to fail me with the way it was thudding hard in my chest. I was pretty sure Rayn could hear it because he softly closed his eyes and rested his head against my chest.

"You fear me. You don't understand the connection we have and that makes you fearful." He muttered almost to himself. "There are worst people out there than me, Olivia. I will never hurt you."

I believed him.

I felt him raising his head and placing it between my shoulder and neck. His cold nose touched my neck as he nuzzled me and my breath hitched before my skin crept deliciously. My body stirred and I had to clamp my thighs tightly together to stop myself from getting carried away.

"You still smell the same..." He drawled, his voice thick and alluring as he moved back and looked up at me. "Mouthwatering."

I swallowed hard and stuttered. "Why are you--doing this?"

His eyebrow arched up slowly. "Because, you belong to me, Olivia."

That should have been a wake up call. How was it that I was still sitting cozily on his lap, loving the feeling of his arms around and eagerly anticipating his lips against mine? He was a stranger yet it felt as if I had known him for years and the sentence that he said to me wasn't crazy at all.

This was how people died and were found in ditches the next morning. The danger was an entity unto itself with this man. I knew he was not like every other man I have talked to or met in the streets. I knew the moment I allowed myself to get pulled in the storm that was churning in his eyes, my life would never be the same yet I kept on procrastinating my exit. I lied to myself that I still had time to turn him away.

"I don't belong to anyone other than myself..." I assured him though he had completely enticed me with the way his lips moved against his mouth to form a wickedly sensual smile that had my insides quivering and my stomach clenching painfully.

"Today at the diner, you recognized me almost immediately, didn't you?" He asked me as he pushed more of my curls from my face to reveal more of it to him.

I nodded.

"It's because you recognized me on a soul level. That happens for only a handful of people in the world. We have that connection and it didn't even start on that night I saved you. I felt it even before I saved your life and I knew you were special to me and to my existence." He explained and it seemed like he couldn't keep his hands to himself. When was the last time a man gave me such undivided attention? I couldn't remember. I didn't want him to stop touching me. He made me feel relaxed, something that I had not felt in such a long time.

"But I don't know you." I said and he leaned in, our noses touching slightly. I could smell the mint in his breath as it fanned against my skin caressing my skin and awakening the dormant feelings I stacked away when Christopher and I broke up.

"We have enough time for that..." He angled his head to the side and placed a soft kiss against my lips. The effect of it was explosive because I felt the core of my being trembling. I had to bite back a moan as my core heaved and I started creaming in my panties.

It was physical torture being so close to him yet not have the advantage of having him. He knew what he was doing to me because I saw it in his eyes and on his smile as he drew in again and kissed me, this time harder and longer.

My body went crazy with my emotions flaring in all directions. I didn't want to respond to him because he was a total stranger but my body had a mind of its own and it took over. I found myself circling my hands around his neck, my desperation so acute that I wanted to crawl under his skin and remain there forever. As he deepened the kiss, his tongue bursting into my mouth, seeking for the warmness that it provided and he made me realize just how long I had remained without this kind of connection with someone. I was delirious as he changed the angle of his head. He pulled me closer, our chests flushed together and I could feel his hard muscles coiling underneath his shirt.

I couldn't fight it anymore. I let my body take flight once more and my urgency was the pilot, navigating me to accept what Rayn was giving. His hands suddenly slipped under my t-shirt and came into contact with my skin. The quake that went through me must have alerted him because he tightened his hold on me and kissed me harder. Suddenly, his body stiffened and he pulled back before he turned to my door. He hummed in annoyance then turned to me and rubbed his thumb against my swollen lips.

"I wish we could do this all night but I have somewhere to be--tell that friend of yours that I don't appreciate him embracing you whenever he feels like it....in fact--" He moved against my neck and I felt a sharp pain but it went as quickly as it came and I could feel his laving my skin with his tongue which made my core clench viciously inside me. I bit back a curse as he stopped and softly placed me on the couch near Karl before he moved to the window.

"The door is that way." I pointed absentmindedly towards the door not sure what just happened. This ought to be a dream because such things only happened in dreams and in the morning we woke up to the sad reality that left us cold and bitter.

There was a sudden knock on the door that made us both turn to it. I got up, my legs rubbery and my blood gushing in my veins like a whirlpool. When I turned back to the window, Rayn was gone. Only the evening breeze filtered into my apartment, shaking the gossamer drapes that writhed like restless ghosts.

Goodnight, love... the words sounded in my head as I quickly made my way to the door after the second knock and the person on the other side announcing that they were security.

I looked through the peep-hole and true enough, security was on the other side. Trying my best to compose myself I opened the door and tried to smile though my head was filled with the scenes of Rayn kissing me like he had been doing that on a casual basis and the way my body betrayed me to his touch.

"Yes?"

The man produced an ID card as he tried to look into my apartment. "Do you live alone, Miss?"

"Why? What happened?" I asked suddenly alarmed that something bad might have happened to someone living there. 

"We got a complaint that there is a strange man hanging around the building and we came for a routine check--can I come in?"

Don't let him in...the thought suddenly popped into my head and I tightened my hold on the door. Though he had an ID card, I still couldn't trust him to enter my apartment.

"I am fine and I haven't seen this strange man you are talking about."

"Meow..." Karl hopped off the couch and sauntered slowly to the door before he criss-crossed himself between my legs.

"Is that..." the security guy took a step back and scratched the back of his head as if he were nervous before he forced a smile on his lips. "I guess everything is in order here. Well, goodnight, Miss." He all but ran towards the elevator.

A stupid smile appeared on my face as I picked up Karl and asked him. "Can you do that for all the people who come knocking at my door?"

"Meow..." Karl answered and I chuckled softly as I closed the door behind me.

I had just found my best friend....I thought happily.