“And what about you, Gav?”
He paused his stroll and turned, “What about me?”he huffed, “Honestly Karen, the less you know about me, the better.” With his gaze trained on me, intense and enticing, I lifted my camera. “What are you doing?”
I smiled, adjusted the lens slightly and clicked. I took a few images and set it back to hang around my neck. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”
“Yeah. I’m not exactly model material.”
“That’s what you think.” I said with a grin. “I think you’re very photogenic,” My grin grew, “and you have to listen to me, because I’m the expert, remember.” I chewed at my lip.
He bent slightly, “That’s one of my biggest problems though, I don’t listen to anyone.”
With his face just inches from mine, his sexy smile made an appearance again. My teeth bit harder into my lip to hide the sigh in my chest. He lifted back up to his full height and went on in front. I hadn’t realised that my feet weren’t moving until he turned back to face me, “Well, come on then, if you’re coming.” I rolled my tongue over my lip and started moving again.
“Where’re we going?” I asked as I reached him.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “you wanted this, I’m following your lead. I’m still a tourist remember.” Ever so casually, his arm slipped around me, and grasped my shoulder with his fingers. “Come on, show me the sights.” My body tensed slightly under his gentle grip but soon relaxed when I’d realised how much I liked it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Gavin
“There’s really not much to see in a park.” Karen said as we came back to the main entrance. She looked up at me with her soft eyes, I didn’t care that there wasn't much to see, because as much as I’m a bit of an arrogant twat at times, I enjoyed her company. It was strange to not have someone shouting at me every chance they got, or cut their evil eyes at me, or better still, not be ignored.
“So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” I asked. I didn't know why but I didn’t want to go back yet.
“Nothing much. You?”
“No. Roman doesn’t have anything official on, and Rhys is there anyway.” I said as my gaze roamed her face.
“Okay, well I guess I better let you get on with whatever you were doing earlier.” She sighed softly. As a small smile tipped the corners of her mouth, her eyes squinted.
I stared at her for a second, and I was just about to walk away when an idea popped into my crazy brain. “We could get a drink?” I looked at my watch and saw it was only four in theafternoon. What was it about her that made me want to break my own rules? “If you want to?”
Her teeth captured her lip as she smiled widely around it. “I guess it’s evening somewhere.” And she nodded her head.
“Fancy a step on the wild side do ya?” I joked and my brows bounced. I needed to keep a lid on my wild side, I wasn’t sure she’d take it too well when she found out I was a gambler.
“First time for everything.”
“Is there a pub near here?” I asked.
“There’s a bar about two blocks away, if you fancy a walk?”
“I’m game if you are?” I smiled, “To be honest, I need the exercise.”
Her brows lifted, “Yeah, okay.” Her eyes rolled, “I mean, you look like you’re out of shape.”
Her palm flattened against my stomach, and unable to stop it, my breath hitched in my chest. I was used to a reaction when women touched me, but not like that. So, what did I do? I did what I always did and turned it into a joke. “Well, I won’t look this good forever.” I guessed cocky Gav was never far away.
“Oh wow! Did you really just say that?” She chuckled and backed off. It was a sweet-sounding giggle, and definitely not the kind I was used to. What the hell was I doing?
“Believe it, because I did.” I laughed low in my throat and wound my arm around the back of her. “Believe me when I say I’m not like most of the guys you meet.” I settled my hand on her shoulder like earlier, and led us from the park. “So, what you gonna do with the photos you took earlier?” I was inquisitive. I wasn’t usually like this. I felt like I shouldn’t show my hand too early. Light joking and easy banter were one thing, but being the normal cocky bastard that I was on a daily basis was way too early on the cards. I didn’t want to scare her. She smiled up at me, and I found myself smiling back as I met her carefree gaze.
“Well, I was thinking of offering them to the highest bidder.”
I stopped in an abrupt halt, and my hand flew to my chest. “You cut me. And there was me thinking you were going to hang it on your bedroom wall and dream about me.” For some unknown reason, I enjoyed our simple conversation and easy banter. But then out of the blue, a laugh burst from her lips as she bent at the waist, and her hands rested on her knees. Her contagious chuckle had me laughing with her. “You’re really trying to hurt me, yeah?”
She stood back up and swiped her fingers beneath her eyes, her head shaking slowly. “Not at all. But that was a good joke. I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.”
