His Venomous Lips

Monday. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's Mondays. The crack of thunder and the thought of my broken car in a garage somewhere does nothing to lift my spirits. Sighing, I pull my jacket tighter around me bracing myself for the downpour waiting for me through the door. As soon as I step foot outside the musty smell of rain overpowers my senses and the cold water lashing down soaks me within seconds, leaving me a shivering mess.

Normally I would have begged a lift from a co-worker but as it's a Monday, my most hated day of the week, I'm the person that has to lock up the café. Of course this means I'm the last one around. Scowling at the door in front of me, I twist the key and turn to leave. With my endless bad luck however, things aren't that simple.

Out of nowhere a huge body barrels into me sending me sprawling across the floor, my face cracking painfully against the pavement. For a second I just lay there willing the stars invading my vision to disappear but as soon as I regained control of myself I pushed myself onto my knees to stare at the offending person.

He stood there hesitantly, his hand half reaching towards me while his body angled away, almost as if he was trying to escape from something. Dark eyes gazed at me wide with fear, his lips parted and his fiery hair clinging to his face from the rain. The concern across his face was quickly won over by the fear as his eyes flickered upwards and landed on something behind me. Withdrawing his hand he sprinted away leaving me kneeling, soaking wet, and injured on the pavement.

"Arsehole" I muttered under my breathe too afraid to shout it after him. Groaning I pushed myself to my feet, swaying unsteadily. Just as I thought I was about to fall a hand shot out, grasping my arm, to keep me upright.

"Are you okay? I just saw what happened."

Turning to reassure the stranger I was fine, I found my words trapped in my throat, beautiful could not even begin to describe the man. His hair, a striking black, was plastered to his forehead by the rain, water dripping off the ends onto his flushed cheeks which were seemingly pale against his dark hair. Bright blue eyes gazed at me in concern until they fell upon my cheek. A slight gasp escaped his perfect lips while his eyes darkened with... desire?

"You're bleeding." He rasped, his eyes never straying from the blood dripping from my face. Reaching his hand up he swiped his finger across the wound, his eyes glowing with wonder. Shivering from the dread that washed over me opposed to the cold, I stepped out of his reach and watched as his arm fell limply to his side.

Meeting his gaze timidly I stuttered out, "I'm fine thank you. I'll be going now." It came out as nothing more than a desperate whisper, my eagerness to escape the man showing in my voice.

"I should walk you home, you still look unsteady on your feet." Whether it was because the tone of his voice sounded alluring or whether it was because he spoke to my wound rather than to me, the crushing sense of danger made me want to run as far away from him as possible.

"It's fine really, you don't nee..."

"I insist." He interrupted while blatantly ignoring the discomfort surrounding me.

Once again the words I wanted to say caught in my throat, instead all I could do was nod with my mouth gaping unattractively in his direction. After blinking twice and clearing my throat I began to lead the stranger in the direction of my home, my mind screaming at me to stop and just tell him to leave. Fear settled in my stomach and I couldn't help but curse my inability to say no.

The walk was anything but comfortable, the awkwardness that thick I was almost choking on it. Every now and then his eyes moved from staring in front of him to staring at the drying blood on the side of my face which deepened my unease even further. Thoughts of psychopathic murderers crossed my mind while I tried desperately to keep the alarm from showing on my face. When our arms brushed and our skin made contact, an uncomfortable buzz shot through me causing me to put more distance between us while hoping he would suddenly remember an errand he had to run or some place he had to be.

"Well this is my house." I muttered, my eyes looking at everything but him. "Would you like a drink or something?" I asked before I could stop the words from flowing out of me. I could feel the shock flit across my face at my unwilling words while amusement crossed the strangers.

"No thank you, I have somewhere I need to be. Just make sure you clean that wound up, and maybe check in at a doctors or something. Wouldn't do well to have a concussion would it?" Despite the fact that he smiled friendlily at me, I still couldn't get rid of the sinister feeling he had about him. Swallowing audibly I let out a strained laugh and agreed with him.

"Erm, thanks for walking me home, I'm going to get out of the rain now so thanks again." I mumbled, somewhat at a loss of what to say. Chuckling darkly, he inclined his head towards me before walking off in the direction we had just come from. Out of shock I stood and watched as he disappeared around the corner, out of view.

Even when I was safely in my house, out of the rain and my face cleaned up, I couldn't shift the unease that had been left behind from the stranger. He had made no wrong move towards me, said nothing to make me suspicious but those eyes, the way he gazed at me with want. No, not want, he gazed at me with need. It became harder to breath just thinking about the fear that had been drowning me during the walk, it was completely irrational, there was no need for it.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my damp hair, brushing out as many tangles as I could. I was all too aware that I was probably over thinking things, it wasn't like me to throw things out of proportion. It was then that I remembered the man with firey red hair. A disbelieving laugh escaped my lips as I realised that he was the reason for my irrational behaviour, or I hoped he was anyway. The fact he was scared must have set me on edge, It really was nothing to do with the man after all.

Well, that's what I was trying to convince myself anyway.

At some point during my internal ramblings I had wondered over towards the sofa and sat down. It was only then that I realised how exhausted I was, every part of me seemed heavy with fatigue. After deciding that my bed was to far away, I rested my aching head against the chair and fell into a restless sleep where haunting blue eyes starred in my dreams.