Page 16 of Kissing Games
Bandit whined at him as they walked away. ‘I know, buddy. He’s got some dodgy shit in there, but let’s bide our time, eh? We’ve just got Kirsten to deal with now. She’ll be child’s play compared to that.’
Outside Kirsten’s room, he heard a high-pitched voice calling someone a ‘useless bitch’ before the door opened and a high-heeled shoe flew through the air towards him. He dodged it just in time, and it bounced off the opposite wall with a clatter. Bandit retrieved it and Charlie held it out.
‘This belong to anyone?’
Standing before him in the opulent room were two women: one he recognised, and one he didn’t.
Kirsten Bjorkstrom, star of stage and screen, was wearing a long black puffa coat that reached the floor. She was small, with an elfin face, bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She would have been pretty had she not been mid-scowl when Charlie entered.
The other woman, who he presumed was her assistant, Shauna, looked like she’d been crying. Dressed in drab clothes with her brown hair tied back, she was clutching a notebook to her chest as if for protection. She took the shoe from him.
‘Yes, it’s mine, thank you,’ Shauna said in a soft American accent.
He flicked his gaze to her worn trainers and she blushed.
‘Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Charlie Hamilton and I’m in charge of security at the castle for the duration of the shoot. I’m here to give a fire safety briefing to,’ he looked down at his papers, then back up again, ‘Kirsten Bjorkstrom.’ He turned to Shauna. ‘Are you she?’
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kirsten’s mouth drop open. Shauna’s blush deepened and she shook her head. Kirsten snatched the shoe from her, tossed it on the bed and stood in front of him, allowing her puffa coat to fall open. Putting her hands on her hips, she thrust her chest forward.
‘I’mKirsten.’
Charlie kept his eyes glued to hers, even though his peripheral vision had alerted him to the fact that every detail of her gravity-defying breasts was showing through her top. He wasn’t impressed by celebrities. He’d worked with far too many. Most were pleasant, but a lot were just like Kirsten and set his teeth on edge.
‘Marvellous,’ he said blandly. ‘Let’s begin.’
Kirsten turned away and climbed onto the bed. ‘Shauna can do it,’ she said, picking up a pile of paper. ‘I’ve got lines to learn.’
He clenched his jaw. Was this really going to be the hill he chose to die on?
‘Of course,’ he replied smoothly. He glanced at Shauna. She looked bloody miserable. He gave her the best smile he could muster. ‘Okay, Shauna, let’s light a fire. Do you have any marshmallows?’
By the timehe’d finished with Shauna, Charlie needed to burn off steam. He changed into shorts and a running top and took Bandit into the hills around Kinloch.
When he ran in London, he always listened to music. Anything to take his mind away from his surroundings. Here, there was no need. He wanted to immerse himself in the wildness, feel the uneven ground beneath his feet and breathe in the damp earthiness of the glen. He wanted to feel part of the landscape, not separate from it. After an hour, they circled back around the village and ran to the shores of the loch. Daylight was fading and the air was still. Bandit sniffed the edge of the water and Charlie leant down to splash his face.
He smiled with the shock of the cold. ‘Fancy a swim?’
Bandit turned away and trotted back up the bank towards the village.
He laughed. ‘Maybe another day, then.’
They jogged back up the hill through the village and entered the front door of the castle.
Valentina was a few yards away, her back to them. Dressed in trainers, black leggings and a tight red crop top, she was looking at a map of the castle, presumably trying to figure out where Brad’s gym was. Charlie’s mouth ran dry as he drank in her curves. She set off in the wrong direction before he could move his feet towards her. Bandit brushed up against him and he looked down.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’
Bandit put his head to the side.
‘Exactly! Come on.’
Charlie ran the other way down to the gym, opened the door and turned on the lights. He threw his top off and looked at himself critically in the mirrors. He’d lost weight over the last few days and was more shredded than usual. He untied the strings on the top of his shorts and tugged them down an inch. Time to pull out all the stops. A dragon tattoo snaked down his lower abdomen, over his V lines, before disappearing under his shorts. He pulled them lower.
‘Bandit, lie down.’
One of the gym racks was opposite the door, facing away. He reached up and gripped the pull-up bars. As soon as he heard footsteps coming towards the door, he started lifting himself up and down, counting out loud.
‘Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine, seventy…’
