Immortal Blood (6 page)

“Ughhh.” Izzy dropped into her seat on the couch, her hair wrapped in a towel from her shower. “That was one heck of a day.”

Bain nodded his head
. Yeah, he was sure it had been. He had shadowed Izzy as she met with her clients for her Halloween event. She ran all over the city, finalizing orders, rentals, securing costumes for the staff, and having menus finalized.

“It was a busy day,” he agreed.

Bain had been playing chauffeur all week for Izzy. Now that Friday was here, they both needed a break.

“It usually isn’t this bad.
I don’t know if it’s the type of event or the client, but man, I’m so glad the weekend is here.”

“Me too, so go
get dressed up. We’re getting out of here tonight.”

Izzy arched a brow at him
. “Oh really, and where are we going?”

Bain chuckled
. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kidnap you and take you to the Middle World.”

Izzy studied him with narrowed eyes.
Bain just laughed at her. “If I was going to kidnap and force you to the Middle World, I would have done it after playing chauffeur that first day.”

“Fair enough
.” Izzy didn’t really think he would force her anywhere she didn’t want to go. “You still have to tell me where were going, so I know what to wear.”

Bain’s gaze raked her body before he spoke
. “A dress, short and tight will do.”

Izzy’s brow arched at him.

“Do not look at me like that. We’re going out and having a good time—dress for a night out.”

Izzy knew just the dress she would wear.

Two hours later, they were waiting in line at a local club. The bouncer cocked a finger at them. Bain ushered Izzy forward, his hand resting on the small of her back. Bain nodded at the bouncer as they moved inside. They passed the dance floor and bar, moving towards an empty corner table.

Izzy slid across the velvet of the
booth, the bare skin of the backs of her thighs making contact with the soft, crushed fabric.

The dress she had chosen for the night was a black mini dress, tight like Bain had requested
, and short, with a plunging neckline and shirred tank straps. She fit in perfectly at Club Zion.

The perky cocktail waitress stared at Bain the entire time when she came to take their order
, her gaze barely picked up Izzy’s presence.

“What’ll be your pleasure?” she purred at Bain.

Izzy felt her irritation rise. Was this woman blind or simply rude and stupid? She was blatantly flirting with Bain, right in front of her.

“I’ll take a vodka tonic
,” Izzy snapped, raising her voice to get the waitress’ attention. The girl’s eyes flew to Izzy, and a sneer marred her face.

“Sure, I’ll be right back with that.”

Bain chuckled. “What was that about?”

He’d picked up on her irritation as he spoke with the waitress
. If he hadn’t known better, he’d say Izzy was bordering on jealous.

“What, her taking your order and flirting with you while I sat here and waited for her to actually acknowledge me?”

Bain shook his head.

“I’ll be right back
. Don’t move, okay?”

Izzy nodded and watched him make his way to the bar. When he turned back
around, he held a whiskey in one hand and a vodka tonic in the other. He smiled as he slid back into his seat and handed her the drink he’d brought back.

“Why’d you go get us drinks? Are you afraid your little
chippy is going to take too long?” she asked in a catty tone.

“No,” Bain said in
a deadpan voice. “I just wouldn’t recommend drinking whatever she brings you.”

“What?” Izzy
asked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“I think you pissed her off
. My guess is she might spit in your drink.”

“Pssh, whatever
. You don’t really think she would do that… do you?”

Bain chuckled and lifted a shoulder.

They received a suspicious look from their perky little waitress as she set their drinks down. Izzy pushed her drink aside while Bain ordered them a few rounds of shots.

Izzy took the shot Bain slid to her
. She shook her head slightly as the burn ran down her throat and settled in her stomach.

Bain laughed at her as he took his own shot. By her third shot and one vodka tonic
, Izzy was feeling the warmth, tingle, and a slight shift in inhabitations.

“Are you glad we got out of the house?” Bain asked.

“Hell yes.” Izzy laughed.

“Good
, you deserve to have a little fun”

Izzy had been having fun
. This past week she’d been able to end her work days with him. Dinner and movies or trashy TV, she liked having someone to talk to at the end of the day.

“Will you tell me more about the Middle
World and your home?” she asked.

Bain arched a brow at her
. “Are you considering a trip there with me?”

Izzy shrugged
. “Maybe.”

He’
d stayed away from his home to keep her safe. She was sure he was missing it by now.

“
All right, it’s not so different to what you might expect—”

“Wait
, are you telling me this is not a situation where I need to broaden my horizons?” Izzy quipped.

Bain gave her a deadpan stare
. “Do you want me to continue or not?”

Izzy smiled sheepishly at him and waved her hand for him to continue
. “Sorry, go on.”

“My brothers and I live in Rowan’s castle
. We call it her compound. There is a small village inside the fortress walls. Rowan rules over a huge expanse of land. Most of it is still in its raw form: forest, lakes, meadows, and rivers. There are also many other villages nestled in the lands that are home to many different species of Fae.”

“How many different species?” Izzy asked.

“Hundreds,” Bain said simply.

“
Hundreds?
” Izzy repeated.

Izzy took the last shot that sat in front of her and slid from her seat.

“Where are you going?” Bain asked.

Izzy smiled wide
. “The dance floor,” she announced and took off.

The floor was packed with writhing bodies and a lightshow that seemed in time with the beat of the music. The music was typical dance music, not Izzy’s first
choice, but her body was swaying to the beat.

It didn’t take long for Izzy to get noticed
. Her eyes locked briefly with an attractive man a few feet away. He took the brief contact as an invitation. The man moved in jerky steps towards her, a lusty smile on his face.

“Andy
,” the guy introduced himself as he stepped close to her, swaying his hips with hers.

“Izzy
.” She smiled, introducing herself while never missing a beat as she continued to dance.

Andy’s arms wrapped around Izzy
waist, pulling her close to him. It wasn’t like Izzy to let a stranger get so close, but she was having too good a time to care. It had been ages since she’d let loose and enjoyed herself. Sure, she went out with Marie from time to time, but they usually hit up a lounge and didn’t stray too far from their table. Right now, she was uncharacteristically allowing a stranger to grind against her.

Andy dropped his mouth to Izzy’s ear. “Maybe you want to go somewhere a little more private?”

Izzy pulled her head back and shook it at him. “I don’t think my friend would like that much.”

“Your friend doesn’t have to know
,” Andy whispered, dropping a kiss to her neck.

Bain watched the scrawny human put his hands on Izzy
. It wasn’t until he dropped his head to Izzy’s ear that Bain moved from their table and to the dance floor. It had bothered him to see someone with their hands on her, but he bit back his growl and kept himself somehow planted in his seat. But when the guy’s lips moved close to Izzy’s ear and he saw her shake her head at him, he couldn’t stay put any longer.

“
Oh, her friend would know,” Bain warned from behind Izzy.

Izzy smiled and arched her brow.

Andy’s eyes narrowed as they drifted between Izzy and Bain.

“Time to scamper off
,” Bain growled.

Izzy watched as Andy considered Bain, but didn’t move.

“Take your fucking hands off her and move along,” Bain said, smiling the whole time.

Once the damn
human’s arms were removed from Izzy’s waist, she continued dancing, saying nothing through the whole exchange. Bain pulled her against him, his hands resting on her hips, her back pressed firmly against his chest.

Izzy lifted her arms to wrap them around Bain’s neck and pulled his head down. “You didn’t have to do that
,” she purred, letting her lips graze his ear.

“No?” Bain
asked, his own lips just a breath away from her ear.

“I wasn’t going to go anywhere with him
,” she said coyly, as she rocked her hips and pushed her body harder against him.

Bain grunted, his hands moving over her
flat, firm stomach, rolling his hips against her. “Good, I don’t think that would have gone over well, Izzy
.
” Bain dropped his lips to her neck, but just let them hover against her skin.

Izzy shivered when Bain’s lips touched the sensitive skin of her neck
. Once the shiver passed, she turned in Bain’s arms, her hands landing on his chest, her eyes heavy lidded with what Bain now knew was the scent of arousal on her. “
No?
” she echoed his question.

“No
,” Bain stated in a deep voice, a wolfish smile playing across his lips.

Izzy had to look
away. Bain’s eyes were boring into her, a deep hunger in them. Izzy’s eyes darted to the side and, instantly, the smile, the buzz, and the fun she was having slipped away as the blood in her face drained.

Bain saw the change in Izzy and instantly followed her gaze. “
Motherfucker,” Bain gritted out. “Stay here.”

Zander stood at the edge of Club Zion’s dance floor—what were the odds? That the one who got away, the one he would have kept, would have let her luck rebuild so he could feed again was in the arms of that playboy Light Fae Immortal. What a shame she was letting that one-minded Immortal taint her. His hands were roving over her body as if she were his pet.

Sickening.

Zander smiled as Isabelle’s eyes found him; he took joy in the pallor of her skin when she realized he was mere feet away and watching her.

Hello Isabelle
, he mouthed, waving at her.

Zander got even more joy when Bain followed her gaze and found he had snuck up on the two of them, the rutting animal that was the Light Fae
leader’s brother had let down his guard. He should have sensed Zander’s presence.

Zander turned and made a dash for the back entrance
. If he and Bain were going to have a confrontation, it needed to be in private. The one thing the Dark and the Light agreed upon was the necessity of keeping themselves hidden from the humans.

Zander hit the back exit door with force and halted in the back alley once he was half between the door and the main road. He swiveled at the sound of Bain entering the alley.

“Do you find her as sweet as I did?” Zander mocked. “Those lips are sinful, are they not?”

Bain growled; the thought of Zander’s sneering mouth having been anywhere near Izzy’s sweet lips had anger heating Bain’s body, causing his breath to come in
heavy, heated pants.

“Do you disagree? I found that moist little tongue of hers to be quite talented. I had other plans for her mouth too, but you had to interrupt. Perhaps I’ll still have the opportunity to see how much of me can fit in that beautiful mouth and
, of course, her lusciously curved body.”

Bain roared. “You do not fucking talk about her like that
. You’ll never get to touch her again.”

Zander chuckled
. “Oh, we’ll see about that. So tell me, how is she doing?”

“She is not your concern
,” Bain growled. “But since you’re here, why don’t I kick your ass and force you to return what you have stolen from her?”

Zander
laughed. “Oh, but you don’t want me to touch her again.”

Bain’s eyes narrowed.

“Regardless, I have no intentions of giving back that sweet luck.”

Bain was done
talking; this was not about what Zander did or did not intend to do. If Bain could catch him and secure Izzy’s safety, he would. Bain’s feet beat the ground as he sprang after Zander. He must have seen the coil of Bain’s muscles as he prepared to attack, because he took off at the same time Bain did.

Bain followed Zander to the end of the alley
and across the busy, four-lane road Club Zion sat on. Cars honked and brakes squealed, but Bain avoided the cars. Leaping over the hood of one car, he cursed himself for the careless use of his inhuman abilities; no human could have executed that leap. He followed Zander as the luck eater chuckled and put a new bump of speed to his gait; he was fast. Bain warred with his desire to wrap his hands around Zanders neck and the nagging feeling that he should get back to Izzy.

Bain came to a slow halt and watched as Zander pulled away from him. Bain growled and turned to go back to
the club and Izzy.

Izzy sat at hers and Bain’s table, a pop in hand. Her eyes scanned the room constantly. She was anxiously looking for Bain, waiting for him to come back so they could just go home. Her buzz was gone. Seeing Zander had reminded her how real all this Fae stuff was and how deeply she was wrapped into it.

Izzy let out a heavy breath as her eyes found
Bain, who was pushing through the crowd.

“Are you ok
ay? What happened?” she asked, getting out of her seat to stand in front of him.

Bain smirked
; she sounded like she was worried about him. “I’m fine, but we need to go.”

“Ok
… so what happened?”

“I chased him, he shot off that relentless mouth of his, I chased him some more,
and then came back here to get you,” Bain said, anger flashing as he thought about everything Zander had just said about Izzy.

“You seem mad
. What did he say to you?”

Bain shook his
head, put his arm around the back of her waist, and ushered her forward. “Don’t worry about it; he’s just trying to prod me to the point that I’ll make a mistake in protecting you.”

“
How
?” Izzy asked softly. What on earth did Zander have to say that would truly knock Bain off his game?

“Please don’t worry about
it, sweetheart.”

Izzy nodded
, but her gaze kept drifting to him. He was upset, and he called her sweetheart without his normal, playful bravado when he said it. Whatever Zander said had upset him.