Immortal Blood

by Magen McMinimy

  “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.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  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 okay? 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.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Son of a bitch,” Izzy cursed from the back porch.

  “What happened now?” Bain asked as he came in from the living room. He’d been healing and thwarting accidents left and right for Izzy today. He was surprised the house was still standing around them at this point. And he had thought things couldn’t get worse than last night.

  “Nothing… It’s fine,” she called out.

  “Either nothing happened or something happened, but it’s fine. So what happened?”

  Izzy sighed. She couldn’t even clip a few flowers to brighten up her house. This time it was a stupid bee, earlier it had been cuts, a burn from lunch, walking into things, and the challenge of her stairs, not to mention just the flat-out irritating things—a dropped glass, pitcher of water, a backed-up sink, a burned belt on her vacuum, and a broken sliding glass door.

  She had to give Bain some major points; he was so very unexpected. He was quite handy and, even more than that, he was helpful. He’d healed her a couple times today, each time sending shivers dancing down her spine, a reaction that had intensified since their time on Club Zion’s dance floor. Part of her knew it wasn’t good, but she couldn’t wait to feel those shivers again. Still, she did her best to shake off the lust his cool breath caused in her.

  All the healing and the need for his help around her house had the independent, successful woman in her hating that she needed the help at all. She was being forced to admit there was something to this whole luck thing.

  “Izzy, are you okay?” Bain asked, stepping out on to the porch.

  Izzy pulled the stinger from her finger and handed the fresh-cut yellow and orange lilies to Bain.

  “I’m fine. Just a little bee stin—” Izzy cleared her throat, and tried again, “Stin…” Izzy coughed and hurried to the sink, where she filled a glass with water and tried to swallow some of the liquid.

  “What’s the matter with you?” Bain asked, following her inside and laying the flowers on the counter next to the sink.

  Izzy turned to Bain as she struggled to swallow some air into her burning lungs. Her eyes went wide as she couldn’t get the air past her esophagus. She tapped at her throat frantically.

  “Are you allergic to bees?” Bain asked, trying to keep his cool, but feeling a small amount of panic.

  He grabbed her hand and viewed the swollen prick on her finger; Izzy shook her head as she began to feel lightheaded. She’d never been allergic before. Hives began to pop up around the sting on her hand and up her arm. Bain blew a strong, steady breath over her finger and hand, the swelling receded and the hives disappeared from her soft, smooth skin.

  The healing in her hand and arm was quick, but Izzy felt her panic rise as the swelling in her throat remained. She was still able to pull in small, short bursts of air, but not nearly enough. She stared at Bain, her eyes wide and shining with near tears, silently begging him to help her.

  “You’re going to have to trust me, sweetheart,” Bain said as he pushed Izzy head back and exposed her neck.

  Bain’s lips settled softly on her neck and blew lightly against her sensitive skin. He then moved his mouth to her slightly parted lips. Izzy jerked from the shock of his satin lips against hers. Part of her wanted to sink into him, while the other part of her knew this was not a sexual move; he was trying to help her breathe.

  “Stop fighting me,” Bain whispered against her lips, “and open your mouth.”

  Izzy let her lips fall open and closed her eyes. Bain’s breath was cool and sweet as it flowed through her mouth. She could feel her tongue tingle at the contact with Bain’s healing breath. It flowed over her tongue and against the back of her throat, finally making it down her throat and into her lungs.

  She could breathe again, but Bain made no move to pull back, and she made no attempt to force him back. Izzy fought to keep from slipping her tongue into his mouth and exploring every inch of what lay behind that wickedly sinful smile.

  Bain left his lips unmoving against Izzy’s. This was insane on more than one level. Things were getting worse, and now he knew Zander was lurking somewhere too close for his comfort. Not to mention he was having trouble fighting this need he was feeling for her. He wanted to run his lips over every inch of her body, to know her intimately, and after feeling her soft body rub against him last night, he was losing the fight to act professional. He wanted her, like he had never wanted anything else before in his long existence.

  “Bain?” Izzy whispered his name against his lips, sending a shiver of need through him.

  He closed his eyes and sighed as he pulled his lips from hers, the loss of her softness against him registering instantly. Bain laid his forehead against hers and simply breathed her in.

  “Maybe we should go see Rowan now,” she said softly.

  Bain nodded. “Yeah, we probably should. Do you want to go see your family tomorrow night first or leave now?”

  “Now, I think now is good.” She smiled, but there was a shakiness to her voice.

  *****

  A smooth chuckle greeted Bain’s ears as Uriah picked up his cell.

  “Hello, Bain.”

  “Hello, Uriah.”

  “What’s going on, brother? Thought you said you’d be back with one Isabelle Moreno in hand over a week ago.”

  Bain grunted. “Shut up… Did you know how stubborn she was when you left me here?” he asked in a deadpan voice.

  It had been over a week since Uriah had left him there.

  Uriah laughed. “That I did, and it’s what I like about her.”

  “Yeah, same here. Where’s Ro? I can’t get a hold of her or Cree.”

  “They left the compound early this morning, headed out to check on one of the villages on the border.”

  “Is everything all right?”

  “I think so, just some small-time minions causing some disturbances, nothing all that threatening.”

  “All right. Izzy had a close call this afternoon. We’re going to head to the compound now.”

  “Is she all right?”

  Bain grunted, but it sounded more like a growl. “She is now, but she got a good scare. Plus, we ran into Zander last night.”

  “What happened with Zander last night?” Worry was written all over Uriah’s tone.

  “Same shit as always. He tried to knock me off my game, hoping I would let my guard down and he could get back to Izzy. From what he told me last night, he wasn’t quite finished with her.”

  Uriah mulled that over. It wasn’t encouraging information. “That doesn’t sound good. Is he actively trying to kill his marks now?”

  “No, I think he had other intentions with Izzy.”

  “Oh I see,” Uriah said steely.

  “Yeah, so we’re heading out in a few. We should be there in a couple hours.”

  “Sounds good, I’ll let the others know.” Uriah’s voice took on a snarky tone. “Should I have Darnell set up one of the guest rooms, or will she be staying with you?”

  Bain did growl this time. “I’m not in the mood, Uriah, and you shouldn’t give me any ideas. Have Darnell set up the room next to my own.”

  Uriah laughed and smiled to himself. “You got it, brother. I look forward to having you home.”

  Bain slid his phone back in his pocket and headed up the stairs to help Izzy. She was on the phone so Bain scooped up
Garcia and put him in the carrying case that sat on a mahogany chest at the foot of her bed.

  “Marie, stop it… well yes… oh my god no… no… Marie, I can’t make it tomorrow because I need to head out of town… yes… Please stop. I’ll be fine… Marie! I love you, but I gotta go. If I have service, I’ll call you. Okay… I promise. Goodbye.”

  “Little sister worried about you?” Bain asked.

  Izzy sighed. “Yes, but she’s more worried about me leaving with you.”

  “Ah, and here I thought she liked me. I guess I didn’t make as good of an impression last weekend as I had thought.”

  “It’s not that; she does like you.”

  Bain smiled. “She doesn’t really know me all that well; I can’t blame her for worrying. Can you?”

  “No, not really and I feel bad. I can’t make her feel better about the situation, and I certainly can’t explain all of this to her.”

  “Nope,” Bain agreed, “but you’ll be able to call her.”

  “AT&T has towers in the Middle World?” she asked sarcastically.

  The corner of Bain’s mouth twitched. “No, but we’re not going to the Middle World exactly.”

  “What do you mean?” Izzy’s eyes narrowed.

  “You’ll see when we get there.”

  Izzy sighed. She’d never been good with surprises.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bain watched Izzy. She’d fallen asleep nearly an hour ago. She tried to stay awake, her lids falling slowly over her pretty blue eyes. She had blinked back the sleep a few times, but had finally given into it. He didn’t want to wake her, but they had finally arrived. She was going to need to see this to understand it.

  “Izzy.” Bain said her name and gently nudged her shoulder. “Time to wake up, sweetheart.”

  “I wasn’t sleeping, just resting my eyes,” she mumbled softly.

  Bain let out a bark of laughter. “You sound like my grandmother.”

  Izzy’s eyes flew open then. “Your grandmother? She’s still alive?”