“I’d say it’s polite to knock, you never know what I could be doing in here, but this is your home.”
Bain smirked at her. “What could you possibly be doing that you would need to hide from me?”
Izzy narrowed her eyes and sighed. “I could have been changing or something.”
Bain chuckled, a deep, sensual noise that wrapped around her. “Ah, that would have been my good fortune.”
Izzy shook her head and sat up. “Is everything ok with your brothers?”
Bain nodded. “Everything’s good. Uriah and Kale are headed to Los Angeles; there’s been some Fae activity there that they need to check out. I was also informed that Cree and Rowan are headed back this way, but have a bit of a journey ahead of them.”
“Ok, so that leaves… Lothar, right?” Bain nodded and smiled; she’d remembered his brothers’ names. “Do I get to meet him?”
Bain’s smile widened. “You sure do, at dinner, so get changed and we’ll head that way.”
Izzy looked down at her attire. Her jeans were a good pair, dark and form fitting, and her top was simple, but looked good.
“Um, what should I wear?”
Bain did a quick check over her body. A lot less as far as he was concerned, but that would be for only his eyes.
“Check your closet. I’m sure Darnell put a dress in there for you”
She had seen a swath of deep champagne-colored fabric. The color kind of reminded her of Bain’s hair, a rich, complex color. Izzy pulled the dress from the closet and raised a brow at him. Were they going to a ball?
“Seriously?” she asked.
Was this going to be like a bad movie where he played a joke on her, and she ended up completely over dressed for the evening?
Bain cocked a brow at her. “I think it will do nicely.”
“What kind of dinner are we going to?” she asked as she held the dress up against her body. It was beautiful. A little renaissance in style, drop-waist corseted front, long and elegant as the silk material dropped to the floor. The real difference from a true renaissance dress was its lack of sleeves. It was lovely with light, soft beading along the bust.
“A dinner at the castle of the Light Fae leader,” he said almost sarcastically.
She glared at him. She hadn’t thought about it like that. She was well versed in human etiquette, but not Fae. A small flutter in her stomach had her suddenly feeling nauseous.
“I don’t think so. I’m not that hungry.”
Bain scoffed. “Izzy, come on. I’ve seen the way you eat. You have an impressive appetite.”
“Hey!” she snapped, insulted.
Bain laughed. “It’s not an insult”
Not at all… Bain’s gaze slid over her. Her body was perfect with its feminine curves; it was soft and supple. Perfect breast, a thin waist, and curved hips created a flawless, elegant hourglass.
“Besides, its tradition for those staying at the castle to come together for dinner. Think of it like your family’s Sunday night dinners.”
Izzy rested a hand on her hip. “How many people come to your family dinners, Bain?”
“I believe there are around twenty others joining us tonight.”
“Twenty? Are any of them human?”
She knew the answer, but hope had her asking anyway.
Bain winked at her. “Just one.”
“Bain.” She sounded whiny, even to her own ears.
What was wrong with her? She wasn’t a nervous person. Where had the strong, independent woman gone? Oh, right, she was in completely uncharted territory. She trust Bain to no end at this point, but that didn’t mean she could trust everyone she met here. Just like she couldn’t trust everyone from her own world. However, they didn’t have magic they could use against her.
“Izzy…” He mocked her tone playfully. “None of these people are going to bite, not you anyway.” He smirked. “We’re going to have dinner. You’ll get to meet Lothar and a few others who reside here. The dress is just a formality. Even I don’t get to wear jeans to Rowan’s dinners.”
Bain held a hand up. He saw Izzy preparing to argue. “Yes, I realize Rowan isn’t here, but this is just tradition. You’ll get used to it.”
Izzy’s brows furrowed… She’d get used to it? How long did Bain plan to keep her here?
Bain sighed. “You’re not a prisoner here, Izzy. I will take you back whenever you want. All I ask is that you stay and meet with Rowan so she can help you.”
How did he seem to always know what she was thinking?
“How do you keep doing that?”
“Doing what?” he asked.
“Twice, in just this conversation, you’ve seemed to know what I was thinking or what I was about to say. How do you keep doing that?”
Bain tapped the side of his nose “Your scent gives you away, especially when you’re about to argue.”
“Oh, okay… but wait, how can Rowan help me?”
“She’s part leprechaun,” he said seriously.
“Wait… what? So are you part leprechaun?”
“No.” Bain smiled. “Fae genetics work differently than humans. Our great grandfather carried leprechaun blood, and it’s active in Rowan’s blood, though it’s not luck-eater blood. Mine is all healer and Immortal Fae.”
“What kind of leprechaun is she?”
“Our grandfather carried the blood of a Talanton Leprechaun.”
Izzy stared at him expectantly.
“It a sub-species of leprechaun that promotes and helps to balance the good and bad luck each of us carries.”
“Got it.” She smiled. “So does that mean if you have children, they could have the leprechaun gene?”
Bain nodded.
“So, what exactly is Rowan going to do for me?”
“She can’t give you back your luck, but she can help balance what you have left. Just being in the Middle World should help a little. Have you had any mishaps since we got here?”
Come to think of it… No, she’d been fine since they’d arrived. She shook her head.
“Good, that’s a start. Now change for dinner, please. I’ll be right next door getting ready if you need me.”
“Fine, I’ll get dressed up, but I want that tour after dinner.”
“You got it, sweetheart.”
Izzy smiled and turned to head into the bathroom. She liked it when he called her sweetheart, even though it had started out as a smug pet name. She liked to think of it as endearing now.
Chapter Eighteen
The man was sex appeal in a suit. She’d been sneaking as many peeks at him as possible over the past week. She’d finally gotten a good look at his tattoo; it was the same as the shield over the entrance to the castle, with some tribal surrounding it. It had added an extra layer to the gorgeous package that was Bain… The man was too good looking; he wreaked havoc on her senses. Then he showed up at her door in a suit.
Izzy smiled as she held Bain’s arm, and they walked through the main keep to a large dining hall. She had caught him staring at her profile a few times, and she couldn’t hide the flutter it caused.
She had a feeling he liked the dress when he showed up at her door to escort her to dinner. He had stared, slack jawed, at her in her champagne dress. While she had much the same response to him, she wondered if there might have been drool escaping her glossed lips. Bain wore black slacks and a white, button-up shirt. He’d left the top few buttons undone, allowing her to peek at the skin beneath. He had a black sport coat slung over his shoulder, the perfect 007 stance, and gleam in his eye. The man was dangerously sexy.
“Deep breath, Izzy. It’s time to enter the lion’s den,” Bain joked as they approached the large, double doors that separated them from the dining hall.
“Be quiet. It’s not fair to freak me out or make fun of me. I know nothing of your world or your traditions.”
Bain tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “We aren’t all that different from you and your customs, and this is merely
a family dining situation. We are a little formal, but only because of where we are. You look beautiful, so be yourself, eat some food, drink some wine, and enjoy my people. They’ll adore you.”
She looked up at him with a full smile that plumped her lips in a very sexy way. “How do you know?”
“Know what?” he asked.
“That they’ll adore me?” she joked through hooded lashes.
Bain lifted her chin with his knuckles so he could look her full in the eyes. “Because I adore you.”
The doors opened to the dining hall before Izzy could respond. She wasn’t sure she could speak to respond anyway… He adored her? And she thought he found her frustrating most the time. So, Izzy simply smiled as Bain escorted her into the “lion’s den”.
The dining hall had large windows, tapestry-covered stone walls, a large fireplace, and a table large enough to comfortable seat the twenty or so Fae that filled the room. Izzy had to admit she thought the room would be larger. A candle and crystal chandelier lit the room in a very soft light, setting a comfortable ambiance. The room was still beautiful, just not what she had pictured.
“Not what you were expecting?” Bain whispered.
“Honestly… I thought it would be bigger,” she admitted.
“You women and your obsession with size; you’re always wanting more.”
Izzy arched a brow at him. Cheeky… so freaking cheeky.
“How would you know about our obsessions with size?” she asked boldly. “Is there something you’d like to share with me?”
“Mmm.” Bain let out a soft, low growl that sounded more like a moan. “There is plenty I would like to share with you, but trust me, sweetheart… size is not something you’d have to complain about.”
Izzy moistened her lip, before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.
Bain chuckled softly. “This is the smallest of the three dining halls.”
“Got it, I think we’ve been spotted,” she whispered as she caught a tall Fae woman eyeing them.
Bain lifted his gaze and smiled. He stepped from Izzy’s side to embrace the woman as she approached them. The woman cupped Bain’s cheeks, a brilliant smile on her face.
“It’s about time you came home and actually joined us for dinner. I don’t like you spending that much time in the Human World.” The woman had affection in her voice as she spoke to him.
She gazed at Bain with love, causing a pit to form in Izzy’s stomach. Who was this woman? Did Bain have a wife or a Fae equivalent? The woman appeared to be a bit older than Bain, streaks of shimmering white weaved through her blonde hair. She had stunning, almond-shaped, reddish purple eyes and was lean and gorgeous.
Izzy couldn’t deny the truth of it… she was magnificent. Everything about her from the smooth, silvery tone of her voice to the beautiful purple and gold gown she wore, screamed high society or possibly even royalty.
The woman let go of Bain’s face to wrap him tight in her arms, Bain returned the gesture with fervor. If he wasn’t careful, he might break her in half.
Izzy watched them closely. She had no right to feel the sting of jealousy that was coursing through her. She had no claim on this Immortal and, really, how much did she know about him? Or the Fae for that matter… For all she knew, they didn’t believe in monogamy. This stunning woman could be one of many women who Bain enjoyed. Or they could be like the Sister Wives and he could be married to multiple women.
She really knew very little about this world. Bain had answered all her questions, but she really hadn’t posed many. She had willingly stepped into this world with this man, without getting much in the way of facts. She could be standing in a room full of creatures that would eat her for all she knew—all because she had been blindsided by a pretty face.
Izzy suddenly felt very exposed and unsure of the situation she now found herself in.
When Bain finally let the woman go and focused back on Izzy, he gave her a quizzical look, his brows forming a V as he tried to assess her sudden change in mood.
Shit. What parts of her musings were written on her face?
“Isabelle, this is Lady Esperanza, but I call her Mother.”
“Mother?” Izzy’s eyes shot between the two of them. Crap, she saw it now. Bain had the same face shape as the stunning woman.
“Yes, I admit I am responsible for this one. And you must be the human I’ve heard so much about.”
Izzy wasn’t sure what the difference in her tone when she said the words human meant. Somehow, it didn’t seem like a compliment.
She continued, “Your kind… well, they fascinate me, they always have.”
Fascinate did not sound like a compliment at all either. In fact, it sounded like a dig.
“Oh… really, and how is that?” Izzy held the woman’s mysterious gaze.
“Mom.” Bain’s voice sounded in a warning tone.
“Oh Bain, relax, I meant nothing by it. I find her species interesting—is that a crime?”
“No,” Izzy answered, but wondered if she found them interesting like a scientist finds a new bug species interesting, like something to dissect. Izzy kept a smile on her face as she continued, “I’m curious about your world and your people as well.”
Lady Esperanza smiled. “Perhaps my son will allow me a little of your time during your stay with us, so we can learn from one another.”
“Sounds lovely,” Izzy continued with a smile plastered on her face.
Esperanza turned her sights back on Bain. “She is charming, Bain.” She patted his cheek and walked off to a small group of Fae woman.
Izzy arched a brow at him. “Should I be insulted? She didn’t make charming sound like a compliment.”
Bain shook his head with a forced smile on his face. “It’s nothing to be concerned about, I assure you. Come, I’ll introduce you to Lothar.”
Dinner was amazing, and the company was pretty good too. They folded Izzy into their world easily, making her feel welcomed. She laughed as Esperanza told stories of Bain’s childhood, she sat mesmerized as Lothar and Bain reminisced about battles from their past, and shook her head at some of the stories of the five brothers.
She was intrigued and couldn’t wait to meet Rowan, as everyone spoke so highly of her. She learned of Bain’s father, who had passed nearly a century ago, but she could still see the pain in both Bain and his mothers’ eyes. They had inquired about Izzy’s family, and she was, as always, proud and willing to talk about them. They were an important part of her life; hell, if she was honest, they were her life.
When dinner was over and the others began to disperse, Bain pulled her chair out for her and took her hand.
“It was lovely to meet you,” she told Lothar as they exited the room
“I was thinking much the same, Isabelle,” Lothar said, smiling at her. His smile was reflected in the grayish-blue of his eyes.
He seemed very honest and real. She wondered if that had something to do with his gift. An empath would be empathetic, feeling what others felt would make you hard pressed to be anything but raw and real with them, right? Regardless, she instantly liked him. He reminded her of Uriah, gentle and trustworthy, which made sense, seeing as how they were actually biologically related.
Chapter Nineteen
“You still up for a tour? Or did my family suck the last of your energy?”
Izzy bumped her shoulder against him. “Not hardly, they were fascinating and very welcoming.”
She didn’t mention her previous bug and scientist analogy that she had originally thought about his mother. Lady Esperanza had scrutinized every move, every word, and every glance her son made. Izzy had a feeling she was walking away with mommy’s little boy.
Bain looked down at her, seriousness to his tone when he spoke. “So, no fear of the Fae?”
Izzy chewed on her cheek. “No, not really. I will confess… it’s still surreal and amazing the different things your people can do.”
Bain had to admit everyone was very f
orthcoming; Izzy didn’t have to ask anyone what they could do. As the stories flowed, most everyone’s abilities were revealed.
“So, I got the impression that you and Kale were troublemakers as children.”
“Kale and I, we were… free spirits,” Bain amended her troublemaker comment.
“Ah, so that’s what you call it here? Well, sounds like you’re really close with your family that’s important. My family is everything to me.”
“I know. I could see the twinkle in your eye when you spoke of them, plus I’ve seen you with them.”
They walked quietly as they made their way through the castle’s keep and the main living quarters. Bain pointed out a few things as they meandered through the stone walls of his home.
“This is the main living area, the hole, that myself and my brother’s share, though Cree rarely uses it. He and Rowan have their own separate apartment—if you will—on the top floor of the keep.”
The living room—as she would call it—was large, with polished marble floors and a few intricate wool rugs. Izzy ran a manicured finger over the felt of a billiards table and raised a brow at Bain. “Pool? Didn’t expect that.”
“Do you play?”
“I can, I’m not that good, though I do enjoy the challenge.”
“We’ll have to practice; I’m a good teacher.”
Izzy smiled, heat rising in her veins. “I bet you are.”
She did a turn to take in the rest of the room: bookshelves, a large, plasma TV, a bar, couch, another massive fireplace, and a round table with a deck of cards.
A bachelor pad.
“What’s out there?” she asked, gesturing to a set of glass doors.
“The gardens and a pool. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Izzy followed him out into the crisp, but comfortable fall evening. The stars were bright, and looked the same as they did at home—in the Human World. She even saw the Big Dipper; it was the one constellation she knew and could almost always find.
“You have the same constellations,” she said it more to herself than to Bain, but he nodded.
Immortal Blood Page 8
