"Are you all right?" Isabella patted his back.
Harrison finally managed to take in air. "Fine."
"Knock, knock. Do you always leave your door unlocked, Garran?" Sanya stood in the archway of the kitchen.
Like usual, her skintight dress left nothing to the imagination. Her dark eyes were bright and her skin flushed as if she just fed.
Her gaze shifted from Harrison to Isabella with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you doing here?" Harrison growled, drawing her attention back to him. "You were to meet us at Tony's last night. Oh." He slapped his forehead. "That's right, you were too busy doing tricks with Alexander."
"Heel boy," she hissed, showing a little fang. "I need to speak with Garran, but if I'm to be insulted, I don't know if I want to say more."
Garran stepped forward. "Ye're here, Sanya. Speak freely." He gave Harrison a warning look to behave.
Harrison growled in response.
"Tsk, tsk. Harrison, so dramatic." Sanya sauntered over to the kitchen nook. "Just remember I like to bite, too." She chopped her teeth together for show.
"Can we get on with this?" Garran intervened before the two came to blows.
Sanya looked at him. "Fine. I need to be on my way as well." She tossed him what she held in her hand.
Garran caught it with ease. His brows furrowed as he stared at the glass bauble. "A witch ball?"
"It's what Alexander uses to house the souls, so he can transport them. Do not worry; this one is empty. I only wanted to show you what to look for. Selling souls is quite profitable, too. I've seen his books. He's targeted women mostly because the sick bastard likes to romance them, but also his clientele fancies women's souls. Meridos was his partner, but the greedy bastard wanted a bigger cut."
"So he offed him," Harrison said. "Can't say I'm sad over it."
Sanya nodded in agreement. "Alexander isn't crying none either. Before Meridos was dusted, he made a deal with some uppity bureaucrat in Washington. This guy wants to throw a party and guess what's in the goody bags?"
"When does the shipment go out?" Garran asked.
"Alexander plans to move the shipment tonight. He's storing the boxes at Monette's place."
"Bullocks. This is what the incubus spoke of. The bauble is a witch ball." Harrison placed his plate down on the counter. "Did I miss the memo? Did the Bobhan Sith clan decide to relocate to the States for a new business in soul trafficking?"
"Oh, my God," Isabella said under her breath, but Sanya heard and stared at her.
"Why is she here?" Sanya jabbed her thumb at Isabella.
"Leave her be, Sanya," Garran warned.
"I'm curious." Sanya flitted to stand before Isabella. The vampire towered over her, but Isabella stood her ground, meeting her gaze head on.
In a blink, Garran stood beside Isabella with a protective arm around her shoulder. "Back off. Now." He hissed, baring his fangs as a warning.
Sanya's eyes glowed red, but she took a step back. "I wasn't going to bite her."
The way she licked her lips made Garran doubt her statement.
"You're awfully protective of her."
"Only because ye're lookin' at her as if she were a tasty morsel."
Sanya chuckled. "Oh, I think it is much more than that, Garran. I believe you've taken a liking to her." She leveled her gaze on Isabella. "Don't become too fond of him. He doesn't like commitment. Did he tell you we were once lovers?"
Garran felt Isabella's body tense, but she still kept her cool. "Who Mr. MacLaurin has dated in the past is no concern to me."
Sanya's blood red lips slid into a smile. "Sure, honey, you stick with that story. Just between us women, he's a good lay, but nothing more."
"That's enough Sanya," Garran ordered.
"What?" She shrugged. "You don't want your girlfriend to know what a jerk you are?"
"It's time ye go. Now!" His voice lowered menacingly, but Sanya refused to take the hint.
"He's looking for a soul mate, honey, a vampire soul mate, not a human. You're obviously only a distraction."
Harrison stepped in, grabbing her arm.
"Let me go." She shrugged free.
"Then leave." Harrison pointed to the door. "You've worn out your welcome."
"Fine." She smoothed her hands down her dress. "I have a date with the devil anyway." In a whirl of color, she was gone.
Garran relaxed and chanced a look at Isabella, but flinched when he met her heated gaze. She carefully removed his arm from around her shoulders. "You believed that distasteful woman was your soul mate?"
"Listen, don't let Sanya's witterin' get to ye."
"Oh, but it was an eye opener, wasn't it? I guess I should thank you for not letting me seduce you." She stormed to the counter and grabbed her purse.
"Where are ye goin'?" He took a step toward her, but halted his steps when she met his gaze. Her eyes all but spit fire at him.
"You toyed with my feelings when all along you knew nothing would come of us dating. You, arrogant... jerk. Of that, Sanya had it right."
"Ye are impossible to follow when ye're in a snit." He threw up his hands. "Are ye angry with me because I dated Sanya?"
"Oooh! I'm so out of here." She stormed out of the kitchen and a moment later the front door closed with a shudder.
Garran started to go after her, but Harrison's hand snaked out and held him back. "Let her go."
"What was that all about?" He pointed at nothing in particular. "Do ye know?"
"You insulted her." Harrison shook his head and stared at him as if he were the dunderhead.
"I insulted her? She called me the arrogant jerk."
"Garran, for all your bad-arse persona, you're such a wishy-washy vamp when it comes to relationships."
"I most certainly am no'."
"No? You thought Sanya was your soul mate. Now you think Isabella is. Good Lord, do you not see how Isabella would think you have no idea what you're looking for? The two females couldn't be more different in every aspect. Yet you put them in line to be your eternal mate."
Garran ran his hand through his hair. "How am I to know what makes a soul mate. The myths always claimed the mate meant for a Grim Sith would share a bond. I assumed it would be a vampire, not a human female. I searched for such a companion in the vampire septs."
"The Mac Tíre's myths are similar to yours, but I have found some of the pack members have chosen humans to be their life mates. Perhaps you've been looking in all the wrong places, my friend." He shook his head again and chuckled. "Sanya? Really?"
"I was lonely. She filled the void for a time."
Harrison frowned and for a second, Garran would have sworn his eyes glowed with anger. "Izzie is not just another distraction for you, is she?"
"Of course no'. I care for Isabella. I…"
"You love her, don't you?" Harrison asked.
"Perhaps I do, what of it?"
"Well, I'd see about setting it right then."
"Didn't ye stop me from doin' just that?"
Harrison chuckled. "You eejit, without our little chat, you would have made a muck of it. Now you'll be brilliant."
Chapter Fifty-Five
Isabella headed for her car, her keys in her hand. She had enough of tonight—first, her brother's confession and now Garran's…"I was better off not knowing monsters existed."
"Ye were happier before we met then?"
Her hand flew to her chest, startled at Garran's sudden arrival. Recovering, she threw him a lethal glare. "I thought I left you with Harrison." She turned toward her car again. "What do you want?"
"I'd like to take ye home. Make sure ye arrive safely."
"I've been driving home from places long before you showed up in my life. Why don't you buzz off, Dracula. I don't need your escort."
"I'll tag along all the same, if ye don't mind. Ye're on the radar so to speak. Others… will notice ye."
"Just dandy. I'll have all creatures of the night following me. Super! Tell me what
happens when this is all over? What happens when you finally take care of Alexander? There are a slew of Otherworldy beings out there. Are you going to watch over me forever—or should I say the rest of my life? Forever is only for you."
"Ye're angry with me."
"Oh, you're quick, I'll give you that."
He placed a hand on her arm. "I wish to explain."
She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but one look at him, his eyes beseeching her not to turn him away and her heart melted. How could a dangerous vampire look so vulnerable? She folded her arms across her chest. "Well, go on. Explain."
"It's true, Sanya and I were together. We had a good time."
Her arms fell to her side as she huffed in disgust. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to hear this." She turned to leave.
"Wait." His voice held a note of desperation.
She glanced at him, her eyes narrowing. She would give him one more chance, and he better not blow it.
Garran took a ragged breath. "It didn't work out between Sanya and I. It wasn't real. Ye ken? Have ye never dated the wrong person?" When she didn't turn away from him, he continued. "I've lived a long time, Isabella. I have searched for a soul mate to end my loneliness, but I never found the one. I never felt the connection, the deep bond." His gaze wavered over her as if he wanted to say more, but held back.
She sighed and shook her head. "Most people haven't felt what you're describing. Look at the divorce rate. Everyone is looking for this perfect match. They don't realize a soul mate is simply someone who's willing to share his or her life with them. Good or bad. It's who sticks around for the really ugly mess that's the true soul mate."
He gave her a small tilt of his lips. "So wise for one so young. This is true, but the soul mate for a Grim Sith is also an eternal bond. One that can't be broken by a piece of paper issued from the courts."
"Oh." Her brows furrowed as she digested this. "But you thought Sanya was a possibility?"
"I said I had searched. I didn't say I was always wise with my choices."
"Sanya is beautiful, though. I bet she makes heads turn when she walks into a room and I'm sure it has nothing to do with her vampire allure. I don't know why it surprises me that male vampires think with their lower extremities just like human males."
He harrumphed, but didn't disagree.
She touched his arm, the coolness of his skin not uncomfortable. He sought a soul mate. He searched centuries and came up empty. How many times had his heart been broken? "I'm sorry."
His brows drew together. "Ye are apologizin'?"
"I didn't consider your feelings and what a relationship would mean to you. The vampire books have it all wrong—again. It states all vampires are loners and care only for their own needs, but it's not true...at least not for all vampires. You want companionship as much as anyone else does." It was a very human trait. She loved he held on to his humanity when he could have easily let it fade away. Alexander may look human and could even put on a good show of acting human, but if anyone looked beneath the pretty exterior, they'd see he didn't resemble a human at all. Even Sanya's humanity had suffered.
"Isabella Lucci," he rolled her name off his tongue as he caressed her hair letting the strands feather through his fingers. "Did ye know Lucci means light? Something which has been denied to me for a very long time." He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, lightly brushing his fingertips down her arm. "Isabella, ye are that light for me, a brightness in my soul I thought no longer existed."
If it had been anyone else telling her this, she'd think it was a come on line and not a very good one, but with Garran, she knew he meant every word. He wasn't referring to the sun, but his existence. He knew what it was to be truly lonely and so did she.
"Isabella." He reached for her, leaning down and hungrily covering her lips.
She hadn't expected him to kiss her, but she wasn't going to complain. She threw her arms around his neck and returned his caress with reckless abandonment. The colors of red and blue turned to gold, swirling around her as they danced to the rhythm of their hearts.
A sharp prick and tangy taste played within the recesses of her mouth. Garran pulled away, his fangs glistening white and dangerous, but she wasn't afraid.
"Isabella, I'm sorry—"
"Don't be." She placed her hand on his. "I know what you are, Garran. You don't have to hide it from me."
"I want ye so badly, I fear I'll lose control."
She tilted her head, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I would have never guessed."
"What?" He frowned.
"You're a virgin."
"I most certainly am no'." His arrogant stance turned to annoyance.
She chuckled. "I don't mean literally." She shook her head. "Really, I don't know why men find that so offensive. You weren't born studs. You were innocent once, but it's like it's a sin if you remain so."
"I am no' innocent in any way and ye know this."
"I'm not saying you are. I just meant you haven't slept with a human since you were turned, have you?"
He folded his arms across his chest. "No."
She ran and hand over the taunt muscles of his forearm. "I'm flattered."
"Ye're wh— Ye shouldn't be." He ran his hand through his hair. "There's nothin' flatterin' about a vampire wantin' ye. It can only lead to one thing and—"
"Sex."
"Aye… nay."
"Nay?" she repeated with humor and moved closer. She knew by his expression, he fought taking a step back. "Who would of thought a mere human woman could send a ripple of fear racing down the spine of the big bad vampire." This only proved to endear her further. "I want you, Garran. You know I do."
"I'm beginnin' to think, ye don't know what ye want."
"I want you," she repeated.
"A mistake, if ever I heard one."
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I've dated, but I never felt comfortable with men. I was an outsider, trying to pretend to fit in. With you, I don't have to pretend. I meant it—what I told my brother. I was meant for the preternatural life."
"God help ye if ye are." He took her into his arms again, hugging her close. "Tonight isn't the time to test yer theory though." He took the car keys from her. "Let me see ye home. When we take down Alexander and end this mess, we will see where our friendship takes us. Aye?"
"So… we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend? Just to make it clear."
"I suppose it is the term used now."
She chuckled. "Saying we're courting is a little archaic."
His lips curved as he took her hand and placed a kiss. "How about wooin' the lass?"
There was something rather sexy when a man kissed a woman's hand. "Wooing is good."
Chapter Fifty-Six
Garran had stayed away from humans, finding his pleasure with other vampires, demons—even an occasional shapeshifter or two. He never felt this way toward any female, this need to mate, to declare Isabella as his own. Could she truly be the one? And if she was, did he have the right to claim her? Her words played again in his mind.
I've dated, but I never felt comfortable with men. I was an outsider, trying to pretend to fit in. With you, I don't have to pretend.
God knew it proved tiresome to be a player on this stage called life. With her, he didn't have to pretend either.
He left Isabella safe and sound at her home and headed back to his place. He could have flitted and arrived back in seconds, but he wanted to walk and stretch his limbs.
Harrison waited for him in front of his car that was parked at the curb. "What took you so long?" Harrison wagged his brows, suggesting he knew the reason.
"Do ye really think I would taint Isabella's and my first time together with ye waitin' for me?"
"So there will be a first time?"
"Get in the car." Garran yanked his door open and tried to ignore Harrison's chuckle.
They drove over to Monette's. She wasn't pleased to see them, especially when they barged i
nto her back room.
"God almighty." Harrison couldn't have said it better.
Three boxes were filled with witch balls, packed and ready to go. Garran lifted a witch ball out of the box and stared at the substance, swirling beneath the glass. Alexander had stolen twenty-four souls and he wouldn't stop.
"You need to leave before he returns," Monette warned with a hiss.
Garran glanced at the voodoo queen. Her features were strained and her gaze kept shifting to the one wall void of shelves. She was warning them and they had failed to take the hint. "Harrison—" His own warning came too late as the wall burst open, revealing the hidden room behind it. Three red-eyed demons stood there, all built like wrestlers, and armed with guns and knives. He felt a little underdressed for the party.
Harrison growled, his body rippling with the urge to shift.
"Harrison, don't," Garran warned.
Harrison's gaze riveted to him, his eyes glowing with lust for the kill.
"You don't want to endanger the souls," the dark haired demon with a pointed nose and goatee covering his chin said with a chuckle. "If the veil isn't open, the souls will be forever trapped in this dimension." He held up a gun in his right hand. "You both will come with us. I have silver bullets in this one. And iron based bullets for you." He looked at Garran with a toothy grin as he waved the Glock in his left hand. "Give me a reason to use these babies, 'cause I'd love to have one. Move." He waved a gun toward the exit.
Garran noticed Monette had conveniently disappeared, but he hadn't expected anything less from her.
Sanya's information was a little faulty, but Garran had a feeling it hadn't been intentional. Alexander had baited her. He should have realized Alexander wouldn't have readily shared his plans with Sanya. It had been a ploy to test her loyalty. He felt a pang of guilt as he wondered if Alexander dusted her for the betrayal, but he couldn't dwell on it long. He and Harrison might be joining her soon.
Alexander had always been a coward. He would want the playing field tilted in his favor. "I take it the meetin's off for later tonight," Garran said sarcastically.
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