Immortal Blood (5 page)

Izzy had to admit that the more time Bain spent in her home, the more she felt like he belonged there. He was still an overwhelming presence, but she easily moved around him now. She couldn’t help but flush as she thought about their conversation at dinner. She wished he would
really
flirt with her. They had a playful banter so far, but she would love to truly test her skills against Bain.

She chewed her bottom lip as she thought about all the things she wouldn’t mind testing out on Ba
in. The man made her knees weak when he locked that violet gaze on her and cocked his lips in that sinful smile. And his body, well, she wouldn’t mind running her tongue down his hard chest to much lower and more sensitive parts.

Izzy shook her head;
what the hell was she thinking? He was here to keep her safe, not to take an active part in her fantasies.

Izzy jumped as a very masculine throat cleared from behind her. She swiveled like a child caught with their hand in the cook
ie jar, pulling the fresh sheet she’d just put on the guest bed off.

“Hey
.” She smiled and tried to push the lusty pictures in her mind away.

Bain naked and sprawled out on her bed
… shit… Izzy shook her head again and smiled weirdly at him.

“What are you doing
, Izzy?” Bain smirked. He had a knowing look in his violet eyes that irritated her. It also made her wonder if he had more tricks then he was letting on.

“Putting fresh sheets on the guest bed, no one has stayed in it for months. I thought you might appreciate fresh linens.”

“Really?” Izzy nodded at him. “That’s thoughtful, but what were you thinking about when I walked in here?”

Izzy shrugged her shoulder
. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, turning back to the bed and fluffing the sheet over the mattress.

Bain walked to the opposite side of the bed and grabbed the
sheet, laying it flat and tucking in the corners.

“You were thinking so
mething that changed your scent; it was sort of spicy.” Bain smiled as he gazed up at her from his bent position while he continued to make his side of the bed.

“So you have super smell too?” Izzy asked
with a small, elegant hand on her hip.

“I have super everything
, Izzy. Smell, hearing, sight,
touch
.”

Izzy shook her head and grabbed the pillows from a
sage-colored chair and ottoman in the corner of the guest room. She had decorated this room with a light and airy feel. It reminded her of tall grass along the eastern coast; tans, sage green, and pops of light blue were a far cry from the darker, more modern colors of her own bedroom. She fluffed one pillow and placed it on the bed.

“
Izzy.
” Bain called her name like a fire calling a moth to its flame. Izzy lifted her gaze as she fluffed the second pillow. “Was it me, Izzy? What little secrets were you imagining?”

She felt her jaw clench in time with other lower parts of her body.

“Cheeky Immortal,” Izzy said as she threw the pillow at him.

Bain snatched it out of the air and grinned at her.

“You can finish making your own bed.” She turned on her heel and headed out the door.

“Or I could leave this bed to itself and warm
yours, Izzy,” he called after her.

“I’ve got Garcia, thanks for the offer though
.” She sauntered out of his line of sight, glad her back was to him.

She smiled at the w
arm chuckle that came from Bain. He had a beautiful, smooth laugh. “Goodnight, sweet Izzy.”

Izzy shook her head
. “Goodnight, Bain.”

Bain woke to the bitter scent of coffee; it was a good kind of bitter. He was surprised he hadn’t woken when Izzy got up, or chagrined at himself more like it. He should not be lulled to a false sense of safety. He and Izzy had a good day, but he needed to remind himself that she was in potential danger, and he needed to keep his head on straight. Oh, but she made him want to forget everything else.

While
she was very attractive, was beautiful even, for him, it was deeper than that. Bain knew he was a chauvinist, a playboy, and rarely gave any woman more than one night of pure ecstasy, but there was something about this feisty human that made him want to know more about her. He wanted more than one sweaty night between the sheets. Bain never felt humans were less than Fae, that line of thinking was left to the Dark Fae, but he never thought a human woman would wield any sort of pull over him. This one definitely shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help but want to get closer and
deeper
into her.

Bain pulled his pants on and grabbed his shirt as he exited the cozy little guest room.

The house was quiet and empty as Bain pulled his shirt on and entered the kitchen. There were no signs Izzy had emerged from her room… so he wasn’t losing his touch. He eyed the coffeemaker with the blue light signaling the auto brew function had engaged.

Bain went to the fridge
, knowing he wouldn’t find anything to fix for breakfast. If Izzy was going to continue to refuse to accompany him to see Rowan, they were going to have to go to the market. He was already hungry at seven-thirty in the morning; he was coming close to his monthly visit with the sisters as well.

He had to get Izz
y to do what he needed from her. He didn’t mind hiding out at her home, but he would rather her let him get back to working on finding Zander and restoring her luck. Bain sighed, grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet above the maker, and poured a hot, steamy cup of the energizing liquid.

“Good morning
.” Izzy padded into the kitchen, making a b-line to the coffee pot.

Bain pulled an
other cup down and poured her a cup. “Good morning.”

He grinned as he took in her appearance. She was softened
from sleep, her long ponytail a bit mussed, and wisps of hair falling around her sweet face with its striking cheekbones. The night’s rest left her eyes hooded, giving them a more almond shape as opposed to the bigger, rounder shape they usually were. Her bare legs had him wanting to run his hands up the smooth, lightly toned muscled and under the thin, soft material of her pajama shorts.

“It
’s too early, Bain. Don’t look at me like that.”

Bain chuckled
. “And you called me cheeky.” He handed her the mug of coffee he’d poured for her. Izzy pulled the half-and-half from the fridge and sat at the table, settling her legs under her.

“That I did
. So, I need to go to the market and get a few things. Garcia’s almost out of food.”

Bain sat across from her. “And you’re all out of food.”

Izzy shrugged. “I know, so I’m going to finish this cup, get cleaned up, and we can go. I assume you’ll be coming with me?”

“You assume correctly.”

*****

Izzy loved her little corner market
. It was a little expensive, but they had great produce and the butcher had been there for years. He always special cut bacon and had fresh chorizo for her.

Izzy grabbed a couple
of weeks’ worth of Garcia’s food, and then they headed to the butcher counter. She thought Bain looked out of place pushing a grocery cart. She tried to tell herself that was why all the woman who passed them kept staring at him, but she knew better.

Izzy got some meat from Louie the butcher, Bain got some sliced deli meat,
and she grabbed a few staples and headed for the wine.

“I need to grab some wine for tonight
, and then we’ll be done.”

Bain nodded and followed her. Izzy studied the reds;
she wanted something different. Her mom liked her wine dry; she and her sisters all preferred it a little sweeter, so she settled on a nice Merlot and a sweet red for after dinner.

“
Iz
?”

Izzy’s back straightened. She turned from Bain and the cart to see all five-foot-four of her baby sister, Marie, standing behind her, a mischievous glint in her eye and a smile as wide as the state of Texas spanning across her pretty face.

“Marie, what are you doing here?” Izzy smiled back and hugged her baby sister.

“I stayed at Mark
o’s last night. We came to get coffee and scones this morning.”

Izzy grabbed a
plain, brown paper bag and shook it. “Me too, they have an amazing bakery here.”

“That they do…
You going to introduce me to your friend?” Marie asked, not hiding any of the pleasure she was finding in Izzy’s discomfort.

“Oh…
Uh, this is…”

Bain stuck his hand out to Marie
, picking up where Izzy had stumbled. “Bain.”

Marie to
ok his hand with a strong, yet feminine shake. “Nice to meet you, Bain. I’m Marie.”

“Likewise
, Marie.” Bain flashed a knock-any-woman-over smile.

Marie
dragged her hungry gaze from Bain back to a slightly glaring Izzy. Marie smiled and shrugged at her sister. “Sorry,” she whispered.

Izzy shook her head.

“Anyway, is that the wine for tonight? You are still coming, right?” Marie asked.

“We’ll be there
,” Bain butted in, causing Izzy to glare at him.

“Really?
Well, I look forward to tonight then. Bye Iz, and I’ll see you later, Bain.” Marie smiled and sauntered off.

“I swear to
god, Bain, if you’re staring at my sister’s ass, I will hit you.”

Bain chuckled.
“Then walk ahead, so I can stare at yours, Izzy.”

Izzy shook her head, but so help
her, she walked away, giving him a perfect shot of her ass in a well-fitting pair of light blue jeans.

“Explain!” The single word flew from Marie’s red-painted lips the second she had Izzy alone.

Izzy had cringed when her father’s eyes scrutinized Bain,
and when he asked Bain to follow him to grab the leaves for the table. Izzy almost insisted on going with them, but Bain shook his head, dropping his head to whisper to her not to worry and that he would behave. Izzy rolled her eyes, and then sent a serious warning through them.

Izzy chewed her lip, her gaze drifting between Marie and down the hall to her
father’s study.

“Iz, what the heck is going on
? It took that guy Zander and me twenty minutes to convince you to go out with him. Then I see you rather early at the market two days later with this new guy. I mean, he is a definite upgrade. The Zander guy was hot, but holy shit, Bain is… whoa.” Marie started to fan herself.

Marie was young and dramatic, but she wasn’t wrong.

“Iz, focus, we only have a few seconds. What the heck happened the past two days?”

“Um…
” What was she supposed to say? “It didn’t work out with Zander.”

Marie scoffed and shook her head
. “Yeah, I gathered. Where does Bain come into the story?”

“I met him the other day”

Marie was getting frustrated with the simple, no-detail answers.

“I don’t know what to tell you
. We met the other day, we’re getting to know each other, he stayed in my guest room last night, and now we’re here for dinner.” Izzy smiled.

“Why did you let that man sleep in the guest
room? What is wrong with you, Iz?”

Izzy smiled and shook her head.

“So Bain, what do you do for a living?” Izzy’s father, Martin
, asked as he began to dig into her grandmother’s famous enchiladas.

Izzy
stiffened; they had not gotten their stories straight. She had no idea what line he was going to attempt to feed her father.

“I work in private security
,” Bain told him.

“For what company?” Martin asked.

“Dad, please don’t give him the third degree,” Izzy pleaded.

“
Isabelle, it is not the third degree. It’s a simple question. If he intends to date my daughter, he needs to prove to me that he can take care of you.”

Izzy groaned while Bain flashed a brilliant smile at her. His fangs were thankfully hidden.

Her father’s gaze fell back upon Bain expectantly.

“Hawk’s Eye Security,” Bain answered him.

Izzy’s eyes widened; she’d heard of Hawk’s Eye Security before.

“You know
Lucas?” her father asked.

“Of course I do, I hired him. My
brothers’ and I founded Hawk’s Eye Security.”

“How old are
you, Bain?” Izzy’s mother, Elizabeth, asked. Her mother didn’t look Spanish; she was where Izzy got her lighter coloring. Her mom had golden blonde hair and deep blue eyes, nearly the same color as Izzy’s.

Bain smiled at he
r mother, charming her with that brilliant show of teeth. “Thirty-two,” he told her.

“That
’s young to have such an established business. Hawk’s Eye Security has been around for what, about ten years?” she asked.

Bain
nodded. “Yes ma’am. Though I am the second youngest of the five of us.”

“There are five of you
?” Marie asked, surprised, and then maybe a little embarrassed as Marko studied her. “Sorry,” she muttered to him.

“I should clarify
. We grew up together, but they are not my biological brothers.”

“Family doesn’t have to be biological; you just have to love them as if they were
,” Izzy’s Grandma Isabelle, her namesake, told him with a wink of her wrinkled, crow feet-ridden eye.

Bain smiled at the monarch of Izzy’s family
. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“So what is it you do there?” her mother
asked, carrying on the line of questioning.

“I’m a jack of all trades, but I stick mostly with security.”

“
Mostly?
” her father grunted.

“So
…” Izzy broke in. She knew her father was about to start in on Bain. Focus was important in his opinion and, if you were working to protect people just as he once had, there should have been nothing else on your plate as far as work was concerned. “Where’s Eppie, Samuel, and the kids at?” she asked. She really was curious where her middle sister and her family were. They rarely ever missed Sunday dinner. No matter what was going on, they made time for the family.

“Bell is sick; Sam said he’d stay
so she and Mathew could come, but she felt bad leaving her.”

“Oh, I hate when that sweet little girl is sick.”

Bell had been a sick baby; it had gotten better since she entered the terrible twos, which really wasn’t all that terrible. She was a good kid, smart too.

All the wome
n at the table had new sadder sets to their features. They’d nearly lost Bell and thinking of her sick made them all remember the fear and pain that had come from that near loss.

Izzy knew her father felt it too; he just didn’t show it. Izzy met Bain’s
gaze. He had a softer set to his lips and compassion in his bright eyes that had her melting into them.

Dinner pi
cked back up, but the need to interrogate Bain had fled the table and the conversation focused on simpler things. They talked about Izzy’s work, the fast approaching holiday, and about Marko and Marie’s next trip for his photography.

“Are you ok?” Bain asked as he opened the passenger door of Izzy’s Audi so she could slide in.

“Yeah, you didn’t tell me about Hawk’s Eye Security.”

“I told you I had strongholds in the Human World. We use Hawk’s Eye Security as a front to keep tabs on Fae activity in the Human World. Now that’s not to say we don’t employ a few men who do provide security,” Bain told her as he started the car and pulled away from her parents’ home.

“I know
. I’ve used them for events in the past.”

“Really
? So our paths could have crossed before?”

“I suppose, yes.” Izzy was sure she would have remembered seeing Bain. “We probably should have discussed what you were going to tell them.”

“Probably, but I enjoyed keeping you on your toes.”

Izzy scoffed. “My lack of coordination kept me on my toes plenty. I’m ready to get home and out of this dress.”

Bain smirked. He would like to get her out of the dress, too. Although, she did look good hugged in its soft fabric, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

Izzy’s loss of luck hadn’t given her a break this night
. Fortunately, it only raised its ugly head in the form of a spilt glass of red wine on her cream-colored, sweater-style dress. She looked amazing. Her hair was pulled off her shoulders, teasing him with the length of her elegant neck. Her legs were bare to her knees where her soft dress ended, giving him all kind of ideas about running his hand up those slender legs and under the material of her dress.

Bain shook his
head. She was staring at him questioningly. “I don’t know Izzy… I like the dress, but if you need help peeling it off, I’m always willing to help.”

“I bet you are.”

Izzy licked her bottom lip and sunk deeper into her seat, crossing her legs as she did. She knew now that her scent became spicy when he was turning her on, and she was sure that spice would reach him soon.