Soul Taker (37 page)

"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 into 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.

"Just keep moving,"
Goatee Guy
said
with a push.

As soon as they stepped into the main part of
the store, one of the demons took out Harrison with a swift hit to
the head with a steel rod. Garran whirled around to defend him, but
a surge of electricity knocked him to the floor. His body
convulsed, leaving him vulnerable.

One of the other demons gripped a taser. Mr.
Goatee
leaned down to stare at Garran. His eyes glowed red
and his lips curved into a snakelike smile. "Given your history, I
thought you'd be smarter. You fell for the ruse to get you here and
you let yourself get caught. I'm truly not impressed." He nodded
toward the taser the other demon caressed with his long dark
fingernails. "Funny what this little gizmo will do to a vampire
when it's amped to the fullest. It plays havoc on the magical
aspects, confusing the power, fracturing it. Use it over and over
again, it's rumored vampires combust." He shrugged. "I'd test the
theory, but Alexander wants you alive. Guess he wants the pleasure
of exploding you himself. Don't worry, your cute little human will
be joining you for the fun and games."