©2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO _MACC_ (ANIA JOHNSON)
Thirty
Isaline's family took the fact the she was no longer human pretty well.
Of course they had questions- some she couldn't answer- but more than the vampiric part of the story, they wanted to know where Isaline's savior was.
"I figure he's at home," Isa shrugged, not able to keep the scowl off of her face.
She had barely been able to function since Adrian had left, and that was only a day ago. After he left, she had tried to stay strong, tried to go on about her day, but the physical need to have him near her constantly was getting to her.
There was two emotions that Isa had been ping pong-ing back and forth between: anger, and pain. The pain came more often, a wrenching feeling in her chest that made her feel as if someone had taken her heart in their hand, and was constantly twisting and twisting at it, making Isa feel as if she was going to pass out at any moment. The anger came any time she thought about him, and she had been trying to force him from her mind.
Isaline was more so hurt than anything.
She had woken up that night, after a particularly vivid dream, crying for him, screaming for him. It seemed weak, but Isa was quickly learning that Adrian was her rock now, he had been for the week and two days that Isaline had been awake. He kept her sane, grounded, but when he couldn't be steady in her life, it threw everything off for her. Isa felt like a child with a flighty guardian, except her guardian was a vampire who had saved her life and changed her, and he was her boyfriend, not her guardian.
Her boyfriend knew her well enough to know that she was new to this , she shouldn't be in this alone, just because she said she loved his mother. She did love Annaleigh. The woman, before Isa had died, had become like a second mother to her, coming to visit her at home and at her store, going out to lunch, dinner with her, and just being an amazing person in general. Annaleigh loved Isa like she was her own, and Leigh had told her that.
Isa had told the woman she loved her plenty of times, and the same with Nicole. She didn't see why that had upset Adrian as much as it had, but Adrian was Adrian, and his temper was unpredictable, so Isa tried to not overthink it.
Her family was filing out when Marie lagged behind, taking Isa's hand in her own. Isaline looked up at her mother, who was shaking her head, her hazel eyes watering as she took Isa's face in her hands, "My baby doesn't have my eyes anymore," She whispered, caressing Isa's cheeks with her hands, "You're still the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen, either way."
Isaline loved her mother with everything in her, and when the two weren't arguing back and forth, their relationship was amazing. Isa would do anything for Marie, and for Keith too.
"I love you, Momma," Isa said quietly after her mother had pressed her lips to Isa's nose.
"I love you too, little girl," Marie murmured, smiling at her daughter, "You tell that man of yours that we are all thankful, and we can't wait to see him again to thank him in person. What he did for you, that was a blessing for this whole family."
Isa nodded, resting her forehead against her mother's, "I know, Momma, and I'll tell him."
With a couple more kisses and a promise to see them soon, Isa watched her family drive off, standing in her doorway before letting out a loud sigh, grabbing her purse, keys, and phone, and locking up before heading to her car.
Adrian had been taking care of her bills, and paying Ryan a bonus to take over her store for her until he was capable to do so herself, so her first stop was the bank, so she could pull out some money to pay him back. After that, she had to do some grocery shopping to restock her refrigerator.
As Isa drove down the Mardix city roads, she couldn't help the strange feeling that she got, being out in the open for the first time, really, without Adrian there to protect her, though she knew her only threat was dead, and she had witnessed that death with her own eyes. He was supposed to be out with her when she finally went out like this.
She missed him, but she wasn't going to go looking for him. She hadn't done anything wrong to begin with.
Isaline was at the bank when she noticed that she was being trailed by a Harley that she had gotten fixed earlier in the week for a certain someone after scratching and breaking some parts the night they became intimate again. The following hadn't grabbed Isa's attention at first though. No, what had gotten her was the fact that the loneliness, the loss, and heartache she had been feeling for over twenty four hours had diminished in seconds.
Adrian had to be close, and he was.
When Isa glanced in her rearview mirror after pulling out of the banks drive thru, is when she caught sight of the man, and while she couldn't see his face, she noticed his vehicle, and the build of that body she had explored more times than she could count.
With a scoff, and a shake of her head, she continued her ride down the streets, ten minutes later turning into the large grocery store, heading in with her list and purse in hand, and not a glance back at all.
Adrian was right behind her.
Going about her task, Isa was in the store for almost an hour with the vampire who was trailing her doing just that.
"Are you going to speak to me, or continue to just follow me around in silence?" Isa murmured to the man standing behind her in the fruit section as she picked out the organic grapefruits, strawberries, kiwis, and whatever else she wanted before moving onto the vegetables.
Minutes passed before he spoke, sighing quietly before doing so, "What do you want me to say, to do?"
That question earned him a halfhearted shrug, and that was all, which seemed to bother the man.
"Are you mad at me?" Adrian asked, his warm breath caressing the back of Isa's neck as he got closer.
"Why would I be mad at you?" Isa asked, whirling around with her arms crossed after placing the items she had picked out in the buggy she had been pushing around, "It's not like you left me alone, knowing that that shit hurts me, or the fact that you didn't come back to me last night, and I couldn't go back to bed because of those fucking nightmares and so I've been up since three o'clock this morning, right?"
Isa didn't miss the way he flinched, though she wasn't yelling. Her voice was as soft and calm as ever. Maybe that's what bothered him.
She flinched when his hand came up, a shaky breath leaving her body when he traced the bags beneath her eyes, his own slate orbs shining as he finally spoke, "I'm no good at this boyfriend thing, Isa."
"That's because to be good at something you actually have to try to begin with Adrian." She responded right back, taking his chin between her warm fingers, and pulling him down to her height so that he could look into her eyes instead of the fleeting nervous glances she had been getting since she directed her attention to him, "And you can't throw me around like I'm a rag doll and yell in my face either. That's not right. You wouldn't want me to do that to you-not that I ever could. "
His eyes stayed locked on hers, and the two didn't move for minutes, but suddenly, Adrian leaned, cupping Isa's cheek with his left hand as he pressed his cool lips to her forehead.
He didn't apologize, but Isa got the message, because he was apologizing, just without using his words, which was something Adrian was terrible at doing. He was like an angry child- not able to express his feelings at all it seemed.
Isa was learning he could say whatever he wanted to anyone else, but when it came to her, he turned into a limited vocabulary having caveman. He told that whole club who his lady was, but couldn't even tell her, and she was his lady!
Adrian had had a crush on her. Isa hadn't noticed it at first, but it made sense. He always got so upset, because he probably didn't even know what it was, but now, thinking back to how pissed off he had gotten when she had spoken about him liking her, it was obvious.
He wasn't just in it for the sex, like he claimed . He cared for her.
Adrian actually cared for her.
Fucked up way of showing it, he had, but he did feel something for the woman he was holding in his arms in the middle of the produce section, and Isaline felt a little bit of something for him as well, but not anything she would be telling him about any time soon. He was too crazy, and Isa didn't know how he would respond to her saying she felt something for him. She's let him admit to that first, to see how that went.
"Is this the town's sweetheart I'm seeing?"
Whirling around at the reference of her name with Adrian's arms now wrapped around her waist, she met the gaze of an old high school classmate, Janice Keem, a tall, blonde woman who towered over her, and had hated Isaline since the two were in elementary.
An almost silent groan fell from Isa's lips as she plastered on a fake smile for one of the few people that she didn't like, "Janice, how are you?"
Janice laughed, a loud hearty, but fake laugh as her eyes fell to Adrian as she responded, making Isa want to pounce on her, but Adrian was holding her in place as he felt her lung forward out of instinct, "I should be asking you that. You were all over the news after you got shot, and everyone's been waiting to see you. I guess that sickening attitude of yours pissed off the wrong person, hmm?"
Before Isa could even open her mouth to defend herself-because there was already a smart response on the tip of her tongue- Adrian was speaking, his voice loud and irritated as he did so, while his grip on his woman tightened possessively, "And your attitude is about to piss me off," He snapped, Isa couldn't turn around, but she could picture the glare that would be on his face, just from his voice, "I suggest you watch what the fuck you say when you speak to her."
Her green eyes fell on Adrian in shock, her lip curling as that disgusting hunger in her eyes faded to annoyance, "And who are you?"
"None of your fucking business," He snapped, "You just know to watch your fucking mouth when you speak to her, or you're going to have a problem with me." And then he promptly turning Isa around, and grabbing the buggy, walking away with her body between him and the shopping cart, "Are you finished shopping or can we leave?"
Isa bit her lip as she stared down at the list clenched in her hand, seeing that she was, in fact, finished with her shopping, "Yeah, I'm done," She murmured. Adrian turned the buggy around, then navigated them towards the checkout section, speaking to Isa still quite loudly, "Isa the next time some random ass bitch comes up to you with some bullshit like that, you cuss her the fuck out, okay?"
"Adrian, it's fine," Isaline murmured softly, "Sometimes people say rude things to me, I usually do speak up for myself, but you beat me to it that time. I'm not a pussy."
"I know, I know," He sighed, pulling the groceries out of the buggy and placing them on the conveyer belt, nudging Isa out the way with his hip, "I just..."
"You're just a very protective boyfriend," Isa finished for him, smiling as she helped with the food.
So cute.
He only shrugged silently, handing the cashier his card without a glance in her direction as he watched Isa put the last of her goods on the conveyor belt.
Seeing him pay for her food, Isa was going to fight, but the woman behind the register's voice pulled her attention away from the task at hand, "Did you find all that you were looking for, sir?"
"Yeah," Adrian muttered, placing his card back in his wallet, still oblivious to the woman beating her lashes at him tastelessly. An unattractive scowl started to form on Isa's face.
Adrian was hers. That girl, she had no business trying to flirt with him, no matter if he noticed or not.
Mine.
"Are you new in town? I haven't seen you around, and I'm pretty sure I would remember a face as handsome as yours," The woman-Sadie- asked as she bagged the groceries, her eyes wide as she waited for a response.
As if she had a chance!
Isa scoffed. She was sure the frail, shapeless woman was definitely not Adrian's type. He liked curves, something to hold onto, to grip, to pound into without fearing he'd break her. He couldn't do that with skin and bones, and he couldn't do that with a human, or any other species. Only her.
That primal thought passed through her mind once more, Mine!
"No, I'm not," Adrian snapped in that impatient voice of his.
Sadie nodded, not getting the message, "Well-"
Isa took Adrian's hand in hers, dragging him down until his lips were on hers, a feeling of triumph running through her veins as her man's lips worked against hers, his tongue sliding past her lips and her hands finding his long hair, tugging lightly on the strands.
Mine.
Adrian's voice filled her head as he nipped on her lip, agreeing with her as she so publicly marked her territory, Yours.
"Oh, wow," Isa heard the Sadie girl mutter, and after a few seconds, she pulled away from Adrian, a smirk on her lips as her dark eyes met the shocked gaze of the cashier.
"Have a great day, Sadie," Isa chirped, pushing the buggy out the store with Adrian trailing behind her, an amused grin on his lips, hands deep in his pockets.
After helping her place the groceries in her trunk, Adrian mounted his motorcycle, and followed Isaline home, where the couple put up the groceries before Isa turned around, leaning against her sink, "I need blood," She simply stated.
Adrian smirked at her, mimicking her position across Isa's nice kitchen, leaning against the counter, "I want to talk about that territorial pissing that just went down in the store first."
Unashamed, Isa shrugged, scowling once more at the thought of the two women who had been staring at him as if he would be their last meal, "What's there to talk about?" Isa snapped, folding her arms across her chest, "They were looking at you in a way that I -your lady- didn't appreciate, so I handled the situation,"
Adrian chuckled, pushing off the counter and walking gracefully to Isaline, leaning over her with his hands placed on either side of her. Because of his height, Isa had to crane her neck to look up at the large man, but before she had to strain too hard, he lowered his head until the pair's noses were touching. A small smile found its way onto Isa's lips when he nipped gently at hers, "I know," He murmured, taking her bottom lip into his warm mouth, "Jealousy is cute on you,"
Isa blushed at the rare compliment. Adrian rarely did that.
"So," Isa murmured, "Can you feed me, now?"
Adrian's slate orbs fell to her again as he lifted her in his arms, then placed her so she was sitting on the edge of the sink, at eye level with his neck, "You don't have to ask,"
With that, Isa leaned forward, running her nose against her choice artery, letting out a shaky breath at the amazing scent. Her fangs were already lowering, and that minor burn at the back of her throat intensified to an uncontrolled fire.
New vampires fed daily for the first few months, and even though Isa had just fed the day before, she felt as if it had been eons since her fangs had sunk into the soft, tasty skin of Adrian Lew.
Her hands rested on his waist as she let out a quiet sigh, kissing his pulse before her fangs sank in with ease, loving the deep moan that immediately fell from his lips, his own large hand coming up and burying itself in her natural coils.
Adrian's blood flowed into her mouth in a small, ravishing stream that she prayed would never end as she consumed more and more. It felt like seconds later, but in reality was almost ten minutes adter she started feeding that Adrian's voice instructed her that it was time to pull away.
With half of a whine, and half of a moan, Isa ignored him, as she usually did, until Adrian's grip on her hair tightened enough to warn her that if she didn't let go, there would be some problems.
Isa let out a groan filled with attitude before her fangs slipped out, and she leaned forward, licking at the wounds so they would heal quickly before sucking the skin roughly into her mouth, loving the way Adrian stiffened beneath her, "I-If you want to get to your store-"
"Oh yeah!" Isa practically yelled, sliding off the sink, and trying to fly past Adrian to get back to her car, but he stopped her, hands on her waist pulling her to a complete halt as the front of her body pressed fully against his, "Wait, ten minutes and we'll leave," He murmured, pressing an open mouthed kiss to the corner of Isa's lips, but she wasn't having it, already shaking her head as she leapt out of his grasp easily, too excited about going to her store after so long to be worried about giving in to their physical needs to have each other every waking minute of the day, "Maybe later. Come on, Ade! I'm driving the Harley."
And with that, she was out the door, and mounting his large, shining beast of a bike, waiting for Adrian to come out, which he did minutes later, shooting a glare at her before climbing on behind, being sure to press his heated arousal into Isa's back.
"This shit hurts," He grumbled, biting roughly on Isa's shoulder as she pulled off, making her roll her eyes at him.
"Adrian, don't be a baby," She scolded, speeding down the road, "Sex isn't what we need right now, okay? We are perfectly fine doing couple-y things and just being together without fighting. Plus, you went ape shit crazy on me yesterday and hauled ass, we're going to have to talk about why you exploded sooner or later,"
Adrian let out a loud groan then, and Isa could just visualize the irritated way his beautiful face would be screwed up, "Why can't we just brush it under the rug?"
"Because, that's not what good boyfriends do when their wrong," Isa chirped happily, patting his thigh as they rolled to a stop at the traffic light, "Brushing things under the rug isn't in your new job description my dear."