Lust Immortal (Immortal Series Book 1) (7 page)

Suddenly,
the door swung open and William stood there, a frown creasing his perfect brow.
“Why don’t you come in, Isabel,” he said through gritted teeth.

Setting down
her mop, Isabel stepped inside and stood next to the other servants. All five
vampires were seated comfortably on the leather couch and chairs. A fire roared
in the hearth and lit candles hung in sconces and sat in candelabras all over
the room. Even in that much light, shadows danced across the walls and floor.
Every vampire’s eyes in the room looked aglow.

“It’s such a
shame you haven’t been around in months, William. We worked out a perfect
arrangement.”

“What sort
of arrangement, Mr. Moorish,” William asked, his eyes on the older man with a
fierce intensity.

“Why, Ms.
Perch, of course. You are both young, Ms. Perch is hardly eighty and you are
just turning sixty-one, is it? The perfect time to marry and settle down. She
has a lovely estate with a house full of servants for you to enjoy, you do
remember don’t you?”

Isabel kept
her face neutral, but her heart raced and she felt close to screaming. Why
hadn’t she thought of this before? Even if she and William couldn’t get married
that didn’t keep him from marrying another vampire. What would they do?
Continue their love affair under his new wife’s nose? Looking at Abigail, her
keen eyes and sharp scent, that would be nearly impossible.

“Ms. Perch?
Does she agree to this arrangement?” William asked, his voice steady.

“Of course I
do, Mr. Davenport. How could I not?”

William
seemed to stare at her for a long time, and Isabel fought to keep her tears at
bay. Their happiness had been so brief, so fleeting. What would she do now that
she had his child growing inside her? If he married Abigail, telling him would
be useless. It would just complicate matters more than need be.

Then, she
noticed Charles eyes on her, an intense look she’d never seen the younger
brother give anyone. Unfortunately, Mr. Moorish also stared at her, his dark eyes
eager.

“This isn’t
up for consideration, William,” Mrs. Moorish said and laughed, like a glass
tinkling. “You’ll be married by the end of the month. Charles can keep this
house while you move to Ms. Perch’s home. It’s not far, if you’ll remember. I’m
sure Charles will retain the servants as well.”

William
stared at the fire, and Isabel could tell by the way he gripped the chair that
he held his temper in check- but just barely. Their whole future was falling
apart, and there was nothing either of them could do but wait and watch as it
did.

“Isabel,”
Charles called and motioned for her to come to him.

Isabel
obliged. Being bitten by him was better than Mr. Moorish by far. He took her
hand and pulled her onto the couch next to him then rested his hand on her
stomach with surprising gentleness. “You can share with me, if you’d like, dear
brother.”

William’s
eyes burned as he looked at Charles, but he nodded nonetheless. He wouldn’t
look Isabel in the eyes, however, and she couldn’t blame him. He had to do this
or face the council’s wrath, whatever it would be. Isabel only knew he was
frighten of it- and if that was the case it must be bad.

William sat
on the other side of Charles, pressing his chest into her body as he moved the
hair from her neck. “Please, feel free to drink from our servants,” William
said to his guests.

Isabel
watched as John knelt before Abigail and Tabby sat between Mr. and Mrs.
Moorish. She didn’t envy either of them.

Charles bit
her quickly, taking no time to leisurely sink his fangs into her flesh. Just as
suddenly, William eased into the opposite side of her neck. Each sip made her
skin tingle- the slightest brush exciting her over sensitive body. William’s
hands dug into her shoulder, fingers pinching into her flesh as he drew out each
taste. Charles pulled out first, his tongue lapping at her neck as he caught
the little droplets of blood. William followed his lead, each brother gripping
onto her and tasting her at once.

John held
his neck and Tabby got to her feet, just as Charles and William let Isabel
stand.

“This is why
you need more servants, William!” Mrs. Moorish said and dabbed a smear of red
from her lips.

“Yes,”
William said and licked his own lips, catching a drop of Isabel’s blood.

“You’re
dismissed,” Charles said.

The three
servants walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Together, they
made their way to the kitchen.

“Strange
Master Charles giving the orders, don’t you think?” Tabby said as she cut them
each a slice of bread and slid the jam jar across the table.

“Yes,”
Isabel said and absently took a bite of the cold bread.

“Must be
getting ready for his brother leaving,” John said.

“Poor Master
William,” Tabby said and shook her head.

“Yes.”
Isabel knew she should say something, but just speaking felt like burden with
her heart in so many different pieces. “I should return to my chores.”

“Are you
sure you can manage after that?” Tabby asked, rubbing her hand over Isabel’s
shoulder.

She wasn’t
sure she could manage anything at all, but she had to. William would go off
with his new wife. Their love, however brief, had at least given her something
to look forward to. Maybe she would leave her servitude after all. She couldn’t
stay and watch William with his new vampire wife- her heart would break every
time she saw him.

“Isabel, do
you feel all right? Perhaps you should lay down,” Tabby said.

“I’m fine.”

John smiled
at her. “I’ll take you to your room. You do look a bit pale,” he said and put a
strong arm around her shoulder.

Isabel
walked with him toward the servant’s quarters and settled into her room. John
stood in the doorway looking at her. The shadows from his candle crawled over
his face. “There’s no place for us in their world, besides as a meal,” he said.

“I know.”
And she did know, so why was this so hard? Why had she been such a fool to
think she and William could be happy forever?

“You’ve got
your freedom. It’s a good time to take it.”

Isabel
looked at John’s his straightforward handsome face, and nodded. “Would you come
with me? I don’t want to go alone.”

He smiled at
her, a sad smile that didn’t reach his hazel eyes. “I give good advice, but I’m
not the sort of man you’re looking for. Plus, Master Charles will need at least
two servants, won’t he?”

“I suppose
he will,” she said and climbed onto her thin straw mattress.

John stared
at her for a moment then shut the door.

Over an hour
later the creak of the door made Isabel open her eyes, but whoever came in
didn’t carry a candle or a lantern. In the darkness, she couldn’t tell if it
was Charles or William who disturbed her. Quickly, she wiped the tears from her
cheeks and sat up. “I’m sorry Master. I felt weak so I decided to rest.”

“Has William
been drinking too much? I hardly had a sip,” Charles said.

“No, that’s
not it. I just- ”

“He won’t
deny it. They laid out the wedding plans as soon as you left. William’s going
to marry Ms. Perch and that’s that.”

Isabel bit
her lip as a new flood of tears poured from her eyes. Why had his admittance of
it made her feel worse? She’d been hoping William would say no and run away
with her. Of course he wouldn’t! She was such a fool!

Charles’
dark shape stepped farther into the room. “I am sorry that he’s put you in this
situation. But I do have an offer for you. I’m not staying here. I’m going to
run away, Isabel. And you can come with me if you want. Since you’re no longer
indentured you can do what you like.”

“Where are
you going?” she asked, her voice trembling as she spoke.

“West, I
think. Maybe as far as the French line. While the council might favor William,
they have little need for me. I’ve been nothing but a disappointment to them
from the start. They’ll give chase, but not into the wild. We should be safe.”

Isabel’s
world had changed so quickly from that morning. How did something like that happen?
“Travel into the wild? Where will we live?”

“There are
homesteads, I’ve heard. Listen. We can’t go back to Europe; the council is too
strong there. If we want to be free we have to head west!”

Free. She’d
be free from seeing William and his wife. Free from the constant heartbreak of
watching the man she loved with another. And he’d be free of the burden of a
human lover, a secret that threatened his very life. “What are you running
from, Charles?”

“Toward. I’m
running toward something- someone. I have to find someone.”

“Is it just
the two of us? What about John and Tabby?”

“Tabitha
won’t come. John might. I’ve yet to ask.”

“Fine. When
do we leave?”

Charles
stood so still in the darkness she almost doubted he was still there.
“Tomorrow. We’ll leave at dusk. They won’t get suspicious until we’re too far
gone.”

Less than a
day left with William. What was she supposed to do?

“Don’t tell
Will. You know he’ll try to stop us.”

She nodded,
holding her hands to her mouth to stifle the sobs.

Charles sat
on her bed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close and
rubbing her back while she wept all over his shirt. When he pulled back, Isabel
didn’t think she could cry another tear for the rest of her life.

“He might
come around, someday,” Charles said and his fingers trailed off her shoulders.

And when he
did she might be dead and gone, Isabel thought, but she didn’t speak it aloud.
Instead she only nodded and wiped her eyes. She had chores to get back to.

William
pulled her from her work a few hours before dawn. She’d dined in silence with
John and Tabby an hour before, and neither of them spoke of Charles plans for
escape. Isabel wondered if he’d asked John to join them or not.

“No more for
today,” William said and pulled her by the hand into his bedroom.

She nodded
and set her jaw, determined not to cry. It would only make the whole situation
worse. Instead of speaking, she leaned forward and kissed him, his soft lips
pressing into her with as much need and desire as her own. If they only had one
more night together she wanted to make it memorable.

Her lips
burned over his cool skin as she nipped at his neck, fingers unbuttoning his
shirt. She kissed over the smoothly muscled skin, licking his pink nipples like
he often did her own. Above her, William gasped, a sound he usually elicited
from her.

“Isabel,
what’s gotten into you?”

Without a
word, she unlaced his pants, taking care as she kissed his stomach. His
hardness stood and she tentatively licked the tip. She’d never given him this
kind of attention before, letting him lavish it on her body instead. But
tonight would be different. She’d show him how much she loved him before she
had to leave his side forever.

William’s
hands caught in her hair as she lowered her mouth around his throbbing member.
The thickness in her mouth, slightly salty, was different from any experience
she’d ever had. The way it beat against her tongue, the feeling of the veins
under her lips and she moved it in and out, licking at the tip each time she
brought her head back. Her own wetness seeped between her legs as she lapped at
the milking substance dripping from his shaft.

William
groaned, his hands gently caressing her head as she worked him deeper into her
throat. “Wait, I’m going to-”

His body
trembled and he burst into her mouth, the flood of his seed filling her throat.

Isabel
coughed, involuntarily, and wiped her lips. Looking up at William, his eyes
hooded with pleasure, she smiled at him. She had to hide the sadness she felt
for this one night- their last few moments together should be full of happiness
and not tears.

William
pulled her to her feet and onto the bed, kicking off his clothes as he ravished
her mouth with his own. She kissed him back, gripping onto the ribbon that held
his dark hair in place and pulling it free. He leaned back only to peel her
dress and petticoat from her body, leaving her in only the corset and chemise
beneath.

Her breasts
heaved as he lowered his mouth to the mounds of her breasts, kissing them with
fervor. His hands trailed under her back, pulling at the corset’s strings in a
useless attempt to remove it. Suddenly, he huffed and flipped her onto her
stomach with ease, and she landed with a slight “oomph.” The demonstration of
his strength filled her groin with heat.

“Damn it
all,” he whispered and ripped the strings free- the sound of fabric breaking
filled the air.

Once loose,
he threw the corset to the floor then pulled the chemise over her head. Isabel
helped, the moment overtaking her like nothing had before. She needed him
inside her, deep inside, if this was their last night together.