23

“No matter who we are now, we can’t undo the things we did in the past.” said Shadows firmly as he looked at Izzy from across his desk. She gave him a sarcastic look, rolling her eyes to emphasize how displeased she was by the position he was taking on the matter.

“I gave you a chance to explain everything Shadows and that’s all you have to say?” replied Izzy, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned back into the leather chair on the other side of Shadows’ desk.

“I think that’s a pretty damn good explanation.” Said Shadows sarcastically, leaning back into his own chair.

“That you were dominant in every aspect of your life including sex and now you’ve turned a new leaf?” drawled Izzy as she raised on of her well maintained eyebrows. “You and I both know that something like that can’t change overnight.”

“How would you know Isabel? You have no idea what goes on in my head?” sneered Shadows

“Only because you never let me get close enough to do that. You never let me in!” snapped Izzy

“And whose fault is that?” said Shadows, instantly regretting his choice of words. He braced himself for what would come next.

“Yours!” shouted Izzy. “It was your damn fault! You had me, I wanted you! And you threw it away for a quick fuck on your desk with some slut that wanted to play along with your dom/sub game” Izzy shot to her feet and marched towards the door. “This is exhausting. You’re exhausting!” with those words she slammed his office door shut and stomped down the hallway leaving Shadows frustrated and somewhat remorseful.

An hour ago, they had finally reached the point where they decided to sit down and talk about everything that had happened between them from the day Izzy first arrived at the mansion. They had made ample progress until the topic of Shadows’ well hidden dark side came up. That was when everything snowballed to hell. Izzy tried to hear him out, knowing that a part of her could accept that side of him if she had accepted it with Vengeance. It was when they reached the topic of his slaves that their conversation had started to really take a turn for the worse.

Izzy’s compassion and humanity vastly outweighed his and that was where they had begun to really argue. Having slaves to satisfy his deviant side was something that was unfathomable for Izzy. Shadows had tried to explain that it was a form of control when he took a slave into his bed. Izzy called it rape. Their argument escalated and Izzy had launched a paperweight at Shadows, missing him by only a hairs breath when he had told her that she was not looking at his side of things. She had screamed at him that there was no way to see rape from any point of view.

The both of them refused to back down and eventually Jimmy had come into the room and mediated for five minutes before giving up. The two of them were beyond stubborn and they chose to sit in silence rather than talk. Shadows had breached the silence first and that was when he had told Izzy that he would give up that lifestyle. Deep down, they both knew that it would never happen so easily. Shadows’ dominant side was something that was ingrained into his very being. He could give up his slaves for Izzy but he couldn’t give up that dominant side and Izzy knew it as well. Shadows needed to exercise that control and Izzy knew that she was never one to submit to anyone. Sure, the way Vengeance had dominated her had turned her on but it was purely in a sexual way. Izzy was not averse to experimenting in bed but she knew in her heart that Shadows craved control and that was something she was unwilling to give up.

****

Izzy threw open the back door and marched out onto the well-manicured lawn. She threw herself down onto the grass and let out a sigh as she trained her eyes on the fluffy clouds moving almost listlessly through the sky. Closing her eyes, Izzy willed herself to calm down as her blood continued to roar in her ears. She had spent three weeks recovering from her ordeal with Jake Night and each one of the grisly cuts to her skin had fully healed. Izzy allowed her thoughts to drift as the gentle evening sun caressed her skin. She had spent Christmas wincing in pain and confined to her bed, miserable and haunted by images of Jake Night.

Dana and Annie had come over to help her wrap all the gifts she had purchased for everyone, neither of them commenting about her wounds which, at that point, were no longer fresh but were still healing. Jimmy kept her company during the day and Christ would join in from time to time but Izzy knew that they were both worried about her sanity. Jimmy held her on numerous nights when she woke up drenched in sweat and screaming. She still suffered with night terrors, her dreams filled with the sound of a cracking whip, sinister blue eyes and a malicious laugh.

Her mind took her back to Night’s mansion and Izzy felt her body tense with the fear of knowing that she would never truly get over what she had gone through. She heard the cracking of a whip in her mind and her eyes snapped open.

“It’s the people that know us best that have the ability to hurt us the most.” said a soft melodic voice next to her causing Izzy to jump out of her skin, letting out a frightened scream.

“Brian? You scared me half to death.” Wheezed Izzy as her heart thumped painfully in her chest.

“I’m sorry.” He said sincerely, turning his head to gaze at her. He was lying next to her to on the dewy grass, the evening sun kissing his ink adorned skin.

“I’m still a bit jumpy that’s all.” Said Izzy, her voice filled with spite as she willed Night’s steely blue eyes out of her mind.

“I know. I hear you at night.” Said Gates gently, his voice a mixture of sadness and concern. He turned on his side, propping himself up with his elbow, his cheek resting on his tattooed fist. “The last time you were out here, you were upset about something. I’m guessing that that’s the reason you’re lying in the grass.”

Izzy shook her head, her eyes following the sluggish clouds through the pink and orange tinged sky. She always lost track of time when she came out onto the grass to think. She was afraid to look at Gates, knowing that he felt something towards her. She didn’t want to hurt him anymore than she already had. Talking to him about Shadows would do just that.

“I heard you shouting at Shadows when I walked past his office.” said Gates softly, his eyes looking up at the sky as well. “Seems like the two of you fight more than anything else. Even when you start talking like normal people you two always end up screaming at each other.”

“No surprise there.” snorted Izzy in spite of herself.

“I’ve never heard anyone but myself and the guys talk to him the way you do and even we don’t oppose him the way you do.” said Gates mildly, a smile tugging at his thin lips.

“God forbid you anger the big bad Shadows.” laughed Izzy, her words laced with tempered sarcasm which made Gates laugh as well.

“Why would anyone do something so foolish?” he grinned at the sky.

The two of them lay in the grass, side by side, until the stars danced in the sky. They didn’t talk much but the silence between them wasn’t awkward. Gates rolled onto his stomach, his eyes clouded with the sleep that he had drifted in and out of. He yawned unabashedly and smiled at Izzy whose breathing was gentle and even. He gazed at her sleepily before throwing his arm across her stomach without thinking. She shuffled closer to him, mumbling incoherently in her sleep as she did. Gates closed his eyes again and allowed himself to fall back into a dreamless sleep.

“Ewwww! Grass people!” screamed Jimmy hysterically as he aimed the hose at Gates and Izzy’s sleeping forms. They shifted in the grass, their arms thrown over the other as they slept. “I think it’s time to water the grass!” Jimmy sprayed jets of cold water onto Izzy and Gates, both of whom jerked awake and shouted incoherently as Jimmy drenched them both with water. Clumsily scrambling to their feet while simultaneous trying to avoid the water, they launched themselves at Jimmy who immediately dropped the hose and sprinted towards the house.

Gates and Izzy thundered after him, both of them shouting enough profanities to make a sailor blush. Jimmy bounded into the house, laughing at the top of his lungs, Izzy and Gates not far behind though they were having difficulty as they slipped and slid on the marble floors.

“You’ll never catch me grass people! I’m a ninja! Whyaaaahhhh! I disappear into thin air in front of your eyes.” Screamed Jimmy with a mock Chinese accent, his voice bounding off the walls of the mansion. He rounded a corner and ran straight into Gates who gave him a mischievous smile. Gates grabbed Jimmy and held him in a tight lock as Izzy approached the two of them, a tray of ice cubes in her hands.

“No! Evil grass people! Unhand me or suffer the consequences!” screeched Jimmy loudly as he squirmed against Gates. “You’re getting my shirt all wet with your nasty grass people squishiness!”

Izzy gave Jimmy a wide grin, her eyes glinting wickedly as she dumped the entire contents of the ice tray down the front of Jimmy’s pants. His eyes screwed up and his face turned beet red as he squirmed in discomfort.

“Cold! Cold! My nuts will get frost bite! They’ll fall off! How will I procreate? Evil grass people!” whined Jimmy noisily.

“That’s what you get for messing with grass people you fartbrain!” laughed Izzy as she tickled Jimmy mercilessly. “Admit defeat and this will all be over!”

“Never!” wheezed Jimmy, as Gates laughed along with Izzy. “I will never admit defeat to the squishy grass people!”

****

It was well after 10 by the time Izzy had showered and changed into fresh clothes that were both warm and dry. She joined Jimmy in the living room where he sat muttering to himself as he played Tekken while Christ cursed loudly every time he was beaten. Izzy laughed as she threw herself down next to Jimmy on the comfortable sofa. Jimmy didn’t take his eyes off of the game as she leaned against him with a sigh.

“Sighing is never good. It’s a mark of boredom.” smiled Jimmy as he continued to thrash Christ mercilessly.

“I am bored Jimmy.” Said Izzy with a yawn, barely registering what was happening on the television. “There are only so many times I can beat Christ in every game until it gets sad instead of funny.”

“Why don’t you go to the kitchen then woman!” laughed Christ with mock sarcasm “Women folk are never bored in the kitchen.”

“I’ll rip off your nuts and you can join me.” Snapped Izzy playfully as Jimmy snorted loudly.

Izzy was struck with an idea as she glanced at the kitchen from over her shoulder. She hadn’t had the opportunity to put her cooking skills to much use since she had arrived at the mansion. Usually all of her meals were now prepared by a chef each day. Jumping to her feet, she padded to the kitchen and threw open the refrigerator and then the pantry. It was late enough that there were no staff bustling around and in addition to that, Izzy had missed dinner earlier. Taking out the ingredients to make a lasagna, she began to prepare the meal. She skipped to the living room and threw her arms around Jimmy who ignored her.

“Can I borrow your iPod Jim?” asked Izzy sweetly. She took Jimmy’s grunt as his answer and swiped his iPod off the sofa. Scrolling through Jimmy’s seemingly vast and unending music collection she settled for listening to one of his premade playlists as she made her way back to the kitchen.

She began singing along to Pantera’s Walk as she chopped onions, garlic, tomatoes and mushrooms. She found some minced meat in the freezer and seasoned it before throwing it into a large pot on the stove. The smell of sizzling ground beef filled the kitchen, attracting onlookers that Izzy seemed oblivious to.

Three eyes followed her as she danced around the kitchen, singing Metallica’s Enter Sandman slightly off key. Hazel, chocolate brown and green eyes looked on with humor in each pair of eyes as Izzy shimmied around as she rummaged through the refrigerator for parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Upon turning around, Izzy screamed and the contents of her hands tumbled to the ground. She ripped the earbuds from her ears and scowled at the three men who were snickering near the bar area of the kitchen.

“How long have you three been standing there?” asked Izzy, slightly disgruntled as she picked up the two sets of cheese off the floor.

“Long enough to know that you shouldn’t join a band….ever…in any lifetime.” laughed Vengeance with a sneer curling on his lip.

“Yeah, you could start a monsoon or something.” Chuckled Shadows as his eyes flickered over Izzy’s body, causing her to flush slightly.

“Besides, you live in a house full of men. We can smell food from miles away.” Grinned Gates as he sat down on one of the bar stools.

“So what are you making?” asked Shadows, sitting next to Gates. Vengeance folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe regarding Izzy with mild indifference.

“Lasagna.” Answered Izzy as she assembled her lasagna with enthusiasm, trying her best to ignore the three pairs of eyes that she could feel watching her every move.

“Are you planning on sharing?” asked Gates hopefully as she ran his slender tattooed fingers through his long dark hair.

“Depends.” Shrugged Izzy as she layered her ingredients carefully, avoiding having to look any of them in the eye.

“On what?” scoffed Vengeance

“Depends on if you three are going to continue sitting…and standing there for the entire time.” Said Izzy as she sprinkled copious amounts of cheese onto the top of the lasagna.

“Would you rather us leave?” asked Shadows mildly amused.

“Possibly.” Retorted Izzy as she popped the dish into the oven.

“That’s not an answer.” Smirked Gates, his stomach rumbling loudly.

“It is actually. But it doesn’t make sense answering properly if I’m done.” Smiled Izzy, looking between Gates and Shadows who both frowned with disappointment. “But I did make enough to share.”

“Nice redirection Blackburn.” Growled Gates as he got to his feet.

“Works every time.” laughed Izzy as she washed her hands. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Shadows and Gates retreating to the living room. She felt uneasy, knowing that Vengeance was still watching her from where he stood. She turned off the faucet and turned around, colliding with a muscular chest. She gulped inwardly.

“You’re in my way Vengeance.” Said Izzy softly. She hadn’t spoken a single word to Vengeance since he had humiliated her and she made the effort to avoid him like the plague.

“I know.” He said softly, his voice laced with that dark lust that Izzy knew all too well. He used his body to cage Izzy between the sink and himself and placed his arms on either side of her when she made a move to side step him. “I’ve missed you.” He breathed in her ear.

“You mean you miss my body?” snapped Izzy, her irritation rising.

“Yes. I miss your body.” He taunted, pressing his plump lips against Izzy’s neck. She shivered involuntarily at the feel of his cold snake bites against her skin. Vengeance smirked as he nipped her neck gently.

“You made it abundantly clear what your intentions had been Vengeance. Don’t expect me to…” Izzy’s words were cut of as Vengeance crashed his lips down onto hers. Without thinking her eyes fluttered closed, knowing that Vengeance’s rough kisses always made her weak. Her body responded in that familiar way under his touch. Realization dawning upon her, Izzy’s eyes flew open and she pushed Vengeance away. She noticed that his breathing was just as ragged as hers. He approached her again, his emerald eyes glowing with lust. Izzy raised her hand and her palm connected with Vengeance’s cheek.

“Don’t you ever do that again. I was just a good fuck remember.” Spat Izzy before storming out of the room, leaving Vengeance staring after her with a devious smile hanging from his lips.

Vengeance grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and sat down on the bar stool that Gates had so recently vacated. His cheek stung dully as he sipped his drink. Images of Izzy’s bloodied body flashed in his mind and for the briefest of seconds, Vengeance felt something tug on his heartstrings. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, seeing Izzy so broken had made him feel something close to sympathy for her. Deep down he would never wish something as horrible as that on anyone but those sympathetic feelings were squashed as quickly as they came.

His ever calculating mind began to formulate another plan. He wasn’t blind to the on goings within the mansion. Shadows and Izzy were always at odds with each other but there was definitely someone else interested in Izzy. He would have to play his cards differently this time, knowing that his admission to Izzy early on in the month had left her disgusted with him.

‘Disgusted is good’ thought Vengeance as he smirked into his beer, ‘makes this even more of a challenge to break her.’

With no regard for the feelings that he knew Gates had for Izzy, Vengeance plotted his sinister plan. One way or another he would have Izzy underneath him in his bed. Vengeance had no idea why it was that he felt the urge to hurt Izzy but the thrill of the chase enticed him more than it ever had. Perhaps it was that darkness within Izzy that called to him, or maybe it was because there was definitely something fundamentally wrong with him. Either way, he would have her, fuck her and leave her when he had her where he wanted the raven haired beauty. Izzy was easy to manipulate by Vengeance’s standards and watching her heart shatter brought him a sick twisted satisfied feeling. By the time he was through with her, Gates and Shadows wouldn’t want her and then he could claim her for himself.

His own personal grey eyed beauty with a black soul to match his.