Kade had lost track of time.  It wasn’t that hard, if he was honest with himself.  Time was both friend and foe, and there were times that it seemed to pass on without him realizing.  Being more a part of the world, even if only in a business sense, had helped him from fading completely on more than one occasion.  Even without his garden, he had calls and requests from his club.  Having two had almost doubled them.  However, while it was the club topside that had called down, it was business of a more personal nature.<br/><br/>“Someone here to see you, sir,” the woman’s voice told him.  “He says it’s private, and he won’t say anything else.  Would you like me to send him away?”<br/><br/>“No, Hannah, that won’t be necessary.  Have him escorted to the VIP.  Make sure it’s empty, though.”<br/><br/>“Yes, sir.”<br/><br/>Kade hung up and turned to lean against the wall, staring toward the ceiling.  Sometimes he could pick out who it was.  Distracted as he’d been as of late, it was impossible to tell.  He hadn’t been paying as much attention to who all was there as he usually did, thanks to his mind swimming in circles around Dorian and his delicious blood and lovely face.  In all honesty, the body Kade had felt in those stolen moments on the lawyer’s unremarkable carpet wasn’t helping his infatuation.<br/><br/><i>Damned snake.</i><br/><br/>He dressed, settling on a pair of black slacks and a soft, white shirt.  He left it unbuttoned, since he was only going to be haunting his own club.  Still not knowing who had come to see him, Kade didn’t think it was necessary to dress in a certain way.  If the person there wouldn’t say anything else, it could’ve easily been anyone from a hunter to an old friend… or even Dorian.  There had not been any contact between them since that night.  The vampire couldn’t be convinced if it was purposeful or not, because Dorian was a busy man who had more to do than hang around the benefactor of a client.<br/><br/>The moment he stepped into the private area in the back of the club, Kade’s eyes went wide.  He indeed knew that face.<br/><br/>“Isaac?!” he breathed, watching as nervous eyes turned on him and widened back in response.<br/><br/>“Kade… god, I-  I don’t know what to do,” the young man whispered back, tears springing to his eyes.  “I think… I think I’m the only one left.”<br/><br/>It broke his heart.  Kade moved to the booth where the human sat fidgeting, gathering the warm, trembling body to him.  As if that was all it took to break the thin bubble holding it all in, Isaac buried his face against the vampire’s shoulder and let out a sob, tears flowing freely.  As far as Kade knew, this was indeed the last of his precious garden, the lone survivor of a massacre where too much had been burnt to discern one body from the next.<br/><br/>“Shhh…  It’s alright, my little flower,” he whispered in a soothing tone, rubbing at Isaac’s back and smoothing his silken black hair back.  “I took care of it.  That monster is no more.  He can no longer harm you.”  There was a sort of breathy laugh that spilled across his chest, a sign of relief, hysterical as it might’ve been.  “Come, now.  Let’s get you down below so you can rest.”<br/><br/>“W-wait,” the beauty pleaded.  He turned pale blue eyes up to Kade and place a hand against his bared chest.  “Are you alright?  Are you… hungry?  If anything happened to you, I-I… I don’t know what I’d do.”<br/><br/>“Isaac… I’m perfectly fine.  I haven’t starved this entire time, I promise.  And besides, you’re weak and weary,” Kade tried to reason.  “I don’t want to put any added stress on your body.”<br/><br/>“No, it’s… it’s fine,” the young man insisted.  “When you do it, it feels nice.  It’ll calm me.  So I can sleep.”  More tears tried to spill, and Isaac wiped at them before pushing the sleeve up on his oversized hoodie.  There was the faint smell of blood on it already, and it wasn’t Isaac’s.  It was another from Kade’s garden, a pretty little thing who had been one of the most recent additions.  She must’ve died in the slaughter… and Isaac must’ve been right there, close enough to get her blood on his clothes.  It was black, so Isaac must not have noticed it…  The poor creature.  “Every time I close my eyes…”<br/><br/>“If you’re sure.  But only a little,” Kade relented, though the last line was for himself, too.  The arm came up in offering, and he bent his head down to it and sank his fangs in, just below the elbow.  The hot spill came, followed by a pleased sigh from above him, and he enjoyed that rejuvenating little drink.  It wasn’t as hard as he’d imagined it would be to stop.  It was perhaps thanks in part to Dorian’s blood.  Not only had it been incredibly satisfying, but also so damned good.  Not that Isaac tasted bad, but it was definitely a younger and less developed flavour.<br/><br/>“Alright,” he prompted, getting his senses about him and standing.  He hadn’t healed the bite mark in Isaac’s arm, but it was covered easily with the sleeve.  He had a feeling that he’d be getting another taste before the night was over, if only to calm the man’s nerves, again.  For now, he helped his flower up and guided him out of the VIP area.  The layout of the club meant that they didn’t have to cross the floor, but only back behind the center bar, which meant that they could stay in the shadows all the way to the elevator in the far left corner.  They hadn’t made it far when Kade caught a familiar scent.  His eyes flicked up and over to where Dorian was.  The lawyer hadn’t been there for long.  In fact, he’d probably only just arrived.  There was no way he wouldn’t see Kade, even moving along the back of the room, because he’d be searching for pale skin and hair under the dim lights.  All the vampire could do was try to protect the identity of the half wilted flower in his arms.<br/><br/>“I will come down later,” he informed Isaac before continuing to escort him to the elevator.  He wanted to make sure the human was safe and away from any and all harm, including the serpent that had just slithered in.  Not that he thought Dorian would directly assault him, but the man had a keen mind and might’ve pieced something together.  “Do not come back up without me.  No arguments.  Understand?”  The young man pursed his lips and nodded, disappearing behind the dark, coded elevator and disappearing down below.<br/><br/>Then he turned his attention to Dorian, making sure the man had him in his sights before motioning back to the VIP area.  It had already been cleared out of any guests before, thanks to Isaac’s unexpected arrival.  They would be able to have a nice talk in private.  Kade, for one, was excited for it, and he felt a tingle along his skin that he couldn’t attribute to the fresh donation of blood from his precious flower.