Unbound (35 page)

“Charlie, you know I care deeply for you, right?” she began.

“Yes. Do you know I love you?” He asked.

“I do know that, but I also know that this life I’m living is too dangerous and the stress my absence puts on you is unfair.” She couldn’t hold back the tears. She had to set him free and it hurt like hell, but he deserved better than a girlfriend that put him third behind her new life and another guy or two.

Pulling away from her, he stuttered, “D, no. Please, don’t do this to us. Please. Don’t destroy me this way. Oh God, baby. You’re going to take my memories aren’t you? Is that why you asked me to come here?” The tears instantly stained his cheeks. He tried to move farther away, as if the distance would stop her.

“Charlie, I can’t risk your life any longer. The day I left campus there was a dead girl in my bed. A vampire named Danielle that had the bad luck of being mistaken for me. What if Olivia had been in the room when they came? What if you had been with me and we had walked in on the killer together? Even if I could ignore the danger to you, I can’t ignore knowing you want a normal life. You know you want normal kids and a wife that doesn’t have to hunt for her dinner. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me our last conversation about this hasn’t been haunting you.” She waited, but he just watched her with sorrow-filled eyes. “It’s ok, Charlie. I understand.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” he sobbed and went down on his knees. “I don’t want to lose the time we spent together. Please, don’t do this to us.” The
hitch in his voice was pained. His emotional d
istress
was
rolling off of him
.
Dani couldn’t control the sobs as he held her face and kissed every inch of it. He was begging her with his eyes, and her heart was throbbing with the combination of her own pain and Charlie’s pain that was crashing into her like waves. It was too much to bear.

“I’m not going to take that from you but some parts will be fuzzy, just like when you’ve been drinking. When I’m done, you won’t hurt over me. I’ll be just another girl that it didn’t work out with.” It tore her up to know this longing he had for her would be gone and she would mean nothing more to him than any another girl that had crawled into his bed.

“I don’t want that, damn it! You’re not just another girl! You’re my girl, my girl…” he trailed off, sobbing. He knew she was right. He knew she wasn’t what he wanted in the long run. Ending it this way would release him from the secrets and worry he harbored. She found the strength to kneel in front of him and take his face in her hands.

“I will love you always, Charlie Scott.”

“No. I’m not ready. Don’t. I love you,” he pleaded.

“Shhh…” She tried to soothe him and placed her hand across his forehead. She began the process of removing his love for her and the memories of a black-eyed freak with fangs. She would be just another girl he cared about and broke up with when things got too serious. He would believe he broke up with her and he was ready to move on. There would be no pain or sadness for him. She wouldn’t be so fortunate. When it was over she kept him in entranced and held him a while longer, tracing the lines of his face until her tears dried up. She would no longer have the right or privilege of touching him.

When he woke, Charlie thought they’d just had a long conversation about how they cared about each other but it was time for both of them to move on. When she was finished, he leaned back and looked around, confused for a second before he hugged her.

“I’m so glad we can part as friends. Give me a call if you want to hang out or study or whatever.” Dani only nodded and tried hold it together.

Cayden jumped in surprise when the door opened and they exited the condo. She was hardly able to hold herself up when Charlie hugged her again and patted her on the back like she was just a friend. “We’ll see each other around, right?” he asked.

“Sure, I’ll give you a call,” she nodded, masking her expression.

Charlie stepped in the elevator with a smile and waved good-bye to her as the doors slid shut on their relationship. No sooner than they had closed, she collapsed and broke into sobs, not caring that Cayden was watching. When she was finally able to stand, she stumbled back to the door, but Cayden stepped in to block the door.

“Did you do that for me?” he was obviously stunned by the turn of events.

“I did it for a few reasons. You were one of them.” She refused to meet his eyes.

“If it hurts you this bad, maybe you should go after him,” he groused.

“Do yo
u want to know what hurts me?” s
he asked with too much venom. “I just said good bye to the only person in my whole life who knew exactly who and what I am and he loved me anyway.” She may have just said too much but control was beyond her.

“Are you telling me he knew you’re a vampire?” Cayden was floored.

“He knew a lot more than just that. He knew things I can’t even tell you, things I can’t tell anyone. None of it mattered to him. He didn’t care that I wasn’t his kind or not his social equal. The only thing that mattered to him was that I loved him back. And I did love him, but none of those things can erase the fact I don’t want to lose you, Cayden. I had love for him, but I’m falling for you and both of you deserve better.” Cayden tried to wrap his arms around her but she pushed him away.

“No. Please, don’t. I just need to be alone. I’m going to bed. Make sure Chase leaves me alone.” She drifted passed him and into her room. She crumple
d
onto the bed. In the darkness and quiet that swallowed her, she heard another piece of her heart disintegrate and blow away along with the memories of the love she had stolen from Charlie’s mind.

* * *

When Chase arrived at home, he was surprised to see Cayden sitting against the wall in the hall outside the penthouse. The two of them didn’t agree on much but, neither one of them liked the idea of the human boyfriend. Chase was sickened by the idea of any guy touching Dani. He disliked Charlie in particular because he had taken something from Danielle that Chase believed should have belonged to him, her virginity.

“Shit. Tell me that damn human guy isn’t still in there with her?” Chase asked in disgust.

Cayden slid Chase a sidelong look and shook his head. “He’s gone but Dani wanted to be left alone tonight. She said to make sure she wasn’t disturbed. Not even by you.”

“Ok, so I obviously missed something.” Chase waited for more information but Cayden just shrugged. He wasn’t going to give anything away.

“You can go home or hunt if you want to, Cayden. I won’t be leaving until late morning. It’s up to you.” Chase unlocked the door.

Cayden got up and went to the elevator. “Tell her I’ll be back at nine if she comes out before I get back in the morning. Can you stay until I get here?”

“Sure thing, I won’t leave her alone. See you tomorrow.” Inside the condo, Chase loved the way Dani’s scent lingered everywhere. In the living room, he also picked up on the scent of her tears, a lot of tears. It was like a saltwater undertone to the floral vanilla. He could also tell the human hadn’t made it past the living room. That was good news. Chase went to bed pleased with the knowledge that Dani hadn’t been intimate with the human in his home.

Chase decided to take advantage of his alone time with Danielle. He got up super early and went out for groceries. To be safe, he directed security not to allow anyone other than Cayden to go to his penthouse while he was gone. Danielle hadn’t eaten dinner so he hoped to entice her out of her room with the aroma of breakfast. Maybe after breakfast he could get her out for a little shopping. He didn’t know what had happened the night before, but whatever it was had hurt Danielle, and that hurt him. He wanted to make her happy, or at least make her feel a bit better.

At the store, he started to get healthier stuff, like turkey bacon and the fixings for egg white and veggie omelets. Then it dawned on him that he had only ever seen her eat cereal with too much sugar in the morning. He’d picked out things Sam would like. He didn’t know what Danielle liked to eat. He had to change that. Danielle just didn’t seem like an egg-white kind of a girl. So he changed the menu to regular bacon and sausage, because he wanted to see which she preferred. He would prepare banana walnut pancakes hoping she wasn’t allergic to nuts, with smoked ham and cheddar omelets as a backup in case she didn’t like pancakes. He smiled as he picked up the syrup, juice and butter. There was no way Sam would eat this stuff or let him eat it in front of her.

When he arrived at home, he turned on the radio in the kitchen and mixed the pancake batter from scratch. He used to cook with his mom all the time, but he never had the patience to cook for just himself. He enjoyed cooking now. This must be why his mother cooked for the family on a regular basis, instead of having the cook do every meal. It’s gratifying to cook for someone you love. He just hoped like hell she would come out to eat. The table was set and the condo was filled with the smell of bacon and bananas. He was focused on making perfectly round pancakes when Danielle walked up behind him. He turned with a plate full of his culinary creations and smacked into her, miraculously managing to prevent a spill. They both laughed and ended up standing there staring at each other. It was like watching a movie when everything goes slow motion during a crash.

“What are you doing out here?” Danielle’s smile warmed him. She checked out the spread appreciatively.

“Are you hungry? I didn’t know what you liked, so I made a little of everything.” Chase beamed back at her.

“I’m starving and it smells so good.” Her tummy growled in agreement.

“Good, let’s eat. I have the table all ready.” He went to the dining room with Danielle on his heels.

“What about Cayden?” she looked around noting his absence.

“He left last night when I got home. I’m on warrior duty for a while.” He winked at her.

“You need to be on duty more often if it means I get breakfast. I haven’t had a good breakfast since,” she bit her lip in thought, and Chase wanted to soothe the hurt with his tongue, “well, for a long time,” she finished.

Chase sat close to her at the table, but not too close. He suggested they do the morning paper crossword puzzle together. “It’s something my parents do together,” he said. She gave him a look that said ‘please don’t start’ so he said, “
It’s just a game, Danielle. My m
om is
really serious about it but my d
ad always gives her the craziest answers. It’s funny to watch. I just thought you might like to play.”

She relaxed and they ate, talked, and worked the puzzle. Somehow, they’d gotten closer and closer to each other at the table until finally their chairs were so close their legs were touching. They were taking turns writing the answers and Chase’s quips had them both in hysterics. The light in her eyes helped him understand why his father loved this activity so much.

He was quite proud of his culinary skills when she polished off her first plate with moans of pleasure and then finished off a second helping of everything. His girl wasn’t one of those waifish girls who never ate. She had a healthy appetite and wasn’t ashamed to eat in front of others.  He was actually helping her unwind and she seemed to be enjoying his company. This was what they needed. Time to really get to know each other without outside distraction was crucial. Of course, that was when the blissful morning was shattered. In the middle of a raucous bout of laughter, a shrill voice broke through the contentment.

“What the hell are you doing here with my man, again?” Samantha screeched and glared at Danielle over the table.

She looked at Chase. “Let me guess. She didn’t know I was staying with you, did she?” Danielle put down her fork and the crossword puzzle.

“She didn’t need to know, Lovely. You were placed here by the
Council
for your protection. Her father is very aware that you’re here and has been here to visit several times, as I recall.” He put his hand on hers to encourage her to stay at the table while he dealt with Sam.

“What are you talking about? Daddy knows she’s here? No damn way is this bitch staying here and skanking up our home.” Sam stepped toward Danielle but Chase got between them.

“Sam, she is a guest in my home, so back off. And how the hell did you get in anyway? I am so sick of your sneak
y shit,
” he warned.

“Fine, I’ll back off but I’m going to wait for you in our room. If that bitch’s shit is in there she’s gonna be missing some hair!” Sam threatened.

* * *

Dani had had enough of this girl’s mouth. She couldn’t take it anymore. So she did the cruelest thing she’d ever done in her life. She told the crazy bitch the truth.

“You do know this is why he doesn’t love you, right? He doesn’t even like you. If he had the choice he would be with me, because he does love me.”

Sam was shocked for a moment before she came back, “He doesn’t have a choice so you need to stay out of our business, and out of our bed,” she snapped. Sam was looking at Chase for a denial of what Dani was saying, but none came.

Dani just smiled at her and said, “I hope that thought keeps you warm at night after you’ve bonded. I can’t imagine having to force my mate into bonding with me. It’s a good thing the bond is soul deep, because if it weren’t, he would spend every night he’s with you thinking about me. I’ve been in his mind and believe me, I am all he’s thinking about.” Dani bumped Sam’s shoulder on the way out of the dining room. She sneered at Chase, “Thanks for breakfast,” and slammed her bedroom door.