Unbound (8 page)

“You’
re just as lovely in the daylight.”  He flattered and presented her with a soul-melting smile. 

Funny, she’d been thinking the very same thing about him.  Dani struggled to choke out a reply.  “You’re not so bad either.  What brings you to campus this morning?”

“This is the best coffee shop in town.  They have a great baker also.  You should try the scones.”

“So you’re a morning person?”  She inquired curiously, eager for insight.

“I'm not usually but I have a meeting with my father in an hour and the espresso helps get my brain going.”  He wrinkled his nose as if the idea of being up before noon actually had a bad smell.

“Oh.  Well, I’ll get going so you can get back to work.”  Feeling like she’d interrupted she got up from the table and tried to leave before her pout was embarrassingly evident.

“May I walk you to your next class?”  Chase grasped her hand and the warmth of his touch burned straight through her body.

“Sure, if it won’t make you late.”  She was way too elated at the offer and glad for the chance to talk with him a bit longer.  Maybe he would be an idiot or a total jerk and she would stop thinking about him.  Together they left the coffee shop.  He insisted on carrying Dani’s bag and as he held the door for her, she could feel his eyes making a circuit of her body.  Never had she been so glad to have been feeling lazy.  Her outfit was only slightly better than pajamas and it clung to her in all the best places.  The tank was low cut and too short to reach the top of her yoga pants.  He said nothing as they meandered slowly across campus.  After a few moments, Dani nervously peeked to find him staring at her.  “What?”  It came out more sharply than she had intended.

“I apologize, Lovely.  I was just admiring your hair.  It’s very unique.”  The half-smile he gave her was genuine, not sarcastic as she’d grown to expect, and it melted her a little more.  He should have to register that smile and be licensed to carry it like a weapon.

“I guess unique is one word for it.  I was born this way and it’s been the source of many a tear
soaked pillowcase in my life,”
she admitted.  “Have you forgotten my name already?  Lovely isn’t it, you know?”  She teased to change the subject.

“Of course I know your name.  Your nickname is what I don’t care for, Danielle.  You are far too lovely to be called by a boy’s name.  Therefore, I chose to call you Lovely.  Does it offend you?”

“It might offend my mother but I guess I don’t mind.”  Arriving at her destination Dani pointed at the building and smiled.  “This is it.”

He suddenly looked disgruntled, “You know you hurt my feelings the other night?  Rejection isn’t something I’m used to dealing with, Lovely.”

“That’s funny because you didn’t look hurt to me.  You actually looked quite cozy.”  The memory of the sleazy blonde made her tone sharp again.

“I can assure you, I was quite wounded.  You should come out with me on
Wednesday and make it up to me.
”  He took her hand and placed a kiss in the center of her palm.  It was surprisingly sensual and caused her to pull back and think about Lucas.

“To be honest with you, Chase, I have a boyfriend at home and I don’t think an evening with you would be healthy for that relationship,” she confessed, but everything inside her was screaming to accept his invitation.

He put a hand over his heart and whispered as he handed back the bag, “She wounds me again.”  In a clearer voice he said, “Perhaps you will save me a dance the next time you visit the club?”

Not wanting to make any promises she answered, “Perhaps.”

He nodded and walked away swiftly, disappearing into the crowd.

FOUR~

Chase was on the way home after meeting with his father.  He knew he should be thinking about the upcoming gala his father had enlisted him to help organize and his other various house responsibilities but he was distracted.  The gala was a big deal for the
Council
.  It was an annual event that the three ruling houses rotated hosting and it was their turn.  Pulling up to the building that housed his penthouse condo, Chase could only think about Danielle’s rejection of him.  She had told him she had a boyfriend at home.  The thought of that was causing a burning knot at his core. 
If she’s a Vaughn he should be able to get some intel on her quickly. 
Where exactly was home for her?  He would be able to size up his competition if he just did some digging.  He was running the list of potential suspects through his mind.  It would have to be someone with good breeding and physical attributes for them to be worthy of her attention.  He couldn’t come up with anyone who wasn’t already dating or bonded to another.  He exited the Mercedes, tossed the keys to the valet and dug out his cell to call Vince.  Vince answered on the second ring.

“Good evening, Chase.  Should Vince have your re
gular table ready for you?”
Vince
said in
greeting
.

“No.  I have more pressing matters I need your assistance with, Vince.”  Chase was in no mood to go out tonight.  “I need you to contact your people and see what information we can get on Danielle Vaughn.  I need you to use the utmost discretion.  I don’t want her to know I’m checking up on her.  The last Vaughn I tangled with caused me nothing but trouble.  I don’t want my reputation to precede me.  Do you understand?”

“Sure thing, boss. Vince is on it. I’ll call you as soon as I know anythi
ng.”  Vince was already
deciding which of his contacts would be able to get the most information without making waves.

“I need to know about her boyfriend also.” he said, embarrassed.  This was new for him.  He had never had to try to get a girl he wanted before this.  Normally all the girls, human and vampire alike, flocked to him and gave him whatever he wanted without question, but not Danielle.

“Do you have a name for the boyfriend?”

“That’s what I need you to find out,
” he
snapped.  Chase’s face burned with the indignation of needing help to get what he wanted.

“Vince will get back to you as he has any information
.”  Vince disconnected.

Entering the elevator, he continued to mull over the situation.  He was so distracted when he entered his condo he didn’t notice the red high heels by the door.  He decided to go jump in the spa to relax his nerves.  After changing into trunks and grabbing a towel he was startled to find the spa out on his rooftop patio was not empty.  He cursed when he noticed the long platinum blond curls hanging over the side of the bubbling spa.

“Samantha, what are you doing here?” he barked.

“Now is that anyway to greet a guest in your home?”  She batted her eyes at him and stood to reveal her barely there bikini.  Samantha was the girlfriend that just wouldn’t quit.

“Generally speaking, a guest is invited.  You’re more of an intruder.  How did you get in, Samantha?”  He really didn’t have the patience for her theatrics.

“I used a key, of course.”  She smiled at him wryly.

“I took your keys back.” He was annoyed and not charmed by the way she tried to look so innocent while bending over to display her thong.

“But not before I had copies made.  Now hop in with me.  You look like you could use a soak.  I’d be glad to rub your shoulders.”  She tried to distract him.

He hopped in and moved to the opposite side of the tub, “You just stay over there and I won’t have to put you out.”

Samantha and Chase had started dating his senior year of high school.  Never exclusively but it was the most serious and long-standing relationship either of had them ever had.  The whole thing was a secret due to the
ir
age difference
and the tension between their families. Neither of their parents would have approved.
Samantha was a couple years younger but she and her twin sister were advanced in school. They both graduated two years early without even trying.  She didn’t act like it
but Samantha
had more than just great hair and a hot body going for her.  She was very intelligent but preferred to receive attention for her bombshell beauty rather than her brains.

When Chase turned eighteen his parents had gifted him with his condo.  Vampire society had vast differences from the human society.  By eighteen years of age, vampires have already been hunting on their own for years and males roamed freely.  A tighter leash was kept on females because upper class families didn’t want their girls bonding to someone beneath themselves.  Vampire bonding, or what humans would call marriage was still often arranged by the parents in powerful houses.  Samantha had a key because it had been convenient for her to go in and wait for Chase.  She would come over when she could and he never knew if he would be out hunting or home for the night.  They would often not see or speak to each other for weeks.  They separated when Chase brought another female home with him and Samantha had been there waiting.  She had made an awful mess that day.  Apparently, the fact that they had never been exclusive didn’t matter.  She always assumed she was the only girl allowed in his home.  That was their private sanctuary in her mind.  After her temper tantrum was over, Chase reclaimed her keys and they parted ways.  Not long after, she came back to make amends but Chase was tired of running around in shadows.  Something in the past had caused a rift between their families and the Vaughn’s would not welcome his poaching of their daughter.  Not that she had been a virgin when he took her that first time in her family pool house.  Their fathers had been friends in spite of the discord before both men were bonded.

“So, to what do I owe this visit?  I assume you have a reason.”  He was curious after the silence stretched a little too long.

“I was wondering if you were going to ask me to the Gala.”  She smiled brightly.

He sat straight up and tried to laugh but it came out as more of a choking sound, “Are you crazy?”

“Actually, I have some great news for us,” she said with a bitter edge.  “Your parents have been visiting with my parents.  I overheard them talking about how it’s time for our houses to put the past behind them and maybe if they bonded you to one of us girls it would start the process.  They would share grandchildren.  It would bind our houses.  They said something about a sighted ancestor of mine, and a vision.  I didn’t get much of that part.”

Chase stared at Samantha in disbelief.  All the color drained from his face and he felt sick.  He knew exactly what vision she spoke of.  His father had told him the story but he hadn’t informed him that he was the focus of the tale.  Many people in his family are blessed but he had no extra sensorial ability like his father and uncle.  Given the
stories he had been told of past generations
of gifted Deidricks, Chase hoped his children could be very powerful.

“I’m assuming of course that you would prefer to bond w
ith me rather than my sister so
I need you to show some interest or your parents may choose Brandi.
  She does look better on paper,”
Samantha continued.

Chase had to use all his strength to pull himself out of the spa.  He felt as though his bones had melted.  Maybe this was why his father had recently insisted Chase take part in house business and help with
Council
affairs.  He was being groomed for a bonding.  As he entered his bedroom, Samantha took advantage of his weakness and tackled him, knocking him onto the bed.  “Aren’t you excited?” she giggled.  “We can be together and not hide it anymore!”  Samantha beamed with joy and anticipation of the future she hoped would come to pass.

“We’re not together and I’m not ready to be bonded.”  He dumped her onto the floor and went to dig for some clothes.  He’d changed his mind.  He would go to the club and get one of his girls really drunk.  He was ready to be numb now.  This was the worst day ever.  First Danielle rejected him, then his father scolded him for being lazy and loose before forcing him to help with the gala and now Samantha has ruined his hopes for a future with Danielle.  He hadn’t realized he was looking to the future until Sam informed him that his was already mapped out for him.  Now his chest ached at the thought of not having Danielle as his bonded mate.  He had never wanted to be mated, never permanently tied to a female but now he was crushed by the need for it.  A painful pull in his chest was dragging his soul toward a girl he only just met and now could never have.

“I’m not ready either. It’ll probably be
another two years
before they start forcing the issue.
My parents want to wait until Brandi and I are at least twenty.  The point is our relationship will be accepted.”  Agitated by the tone in his voice, she wanted to get his attention.  She stood and untied her bikini top, dropping it on the floor.  Chase had his back to her walking into a closet large enough to be another bedroom.  He returned to find her in nothing but her thong.

“That’s it!” he shouted, “Get dressed and make sure you leave the keys on the way out.  I’m not in the mood for your shit!  The last time we spoke, I made it clear how I felt about things.  I care about you but this is not a relationship.”  Calming now he looked her in the eyes.  “Sam, I need some time to absorb this, okay?”

Samantha crossed the room and grabbed her purse, digging out a set of keys.  She tossed them onto the bed and left the room wordlessly.  Chase sat on the end of the bed with his head hung listening to the click of heels coming back toward him.  Her top was still on the floor.  He lifted his head to find Samantha’s usual perfection in nothing but the thong, red heels, and a black trench coat.  Her hands on her hips and a wide smile on her recently glossed lips.