Unbound (55 page)

Everyone turned to watch the couple descend the grand staircase in the foyer where cocktails were being served. Danielle’s face flushed the sweetest pink and Cayden couldn’t resist anymore. By the time she was three quarters of the way down, he went to retrieve his girl from Van’s arm and take her the rest of the way himself.

Dani smiled his favorite naughty half-smile and took his arm happily before she kissed his lower lip by way of a greeting. It took his breath away that she cared enough for him to make it clear to the rest of the room that she was with him in a subtle but sure way.

“I’m ple
ased to be in your arms again, A
ngel,” he told her quietly and his heart melted when she proudly took his hand. Never having been insecure by nature, Cayden hated the feeling that others believed he wasn’t good enough for Dani. She’d told him several times how ridiculous that was. She believed she was beneath him in that respect. She was born of an unknown family and raised by a reclusive human family servant. Cayden was from a long line of the most respected warriors in their history and was a fine warrior in his own right. She always had a way of dispelling his worries with a simple word and batting those long dark eyelashes at him.

Cayden
decided before she left the
Enclave
a week ago, to ask Dani to be his mate and bond to him. The only problem was he was aware of her aversion to bonding at such a young age. Having been raised in a human society, she found it hard to swallow that a person wouldn’t wait until they finish college and get themselves established first. In vamp society, it wasn’t unusual for the young to have a bond arranged by their families and carried out at an early age. Chase was twenty-one and Samantha only eighteen, but they would be bonded within the next year or so. The point was he didn’t want to let this night pass without telling her how he felt and what his in
tentions were toward her. He
even bought her a traditional human engagement ring and was willing to take part in the human custom of an engagement period if that helped to settle her nerves. He just needed to know that she was his and always would be.

Cayden hung back and allowed Dani
to entertain the crowd that was
assembled to wish her well for her bravery and celebrate her acquittal. She was being a trooper and swallowing her agony at being the center of so much attention. You would think she would be used to being the center of attention, with everyone always trying to revolve around her. In the far corner of the room, Chase was looking about as unhappy as Cayden had ever seen him. Sam was hovering over him and speaking animatedly to several younger vamps about how happy they were to be promised to each other. She was trying to get Chase to commit publicly to a date for their bonding ceremony. Chase wouldn’t even join the conversation. He watched Danielle intently so Cayden decided to step a little closer. He placed a hand on her beautifully bare back and Dani immediately responded to his touch by leanin
g into his side. “That’s right, A
ngel
,
” he thought to himself, “let him see that you are mine and you lean on me for comfort.”

Veronica was doing her best to introduce Danielle to the cream of the vamp crop in attendance for her mating pleasure. She was really trying to find her a suitable bond mate but Dani wouldn’t release him for even a moment to give anyone the chance to make her an offer. This made Cayden even
surer
that solidifying their relationship now would be the right thing to do. People would stop forcing men down her throat once she was promised to him.

* * *

Chase couldn’t have been more annoyed with this situation. His Lovely was right here and he couldn’t even speak to her. He couldn’t even move in her direction without Sam cutting him off. She did everything possible to keep them apart and it worked. Every so often Danielle looked at him and he saw her longing. Someone that didn’t know her as well as he did
would have missed it, but he’
d been in her very soul and could tell what she was thinking by the slightest expression or turn of her head or the set of her jaw. Seeing Sam hang on him, spouting happiness and love, was hurting her, so she clung to Cayden for support the way she had for months now.

Chase’s mind returned to the first night he saw Danie
lle after the shit storm Sam
caused bet
ween them in his bedroom. She’
d been injured
by the physical beating she
received from Nathan and the emotional beating she received from him. He had practically dragged her to his suite in the back of the club with the excuse of needing information to help recover another missing girl. He’d been so angry when he saw that human boy touching and kissing his Lovely.

She’d told him that night,
“I need his comfort to help me stay away from you. I have wanted you since the night I met you. I can’t get you out of my head.”

That was all Cayden was to her. A frie
nd who dulled the pain Chase
caused her. He was sure Danielle had true feelings for Cayden, but she wasn’t in love
with
him. When she looked at Cayden, he didn’t see the burning want he saw in her eyes when she looked at him, but seeing their cozy familiarity made him sick. How was he ever going to survive this?

“May I speak with you privately for a moment, son?” Mason cut into Sam’s discussion with a group of women regarding where she would like to honeymoon.

“Yes sir,” Chase groused, still angry with his father for keeping secrets. He knew a lo
t more about Danielle than he’
d ever let on. The problem was he wouldn’t share the information and that really pissed Chase off. Whatever they were keeping from him was life changing. He knew it. How could his father allow him to suffer this way? Chase followed his father to the study and flopped down in a chair by the fireplace.

“We have a problem. I was just speaking to Gage. It seems that your boy, Cayden has some
big plans for tonight.  It’s
only fair that I forewarn you.” Mason’s tone was thick with dread.

“What kind of plans?” Chase turn to glare at the closed door separating him from Lovely.

“Gage says Cayden can no longer tolerate being separated from Dani. He told his parents he would ask Dani to be his mate tonight. He hopes to be bonded to her immediately so they will be inseparable.” Mason paused for a second to wait for Chase to
stop growling. His eyes went
instantly black with rage.

“I know you’re angry with me for keeping information from you, but there is one thing I will tell you and the rest is up to you. If she accepts him and becomes his mate, it will only be to stop the pain she feels over you. It happens frequently with our kind. In fact, I will share a secret with you and trust you as my son to keep it to yourself always.” He paused again and took a deep breath. “Griffin was bonded before Sarah.”

“I didn’t know that,” Chase was surprised by the revelation.

“Neither does Sarah. That’s why it’s a secret. His first mate was, well, she wasn’t up to his parent’s standards but he loved her so much he bonded to her in secret.” Mason knew he was on the edge of betraying Dani’s trust but he would do his best not to cross the line. He may not agree with her reasons for keeping this secret but he did understand them. She wanted Chase to choose her no matter the cost. She didn’t want her mating to be the product of a vision revealed by a heartsick girl before she was even born.

“What happened to his mate?” Chase asked.

“She died in childbirth along with the baby. Griff
in
couldn’t handle it. Before he went mad with grief, he agreed to
accept the bond his parents
arranged for no other reason than to stop the pain of his loss. He thought Sarah would replace his first mate in his heart and stop his torment.”

“Did it work?” Chase stood to pace the floor in front of the fireplace.

“I don’t
think so, not as well as he
wished. He still mourned and his relationship with Sarah has never been what he had with Tessa. Some kinds of love can never be washed away. You know that Griff
in
’s older sister and my older brother were secretly bonded, right?” Mason inquired. Chase nodded.

“When David killed himself to protect Leann from being harmed by his power, her grief was so profound she committed suicide and followed him to his grave.” Mason took a minute to tuck that painful memory back into the corner of his mind where he kept it. “The point is Danielle may be willing to do anything to stop her pain. I know the two of you have not been bonded, but the connection she feels with you is as strong as any bond I’ve ever witnessed. Griff
in
and Tessa were madly in love already when they bonded. The bond gave them a mental connection that you and Dani already share, but it didn’t force them to love each other. It was the best kind of bond, one done out of love instead of obligation or as a means to end suffering,” he ended.

“Why are you telling me this, Dad? You know I don’t want Sam but you’re forcing me into a bond. So why torture me?” he sagged back into the chair.

“I just want you to know the difference between pure love and a blood bond. If she bonds to Cayden she will forever be bonded to him, but her true heart belongs to you. Also, I didn’t want you to be taken off guard if he decides to ask her publicly.” With that, Mason went to the door. “Take a minute to gather yourself and rejoin the party before Sam starts searching for you.”

Dinner was an absolute nightmare. Chase and Sam were seated directly across from Danielle and Cayden. She wouldn’t look at him at all and every time Cayden shifted in his chair, Chase thought he was about to go down on one knee, like the human males do when they ask a female to be their mate. It was something Danielle would appreciate given her human tendencies after being raised among them.

“Chase, are you listening to me?” Sam interrupted his thoughts.

“How could I not listen to you, Sam? You never shut up,” he said dryly for her ears only.

“What the hell is wrong with you? People are going to think you’re not happy,” she chided.

Chase leaned into her ear and whispered, “That would be because I’m not happy. The more you push me the more you are pissing me off. I am being forced to be your mate, Sam. I am by no means in love with you, so don’t expect me to smile and pretend that I am. I may be many things, but fake is not one of them.”

Of course, the moment that he was touching Sam would be the moment Danielle would decide to watch him. Not good. He had been trying not to embarrass Sam. On the outside that would have looked like an embrace. She quickly looked away when he caught her looking.

“I love you too, baby,” Sam croo
ned, as if that were what he was whispering
to her. The sting was plain on Danielle’s face and she didn’t look his way the rest of the meal.

Veronica had music playing and dessert set up in the glass sunroom. It was a beautiful night without a cloud in the sky. People danced under the stars in the comfort of the wa
rm atrium. Oddly enough, Sam
detached herself from Chase’s hip, and Cayden was nowhere in sight. Chase was on his way to ask Danielle for a dance when Brandi stopped him.

“I need to speak with you. It’s very important and we need to move quickly.” The look on her face said he wanted to hear what she had to say. He grudgingly agreed and followed her to a hall just outside of the kitchen.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back,” she said, before she shot back out toward the atrium. To his great surprise, when she returned, Danielle was with her.

“What is going on here, Brandi?” Danielle asked her, perturbed.

“Follow me quickly.” She ducked into a back stairwell that seemed to be meant for servants. Chase shrugged his shoulders at Danielle and followed Brandi. Danielle walked ahead of him and it took all of his will power to keep himself from running his hand down her bare back. At the top of the stairs, Brandi made a hushing gesture to the two of them and led them into a dark bathroom that connected to a bedroom. He could hear voices through a cracked door. Brandi pushed the two of them toward the door so they could hear. She left them alone. Confused, they listened.

“What’s your point, Sam? I’m sorry Chase isn’t in love with you but I really don’t see how that’s my problem.” It was Cayden’s voice. Danielle stepped closer to the door with interest now.

“My point is that we had a deal. You get that slut out of the way. You get what you want and I keep Chase so busy with gala preparations and planning our bonding that he has no time for her,” Sam quipped.

Chase and Dani looked at each other. What the hell is this? They had been plotting together to keep them apart? Chase wanted to kick the damn door down and strangle them both for their deception. He reached for the door, but Danielle grabbed his hand to stay him.

“First off, if you call my girl one more name I’m gonna crack your ass, female or not! Secondly, don’t try to manipulate me. It won’t work,” Cayden was cut off.

“Bullshit, Cayden! That day in Chase’s lobby before lunch with my Dad, you agreed that Chase shouldn’t get to string her along until our bonding. You agreed that you would court her and I agreed to keep him away as much as possible to give you a chance. Don’t tell me you don’t remember that conversation.”