Unbound (7 page)

“Chase, you alright man?  You look lost.”  Cayden stepped into Chase’s line of vision. 

“Do you know that girl, Cayden?”  He cocked his head toward the dance floor.

“Which girl do you mean?  The house is full ladies tonight.”  Cayden flashed a bright white, wolfish smile.

“You’re not catching that?  The scent is absolutely unique.”

Cayden turned to find the object of Chase’s current obsession.  Just like Chase, Cayden caught the aroma and followed it to its source, in awe.

“I’d remember if we’d ever crossed her path.  Her scent is off somehow but still all together intoxicating.”  Cayden sniffed the air.  “I assume you don’t know her?”

“Not yet my friend, but I’m about to correct that injustice.”  They both hit the dance floor.

He found her leaning against a railing looking rather winded.  Chase stopped and watched a little longer.  What is this?  Vampires don’t get wind
ed easily.  He inhaled again.  She was d
efinitely a vampire.  Cayden was getting a little too close to her and his proximity was pissing him off.  Stepping up to the railing next to the goddess, he leaned down.

“Hello.  Would you like to dance?”  She turned her eyes on him and Chase was caught momentarily in the web of her scent and the beauty of her eyes.  Gathering himself, Chase tried again, “I’m Chase.  And you are?”

She extended her delicate hand to him and the combination of her touch and scent was a shock to his system.  She didn’t answer until he’d guided her to the nearest corner,
noticing how her eyes searched
the floor along the way.  Maybe she wasn’t alone.  He hadn’t seen another male but he hadn’t looked for one either.  A flash of jealousy made his eyes search the floor as well.  When they reached their destination, she looked up, “My name is Dani.”

Dani wasn’t at all a suitable name for a goddess.  He’d have to come up with a nickname.  They danced and his head swam with conflicting instincts.  He wanted to taste her.  He wanted to hold her.  He had to know her.

“Do I know you?  Lovely as you are, I’m sure I would have remembered you.”

“No.  I just started school at the university last week.  Do you go to school here?”

Chase blinked stupidly.  Did she really n
ot know who he was in his own house?
“My family lives in the area but I have friends at the college.  I frequent the grounds regularly.”

Just then, Chase had to deal with a rude interruption by an employee.  When he returned his attention to his dance partner, her body tensed and she began to pull back.  The space between them made him angry.

“Thanks for the dance.  I gotta get back to my friends.  Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”  She had dismissed him.  Stunned, he grabbed her arm, leaning in and tried to persuade, “Don’t you want to stay with me, Lovely?” 

She began to lean back toward him and he smiled with the joy of her returning warmth.  She stopped cold with her lovely faces slightly tilted, “No, I actually would rather be with my friends.  Catch you later, maybe.”  She stalked away leaving icy confusion in her wake.  Chase had never been rejected in his life.  He stood there with his mouth agape as waves of embarrassment and fury washed over him.

“I never thought I’d see the day Chase Deidrick got shot down.  Man I’m glad I came out tonight.  Tough break, Chase but now that she seems to be available I think I’ll go take a stab at her myself.”  Cayden was amused by Chase’s expression as he started toward the girl and her friends in VIP.

Chase stepped in front of Cayden, his blue green eyes now black with anger and growled through his teeth, “Don’t touch her if you want to keep all your fingers.”

Cayden just chuckled, “Dude, would you relax?  Alright I’ll leave the girl alone but it’s a shame to let her get away.  I just thought she might like me.”  Cayden raised his hands in defeat.

Chase returned to his table and sat brooding.  Cayden returned with several girls on his arms and hailed a waitress.  Vampires can’t get drunk by drinking themselves but if their host was drunk it had the same effect.  So Cayden liked to treat the girls to a few drinks before he led them away.  One of Chase’s regular girls had been trying in vain to get his attention but he could only see the goddess.  She was standing on a sofa with a human girl as they danced suggestively together.  Chase couldn’t help smiling at her playfulness but his smile disappeared when she climbed down from the sofa and into the arms of a tall blonde human.  His veins burned watching the boy’s hand placed way too low on her back.

What is wrong with me?

He went out the front door to get some air.  Walking around the side of the building, he punched the brick wall causing the brick to shatter into red sand that blew down the alley.

Vince followed him into the alley.  “Vince is really sorry about that earlier, Boss.  He was admiring your lady friend when she entered.  He had no idea she was with you.”

“That is the problem, Vince.  She isn’t with me.  Have you ever seen her before?”  Chase asked through his teeth.

“No, sir,
I never met her be
fore tonight.
Would you like Vi
nce to see if can get some information. I have friends all over. I’ll make some calls.
Given her name I’m surprised you’re not familiar with her.”

“You know her name?”
Chase raised an eyebrow.

“I’m on the door tonight.  It’s my job to check ID,” he defended.  “Her name is Danielle Vaughn.  I assumed she was a friend of your family.  I gave her a wrist band, in case she wanted her humans served, and put them in VIP so nobody would notice them drinking.”

Chase staggered back a step.  The Vaughn family was another of the three ruling houses on the
Council
.  The
Council
consists of senior members of the Deidrick, Vaughn, and Stafford families.  “You did well, Vince.  I want you to keep this to yourself until I sort out a few things.  When she leaves, try to assure she understands she’s welcome to return.”  Vince nodded obediently as Chase passed him to reenter the club.  He decided to make the best of the rest of the evening.  He really did need to feed tonight so he settled on the girl who’d been working so hard for his attention all evening.  She reached out and took his hand and he leaned toward her.  Just then he saw the goddess coming in his direction.  Jerking his hand back Chase stood to greet his little lovely.  That was her
name…Lovely.
The loathed blonde human boy wrapped his arm around her hip.  She eyed Chase with an intensely angry heat and his blood burned again as she lay her head on the boys shoulder and allowed him to pull her away, not breaking eye contact until he was out of sight.  Had the girl touching him angered his Lovely?  He had to feed.

* * *

Back at their dorm room, Dani fell onto
the bed. She
pulled off her boots and dragged the blanket over herself.  Olivia chastised her, “You better get that make up off your face.  Do you like clogged pores and pimples?”

She pulled the blanket over her head to block the light and informed Olivia, "I’ve never had a pimple in my life.” 

Olivia made a disgusted noise.  Dani could hear her humming and washing her face as she drifted off to sleep.  A loud bang at the door woke her and she begged Olivia to get it.  The knocking came again.  Dani sat up in bed.  Olivia wasn’t in the room.  She must have locked herself out.  To her surprise, it was Charlie at the door looking upset.  “What’s wrong?”  She asked rubbing her eyes.

“We need to talk, D.”  He stepped around her and into the room.

“Sure, come on in,” s
he said a bit sarcastically since he hadn’t waited for an invitation.  “Is everything alright?  Have you seen Olivia?  I didn’t even hear her leave.”  She crawled up on her bed and Charlie sat nervously at her feet.  “Charlie, what’s wrong?”

“I want you to have me, D,” he said with his face in shadows.

“Have you?”  She blinked the sleep away.  Charlie stood and turned out her lamp but she could still see him in the light streaming from the bathroom.  He was shaking when he pulled off his shirt and climbed into the bed next to her.  Remembering how easy it had been to let him hold her made Dani shake a little too.  “Charlie, I really like you but I have a boyfriend.  I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression earlier.”

“I have what you need,” h
e insisted only inches from her face.  “I want you to take it.”  He leaned over and brushed her bottom lip with his lips.  That simple act sent a shot of warmth straight to her core.  His green eyes begged her not to reject his offering.  Dani tried to get out of the bed but was pulled in by his heat when she attempted to crawl over his body to escape.  The smell of his skin made her mouth water.  He was just so sweet and warm like mint and summer rain.  She was draped over him trying to absorb the warmth with her face pressed into his neck.  One of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other hand brushing gently through her hair. 

“That’s right, take whatever you need.  Take it all.”  He tilted his head to give her better access to his neck.

“I don’t know.  I can’t.”  She whimpered against his neck.  She could hear his pulse pounding in her head, beating against her lips.  Her teeth ached.  She wanted it…

Her cell phone rang and woke her up.  It was just another damn dream.  Lucas was calling.  She answered, trying to convince herself she really was awake.  “Hello?”

“I’ve called you five times.  What’s wrong?  Are you pissed because I went out?” he huffed.

“I just woke up, Lucas.”  It was still dark in the room.  The clock read four am.  “Why are you calling me at four in the morning with an attitude?  I didn’t get to bed until two o’clock myself.”

“What do you mean by that?  What the hell are you doing out at two in the morning?  Don’t you have a curfew or something?” he slurred.

“Are you drunk?”

“Don’t change the subject!  I asked you a question!  Where were you?” he was screaming at her.

“I refuse to argue with a drunk.”  She said each word slowly, “You can call me later when you locate your common sense.”  She hung up on him.  He called right back so she turned the phone off.  She was too pissed to sleep now so she quietly slid on her tennis shoes.  Still fully dressed she whipped her hair up into a messy bun and left for a walk.

Surprisingly enough she was not the only one out wandering.  It seemed as though lots of people were just now drifting back to campus.  She turned the cell back on to find eight new voice mails and erased them all without listening to them.  Dani walked down the old cobblestone sidewalk that circled her favorite patch of arching trees and found herself a bench in a clearing a few yards back into the trees.  Anyone passing could be seen but they wouldn’t see her unless they looked in her direction as they passed.  She watched all the partygoers stagger back to campus and was highly entertained, except for the guy that was puking in the bushes.

Laying there on the bench she stared up at the sky and remembered all the nights Lucas and she ha
d spent in the back of his pick-
up gazing at the stars and making out.  As the sun began to rise over the trees, the peacefulness around her began to sink in.  She continued to watch as the sky turned from black to dark blue and the stars began to fade.  In the quiet, she allowed her mind to wander over the thoughts she’d been avoiding.  She feared she was going crazy and was sure something was wrong with her.  First she wanted to do God knows what to Lucas and her eyes went black as she invaded his mind.  She’d had a great dream about making love to Lucas that turned into a nightmare when she bit him.  The belief that she could smell things like sunshine and the pulses and warmth of others could make her nuts.  The vivid dreams had now turned on her friends and to top it all off she couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful blue-green eyes belonging to a hot stranger, and Lucas suddenly becoming a drunk.

It’s not like she could talk to anyone about this stuff.  She’d always been able to tell her Mom anything, but how would one go about bringing this up?
“Hey Mom, guess what?  I attacked Lucas, read his mind, and I dream of biting people.  How’s your day?”
  Maybe she would talk to her over the holiday break if it didn’t stop, but maybe not.

She’d slept most of Sunday away ignoring Lucas’s phone calls until about the fifth time he tried to reach her before she sent him a text saying,
“I’m still upset with you.  I’m not ready to talk yet.”

Apparently, he had no memory of speaking to her, which led her to ask Lucas what else he may have done that he didn’t remember?

On the way to class on Monday, Dani stopped at the coffee shop for her usual nonfat mocha with extra whipped cream.  While waiting for her necessary caffeine fix, Dani thought she heard someone call her name in the faintest whisper.  Turning to look for the source, no one looked her way.  She grabbed the heavenly brew and headed for the exit.  She saw him then at a corner table.  Chase was drinking an espresso and typing on his laptop.  He looked up and smiled, then nodded toward the seat on the other side of his table.  Knowing it was the wrong thing to do didn’t stop her.  She’d been thinking about him since Saturday night so she was happy to see him, a little too happy.  She sat across from him and waited until he smiled and raised one finger in a request that she give him a moment.  He finished typing and closed the laptop.  Looking at him now made her feel a little more at ease with the fact that something that had happened to her lately was real.  He was truly beautiful.  His dark hair in perfect disorder, his blue-green eyes still stunned her.