"You know better than anyone else that I don't believe the class system you people live by. Even if I did, how in the world would I be above you? I come from no house at all, in a town without any other vampires. Hell, I'm probably beneath you. Maybe you should leave before my low-class upbringing starts rubbing off on you." She laughed and tousled his hair. "God forbid I should sully the son of the mighty Gage Paris."
"You're not funny. I guess because you're so powerful and beautiful, you've risen above the status of the warriors. Did you know that there's talk of you being voted onto the council when you get older, purely on the merit of your power? You're not even a member of one of the ruling houses. That would surely put you way above me," he explained.
"No. I didn't know that. But I do know they wouldn't want me on the council. I won't play by their rules. But that's a discussion for another day. For now, why don't you tell me what you came in here to say? Your anxiety level tells me that you're not done." She encouraged him to continue.
"I know I can't tell you what to do. I mean, we're dating, not bonded." Again, he couldn't look her in the eye.
She cut him off. "Even if we were bonded, you wouldn't be able to tell me what to do. In case you haven't picked up on it yet, I usually go my own way."
"If we were bonded, you likely wouldn't want to do this anyway, so I'd be pretty safe." He smiled and brushed her cheek. "I actually like that idea. I didn't think I would ever want to do that, but if you agreed to it, I would exchange blood with you right now."
When he said he would bond to her right then, the only thing that stopped her from saying, "Let's do it," was her half-breed nature. A bonding would solve half of her problems. Chase would no longer be a constant distraction. Kayden was well aware that she had feelings for Chase, and he was talking about bonding despite that. So it wouldn't be like she would be taking advantage of him, would it? She wished she had met Kayden first. Did it matter? It certainly wouldn't matter when Chase was bonded to Samantha.
She would have to tell Kayden the whole truth first. She couldn't go into something so permanent and sacred with secrets. Why was she even thinking about this? If he knew, he would probably change his mind about her entirely.
"Maybe that's something we can talk about one day when all of this madness is over and we can get to know each other without so many distractions," she told him shyly. He looked stunned. She was kind of stunned herself.
He pressed his face into her neck and breathed her in deeply. "I need to ask you not to have sex with Jared tonight. I know it's crossing the line, but if you care about my sanity or emotional well-being at all, you won't do it while I'm here. I can't leave after what happened to you. I have to stay nearby until my relief comes. I'll be honest, even if I got some relief, I don't think I could leave. Leaving you here with Chase is maddening enough, but knowing you are with a guy you're dating … " Kayden trailed off. Dani was shocked. He thought she was still dating Jared? No wonder he was so agitated about the visit.
"Are you gonna say anything? Or am I just gonna go crazy wondering what you're thinking about?" Kayden was on edge.
"I went on a date with Jared, one date, and we've never had sex. I hadn't planned to start now. I've fed on Jared, sure, but that's it." She was a little annoyed. She rolled away from him and faced the other way.
"Oh, I was under the impression that you didn't want a committed relationship because … well, because you were dating … more than one person. And he's human. And you like humans, you trust them, you know, more than you do us because you were raised with humans." He was stumbling through his explanation.
"Who gave you that impression? My life is too crazy right now, and I wouldn't put my human friends at risk. Things are too dangerous out there for me, much less for someone who couldn't defend himself." Shit. She hadn't thought before that moment that it could be dangerous for Jared to come see her. What if that crazy bartender was out there watching the building?
"Yeah, so I feel like a total ass." Kayden interrupted her thoughts. "Look, I know you dated Jared. I didn't know it was only once. And I know you've … been with Chase."
How the hell did he know that? Nobody but Chase knew that!
"It just made sense when you told me you weren't ready for sex that it was because there were other guys in your life." Yeah, she guessed that did make sense, if someone had suggested it to him.
Chase was interfering with her life. He had her locked in his home and he was feeding Kayden information that wasn't accurate. She would be having a chat with Chase about kissing and telling. She'd hate to have to tell his betrothed about their night together. But for now Dani had another very difficult task at hand. After Kayden left her room she called her godfather for some advice.
Dani's heart ached a little when she opened the condo door to find Jared's smiling face on the other side. He was a good man and great friend. Sadly, she would lose him today. Maybe not entirely-she would see him around campus when she returned to school-but the closeness they shared would be gone.
She stepped back to let Jared in, and Kayden's blank face came into view. He was on guard and trying to be professional. She could tell he'd believed her when she said she wasn't dating Jared anymore, but knowing she had gone out with him made leaving them alone hard for him. He was trying to give her some space, and she appreciated that. She smiled and blew him a kiss. One corner of his mouth twitched before he moved down the hall, farther away from the door.
She shut the door and turned to greet the only true friend she had. Jared swooped her up in a tight hug and kissed her cheek. "Damn, I've missed you, girl!" He put her down and looked her over, his expression becoming serious. "What happened? Why aren't you at school anymore, and why are you staying here with that jerk from the club? I'm sorry. I know you like the guy, but moving in so soon is a little much, don't you think?"
Dani pulled him back in for another hug. This was just too hard for her. She wanted to keep her friend. Jared made her feel like less of a freak. He knew about her and he accepted her. She'd attacked him and he still cared for her. But this new life of hers was far too dangerous for a human. She wouldn't … couldn't put his life at risk.
Dani stepped back and placed her hand on the side of his face. Touch made the rest of her abilities stronger, and she couldn't mess this up. She was going to replace Jared's memories of her with something … safer.
"Look into my eyes, Jared. I have a story to tell you."
Dani saw Kayden jump in surprise when the door opened and she exited with Jared just moments after they had entered the condo. She was hardly able to hold herself up when Jared hugged her again and patted her on the back. "We'll see each other around, right?" he asked.
"Sure, I'll give you a call," she nodded, masking her expression.
Jared stepped into the elevator with a smile and waved good-bye to her as the doors slid shut on their relationship. She'd lost so much of herself in recent days that her decision to remove Jared's memories of her secrets hurt deeply. He now remembered everything up to the night of their date, with the exception of the weird things that happened around her, like the opening doors and accidental mind reading. If asked, he would now tell people that he just wasn't that into Dani after their one date. She was just another girl who hadn't held his attention for very long. It was best for Jared not to have the responsibility of keeping her secrets.
When Chase arrived home, he was surprised to see Kayden sitting against the wall in the hall outside the penthouse. He'd seen his replacement standing watch in the lobby. Kayden was the only one who had access to the penthouse unless there was an emergency. The two of them didn't agree on much right now, but neither one of them liked the idea of the human boyfriend.
"Shit. Tell me that damn human guy isn't still in there with her?" Chase asked in disgust.
Kayden slid Chase a sidelong look and shook his head. "He's gone, but Dani wants to be left alone tonight. She said to make sure she wasn't disturbed. Not even by you."
"Okay, so I obviously missed something." Chase waited for more information, but Kayden just shrugged, not giving anything away.
"You can go home or hunt if you want to, Kayden. I won't be leaving until late morning. It's up to you." Chase unlocked the door.
Kayden got up and went to the elevator. "Tell her I'll be back at nine if she comes out before I return in the morning. Can you stay until I get here?"