"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 Griffin'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 moment 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. Griffin 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."
"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 Kayden, 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 Kayden. Danielle wouldn't look at him at all, and every time Kayden shifted in his chair, Chase thought he was about to go down on one knee, like the human males did when they asked 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 touched 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 crooned, as if that was what he whispered 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 warm atrium. Oddly enough, Sam detached herself from Chase's hip, and Kayden 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 willpower 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 Kayden's voice. Danielle stepped closer to the door with interest.
"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 was this? Kayden and Sam 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-" Kayden was cut off.
"Bullshit, Kayden! 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."
"You are twisting my words, Sam. I still don't see your damn point! Why did you drag me up here? Dani is going to start missing me any minute," he growled through his teeth.
"You're such a fool. She isn't missing you. I'll bet you my sizeable trust fund that the two of them were whispering in the corner as soon as we walked away."
"Danielle doesn't even pay any attention to him anymore. I have done my part in your so-called deal. I love Dani, and she cares for me. I plan to ask her to be my mate. Chase is your problem," he returned.
"Ha! You can't even say she loves you. What a joke. She is in love with Chase and you know it. If we don't keep them apart, we will both lose."
Dani's face flushed. Chase was over the moon. He realized it wasn't just his imagination or wishful thinking that made him believe she wanted him. Others could see it as well.
"I promise you now that if I can't have Chase, you will not have that freak of nature you call a girlfriend! If you don't keep her out of my way and away from Chase, I will tell her about our little deal. She will hate you. And from the looks of all the men just dying to crawl up her skirt, she will not be alone for long! You'd better lie, cheat, and steal. Do whatever it takes, Kayden." She paused and let out a little chuckle. "I do have to tell you, I was impressed when you joined the warrior class just for her. I wonder if she will appreciate the fact that you changed your entire life around just to keep her away from Chase." Sam was just about snarling.
"I joined the warriors because I didn't trust anyone else to protect her. Yes, I used my father to get assigned to her detail. That was because I care for her and her safety. I didn't make the first move on her. I was only keeping her safe. She came to me first," he snapped.
Chase was a little hurt to know that Kayden hadn't been making that part up just to hurt him, but he remembered what his father told him about the extent people will go to in order to ease their pain.
Kayden continued, "Unlike you, who will never see a day that Chase willingly kisses you until he is bonded to you by blood and his free will is taken from him, I will not deceive her. I love her. I'll tell her myself the things I've done, before I ever dishonor our relationship with the kind of games you play."
The sound of skin hitting skin echoed in the bathroom. Sam had slapped Kayden. Chase was so angry he couldn't take it anymore. He was ready to rip the damn door off and kill both Sam and Kayden for playing games. He couldn't imagine how it was upsetting Danielle. As much as he hated to admit it, Danielle had genuine feelings for Kayden, and the conversation in front of them had the smack of another betrayal. Chase believed that Kayden had real feelings for Danielle now as well, but had it started out as a game? First, Chase himself lied to her by omission, and then she learned Kayden was scheming with Sam.
"I'm going to go tell her you did all this to please me. You've always wanted me, and I tricked you into distracting her, so I could get closer to Chase. But I can't tolerate your sexual appetite any longer, and you won't let me go," she said, in a voice tinged with fear and regret, as if she were acting out her part to Dani. Then, in her usual bitchy tone, she said, "I bet she'll believe we're lovers, given your reputation. I have sources that say you haven't even screwed the girl yet. You have to be getting it somewhere if not from her." She started for the door.