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couldn't help recalling the night before when Casey had handed her
into the car. Dalton walked to the passenger side of the car and
climbed in. Shaking her head slightly, she made her way around to
the other side of the car where Lamar reached out in front of her and
opened her door for her with a smile. "Thanks Lamar. I see someone
has some manners."
"What?" Dalton looked dumbfounded staring from her to Lamar.
Paige just shook her head, her mouth set in a grim line. "Don't
worry about it Dalton." He shrugged and remained silent in the seat
beside her while he looked out the window.
Preoccupied, she didn't even pay attention to traffic. She was
surprised to see that they were pulling up to The Haven. Breathing
deeply to calm her nerves, she wondered if Casey would be inside.
Lamar and Rosa walked out front while Dalton gave her an irritated
look for walking slow. She was not used to wearing heels and didn't
want to fall on her ass.
Holding the door open, Rosa and Paige went through the door first,
and then Lamar took both their arms and led them inside where he
found a table. Paige sat stiffly on the edge of the chair, her eyes
nervously scanning the bar. The lights were not dimmed and it wasn't
crowded since they were there earlier than they were the night before.
The consensus had been to skip dinner since they had such a late
lunch. Paige knew she was probably going to regret that since she
hadn't eaten all her lunch, but she wasn't going to make everyone else
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wait on her. Again, she realized she was making sure that everyone
else was happy.
A round of drinks was delivered to the table. She noticed that hers
was the light chardonnay while the others, even Dalton, drank the
darker whatever it was. "What is that?" Paige leaned over to Dalton,
her hand on his to pull the drink to her and he shoved her hand,
pulling the drink away.
"Something you wouldn't like." He snapped at her, not taking his
eyes off the door.
She stared at him, bewildered at how rude he was being and how
rough he had pushed her hand away. She also noticed that he was
surveying the room and wondered who he was looking for.
Rosa and Lamar stood up when a song came on that they liked.
"Come on, go dance." Rosa urged Dalton. He rolled his eyes, downed
his drink and almost reluctantly held his hand out to Paige.
With his change in attitude, she really didn't feel like dancing with
him, but she went anyway. His hand was on her waist and he barely
held her, almost as if he didn't want to touch her. He never once
looked down at her while they danced and he didn't speak. They
glided around the dance floor with ease. He was nearly six foot, so
her eyes landed on the second button of his shirt and that is where she
stared, her stomach churned.
She kept all emotions from her face, but she knew then. With him
dancing the way he was, he was seeing her again. Darcy enjoyed
dancing and he had made the effort to learn to dance for her. She had
asked him repeatedly to learn to dance. It rankled that he was willing
to do something with his mistress, but not with his own wife.
Her throat tight with emotions, when the song ended, she excused
herself and went to the bathroom. Leaning against the wall she
wanted to break down and cry, but she refused to allow him that much
power over her. How could he do this to me, again? Closing her eyes
she reminded herself that she had done the same thing. But to her it
was different. She had decided that seeing Casey was not going to
work, but now? Knowing what Dalton was doing? Shaking her head
she was resolute in what she needed to do. I am not going to fall into
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another man's arms just because my husband is a prick. She would
find out for sure if he was seeing her again, then she would divorce
his ass and just go on her own for a while. After all, she had been
practically by herself all this time anyway.
Head held high, Paige walked back to the table. She saw Rosa
looking at her, but didn't say anything. She picked up her drink and
downed it, turned and walked to the bar. She needed something
stronger. "Double Jack and Coke." She ordered and stood at the bar
tapping her fingers, waiting for the bartender.
A small burst of air sent a shiver up her spine. When she turned
around there he was, Casey's ice blue eyes smiled at her. "I could just
eat you up, you look so beautiful."
A warm feeling spread through her body and she smiled sadly up at
him.
"Paige, are you okay?"
"No, but I will be. Dalton is here." She motioned her head towards
the table where she saw him talking with a woman. Normally she
would wonder who it was, but right then, she was too tired to worry
about the woman he was with or what he was doing any more.
"Ah, that explains the sad look." Casey grabbed her drink and
plopped the money down before she could respond. "Leave with me
right now. Let's get out of here."
Paige frowned, her mouth hung open for a second not knowing
what to say. Shaking her head she stared at him. "You know I can't
do that."
Releasing a frustrated sigh, he closed his eyes a moment then
turned. With his hand on her elbow, he led her towards the table
where Rosa and Lamar nodded at him silently. Towards Dalton and
whoever he was talking to.
She pulled back on her arm. "What are you doing?" She hissed at
him.
"I told you Paige, I love you and I want you for my own. He
doesn't deserve you and I will take you away." Casey had turned and
was staring down at her, his mouth set in a grim line.
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"You can't do this. Please Casey, not here, not now." She begged,
panicking, her eyes pleaded with him, she quickly looked over to her
husband then back to Casey.
"I'm not going to make a scene." He lifted his hand to caress her
cheek but she pulled away. "I promise, I won't say anything, tonight."
At that moment, Dalton turned and looked at her, his eyebrows
raised and he looked Casey up and down. She couldn't help but
wonder what was going through his mind. Was he in the least bit
jealous that she was with a younger, hotter guy? Or would it not
make any difference to him? In a way, she wished he would show a
bit of jealousy, but just she expected, he turned back to the other
woman like her world wasn't falling apart.
Frowning, she reached over for her drink and Casey released it to
her. She drank it quickly, and then set the drink on a table behind
them. "Dance with me." Not giving him time to respond, she grabbed
his hand and led him to the dance floor.,
He followed her willingly. He danced so smoothly, she could
follow his every move, but she remained tense, even with his arms
around her. Her body glided with his, but didn't melt into him as she
had before. What was she trying to prove by pulling him out there?
Not thinking straight, she was torn, happy that he was there, but
worried about what it could mean.
"Casey." She looked up to find him already looking down at her,
the dimples in his cheeks showing. She closed her eyes briefly and
smiled back.
"Paige." His voice was deep and sounded happy.
She laughed even though she didn't feel any happiness. "I don't
want to pull you into my marriage problems. I know how you feel,
but you have to let me work this out." When he started to speak she
shook her head. "I have to work this out on my own. I don't want him
having any ammo to use against me and I refuse to allow him to mess
up your military career."
"Honey, I appreciate you looking out for me, but that's not going to
happen. I know you are strong and can handle this. But, I refuse to
stand by and allow him to hurt you anymore."
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A slight sheen filmed her eyes and she gave him an upside down
smile. She hated that her marriage was ending. She knew it was
coming, but she didn't want it to be this way. Sighing, she relaxed
somewhat and allowed Casey to hold her close.
"By the way, I love the dress and if I could get away with it, I
would love to run my tongue along the top and lick your boobs, from
this angle, wow." Casey stared at the swell of her breasts lifting out
and over the top of the dress where she pressed her to him.
Paige laughed and hugged him tighter. She wished she could stay
like that, but just then she noticed Dalton dancing with the other
woman. She didn't want him to see her that way, so she moved back
slightly. Casey understood and loosened his hold, allowing only a
tiny bit of space, but not too much. They stayed out on the floor
through a couple songs.
He somehow always guided them away from Dalton so she never
got to see who his dance partner was. Maybe Dalton was also
avoiding them too, she didn't care. She relaxed as much as she could
and enjoyed being with Casey while she could.
By the time they headed back to the table, the lights had dimmed
and the place had become more crowded. For a Sunday night, she
was surprised at how many people were actually there. The Japanese
DJ played an array of songs to satisfy the different taste in music.
Like the night before, she noticed the different languages being
spoken were from all around the world. When one person stepped in
front of them on their way to the table she felt Casey tense.
"May I have this dance?" The deep thick accent was unlike any she
had ever heard before. She didn't want to, but she wasn't going to be
rude. She glanced at Casey.
He stared straight ahead, but she could see the tick of his jaw
clenching. He nodded his head and held her hand out to the
gentleman without a word.
"Thank you." He bowed his head slightly in Casey's direction, his
hand cold when he took hers and led them out to the floor. He was
very formal, almost stiff in his movements, but fluid. He glided them
easily across the floor.
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She was almost afraid to look up at his face. Her heart fluttered and
her stomach dropped at the flash of memory from the parade and the
vampire lunging for her. Through her lashes she peaked up at him.
His face was handsome, high cheekbones and a square jawline. He
was well over six foot, and she guessed he was probably muscular by
his build. It was hard to judge how old he was though, not a wrinkle
on his face, but he just felt like he was older to her. During the entire
dance he didn't say one word to her or look down at her. When the
song ended, he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and walked
her back to the table where Casey stood. His eyes bore into hers,
looking for something in her facial expressions.
The man bowed slightly in her direction and she lowered her head
in response. She was thinking maybe he didn't speak English other
than to say may I have this dance and thank you. She was startled
when he spoke to Casey, it was hard to understand in his thick accent,
but she made out the words. "You have made a wise choice…"
except for the last one, she couldn't have heard that right.
"Thank you, sir." Casey's eyes never met the man's.
When he walked away Casey relaxed, but only slightly.
Paige turned to him with a frown, concern showing on her face.
"What the freak was that? Did I hear him say minion?" He didn't look
at her, just tossed his drink back and stared at the back of the
retreating man. "Casey?" She prodded, moving to stand in front of
him.
Releasing a deep breath, his blue eyes met hers. "There is a lot to
explain."
"What did he mean by minion?"
It wasn't him who answered, but Dalton from behind her. "It means
babe, that he is a minion, and underling, a bootlicker." He sneered in
Casey's direction.
Paige whirled around, her mouth hung open when she saw the
woman who was now hanging onto to Daltons arm, Darcy! "You
brought that bitch here?" Paige was instantly pissed and wished she
had a drink or something in her hand so she could throw it at the two
of them.
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Darcy's eyes flashed a moment before she lunged with a hiss.
Dalton grabbed hold of her shoulders and held her back. Casey
jumped in between them, but not before Paige saw the fangs that
snarled at her.
Sucking in her breath she backed away and bumped into the table.
Rosa was there to steady her, whirling around, she stared up at Rosa.
"Did you know about this? Rosa? What's going on?"
Everyone around them had stopped talking and was now watching.
Looking around she saw that several actually had fangs protruding
and they looked her up and down like she was going to be their meal.
She whirled back to Casey. "Are you?" She shook her head in denial.
"You were chosen Paige. You will be turned just like we were."
Dalton sneered at her, his fangs popped out and her hand went to her
mouth to keep from screaming. Staring in terror at the people around
her, she heard a few of them laughing. In the background she heard
someone saying "I love when humans find out what we are, their
blood pumping so hard in their chest just sings to me."
She turned to run but Dalton grabbed her arm in a bruising grip.
Casey grabbed his wrist and they glared, their fangs bared at one
another in a growl.
Dalton laughed. "You are useless Casey. You think you could
fight me and win? You are a minion remember? Your bites are
nothing to me. Now with Paige here, you persuaded her just fine."
Tears sprang to her eyes when she realized that Casey had used her.
Dalton went on cruelly. "He didn't tell you did he babe?" He
released her arm and Casey pulled her closer to him, but she didn't
want to be near anybody. She shook her head in horror at what she
was seeing.
"You are his fifth, the last human he has to persuade to give her
blood so he can become full vampire." Dalton threw his head back,
his laughter sounding manic.
Casey shook his head, his hand on her jaw,
trying to get her to look
at him. "Baby, I promise, that was not my intention. Ask Rosa, Tadd
was supposed be the one to persuade you, not me."
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Looking to Rosa she nodded her head, but Paige didn't believe
anyone now. This was a mess there was no way out of, she looked
around the room wildly. The dreams had warned her, but she had
ignored them, now she was going to die.
"Paige, I am not going to let you die." Casey pleaded with her, but
she knocked his hand away.
"Don't touch me!" She yelled and backed away while Dalton and
now Darcy laughed at her. In a rage she turned and ran towards
Darcy aiming to rip her eyes out of her head but Casey grabbed her
around the waist.
"She will kill you Paige.".
Paige glared at him, not allowing the sad concerned look on Casey's
face to sway her.
Kicking and thrashing, she fought to make him let her go. She
didn't care that her breasts were coming close to popping out of the
top of the corset. Casey squeezed her hard enough to cause her to
gasp for breath. He quickly set her feet on the floor and spun her
around, his hands on her shoulders holding her in place. He leaned
close to her face.
"I did not use compulsion on you. I told Tadd to back off. I have
never lied to you, I told you the truth when I said I love you and
wanted to take you away from here." Casey's eyes pleaded with hers.
The man who had danced with her stood close and when she heard
him speak, she turned automatically to listen. She didn't want to, but
the command in his voice forced her compliance.
"Miss, you must listen closely. Dalton speaks the truth when he
says you have been chosen. You will be turned, in that there is no
choice in that matter. However, you must choose. You may have
your husband turn you or you can choose to give your life to Casey."
Straightening, she shrugged Casey's hands off her shoulders and
moved away. "And if I chose neither?" She knew her words hurt
Casey because she saw his shoulders slump and the grin of triumph
that crossed Dalton's face.
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"That is not an option. You have one hour to make your decision."