Nicole laughed, and Sam turned back with a glare. “Out of the entire Vegas strip, soldier-boy hottie ends up one table across from you in your favorite haunt.”
“Shhh… Nicole, don’t talk so loud. He can hear you.” Her cheeks warmed, and she took another quick sip of her Jack and Coke.
“Ooooh, this is the hottie from the airport?” Hallie giggled.
Sam put her empty glass down and looked up. All three of her sisters were smiling and waving at Chase and his friend. If only she could disappear into the leather of the seat cushion.
“Nicole, wave them over here to our booth. I want to meet the guy that finally made Sam turn her head twice.” Tess snickered. “It’s not every day you get to see Samantha Demakis blush like a high school freshman.”
“Shut up, Tess,” Sam hissed and scowled at her little sister. She wanted nothing more than to talk to Chase again but not surrounded by her sisters or in front of whoever his friend was.
Before she could object, Nicole had hopped up from their booth and walked over to the pair. Sam stole another glance and shivered with excitement when both men stood and followed Nicole back to the table.
Tess and Hallie smirked and scooted around to the other side of the round corner booth so Chase could slide in next to her. She glared at the twins, but it was too late. They both giggled and shrugged. Sam motioned for Nicole to sit next to her, but Nicole slid onto the opposite side. The corners of Chase’s lips turned up with amusement. He took the place next to her in the booth, and the other man slid in next to Nicole.
Sam smiled at Chase but could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Why couldn’t she get ahold of herself? He was just a guy. Granted, he was the first guy her wolf had ever shown any interest in, and it was making her horny and agitated.
“Hello again,” Chase said softly. His velvety voice sent tremors through her already aroused body. She turned and met his mischievous gaze. He knew I was here. This meeting is not a coincidence. It had to be Maggie. Traitor.
Even though she was a little upset at Maggie, she was superbly pleased to be rubbing elbows with Chase Michaels.
“Maggie told you I was here.”
Guilt registered in his eyes, and all conversation at the table halted. All eyes were on Chase.
“Actually she told me.” The other man raised his hand.
Sam glanced toward him in confusion. She’d never met this other man. Why would he be looking for her? “Who are you?” She narrowed her eyes and waited.
“I’m Chris Michaels. Chase is my brother and our little sister, Maggie, is good friends with—”
“Oh my God!” Sam cut him off. “Your sister is the other Maggie!”
Chris nodded, and Chase shifted in his seat. “How do you know our sister?” Chase asked. His deep voice stroked the chords of her soul.
Sam leaned back in her seat and laughed. “I went to school with the Maggies. We all graduated together.” She glanced over at Chase. “How much older are you than your sister? I never saw either of you at the house.”
Chase flushed bright red and coughed. “The house! You were at my parents’ house?”
“Yes,” Sam answered with a smirk, loving the fact he was so surprised. “Your mom makes the best lemon cake on the planet.” She licked her lips and stifled a sigh when his gaze clamped onto her mouth.
“That she does.” Chase smiled, and she could tell he was forcing himself to relax. He laid an arm behind her along the back of the booth. “Chris and I are only five years apart, but Maggie appeared decades later and surprised Mom and Dad. Chris and I had already lived out of the house for a long time.”
Sam nodded. Her wolf had calmed a bit since Chase sat down next to her. His nearness seemed to be holding her at bay for now. It was a wonder, though, that she herself wasn’t dragging him from the booth to have her way with him right now. She wanted to strip him out of every stitch he was wearing. Dampness soaked her panties, and the surface of her skin tingled with arousal.
“I’m okay with that plan.” Her wolf snickered in the back of her mind.
Shut up! I am not having my way with a man I only met once for five minutes in an airport.
“But we need him to agree to be our choice in your mating hunt or we might get stuck with who-knows-who.”
Do you really think my parents will allow it?
“The noble bylaws state that any male wolf has the right to participate in a hunt for a female.”
Sam sighed. Why would he even want to fight for me? There are plenty of women he could have without a fight.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Samantha.”
Sam rubbed her leg against his and felt a jolt of desire. She licked her lips and bit back a sigh. Chase leaned in close. His breath tickled her ear.
“Would you like to go somewhere else?” His lips nuzzled her neck, and she shuddered. He smelled so good. How could she have never met him in all the years she’d hung out at his sister’s house? Where had he been?
Silence claimed the table. All eyes were watching Chase’s blazon display of affection. Her cheeks heated instantly. In fact, it her whole body was warm. She took a deep breath, centered her emotions, told her wolf to keep it in her pants and nodded to Chase.
“Let’s move to a less crowded booth.”
His blue eyes sparkled, and a smile spread across his face. Chase inclined his head and slipped from the seat. He took her hand into his and helped her up.
“What?” Nicole laughed. “Don’t like the company?”
“Bite me,” Sam quipped with a grin and led Chase to a booth on the opposite side of the bar. Chase’s hand fell to the small of her back as she walked, and Sam reveled in the teasing touch.
CHAPTER 4
Chase inhaled Sam’s sweet honeysuckle scent as he slid into the booth next to her. His leg brushed against hers and without thinking he rubbed a hand down her thigh. Get a grip, man. He could feel his wolf’s mirth at the situation, and it frustrated him to no end. Chase was used to being in control…of everything. With this girl, he had none. God help his heart if she was just playing with him. How had he fallen so hard and so fast? He’d never be able to pick up all the pieces if this was just a game to her.
“Don’t even think that!” His wolf snarled as the thought migrated across his consciousness. “I can tell she likes us and so does her wolf. She is our mate, Chase. She knows it.”
You can tell what her wolf is thinking?
“It’s more of an intuition.”
Chase snorted. His wolf was full of shit. Intuition my ass! You don’t have any more of a clue than I do.
“Then ask her and put us both out of our misery.”
She was staring at him with a quizzical look. He swallowed. His mouth felt like it was lined with cotton swabs. Had any of that conversation been spoken aloud?
“Are you arguing with your wolf?”
Chase coughed in surprise. Shit. “I…well, yes.” He had to give her credit for just coming out and saying what she was thinking. Apparently there would be no dancing around the subject with Samantha Demakis.
She sighed and leaned back against the seat cushion. “Me too. What is yours saying? Mine wants to jump your bones right here in the bar.”
A spark of humor twinkled in her ocean blue eyes. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Chase had been able to smell her arousal from the moment he sat down. It was literally driving him up the wall. Now, she was telling him her wolf wanted to jump his bones. Wait… Did that mean she didn’t?
“How do you feel about your wolf’s desires?”
She leaned in close to him, and the edge of her breast caressed his arm, sending a wave of arousal straight to his already hardening cock. “I think you are quite attractive, but I don’t know anything about you. Unlike my wolf, I’m not willing to act on instinct alone.”
“I have to be honest. I’ve never felt an attraction to a woman as strongly as I feel about you. I had actually resigned myself to never finding
a mate.”
Shit. He’d said mate aloud.
She turned in her seat so she could face him. He waited as she formed her thoughts. Chase could tell her wolf probably had a lot of input in the conversation too. He was glad. It was rumored that a lot of the noble families ignored their wolves and made alliances with each other strictly based on power and money. Mates were chosen like business partners.
“Crappy way to live out seven or eight centuries.”
I’m sure they form some type of bond.
“Yes, but it’s nothing like a true mate bond,” his wolf answered.
“Your wolf thinks I’m a possible mate?” she asked.
He snapped his gaze back to her now-engaged focus. “Yes, from the very first contact at the airport.”
She smiled and tucked her phone into her purse. “Would you like to go get something to eat? I’m starving. I sorta ducked out of my house before dinner.”
“You don’t want to order something here?”
Her eyes glinted with mischief. “There’s this little place a few streets over. Joe’s Dine and—”
“Joe’s Dine and Run. I haven’t been there in years.” Chase slid out of the booth and stood, offering his hand to Sam. She slipped her small white hand into his large tanned one, and he pulled her effortlessly from the bench.
“So you’re good with going there?”
“Absolutely.”
She gave him a soft smile. His heart melted then and there, again. This woman was the only one for him and he had to figure out a way to get her to see that. They waved to their siblings on the way out of the bar.
He caught Maggie’s gaze in the foyer and mouthed a silent thank you. She grinned and inclined her head in acknowledgement.
***
A five-minute cab ride landed them right outside Joe’s. Chase climbed out and then opened the door for Sam to step out. He took her hand again and led her inside the 24-hour diner. They sat down at an empty table and a waitress plopped a menu down in front of Chase.
He glanced up at the server. “Where’s hers?”
The old lady laughed in his face. Even Sam giggled. He had a feeling he was missing the joke.
“Honey, she always gets the blueberry pancakes, a double side of bacon, and coffee with cream.”
Realization dawned, and he smiled. “How often do you come here?”
“Once a day when I’m in town.”
“We’ve missed you, sugar. All that premed wearing you out?”
“Something like that, Bonnie. I’ve missed you too. Say hi to Joe for me.”
“Will do, sugar. Does your handsome friend here want to eat, or is he going to just stare in amazement all night?”
“Ummm…I…I’ll have the same as her,” he finally stammered. The waitress Sam had called Bonnie smiled and took the menu.
“I’ll be back with the coffee in a minute.”
***
“What?” Sam asked. Chase was still staring.
“I just never expected you to know—”
“A waitress and a diner owner? Why, because I’m rich and spoiled? There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Chase Michaels.”
“Same here, Sam.”
Bonnie scuttled by the table and filled two cups with coffee. Sam took a deep breath and drank in the rich scent. She loved Joe and Bonnie’s coffee. Not even those fancy high-priced shops could compete. There was just something special about it.
“How is Sarah?” Sam asked Bonnie. “She’s down at Rice University, right?”
“Oh, sugar, she is just having the time of her life. She’s a vocal major, and they have her doing performances constantly. Joe and I got down to Texas for one over spring break, but she sends us videos of all her concerts.”
“That’s great. I’m glad to hear it.”
Sam glanced over at Chase. He was quietly sipping his coffee and seemed to be enjoying her conversation with Bonnie.
“So who is your friend, Samantha?” The corners of her mouth turned up. Bonnie would always call her sugar or Samantha, never Sam. She said Sam was a boy’s name, and someone as pretty as her shouldn’t go around with a boy’s name.
“Name is Chase Michaels, Ma’am.”
“Oh, now, young man. I don’t much go for ma’am. Bonnie will do just fine.”
“Bonnie, then,” he answered.
“Are you any relation to Maggie Michaels?”
“Yes, wow. My sister was more popular around town than I realized.”
Bonnie set the coffee pot down on the table and crossed her arms over her chest. “I loved that pack of girls you and my daughter hung out with. It was Maggie Michaels, Maggie Taylor, your sister Nicole, and Karen Wheeler. Did I miss anybody?”
“Sheila Red Hawk,” Sam added and sipped her coffee. The warm, velvety texture coated her throat and tasted divine—a hint of cocoa with a little honey at the end.
“Of course, how could I forget Sheila? Are all the girls still around here?”
“Honestly, I haven’t kept in close touch with them since moving to Duke. Tell Sarah hi for me when you see her next.”
“I will. I’ll let you two talk. The other customers seem to be getting antsy.” She leaned down, and Sam hugged her before she trotted off, hollering at one old man in the corner to “hold on, I’m coming”.
***
“So, premed at Duke?”
“Yes, I have one more year left before I start my residency.”
“Congrats. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
“Thanks. What do you do, Chase?”
“I am a Sergeant First Class Army Ranger and the medic for my unit.”
“That’s a mouthful,” she said and smiled. “Have you traveled a lot with the army?”
“Yes, I’ve seen my fair share of places.”
“I want to work with Doctors Without Borders once I finish school.” She sat back in her chair as Chase digested her comment. He sipped his coffee and met her gaze.
“I think that’s a noble calling. I have been able to keep my unit safe and send them all home to their families every time we deploy.”
“I’m sure they will be eternally grateful. The army doesn’t know that you are…a shifter?”
“No, I serve time and then retire. Then I enlist again and serve again. A few have questioned me, but I shrug it off, and they move on. Usually they are so glad to get someone with medical training that the rest doesn’t matter.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“An EMT.”
She nodded, processing his answers. “How old are you?” He’d said he had retired at least once.
“I’m seventy-five.”
Sam swallowed. She hadn’t pegged him for being that old, but his age certainly explained why she’d never met him at his parents’ house.
He’s a lot older than me.
“Some of those candidates your father has picked out are bound to be older as well.”
Really?
“Yes, really,” her wolf assured.
“I think being a doctor where there aren’t any is a very worthwhile goal.” He placed his hand over hers on the table and stroked the top with his thumb. Just that small touch bordered on sensory overload.
“He is meant to be our mate. You have to ask him, Samantha.”
I can’t. What if they kill him? I could never live with myself. Or I’d turn into a hateful, unhappy bitch, like my mother.
He squeezed her hand. “Samantha,” he coaxed. “What’s wrong?”
Bonnie walked up and interrupted. “Here we are, sugar.” Sam pulled her hand away and straightened in her chair. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. Bonnie was laying out the food on their table. “Blueberry pancakes and bacon all around. You two let me know if I can get you anything else.”
Sam smiled up at Bonnie. “Thanks, Bonnie.”
“No problem, sugar.” The middle-aged woman scurried off. She was the same age as her mother, but Bonnie showed her age more. Her skin was thinner,
and she had grey threaded through her hair. Bonnie had always been more of a mom to her than her own. It was hard to come to grips with the fact that her own mother made choices based on what it would get her or the family. She’d been raised by the housekeeper, Ellie, and by Bonnie, and by all her other friends’ mothers. To her knowledge, her own mother had never once helped her with her homework, or brushed her hair, or even gone shopping with her unless it was for a family function and she wanted to pick out the clothes Sam would wear.
“Sam…what’s eating at you?”
The tears returned to her eyes. God, he cared about her, and he’d only known her a few hours.
“I told you, he’s supposed to be our mate.”
But…
“It doesn’t matter Sam. When a wolf finds a perfect match, there is an instant connection.”
“My parents don’t think being a doctor is important. Well, at least my mother doesn’t. I’m not sure how my dad feels.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean my mom wants me matched and politically active in the noble hierarchy, and I want to go be a doctor in Africa or South America. My dad appreciates my dreams and goals, but obligation comes first. I’m a first daughter in the second-oldest noble family. My mate will have a seat next to my father on the council.” She released a heavy sigh. “I turned twenty-five this year.” Sam paused, assuming his wolf was filling him in on the significance of her birthday. His eyes changed from confused to worried.
“Sam? What are you trying to tell me?”
Her eyes were watering, but she fought back the tears. She took a deep breath and bit into a slice of bacon—best food on the planet.
“You have to tell him!”
I’ll do no such thing. I won’t ask a complete stranger to fight my battles for me.
“Samantha, he should be our mate, not one of those self-absorbed corporate princes your father has waiting back at the house.”
She eyed Chase. He was waiting patiently.
I don’t know him any better than I know those other men.
Chasing Sam: Vegas Mates Book 1 Page 3