Chasing Sam: Vegas Mates Book 1 (4 page)

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.

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.

“
Wolves don’t make such strong
connections like this very often. This is a once in a lifetime
chance.”