Chasing Sam: Vegas Mates Book 1 (7 page)

“God, where are our manners. I’m sorry,”
Mr.-Tall-Dark-and-not-Chase began. Sam chuckled. He was actually
kind of cute with his blushing, embarrassed face. “I am Ricardo
Savona. I have traveled from Italy to seek you as my mate. The
joining of our families would be very strong.”

The other two men had converged on her, and
a little bit of claustrophobia began wrapping its slimy tendrils
around her neck. “Air, boys. You are crowding me.”

They obliged instantly and stepped back…a
little. Ricardo sat on the chair to her left. The newspaper reader
sat on the chair to her right.

“My name is Henry James. I’m from LA.”

So … the newspaper reader was from the
city of angels?
His blue eyes and blond hair definitely shouted
California. The James family owned half of Orange County.

Sam nodded and then looked across the
counter to the third man, who had retreated to the bowl of pancake
batter. She licked her lips and inhaled the fabulous scent of the
freshly cooked stack. A hint of cinnamon was mixed into them as
well, making their scent all the more tantalizing.

“I’m Tomas Anton. I hail from the beautiful
country of Brazil.” His Spanish accent rolled beautifully through
his English, a little different than Ricardo’s but still similar.
She’d actually never heard of the Antons, but then, she didn’t get
to Brazil very often.

“Well, I’m Sam, but you all knew that
already.”

They smiled and nodded.

“Do you prefer Sam…instead of Samantha?”
Ricardo asked, hesitation in his voice.

“Yes. Only my parents call me Samantha.”

“Pancakes?” Ricardo held up a plate with a
small stack.

“Yes, thank you.”

She moved from her chair, but Tomas and
Henry blocked her quickly. “What do you need, Sam?” Henry
asked.

“I was going to get toppings from the
fridge,” she answered, sitting back on the barstool. Trapped was
more the word for it.

“What do you want?” Tomas strolled to the
fridge and opened it.

“Dark chocolate chips, strawberries,
blueberries, whip cream. And there should be organic maple syrup in
there too.”

“Damn, sis, are you going to have any
pancakes with your toppings?”

Sam snorted through a laugh. Nicole stepped
down from the stairwell and plopped her butt on a barstool,
covering her mouth to hide a yawn. She was dressed in bright green
yoga pants and a white tank. Sam smirked. The bright yoga pants had
been a gang purchase a few years ago to irritate their mother.
Renata told them after they’d bought the pants that women should
never have clothes that glaring. Since then, all the girls had
purchased a pair of neon pants every year.

“I will eat them how I want. Love the green,
by the way.”

“Mmmm, thanks. They’re new.” Nicole rolled
her neck until it cracked, and then she sighed. “So can I have
pancakes too, or are you guys only cooking for Sam?”

Sam and Nicole turned to face the three men.
Ricardo quickly made another plate of pancakes and handed it across
the counter to Nicole. Sam narrowed her gaze. For a moment she
thought she saw a hint of attraction pass between Ricardo and
Nicole.

All the better for me.

“Here,
signorina
.”

“Thanks...” Nicole trailed off.

“Ricardo.”

“Ah, the Italian, right?”

“
Si.
” He flashed her another
suspiciously flirtatious smile.

If only…

Tomas returned from the fridge and carefully
laid out all the toppings on the counter. Sam grinned and licked
lips, snatching up the blueberries first.

“Anything else?”

“Nope, thank you.”

Sam knew she was supposed to be polite, but
she felt like a piece of horseflesh on auction. These guys were the
buyers and were checking her out.

God! Where is Chase?

She closed her eyes and thought of his warm,
earthy scent. All she wanted was his arms wrapped around her body,
holding her tight and safe away from the chaos of her family.

Wow, I’ve really got it bad for a guy I just
met.

His scent drifted across the room and her
body warmed in all the right places. The low rumble of growls
echoed around the kitchen.

Growling. Why were they growling? Oh!

Her eyes snapped open, and she spun the
barstool. “Chase.” A smile spread across her face. A rumble
emanated from his chest but subsided once their gazes met. She
dropped her focus from his face to appreciate his body. A white
T-shirt stretched taut across his well-developed chest, and corded
biceps peeked from beneath the short sleeves. His waist tapered to
narrow hips, and Sam swallowed, averting her eyes from looking any
lower.

The man made her hot just standing there.
She needed to be careful. Showing favoritism was only going to make
the other males hate him more. Sam resisted the urge to jump from
the barstool and leap into his arms, but just barely.

“Can I get you ladies something to drink?”
Henry called out. “I think I need one.”

Sam twirled on the barstool. She did too.
“Tequila sunrise for me, please.” A smothered snort came from her
sister and she glared. “Shut up.”

“Sis, I did not say anything.”

“Uh, huh. Sure.”

Henry walked up with the loaded juice and
handed it to Sam. “Tequila Sunrise for you. Can I get you
anything?” He waited for Nicole to answer.

“Nope, I’m going to eat these pancakes and
go for a run. Y’all try not to tear up the house, okay?”

“Nicole!” Sam scolded.

The tension in the room was already as thick
as peanut butter. She didn’t need her sister drawing even more
attention to the discomfort and dislike simmering between the four
males. They were expertly hiding it for now, but what was she going
to do with them all day? This was one of those times being a wolf
just sucked. A regular girl wouldn’t be in this predicament. Normal
guys didn’t have fangs.

“
Watch it.”
Her wolf piped up,
sounding a little insulted.

Sorry. I’m just freaking out a little.

A high-pitched voice called down the
stairwell. “Samantha?”

Shit! Mom’s up.

Nicole was a streak of bright green and
white, disappearing out the back door before Renata Demakis
appeared in the already-crowded kitchen. At that moment, Sam just
wanted to melt between the terra-cotta tiles on the kitchen floor
and become invisible. It’s not every night she got attacked by her
own mother.

Though I did deserve the second slap.

The Demakis matriarch stepped into the
kitchen. Her brunette hair was perfectly arranged in a French
twist. Pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, and even a silver and
pearl bracelet accented an ensemble that made her look like she’d
stepped out of the movie
The Stepford Wives.
Sam shuddered
at the thought. Unfortunately, it wasn’t far from the truth. It was
also the main reason she had no desire whatsoever to mate with any
of the three males from a noble family. Stepfordom just wasn’t her
calling.

Chase moved away from the entrance when her
mother appeared, but now he braved her black glare and inched his
way closer to Sam’s side. Sam wanted him closer. However, it wasn’t
fair to start a war over who got the seat next to her.

“What do you want, Mother?”

Renata eased herself into the seat next to
Sam and sighed. “I’m sorry I lost control last night. I hope you
will be able to forgive me.”

Sam breathed in a huge sigh of relief.
At
least she wasn’t starting another fight…yet.
“Yes, of course,
Mother. ” There wasn’t any use in dragging it out, even if her
mother wasn’t being sincere. And there was a good chance she
wasn’t.

“Good. Now get upstairs and put some decent
clothing on.” Sam’s mouth opened and then snapped shut with a loud
pop. Her mother took the plate of pancakes from the counter in
front of her, slipped down from the barstool, marched across the
kitchen, and dumped them into the trashcan.

“I was going to eat that.”

“Absolutely not. The cook will make you
something actually worthy of being called breakfast. She will make
all of you something.” Renata threw up her hands and shooed Tomas
away from the stove.

What was her mom doing?

Sam allowed her magic to ripple across her
vocal chords, and a snarl cut through her mother’s protests. Renata
turned and responded with a glare colder than ice, making Sam
shudder and reconsider her anger.

She darted out the back door, escaping her
mother’s overbearing orders, and followed Nicole’s scent. A run was
just what she needed now. The boys could fend for themselves.

Her wolf stretched, and Sam obliged. She
stripped out of her clothes, leaving them on the lawn, and shifted
as she ran. The morning air was wet with dew. The pine from the
mountain forest hung heavy in the air. The tangy scent was
invigorating. Sam howled to let Nicole know she was on her heels
and tore down the needle-padded trail.

***

Five minutes later Sam caught up with
Nicole. She
woofed
as she approached. Nicole stopped running
and looked over her shoulder.

“Sam?”

Sam
woofed
again.

“Decided to run?”

Sam growled, curling up her lips. She knew
what Nicole was insinuating.

Nicole laughed. “Come on, sis. Let’s go.”
She spun on her heels and jumped back into a ground-eating pace.
Even on four legs, Sam had to work to keep up with Nicole’s
stride.

She was so sick of running, but this mating
hung over her head like a shroud. Since high school she’d tried to
evade her parents’ questions about a mate. She’d thrown herself
into medical school hoping to land an internship in another country
and just magically disappear into the jungle somewhere so she could
have her own life. Now here she was. The hunt was tonight, and she
had a one-in-four shot at a seminormal life—as normal as a
werewolf’s life could ever really be. Mostly she just wanted a mate
who would see her as a partner and not just an asset that gave him
a higher seat on the noble council.

“Samantha!” Renata Demakis shouted out the
door Sam had disappeared through. “Samantha! Come back this
instant.”

Chase sighed and hung back while the other
three males left the kitchen. He followed them quietly to the
dining room, surprised when they disappeared quickly around a
corner.

He walked through the large opening. Without
warning, their steel fingers gripped both his arms, twisting them
back.
Freak’n hell!
The men shoved him against a wall and
the blond stalked up to his face. Chase growled. A fist flew out,
striking hard against his side. The air whooshed out of his lungs
and he coughed.

Another hit and another rained down on his
face and chest. The sickening crack of a rib sent blinding pain
through his body. He twisted against the two men holding him, but
they only pressed him harder against the wall.
Shit!

A well-aimed punch to the face had busted
open his brow, and warm blood flowed down over his eyes, blurring
his vision.

“You don’t belong here, outsider. Demakis
blood belongs to the nobility. You are nothing,” one of the men
hissed into his ear.

Through the confusion he caught sight of
Renata Demakis standing across the room.

Goddamned bitch is just watching!
Smiling?

“Leave Samantha to her own kind,” the blond
added. “She’ll be better off without you.”

“You’re a fucking idiot.” Chase coughed and
spit blood onto the marble floor. “I’m not leaving her. You’ll have
to kill me.”

“That will happen tonight if you show up for
the hunt.”

“I have the same right to fight for her that
you do.” Chase snarled and struggled again against the two men.
They didn’t relent. Fighting them tonight was not going to be a
walk in the park. They might not be soldiers, but they were
strong.

Two young female voices echoed through the
dining room. “Mom!” They sounded familiar.
The twins.
“Make
them stop. Sam is going to go ballistic!”

“Go back to your rooms. This will be over
soon.”

“Fuck that!” the twins shouted together.

Footsteps thudded closer on the hardwood
floor. “You are all fucking stupid assholes!” one of the twins
yelled.

Chase squinted through the blood. Sam’s
little sister Hallie was making a stand. Her voice was as cold as
the business end of a sniper rifle.

“She might have given you a chance tonight
if you’d won fair and square, but you are all seriously fucked now.
She’ll kill you…slowly.”

“Go back to your room, little girl. Your
mother already told you to leave.” Henry loomed over Hallie, but
the young spitfire stood her ground.

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You
touch a hair on my head and my father will castrate you and
then
slice you into little pieces.”

Henry stopped moving.

Chase laughed and then coughed.
God,
everything hurt.

“Let. Him. Go.” She lowered her voice even
more.

Blood rushed back into his arms when the two
men released their hold. He clutched his side. Henry had broken at
least one of his ribs. Chase sunk to the floor as the three men
moved off and followed Sam’s mother out of the dining room.

“Tess!” Hallie called to her sister.

More footsteps approached. Chase tried to
look up, but both eyes were swollen shut. The twins small hands
feathered across his face. Whimpers of empathy and hisses of anger
followed most of their movements.

“Come on, let’s get you up to your room,”
Hallie coaxed and lifted one of his arms around her shoulder. Her
sister mirrored, and with one twin under each arm he managed to
stand again.

“You shouldn’t have interfered, girls,” he
whispered.