High Stakes (22 page)

Feet scraping on the Sphinx, she rode it to the end, gripping the straining muscles of his forearms. When she was limp against him and panting, he finally removed his fingers from her with a triumphant smile.

"You wanted me to do that, didn't you?" she asked, kissing the corners of his mouth.

"Yes, I really, really did." And he looked about as satisfied as she felt.

And as aroused.

Arms tight around her, he pulled them away from the building. "Now let's move before we're spotted."

Though Alexis couldn't imagine anyone would guess the truth— floating vampire gives killer orgasm—if they saw a spot high on the Sphinx, she sure didn't want any investigating.

"You're a man with a plan. Take me wherever you want." Slack and satiated, she held weakly on to Ethan and let him fly her through the night.

Brittanycouldn't sleep. She had the prickling sensation that someone was watching her, and it was unsettling. Never one to be paranoid, she didn't have trouble sleeping, not even after scary movies. And Alexis was the occasional insomniac, never Brittany. She had always fallen asleep practically before her head even hit the pillow.

Sunday night, she was lying on her bed beneath a gauzy thin white sheet, staring at the ceiling, her heart beating a little too fast. It was a safe apartment building inSummerlin , with bright floodlights, new
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windows, and a security entrance. All her doors and windows were locked. There was no reason to be feeling this sense of disquiet, this weird negative anticipation.

Maybe it was guilt. She shouldn't have left The Ava. She shouldn't have let Corbin walk away from her.

She really needed to figure out a way to help him—surely he didn't deserve banishment, no matter what he had done. Maybe she could talk to Ethan, discuss it with him, and see if there could be a better solution. Corbin was a tortured soul.

That stressedBrittany out, stirred her compassion.Brittany had never been tortured, in any sense of the word, and it broke her heart to see other people struggle. Her mother had been tortured. Alexis didn't see that—maybe had been too hurt to realize it—but it was true. Their mother put her faith in all the wrongpeo-ple and was burned over and over again, and the whole time she had desperately tried to grab on to happiness, seeking a higher thrill, through men, sex, drinking, dancing. Her eyes would light with that feverish desperation, andBrittany had felt sorry for her. Even at six years old,Brittany had seen her pain.

Punching, her pillow, she turned on her side. Why hadn't she drawn the drapes? The linen sheers didn't block out the moonlight, and it was fanning out across her legs. That was probably what was keeping her awake. Shescissored her legs, kicking off the sheet. Either it was the moon, hershorty pajamas riding up, or she had just way too much on her mind.

Her sister Alexis was tortured, too, but in a different way. She had been hurt, felt rejected by their mother, and she marched through life ready to smack down anyone who dared to try to get close to her.

Alexis couldn't get intimate because she didn't want to get hurt.

If Alexis had an affair with Ethan Carrick, it would be temporary, because at a certain point she would resist it going any further. Which was a shame, becauseBrittany liked Ethan, thought he was a good foil for hersister. Then again, he was a vampire, and that had the potential to be a bad thing.

Eyes wide open,Brittany hugged her shabby chic floral heart-shaped pillow, and wondered if she should just get up, get dressed, and drive back to The Ava. That tremor, like fingers walking up her spine, rippled through her again.

She wasn't sure whether to take that as a yes or a no.

Corbin sat on the garage roof across fromBrittany 's bedroom window and wrestled with himself. It was ridiculous, hisbehavior . Why was he hanging out in the shadows again, watching this woman? Why did he not just take what he wanted?

Someblood, that was all he wanted.

He was very close to the cure, he was certain.

Brittanycould be the key.

Go inside
, he commanded himself.

His body stayed exactly where it was.

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He reminded himself he was possibly running out of time. IfDonatelli won the election, Corbin would not be allowed to remain inLas Vegas . More likely, he would be sent toAlaska or someplace equally horrible, where he would have to draw blood from moose or bears or something else with fur.

The very idea offended his sensibilities. He did not even enjoy Vegas all that much, with all its glitz and bright lights, but it was civilization, with conveniences and decent tailors. Not nineteenth-centuryParis , that was true, but it was accommodating and full of seductive women.

Taking blood from a showgirl or a moose.There was really no comparison.

Corbin sighed.Climbed down off the garage roof.

And went to break intoBrittany 's bedroom window.

Alexis should have been tired. She'd only slept about three hours in the last twenty-four. But she couldn't sleep, and after a fruitless effort to force it, she'd given up and had flicked on the TV and raided the minibar for M&M's. The problem with dating a vampire was he was never hungry.

She, on the other hand, never went more than five minutes without thinking about food. Popping a blue into her mouth, she crunched and reached for her Sidekick. Ethan had wanted her to sleep in his room while he had some kind of meeting with Seamus. But she preferred her own space. This side-by-side suite thing was perfect for her—convenient to Ethan, but still a locked door away if she needed time to herself.

There were a slew of new messages on the vampire slayers loop when she went to check the private message board. She was lurking, and hadn't announced her presence to the group at large, but the moderator knew she was there, and probably anyone else who wanted topick through the member roster. She'd used her free social e-mail address, not her work one, and had registered under the name
shortyl994
. Still, anyone with any savvy could trace it back to her.

Probably not a good thing.But she'd had to see what this group was all about, and if they were loons or actually had info about Ethan and the other Vegas vampires.

Her attorney brain urged her not to draw any conclusions, while her natural skepticism had her leaning toward loons. Then again, they had known about her, which meant they had some level of organization, and someone knew where she was.

Message 16532… What kind of stake do you recommend using to kill the undead?Thanx ,Vampvixen .

Alexis put three M&M's in her mouth. "Do stakes really even kill vampires? Note to self: Ask Ethan for
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details on this whole dead thing."

The man she was dating was a vampire. It wasn't a fantasy, or a movie, or the result of an aneurysm to the brain. Ethan was older than dirt and she was sleeping with him. Alexis poured half the bag of candy onto her tongue. This was why she was never getting married.

All the great men were either taken, gay, a foot and a half taller than her, or were vampires. It sucked.

Not that she'd ever really picturedherself married. That was moreBrittany 's style. But a nice, long-term boyfriend, companion-ship, and some stellar sex, sure, she wanted that. All she was going to get was this one week with Ethan. Then he'd go off to do presidential things, and she would go back to her job. He would live another thousand years while she got weak and saggy and forgetful.Fun.

Reply toVamp on stakes… I use stakes hand carved from Transylvanian oak, twenty-four inches in length and two in diameter. They're expensive, but highly effective and can be purchased online with free shipping.

@

Ooo-kay.Thanks, Rock, duly noted.

"Next we have Kitty…Kitty?" Alexis rolled her eyes. "Kitty and vampire slaying just don't go together."

I just buy dowels from Home Depot,
Vix
. They're like fifty cents apiece and work just as good.

Take care, hugs and love, Kitty.

The idea that someone might attempt this whole staking thing with Ethan or any of the other vampires she had met really bugged her. Whether these slayers knew what the hell they were doing or not, Alexis didn't want to see the manshe l… liked a whole lot get a piece of wood shoved in his chest.

Her role in the game, which was no longer a game, was no vampire slayer at all, but vampire protector.

Well, maybe not protector. But watchdog. No, she didn't want to be compared in any way to a dog.

Special vampire friend.Which sounded like apara normal episode of
Barney
, the purple dinosaur.

So there was no title for what she was.Fine. But she wanted Ethan alive andwell, and the reason behind that didn't require close scrutiny.

A noise had her turning to her right. That wasn't the TV. It was her door. Someone was swiping a key card through it. Jumping up, she tossed the Sidekick on the couch and moved into the shadows, wondering where she'd left her purse and her cell phone. Damn, she really hoped this wasn't a vampire slayer coming in person to recruit her. That could be awkward.

Figuring it was better to catch the person off guard, when the door opened and someone stepped into her room, she threw a kick. When she met air instead of body mass, the doorway suddenly empty, she
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realized it was Ethan.

"You know, most women greet their lovers with a kiss, not a kick."

He was behind her, the smart-ass. Whirling, she tried to retrieve her heart from her throat. "Yeah, well, most women aren't dating vampires either. Why the hell are you coming into my room, with a key, in the middle of the night?"

That was seriously going to cramp her feelings of independence. And hadn't that been a contingency of her stay in the contract he had signed? Of course, was a contract signed by a vampire valid in civil court?

"I thought you were a serial killer, rapist, stalker, burglar type, Ethan. I was defending myself."

'Of course you were. And I can't tell you how pleased I am that you can defend yourself if need be. But next time, I truly would prefer the kiss."

He sat down on her couch like he owned it. Wait a minute. He did own it. How annoying.

"And I thought you were asleep, so I didn't wish to disturb you by knocking."

Alexis crossed her arms and just stared at him. There were so many things wrong with what he had just said. "If you thought I was asleep, then why the hell were you coming into my room? Were you going to bite me in my sleep or something?Because that is a serious no-no. There will be only consensual biting in this relationship." And she wasn't even sure how often she was going to let him do that. It was the same way with sex toys. Once you let a guy have them, he couldn't do without.

Ethan crossed his feet on the coffee table and looked unperturbed. "I wasn't going to bite you. Or wake you up with kinky sex acts, though that does have a certain appeal. I just wanted to check on you, assure myself you're all right, sleeping peacefully. I planned to gaze a bit on your angelic beauty, and sigh with contentment, fortified to go back to a long, boring round of questions and answers with Seamus."

He smiled, baby blues swimming with innocence and sincerity.

Alexis made a gagging motion with her finger. "I hope you have a speechwriter, Mr. President.Because that was lame."

"Poorly expressed, but true.And I had another reason for coming in here."

Big surprise."Oh, now the truth comes out." Trying to be discreet, Alexis sauntered over and picked up her Sidekick, so Ethan wouldn't glance at it. She was truly embarrassed to be surfing vampire slayers message loop. And she wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea.Like she was some kind of double agent who would stab him in his sleep.

Ethan snaked a hand out and tugged her down onto his lap. "I'm still waiting for that kiss."

While he had a pleasantly muscular lap, and her bare legs rubbed against the denim of his jeans in a sensual comfort, she wanted to know the real reason he was there. They had agreed to meet at 5 p.m.

Monday night before the presidential debate. Her arms somehow wound around his neck without any command from her.

"I couldn't sleep. That's why I'm awake. Now why are
you
here, Ethan?Seriously."

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He sighed. "Actually, it's probably nothing. But you know how I can't get in your head?"

"Yes, thank God for small favors."

A little frown wrinkled his forehead. "I don't have that problem with any other mortal. Vampires close their thoughts to me, but mortals don't. And I heardBrittany . And I was wondering if you had talked to her today."

Ethan looked casual. His voice strained for casual. But it was almost overly so. Casual to the point that alarms went off in Alexis. "No. I talked to her last night… after midnight. Why? What did you hear?"

If anything was wrong withBrittany , she'd… well, hell, she was pretty sure she would dry up, turn to dust, and blow off in a thousand and directions.

"I heard surprise.Loud surprise." Ethan rubbed his forehead.

"I'm not sure why it even came to me…Brittany 's not here, and I don't usually focus in on an individual like that anyway." He shook his head. "But it was there, right in the middle of a strategy session with Seamus, and I just wanted to check with you. See what you thought.If you wanted to callBrittany and check on her. It's probably nothing…"

The vampire slayers… they knew who Alexis was. AndBrittany was half-vampire, according to Ethan, but she didn't know it. Couldn't defendherself . From a fifty-cent dowel from Home Depot.

Alexis picked up the hotel phone and dialed as fast as her fingers could move.