Bit the Jackpot (Vegas Vampires #2)(13)
Author: Erin McCarthy

All his encouraging pep talk earned him was a defiant hiss from the one on the left and a disdainful sneer from the one on the right. "This is ridiculous." Seamus stood up and picked up one end of the couch and flipped it right up onit’s side. "What do you think of that, boys? No hiding place left."

He reached down for the orange tabby as the black one shot between his legs and tripped him. He slammed his shoulder into the couch he had just stood up and his hip knocked the undersprings , rocking the whole thing precariously. He grabbed at the orange cat again, out of balance, out of breath, and pissed off. He’d been playing this game for twenty minutes. He was a four-hundred-year-old vampire, with exceptional hearing, speed, and strength. Yet these cats were besting him because he was afraid to hurt them, and the whole thing was definitely getting old.

A fistful of fur and fat in his hand, he tried to drag the cat back toward him, but it bit his hand and wiggled away, leaping onto an end table and knocking Cara’s glass-base lamp off.

"Shit." The lamp broke, spraying shards of glass all over the hardwood floor, and the twoLabradors started barking loudly in the kitchen, where they were cowering away from him. The Chihuahua snarled and ran in hysterical laps back and forth on the dining room table, where Seamus had set it until he could figure out what to do with it. It couldn’t get down off the high table with its short legs, but it was howling like an Irish banshee.

Seamus pulled himself back to full height, only to turn and find the black cat standing on the arm of the couch, four feet in the air. He reached out for it, and it bit him on the nose.

"Bastard!"That stung. Seamus blinked hard and abandoned the cat project.

He opened the door of the largest crate in preparation and went for the black Labs. They had the good sense to be afraid of him. They must have sensed his vampire blood, because they cowered and snarled and backed away a step for each he took in their direction. Seamus leaned over, stared into the one’s eyes with all his concentration, and told him, "Get in the crate."

Without moving, the dog barked twice, which Seamus decided was the canine equivalent of "Fuck you."

He really didn’t want to use force with Cara’s animals. With his strength and speed, he could wrestle them into submission, but he didn’t like getting rough. He had enjoyed raising dogs in the eighteenth century. He liked them, and usually they liked him. Cara’s dogs were like her—they wanted him to go to hell.

When he took another step forward, the one dog growled at him and bared his teeth.

"Mine are bigger than yours, buddy," Seamus told him and flashed his own fangs.

If a dog could frown, this one was doing it. Its brow furrowed and then it skirted around the doorway and shot down the hall toward the bedroom.

"Damn. I scared it."

At a loss, Seamus glanced over at the door. He smelled vampire. There was a knock,then he heard Ethan.

"It’s me, open the door."

He did and Ethan stared at him for a second, assessing his appearance. One brow rose. "Need some help?"

"Yes. These animals are psychotic." He stepped back to let Ethan in, glad for reinforcements.

"What do we have?"

"Two Labs who think I’m the devil, an obnoxious Chihuahua who thinks he’s the devil, and two catswho really are the devil."

Ethan fought a grin.

"What?" Searaus turned, unlatched the smallest crate, and lifted the Chihuahua off the table one-handed. Trying to be gentle but firm, he rammed it into the cage and slammed the door shut. "Just cool it, Satan."

"Nothing."Ethan went into the kitchen, sending the other dog streaking out into the living room. It spotted Seamus, panicked, and vaulted down the hallway toward his companion. "It’s just nice to see you taking an interest in a woman again," Ethan called as he opened cabinets in Cara’s kitchen and closed them again.

This was not interest in a woman. This was insanity. "Cara is not a woman. She is a mistake I made that I’m going to pay for indefinitely. I’m already paying." He curled his lip at the brown Chihuahua , whose little sausage body quivered in indignation."To the tune of two hundred and thirty bucks and five furry pains in the arse ."

His native brogue tended to increase when he was annoyed. At the moment, he sounded like he’d just stepped out of the potato field. "And what the hell are you doing?" The can opener was whirring in the kitchen. He headed for the doorway. "Last time I checked, you don’t eat solids."

"Tuna," Ethan said, holding up a can.

"That smells disgusting."Like rotting corpse.Bad blood.Sweaty men. All mixed together.

"Cats love it."

And to prove his point, both cats appeared out of nowhere and rubbed against Ethan’s legs.

Annoyed, Seamus said, "Aw,isn’t that cute?You and your two kitties. Bet your wife would like a cat for Christmas."

"Over my dead body," Ethan said.

They looked at each other and laughed.

Ethan shoved the can of food into the open crate and both cats leapt onto the coffee table and straight in. He latched the door closed. "Three down, two to go."

Seamus rubbed his temples and gave a rueful shake of his head. "How in hell did I get myself into this?"

"I think its called lust."

Heading down the hall, Seamus called back, "I thinkit’s called stupidity."

Then he stepped into Cara’s bedroom and almost had a heart attack. The dogs were crouched down on the purple throw rug, but he barely spared them a glance. What had caught his attention was the bed. It was big, white wrought iron, with a bunch of material draped over it from a hook in the ceiling, making it look sexy and exotic, like Cara. It was unmade, the lavender sheets rumpled and shoved aside, and the whole room smelled like woman.Soft and floral and alluring. There was a red bra tossed on the floor, a pair of jeans bunched on an easy chair, and various lotions and makeup scattered across her dresser.

But what stopped him dead in his tracks, robbed him of all breath and all coherent thought,was the thing lying in the middle of her bed, like she’d tossed it aside negligently after getting up.

"What what am I looking at?" he asked Ethan, wanting confirmation.

"Where?"Ethan came up behind him and looked in the room. Seamus knew the minute he saw it because his posture stiffened."Holy crap. Uh, well, shit. It’s a vibrator."

That’s what Seamus had thought. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried not to stare at it. "You were definitely right," he said, feeling a little weak, like he’d lost all of his brain blood to his massive erection. "It’s lust."