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

"Sit down, Kelsey. I’m going to be two.minutes ." He tried to gently put her back in her chair and was successful. His vampire strength was greater than hers. "You’re fine, I promise. You’re a big girl vampire, and I’ll be right back."

He made a break for it, running across the room faster than mortals could see, feeling like a bastard and guilty as hell, but desperate for some breathing room. Blowing past the bouncers and to the backstage area, Seamus had an ugly thought.

Maybe the shadow danced behind a screen because she was unattractive.

Moves that could tempt a saint, but a face that only a mother couid love.

Then even worse, he wondered did it really matter? She could do some serious hip thrusting.

Which made him a very, very sick vampire.

Clearly, two hundred years without sex was too long if he was hard for a shadow.

Hesitation overcame him, right as he realized the dancer was standing in front of him. He could smell her blood, vanilla lotion, and a light sweat from her dancing exertions. Seamus saw the swish of her dark hair on her shoulders right in front of him as she belted a red Chinese robe around her waist and quickly turned around.

Maybe a strip club wasn’t the place to meet a woman. If he really wanted to have an affair, to get the desire out of his system, maybe he could take out an Internet ad. Dull, workaholic, dead Irishman with a fondness for blood seeks hot female for wild nights of mind-melting sex.Must be willing to be bitten.

But that wasn’t going to benecessary, Seamus realized when the shadow dancer turned around. She was beautiful, absolutely stunning. She had milky white skin framed by ebony black hair, long cheekbones, a petite bow-shaped mouth with cherry red lips, and a perfectly formed nose. Her eyes were deep brown, almost black, and almond shaped, black eyeliner flaring out from her lids in sexy, sexy cat eyes. She might have reminded him of a porcelain doll if it wasn’t for the fact that she had dewy sweat on her forehead and impressive cle**age, her chest heaving from dancing. Seamus could smell her blood pumping quickly through her veins, hear her heart fluttering wildly.

Her eyes went wide in surprise at seeing him, and he knew that she was naked under that flimsy nothing of a robe that showed leg and a flash of her navel when she turned.

Oh, yeah. This had definitely been a good idea. What had he been worried about? No one was going to fault him for a little down time, a little physical release. Especially not when faced with a gorgeous dancer with strong thighs.

He fought the urge to let his fangs down.

It was time to exert a little vampire influence on her. With his considerable mind-reading experience, he should have her in bed in ten minutes.

Cara Kim sucked in her breath when she realized a man was standing behind her. God, how long had he been there? Given the sort of lusty, heated look on his face, it was possible he’d seen her putting on her robe. Seen her naked.

Which might not seem like a big deal, since she danced nude for a living, but it had the potential to ruin her night.No man had ever seen her nakedwithout the screen in front of her. Not one man ever, because she was arguably the oddest attraction in all of Vegas—the virgin stripper.

Kind of an oxymoron, but Cara nonetheless, and she didn’t have any plans to change anytime soon. Sex led women to make mistakes, to lose control of their lives and their emotions, and Cara didn’t plan to lose either, ever. She knew enough about herself to understand she had a compulsive personality and a real need to nurture. Bad combo altogether when it came to men and sex, so she chose to abstain from both. She danced because the money was fantastic and she could work nights to pay for her grandmother’s nursing home. She did get a certain sensual pleasure from dancing behind the screen, but she didn’t want a man to see her naked in the actual flesh.Ever.

This guy looked to have just screwed that conviction up.

Which would only be a minor annoyance if he weren’t drop-dead, drop-her-dress gorgeous.Dark hair.Blue eyes.Lots of muscle in all the right places.Capped off with a charming smile.A perfect visual example of why women lost all ability to be rational in the presence of a fine-looking man.

While Cara’s brain assessed him coolly, her body reacted warmly by sending out the ni**les as a welcoming crew and turning up the thermostat down south, which annoyed her no end.

"Hi. Could you tell me where I might find Jodi Madsen?" he asked, with just enough of an Irish accent to kick her irritation up a notch.

Every time she thought she was getting ahead in life, she had a roadblock thrown up in front of her.A big, male roadblock. The last time she’d allowed a man to bring her dreams to a halt, she’d wound up betrayed and out ten grand. She didnot need temptation in the form of a dark-haired Irishman distracting her from her goals.

"No," she said, tightening her robe tie. Maybe if she cut off circulation from the waist down, she wouldn’t be so aware of her own nudity.

"Do you know Jodi?" he asked. "Does she work here?"

Cara nodded. "Yes." She was so done with this conversation. He was way too cute and she had the very real feeling he had seen her butt. She wanted her panties on pronto, before she had time to reflect on the fact that she was suddenly aroused after two minutes of meaningless dialogue with a total stranger.

"Alright, then."He tilted his head a little, his smile charming, charming, charming. "So she works here, you know her, you just don’t know where I can find her."

Wondering what the hell he wanted with Jodi, she nodded. Maybe he was the club owner. That would explain how he’d gotten past the solid row of bouncers the club employed. Men never managed to get backstage, which was why Cara loved working at this club. Jodi was stage manager and choreographer for all the dancers, so maybe this was her boss.The owner.

Shit. The boss had seen her butt.

"I’m Seamus Fox," he said, holding out his hand.

"Hi," she said, ignoring the hand. She wasn’t touching that thing if her life depended on it. The hand was connected to the arm, which was connected to the shoulder, which was broad and muscular, which eventually led across a firm, powerful chest, right down to the bone. Er .Boner.Which she wasn’t going anywhere near.

"This is the part where you tell me your name," he said with a wink.

Only if she were stupid.She knew how important it was to protect herself as a dancer from freaks who obsessed over women. Seamus didn’t look like a freak, but he did look dangerous.Strong.Well-dressed.Sexy, damn it.

"No, this is the part where I walk away. If I see Jodi I’ll tell her you’re looking for her." She started to turn, but only got half through the pivot.

"Wait." His eyes darted down to her robe. "I saw your show. You dance beautifully.Sensual." Those blue eyes darkened, just went right from pale sky blue to cerulean.Which had to be a trick of the disco light from the stage. Eyes didn’t just completely change color in two seconds. "Your moves are very classy."