High Stakes (Vegas Vampires #1)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Prologue

Dental hygiene was important to a vampire.

Or at least to Ethan Carrick, who had been born before the bubonic plague, when simply having teeth in adulthood was considered an achievement.

Since his human death and rebirth nine hundred years ago, his teeth and body continually rejuvenated themselves, and he wasn’t exactly in danger of gingivitis. But he liked the clean, silky feeling of his teeth after they’d been polished, and the crisp minty smell of professional toothpaste.

He smiled at the perky dentist as she strolled into the room. "Am I going to live?"

She laughed, her sleek, dark hair bouncing on her shoulders."For now. But I wish you’d let me take some x-rays. It’s a little challenging to see cavities with the naked eye sometimes."

But not difficult to view vampire fangs on an x-ray film.He’d pass. "I’m sorry, but I have an irrational fear of radiation. I just can’t do it without falling out of this chair in a total panic attack." He capped this off with a smooth smile, reclining comfortably in the squeaky, hard dental chair.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled back. "You’re teasing me."

It was true. And he was flirting with her, because this woman was exactly the type he’d been searching for—sweet, pleasant, intelligent, but very feminine, very pliable.Innocent.

A quick shift through her mind showed nothing but rainbows and puppies, cotton candy and baby cheeks.Such a cheerful and refreshing change from so many modern women, whose minds raged like warriors, and whose rampant aggressiveness turned Ethan off.

No, Dr. Brittany Baldizzi was exactly the kind of woman he’d been looking for. His campaign manager would seek to find some flaw in her, a smear in her background, and it would all be shot to hell, but for now, Ethan felt cautiously optimistic.

"I am teasing you. But I’m still not getting x-rays. Now don’t leave me in suspense—tell me if I have to revisit this torture chamber again within the next six months or if I get to join the Cavity-Free Club." He pointed to the wall of honor, which boasted Polaroid pictures of gap-toothed children grinning in pride.

She leaned against the sink and folded her arms across her chest. Her scrubs were too bulky for Ethan to get an accurate per ception of her figure, but she had a pleasing, bouncy walk, and a fresh, shampoo smell.

"You don’t have any cavities."

"See? I told my mother it didn’t matter if I ate all those sweets and never brushed." Ethan sat up in the chair and ripped off the little bib with the metal clip. "I believe this is yours?"

Dr. Baldizzi took it, her hands still in latex gloves, and pitched it into the metal garbage container. "You’re kind of funny, you know that?"

Charmingwas the adjective he preferred, but it was a start. He probed her mind a little deeper, looking for clues to what she liked, how he might seduce her.

Then he sensed it. It was buried deep, almost undetected, but there it was.

Lazy teasing was forgotten. His eyes sharpened, muscles tensed, mind scanned and processed.

Well, this was an interesting twist.

Time to speed things up a bit.

"You’ll have dinner with me tonight." It wasn’t a question. And he knew what her answer would be because he was guiding her to give the right one.

Brittany stared at him, her smile drifting off into confusion. "Yes, yes, of course I will. I’ll have dinner with you tonight."

"And you’re going to pack an overnight bag so you can spend the night."

Not that Ethan was going to sleep with her—he really wasn’t interested in her sexually—but he wanted her in his hotel, The Ava under his watch, while he discussed with Seamus the new lit- tlerevelation he’d just uncovered.

Glassy-eyed and a little droopy, his dentist nodded. "Okay. I’ll pack a bag so I can spend the night."

Ethan stood up and removed his file chart from her hands and tucked it under his arm. He smiled and gave her warm fingers a squeeze. "Perfect."

Chapter One

"I’d like to speak to the owner of this casino." Alexis Baldizzi flashed her prosecutor’s badge at the door minion, and fought the urge to just shove past him and start screaming her sister’s name. That wouldn’t get the results she wanted.

The guard showed no emotion. He just stared down at her from his foot-and-a-half height advantage. "Mr. Carrick is unavailable."

Well, no kidding. He had no appointments open for the next three months, which was why she was flashing her badge. Mr. Carrick could be in the middle of packing away a sushi dinner, schmoozing his way through a shareholders meeting, or reading the latest John Grisham on the commode, and she couldn’t care less— she was going to talk to him.Now.

"Look." Alexis fought the crick in her neck from staring up at tall, dark, and dumb. "I can talk to Mr. Carrick now or I can come back with a warrant for his arrest on kidnapping charges." You know, she really loved her job. Power was a beautiful thing. Especially since it was her lovable but naive sister, Brittany, who was the victim she was rescuing this time.

One thick, black eyebrow went up. Then without a word, the guard turned and went to the reception desk a few feet away and spoke to the woman sitting there. They put their heads together and murmured while Alexis rocked on her heels impatiently, scanning the quiet lobby.

Both the guard and the receptionist were tall, with dark hair and luminous, ivory skin. The woman in particular wasgorgeous, the perfect accessory to a well-decorated office building, and Alex was annoyed even further. She had a personal grudge against tall women who looked good in sleek black pantsuits and red lipstick, since they embodied everything that was lacking in Alexis’s own appearance.

It also creepedher out a little that the pair looked like twins escaped from a Goth concert. They blended with their surroundings, the modern black-and-white furnishings cool and sleek, industrial design. The entire room—including its inhabitants—had about as much color and appeal as a skunk.

Alexis simultaneously cursed Brittany while praying she was okay. It was typical of her sister to get coaxed into something like this, and while Alexis didn’t think she had been harmed in any way, she didn’t like that Brittany was living with an eccentric, rich casino owner as his personal blow-up doll.

Really, really didn’t like that.

The very thought sent her striding forward, right past the desk.

"Where are you going?" the startled receptionist called.

"To see your boss."Duh.Alexis picked up the pace when she heard the security guard’s heavy tread following her.

Obviously Mr. Carrick’s office was right down the hall, since she had been told at the reception area on the twelfth floor that Mr. Carrick’s private offices took up the entire twenty-second floor. Goth Guy was gaining on her, yelling, "Hey!" so Alexis kicked it into gear and started running, looking for a door that seemed appropriately impressive enough for a self-important rich bastard.