High Stakes (Vegas Vampires #1)(20)
Author: Erin McCarthy

But he just wanted to lie there and bask in Alexis’s sympathy for just another minute. It had been a long time since a woman had bothered to fuss over him. That implied an intimacy that was lacking in his life and relationships.

"So, do you want the blood or not?" Her voice started to sound a little testy, though her hand hovered over him like she wanted to pat him, soothe him.

Ethan stared up at her, trying to get inside her head. But it was blocked, like it always was. "I can’t, Alexis. It would be painful for you."

She frowned, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Then how do you feed normally? You can’t run around hurting people. It would be on Jerry Springer if vamps were biting people left and right."

There was an image. He sat half up. "A lot of our feeding is done from blood banks. But when we feed from a live source, we wake sure they don’t feel pain. We either puta glamour on them or give them pleasure to distract from the pain."

Let’s see how she took that.

"A glamour? Like a trance? No way in hell anyone is doing that to me."

That’s what he’d thought her reaction would be. "I can’t put one on you anyway, because I can’t read your thoughts. You’re the first person who has ever been completely closed to me." Ethan was starting to suspect the reason for that and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

"Really?Wow. That’s cool, because I totally wouldn’t want you getting into my head. That would really piss me off."

"Don’t worry. I can’t."

She looked thoughtful."So no glamour.And the pleasure thing I’m not in the mood right now. Besides, I’m not sure you could turn me on."

He snorted, shifting his elbow away from the bloodstain on the carpet. "I most certainly could arouse you. But I’m not really in the mood either, to tell you the truth. I’m feeling a little like I took a bullet in the chest."

Alexis rolled her eyes.

With a laugh, he said, "So why don’t we go up to my room and I’ll grab a bag from the fridge? I’ll order you another dinner since I’m sure yours is cold by now. I’ll have Seamus make our apologies to the guests, and we can eat while I have security scan the tapes for the attacker. I want to know how he brought a weapon into my casino."

Alexis swallowed hard, but nodded. "We can eat together?Sounds good. Steak blood they’re not so different, right?"

He grinned. "Not really." Alexis had some grit, and he admired that.

"Do I have to call you Mr. President?" She stood up and tugged at her dress just about everywhere she could tug, ending with the straps.

"No, you can call me Ethan. But if you want to hum ‘Hail to the Chief’ whenever I walk into theroom, that would be appropriate." With a charming smile, he stood up. Not normal vampire speed, since he was low on blood, but faster than a human.Faster than most mortal eyes could follow.

She blinked. "Show off. Last time I offer you blood, geez , you obviously don’t need it."

Feeling downright giddy, which must be the lack ofblood, Ethan flung his arm over his face and winced.Doubled over.

"What? What is it! Are you bleeding again?" Alexis reached for him.

He dropped his arm and smiled. "No. It’s just that I was momentarily blinded by your beauty."

Her jaw dropped and she slapped his arm."Idiot."

But as he laughed, he saw her struggle not to grin.

Chapter Eight

Brittany studied the vampire in front of her and waited for him to explain why he had flown her up to the roof of Ethan’s casino.

It had been quite an experience, zinging through the air so fast she hadn’t even been able to see where they were going, or even if they were going up or down. Like the world’s fastest roller coaster, or like that blissful moment of wild exaltation right before an orgasm. But he had set her down a solid two minutes ago, and she’d already patted down her flying frizzed hair, crossed her legs on the little chimney he’d set her on, and was ready for him to say something.

He just stood there staring out at the Vegas strip.

"Did you want to speak to me?" she asked, trying to be helpful. Meeting new people was awkward sometimes and she had seen him suck a woman’s neck. That probably wasn’t a standard introduction.

Just a shrug.He was around the same height as she was, lean.

withcaramel brown hair that was a touch long. Dressed in black pants and a short-sleeve silk shirt, he was stylish, with a European flare that was a little too cosmopolitan for the average guy running around the bowling alley.

Not that she imagined this man had ever played tenpin.

Getting up, she moved to his side and rubbed her arms. The hot desert night felt wonderful up there, like somehow they were higher than the heat, basking in a comfortably warm wind. Brittany breathed in deep, taking in a crisp earthy pull of air, unlike the oppressive atmosphere down on the Strip, with its cocktail of odors—people, food, exhaust fumes.

"There’s the Stratosphere.And Excalibur." She pointed out the landmarks, enjoying the view, the magic of a million lights filling the desert sky.

He glanced at her. "Did you grow up here, inLas Vegas ?"

"Yes. My mom was a stripper." She smiled. "Alex would freak if she heard me say that. She wants to pretend we were both hatched. But Mom had her moments."

"Who gave you your vampire blood?" he asked quietly.

"No one." Brittany tried to get him to look at her, but he was still studying the cityscape. "I don’t have vampire blood." That she could say for certain. Ethan had never once even tried to bite her, let alone given her blood.

"Who ez your father?"

"I don’t know. Some guy my mom had an affair with. I think she met him at the club she was working at."

"Ethan Carrick, he tells you nothing."

It wasn’t a question. "If you mean that he’s a vampire, no, he hasn”t told me that. I figured it out on my own."

She couldn’t take it anymore. Something about this man was so sad, so quiet and intelligent, that she touched his arm. "What’s your name? Why don’t you go to Ethan’s parties?"

Finally he gave her his full attention. "I am Corbin Jean Michel Atelier." He nodded his head.

"You were going to bow, weren’t you? But you stopped yourself."

Again he nodded.

"That’s cool. You can bow to me if you want." Brittany thought she would really like that, actually.

"It ez out of fashion."

"That’s okay. I don’t think drinking blood is really fashionable either. So Corbin, what brings you to Vegas, and why won’t you answer my questions?"

"I am here because there is nowhere else I want to be."