High Stakes (Vegas Vampires #1)(45)
Author: Erin McCarthy

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 areyou here, Ethan?Seriously."

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 heard Brittany . 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 with Brittany , 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 call Brittany and check on her. It’s probably nothing "

The vampire slayers they knew who Alexis was. And Brittany 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.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" Brittany clutched her sheet and blinked at Corbin. After she’d screamed loud enough to be heard inReno , she had realized who the man was climbing in her window.

"Why are you not sleeping?" he asked, brushing off the knees of his designer pants and sounding annoyed.

She wondered how a man who was banished got the cash to buy such fancy clothes. Propping herself up with her elbow, she let her heart rate return to normal. She wasn’t afraid of Corbin. Not in the least. "I couldn’t sleep because it felt like someone was watching me."

His mouth fell open before he recovered and slapped it shut, though a faint blush tinted his cheeks.

"You were watching me, weren’t you?" The thought should freak her out, but it kind of pleased her instead. He really was a cute and sweet vampire. She grinned. "Do you have a crush on me, Corbin?"

"Do not be ridiculous. I am a research physician I am ban ished . I do not have crushes on skinny women." He was pacing back and forth, stopping only to grab a pink fuzzy pen off her desk, frown at it,then put it back.

"Then why did you climb in my window?" she asked reasonably, lying on her side with her head resting on her hand. She was glad she was awake for this, though she was going to have a word or two with the building manager about the security of her building. These windows were clearly crap.

"Because my research demands zat I ignore ethics. I am zis close to a breakthrough." He held up his two fingers, an inch between them."Discovering you ez a rare opportunity to find ze gaps and links between vampire and mortal."

Wow. She was a rare research opportunity. That wasn’t as sexy as she would have liked, but it was still flattering. "What are you researching, Corbin?"

Crossing his hands over his chest, he pursed his lips together. He seemed to struggle with himself, his green eyes going opaque right as she was watching them.

All her amusement vanished. She could sense his turmoil. "What? What is it?"

" Zecure," he said in a hoarse whisper."For ze curse."

"What curse?" Brittany sat up, feeling too vulnerable lying down.

" Zecurse of vampirism. I am very close to discovering how to reverse ze effects of a turning, and restore a vampire to mortal life." He glared at her defiantly, like he expected her to protest.

"Corbin," Brittany whispered, overwhelmed. This was what she had been hoping for. What she had been hanging around The Ava endlessly for.To save Ethan and the others.To rid them of their bloodsucking existence.

They were good people, all of them, and she didn’t want them to spend eternity condemned to a liquid diet. And she didn’t think it was all that healthy for the soul to feed off other people.

"Is that really possible?"

"I am certain of it." He scratched his chin. " Ezthis where you tell me any sane person craves immortality and zat no one will willingly return to ze weakness of mortality? Ezthis where you beg me to give you ze Gift, which ez in fact a curse?"

"No." Brittany swung her legs around so she was fully sitting up."Corbin, no. I think you are right. I think what you’re doing is courageous and honorable, and I bet most people would agree with me."

He sighed.Sat down on the bed next to her. "I can hear ze sincerity of your thoughts. But Brittany , you are rare among mortals. Many people hunger for more, always more—more power, more beauty, more love,more life. They embrace what the Dark Gift promises. But ze Gift is a curse because it brings great loneliness at some point, there is no one left walking zis earthwho was connected to you in any way, no one who shares your past, your memories, your understanding of a time, a people."

His pain was palpable, like a throbbing thumb after a hammer hit, and Brittany touched his hand.Squeezed gently. "I do understand that. That when faced with eternity, you might lose your grounding with thepast, lose your purpose for the future."

"Yes. Zat ezvery true." He tried to remove her hand from his, but Brittany held it tight.

"I could remove my hand if I wanted to," he said, with French arrogance.