Which was scary. So she had run off to gamble, the perfect antidote to housekeeping urges. Winning was exhilarating. She gave Alexis a high five.
"Cara," Kelsey said.
"What?" Cara glanced over at Kelsey, who didn't sound nearly as excited as she should given that Cara had just won twenty thousand dollars.
"I think Seamus wants your attention. He's over there glaring at you."
Cara followed her finger and found Seamus and Ethan standing at the top of the casino floor stairs by the lobby. Ethan looked amused. Seamus looked pissed off.
Good. Alexis said Seamus didn't like exhibitionism. Since domestic nag wasn't working, maybe she'd gain her freedom this way. Which she was absolutely positive she still wanted. Truly, definitely positive. Staying with Seamus would be a bad, wrong, evil idea.
Cara stepped onto the seat of her stool and spoke to the crowd. "If you all catch me, I'll buy the next round of drinks."
And she swan-dived into the spectators, making a beautiful leaping arch. They caught her, though her right leg did torque a bit on the grab. She laughed. Hey, that had actually been kind of fun sailing through the air. She had two brawny guys with tattoos setting her back on her feet when Seamus moved in front of her.
"What the hell are you doing?" he said.
"Having fun." Pissing him off intentionally. "I don't want to spend eternity being bored."
"So you leap into crowds of gamblers?" he said in exasperation.
"Yes." She raised her chin. "Everyone, to the bar! This round's on me."
The crowd gave another cheer and the twenty or so people pushed forward to the bar. The woman next to Cara gave her a nudge. "Your boyfriend don't look all that excited for you."
"He's not my boyfriend, he's my jailer." That was what was so incredibly irritating, the real rub of what was bothering her. If Seamus would just let her make her own choices, she could say in all honesty she'd probably want to stay with him. At least long enough to explore the attraction between them. She liked Seamus, enjoyed his company, the way he was solid, reliable, loving with her pets. But knowing that she was trapped, knowing she couldn't leave, had to depend on Seamus, rubbed her wrong and then some. It was poisoning their potential relationship because she felt patronized.
What she really wanted was to go home to live in her own apartment, but date Seamus. Go to the movies, talk, get to know each other, fall in love. Like normal people. But he wouldn't let her go.
"Cara."
She ignored Seamus calling her and tossed a two-hundred-dollar chip at the bartender. "Something for my friends here."
Alexis grabbed her hand. "Let's dance. They're playing Madonna."
So she, Alexis, and Kelsey hit the dance floor and moved to the funky beat, laughing and having fun while Seamus parked his butt in a chair and watched. Just watched. With a ticked-off look on his face. Ethan was working the room, talking to the bartender, the DJ, the waitresses.
Cara was actually having a hell of a lot of fun, despite the chill coming from Seamus. She hadn't realized how tense she'd been until she'd starting acting silly with Alexis and Kelsey. They were lip-syncing and laughing and talking. Kelsey had loosened up as well, and Cara was glad to see she was enjoying herself. These vampire girls' nights out were going to have to become a weekly deal.
When a sensual song came on, Cara couldn't help but slide into a few of her regular, nonsexual dance moves. This song was part of her routine and it was like second nature to her. She did a shallow cradle rock just to limber up. Her jeans were a bit restrictive, but she felt her hips loosening up.
Alexis imitated her move, stiffly, and soon they were all laughing, until Seamus touched her arm. She jumped, startled at how fast he'd moved from his table to her side. He didn't look happy. He looked capable of biting through steel.
"Hey, cutie," she said with a smile, which wiped the anger right off his face.
"Are you drunk?" he asked in astonishment.
"Can we get drunk?" she asked. That possibility had never occurred to her. "How do we do that?"
"Never mind." He took her hand, tugged a little. "Can I talk to you, please?"
"Since you said please." She let him lead her off the dance floor and to the table he'd been sitting at. "What's up?"
"Cara." He cleared his throat. "I'm glad you're having fun."
"Good. I won twenty thousand dollars." She was still a little floored by that. It meant that she had a serious nest egg. If her educational program could be altered to online classes, she could probably push and take eighteen or twenty-one credit hours and finish the following spring. Then she could intern in an all-night animal hospital. Her dreams could still be realized if she did a little creative maneuvering.
"But you have to understand our goal is to remain under the radar. If we draw attention to ourselves, we run the risk of exposure."
"Oh." That did make sense. "So… you think I drew too much attention to myself tonight by winning?"
"That, and the diving into the crowd, and the sexy dance moves that had half a dozen guys salivating as they watched."
"Were you salivating?" She liked the thought of that. And she'd barely done anything out there on the floor. Wait until Seamus saw what she could do with water.
"Yes. I was definitely salivating." His hand fell on her knee.
"Okay."
He blinked. "Okay, what?"
"Okay, I'll try not to draw attention to myself. See, when you discuss it with me rationally, explain to me the importance of discretion instead of ordering me around, I completely understand. I'll chill with the dancing." She stood up. Time to revert back to her domestic plan, which she had to admit was more her style than crowd diving. She actually liked organizing Seamus's apartment and putting color into his gunmetal gray life. She kissed his forehead. "I'm going to go cash out, then I'll go upstairs. It's been a long night. Will you walk the dogs for me?"
Seamus looked puzzled. But he nodded. "Sure. Okay."
"Thanks, baby. I'm going to say good night to Kelsey and Alexis."
She gave him a little wave and left him sitting there, frowning slightly.
Alexis pounced on her when she cruised past the edge of the dance floor. "Well? What did he want?"
"He wants me to stop drawing attention to myself. I told him I'd be happy to stop dancing inappropriately and then I called him baby, kissed his forehead, and told him I was going to bed. He has no idea what to think."
Alexis snorted. "Perfect. Confuse the hell out of him." She glanced back over Cara's shoulders. "He's actually leaving."
"I asked him to walk my dogs."
A grin split Alexis's face. "You are brilliant. He'll be kicking you out before you know it."
Great. She couldn't wait. Really. Cara clamped down on her confusion and reached out to hug Alexis. "Thanks for everything. I'm so glad I have someone to talk to."
"Me, too. It's nice to have another girl vampire running around. The testosterone level in this hotel is pretty high."
Cara hugged Kelsey. "It's been so nice hanging out with you, Kelsey. Say we'll do this again."
"That's a great idea, Cara," Kelsey said, hugging her back. "I'd like that."
"I think we're already starting a tradition. We'll have to do a girls' night out like once a week." Cara considered Seamus's reaction to that. "Only next time maybe we should pick a casino where no one knows us."
"Good plan," Alexis said, even as her eyes darted over to her husband, still talking to the bartender.
"See you all later."
Cara left the bar and headed down the hall. She realized almost immediately one of the bodyguards was following her. Considering she was about to collect twenty thousand dollars, she didn't mind having the muscle backing her up.
Because of the size of her winnings, she had to go to the main box office, and she started down the hall, high heels sinking into the plush gray carpet. It was a nice hotel and casino, very classy and understated, at least by Vegas standards. It was still over the top, with a shiny forties glamour, but a classy glitz. Lots of glass, lots of sharp silver accessories. Which made her wonder about the supposed vampire aversion to silver. Given the abundance of polished silver in her bathroom alone, it seemed unlikely that the legends were true.
It did smell funny in the hallway, though. Cara wrinkled her nose, wondering if someone had gotten sick in an obscure corner and the hotel staff wasn't aware of it. She glanced around a little, but didn't see anything obvious that could be causing the smell.
The only other person in the hallway was her bodyguard following behind, and a man coming in the opposite direction. The smell grew stronger and Cara felt her stomach churn. She glanced back at the guard, who seemed to be walking faster now, closing the distance between them. He spoke into his little earpiece microphone.
Cara slowed down. There was something about the man heading toward her, something about the way he lumbered, the way his body was thick on top, spindly from the thigh down, that tugged at her memory. He was closer now, close enough that she could see he was watching her, staring. His hand slid into the inside pocket of his jacket, and Cara felt the sense of danger explode over her, like she had that night in the alley.
"Seamus?" she whispered out loud, grinding to a halt, terrified. This was the man who had been there. This was the man Seamus had been fighting. The one she'd thought of as stupid because of the slackness of his features, the dullness in his eyes. This was the one who'd thought she was pretty.
A knife emerged from his pocket. A wicked, long, sharp, jagged knife, that looked like it could gut a deer with one swift slice. A deer, or her.
Cara panicked, feet rooted to the carpet, mind paralyzed with fear. She was considering what the hell she should do when the guy raised the knife. A whoosh of air went past Cara and she sucked in her breath, too frightened to scream. Her bodyguard was suddenly visible in front of her, and with one swift lift of his arm, he brought the other vampire to the ground.
A little shriek managed to escape her lips, and she clamped her hand over her mouth.
The bodyguard glanced over his shoulder. "You alright, miss?"
She nodded. He bent back down, handcuffed the vampire, tossed him over his shoulder, and started down the hall. "Come on," he said in a quiet, urgent voice.
"What… what was he going to do?"
"Kill you."
Just checking. She'd thought so, but she'd wanted to make sure. Her knees buckled. "Why?"
He paused long enough to glance over at her. "I don't know."
His tone indicated it was a stupid question.
"Where are we going?" She hurried to keep up with him, feeling like her Chihuahua must with the Labradors. Her legs moved back and forth at high speed, but she was still six paces behind him. And given the fear still thick in her throat, she did not want to be left behind.
"Mr. Carrick's office. We'll get you another escort to Mr. Fox's suite."
Cara wasn't sure what to say, so she shut up.
Maybe being with Seamus had more benefits than orgasmic feedings. It seemed she really did need protection.
These vampires were out for blood.
Who would have thought?
Seamus was watching Button, Cara's Lab, drop a bomb onto the sidewalk, and marveling that an undead Irish potato farmer turned soldier was now a glorified dog walker in Vegas.
It had been a mistake to take all three dogs out at the same time.
They crisscrossed leashes, walked at different speeds, and in three different directions. Satan bit at Button's hind legs, which caused a lot of angry barking back and forth, and Fritz was obsessed with smelling every single bird dropping, piece of garbage, or dead insect they came across.
Seamus was rapidly concluding two things—that it was unnatural to domesticate dogs and bring them into human dwellings, and that he was a sucker. He'd fallen for that sweet forehead kiss and innocent smile from Cara and now he was whipped. Actually, he'd been whipped from the minute he met her. This was just visual confirmation.
Button finished doing his thing and bounded away, jerking back with a startled yeip when he reached the end of the leash's length. Meanwhile, Fritz and Satan enthusiastically ran over and sniffed Button's leavings.
"Aww, hell. Knock it off, guys. That's disgusting." He tugged them both back. They started down the sidewalk. At least it was a nice night. Clear and cool. There were the usual mobs of people out and about, and he'd chosen to stay on the Strip, though he was a half-block down from the serious crowds.
"Hey." A woman tapped his arm.
"Yes?"
Hostess for a restaurant with a nautical theme, the woman was wearing a mermaid-influenced skirt and breast shells. She crossed her arms over her shells. "You going to pick that up?"
"Pick what up?"
She pointed to Button's mess. "We have laws about that, you know."
Glancing down at it, Seamus could see why. That was really damn disgusting, and he suddenly felt guilty for letting Button do it in the first place. But hell, where was he supposed to take the dog? Drive him out to the suburbs and let him do his thing? They lived in a casino, and the dog had his choice of gravel, sidewalk, or the grass by the pool. Somehow Seamus didn't think that would go over big either.
"What am I supposed to do with it?"
Rolling her eyes, she bent over her hostess stand, just inside the door of the restaurant. She pulled out a blue plastic grocery bag. "Here. Pick it up and throw it away in one of the street trash containers so it doesn't stink up anybody's restaurant or bar."
He took the bag, feeling less than delighted at the prospect of cleaning up dog shit. "How do I get it in the bag?" He wasn't touching that.
"You use the bag to pick it up, then turn the bag inside out and tie it closed." She petted Fritz's head when the dog rushed over to wag his tail at her.
Seamus was half tempted to use vampire persuasion and get her to do it, but his conscience pricked him. He rearranged the bag over his hand and leaned down, holding his breath so he didn't have to smell it.