chapter Six
Alexis stared at the itinerary in front of her and decided Carrick was weirder than she'd given him credit for.
7 p.m. Assemble in Sinatra room for reception line.
8 p.m. Fundraising dinner, open only to conservatives sup-porting President Carrick's reelection.
11 p.m. Benefit concert with special guests, The Suckers, to support campaign financing.
There was then a long list of what she could and could not do, including an insistence that she wear pantyhose?like her underwear was anyone's flippin ' business but hers?and the pearls provided for her in the room safe, key on the dresser.
If this were a bid for the U.S. Senate, or a gubernatorial race, she could hang with it. It would make sense.
But none of this was real. They were pretending to elect a president of a Vampire Nation that was a flipping figment of their seriously corroded imaginations. She was so glad Brittany was safe at home, far away from this bunch.
Brittany hoped she didn't bump into Alex. Her sister would kill her if she found out she had come back to The Ava. But she couldn't stop herself. She had to understand what was going on. She had to help them, even if she put herself at risk.
Which didn't really explain why she was back in the hallway by the bathroom, where she had seen that man and woman the night before. Biting her lip, she looked around the empty space.
Had she really thought he'd just be standing here? And why was she so anxious to see him?
Okay, that was obvious. She thought he was hot.Sexy.A hard body.
But he was also a vampire, and she had to remember that first and foremost.
Which was why she screamed?just a little?when two seconds later he came around the corner.
He started,then stopped in front of her.Studied her. "You are ze woman from last night.Carrick's woman."
French accent wasn't helping her stay focused. Brittany clenched her legs together and nodded. "Yes. But I'm not Carricks woman my sister is."Sort of. But she didn't want tall, dark, and Francophile to get the wrong idea about her.
"Who ez your sister?"
"Alexis Baldizzi ." Brittany swallowed. Maybe this wasn't such a brilliant idea after all. They were kind of alone here. "She's a lawyer.Aprosecutor ."
"You are Brittany then?"
All she could manage was a nod.
"I was born in Brittany , inFrance , you know." With that, he turned as if to leave.
"Wait! Who are you? Why aren't you at Ethan's parties? And why did you draw that woman's blood like that?"
One second he was three feet away, the next he was flush against her, his finger over her mouth. Her breath left her nostrils in startled gasps, blowing down on his flesh. His finger jiggled on her warm lips, tickling her.
"Hush, Brittany . Use some sense about where we are."
Then she was flying backward, wind rushing past her ears, eyes stinging,legs completely off the ground.
Alexis opened the door to Ethan's polite request and glared at him. "I'm not wearing these pearls."
"Why not?"He entered the room with confident strides and glanced at her chest, she hoped just to study the offending necklace.
"I look like Barbara Bush. And no offense to Babs or anything, she seems like a lovely woman, but she has about forty years on me."
The dress she was wearing was blue, and normally she thought it was flattering to her blond hair, but tonight she felt dowdy.Short-legged.
"The pearls probably would look better with a black dress."
And he was the fashion police? Hell if she was changing now. "Tough. This is the only evening dress I brought. I didn't know you all were so serious about this crap. This isn'tBuffy the VampireSlayer, it's more likeThe West Wing .Only with weirdos instead of actors."
"I just meant perhaps we should change your necklace." He went over to the safe in the closet, looking damn dapper in his tux.
Alexis grimaced at herself in the full-length mirror and sucked in her gut.Could you saypear} Ugh.Or blueberry, given the color of her dress. And why couldn't her hair just once cooperate and lay down straight without frizzing? And why in the hell did she care?
She was driving herself nuts.
Ethan's fingers on the back of her neck didn't help either. Sometimes he moved too fast for her taste. She couldn't gauge his next movement. Now he was all fingers here, and touching there on the back of her neck, whisking off the pearls and draping her in diamonds.
Hel-lo.Somehow it seemed like she should reject the necklace, given that it made her feel a little bit like a paid companion. But at the same time, she liked it. She liked the way his eyes changed to match the depth of the blue in her dress as he leaned over her shoulder, brushed her hair aside,watched her in the mirror for her reaction.
Bad news, that's what Ethan Carrickwas .
"Since you're staring so intently, can I assume you like the diamonds?"
"No. I was just trying to figure out which was more nouveau riche?the necklace or you."
He chuckled. "Cute.Very cute."
That was a word just made to irritate her. Cute was for puppies and bunnies and little things. So when his lips brushed the back of her neck, she cracked the side of his face with her knuckles.
"Knock it off, Carrick." She stepped away from him. "Now let's go downstairs and get this farce over with."
Ethan looked neither surprised nor upset by her backhand or her words. "You're quite skilled at this bossy girlfriend role."
"Don't you forgetit. "
Ethan smiled and greeted a South American dignitary whose title suddenly eluded him, and pressed the small of Alexis's back.
"I'm Alexis Baldizzi, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Raul- Fortunato. Did you have a pleasant flight to Nevada ?"
"Absolutely."Mr. Raul- Fortunatobeamed.
They chatted for a minute, Alexis wearing a serene smile and murmuring platitudes like she'd been born a politician's wife.
Yet when Mr. Raul- Fortunatoleft them to join the other guests, Alexis muttered, "Freak."
And for J. P. Montmarte , the French engineer, she shot, "Chez psycho," at his retreating back.
"Stop it," Ethan told her. "Someone is going to hear you."
"What?" She turned that faux innocence on him. "I'm beingPerfectly pleasant. Just be sure to wind me up again when the next guest arrives." Moving her arms like a robot, she tilted her head toward him. "See? I'm a windup toy."
He struggled not to grin. "Better windup than blowup." This is where I smile at the room and call you an asshole under my breath. See? Doing that right now smile at the pretty guests, Ethan's an asshole yes, I can multitask with the best of them."
An older gentleman Ethan didn't recognize gave Alexis a little wave as he caught her eye from across the room.
Alexis waved back with cheery enthusiasm as she said, "Hi there, Loon.Wacky-Willie.Crazy with a capital C, all of you. And I am, too, for being here with you."
Seamus was glaring at him from the head table, and yet Ethan wanted to laugh. "Alexis, I suggest you relax and enjoyyourself ." He couldn't stop himself from stroking his hand across her back. "You look beautiful tonight, by the way. I like the way your backside looks in this dress. My hand is itching to touch it."
Or smack it with a nice resounding slap on bare skin. Either way would work for him.
"Do it and youdie. "
"Oh, come on admit you want me to, just a little."
She glanced up at him, eyebrows slightly raised."Nope. Sorry.Not at all."
It was a lie. It had to be. No woman had ever dismissed him so out of hand. It was starting to irritate him. Well, it had been irritating him since the moment they had met, but it was even worse now because he was wearing a tux, had given her a diamond necklace, and she still looked at him like he was bacterial slime.
"When is the food being served? I'm starving."
Time for her to accept some realities."There is no dinner. We're vampires. We don't need food to sustain us." Blood was what he needed, and he was starting to suspect he wouldn't be satisfied until he drew some straight from Alexis during a slow sexual mating.
"No food? That sucks." She gave him a sour look. "I'm going to faint if I don't eat something. I only had a yogurt at lunch because I thought this was a real dinner?I mean you called it a dinner?which would mean food to any normal human. You should have told me you all were eating before the party."
Clearly, sex wasn't the first thing on her mind.
Turning, she snatched champagne off a passing waiter's tray." Geez. No food. What a rip-off."
"I'm sorry. It didn't occur to me to tell you. I'm sure I can get you something sent up from one of the restaurants downstairs. What would you like?"
"I want Frank Sinatra's pepper steak.And a mixed-green salad. Am I going to have to sneak into the bathroom to eat it so I don't embarrass you?"
"The bathroom?"Ethan laughed."God, no. You can eat in the room down the hall designated for the serving staff to take breaks in. I'll tell everyone you're freshening up."
"While I scarf my food down.Great, just great, Carrick.Thanks for being such a fabulous host. Don't know why I thought I wouldn't enjoy myself."
That was sarcasm, obviously. "Would it make you feel better if I kissed you?" He tried to draw her closer to him.
"Get away from me, pimp." Alexis could turn glaring into an art form. She gave him an inspired look of hatred.
"I like the way your lips part when you're angry," he teased.
"You're a sick man. Go order my food." She left him standing there and went to mingle, which meant tilting her head and doing beauty pageant impersonations for anyone who would talk to her.
Realizing he was just standing there staring at her firm little bottom, Ethan pulled out his cell phone and ordered her food.Frank Sinatra's pepper steak. What a smart-ass.
He liked that about her.