High Stakes (23 page)

"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 banished . 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
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building manager about the security of her building. These windows were clearly crap.

"Because my research demandszat I ignore ethics. I amzis close to a breakthrough." He held up his two fingers, an inch between them."Discovering youez a rare opportunity to findze 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."Forze curse."

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

"Zecurse of vampirism. I am very close to discovering how to reverseze 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 andzat no one will willingly return toze weakness of mortality?Ezthis where you beg me to give youze Gift, whichez 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 hearze sincerity of your thoughts. ButBrittany , 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. Butze Gift is a curse because it brings great loneliness… at some point, there is no one left walkingzis 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, andBrittany 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.Zatezvery true." He tried to remove her hand from his, butBrittany held it tight.

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

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"I know that."Brittany nudged his shoulder with hers. "But obviously you don't really want to. I want to help you find the cure… What is it you need from me?"

She already suspected.Blood. A shiver went through her."Yes, itez what you are thinking." He turned toward her, studied her. "I need your blood."

Brittanyswallowed hard, and pulled up the neckline of hershorty pajamas, which only brought it to her collarbone. Her neck was still exposed, as was a lot of the rest of her. "Did you bring your little kit thing?"

A needle in the arm wouldn't be so bad. No different than going to the Red Cross to donate blood.

Which she never did, because she was afraid of needles and tended to pass out. "Yes, but I left it in the car."

"Where is your car?Because I can't stay up all night… I have to go to work tomorrow, you know. I'm a dentist," she said pointlessly.

"And you're afraid of needles?"

"Well, not when I'm the one using them." She took several deep breaths and gave herself a mental pep talk. No big deal, this was for the good ofvampirekind . Only a total selfish wimp would refuse to give blood because of a teeny-weeny needle prick.

"You are terrified." Corbin returned the pressure on her hand. You are shaking, and your skin has gotten clammy. Besides, I can sense your fear, itez like a pulsing electrical charge. And yourthughts are wild and scattered."

"I really wish you wouldn't listen to my thoughts. It's just not nice, Corbin."Brittany cleared her throat and hoped her heart wouldn't leave her chest like a cartooncharacter's . "And maybe you can just throw one of thoseglamours on me before you do anything with a needle."

"I can't puta glamour on you. I have tried and it does not work."

"Why not?"This whole experience would be much less nerve-wracking if she were in some kind of pleasure coma. Sort of like her twenty-first birthday when she had consumed three cosmopolitans in rapid succession.

"No-alcohol."Corbin gave her a stern look. "Zatwould alter my test results. And I don't know why I can't puta glamour on you. I have tried many times."

"Why were you trying to do that?" she asked in shock. What exactly had he been planning to do to her?

And she was sure blood removal would be easier if she were drunk. Not that she was apartyer —that had been her mother—but while she wanted to help the cause, she really couldn't do the needle thing.

"Do not be alarmed. I just meant there are times when you've seen things, said things, called to me, and I would have liked to, uh, soothe you."

"Soothe me? That's very sweet."Brittany took a deep breath, calmed herself down. "I want to soothe you, too, you know. I look at you and I can feel your anxiety, your desire to do what's right.' Stomach jumping just a little, she added, "You can draw my blood. I promise. But please do it quickly, okay? I don't think I can sit still for you to fill up whole pint bags."

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Decision made, she screwed her eyes shut and shoved her arm at him, turning her head away. If pain forced her eyes open, she didn't want to see any needles, veins, blood flowing, or skin pulling.

"I have to getze kit still."

She let out the breath she'd been holding in a gigantic whoosh. "Oh, shit, that's right. Well, go get it, and hurry. If you give me too much time to think, I might just pass out. Of course, that might make the whole thing easier for you."Brittany glanced over at him. "Corbin?" The room was empty.

Barely a blink later,he was climbing back in her window, a black leatherattache case in his hand.Eek.

That looked scary.Serial killer-like.

"Whatez this obsession with serial killers?" he asked, opening the case on the nightstand.

"I don't know."Brittany peered around his back, trying to see in the bag. "I'm American. That probably explains the whole thing."

He turned to her, wearing latex gloves, needle with vial attached in his hand. She broke out into a sweat in various icky places. Without direction from her, her body leaped off the bed and took two big steps backward.

"Shhh," Corbin said."Itez not a big thing. I will be very quick and it won't hurt but for a split second."

"That's what my first boyfriend told me. And he was
so
wrong."Brittany 's butt hit her wicker dresser.

The picture frames on it shook, and she didn't even care. She could not let Corbin near her with that thing.

The needle went down by his side. "I can distract you if you'd like.Zat is what I normally do."

"What do you mean?" Even as the words left her mouth, Brit-tanyremembered his lips on that woman's mouth, her throaty moans of pleasure. "Oh! Like that?"

He nodded, eliminating the space between them with sure, steady, sensual steps. The look on his face had turned from compassionate to intense, determined.The hunter assessing his prey.

And how completely embarrassing that she felt sexual interest rouse itself in her body.Her hand fluttered over her breasts, a ridiculous gesture of protection.

"Yes. Like that. But only if you want me to." He leaned over her, arm brushing her bare shoulder, took in her scent with flared nostrils, and whispered in her ear. "Do you want me to?"

Brittanyshivered. No, of course she didn't. That was crazy.

Impulsive.

Fun and sensual, and much more pleasant than a needle.And Corbin was French. Surely he knew how to distract a woman. "Yes, I want you to."

A faint smile crossed his face."Ah,zatez a wonderful answer,Brittany , because I desire you."

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Without using his hands to touch her, he kissed her, with more urgency, more fire, than she was expecting. An ache started low in her belly when his tongue demanded entrance to her mouth. Gripping the dresser behind her, she hung on under his assault, fear disappearing, hot,wet , need building with NASCA

speed.

A moan ripped through the room and she realized it came from her when Corbin lifted his mouth from hers. She didn't want the kiss to end, ever, and certainly not after a few seconds. But he only left long enough to maneuver himself between her legs, forcing her thighs wider apart.

The move, the intimacy so much more suggestive thana's kiss, had her panting in anticipation. "Corbin…"

"Yes,
ma
cherie ?" He kissed along her neck, over the swell of her breasts, back up, and took her mouth with ferocity.

Brittanyhad been kissed many times, by many men.More than she cared to consider, and way more than she would ever admit to her much more sexually conservative sister. But Corbin's kisses were potent, like the first bite of double chocolate ice cream, the last dregs of coffee at the bottom of the cup, or a shot of vodka straight down in one gulp.

"Don't stop," she murmured.

There was movement on her arm, him brushing against her, pressure, but with his mouth on hers and his erection—hey, which wasEiffelTower in proportion—pressing against her, she couldn't think, didn't care what he did to her as long as it felt good. The room was dim, but the moonlight passed over his face, showing the intensity of his pale eyes.

"Never," he assured her. "I will never stop until you say so." There was a thump onto her dresser, and a shuffling by her hips,then suddenly both his hands were on her waist, her breasts, tweaking her nipples into hard, sensitive peaks. It came to her that he had taken her blood already, must have,because he wasn't wearing gloves any longer.

"Yes, I did," he whispered in her ear, nipping the lobe. "I did not lie, did I? I distracted you."

And then some."Yes."Brittany panted when his hands changed tactics and went up and under her PJ

top, cupping and stroking her. "But if you're finished, shouldn't youstop ?"

"You told me not to."

"Oh."Brittany let her head fall back. "Then I guess you should listen to me."

Help, his hands were in her shorts, and when his fingers spread her apart and sank into her wet, willing flesh, they both groaned. There was a sharp sting in her shoulder, and she realized with amazement that Corbin had bitten her, and was running his tongue over the puncture marks, the thick beads of blood disappearing.

She should tell him to stop, because this was getting a little kinkier than she was usually up for, but she didn't tell him to stop. In fact, she begged for more, as the touch of his tongue set off a thousand pinpricks of pleasure all over her body.

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Desire spiked, shifted to demanding.

"Do that again," she said, excited, hot, and eager, thrusting her hips against his fingers.

With his free hand, he pulled off her shirt. Laved across her nipples,then sank his teeth into the plumpness of her breasts.Brittany 's head snapped back and she grabbed his hand, held it deep inside her as an unexpected climax whipped through her.

"Oh, oh, oh," she groaned, with a hysterical cadence of shock and ecstasy.Holy cow.

Corbin lifted her, tossed her on her bed two feet away. Pulled down her shorts, while she tried to remember her name and why being a vampire's sex slave would be a bad thing. His mouth closed over her hipbone, sucking on her flesh. Legs shifting restlessly, she grabbed at his hair, her quick orgasm a minute before only driving her desire harder, desperate for total satisfaction.

Teeth sank into the curve of her hip, and she shuddered. When he pulled like that, sucked and drew her into him, it was a pure sexual joining, like he was touching all of her body at the same time, with tongue, fingers, lips. He released, mouth tinted a wet crimson, which he licked away as if hewere tasting her sex juices and found them absolutely delicious.

Brittanyhovered on the edge of another climax, wet with want, titillated by what she was feeling.