High Stakes (32 page)

Since she wasn't all that great at differentiating between hunger and desire yet, she might wind up biting the minister and that wouldn't be cool.

She'd sucked down two bags of blood before getting dressed, but it was still probably better to just think pure thoughts.

"Okay, let's do this."

Ethan was experiencing blind terror. What if Alexis changed her mind and didn't want to marry him?

What if he stumbled over his words and made a complete and total ass of himself?

Seamus clapped his shoulder. "Relax. She's not going to stand you up."

It was a testament to his nerves that he hadn't even bothered to shield his thoughts from Seamus.

Wonderful. Maybe he could project his fears to the entire room while he was at it. That would be really attractive.

His best man, Seamus, was waiting at the end of the rooftop garden with him, next to the minister they'd gotten to do the service. One who didn't object to a quickie wedding conducted on the roof of a casino
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atnight. One of the advantages of being in Vegas— the minister hadn't even blinked at the request. He was patiently waiting in front of their guests, holding a black leather-bound book, rocking on his heels.

The only people in attendance were Ethan's inner circle of friends and cabinet members, a handful of Alexis's coworkers, and a liquored-up middle-age woman who claimed she was his bride's aunt. Ethan wasn't entirely convinced that's who she was, but he couldn't exactly press her for ID, and she had an invitation.

Ethan inched away from the edge of the rooftop. He felt so idiotic and panicked, he didn't want to tumble over the side of the building or something embarrassing like that. Thismattered a hell of a lot to him. He wanted this marriage—more than anything, even more than the urgency he'd felt to return to mortality, to a normal life, right after his change.

Alexis was his future, and if a vampire could throw up, Ethan would be doing it right now.

"Ethan." Seamus grabbed his arm.

"What? She's not coming, is she?" Ethan yanked at his tie.

"No."

"No?" Oh, God, this was his punishment for all those years of being a playboy. Now that he was finally in love, he was being tortured.

"No, I mean, I don't know. I'm sure she's coming. But look who just got here."

Ethan glanced toward the doorway, which had been decorated with some kind of arch, draped in a bunch of white fabric.Brittany had arranged for the chairs to be covered with slipcovers, flowers arranged strategically, and the arch to be transformed into what she called a grand entrance. All it did was prevent Ethan from having a clear view.

Shifting, he suddenly felt a strange sensation drift over him. Familiar, probing mental fingers invaded his mind.

"Gwenna," he whispered.

Then he saw her. Standing under the arch, a pale ethereal figure in an ivory dress that draped and clung to her thin frame, she stared at him with big, deep, solemn eyes.

You came.

Of course.It's not every day my brother takes a life mate.

I'm pleased,
Gwenna
.

He hadn't really thought his sister would come. As far as he knew, she hadn't leftEngland in three hundred years. She hadn't even left her home in all that time either. He started toward her, but she shook her head.

Stay. I'll take a seat and we can talk later. You can tell me what finally made you step willingly
into marriage.

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Ethan yanked at his jacket sleeves.
Two things.
A midlife crisis and finding the perfect woman.

His sistersmiled, a fragile, haunted tilt to her mouth.

"She looks beautiful," Seamus commented asGwenna took a seat in the back row, apart from the other guests.

"Yes, she does."As did Alexis.

Ethan sucked in his breath when his bride stepped through the arch onto the dusky patio. She was wearing a clinging white dress, which flattered her curvy figure, and high heels that should put her at least to his shoulder. He didn't know why she obsessed about her height, when he thought she was so damn cute, but he'd learned not to call her that.Especially not when her fangs were accessible to a vulnerable part of his body.

Today cute didn't cover it, though. She was stunning, a wide smile on her face,a sparkle in her eye. And she hadn't changed her mind, thank God.

Brittanywalked up the aisle in an eye-popping green dress, and then Alexis came confidently toward him, not with a serene bridal walk, but with an aggressive take-charge stride.

It suited her, just as she suited him.

When she reached his side, she gave him a wink and said, "Hi, sexy."

"Hey." Ethan wanted to grab her, and do something totally bizarre, like drop at her feet in worship. He settled for a hand squeeze. "You look amazing."

"Thank you. You're not too shabby yourself."

They turned to the minister, Alexis's hand comfortably in his.

After a few preliminaries, the owl-eyed man gave them both an encouraging smile. "I want to take this opportunity to remind you that marriage is the ultimate jackpot in the casino of life."

Ethan blinked. Was that a gambling metaphor?

Alexis stiffened next to him, a cough quickly covering a laugh.

"And that as a casino owner you understand that while there are risks, ultimately the house always wins."

Really.Risking a glance at Alexis, Ethan raised his eyebrow. She met his questioning look with one of amusement, and bit her lip.Hard.

God, he was going to laugh. At his own wedding. Ethan dug his fingernails into his thigh so he wouldn't lose it.

"And if you want to win big, you have to play every hand. When you argue, you have to know when to fold, and how to walk away without counting your money at the table."

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What? He didn't even know what the hell that meant. And he was definitely going to laugh.Which would not be dignified, nor appropriate for an elected official.

A little desperate, Ethan blurted, "I do."

The man stopped speaking, startled. "You do what?"

"I do. Take Alexis as my lawfully wedded wife, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do we part. I do." He pulled the platinum band out of his pocket, relieved he could say the words without botching the whole thing.

"I do, too," Alexis added. "Take Ethan as my husband, plus all the other stuff he said."

Turning to Alexis before the minister started babbling again, he pulled her hand forward, slid the ring on, and looked into her eyes. "My love for you is like a circle—never ending."

The midlife crisis was over. He'd found contentment, happiness.Passion.Love.

The amusement on her face disappeared, and her eyes softened.

Alexis held her hand out to her sister andBrittany dropped Ethan's wedding band in it. She took it, rolling it around and around her finger, enjoying the cool feel of the smooth metal against her warm skin. Then with total confidence, she pushed the ring onto his finger.

"I give you this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity."

He kissed her then, barely waiting for her to finish speaking. Alexis closed her eyes and let him go to town, knowing that marrying Ethan was the smartest thing she'd ever done in her life.

And as cheesy as the minister had sounded, marriage could be a gamble. But she thought the odds were stacked in her favor.

Ethan whispered in her ear. "Now that this is done, it's time for our honeymoon, Mrs. Carrick."

"Ms.Baldizzi ," she whispered back.

He pulled back, stared sternly at her. "Mrs.Baldizzi -Carrick?"

"Ms.Baldizzi -Carrick." With an eternity ahead of them, she couldn't let him get too cocky about their relationship.

"Mrs."

"Ms."

"Sparring match to decide?Most hitswins ?"

"Deal."

To her surprise, he yanked her up into his arms, nearly taking out Seamus with her dangling legs.

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"Ethan!" She laughed, waving and tossing her bouquet towardBrittany . "You're making a scene."

"I don't believe I care."

She didn't either. She felt too fabulous, too in love, to worry about what anyone thought. In two seconds Ethan had her under the arch. Two seconds after that he had her behind some potted lemon trees.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.

He wrapped his arms around her and jumped off the side of the building. "I'm going to embarrass myself by giving you the perfect ending."

The wind kicked her skirt up, exposing her backside to the bare air. Alexis yanked it back down.

"That's your perfect ending?"

Ethan laughed as he flew them straight above the Vegas Strip. "I can't give you a sunset, but I can give you the night."

Alexis's heart swelled, as did her suspicions. "Did Seamus write that for you?"

"Nope.That one's my own. Seamus knows politics, but he doesn't know anything about women."

Then he kissed her, with the wind racing over her bare shoulders, and tossing her hair in all directions.

"Bring on the night," she murmured in encouragement.

"It would be my pleasure." And his teeth sank into her neck.