Enraptured (36 page)

She leaned into his side and inhaled the
pleasant aroma of soap and male radiating from him. Her fingers
curled into the front of his shirt; they slid over the chiseled
ridges of his abs as she sought to comfort herself further.

Ian kept Paige tucked against his side as
they navigated the casino floor. He could feel how overwhelmed she
was, how much this upset her, but no matter how much distress she
emitted, she continued stalwartly forward with her chin thrust
forward and her eyes rapidly searching the crowd.

Ronan led the way through the room, parting
the crowd with ease. People were clueless about the supernatural
beings amongst them most of the time, but they knew power when it
was within their midst. Brian, close by Ronan’s side, searched the
room constantly. Ian did the same as he stared over the sea of
heads crowding the room.

He scented the air, but the numerous potent
smells filling the building would cover the garbage scent of the
murderers that existed amongst their kind. Her father and his
groupies could be nearly on them before he detected them. The
thought had his fangs on the edge of descending and his murderous
impulses at the forefront.

Brian turned back to them and jerked his
head to the side. Paige’s hand curled into his shirt as he led her
toward the massive doors leading out to the strip. Her head bowed
closer against him, she didn’t lift it up when they changed
direction. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“Outside.”

Her relief brushed against his mind. It took
all he had not to lift her up and carry her back up to their room
so she didn’t have to go through this. He glanced at Ethan and
Emma; he hadn’t expected for Ethan to let Emma be here for this,
but his brother probably felt better with her with him than away
from him. No matter what he wanted, he knew Paige wouldn’t agree to
return, and he was unwilling to leave her alone and unprotected.
Fighting over it wasn’t going to do any of them any good.

The doors slid open with a whoosh; the hot
air of the desert drifted over him as he stepped outside. Neon
lights illuminated the street enough so that it almost appeared to
be daytime along the crowded sidewalks. People hurried about; they
strode across the road and mingled near the doors of the casinos.
Catcalls, laughter, and shouts filled the night, beneath it all he
detected more than a few people in tears. The heat caused sweat to
bead across his brow, but Paige’s discomfort eased. She finally
lifted her head to take in the sights and sounds of the city.

“Do you know where he is?” she asked
Brian.

“There’s too many souls here to tune in on
just one and pinpoint it,” he replied. Ian didn’t know what
that
meant, but he couldn’t shake the image of a radio dial
being turned to a spectral station from his mind. “You might be
able to locate him.”

“Me? How?” she squeaked.

“He’s your father; you have a connection to
him.”

Anger flitted across her face before she
thrust back her shoulders. “I’ve barely had any contact with him
over the years, and it’s never been good.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Brian replied. “He’s
still your blood.”

Paige swallowed heavily; her pulse picked up
as sweat tickled her neck and slid down her spine. She didn’t want
to be connected to her father in any way. Everything within her
rebelled against such a notion. Ian’s hand slid over her back and
rested on her hip. “Will he find me here?” she inquired.

“It’s a possibility,” Brian replied with a
shrug.

Paige shuddered as her gaze ran up and down
the crowded thoroughfare. Ian shot Brian a ferocious look, but the
man simply cocked an eyebrow before turning away from them. He bent
his head to Paige’s and kissed her temple. “He’s never going to
hurt you again,” he vowed.

Her eyes slid over the people gathered
around them. “I know, but what if I can’t find him?”

“Then we’ll figure something else out
tomorrow.”

“No. He may not know we’re here yet, but the
longer we’re here, the more likely he might sense me too. This has
to be taken care of tonight.”

Ian ran his hands over her shoulders. “Don’t
put so much pressure on yourself.”

“You don’t know; you can’t understand what
it’s like to live with him in your shadow all of the time,” she
whispered.

No, he couldn’t understand what she’d gone
through, but he couldn’t stand the look on her face, or that she
was beating herself up right now. “Relax and go with your
instincts,” Brian instructed. “Even if it seems silly to you,
follow them and see where they take you. Like I said, this isn’t a
true bond, it’s more of an impulse.”

Paige continued to search the walkway. The
talking and laughing crowd parted around them as they remained
standing outside the casino doors. “This way,” she said and turned
to her left.

She had no idea where she was going, no idea
if there really was anything drawing her onward, but walking was
better than standing there blocking the way. The others stayed
close by her as she led the way through four casinos with no luck.
After the fifth casino, and with a lot more to go, she began to
realize the only thing drawing her onward was her feet. Stepping
outside of the last casino, she shuddered as the heat enveloped her
once more.

Ian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and
pulled her close. “Maybe we should call it quits for tonight,” he
suggested. “If you relax…”

“No, he could find us,” she protested.

“Paige…”

“One more,” she insisted. “It’s still early,
well for Vegas standards at least.”

Ian gave a brief nod. “Ok, one more, but
then we’re going back to the hotel.”

“Where do you want to go?” Brian
inquired.

His ice colored eyes burned into hers when
she met them. She could feel him urging her on, but he didn’t say a
word as he leaned against the building and waited for her to
decide. Paige took a deep breath to steady herself. She stood,
searching the night and hoping for something out there to start
calling to her, to draw her onward toward the man she sought.

“Just relax,” Ian said as he massaged her
shoulders.

There was no way for her to relax, not
tonight. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling
that if they didn’t find him tonight, he would find them. She much
preferred to have the element of surprise on their side, and not to
have her father be the one to jump out and yell, ‘boo!’

Her gaze ran up and down the swarming
streets past the people laughing and talking. She looked beyond the
jugglers and artists and the blazing lights of the neon signs.
Everything was extremely loud, and it was all so much, but there
was a vibe about the city, an energy that made it feel like the
only place on earth. She could almost believe everything beyond the
strip had vanished.

She really understood the whole, what
happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, thing now. This place was its own
little world. A world her father lurked within.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the
sidewalk and into the bustle of the busy streets. Ian stayed close
by her side as she wandered past a few other casinos before
arriving at another one. Stepping inside, a smile quirked her mouth
when she spotted the man dressed as a pharaoh standing by the door.
She knew Brian hoped she could tap into some strange vampire power,
but it had probably been curiosity that had caused her to choose
this place next.

Everywhere she looked, people crowded
around. There were more of them in here than she’d seen in any of
the other casinos they’d been into. She couldn’t tell if it was the
slot machines or her ears ringing so badly, but it became difficult
to concentrate on anything with all of the sounds, smells and
humans in the room.

Ian held Paige against his side as they
moved through the casino, protecting her from the people pressing
against them. He pushed back a drunken young man who stumbled into
her. “Hey baby,” the drunk slurred in her face, causing Paige to
recoil from the rancid, overwhelming scent of him.

“If you ever want to fuck another woman,
you’ll back off!” Ian snarled at him.

Sobriety briefly flickered through the man’s
eyes as he wheeled backward and nearly took out a passing waiter.
The man turned away; he glanced over his shoulder before vanishing
into the crowd. Ian had the urge to start stiff-arming everyone who
came close to her as more people pressed against them.

He understood why vampires like Paige’s
father came here; it was an easy place to pick unsuspecting victims
up and drain them. Easy to kill them and dispose of their bodies
before their friends and loved ones realized they were missing. The
noise would bury any screams they issued; the alcohol would lower
inhibitions and common sense.

He’d give anything to get Paige out of here,
but she wasn’t backing down. She stood on her tiptoes to survey the
crowd before dropping down again. “I have a pretty good view,” he
told her with a forced smile. “Do you think he’s here?”

Paige frowned as she contemplated his
question. “I don’t know. I don’t understand what Brian thinks I
might be able to do.”

“No one does.” The words were joking, but he
could sense her growing disquiet and strain. The incessant chatter
and ringing of the machines felt like a hundred people were
scratching their nails down a chalkboard to him. He could only
imagine what it was doing to Paige’s newly heightened senses.

“Let’s split up,” Ian suggested to the
others. “We’ll cover a lot more ground that way.”

They broke off into little groups to make
their way through the casino, searching for the man in Paige’s
drawing. After a half an hour, he pulled her into a secluded alcove
when her stress began to beat against him as forcefully as John
Bonham on the drums. Her eyes were blood shot; her lips compressing
into a thin line were nearly white. When he lifted her hands and
clasped them before him, they trembled in his grasp.

“We’re leaving.”

“No!” she gasped. “Not yet!”

“The others can continue to look for him,
but I’m not letting you do this to yourself anymore.”

Behind her dark glasses her eyes sparked
with fire as she met his gaze. That sign of her unraveling control
caused him to step closer in an attempt to shelter her further.
“You’re not
letting
me do anything, this is
my
decision,” she grated through her teeth.

“And if you accidentally hurt someone or
give away what you are?” he demanded. “Your eyes are red now.”

Her jaw clenched, a muscle twitched in her
cheek. Her fingers flew up to the corners of her eyes before
falling limply back to her side. “If he remains free again tonight,
he could kill someone else. The longer he roams free, the more of a
risk he is to innocent people and us.”

He rested his hand against her cheek, his
thumb stroking her skin. “You are
not
responsible for your
father’s actions. You never were.”

“You don’t understand,” she whispered.

“You’re blaming yourself, but when do you
think you could have stopped him? When you were a child? When you
were only a teenager? When you were being used as hunter bait? When
exactly were you supposed to have killed him?”

A single tear slid down her face; she rested
her hand over his. “He created me in more ways than one. He made me
the person I am today; he brought me to you.”

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against
her forehead before pulling her against his chest and cradling her
there. “I know, but you’re nothing like him. You never could be
anything like him.”

“You saw him that night in the alley; you
saw my drawing of him. I look so much like him.”

“So? That’s DNA. You’re soul,” he pressed
his hand against her chest. “has nothing to do with him, and you
are
good
. You’re the strongest, most loving and beautiful
woman I’ve ever met, and he had nothing to do with that. You can’t
beat yourself up because you were born. You may look like him, but
it sounds to me like you inherited your mother’s spirit.”

Another tear slipped free; she wiped it
hastily away. “Thank you.”

“It’s simply the truth. Don’t ever doubt
it.” She smiled at him before her gaze traveled past him to the
milling crowd. “It’s time for us to go.”

“Yes, ok,” she finally relented.

His shoulders slumped, he kissed her clasped
hands and held them against his lips. “We will find him,” he
vowed.

“I know.”

He took a step out of the alcove, but she
pulled him abruptly back. She’d made it this far on determination,
but she found she couldn’t walk out there right now. Inside she was
beginning to feel like she’d just drunk ten cups of espresso in an
hour. “I need a minute first.”

Ian stepped closer against her in the hopes
of blocking out the overwhelming sensations of the casino with his
body. Pushing her further back, he maneuvered her behind a large
potted plant. Anybody walking by probably wouldn’t notice him, and
if they did, they wouldn’t be able to see her.

Heaving breaths caused her body to shake;
she pressed her hands into his chest and her forehead fell against
him. Looking over his shoulder, he scanned the crowd for any
looming threat, but he caught no whiff of danger, and the only
vampires he saw were Brian, Aiden and Ronan winding their way
through the Craps tables.

Turning back to her, he lifted her hands and
pressed a kiss against her knuckles. “You must feed.”

Her eyes flashed red when they flickered up
to him. “No, there’s too many people,” she protested. “I’ll be
fine, I’m not hungry.”

“And none of them will see us,” he assured
her. “You’re hungrier than you realize and my blood will calm you a
lot more.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but his
stubbornness thrummed against her mind. He’d do anything in the
world for her, but he wasn’t going to back down from this. His lips
brushed across her forehead, his breath warmed her when he drew her
closer, nestling her mouth against the hollow of his throat. He
moved her so her back was flat against the wall. She couldn’t see
anything beyond him.