Fireworks for July: A Holiday Bites Vampire Paranormal Holiday Romances by Michele Bardsley Page B

rarely employed any of those techniques. Chance on the other hand was well known for his brutal creativity.
    Carter knew too well Chance’s proclivities. After all, the bastard had made him into a vampire. It took Carter ten minutes to get Scooter into the boss’s hands and back to the cab. He didn’t feel too sorry for the cabbie since the man was willing to sell an innocent woman to a rogue vamp.
    Carter opened the back door.
    The girl lay on her side, silky brown curls tumbling over alabaster cheeks. She wore a black pantsuit that clung to her ample curves. She was pretty. And her scent was intoxicating. Innocent. He nearly swallowed his tongue. Innocents were few and far between in Las Vegas. He hadn’t had the pleasure of a virgin’s blood in a couple decades.
    He vamped out, and it took him a minute to get his fangs and cravings under control. If the human woke up and saw him, she’d probably faint again. He examined her luscious mouth. Her bee-stung lips offered a bounty he wanted to partake.
    No need to flip, Carter. Chill, man. Chill
    Carter picked up her purse and opened it. Inside, a folded itinerary listed her hotel as Dark Treasure. Well, well, well. Wasn’t that nice? His second job in this town was as a bartender at that casino-hotel—one of three that Chance owned in Vegas.
    His gaze raked over the woman’s curvaceous form, and he licked his lips. There she was, a delicious buffet. Oh, how he wanted her. With an ache he hadn’t felt since—well, since he died in 1956. He needed to wipe her memory and get her to her hotel.
    Man oh man, she was tempting.
    Too tempting. And the last time he’d been this drawn to a woman, he’d lost his life and his freedom.

Chapter Two
    J uly stumbled out of the cab, her head throbbing. Wow. That drive from the airport had been a real killer.
    The cab driver plucked her suitcases out of the trunk. He was short, in his fifties, and a few pounds over weight. She blinked at him, her vision going fuzzy for a second.
    “You need anything else, Miss?”
    She shook her head and paid him the appropriate fare, including a large tip. He got into his cab and pulled away, melting into the Strip’s traffic. She looked up at the hotel, feeling excited.
    Time to begin her wicked weekend.

    J uly showered , pulled on her new gold dress with matching high heels, and put on make-up. Her brown hair was shoulder-length and a mass of unruly curls. The most she could do with them was brush the loops to a glossy shine.
    Her room was on the third floor. Its flat glass faced the frenetic light shows and crowded streets of the Strip. She had a standard room with a queen-sized bed. It was nice and comfortable—and kinda irrelevant. Because the draw was Vegas, baby.
    July turned and walked to the hallway, stopping to check out her outfit. She looked at her reflection and said, “Go for it, July.”
    She’d looked over Dark Treasure’s brochure and knew that it contained several exclusive shops, including one particularly naughty one she wanted to explore. Grabbing her tiny gold purse, she slung the spaghetti thin strap over her shoulder and left.
    Moments later, after a quick elevator ride, a trek across the casino, and a precarious jaunt down a stairwell, July stood outside the blacked-out glass door, her hand hovering over the metal bar.
    “You can do this,” she muttered. “It’s just a…”
    Sex shop. She’d never been in one. Her palms were slick with sweat, but she depressed the bar and pushed open the door.
    July entered the store, her heart hammering and panic knotting in her belly. When she’d won the contest, it was like getting the biggest present ever.
    Thanks to Aunt Grace, she hadn’t had a formal celebration of any holiday, including her birthdays. So, this weekend, she was determined to experience everything she’d been denied. First, she would buy something naughty. Second, she would take herself to the midnight dinner reserved at restaurant known only as Joy.