Nicholas, dressed in a clean set of clothes, trudged down the stairs to accept the orchid. “Sorry I dropped you.” He went back up the stairs and accepted condolences from the other men.
“Antonio of Madrid,” Lady Pamela announced.
With a crestfallen expression, Antonio accepted the orchid. “I am tho thorry.”
Darcy glanced at Adam. Of all the remaining men, he alone looked sad. He wandered off to his room without looking back. The judges, host, and cameramen went to the portrait room for the final revelation of the evening. Darcy joined them.
“Two million dollars!” Cora Lee grinned. “Land sakes, our new master will be filthy rich!”
“Yes, but we must make sure he is a vampire,” Princess Joanna warned.
“Oh, Darcy, do tell us that after tonight, we will be rid of all the pesky mortals,” Lady Pamela begged.
“I can’t say.” Darcy retrieved the special flashlight from the wall safe. She handed it to Gregori and whispered in which order to reveal the men. Then, she dimmed the lights.
The women settled on the couches, their faces bright with excitement.
Gregori approached the portraits. “Tonight, you eliminated Antonio of Madrid.” He flipped on the flashlight. Instantly, Antonio’s white fangs appeared.
“Oh, dear.” Lady Pamela winced. “I was so sure a vampire would never have a speech impediment.”
“And you eliminated Nicholas from Chicago.” Gregori shone the light on Nicholas’s portrait. For a tense moment, the women stared at his picture. Nothing happened.
“Yes!” Cora Lee bounced to her feet. “He’s a mortal!”
“I did it!” Lady Pamela jumped up, grinning. “I discovered one of the mortals.”
The women hugged each other, laughing.
Gregori popped open a bottle of Bubbly Blood. “This calls for a celebration.” He poured seven glasses full. Darcy helped him serve the judges. Then, Gregori handed her one and kept one for himself.
“Congratulations, ladies!” He raised his glass. “You are one step closer to choosing your new master. And your master is one step closer to becoming a very wealthy man.”
The women laughed and clinked their glasses together. The cameramen focused on their happy faces.
“You’re not drinking.” Gregory looked at Darcy. “You really should, you know. The show is turning out great.”
Darcy looked down at the mixture of champagne and blood in her glass, Yeah, great. She was helping the ex-harem find a new master. And she was helping them learn to make their own decisions and stand up for themselves. But it all seemed empty without Adam.
In his bedroom, Austin observed the ladies’ celebration on his laptop. With his roommate Nicholas gone, his spying had become much easier.
Garrett stood behind him, watching the scene. “So, that’s the game they’re playing. They’re trying to figure out which of us is human, so they can get rid of us.”
“It sure explains why the anklet is so important.” Austin tugged at his pants leg to look at his new anklet. Maggie had brought it to him right after sunset with a warning that he had to put it on immediately.
“Yeah.” Garrett rested a hand on the back of Austin’s chair as he leaned forward. “What’s that they’re drinking?”
“Something with synthetic blood in it.” Austin watched Darcy lift the glass to her mouth. She took a sip, then licked her lips. Lips he had kissed. A mouth he had explored. Shit.
He jumped to his feet so fast, the chair tipped backwards and Garrett caught it. He strode toward the window and looked out. He couldn’t see much of anything in the dark, only his reflection in the glass. Darcy wouldn’t even make a reflection.
Holy crap. Did everything have to remind him that he was alive and she was dead? Or worse, she was undead. Dead during the day, but walking and talking and crying real tears during the night. She was alive just enough to torture him.
And tempt him. She was still so damned beautiful. Still so smart. Still so Darcy.
“Something wrong?” Garrett asked.
“Everything’s wrong.” Austin paced across the room. “This is a waste of time. We’re not learning anything useful.”
“I know the names of a bunch of vampires. That’s more than I knew a few days ago.”
“We were supposed to get friendly with them and learn about Shanna. It isn’t happening.” Although Austin had to admit he had certainly been friendly with one of them. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten all about Shanna when Darcy was in his arms.
“Well, it’s hard to be friendly with a pack of murderous creatures,” Garrett muttered.
“Oh, come on. Those women are harmless. They just want to wear pretty clothes and have someone take care of them. Sheesh, they get bent out of shape if your manners aren’t impeccable.”
Garrett snorted. “You’re getting soft. Do you think the men are harmless, too?”
“I talked to a few of them tonight. Roberto owns an aluminum shutter company in Argentina. Otto runs a health club in Germany.” Though Austin couldn’t quite see a correlation between being healthy and undead.
Garrett frowned. “They probably commit crimes all the time. I bet they use mind control to steal money from people.”
“Then why would they want the prize money so bad?”
“I don’t know,” Garrett mumbled. “But if they ran out of synthetic blood, they’d bite you in a minute.”
Maybe so. Austin shook his head. But wouldn’t he do the same if it was the only way to survive? “The point is they do drink synthetic blood. So, their intent is not to harm humans. Meanwhile, the really vicious vampires are trolling Central Park for victims as we speak. And here we are, picking up hankies.”
“It’s our assignment.”
“It’s stupid! We should go to Central Park and stop innocent people from getting attacked.”
“We can’t leave. George is still here. We can’t leave him unprotected. And you know you can’t go against Sean’s orders.”
Austin paced back to the window. He knew Garrett was right. But he wasn’t finding out anything about Shanna. All he had was a list of vampires that Sean would want to terminate. How could he put Darcy’s name on it? No wonder he wanted to run away from this assignment.
“They’re leaving the portrait room.” Garrett switched to the camera in the foyer. “The women are going toward the kitchen. Whoa!”
“What?” Austin strode back to the desk.
“The host guy just vanished.”
“He must have teleported. Probably back to his apartment.”
Garrett pointed at the one figure in the foyer. “Isn’t that the director?”
“Yes.” Austin moved closer. Darcy was standing alone in the foyer, her hands clenched together. She walked to the base of the staircase, then stopped. She looked at the front door, then back at the stairs.
“What’s she doing?” Garrett asked.
“Trying to make up her mind.” Austin’s heart began to pound as Darcy mounted the stairs. What was she doing? At the landing, the staircase divided in two—one section going east, the other west. Was she coming to the east wing to see him?
She reached the landing and hesitated once again. Holy indecision. It would be better if she went to one of the male vampires. They were her own kind.
“She’s coming our way,” Garrett said.
Austin’s heart raced. Please, come to me. What the hell was he doing? He couldn’t have a relationship with a vampire.
Garrett headed for the door. “I’d better get back to my room.” He let himself out.
Austin switched the view on the monitor to the surveillance camera in the upstairs east wing hallway. He saw Garrett slip into his room. And a few minutes later, Darcy entered the hallway, headed his way.
He turned off the surveillance equipment and closed the laptop. What did she want? He’d been ugly to her in the pool house. He should dread this meeting. He should refuse to see her. But knowing she was seeking him out made
him want to jump with joy.
Chapter 14
Darcy questioned herself with every step. Why put herself through more torture? But she’d seen Adam, sitting on the bench. In what he had thought was a private moment, he’d let his true feelings show. He was suffering as much as she.
She’d been the one to decide who would sleep where, so she knew exactly where he was. She raised her hand to knock on his door. Another twinge of self-doubt made her hesitate. He was a mortal. Let the poor man go! She had no right to involve him in the vampire world. He would learn the truth eventually, if he didn’t know it already. And he would resent her for it. Just like she resented Connor. She stepped back. If she loved this man, she should let him go.
Love? Did she love him?
The door opened. Her breath hitched. He stood in the doorway, looking at her. His hair was tousled. His jacket was off. His dress shirt was unbuttoned, revealing that wonderfully muscled chest and stomach. And his eyes, there was so much pain and longing there. She knew in an instant—Yes, I do love him.
He leaned a forearm against the doorjamb. “I thought I heard someone out here.”
She nodded. Now that she was here, all the words she’d planned to say vanished from her brain.
He frowned. Apparently, he was having similar difficulties.
“How’s your finger?” She winced. What a dumb thing to ask.
“I think I’ll live.”
Which was more than she could ever do. Sheesh. How could she word this? Oh, by the way, have you noticed I’m a vampire?
“I said some rude things to you earlier tonight.” He watched her sadly. “I’m really sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”
Tears gathered in her eyes and she blinked them away. “I’m sorry, too. I said some things I shouldn’t have.”
“I don’t recall you doing anything wrong.”
“I called you a prick.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up. “It was more of an insinuation, but I deserved it.”
He deserved more than she could give. She stepped back.
“What’s up with the judges?” he asked.
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“They dress so strange. One looks like a blond Scarlett O’Hara, and some of the others look like escapees from a Renaissance festival.”
“Oh.” Darcy clenched her hands together. “I admit they have rather odd tastes, but that’s their idea of evening wear. Speaking of which, tomorrow night, all the men will be judged on how well you’re dressed.” She hoped he didn’t notice how abruptly she’d changed the subject. Luckily, she wasn’t breaking any rules. All the men were being warned to dress their best and be prepared to dance.
Adam shrugged. “I don’t have a tuxedo.”
“That’s all right. The suit you wore tonight will be fine. You looked…wonderful.” Good God, she was acting like a gushing teenager. “I—I should go.”
He was frowning again. “About the dancing competition…”
“Yes? Cora Lee will be judging that.”
“The Scarlett O’Hara knockoff?”
“Yes.” Darcy attempted a smile. “Most likely, she’ll expect you to do a waltz or a polka. Those are her favorite dances.”
“Not into hip-hop, is she?”
Darcy let out a nervous laugh. “No. I believe most of the men are brushing up on the waltz tonight.”
“I won’t be.”
“You waltz really well?”
He snorted. “I don’t waltz at all.”
“Oh.” Her heart sank. Then, tomorrow would be his last night on the show. Unless…“I could—” No, she couldn’t.
“You could what? Teach me how to waltz?”
“No, I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“I know.” He smiled sadly. “It wouldn’t be fair to the other contestants, would it?”
She sighed. “No.”
“You’re basically very honest, aren’t you?” he asked softly.
She swallowed hard. The one thing she really needed to be honest with him about, she couldn’t manage to do. “Sometimes the truth is too difficult to say.”
“I know.” He watched her, his eyes growing more intense.
A sudden wave of heat washed over her. It filled her, enveloping her cold, dead heart with soothing warmth. The heat rose to her face, flaming her cheeks and rushing through her head like a fever. She closed her eyes briefly, basking in the glorious heat. How did he do this to her? Make her so hot just by looking at her? No man had ever had such an effect on her. But then, she’d never loved a man as much as she did Adam.
“Oh, God.” Adam pushed away from the doorjamb and dragged a hand through his hair.
“Is something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No. Yes. I—I don’t know.” He grimaced. “I’ll probably be eliminated tomorrow night.”
“Do you want to be eliminated?”
“I don’t know what I want anymore. It’s all screwed up.”
He looked so agitated, Darcy was tempted to read his mind to find out what was wrong. She’d never read a mind before. She’d always spurned all the nasty little vampire tricks—mind control, teleportation, levitation. She didn’t want any part of it. Especially mind reading. It was such a terrible invasion of privacy. “I—I’ll be sorry to see you go.”
He nodded. “It’s what I need to do. It’s for the best.”
She took a deep breath. He was right. It was for the best. “Then, you’ll be gone tomorrow night.” And I may never see you again. The last remnant of heat drained from her, leaving her cold and empty once again.
“I’ll have to go as soon as the orchid ceremony is over. So, I’ll say…goodbye, now.”
She swallowed. “Goodbye.” She extended her hand.
He frowned at her hand, so she stepped back, letting her arm fall to her side. He couldn’t even touch her. How could her heart ache so badly when it was dead?
“Darcy.” He reached out and held her by the shoulders. He touched his lips briefly to her brow. “Goodbye.” Then, he turned and shut the door.
The next evening, Austin dressed in his dark gray suit with a silver and blue striped tie. Tonight, he’d be kicked off the show for sure. His bags were already packed. He’d ride off in the limo and never see Darcy again. It hurt like hell, but it was for the best.
He headed for the library with Garrett and George. There were five male vampires left in the game—Otto from Düsseldorf, Ahmed from Cairo, Roberto from Buenos Aires, Pierre from Brussels, and Reginald from Manchester. Gregori explained what was planned for the evening as he walked them to the staircase. One of the vampire judges arrived with the two cameramen, Darcy, and Maggie. Darcy looked beautiful, as usual, even though she was only dressed in pants and a T-shirt. Her eyes met his and lingered a moment before she looked away.
The judge was the one they called Princess Joanna. She was certainly dressed like a medieval princess, though Austin figured her domain had disappeared hundreds of years ago.
She was going to judge them on their presence—how well they were dressed and how well they carried themselves. She called them one by one with her regal voice. As instructed, each man descended the stairs and walked halfway across the foyer. There, they were supposed to pose for a moment under the chandelier. Then, they were to pivot and walk to the library.
“I feel like I’m in a fashion show,” Austin growled.
“Or a beauty pageant,” Garrett grumbled.
“God, no.” Austin grimaced. “Please don’t tell me there’s going to be a swimsuit competition.”
“Garth from Denver,” Princess Joanna called.
Garrett responded to his false name by straightening his shoulders and pasting a small smile on his face. He began his descent of the stairs. Austin debated whether or not he should slide down the banister. But when his name was called, he behaved himself. He didn’t want to upset Darcy. He marched down the stairs, then strode across the foyer to the mid-point.
Darcy was by the
front door, watching him. Her eyes glistened in the light from the chandelier. Were those tears in her eyes? She looked both sad and happy. A sad resignation in her eyes, but a sweet loving curve to her smile. Oh, he knew it was love. He’d read it in her mind the night before. And now, her expression seemed to be telling him she would still love him no matter how sad it made her.
He smiled slightly, then turned toward the library.
When all the men were in the library, Gregori explained that the next phase, the dancing competition, would take place on the roof. They went up the west end stairwell and found all the ladies waiting on the roof. A quartet of musicians were setting up by the greenhouse. They tuned up their string instruments. No electric guitars. It was definitely going to be an old-fashioned dance. All the patio furniture had been moved aside to leave a wide terrace between the pool and the outer wall.
Gregori wandered around the terrace, lighting tiki torches. When he was done, he turned to the men. “Gentlemen, you may ask any of the judges to dance. However, all of you must dance at least once with Cora Lee.” He motioned to the Scarlett O’Hara knockoff. “She will be judging this part of the competition.”
Cora Lee smiled at the men. “I do declare, this will be such a delightful evening.”
The quartet began the strains of a waltz. Pierre asked Cora Lee to dance. She accepted and off they went, swirling around the terrace. Roberto asked Lady Pamela to dance. Maria Consuela and Princess Joanna declined to dance with anyone.
“I never do the waltz,” the princess declared. “It is much too vulgar.”
“It is evil.” Maria Consuela stood next to a tiki torch and fiddled with her rosary.
Vanda laughed and took off dancing with Ahmed. When the first waltz was over, Garrett made his move. He asked Cora Lee to dance, then spun her expertly around the terrace. Afterward, he returned to where Austin was standing.
Austin shut his mouth, which had been hanging open. “Where the hell did you learn to do that?”
Garrett smiled. “I took a course in ballroom dancing. I figured in our line of work, you gotta be able to function at a fancy party.”
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