His compliment spread through her like a ray of sunshine. "Thank you."
He switched to her right foot. "Can I tell you a secret?"
She opened her eyes. "Don't tell me you're an axe murderer."
He smiled as he continued to massage her foot. "No, I'm not. Believe it or not, I'm kinda... sensitive for a guy."
She snorted. "You can't be gay. Not the way you kiss."
His eyes twinkled. "Are you sure? You might need another sample for verification."
She laughed. "You are definitely a lady's man."
"That's true. About my secret..." His hands skimmed up the back of her legs to her calves. He massaged the muscles there.
She lifted her eyebrows. "If you're making a move on me, that's hardly a secret."
He rested a cheek against her knee. "The secret is I can sorta tune in on whatever people are feeling."
"You mean you're good at reading body language?"
"No." He gave her a worried look. "I can just sense it."
She leaned back. "You mean you're empathic?"
"Yeah." He scooted closer 'til his chest was pressed against her legs. "Do you know what I sense from you?"
"Could it be doubt?" She gave him a skeptical look. "Or let me guess. You have this sudden sensation that I want to sleep with you."
He grinned. "You think this is part of a pickup routine?"
She nodded. "But you get points for originality." He kissed her left knee. "Thanks. But seriously, I get the impression that you're trapped somewhere you don't want to be."
She stiffened. Good God, maybe he was empathic. He watched her carefully. "Is that true, Darcy? Do you need some help?" She swallowed hard. "I - no. I'm fine."
"There's nothing you want to tell me?" Her eyes filled with tears. Now, the knight in shining armor comes along? What a damned cruel world. Why couldn't she have met him four years ago? He was everything she wanted. Everything she needed.
He stood in front of her. Hot water dripped off him onto her thighs. She wanted to melt with him. He touched her shoulders. "Let me help you." She stood. She was a foot or so taller since she was standing on the ledge for sitting. She looked down at him and ran her fingers into his hair. "Adam, you're everything I ever wanted, but it's too late."
"No." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her off the ledge. "It's never too late." He sank into the hot, bubbly water, taking her with him.
And the last of her resistance melted away.
Chapter 12
Austin pulled Darcy onto his lap and covered her face with kisses. He aimed his kisses closer and closer to her mouth. She turned her head to meet him, and the heat flared between them. Their tongues entwined. Their arms wrapped around each other in a tight embrace.
And still, they weren't close enough. He lifted her slightly and pushed up her dress so she could straddle his lap. They held each other tight, her breasts pressed against his chest. He could feel her erratic breathing as she trembled in his arms.
"Sweetheart." He nuzzled her neck. He'd wanted so badly for her to trust him, but somehow, along the way, that desire had grown into something more powerful. He needed her to love him. He needed to protect her. He needed to keep her forever.
She skimmed her hands across his shoulders, then down his back. "You're so beautiful."
Smiling, he rubbed his chin against her soft hair. "Shame on you. That was my line."
She leaned back on his lap. "Shame on you for dragging me in here while I'm wearing my best dress."
"We can take care of that." He sought the zipper in the back. As his hand ran down her spine, her back arched.
She gave him a teasing smile. "You realize this dress is not supposed to be in hot water."
"Then we'll move it to the cold water cycle." He tugged the dress over her head and tossed it into the swimming pool.
Darcy laughed. "Great. Chlorine. That's a big help."
He studied the wet bra that clung to her skin. "I'm happy with the results." He brushed a thumb over a nipple, and it puckered. He circled the pebbled skin 'til the tip hardened into a tight nub. With a moan, Darcy closed her eyes.
He nibbled up her neck to her ear, then whispered, "I want to taste you."
She answered by feathering kisses along his cheek and jaw. That had to be a yes. He kissed her deeply. His heart pounded in his ears. His groin swelled, demanding attention. He unhooked her bra, slid it off, and tossed it onto the cement. A sudden breeze swirled the mist from the hot tub around her, making her look almost unreal. A magical vision of beauty, too perfect for any man to hold on to.
Her eyes flickered open. "Is something wrong?"
For a second, he thought there was a red glint to her eyes, but it had to be some kind of weird reflection.
His own photos were always coming out with red eyes.
"You're perfect." He cupped her breasts, then leaned forward to press a kiss onto the upper swell of her left breast. He could feel the pounding of her heart. His own heart was thundering in his ears. It seemed to grow louder and louder.
He grabbed her waist and lifted her 'til her breasts were even with his mouth. He drew a nipple into his mouth and suckled. Groaning, she arched her back. His hands moved lower, pressing her hips against his stomach. He slid his hands into her underwear and cupped her derriere. She reacted by rocking against him, rubbing herself against his stomach.
His erection nearly exploded. With gritted teeth, he rested his cheek against her breasts and fought for control. That was when he realized that the night was much lighter than it had been before. And the roar in his ears wasn't coming from him. He looked up and winced. That whirring sound was unmistakable. Suddenly, a beam of light shot down and illuminated the hot tub.
"What?" Darcy stiffened. She looked up, but Austin blocked her with his hand.
"Don't." He squinted up through the light. "It's a chopper."
"What?" She gave him a frantic look. "A helicopter?"
"Yes." Austin cursed. "I should have heard it coming."
"Oh my gosh!" Darcy covered her mouth with a trembling hand. "I told Bernie to rent a helicopter, but I didn't think he could do it tonight. This is terrible!"
More terrible than she realized. As far as Austin could tell, he and Darcy were being filmed. He lowered them both into the water up to their chins. "I'll take care of this. Whatever you do, don't look up."
She moaned. "I'll be ruined. I'll never work again."
"Trust me. I'll get you out of here."
"How? I'm practically naked."
"I brought a big towel with me from my room. Wait here. Stay low, and don't look up."
"Okay." She hugged herself and kept her chin down.
Austin climbed from the hot tub and strode toward the patio chair where he'd left a towel. He kept his face turned away from the helicopter and hurried back to the hot tub. He stretched out the towel to conceal Darcy. She climbed from the tub, and he wrapped the towel around her. The helicopter was close enough now to cause a strong wind that whipped at the towel and made her shiver. She hunched her shoulders and ducked her head down.
"Hold on." He grabbed her jacket off the patio chair and draped it over her head. He located her bra and shoes and handed them to her. Then, he fished her dress out of the swimming pool.
And still the helicopter hovered overhead. A beam of light followed Austin's every movement. He handed Darcy her soggy dress and saw the panic on her face.
"Don't let it get to you," he yelled over the roar of the whirring blades. "They don't know who you are. Where are the other ladies staying?"
"On the servants' floor, three flights down."
He glanced toward the east stairwell. "Fine. We'll go there. Everyone will think you're one of the judges. You can return to the pool house later."
"Okay."
Austin led her toward the stairs. The spotlight from the helicopter picked them up. Austin glanced down. With the light behind him, his body cast a long shadow on the cement.
He halted with a jerk.
Darcy stopped. "What's wrong?"
He stood there, unable to answer. All the air had been sucked out of his lungs. All the blood leached from his head. The ground swayed, and he stumbled to the side.
"Are you all right?" She reached out to touch his arm.
He lurched back. No, this couldn't be true. He glanced down at the ground once more. His shadow was there, alone, mocking him for being so blind. Such a stupid fool.
"Adam?" She looked so worried. Hell, why was she worried about him? She was the one with the problem. Darcy Newhart had no shadow. She was fucking dead.
"Are you all right?" she yelled over the noise.
He swallowed hard. "Go on without me. I - I'll make sure we didn't leave any clues behind." Or proof that he'd been there, consorting with the enemy.
"Okay." She ran to the stairwell and went inside.
The door banged shut and he stood there, staring at it while the damned helicopter whirred overhead. His stomach churned. Holy necrophilia. He'd made out with a dead woman.
Slowly, he realized the helicopter was moving away. He scanned the pool area and noticed his flip-flops by a patio chair. He grabbed them and paced across the roof. The half-moon shone down on him, taunting him with the evil truth. Darcy was a creature of the night.
"No!" He hurled a flip-flop at the moon. It flew over the wall and disappeared. He ran toward the wall, throwing the other flip-flop. "Dammit, no!"
He ran down the stairs, then realized he couldn't bear to spend the night in the penthouse. Not with all those vampires. Not when his own Darcy -
He took the elevator to the ground floor, then ran outside onto the sidewalk. He ignored the grit of cement against his bare feet. He kept running 'til he reached Central Park. And still he ran. He ran until he was sweating and gasping for air.
He slowed and collapsed onto a bench. Dammit to hell. There was no running from the awful truth.
Darcy was a vampire.
"I think I made a terrible mistake." Darcy stood in Vanda's bedroom, shivering in wet underwear and a towel.
"Here." Vanda tossed her another towel. "Dry off while I find you something to wear." She rummaged through a dresser drawer. "These should suit you." She picked out a pair of white cotton panties. "What kind of mistake?"
"I got overly friendly with Adam in the hot tub."
Vanda's eyes widened. "Oh. In that case - " She dropped the white panties and picked up a red silken thong. "This is more like it."
With a snort, Darcy grabbed the white panties and pulled them on. "I shouldn't have done it. I had to be out of my mind."
"It's called lust, dear." Vanda tossed her a T-shirt and some pajama bottoms. "Nothing wrong with it."
"It's very wrong!" Darcy pulled on the T-shirt.
"He's a mortal. It could never work." She slumped on Vanda's bed.
Vanda sat beside her. "You have feelings for him?"
Darcy's eyes filled with tears. "I tried to fight it. I know any kind of lasting relationship with him is impossible."
"With love, anything's possible."
Darcy shook her head. "Not this."
Vanda stood and paced across the room. "Did I ever tell you what happened to me?"
"No." Darcy wiped her face. Vanda was always supportive, but she rarely confided anything personal.
"I came from a small village just south of Krakow. We were a large family. Very poor. When my mother died in 1935, I became a mother to my younger brothers and sisters."
"That must have been difficult," Darcy murmured.
Vanda shrugged. "The worst was yet to come. When the German tanks moved toward our village, the men prepared a resistance. My father begged me to escape with my two younger sisters. I packed some food, and we fled south to the Carpathian Mountains. I... never saw my father or brothers again."
Darcy blinked to keep from crying. "I'm so sorry."
"The trip was very hard on my thirteen-year-old sister," Vanda continued. "By the time I found a shallow cave, Frieda could barely walk. I gave her the last of our food and water. My fifteen-year-old sister, Marta, left to get water and didn't return. I wanted to search for her, but I was afraid if I left Frieda, she would die. Finally, though, I had to go. I found a stream and filled our water bags. I was headed back to our cave when night fell. When Marta stepped from the shadows, I was so happy to see her. But she just stood there, so pale, with an odd look on her face.
"She swooshed toward me so fast, I didn't realize what was happening. She knocked me down and sank her fangs into my neck. I was barely conscious when she carried me - she was suddenly very strong - to a deep cave and introduced me to the vampire who had transformed her. Sigismund. He transformed me that night."
Darcy shuddered. "I'm so sorry."
Vanda sat on the bed. "The next evening, I rushed back to my little sister to see how she was. She had died. All alone."
"Oh, no. How awful." Darcy touched Vanda's shoulder.
Vanda's eyes glimmered with unshed tears. "I found a good purpose for the hunger that plagued me every night. I fed off Nazis and left many of them to die in southern Poland."
Darcy swallowed. "I'm sorry you've suffered so much."
Vanda snorted. "You think I told you all that for pity? What I want to say is I would go through all the pain and horror a million times over if it could only bring my sister back. If you love this Adam, you should embrace the feeling, no matter what. There is nothing more sacred than love."