"Looks like I'll have to eliminate Pierre," Vanda said. "What a shame. He was so cute."
Darcy cursed silently. Only two men could be eliminated tonight, and she had hoped it would be both the CIA men. "What did he say to you, Gregori?"
Gregori opened one eye to glare at her. "The incident will never be spoken of again."
"Poor Gregori." Vanda grinned. "I told you you looked sexy."
Austin waited in the greenhouse, growing increasingly annoyed. It looked like the reality show was having a swimsuit competition after all. The other men were wearing skimpy little briefs, but he refused to play the role of male sex object. His tropical print swim trunks were long enough to reach mid-thigh.
Reginald from Manchester was the third contestant to depart for the pool. When he returned to the greenhouse, dripping wet, Maggie handed him a towel and asked him to go downstairs and put on dry clothes for the orchid ceremony. Austin noticed the British vampire was surprisingly scrawny. The guy must have been wearing a lot of padding under his clothes.
"Number four?" Maggie asked.
"That's me." Austin joined her at the French doors.
"You'll go around the pool to the hot tub," Maggie instructed. "After you talk to Vanda for a while, you'll come back here. Understand?"
"Yes." And I get myself eliminated, too.
"Okay, they're ready." Maggie opened the door.
As Austin walked across the terrace, he took in the scene. The host was headed toward a chair on one side of the pool, and Darcy was on the other side. His mouth dropped open. Holy hot mama. Her little red bikini was wet and molded to her body. Her nipples had puckered from the cool night air. The bikini bottom was tied on each hip, the strings dangling and begging to be unraveled. Her skin was pale under the moonlight. She looked too fragile to touch, yet so alluring, he knew he'd never keep his hands off her.
Her eyes met his. There was such a sad longing in her eyes, it tore at his heart. Her gaze dipped over his body, then returned to his face. The longing in her eyes turned more intense, more desperate. She wanted him, too. If he didn't get off this show soon, he'd lose all resistance. Even now, his body was succumbing. His groin was swelling. His heart was pulling him toward her.
He had to stop this. Now. He dove into the pool and let the icy water douse his desire. He crossed the pool and climbed out. He shivered, his skin pebbling with goose flesh.
Vanda watched him from the spa. "Come in. You look cold."
He rubbed his hands over his arms. He ought to refuse. Wouldn't that get him eliminated? "No thanks."
"Don't you want to warm up?" Vanda floated across the tub and paused next to his feet. She plucked her tiny microphone off her bikini top and tossed it into the swimming pool. "Oops. How clumsy of me. Now, no one will hear me talking about the night you and Darcy heated up the hot tub."
Austin tensed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Vanda smiled. "It was recorded on camera. They played it the other night on DVN."
Austin's mouth fell open. His make-out session with Darcy had been aired on vampire television? He glanced back at Darcy. She was standing by the pool, her expression wary.
"Don't worry," Vanda continued. "No one knows it was Darcy. Besides you and me, that is. Most people think it was Lady Pamela or Cora Lee since they both have long blond hair. But I recognized Darcy's dress when you tossed it into the pool."
"Did you tell anyone?"
"No." She scooted back across the tub. "At least, not yet. Why don't you sit down for a while?"
Was she threatening to expose Darcy? Austin wasn't sure, but he didn't want to take any chances. So, he stepped into the hot tub and settled on the seat across from Vanda.
She smiled. "Isn't that better?" She glanced past him and winced. "Oh, dear. Darcy's glaring at you now." Vanda swooshed across the water to sit next to him. "Shall we make her jealous?"
"I'd rather not."
"Right. No need to, actually. She was lost the minute she saw you at auditions. She called you Apollo, the sun god." Vanda ran a finger along his jaw.
Austin slid down the seat. "I don't want to upset her."
Vanda glanced over her shoulder. "Too late. She looks really pissed."
Austin crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you want from me?"
Vanda rested an elbow on the edge of the spa and studied him. "I want to know if you really care about her."
After a pause, he decided there was no harm in confessing the truth. "I'm in love with her."
"Ah." Vanda propped her chin on her hand. "On the recording, it looked more like lust. Are you sure you're feeling love?"
"I'm sure." Unfortunately. He'd tried to bury his feelings, but they continued to grow and deepen in spite of everything.
"Darcy has suffered too much. She deserves to be happy."
Austin arched a brow. "Are you claiming to care about her?"
"Yes. Does that surprise you?"
He took a deep breath. A week ago, he wouldn't have believed vampires could feel compassion or loyalty for each other, but they clearly did. They seemed to feel everything just as deeply as when they were alive. I am human - Darcy's words came back to him. "I've been having to readjust my thinking."
"She deserves the best. She has the soul of an angel." A corner of Vanda's mouth lifted. "Unlike me."
"Are you admitting that you're evil?"
Her smile widened. "Some would say I am."
"What have you done? Committed murder?" He said it nonchalantly, but he was dead serious.
Her smile faded. "I prefer to call it administering justice."
He narrowed his eyes. "Would you ever harm an innocent?"
"No," she replied easily. "Would you?"
"No."
She moved closer. "Then don't ever hurt Darcy."
Austin caught the implied threat in her voice. "I don't want to, but it's not that simple."
"You claim to love her. She loves you. Sounds simple to me."
"No, it's... complicated. My job is important - "
"More important than Darcy?"
"No. But I shouldn't allow myself to be in a position where I have to choose." Sheesh, and he shouldn't be in a position where he was discussing matters of the heart with a vampire.
"If you love her, there's only one choice."
"It's not that easy. I would have to give up everything. My life - my beliefs would all change."
"And you're not ready to do that?"
Could he do it? Turn his back on the Stake-Out team and the CIA? Join Darcy and live among the vampires? He'd be considered a traitor by his country. He'd have a tough time even getting a decent job.
"I've had a difficult life." Vanda gazed at the stars. "I've seen terrible things. Concentration camps, torture, death. Unbelievable human cruelty. There were times when I begged God for the courage to end it all. I couldn't bear to see more horror."
"I'm sorry." And he wasn't just saying it. He was actually feeling compassion for these vampires.
Vanda sat up and looked at him. "I would endure it all again a thousand times over if it would bring my little sister back to life." Tears glimmered in her eyes. "She was so clever and full of life. She would have been like Darcy if she'd survived."
Austin nodded, his own eyes tearing up.
Vanda floated toward him. "There is nothing more sacred than love. Don't let it slip away from you."
It felt like a tear had ripped through the darkness to reveal a light, and Austin could finally see. "You're not at all evil, are you?" None of these modern-day Vamps were truly evil.
"We all do the best we can with the lot given us."
Austin stood. "I wish you well, then." He strode back toward Darcy. She gave him a furious look, then turned her back.
"We need to talk," he said quietly, aware that the cameras were on them. He continued on to the greenhouse.
Maggie gave him a towel. "Please get dressed for the orchid ceremony in the foyer."
He trudged toward the stairwell. No wonder Darcy was mad. He had a sinking feeling he would not get eliminated tonight.
Chapter 20
Darcy accompanied Vanda back to the servants' parlor to see what the other ladies thought about the night's competition. Unfortunately, they all agreed with Vanda, so it looked like her hope of eliminating both CIA agents was dashed. Vanda changed into dry clothes, gathered two black orchids from the fridge, and then, the ladies strolled to the foyer for the ceremony.
Princess Joanna stumbled when one of her stiletto heels snagged on the thick hallway carpet. "God's wounds, a lady could break her neck in these slippers."
"You'll get better with practice." Darcy reached out to steady her. "You all look wonderful."
"Thank you." The princess looked elegant in her expensive black dress adorned at the neck with a strand of pearls.
"At first, I felt completely naked without my corset," Cora Lee announced. "But now, I just love it. For the first time in over a hundred years, I can actually breathe."
Cora Lee and Lady Pamela had both opted for a youthful style - satin hip-hugger pants and cropped, sparkly halter tops.
Princess Joanna frowned at them. "You two should be ashamed. You are showing too much flesh."
"It is evil." Maria Consuela's dress reached her ankles.
Lady Pamela shrugged. "My old gowns displayed most of my bosom, and no one objected to that."
"But to reveal one's navel - it is ungodly." Maria Consuela twisted her rosary in her hands. "I have never seen my navel."
"What?" Darcy asked. "But when you take a bath - "
"I bathe in a shift as any proper lady should."
"Oh." Darcy realized she might have the ladies wearing modern clothes, but some of their ideas still remained archaic.
The ladies entered the foyer. The men had all changed into suits. Gregori strode forward to welcome the ladies, while the six contestants remained on the landing of the staircase.
Darcy glanced briefly at Austin. His broad shoulders looked so good in a suit. Unlike Reginald, he needed no padding in his clothes. Light from the chandelier picked up the golden highlights in his hair. It looked like he'd toweled it dry quickly, but the disheveled result only made him look sexier.
His eyes met hers, and she looked away. She was not going to forgive him so easily this time. He'd told her he would get eliminated tonight, but then, he'd climbed into the hot tub with Vanda. And since Vanda had thrown away her mike, Darcy had no idea what they'd talked about. She'd had to stop filming afterward to get Vanda a new mike.
"Good evening," Gregori began. "Tonight, two more men will be eliminated. But first, an important announcement. The winner will now receive four million dollars."
The cameramen caught everyone's reactions. Even Darcy was surprised. Sly had never mentioned he was willing to go over three million.
Vanda moved to the center of the foyer. "My first orchid goes to Pierre of Brussels."
Pierre trudged forward to accept the flower. Then, he went upstairs to retrieve his luggage.
"And the second orchid goes to Reginald of Manchester." Vanda handed him the orchid.
The remaining contestants congratulated each other and dispersed to their rooms. Gregori and the women strolled to the portrait room, the cameramen trailing.
"Tonight, you eliminated Pierre." Gregori shone the special flashlight on the Belgian's portrait. His fangs appeared.
"Oh, fiddlesticks," Cora Lee mumbled. "He was a Vamp."
"And you eliminated Reginald." Gregori moved in front of the Englishman's portrait.
"Surely he's a mortal," Lady Pamela insisted. "He has such bad teeth."
"And he's so scrawny," Cora Lee added. "I do declare I've seen more meat on a starvin' possum."
Gregori aimed his flashlight at the portrait. Reginald's crooked fangs glowed with a yellowish tint.
"Santa Maria, may the saints preserve us." Maria Consuela reached for her rosary.
Princess Joanna stood, wobbling slightly in her stiletto heels. "This is terrible! Two vampires cast out. Prithee, Darcy, you must assure us there are no mortals left to plague us."
Darcy winced. "I can't say. But remember, tomorrow night, we're testing the men on their strength."
The princess sat with a sigh of relief. "Good. No mortal man could ever be stronger than a Vamp."
"I will be the judge tomorrow night." Maria Consuela kissed the cross of her rosary. "And with the Lord's blessing, I shall discover the inferior beings and banish them from our presence."
Darcy doubted the Lord was into detecting inferior beings, but still, she hoped the ladies would eliminate Austin and Garrett. She'd be in big trouble if either of the mortal men made it to the last round. She had no doubt that Austin was the sexiest man on earth, but still, she couldn't allow him to win.
The more important question was could there be a future for her and Austin? She had no doubt she was in love with him. Even his rejection and lies hadn't managed to squelch her feelings for him. Vanda's words kept coming back to haunt her. There is nothing more sacred than love. How could she throw this love away without giving it a chance? Roman and Shanna were giving it a chance. Why couldn't she?