Austin took a sip from his cola. “I think we should learn more about these two different factions.”
Garrett shook his head. “Getting into their politics would be a waste of time. We just need to kill them.”
Austin finished his drink in silence. He needed to contact Shanna Whelan. Or Draganesti, as her name was now. She’d be able to tell him more about vampires. And what it was like to be married to one of them.
He was a goner, he could feel it. He could no longer believe that all vampires were evil demons. Everything he’d learned in the past few weeks pointed to a world that was curiously parallel to the mortal world. Just like humans, vampires could be good or evil. They could love or hate. And since he was in love with one of them, he was trying to make peace with their world so he could accept it. Still, turning his back on the CIA and his old life would be tough. Too tough.
He tossed the can into the trash. What was he thinking, that he could marry Darcy and live happily ever after? Well, she could live forever, but he’d grow old and die. How long would it take before she was tired of his old ass? And a hundred years from now, he’d be long gone and forgotten.
So was it worth it to throw away his life’s work for some flimsy dream? If he was sensible, he’d get himself eliminated tomorrow night. And never see Darcy again. But for the first time in his life, being sensible sounded stupid.
He said good night to Garrett and trudged up to his room. He turned on the computer and checked the surveillance cameras. The last two vampires, Otto and Roberto, were in the billiards room, playing pool. The foyer and portrait room were empty. He switched to the pool house and instantly regretted it.
Darcy looked fresh from the shower, her hair damp and her body scantily clothed in skimpy pajamas. His feelings of longing and despair came hurtling back. How could he give her up? Vanda’s talk in the hot tub had reminded him how rare and special love could be. Darcy was clever, brave, everything he’d always wanted. She was also nervous and agitated. She was pacing back and forth across the room. From her facial expressions and mumbled words, he gathered she was arguing with herself.
She strode to the kitchen and removed a bottle from the fridge. She shook it, unscrewed the top, and poured dark red liquid into a glass. Austin winced. She took something else from the fridge. Chocolate syrup? She squeezed some into the glass, then stirred the concoction with a spoon. Then, she added some ice cubes.
She left the kitchen, sipping from the glass. Austin sat back in his chair, his heart sinking. She might try to disguise the taste, but the result was the same. She was drinking blood.
He strode to the bathroom and took a hot shower. He stuck his head under the nozzle, but the stinging spray couldn’t wash away the memory of Darcy drinking blood. How could he join her world?
There is nothing more sacred than love. Vanda’s words drifted around him and clung to him like hot steam. How could he give her up? He loved her. But could he commit to a vampire?
He dried off, then padded back to the bedroom with the towel wrapped around his waist. He glanced at the computer screen. Darcy was no longer in the main room of the pool house. She’d probably gone to the bedroom where he didn’t have a camera. He checked the foyer and staircase. Empty. The east wing hallway.
His breath hitched, and the towel tumbled to the floor. Darcy was headed his way. She’d put on a white bathrobe to cover her skimpy shorts and tank top.
He strode to his suitcase and pulled out a pair of clean boxer shorts. Red silk. Well, it was better than SpongeBob. There was a light tap on the door. Holy moley. He tugged on the shorts and closed the laptop. He shoved wet hair out of his face and cracked open the door.
Her face was pale and tense. Her gaze drifted over his body, then back to his face.
He tried to keep his expression blank. “This is not a good idea.”
She pressed a hand against the door to keep him from closing it. “You said we should talk.”
“I changed my mind.”
She frowned. “This is your last night here.”
Our last chance to be together, the words hovered over them, unspoken. “I’m not sure it can work.”
Anger flickered in her eyes. “Are you giving up without a fight? That doesn’t sound like a macho super-spy.” She shoved the door open with a surprising spurt of strength.
Vampire strength. Could she actually overpower him? Austin stepped back. “Are you angry?”
“You think?” She shut the door, then paced across his room. “You agreed to get yourself kicked off the show tonight. And yet, you’re still here.”
“I wasn’t trying to stay on. It just happened.”
“Right. You just can’t help being the sexiest guy on earth. It must be an awful trial for you.”
He propped a shoulder against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.
“Are you trying to get me fired?” She continued to pace. “Don’t you realize this is the only network where I can work?” She stopped to glare at him. “Are you totally insensitive to what I’m going through?”
He gritted his teeth. “Are you done?”
“No!” She strode toward him. “You should have never climbed into the hot tub with Vanda.”
“We only talked. You know that. You were watching.” He gave her an irritated look. “Like a hawk.”
She snorted. “Well, you’ve certainly recovered from your repulsion. Or maybe it’s just me who repulses you.”
“You never repulsed me!” He pushed away from the wall. “You just confused the hell out of me. Thinking about the sun and the beach. Drinking ice cold chocolate. Having a damned pulse. How can you be dead and have a pulse?”
She planted her hands on her hips. Her breasts heaved with each angry breath. “I am not dead.”
“Undead, then, if it makes you feel more alive.” He lurched toward her and yanked the bathrobe off one shoulder. He ignored her gasp and pressed two fingers against her carotid artery. Her pulse throbbed against his fingertips.
“Well? Am I dead yet?”
“No.” Dammit. How could he walk away from her when she was alive? “Your heart rate is actually a little fast.”
“Could be that I’m a little miffed.” She lifted her eyebrows. “Or a little excited.”
He lowered his hand and stepped back. “How?”
“How could I be excited?” She tilted her head and examined his body. “Well, I’m all alone with the sexiest man on earth, and it’s been five years since I’ve—”
“I meant how can you have a freakin’ heartbeat?”
“How can I not? I’m walking and talking. I’m thinking about you naked. Now, how could I do that if my heart wasn’t pumping blood to the various parts of my body?”
Blood was certainly getting pumped to certain parts of his body. And it didn’t help that she kept glancing at his shorts. Five years? “What happens to you during the day?”
She sighed. “When the sun rises, my heart stops. Then, when the sun sets, it’s like being struck with a divine defibrillator. Everything jerks back into motion.”
“It sounds painful.”
She smiled slowly as she untied the sash to her bathrobe. “Oh, but it hurts so good.”
Holy seduction. He watched her robe slide to the floor in a heap next to his discarded towel. As he lifted his gaze to her face, his attention snagged on her tank top. It was stretched across her breasts, the thin white cotton almost transparent. Her nipples were plump and pink. All it would take was a touch of his fingers and they would pucker. No, correction. All it took was a look. They pebbled before his eyes, the tips hardening into pink nubs. His groin responded in similar fashion—growing hard, but hardly a nub.
She stepped toward him. “You said you were in love with me. Is that true?”
He closed his eyes briefly. His groin was swelling, his heart aching. “Darcy, you should have someone of your own kind. Someone who can love you and live with you forever. I can’t give you what you need.”
“But I want you.”
“Dammit.” He marched toward the door. “You know I work for the CIA. If I go around killing vampires, it’s going to cause a strain on our relationship, don’t you think?”
“You could quit.”
And be sucked into the vampire world, living only at night, constantly surrounded by creatures who considered him a snack. “You’re asking me to give up everything.”
“Then forget it.” She leaned against the door to keep him from opening it. “Forget the happily ever after. It’s a crock. It hardly ever happens, even in the mortal world.”
“Don’t say that, Darcy. You deserve to be loved.”
Her eyes glimmered with moisture. “We don’t always get what we deserve, do we? I learned that the hard way. So now, I’ll just take whatever I can get. Even if it’s just one night.”
His body screamed yes, but still he fought it. Because, damn it all, one night would never be enough.
She locked the door. “One night.”
He leaned his back against the wall. He would give in, he knew it. How could he resist when he wanted her so much? But if she thought they could simply shake hands afterward and go their merry way—then she didn’t know how deeply he felt.
Her eyes wavered with a hint of insecurity. “Are you repulsed by me?”
“God, no.” Not when he was considering giving up everything for her. Holy irony. How many times in the past had he been the one satisfied with a one-night stand? Was this some sort of divine payback? The thought that she could settle for one damned night was slowly twisting his guts. It trivialized their feelings, their connection to each other. It pissed him off.
“Are you afraid of me?” She lifted her chin. “I’ve never bitten anyone, and I never will. I’d rather die.”
“You don’t bite?” he ground out the words.
“No, I don’t.”
“What a shame. I do.”
She stepped back, her eyes wide. “You…want to bite me?”
“Sure.” He crossed his arms, acting nonchalant in spite of his growing anger. “I like to bite.”
She gave him a wary look. “You mean hard?”
“Not enough to hurt. It’s more like a series of nibbles, a scraping of teeth over the more sensitive parts of your body. Then, there’s the swirling of the tongue. And let’s not forget the joys of suction.”
Her mouth fell open. Then, she recovered and licked her lips. “Where exactly would you want to bite me?”
He looked her over slowly. “The base of your neck where it meets your shoulder. And the soft place a few inches below your belly button.”
“Here?” She slipped her hand under the elastic waistband of her pale blue shorts.
“Yes.” His voice sounded hoarse, so he cleared his throat. He motioned to her sequined flip-flops. “And your toes.”
“Oh.” She kicked off her slides and wiggled her toes into the thick carpet. “Anywhere else?”
“Your calves. Inner thighs. The back of your thighs where they curve into your delicious little bottom.”
She turned sideways and lifted the hem of her shorts to reveal the curve of her derriere. “Here?” She stroked the skin. Her eyelids lowered slightly. “Anywhere else?”
His erection strained against the flimsy silk of his boxer shorts. “Hip, below the waist where it widens.”
She shimmied her shorts down her hips a few inches, then skimmed her hands over the bare skin. “Anywhere else?”
“Underside of your breasts, where it’s full and heavy.”
“Ah.” She rolled up her tank top ’til the plump curves were revealed. She stopped just before she reached the nipples. She cupped her hands beneath her breasts and lifted. When she looked at him, her eyes darkened and began to shimmer.
Holy crap. He tensed. “Your eyes are glowing red.”
“It means I’m hot. And I’m ready.”
“It’s an automatic thing?” Damn. If she had no control over her vampish behavior, what else would she do? Would her fangs spring out? What if she was actually stronger than him?
She strolled toward him. “Tell me where else you want to bite me.”
He wasn’t going to let her overpower him. He had other strengths at his disposal. He gathered his mental power and zeroed in on her brain. She halted with a gasp. Her eyes closed as a pink blush colored her face then crept down her neck.
Take off your shirt.
Her eyes opened. She smiled slightly. “As you wish.” She pulled the tank top over her head and dropped it on the floor.
He was admiring her breasts when an icy wisp of psychic power drifted toward him and hovered around his head. He automatically swatted it away, and the cloud dissipated.
“You’re very strong,” she whispered.
“You’re not.”
She shrugged. “I’ve never tried it before. I don’t believe in invading people’s privacy.”
“Then you don’t like me getting in your head.”
“I don’t like vampires doing it. They’re so terribly cold. But you, you’re so wonderfully hot.” She blushed. “I don’t have anything to hide from you, and it feels so good to be warm inside. I’ve been cold for so long.”
Cold because she was literally dead half the time. What was he getting into? Every morning he would wake next to a dead woman. But he couldn’t ignore the pain and longing in her eyes. Her pain had become his own. Her world would become his own.
She stood before him, naked except for a pair of shorts. Her eyes had turned sky blue again, filled with a mixture of desire and fear. She was afraid he would reject her.
“You were telling me where you’d like to bite me,” she reminded him quietly.
“Yeah, there’s one more place. But I wouldn’t bite you there. I’d make love.” He leaned forward and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. Gently, he moved her hair back. There, on her neck, were two little scars from a vampire’s fangs. Poor Darcy. No wonder she always wore her hair down. He caressed the scars with his fingertips.
She shuddered. “Where would you love me?”
He whispered in her ear, “Your clit.” He lifted her in his arms, strode toward the bed, and dropped her on the comforter.
“Austin?”
“Yes.” He was taking her, and damn the consequences.
Chapter 21
Darcy’s heart was thundering in her ears as she reached for him. Yes! If all else failed, she would at least have this one glorious night. Austin fell onto the bed and pulled her into his arms. Yes, her mind repeated the same word since she was too excited to think of anything else. She scattered kisses over his face and raked her hands into his hair. It was thick, damp, and oh, so soft, a wonderful contrast to the darker whiskers lining his jaw.
He was planting kisses all over her face, too, and she didn’t mind that he seemed rushed. Even frantic. So what if this quickly careened out of control and exploded? She loved the aura of desperation, and it would be one hell of an explosion.
Their mouths found each other, instantly opening and melding together. He invaded her with his tongue at the same time that he entered her mind.
I’m here, Darcy. You’ll never feel cold again.
She opened for him, both mentally and physically, reveling in the heat from his mind and body. A wave of awe swept through her as she realized just how open she was. He was in her mind and would soon enter her body. He would know every inch of her, inside and out. And the wonder of it was she wasn’t afraid. She trusted him. She’d never trusted anyone so much before.
He pulled back and looked at her. “Darcy.” He brushed back her hair. “You honor me.”
He’d heard her thoughts. She felt as if her heart would burst with an overabundance of love. She wanted to show him how much. She had to. With a lightning-quick move, she shoved him onto his back and pinned his arms down.
“Whoa!” His shocked expression turned wary. “You’re, uh, really strong.”
Stronger than she’d realized. Co
ol. She examined Austin’s muscular arms and chest. Why, she was as strong as a macho super spy. He clenched a fist and strained against her grip on his wrist. He couldn’t budge her. Very cool.
Frowning, he studied her. “I guess this turns you on. Your eyes are red again.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.” She released his wrists, letting her fingers glide up his arms, over his biceps and shoulders, and onto his chest. She splayed her hands into his curly chest hair, then followed the trail of dark brown hair to his navel. What a gorgeous man. She could eat him alive.
He propped himself up on his elbows, watching her with a worried look. “I’d rather you didn’t.”
Oh, the rascal had heard her. “I meant it metaphorically. Relax.” She shoved him back down. “I said I’d be gentle.” She grabbed the waistband of his sexy red underwear and pulled.
Rip. She winced as the flimsy silk tore in two. “Oops.”
He lifted his head to look at his ripped shorts.
“Sorry.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m a little overly eager.” She glanced down at him. “I’m not the only one.”
With a groan, he let his head drop back on the bed. “If you don’t know your own strength, you should st—” He gasped when she curled her hand around him.
“I should what?” She gently stroked the shaft.
He gritted his teeth. “Continue.”
She drew little circles around the tip. “I thought you could be persuaded.”
“Yeah, I’m easy.” His eyes flickered shut. His chest heaved with rapid breaths.
He was such a beautiful man. And so large. She traced a vein on his shaft, then snuggled close to him so she could retrace it with her tongue. A moan rumbled deep in his throat. She trailed kisses up to the tip, then took him into her mouth.
Do you like this, she asked him in her thoughts.
God, yes. You’re so good. You’re—“Wait!” He struggled to sit up.
She released him with a smack of her lips. “Hmm. Tastes like chicken.”
“It’s not funny. You’ve never made love as a vampire, right? Do you even know what to expect?”
Vamps and the City Page 24