Hidden Heart (19 page)

Emmy came to life beside me. “I’ve got an extra—in my room—you can borrow it.”

She grinned at me, and I gave her an approving nod. Truthfully, I wanted to hug her. This was perfect—the exact opportunity we needed for escape. We’d go back to the room, wait until the others were outside, then make a break for it.

“Great. Listen y’all—we’re gonna go back and find a suit for me, I’ll get changed, and we’ll meet you out there.”

And then someone tapped me on the back. I spun around to see Ingrid giving me the coldest smile I’d ever beheld.

“There will be no need for
borrowed
swimwear. I have this for you. It’s brand-new. It’s Versace.”

I had to swallow my heart before answering. First, because it scared me to death that she’d been standing right behind me as I tried to concoct a scheme to escape. And second, because what dangled from her fingertip resembled a hair ribbon more than an actual garment.

“Oh. Wow. That’s… great. So generous.”

“It’s not generosity,” she snapped. “It’s what Reggie wants. He likes his girls to look good. Now get in there and put it on.” She dropped the ribbon into my palm. “Emmy—grab your suit and go with the others. You can change in the pool house. I’ll make sure your new roommate finds her way to the pool deck.”

Emmy snapped into action, obeying Ingrid’s orders and emerging from the room in under a minute with a yellow bikini in hand. Giving me a last searching glance over her shoulder, she followed the other girls down the hall.

“You two seem to be getting along well,” Ingrid said in a measured tone.

I made sure my answering tone was all small-town-girl innocence. “Yes. She’s nice. And I like my room. Okay… I’ll go get changed.”

Five minutes later I stood in front of the full-length closet door mirror, almost in tears. I couldn’t go out there—anywhere—in this swimsuit. Donatella Versace was known for her daring, body-baring designs, and she’d outdone herself on this one. Not only was I being asked to shed all my street clothes, I’d have to drop every scrap of modesty I possessed to wear this in public.

The suit would officially have been called a one-piece, but when I walked out of this room, parts of me that had never seen the sun would be exposed for the world to see. It was black, with a halter-style top that plunged to my lower ribcage. The halter straps themselves barely covered the centers of my breasts, revealing side cleavage on
both
sides. The top and bottom halves of the suit were joined by a metallic gold ring over my belly button.

Matching gold rings at each hip anchored the bottom half of the suit, which was no more generous than the top. It consisted of a tiny panel of black fabric that barely covered my bikini zone in the front and a mortifying never-in-my-life G-string in the back. 

Cringing, I turned around and peeked over my shoulder at the rear view.

Oh dear God
. It was worse than I’d expected. I looked basically nude from behind. My eyes went to the window. Was it wired with a house alarm? Maybe I could climb out and hitch a ride back to Nox’s? No. Emmy was here. I couldn’t leave her.

I turned back around to the mirror, my face a twisted image of anxiety and my hands wringing each other white from loss of circulation.

A knock sounded at the door, making me jump.

“Are you dressed? What’s taking so long?”

I called a shaky answer back to Ingrid, my guard dog. “Almost. Just a minute.”

Oh God.
I had to do it. If I refused to wear the Emperor’s-new-swimwear, Ingrid would know I wasn’t glamoured.

And then Reggie would know.

And then the word would no doubt travel up the Elven chain of command—to the council? To the leader of the Dark Elves himself—Davis? That would put not only me in danger, but Emmy, and Mom, and even Nox, who should have “known better” that I wasn’t actually under his glamour.

I swallowed the enormous lump in my throat and wiped my expression clean of worry and doubt, doing my best to replace it. Joyful anticipation was too much to ask of myself, so I went for untroubled serenity.

I walked to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway with a confident stride. I shivered in the air conditioning as Ingrid checked me over like she was inspecting a package of meat at the grocery store.

“Good. That’s perfect on you. You have a good build for a—come on—let’s join the others.”

Ugh. The others. I wasn’t worried about the other girls—they were in the same boat as I was, probably uncomfortable in their own assigned swimwear. It was Reggie who concerned me. My goal had been to fly under his radar. But wearing this suit, I might as well have a black box strapped to my butt. One look and his radar would probably be pinging off the charts.

Maybe he was already fully involved with the other girls and drinking copious amounts of adult beverages. I would slip into the water and hide before he spotted me.

That hope was dashed the instant I stepped onto the pool deck. Reggie was not in the water, not involved with any girls. Yes
they
were in the water, splashing and laughing and screaming in that
please look at me
way girls do when there are guys around and they want to be sure they’re noticed.

And they
were
capturing the guys’ attention. Reggie stood near the outdoor bar, surrounded by a group of men—some clearly fellow athletes, others might have been actors—it was hard to tell. They were all so unnaturally good-looking and camera-ready any one of them would look right at home on the set of a men’s fashion magazine photo shoot.

Their eyes were on the pool where two sets of girls were having a sort of wrestling match in the shallow end, each team comprised of a girl riding another’s shoulders. Reggie raised his hands, clapping them over his head at their antics.

I followed Ingrid, and as we neared the group, averted my eyes from the men. Walking by in this swimsuit and making eye contact would probably equal some sort of invitation in their eyes.

But before looking away, I caught a glimpse of a tall, dark-haired man from the back. His shoulders were wide, his waist narrow, his legs long and strong. The way he stood reminded me of…
my God. Nox is here.

Perhaps noticing the other guys noticing
me
, he turned around. Our eyes locked. And then his gaze dropped. And stayed. Right on my chest and all that exposed side cleavage. Then it moved to my waist, my belly button, my hips, down my legs and slowly back up.

His jaw literally dropped open. I’d never seen that particular expression before on any guy in my entire life. It was a look of shock coupled with raging desire.

My eyes widened involuntarily at his expression, and then I tore my gaze away and locked it on the back of Ingrid’s head. As we passed directly in front of the group, I could tell they were no longer watching the shallow end wrestling match. Another spectacle had commandeered their interest. The non-existent back of my barely-there suit.

There were appreciative noises, lewd comments, and suggestions of future trades.
Awesome
. I’d just become the prize Holstein at the cattle auction. Instead of flying under the radar, I was up on the block for bids.

I didn’t let on that I’d heard their remarks or that I cared about the eyes boring into my backside. Ingrid left me with the other girls at the deep end of the pool, and I dived under the surface, instantly relieved to be away from the hungry gazes above.

Coming up for air, I glanced around, searching for Emmy. She was hanging on the side of the pool with some other girls, facing a huge outdoor TV screen. Naturally, it was playing highlights of Reggie’s team interspersed with interview clips.

When a girl in a red G-string bikini got out of the water near the men and sashayed toward the diving board, I swam over to Emmy.

“Hi y’all,” I said to the group. No answer. Nothing. Everyone, including Emmy, kept staring at the screen.

I tapped Emmy on the shoulder. “Hey, you want to swim over there with me? We can finish our earlier conversation,” I said meaningfully.

She turned to me and blinked as if the sun were in her eyes. “What conversation? Were we talking about Reggie?”

“No. The
other
conversation.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “You know—the one about our
plans
.” I gave her the wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

She shook her head. “What plans?”

Oh no.
What had happened between our bedroom door and this pool? We’d discussed an escape not twenty minutes earlier. Now Emmy didn’t seem to have any idea what I was talking about, and the disconnected look was back in her eyes. She turned back to the big screen.

And then it hit me.
That’s
what had happened. The screen. The video. Something about the video of Reggie had mesmerized her to the point that my earlier efforts seemed to have been erased.

But how was it possible? It was just sports highlights and a boring sideline interview—something TV viewers across the nation watched on a daily basis.
Oh my God.
That had to be it.

My head felt dizzy, as if I were suffering from sunstroke, but it was the sudden onslaught of questions spinning through my brain. Was Elven glamour somehow enhanced by electronic signals? Satellites? The video on Emmy’s computer seemed to have had the same effect, so maybe the glamour was strengthened by the internet as well.

And of course radio signals carried songs like Nox’s to the world—perhaps they had a similar effect on music listeners. If it was true, that would explain how celebrity obsession and interest in fan pods were spreading like wildfire.

I had to tell Nox about this—get his take on it. Without any further thought for my attire, or lack thereof, I reached for the nearby deck ladder and climbed out of the water, turning my head in a scan of the area. Hopefully, he was still here.

When I found Nox’s eyes, they were already on me. As he had before, he ran his gaze up and down my body, like he couldn’t drag his eyes away. Maybe he was in disbelief that I was actually wearing such an embarrassing getup.
You and me both, buddy.

I strode across the hot tile, intending to head for the bathroom in the pool house and send him a message to meet me there so we could talk in a secluded spot. But before I could get close, he’d already crossed the deck to meet me.

“
What
are you
wearing
?” he hissed. “Do you have
any
idea what kind of reaction you’re causing over there?”

“It wasn’t my choice. The house manager ordered me to wear this. But it doesn’t even matter. We have more important things to talk about.”

“Talk? How am I supposed to concentrate on conversation when you’re parading around practically naked?”

“Well, stop looking. What are you even doing here anyway?”

“I had to make sure you were okay. Good thing I
am
here, too, because—”

Before he could finish, Reggie ran toward me and lowered his shoulder as if going in for a tackle. Instead, he scooped me off my feet and held me against his bare chest with one arm around my back and the other under my knees.

“Here’s my new prize.” He laughed out loud and started carrying me toward the bar like a doe he’d hunted and felled. “You looking for a drink, Southern Belle? Let me get you something—whatever you want, sweet thing. Hey Nils,” he shouted to the bartender. “Get this lovely lady something blue to drink—with an umbrella.”

He lowered my feet to the pavement but did not release me entirely. Instead, he kept his arm around my waist, his large hand covering my hip as he continued to steer me toward the tiki bar.

I had no choice but to go along. I couldn’t see Nox anymore, but the other guys were clustered around the bar area. Their eyes dropped to my cleavage as we approached. Even when I looked away, I still felt their lusty gazes on my body.

“Oh, here we go,” said a blond surfer-dude looking guy. He
had
to be a male model. “Reggie’s in rare form today. Look while you can boys—this one may not survive the night.”

“She may not survive the next hour,” said an actor I recognized, his English accent more pronounced than it was on screen. The other guys laughed and nodded.

“I call next if she does,” one of them shouted. 

Another one added with a note of sympathy, “She looks like a newbie. Look at those big eyes. Maybe you should lay off the kinky stuff this time—show her some mercy, eh Reg?”

The other men snickered as if the idea of Reggie showing mercy was somehow a joke.

“I’ll show her the inside of my bedroom,” he said with a swaggering grin. “And
then
I’ll show her my—”

Nox stepped into our path, his posture tense, his face severe. His shoulders were back, fists clenched at his sides. He was blocking our way to the bar, and Reggie was not amused.

He straightened his back, emphasizing the height difference between him and Nox. “Hey man, what’s the problem? You not having a good time at my pool party?”

“It’s great,” Nox ground out, never taking his eyes from me.

“Well, what then? You got a thing for this girl? ’Cause that’s a mistake, man. That’s not how things work. They’re not like us, you know.”

Nox froze a second, then his face relaxed and he took a half-step back, releasing a long breath. “No. I know. There’s no problem.”

“Good,” Reggie said, a new challenge entering his voice. “Because I don’t
like
problems. I
do
like my new toy, though.” He pulled me in tightly to his side and nuzzled my neck. Then he slowly and deliberately licked my earlobe.

And Nox exploded into action.

He lunged at Reggie, catching him off-guard and knocking the larger, thicker man to the pool deck with a blow to the jaw.

I stumbled to the side as the other guys swarmed toward the fight, a couple of them reaching to pull Reggie back onto his feet and two others grabbing Nox’s arms to restrain him and prevent him from attacking our party host a second time.

Reggie slowly got to his feet and then his huge arm was swinging through the air so quickly it was almost a blur. There was a loud crack as his fist connected with Nox’s cheek. If not for the men holding his arms, I’m sure Nox would’ve dropped instantly.

There were delayed screams and flying questions as the girls caught wind of what was happening and began rushing in our direction. Within minutes, Nox, Reggie, and I were encircled by the alarmed faces of his fan pod members and the hardened expressions of all the Elven men.

What were you thinking?
I asked Nox silently, blinking back tears at his swelling cheekbone and wondering if my desperation came through in the mind-to-mind communication. He was hurt. And his impulsive reaction had probably blown our cover. It might even prevent me from getting Emmy out of here tonight.

I couldn’t just stand there and let him treat you like that
. His eyes blazed as they roamed my face and body, looking for damage.

You should have—I could’ve handled it. And stop looking at me like that
, I warned him.
We’re already in enough trouble.

“What the hell is wrong with you, man?” Reggie asked, rubbing one hand across his jaw. “You’re lucky I don’t beat your ass into tomorrow.”

Nox stared him down, refusing to answer.

“I give you credit for having a pair—and a mean right hook—but you’re gonna have some explaining to do when the Council hears about this.”

Nox’s eyes went wide with alarm and the sudden realization of how much he’d screwed up. “The Council?”

“Yeah. And Davis is in town tonight, so you get to face the council
and
the main man.”

Davis was here? In L.A.?
Oh no
. On one hand I was glad he wasn’t with Mom back home in Mississippi. On the other, this was very, very bad. Davis knew who I was—Mom had no doubt shown him pictures. He’d recently spent time in Altum, so he might recognize Nox, too.

The fact he was Vancia’s adoptive father made me suspect he might already know what I was doing out here—not checking out a college as I’d told Mom, but masquerading as one of Nox’s fan girls. If Vancia was on his side, she’d undoubtedly told him she saw me. Maybe that’s why he’d come to California.

What would he do when he learned his own biological daughter was working
against
his fan pod system? What would he do when he found out Nox was trying to help me? I had to do something to stop this. Nox and I were not ready to face the leader of the Dark Elves.

“What should we do with him?”

“Take him in the house—put him in a guest room and put a guard at the door,” Reggie ordered. “I’ll let Davis know what’s going on.”