"Careful." Angus grabbed her to keep her from falling.
Good heavens, she was standing in a strange room, half naked. She hoped no one else was here. Dammit, she couldn't see. It looked like Angus was peering under his kilt.
"What are you doing?"
He dropped his kilt. "Nothing. A silly habit."
Huh? She tamped down on a rising surge of panic. She could handle this. She'd been in sticky situations before. Of course, she'd always faced danger with her pants on before.
She gritted her teeth. "Where are we?"
"Fifth floor of the townhouse. Roman's office."
"What? Roman's here?" She spun around, expecting his royal vampire highness to pop out from the shadows.
"He no longer lives here. I'm using these rooms now. Ye're perfectly safe."
"Safe? I don't think so. I'm feeling a bit… breezy, if you know what I mean." Her voice rose higher. "I'm half naked."
He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "But 'tis the good half."
"Not helping." She pulled away from him. "I'm half naked, and my clothes are on the ground floor."
"Doona fash. I'll fetch them for you."
She began to pace. "I'm half naked, my clothes are downstairs, and my boss is down there! If he sees me, or sees my clothes, I'll never work again."
"Relax. I'll take care of it."
"How? How can you possibly explain my underwear lying on the floor down there like a bright red beacon? It might as well have blinking neon lights." She continued to pace about in the dark. "I'm so screwed."
"No' entirely. But I'm still hopeful."
"What? I'm half naked, my underwear's downstairs with my boss—ouch!" She collided with a piece of furniture. "And I can't see!"
"Emma, ye're starting to panic."
"I'm in pain!" She jumped up and down, rubbing her sore toes. "And I'm half naked, and I can't see. I bet you can see just fine, can't you, you bloody super Vamp."
"Emma." He grabbed her by the shoulders, led her to a long shadow, and sat her down.
"Stay right here, take deep breaths, and I'll be right back with yer clothes." He disappeared.
Now she was alone, half naked, in pain, and couldn't see. She closed her eyes, took a big breath, and focused on regaining control. She was a professional, dammit. She'd faced the enemy many times and come through. She'd slain four vampires. She was woman. She was invincible.
She opened her eyes and let her sight adjust to the darkness. She was sitting on some sort of couch that felt like velvet. Across from her was a large rectangular piece of furniture.
A desk. Something glowed faintly on top. A computer monitor, facing away from her. To her left were the windows.
She hooked her bra together and buttoned her shirt. She circled the couch and headed slowly across the room. The carpet was thick beneath her bare feet. From the light of one window, she made out a bar. She reached a wall and found a doorknob. Two doorknobs.
She opened the double doors. More darkness. She felt along the wall and clicked on a light switch.
The room was empty, thank goodness. A large bed dominated the room, covered with a tan suede comforter. Very masculine. Was this where Angus slept during the day? Or rather, lay there dead as a doornail. The enormity of her situation punched her in the chest.
She'd been making love to a vampire.
"Oh God." She turned away from the bed.
The light from the bedroom made it possible to see the office. The furnishings looked like valuable antiques. The couch where she'd sat was more like an old-fashioned chaise with one curved arm. A maroon chenille throw lay draped over the raised end. She wrapped it around her waist like a skirt.
She spotted a door and peered outside. The coast was clear. She stepped out and found herself on the top landing of the stairs.
"I'm not leaving here till I know she's safe!" Sean's booming voice echoed up the stairwell.
A man replied with a softer, calmer voice, but she couldn't make out the words. It seemed fairly certain, though, that Sean had to be in the foyer. That was good, if it meant he'd not been allowed into the living room where her clothes were lying about. But it was also bad, because there was no way she could get down the stairs without him seeing her. Maybe Angus could teleport her out. But that still didn't solve the problem with her clothes. With a silent groan, she padded back to the office.
A chiming noise came from the computer. E-mail.
Emma glanced back. She was alone. Of course, a vampire could teleport here in a second. She would have to be fast.