distance between them, hit nothing where the rear of the couch should have been, and landed hard on a cold floor with her legs sticking up in the air.
She stared in surprise at her tights-clad feet and the dark ceiling beyond them, needing a moment to take in what had just happened.
The man appeared above her, his head canting and his golden eyes narrowing as he looked down at her. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Nina quickly shook her head and clutched at the hem of her black skirt, keeping it covering her thighs. She had already made a fool of herself. She didn’t need to go adding flashing her knickers at this man to that. Besides, she still wasn’t sure who he was, how she knew him, or where she was. A flash of panties might be seen as an invitation, and as handsome as this man was, she wasn’t about to invite him between her legs, no matter how long it had been since she had slept with a guy.
She rolled onto her side and scrambled back onto her feet, practically leaping onto them to evade the hand he offered. He stared at his outstretched hand as she smoothed her skirt down, his left eyebrow quirking in a manner that looked a heck of a lot like irritation to her.
When he moved, she expected him to advance towards her.
He retreated instead, backing towards an unlit black marble fireplace against an equally black wall behind him and lowering his hand to his side at the same time.
Nina looked around her as something dawned on her.
Everything in the damned room was black.
Where the hell was she? Some sort of goth retreat?
“There is no need to panic. I do not mean you any harm. You were left in the courtyard of this house and were brought in to keep you safe.”
Nina’s gaze whipped back to the handsome man.
And hell, he
was
handsome. The sort of man that could have a horde of women swooning with little more than a smile, their knees buckling beneath them. She wasn’t immune to his beauty. She wasn’t sure any woman would be able to say that she was. If they did, they would be a liar.
He oozed wicked sensuality as he stared across the room at her, his golden eyes fixed with hawk-like intensity on hers and his soft lips tilted at the corners into a hint of a smile.
Nina shook her head to rid it of the dangerous thoughts piling up in it and focused on what the man had said.
“Keep me safe?” She frowned at that, another ripple of panic running through her as she tried to guess the answer to that question and feared what he would say.
He toyed with the left cuff of his black shirt and then smoothed the fine sleeve of his black suit jacket over it, carefully adjusting it until it was perfect.
Just like him.
Nina shoved that little voice out of her head, determined to focus on the matter at hand and not the man at hand. She was in a strange place, in a stranger’s house, and he was saying that she was in danger.
“You are safe now,” he said with silken persuasiveness that had her dumbly nodding in agreement even when she didn’t honestly feel safe. “The man who brought you here is gone.”
“A man?” Nina’s eyes widened as she tried to remember what had happened to her but her mind remained blank, refusing to supply anything beyond leaving work for the evening.
He nodded and smiled, and it hit her hard in the chest, knocking the wind from her and sending her head spinning.
Her panic returned full force. “I want to go home.”
The man’s smile held. “I am afraid that is not possible yet, but arrangements will be made for your return. If you tell me where you live, I will pass on the information and they will see to it.”
They? Pass on the information? Was he the master of this house or a servant?
“London… I live in London. Anywhere in London will do.” She figured it couldn’t hurt to tell him the city she was from, but she wasn’t about to hand out her address to him. She still wasn’t sure whether there was another man who had taken her, or whether it was an elaborate lie to
She stared in surprise at her tights-clad feet and the dark ceiling beyond them, needing a moment to take in what had just happened.
The man appeared above her, his head canting and his golden eyes narrowing as he looked down at her. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Nina quickly shook her head and clutched at the hem of her black skirt, keeping it covering her thighs. She had already made a fool of herself. She didn’t need to go adding flashing her knickers at this man to that. Besides, she still wasn’t sure who he was, how she knew him, or where she was. A flash of panties might be seen as an invitation, and as handsome as this man was, she wasn’t about to invite him between her legs, no matter how long it had been since she had slept with a guy.
She rolled onto her side and scrambled back onto her feet, practically leaping onto them to evade the hand he offered. He stared at his outstretched hand as she smoothed her skirt down, his left eyebrow quirking in a manner that looked a heck of a lot like irritation to her.
When he moved, she expected him to advance towards her.
He retreated instead, backing towards an unlit black marble fireplace against an equally black wall behind him and lowering his hand to his side at the same time.
Nina looked around her as something dawned on her.
Everything in the damned room was black.
Where the hell was she? Some sort of goth retreat?
“There is no need to panic. I do not mean you any harm. You were left in the courtyard of this house and were brought in to keep you safe.”
Nina’s gaze whipped back to the handsome man.
And hell, he
was
handsome. The sort of man that could have a horde of women swooning with little more than a smile, their knees buckling beneath them. She wasn’t immune to his beauty. She wasn’t sure any woman would be able to say that she was. If they did, they would be a liar.
He oozed wicked sensuality as he stared across the room at her, his golden eyes fixed with hawk-like intensity on hers and his soft lips tilted at the corners into a hint of a smile.
Nina shook her head to rid it of the dangerous thoughts piling up in it and focused on what the man had said.
“Keep me safe?” She frowned at that, another ripple of panic running through her as she tried to guess the answer to that question and feared what he would say.
He toyed with the left cuff of his black shirt and then smoothed the fine sleeve of his black suit jacket over it, carefully adjusting it until it was perfect.
Just like him.
Nina shoved that little voice out of her head, determined to focus on the matter at hand and not the man at hand. She was in a strange place, in a stranger’s house, and he was saying that she was in danger.
“You are safe now,” he said with silken persuasiveness that had her dumbly nodding in agreement even when she didn’t honestly feel safe. “The man who brought you here is gone.”
“A man?” Nina’s eyes widened as she tried to remember what had happened to her but her mind remained blank, refusing to supply anything beyond leaving work for the evening.
He nodded and smiled, and it hit her hard in the chest, knocking the wind from her and sending her head spinning.
Her panic returned full force. “I want to go home.”
The man’s smile held. “I am afraid that is not possible yet, but arrangements will be made for your return. If you tell me where you live, I will pass on the information and they will see to it.”
They? Pass on the information? Was he the master of this house or a servant?
“London… I live in London. Anywhere in London will do.” She figured it couldn’t hurt to tell him the city she was from, but she wasn’t about to hand out her address to him. She still wasn’t sure whether there was another man who had taken her, or whether it was an elaborate lie to
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