"Your pants. And I'd suggest right away by the sounds coming from beyond that door. It'll only take them a moment to figure out we locked it from the other side and then come round here."
"Take them off, or I'll take them off for you."
She had little time to dwell on her anger at him, as the pounding on the door became more persistent. She pulled frantically on her the leg of her pants in a last effort to free them. Then she looked up with startled eyes as St. James turned and headed for the stairs.
It took some effort, but she managed to slip out of the pants. She frowned as she glanced down at her bare legs. Refusing to go without undergarments, she'd worn a pair of the under drawers she usually wore on her early morning rides. They were made of silk and reached just to her knees, and left little to the imagination.
Barefoot and barelegged, she came up behind St. James, carrying her boots.
Zach glanced briefly in her direction and forced back a smile. He wasn't wrong. Miss Elyse Winslow was a very beautiful woman and she had exceptionally long and beautiful legs.
He'd seen many women in various states of undress, including the exotic Fatima just that evening during her performance, but none could compare with the young woman who clung to him like a shadow.
"Have you thought about what you're going to do when we get out of here?" she asked.
Getting out of the building was much easier than either of them expected. Judging by the offices they passed in the hallway, it was obviously some sort of professional building. Light from the streetlamps outside spilled through windows and lit the way. In a matter of minutes, Zach guided them away from the front of the building and out through a service entrance at the back. Elyse stepped out into the dark alley after him.
"What now?" she whispered.
"You're going to stay here," Zach informed her, stepping away from the back of the building into the alleyway.
"You're leaving?"
"I have to find a coach. I don't think you really want to be seen parading about the streets of London at this time of night in your silk underwear."
"If you'll remember, it's your fault I don't have my pants. Wait!" she called frantically after him when she realized he really did intend to leave her.
Zach turned and quickly retraced his steps. Without a word, he stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around her. He hesitated for a moment, and then, as if he'd suddenly decided something, lowered his head down and brushed his lips across hers. He caught the startled look on her face, that matched his own at... something he felt in that brief kiss.
"I'm going with you," she informed him, not trusting him in spite of their kiss. To a man like St. James, it meant nothing. After all, he'd left her in the Woods without a horse. What was to stop him from leaving her now?
"There's no telling what I'll find out there." He indicated the street that fronted both buildings. "I'll be back. You have my word."
"A promise from a pirate?" she replied. There was nothing light or playful in his gaze when he briefly looked back.
"You don't trust me?"
"Of course, not!" But strangely enough, she did.
He smiled that maddening smile. Then he was gone, blending in as if he were nothing more than another shadow. Elyse pulled his coat more tightly about her.
It seemed an eternity before he returned. She'd almost believed he had gone off and left her again. He took hold of her hand.
"Come with me."
"Did you find a coach?"
Without answering, he pulled her down the alley and then another one. It seemed they wound their way blindly before they turned into another alley and almost came face to face with two uniformed officers, gas lanterns in their hands. He pulled her into the shadows of a recessed doorway, and they both held their breath as the officers passed by without noticing them.
She had only a moment to catch her breath as they ducked down another alley. Emerging at the end, they rounded the corner and practically ran right into a team of horses.
"That you, Cap'n?" came a low voice.
"Aye, Sandy."
Captain? The greeting caught her by surprise. And he'd responded with such easy familiarity. The man called Sandy turned up the wick of the coach lantern to light their way.
"That's the last of em, Cap'n. I heard one of them say they was returnin' to that fancy club."
