Single White Vampire (Argeneau #3)(61)

Once the plates were cleared away, the dancing began. Lucern murmured that he would be back in a moment, and Kate, presuming he had to go to the men's room, nodded absently, her attention on the dancers swirling around the room. She turned to say something to Jodi, who had taken the seat on Lucern's other side, but paused when she saw Lucern was still there. "I thought you were…"

Her voice trailed away as she noted that his hands were under the table. He appeared to be… doing something. "What… ?" she began in amazement.

"I am caught on something," he said shortly.

Kate blinked, confusion filling her mind. "What do you mean, you're caught on something?" She was imagining… well, it was best she didn't think too long on what she was imagining. She soon learned it was worse than that.

"The tablecloth," he said, ducking slightly to the side in an attempt to see the problem. "One of the pins."

It was all he had to say; Kate got the picture at once. One of the jeweled pins on his codpiece had somehow gotten caught on the tablecloth. Much to her horror, a burst of laughter slipped from her lips.

Lucern wasn't amused. "This isn't funny," he told her grimly. "I have to relieve myself rather urgently. And I can't get up."

"So… you people have to go to the bathroom, too?" Kate asked with interest.

Lucern glared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Where do you get your thoughts?"

"Well," she explained in self-defense, "Bram in his books, never had Dracula relieve himself. I just never thought—"

"I doubt if he had Mina relieve herself, either," Lucern growled. He jerked at the tablecloth, making it and everything on it slide an inch or so toward him.

The conversation around the table stopped. Kate glanced up to see that everyone was staring at Lucern with varying levels of horrified fascination. Knowing that Lucern would never ask for help, Kate decided to save him from his pride. She drew attention to herself by clearing her throat, then smiled at Chris. "C.K., can you help Lucern? He's in some difficulty."

"Sure, what's the problem?" Her friend started to rise.

"One of the pins on his codpiece has attached itself to the tablecloth. Maybe you could crawl under the table and set him loose," she suggested.

Chris laughed and paused. "You're kidding, right?"

When she shook her head, he dropped abruptly back into his seat. "Sorry. Codpiece removal is not my department."

"Chris!" Kate said grimly.

"Kate," he responded dryly. "He's your writer. You crawl under the table and undo him."

"I thought you liked him," she said accusingly.

"Not that much," Chris shot back. Then he glanced apologetically to Lucern. "Sorry, Luc."

"I quite understand. I'll manage." He responded with dignity, but he was blushing fiercely, Kate noted with interest. She hadn't known that vampires could blush.

He jerked the tablecloth again in his efforts, and Kate frowned. He was going to upset the table or wreck the costume she'd rented. Neither option was a good one. She had no desire to find the remnants of the dinner on her rented costume; she didn't want to have to pay to clean it. Nor did she want to replace the ridiculous codpiece Lucern wore because he'd ruined it. Swallowing the last of her wine, she set her glass down and turned to Lucern.

"Okay. Get your hands out of the way and let me have a look."

Lucern hesitated, then brought his hands out and onto the table. Kate promptly bent down to try to see what was going on. She was at the wrong angle. "Can't you back any further out?" she asked.

"Not without taking the tablecloth with me," he snapped.

She straightened and peered around selfconsciously, not surprised to see the tableful of writers all watching avidly. Her gaze found Jodi's on the opposite side of Lucern. "I can't see anything from this angle. I'm going to have to get under the table."

Jodi's eyes rounded; then she got to her feet. "Come on, girls. There's no need for everyone to know what's going on. We can act as a barricade."

The other authors all promptly got to their feet and moved around the table. Kate watched with relief as they formed a semicircle around her seat and Lucern's, their wide skirts making a nice curtain. Chris was the only one left seated. He watched the operation with wide eyes, apparently unsure whether he should be horrified or laugh.

"Go ahead," Jodi said once everyone was in place. The other writers nodded.

Kate felt ridiculously like a soldier being sent on a solo secret mission. Wishing she'd had more wine, she took a deep breath then slid off her seat and under the table. It was terribly dark. And hot. She knelt to the side of Lucern's hosed legs, her head twisted, attempting to see the pin and what it was caught on, but she wasn't quite at the right angle and wasn't close enough.

Muttering under her breath, Kate eased closer, around his leg until she knelt between his knees; then she reached tentatively for the bunched-up tablecloth. She was absolutely not going to touch his codpiece, at least not if she could help it. She lifted the cloth a bit, but it really was attached.

"Do you need a candle or something under there?" Jodi asked helpfully. Her head suddenly appeared under the table, then it disappeared and Kate heard her ask, "Does anyone have one of those pen light things in their purse? I usually carry one, but…"