The applause hit them like a physical force, shattering their intimate bubble with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer through crystal. Marcus and Samantha froze against each other, their bodies still pressed intimately together, silk blindfolds making the sudden exposure feel even more disorienting. The perfect equilibrium they'd achieved wavered like a tightrope walker caught in a crosswind.
"What the hell?" Samantha's whisper carried a note of panic that cut straight through their supernatural connection. She could feel Marcus's muscles tense against her, his protective instincts warring with confusion and a healthy dose of embarrassment.
Through their enhanced vision, they could make out the energy signatures of at least a dozen beings scattered throughout what they now realized was some kind of amphitheater. The Observatory wasn't just a private room—it was a damn performance space, complete with tiered seating that they'd been too blindfolded and distracted to notice.
