Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume IX: The Equalizer

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“That would be a fair assumption, yes.”

“Excellent. Count me in.”

Robin grinned. “I already had.”

“You know the Red Ball is tomorrow night, right? I imagine that a good number of the people who’ve ended up on Marion’s list will be there. Perhaps instead of using the sledgehammer approach—not that it isn’t effective, mind you—you should employ a more … considered method. You’ve got Ranger Security resources at your fingertips, after all. Who knows what sort of leverage might emerge from a little reconnaissance.”

The Red Ball was an annual event hosted by Partners for Progress, a coalition of wealthy businessmen who believed in the old I’ll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine approach to industry. It took place at the Turtledove, one of the oldest and grandest hotels in the downtown area and was one of the premiere formal events of the year for the city’s elite. It was a black-tie occasion and, true to its namesake, the women all wore red. It made a striking impression.

“The Red Ball?” Robin heard Jason say. “I’m going to the Red Ball. I’m told it’s quite exclusive.”

Robin snorted. Not exclusive enough if that jackass got an invitation.

“It is,” John told him. “You’ve got your red tuxedo already, don’t you? Those damned things are rare. I had to have mine special made. Double breasted with big brass buttons.”

Robin guffawed, thankful that Jason couldn’t hear him. “Don’t forget the gold cord.”

John dutifully added the cord and then told Jason that if he really wanted to make the right impression, he should consider a matching hat, as well. “Women love hats. It’s the mark of a gentleman.”

“You are evil, my friend,” Robin said, chuckling. “Brilliant, but evil.”

“Likewise. See you in a bit.”

Robin disconnected and, on a whim, sent a quick text to Ranger’s resident hacker, Charlene “Charlie” Weatherford. He liked everyone he worked with, but he was especially fond of Charlie and her husband, Jay. They were new parents and sickeningly in love.

Rather than text back, she called him. “I wasn’t busy at all. Just bored. What do you need?”

“Bored? How can you be bored with a toddler underfoot?”

“Both the toddler and my husband have gone to bed, there’s nothing worth watching on television and Juan-Carlos’s emails have taken a turn toward the mundane.”

Juan-Carlos was the superefficient office manager who had perfected the art of looking simultaneously martyred and put-upon. While everyone else seemed to understand that Charlie didn’t understand the word private, the little Latino man didn’t, and would flip a bitch if he knew Charlie had been hacking into his email account.

“Please tell me you need me to do something,” she implored, sounding a bit like an addict jonesing for a fix.

Robin grinned. “I do, actually.” He outlined what he needed. “Is that going to present a problem?”

She feigned insult. “Please,” she said. “It’s child’s play. Are you sure that’s all you need?”

“For the moment, though I’ll probably need additional assistance tomorrow. Will you be around?”

“I will,” she said.

“Excellent.”

He disconnected, then started the car and, with one last lingering look at Marion’s pink fortress, he backed out of the driveway.

It was time to deal with Jason.

He’d take care of Marion in the morning. Whatever she intended with that house, she’d made a tactical error.

He wasn’t afraid of pink.

5

JUSTINE SKIDDED TO A STOP just inside Marion’s door and beamed strangely at her. It was the same manic, starstruck smile her right-hand-woman only wore for one person.

Robin.

“He’s here,” she said, her voice stuck between breathless and squeaky. “I just saw him pull up.” Her eyes rounded in surprise. “Did you know that he got a new truck? It’s one of those four-door jobs with a big tow hitch and running boards. And it’s dirty,” she said, as though this was especially of note.

Actually, she did know about the truck because that was what he’d driven her home in last night, though she hadn’t noticed it being dirty or having a tow hitch. Of course, she’d been too keenly aware of him to pay much attention to anything else. She just remembered that it smelled like him—warm and fragrant, like patchouli and sandalwood. His scent had lingered long after he’d left and she’d found herself reluctant to wash her face, irrationally not wanting to rinse away his kiss. Her skin tingled anew just thinking about it, and an arc of heat blossomed deep in her belly.

From a seemingly harmless kiss on the cheek, and yet … And yet nothing could have made her want him more. Wasn’t this why she’d avoided him? Why she’d been careful to never be alone with him? Because she couldn’t trust herself. Because everything about Robin Sherwood drew her in. The mischievous, intelligent eyes, the lazy grin, that wicked sense of humor.

And then there was more—the substantial things. Character, for example. That antiquated notion that a man should honor his word—or a bet, she thought wryly, remembering his outfit from last night. One who would let his “yes” be “yes” and his “no” a “no.” One who could afford a mansion, but lived in an idyllic farmhouse instead. One who was here this morning to make others keep their word, honor their promises. That’s the kind of man Robin Sherwood was, the kind that, regrettably, made every other guy pale in comparison.

She was doomed, Marion thought. Doomed to care too much about a man whose grandfather was ultimately responsible for the death of her brother and the ruination of her family. Rationally, she knew that Robin wasn’t to blame—he’d been just a kid himself—but she’d be lying if she said the association wasn’t always going to be a stumbling block.

And even if she could get past it, she knew her mother couldn’t.

Her mother had never set foot in the clinic, simply because it was funded with Sherwood money. Her logic didn’t exactly make sense considering everything about her existence—including the retirement she currently enjoyed and which Marion supplemented—was funded with Sherwood money. Her mother had badgered Marion for years about quitting the clinic and doing something different, something that would permanently sever ties with the Sherwood family, but Marion had never been able to do that. She was happy here, and she did good work. Work that honored her brother … and kept her as close as she was able to be to Robin.

She wasn’t sure which motivation was more powerful and feared too much introspection on the subject would reveal a truth she didn’t particularly want to face.

Justine bustled over, pulled open one of Marion’s desk drawers and removed a forgotten tube of lip gloss. “Hold still,” she said, determinedly aiming the application wand at Marion’s lips.

Startled, Marion shrugged back and scowled at her. “I can do that myself, thanks,” she said. “If I thought I needed it,” she added. “Which I don’t.” Honestly, Marion thought. This wasn’t a date, for pity’s sake. He was simply coming by to pick up a list. Nothing more. So why was her heart threatening to beat out of her chest, and why was her previously calm stomach staging a coup?

“Yes, you do,” Justine told her. “Trust me, bloodless lips aren’t attractive. You need some color.”

Ordinarily Marion would have dismissed Justine’s remark out of hand because Justine, a fit fifty who subscribed to the “more is more” philosophy of makeup, was forever trying to offer beauty tips. Marion loved color as much as anyone, but when it came to applying it to her face, she preferred a more natural look. She hesitated, torn. But if her lips were indeed “bloodless,” then admittedly that was not attractive and she was just vain enough to want to remedy the problem.

“Fine,” she said, taking the gloss. “But I’ll do it myself.”

Justine beamed at her, evidently thrilled to be making some progress. “Excellent.” She pulled a compact of blush from her pocket. “While you’re at it, you might as well add a little—”

“No.”

The woman’s face fell. “Just a little to accentuate—”

A knock at the door frame prevented further argument and possible bodily injury to her assistant. “Morning, ladies. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Robin asked, looking delicious as always.

He wore a sage-green pullover that brought out the matching color in his hazel eyes, a pair of worn jeans that would no doubt showcase his prize-winning ass and a pair of leather boots that put her in mind of the old phrase “size matters.” What little moisture remained in her mouth fled to parts south of her navel with alarming rapidity. Good Lord …

He’d obviously shaved this morning, but had missed a teensy spot just to the left of the cleft on his chin and, for whatever reason—insanity, most likely—she found that unbelievably endearing.

“Not at all,” Justine replied, a too-bright smile pasted on her lips. She shoved the blush back into her pocket with all the subtlety of a teenager hiding a forbidden pack of cigarettes, then awkwardly patted Marion on the shoulder and shot her a conspiratorial glance. “Just finishing up a chat.”

Marion ought to know better than to be mortified, but a blush betrayed her all the same.

Looking a bit bemused, Robin watched her assistant sail out of the room and then found her gaze once more. “Justine’s … the same,” he finished, evidently unable to come up with a better description.

Marion sympathized.

“That she is,” she agreed, resisting the urge to massage her temples. She looked up and smiled. “Good morning.”

He sauntered forward and, looking more than a little pleased with himself, carefully laid a check on top of her desk. A quick glance confirmed it was from Jason … and it was double the amount of his original pledge. A smile flirted with her lips.

Only Robin.

“Thank you,” she said, grinning up at him. Irrationally pleased—hell, it wasn’t like he’d slain a damned dragon—she poked her tongue in her cheek and slid the check into her top drawer. “You made quick work of that.”

He settled his six-and-a-half-foot muscled frame into the smallish chair in front of her desk and somehow managed to appear comfortable. “I talked to him before I went home last night.”

“Talked?” she queried skeptically. “Did he acquire any bruises during this particular conversation?”

Robin’s warm chuckle matched his good-humored gaze. “Only to his ego, I assure you. Though I was prepared to make him see reason in any number of ways, had he not been so cooperative,” he added in a grimmer tone.

She’d just bet he was. And the very idea made her foolish heart thrill at the thought of each one. It was down-right … bloodthirsty. What the hell was wrong with her? And if it was wrong, then why did it feel so right?

“As promised, here’s the list,” she said, handing him the file she’d pulled together early this morning.

He accepted it without looking at it, which she didn’t question but thought was strange considering it was supposed to be the reason he was here this morning. “Thanks,” he told her. “Do you have plans for this evening?”

Marion blinked and her pathetic heart jumped into her throat. Her? Plans? Only if watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory and painting her toenails passed for plans. “Er, I—”

He gestured to the folder. “I’m guessing that the bulk of the people on this list will be at the Red Ball tonight, and I was hoping you’d accompany me.” He grinned at her. “We can tag team them, make them pay up.”

Ah, Marion thought, her own smile frozen. Actually, she preferred her own plans for the evening, such as they were, to attending a formal event with people who paid more for their lawn care than her annual salary. But technically, it was part of her job. And since Robin had already proved he could make reluctant pledges honor their promises, how could she refuse? It was for the good of the clinic, right? And watching him in action would no doubt be entertaining and gratifying.

Frankly, only the possibility of doing more harm than good for the clinic had kept her from taking a more forceful approach to collecting the outstanding pledges. Robin was better connected, better insulated and could do much more in that regard than she could.

She nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll meet you there.” This was a slippery slope and she was clinging determinedly to the edge. She didn’t trust herself enough to allow him another home visit. Intuition told her if Robin crossed her threshold again, he’d be doing more than breaching her inner sanctum, he’d be invading—with her full cooperation—her bedroom, as well.

From the moment she’d seen him last night, every bit of forgotten longing and unresolved sexual frustration had boiled to the surface, making her feel feverish and jittery, spun up and wound tight. Like a coiled spring ready to snap. Every moment spent in his company only compounded the issue and eroded what little remained of her self-control.

Robin stilled for a fraction of a second, his easy smile turning brittle. “I’ve just invited you to the Red Ball and you said yes. It’s a date, Marion,” he explained with exaggerated patience. “I’ll pick you up.”

The breath in her lungs thinned. A date? Well, yes, by that definition she supposed it was. Her head spun. A date. Right. She cleared her throat, tried to gather her fractured thoughts. “Part of the service, is it?” she asked, her voice weak.

He smiled, the corner of his mouth hitching into that grin she couldn’t resist. “In a manner of speaking.”

A date …

God help her. She was so going to need some divine intervention.

WELL, THAT CERTAINLY HADN’T gone as planned, Robin thought as Marion led him through the clinic. Though he could tell she’d made various improvements and, as usual, had everything as efficient and streamlined as possible, he could barely hear her from the noise in his own head.

Date? Yes, he’d asked her to go with him to the Red Ball, more as a ploy to get to spend some more time with her—and to show off, if he was honest, because he’d devised some pretty devious ways to get people to part with their promised money—he hadn’t actually meant it to be a genuine honest-to-goodness date.

At least, he didn’t think he did, but at this point, who the hell knew? Perspective—if he’d ever had any to begin with—had gone by the wayside. He just knew that when she’d offered to meet him—meet him, for crying out loud—at the venue … something had just snapped inside him. Her determination to keep him at arm’s length, even when he was trying to help her, galled him to no end.

She might as well have waved a red flag in front of a bull.

While “retreat” might be in other men’s character, it wasn’t in his.

Her little attempt to dodge him only made him want to advance and reload. Made him want to grab hold of the long braid presently bobbing between her shoulder blades and tug her to him, then lick the sweet spot on the back of her neck. She was in another long and flowing dress today, this one a dark purple with a fitted bodice that fully covered her breasts, but somehow managed to display them to perfect advantage anyway. The color accentuated her pale skin, made it glow, even in this horrendous commercial light.

And the way she moved … She didn’t just walk. She glided, head high and swanlike.