Robin went straight into the bathroom and turned on the shower, carefully undressing so she didn’t lose the flash drive. The small chunk of plastic and metal sat in her hand as the rest of her clothing fell to the floor. She needed somewhere to hide it until she went back to her desk tomorrow.

She’d have to place a purchase order for a new laptop since Randall had forced her to leave hers at The Farm, and that was before it went up in flames. There wasn’t a chance in hell of getting it back now.

Standing on the edge of the tub, she used a nail file to unscrew the vent just enough so she could slide the flash drive inside. With that taken care of, she really did want to shower, and the water would be the perfect temperature of almost scalding hot by now. She stepped into the water and let it wash the tension from her, at least for a moment.

As she washed, more dirt and grime came off her than she’d expected, but she still didn’t feel completely clean. She hadn’t felt completely clean in nine years, though, so it wasn’t a new feeling. It was as if living and working in this place, and for that man, left a residue on her very soul. She would never be clean again.

When she came out of the bathroom with one of the few towels she had wrapped around her, a rack of clothing waited for her, along with Randall Fields sitting on her bed.

“You look lovelier than I thought you would after a shower.” His voice was low.

This was the Randall Fields who scared her. The one who invaded her privacy, let himself into her room. This was the one she knew wanted her in the most sexual way possible. It made her skin pebble with goosebumps, even though she still stood in the heat from the bathroom, with the scent of her lavender body wash lingering in the air around her.

“Come and look at your new clothes.” He waved to the rolling rack. “I need to see what I like and which designers work best on your body before I get more.”

“Yes, sir.” Her voice still didn’t tremble as she walked to the rack of clothing. It was all blacks and blues with the occasional emerald green thrown in. Skirts. Dresses. Blouses. And lots of skimpy lingerie. He claimed he wouldn’t force himself on her, but the wardrobe told a different story. Her spine stiffened. Had he just been trying to get her to lower her guard?

“Try this one on.” He handed her a black dress.

Robin started to head to the bathroom to change when she felt his hand on her arm.

“Here.” Randall looked at her expectantly.

“Sir, I—”

“It wasn’t a request.” He adjusted one of his cuff links before looking back up at her with flinty eyes.

Robin’s stomach rolled, and her skin felt slimy all over again. They’d done this song and dance before. He wasn’t about to turn, and she wasn’t allowed to leave.

She took a deep breath and dropped the towel, quickly pulling the dress on over her head. The slinky black material slid along her skin, fitting her like a glove. What she hadn’t realized when he’d handed it to her was that there were sections that were just mesh—a lot of them. Two large sections covered her breasts and butt, but the rest was all stripes of material with mesh in between.

She didn’t feel exposed, exactly, but she also knew that much more of her body was visible than she would like.

“Turn.”

His eyes raked over her. The dress was almost too tight, as if it was a size smaller than she was used to, but it fit her like a second skin. She barely felt like it was there at all; only the high neckline scratching her collarbone made her really think about what she wore.

“Good.” Randall stood and ran a hand down her arm. She had to fight not to move away from him. “Now this one.”

He handed her one of the emerald-green dresses. From the hanger, it looked like there was a lot of material there, but Robin suspected there was a surprise attached to it, just like the mesh on the dress she was wearing. She shimmied out of the black dress and pulled the green one on. There was a slightly musty smell to it, as though it had been in storage for a long time.

The satin fabric was soft and cool against her skin, sliding over it like water. The dress was elegant, definitely evening attire, which had Robin on edge. There was no reason she should need a dress like this. The long skirt hid her pale legs but clung to her hips before arriving at the lowest V-neck she’d ever seen. It went way past the bottom of her breasts, almost to her navel, and made her feel as if she couldn’t move without experiencing some slippage.

“Sir, why do I need a dress like this?” She tried to mask her fear by clearing her throat.

He paced away from her. “Walk toward me.” He brushed her question aside.

She did as she was commanded, only to be horrified to find two very high slits in the front. Every time she took a step, the dress billowed out behind her, leaving each leg out in the cold respectively.

“You are to accompany me next week to a charity gala. You will wear this dress and be charming, or you will pay for it the next day.”

The air suddenly seemed too thin. Robin was not only going to leave the high rise again within weeks of leaving it for the first time since she started working for Randall Fields, but it was to go to a charity gala. That was something she had never experienced before. She had always been the one cleaning up after the gala, if she was lucky. Usually she just read about such extravagant events online, wishing she could be a princess for a day so she could attend one, but that was the dream of a child.

“Which charity?”

“Does it matter?” He arched a thick black brow.

“No.”

The terse exchange left her feeling more on edge than she was before. She just knew the night wasn’t going to be over until he had seen her try on all the clothing he’d brought down for her.

* * *

Hal couldn’t get comfortable. Every night for the last week, he had dreamed of the red head from the farmhouse. The way she had saved him really pissed him off.

He was supposed to be the one doing the saving. That was what he and his brothers did. Well, that and track down magical objects. He hadn’t had anyone save his skin like that in centuries.

Except Ellie, but he wasn’t in mortal danger at the time.

He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts and get some sleep. It was impossible. Sleep had become a figment of his imagination the last few days.

He’d catch small cat naps here and there, but a full night’s sleep had eluded him for a while now. And when he did nap? She was there, waiting for him, sacrificing herself for him and Thad, giving in to that asshat of a suit, agreeing to who knows what.

It tortured him.

If it wasn’t that scene, then it was her in his house, well, his private house, the house not even his brothers knew about, and she was so happy to be there. He would wake up expecting to find her curled up against him in bed, only to be disappointed at the cold, empty sheets that surrounded him.

It was strange to sleep in the main house. He hadn’t slept here in years except for the brief fling with Hecate. If she wanted to stay over, then he slept here. Overall, though, he preferred his cabin, which was small and unassuming. The big house was built to impress. It was where he and his brothers had lived while they constructed their own houses. Some of their oldest pieces of artwork and what would be considered antiques to the rest of the world resided in the walls of that house.

When he was there, he always felt like a bull in a china shop. Terrified of ruining a family heirloom or something equally valuable by accident because he forgot his size. Again.

The cabin was small, big enough for him, but still small, and sturdy. He could run into the walls and knock himself out without endangering anything.

He couldn’t imagine anyone else being in the cabin with him, which was why he’d never told his brothers about it. They would want to see and visit and use it themselves, and that was the opposite of why he’d built the thing. It was precisely why the dreams of the redhead being there with him were so unnerving. He screwed his eyes shut, demanding that his brain turn off.

The sound of a woman crying drifted through the walls. He hadn’t known what to do with Aster the last few days. When Thad told him Cin was still alive and safe at his place, Hal thought they would take Aster to go live with them.

That didn’t happen, though. Cin’s powers were still too out of control. Anytime something made her the slightest bit angry, she went full fury. Not to mention she still wanted to kill the guy they had locked up in the training room. Sure, he’d tried to kill her first, and he’d tortured Aster, but they couldn’t just let her kill him. They still needed information only he could provide. They needed to find out what the Order of Talos was and why mortals, plain humans, could work magic. This psychopath was their only resource as of now.

Hal tossed and turned in bed, but the sound of Aster crying rang in his head. He wondered if the redhead was crying like that right now. Aster quieted for a moment, and Hal hoped she had fallen back to sleep. When he heard her in the kitchen, though, he couldn’t ignore the problem anymore.

Wrapping a thick flannel robe around himself, he padded out toward the noises. The light from the refrigerator door highlighted Aster’s slight frame. Hal watched her, trying to gauge how upset she was. One of his talents, along with healing with water, was being able to sense emotions, at least on certain people.

Aster sighed and closed the door empty-handed, pacing to one of the windows in the kitchen.

Hal cleared his throat as he entered the kitchen, trying to make soft noises to let her know he was there without startling her.

“Doin’ okay?”

“Not really, but you already know that, don’t you?” Aster looked at him over her shoulder, her long blonde hair glowing in the moonlight.

“Had a hunch.” He shrugged. “Want to talk?”

“No.”

“Okay. Want company?”

If he hadn’t been watching carefully, he would have missed her slight nod.

Hal sat on the arm of the couch closest to her. It groaned under his weight.

“Why am I still here?” Her voice was soft as she spoke, though she didn’t even glance at him.

“So we can keep you safe.”

“Is Cin safe?”

She looked at him now, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

“She’s safe, but she’s still learning. If you want to go stay with Alec and Ellie, you can, or Demetrius even. It’s up to you.”

A blush rose on her cheeks at the mention of Dem, piquing Hal’s curiosity. Was Aster attracted to Dem?

“You mean stay with the couple who has trouble keeping their hands off each other, or stay with the guy I—” She caught herself just as she was about to admit something. “I want to stay here. I just don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re not a burden.” He tried to console her.

“And I don’t want to be treated like a child.” She looked at him pointedly.

“Okay, okay.” Hal held his hands up defensively. “Listen, I know you’re not a child. You’re only a year or so younger than Ellie and Cin, so it’s not as if we intentionally treat you any differently. My brothers and I are simply concerned about the ordeal you went through.”

Aster turned away from him.

“You haven’t talked to anyone about it yet. You need to; otherwise, it will eat you up inside.”

“Too late.”

Hal wasn’t sure whether she’d meant for him to hear that or not.

“Want some hot chocolate?” It was all he could think of that might soothe the broken soul that stood before him.

“That’d be nice.” She looked at him. “Thanks, Hal, for everything. I’m sure I’m not easy to be around right now.”

“You are a pleasure to be around.” Hal bowed his head slightly. “You can stay with me as long as you would like, or if you want some space, I can stay somewhere else and you can have this whole place to yourself.”

“Right now, it’s nice to have you around, like a big grizzly bear to protect me.” A sad smile appeared on her face.