Avoiding him would only make things worse, something she’d learned the hard way.

She backed away from the door as she tapped the screen to answer, keeping her voice down until she put a little more distance between herself and Van’s office. “Yes?”

“You were supposed to email or text me with an update. I’ve gotten nothing. What’s going on?”

She climbed the stairs to the bedroom. “What’s going on is I’m here and I’m doing the job I was sent to do.”

“Good. How’s it going?”

“You know I’ve barely been here a day, right?”

“More than enough time to bring him under the sway of your gifts.”

She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth until the urge to hang up passed. “You want him to fight, then his heart really needs to be in it, not just his head and not just for magical reasons. I’m working on it.”

“See that you do. The clock is ticking.”

“I’m aware.”

“Don’t be afraid to use your feminine wiles.”

“I’m going to pretend I don’t know what you’re implying.”

“Then you’re wasting a lot of natural resources.”

“How are you actually my father?”

“I guess you were just born lucky.” Cackling, he killed the call.

She stuffed the phone back into her pocket, anger coursing through her. There was no escaping the man and his control of her. She walked to the French doors, opened them, and went out onto the bedroom’s balcony to breathe in the cold air.

It was beautiful here, and so different than Vegas. She liked the hilliness, the tall, majestic pines, and the smell of wood smoke in the crisp air. Even though the sun shone down on her, it didn’t have the same oppressive feeling as it did in the desert.

She tipped her head up, letting the rays warm her face. It was nice, and for a moment, she forgot everything else.

But just for a moment. Because her life was impossible to ignore for long. What she would have loved more than anything was to shift into her supernatural form and disappear into the wilderness. In that form, she was the living embodiment of energy. She was light.

Beaming, pulsating light, with the power to draw men into oblivion. She could avoid the darker side of her nature very easily, unless, of course, her father was forcing her to use it.

Which brought her right back to the task she was here to do. With a sigh, she went back inside to go over her notes. She had a few hours until they had to leave for the housewarming party.

It would be nice to be around people who didn’t know who her father was. People who weren’t afraid of her or trying to win her favor. For once in her life, she could be a regular person. Wow, what would that be like?

She had no idea. But it would be fun to find out.

She settled on the bed with her laptop to dig into her work, but her gaze drifted toward the closet. What was she going to wear tonight?

On one hand, she wanted to disappear into the crowd, which ought to be easy enough since she wouldn’t know anyone there. But on the other hand, she wanted to make Van take a second look. Not because her father had told her to use her feminine wiles, and not because her mother loved to tell her that men could be brought to heel with a dazzling smile and a few inches of cleavage, but because…she just did.

She didn’t want to think too much about what that might mean, but there it was. She wanted Van’s attention. At least a little of it. At least enough to know what it felt like to be noticed.

She pushed her laptop to the side and padded over to the closet to look through the few things she’d brought. Her hand went to the dress her mother had secreted away in her bag. But no, there was no way that would be the right thing to wear. Unfortunately, the dress she’d packed was a simple navy day dress, and not all that snazzy.

She tried on the slim black skirt and ivory blouse she’d brought. She looked nice, but very secretarial. She swapped the skirt for jeans. That was a possibility. Then she tried on her black trousers. Very professional. And very boring. And not the right look, unless she planned to wait waiting tables somewhere in town.

Jeans again, this time with one of her sweaters. That looked nice.

Nice was the kiss of death, wasn’t it? What about this outfit was going to make anyone look twice? She could be going shopping at the mall or running errands.

Tonight was a special event. A party.

Her gaze returned to the little black dress.

Van frowned at the brace on his leg. There was no way he was going to put that wretched thing on over any of his suit pants. Those suits cost too much to be mangled by that evil contraption. Instead, he settled for a dark pair of jeans with a crisp white shirt and a nice sport coat. It was still a good look. Not as dressy as he would have liked for Pandora’s party, but she would understand.

Stupid brace.

He put on one of his gold watches, his dragon-self enjoying the feel of the valuable metal against his skin. Gold was a precious thing. Especially to a dragon. A thing to be hoarded, along with other fine metals and gems. And hoards had to be protected for times of need. Which was why Lisa wasn’t allowed to go downstairs. No one was.

Well, Pandora. But she’d helped him build the house. She’d had to know about the vault. Even so, she hadn’t seen the inside of it since he’d taken possession of the house.

Thinking of her made him take a moment to check himself over in the mirror. This was about as good as he could do. There was no way to erase the bend in his nose from being broken so many times or the resting scowl his face seemed to settle in without trying. Was it any wonder people were intimidated by him? He looked like a thug.