Mistress of Magic (4 page)

Max wouldn’t understand that she, too, didn’t need defending. Rick wasn’t particularly after her in his slimy way—Rick was after any female he came across.

Rick had been after Daphne. Continually.

But Daphne hadn’t minded. She had liked adulation, and she had liked to collect men. Whenever one seemed smitten by her, she would make sure Max realized he had something other men coveted.

“Reggie,” he said, blue eyes hooded by his blond lashes as his gaze swept her up and down. “You look wonderful. Wonderful. Of course you always do, but red seems to be your color.” He lifted a hand, casually brushing his fingers over the hair at the side of her head, hair she had drawn up in a tight, neat twist. “Your hair looks as ebony as a raven’s wing against the red, Reggie. It’s beautiful.”

She withdrew slightly. “Thank you, Rick.”

“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you, Reggie. I’m still waiting for you to run out of excuses for that dinner date I’ve been wanting. When did we meet last?”

“I believe it was the last stockholders’ meeting,” Reggie murmured, trying to look beyond him. Dinner? The fate of the entire park was up for grabs today and Rick was thinking about dinner dates?

“Yes, that was it. I asked you to dinner then, and you politely declined, telling me that you still weren’t up to it after—after Caleb’s accident. Of course, it had been over a year since the accident then. I hope you won’t still refuse me on those grounds!”

Refuse him? She wasn’t really hearing him at the moment. She was trying to sort through the rest of the men in the room. Talking together in the far corner were Niles Sherman and Jesse Brant. Jesse was president of the company, a septuagenarian with wonderfully dignified posture, steel gray eyes and a thick head of snow-white hair. He was a veteran of many amusement parks and knew his management well. Niles held the positions of treasurer and press liaison officer. Like Jesse, he had been around for many years. Niles had worked with the biggest and the best in the field of entertainment complexes; he had come to work for Max because he’d had so much belief in Max’s commitment to his work. Niles didn’t need to work; he did so because, like Max, he was a believer in magic.

But Niles, like Jesse, looked grave today.

Only Rick seemed to be unaware of the tension in the room. Rick and …

In the far corner of the room, in the shadows created by the artificial light centered on the polished oak table, stood the last of the board members.

Max’s silent partner, Reggie thought. The man with the real money behind the enterprise. Silent no more, it seemed.

She squinted imperceptibly, trying to see him, wishing that she had given the business part of this enterprise more attention in the past. But that wouldn’t have mattered. Max’s main backer had never put in an appearance before.

She couldn’t see him. The light was too bright in the center of the room, too muted where he stood. She imagined him to be a septuagenarian, like Jesse. Dignified like Jesse, or with a shining, bald pate like Niles. His name was Wesley Blake, that was about all she really knew. Max had felt obliged to reach him immediately, the moment he had been advised that Daphne was missing—and that the fallout from it was going to fall on him.

But Wesley Blake had already known. He had told Max he was making his travel arrangements already.

Please, please let him be like Jesse or Niles! Reggie thought. Both of the older men knew Max and believed in him. If Wesley Blake was the same …

“Well, Reggie?”

“What?”

She drew her focus to Rick Player with a polite smile.

“Dinner—how about dinner tonight?” He lowered his voice. “Maybe between the two of us, we can figure a way out of this for old Max. Terrible thing, isn’t it, this Daphne business. Terrible, terrible.”

She felt a smile curl her lip. “You should know, Rick. You did seem fond of Daphne! And naturally, I assume you must be very worried.”

His playboy smile faded a little, despite the innocence of her gaze. “As yet, we’re not even sure that there is anything to be worried about.”

“Right. But then … there are rumors.”

“Poor Max.”

“My brother is innocent.”

“Of course, of course. Innocent of what?”

“Of any wrongdoing,” Reggie insisted coolly.

The man in the shadows was moving toward Max. Reggie tried to get a look at him.

Rick Player blocked her way.

“Reggie, how about dinner? You haven’t answered me yet.”

“I’ve already made—” she began, but broke off, inhaling a gasp of astonishment. She had seen him at last. He had crossed the room; he had reached her brother. He had set a hand lightly on Max’s arm and was speaking to him softly.

The partner. The silent partner. The man who was to be silent no longer.

He was no septuagenarian. He was neither bald, nor gray, silver nor white-haired.

He was a young man, midthirtyish. Despite the power in the room, despite all these people who knew what they were doing, who knew what they were up against, who were leaders in this field, there was a look about him that seemed to state he would be the one to take charge here.

He was no stranger.

He was Dierdre Dinosaur’s playmate. The man whose hair she had tousled. The man she had teased. The man in the park. The man who had startled her in the costume shop and stared at her so intently.

The man who had seemed to find every advantage …

She felt her cheeks redden. Wesley Blake was coming toward her.

Chapter 3

“R
eggie! Reggie!”

Rick Player was talking to her again. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t speak. Wesley’s eyes were on her as he and Max walked toward her. He had changed for the meeting, too. He wore a lightweight summer suit, handsomely tailored, one that emphasized his broad shoulders and trim waist. The suit gave him an air of civilization that seemed foreign to the gold glimmer of his eyes, to the rugged appeal of his features.

No, it didn’t seem to give him an air of civilization. It gave him the air of a very sleek tiger, velvet to touch—until the claws came jutting from soft fur and the mouth opened in a roar to display the deadly teeth. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. He was certainly a dangerous man—and he didn’t give a damn if anyone knew it.

Nor did he give a damn about what she might have to say about him. He was standing before her with Max at his side, and he was staring straight at her. Obviously, he didn’t care if she mentioned that they had met—or how—to her brother or anyone else.

There was the slightest curl of amusement to his lip, as if he dared her to say whatever she chose to say.

Anger churned inside her.

And that heat. That same awful heat. Sweeping over her flesh as if she was nearly naked again, as if she wasn’t dressed in the conservative, encompassing red suit. And she experienced the disturbing thought that this man might make her feel naked no matter what she was wearing, and that it would go far beyond the obvious because he looked beyond the flesh and into the soul.

She gritted her teeth. The air seemed to be charged between them. Maybe Rick Player was aware of it. Max wasn’t. But Max had big things on his mind.

“Reggie, I don’t think you and Wes have ever met. Of course, you’ve heard me talk about him often enough. Wes, the real creative genius here, my sister, Regina. Regina, Wesley Blake. Wes, you’ve met Rick Player, right?”

“Yes.” That voice again. Deep. Rich. And the little thrills went dancing up and down her spine.

And still she stared at the man coolly. “We’ve met,” Reggie said smoothly, her eyes on his as she gave the assurance to her brother. “Mr. Blake neglected to tell me who he was, but then, perhaps, he didn’t know who I was.”

His grin suddenly deepened. It was disarming. “I didn’t know right away. It’s hard to discern much about a woman when she’s wearing a large dinosaur costume. But afterward …” His voice trailed with just the slightest insinuation. “I knew. In an entirely feminine way, Miss Delaney, you have quite a resemblance to your brother.”

“We’re twins,” Max reminded him with a shrug. “Quite a bit alike.”

“Yes and no,” Wesley Blake said.

Max heard nothing amiss. Rick Player did. He took a step closer to Reggie. “Dinner?” he persisted, almost beneath his breath.

Max frowned. No matter what Reggie said, he wouldn’t interfere—not here, not now. But he was unhappy and uncomfortable and didn’t want her having dinner with Rick Player anytime, anywhere.

Reggie wasn’t sure how she was going to opt out of it—and keep Rick on her brother’s side for the meeting to come. Max, of course, would be furious if he sensed that she would consider dinner with this man in any effort on his behalf. She was in a bind.

“Dinner?” Wesley Blake echoed. His eyes were hard on hers. “But you already promised that meal to me, Miss Delaney.”

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to slap him—or give him a big kiss on the cheek. He had come very intuitively into the situation.

She didn’t want to appreciate a single thing this man might be doing for her, but what choice did she have at the moment?

She was staring at him. She had to say something quickly. Rick Player was many things, but stupid wasn’t among them. If she didn’t say something fast …

“Oh, did you two make dinner plans already?” Max asked. “How interesting!”

“Yes, how very interesting!” Rick said, his white smile in place, his voice low and irritated. “Especially when you hadn’t really met. I admit, I am confused.”

Regina offered him a broad smile and inhaled deeply, ready to speak.

She didn’t need to.

“It was very interesting, indeed,” Blake said lightly, addressing Rick Player, but his gaze casually falling upon Reggie. “I happened to be walking through the park when I came across a dinosaur.”

“Oh, yeah. And these creatures are captivating, right?” Rick said.

“I always thought so,” Max supplied blandly. Wes cast him a quick glance of amusement. His lip curled further. The golden eyes glittered.

Indeed, he was like a tiger. With prey all lined up, right in front of him!

Max knew damned well that she and Wes had made no dinner arrangements. Blake had picked up on her brother’s annoyance with Rick Player. They did know each other well. It was almost as if they shared a bond.

Like she had always shared with her brother.

An inward groan seized her. Oh, come! She wasn’t going to be jealous of a friendship between the two!

“I never could resist a dinosaur myself,” Wesley said.

“Right. Because you can see those feminine curves right off the bat, eh?” Rick said. He was growing more and more annoyed. Obviously, things were not proceeding to his liking. Though he apparently knew that the others were finding an amusement at his expense, it didn’t occur to him that his own personality might have brought it about.

Blake stared at him. “It was amazing. I felt this startling attraction to a dinosaur. But then, of course, the lady did have an advantage over me. But later, the tables were turned. I discovered that my dinosaur had more than a wonderful personality. And so I decided that dinner just had to be on the agenda.”

Rick Player looked straight at Reggie. He smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. “And you said yes, just like that. My. My, my.”

“I never gave her a chance to say yes or no.”

“So then what about me?” Rick asked pointedly.

Well, this seemed like a wretched place between a rock and hard wall, Reggie decided. If she told Rick the truth—that she’d rather dine with a dozen mite-infested rodents than with him, he’d surely fight them tooth and nail.

He might still do so anyway.

And then there was Wesley Blake, who made her shiver each time he spoke. Whom she wanted to strangle. Who made her feel so hot and burning. And who had, indeed, turned the tables and taken every advantage.

Still, he didn’t really expect her to go to dinner. He was playing this all out strictly because he knew how her brother felt about Rick Player.

“I am sorry, Rick.” She offered Wes Blake a fetching—if false—and enthusiastic smile. “I’m afraid that Mr. Blake did take me off guard!”

“And you said yes?”

“I simply can’t wait to have dinner with him.”

Wesley Blake caught hold of her hand. The rough touch of his callused palm and fingers sent electric chills cascading into her. The cold became hot and seemed to scald her, inside and out. And like that fire, his eyes, too, seemed to burn inside her when they caught her own.

“It is a promise, Regina, right?”

Rick was watching her intensely. She tried not to snatch her hand away.

“A promise,” she murmured a little breathlessly.

“Well, that’s all set!” Max said.

All set? But it wasn’t real! “I may be working this evening—” Reggie began.

“And then again, after this meeting, there may be no need for anyone to be working here, right?” Rick said politely.

Wes Blake shifted. Just slightly. “Last I heard,” he said softly, “I’m still the majority stockholder.”

“But this is a board meeting. And we’ll be voting on a number of things,” Rick said.

“And we should get to it, right?” Max said. He backed away from their foursome to address Jesse and Niles, as well. “Coffee and water are on the table. Let’s get to this, shall we?”

Reggie felt herself suddenly propelled along. Then she was being seated in one of the massive leather chairs that surrounded the highly polished table.

Wesley Blake was at one end of it, next to her. Her brother was at the other end. Rick Player was on the other side of her, and Niles and Jesse were across the table.

“Who wants to start?” Max asked. Long moments of silence followed his words. “Come on, now. I called this meeting because I’m aware of the things being written in the papers, and because I know how concerned you all are.”

Rick Player cleared his throat, leaning forward. “All right, let’s lay it all right on the table. You’re right, Max. We are concerned.” He waved a well-manicured hand in the air. “This place is based on fantasy. On family values. Max, how many parents are going to bring their children to a park whose creator is being accused of murder?”