“You’re going, though, aren’t you? To dinner?”
“I suppose I don’t have much choice. We do need to get a few things straight between us. The lease, and … other things.”
“What will you wear?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t say anything about where he’s taking me.”
“You’ll figure something out. Let me know if you need help deciding.”
I looked down at her outfit for the day—purple tights, and a red and orange floral-patterned tunic top. I tried to picture his face if I showed up in something like that and grinned. “Thanks, Hailey. I’ll let you know.”
She waggled her fingers at me, blew me a kiss and left to go help man a food truck parked outside the Valleywood Performing Arts Center, a Greek style outdoor amphitheatre that had food trucks set up in the parking lot for events. Her friend Tony had a taco truck that usually did a brisk business and Hailey helped him out from time to time. Tonight’s event was an outdoor Shakespeare Festival. It was still a little cold out for my taste, but people seemed to love it, and it was supposed to be a nice night.
I got a little shiver as I wondered what was going to happen later when I saw Dominic Bousset. I wanted desperately to see him again, to see if what I experienced earlier in the shop when he touched me was real or just my overheated imagination. This could easily go either way—either it might be the start of something really exciting—or I could be facing the worst night of my life.
Unless I took charge—a novel concept for me. Could I do it? Could I tell him what I needed and expected out of a partner? How would he react? Would he agree to help me or start issuing orders? I smiled as I began to plan exactly what I was going to wear that evening. It would be my first little test and act of defiance.
Chapter Six
Dominic
My life here in Valleywood was getting ridiculously complicated. I had planned on a quiet dinner somewhere so I could focus on getting to know Jax Jordan and maybe even trying to get a handle on these confusing, out-of-control feelings I had for him. Instead, Ashworth informed me that I’d forgotten I had a previous engagement—a Christmas party given by Raquel Ramon, a former actress, turned talk show host. She was a vampire, or so I’d been told, and she had been around under various stage names, in one version of show business or another, since her vaudeville days in the early 1920’s.
As soon as the public began taking notice of her still youthful appearance after too many years had passed to make that possible any longer, and as soon as people started asking questions about her age, she would always retire. She would wait another thirty years or so, living quietly, and then reemerge with a new image. With a different hair color and a different name, sometimes a different accent, she managed to fool everyone. So far, no human had ever figured it out, though of course, most of the rest of us knew about her.
She was a beautiful creature, as vampires tended to be, and her parties were always quite the event. Normally, I would have given some excuse not to show up, but she’d told Ashworth she was looking to change her representation and looking for a new attorney. Since I knew she had a lucrative contract with the Valleywood studio as the host of a talk show, I was very interested.
Since setting up an Entertainment Law Firm was my main purpose in coming to Valleywood in the first place, I thought it would be irresponsible of me not to at least stop by and meet her. I thought maybe I could kill two birds with one stone and take Jax along with me. We could mingle a while, and I’d take a quick meeting with her—then we could leave, and I could have Jax all to myself for the rest of the evening. It was far from ideal, but Jax was in business himself, so I hoped he’d understand. Besides, I had apparently told Ashworth to accept the invitation to her party over a month ago, so it would be awkward if I backed out now at this late juncture.
Before another hour passed, I learned that in the short time since I’d met him, I’d managed to upset Jax no less than three times, though frankly, it didn’t seem to be hard to do. He was quite a prickly little thing.
The latest mistake on my part had been telling Ashworth to make him an appointment to see a doctor who specialized in omegas, but when he called to tell Jax, he had been crisply informed that Jax already had one he was happy with, thank you very much. And he said he didn’t need or want me to “get all up in his business,” which were Jax’s words, and not Ashworth’s. Jax also claimed he was definitely taking his pheromones, not that it was any ofmybusiness, and to not trouble myself any further on his behalf.
“Is that possible?” I asked my assistant. “His scent is so strong.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but it seems it’s only strong to you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve spoken to both Kyle and Josh. They haven’t noticed anything and neither have I. Could it be because of your special, uh…affinity for him? In other words, could it be mate related?”
I sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
“I’ll do some research on it for you, sir.”
In the end, it was concluded that I must be the only one affected by his scent, as no one else I’d asked about it apparently thought it was all that strong, and there were reports of true mates experiencing the phenomena. Nice to know I was the only one who would be driven to near insanity by the smell of the beautiful omega, but I was irritated, nonetheless. I realized it was the mate scent now, but really, how was I to know such a thing? Furthermore, Jax had the insolence to be upset with me about it when I’d shown concern. There was just no pleasing him.
Was this what my life would be like from now on? This constant dancing around to avoid my omega being “mad” at me? It was insupportable! Inexcusable! As a wealthy Red Dragon and an apex predator, I was used to answering to absolutely no one, and I wouldn’t allow this-thisboywho was not yet twenty-one to lead me around by the nose.
Twenty minutes later, I called to have another two dozen roses delivered to his house, by way of apology.
After all, I wanted to pass a pleasant evening with him tonight and avoid the constant bickering. When I expressed that to Ashworth, he’d nodded, and the sides of his mouth quirked up.
I was besieged by insubordination.
That night Kyle drove me to pick up my omega for our first “date.” I was shocked by how small his tiny home was, and how shabby it appeared from the outside. The yard was spotlessly clean and well-cared for, though, and the tiny front porch held a pathetic, scrawny little potted plant beside the front door. When I pressed the doorbell, I could hear little chimes ringing inside the house.
A few moments later, he opened the door and took my breath away—literally. It exploded out of me in a harsh wheeze.