“Surely you don’t believe that.”
Didn’t I? It was standard thinking among Dragon Alpha males that omegas needed to be cared for. Omegas were considered to be sweet, flighty creatures that needed protection. But I’d never stopped to wonder if it were true. I’d never been such a bigot about it before either.
“If you don’t want him to end up hating you, you’ll have to take his feelings into consideration,” Ashworth said.
The idea of Jax Jordan hating me was abhorrent to me. It was insupportable. I just wanted him to be…happy.
I groaned. “I don’t have time for this, Ashworth.”
“I know, sir, but what’s the alternative? And what’s the rush? You came here to work, so go ahead with your plans. Let him go ahead with his. Give him the lease he wants and stop trying to evict him and control him. Give him a chance to make his business a success, while you get to know him. He said he wants to buy out his own contract from his father. You could woo him. Date him in the meantime, and perhaps talk him into letting you buy his contract instead. Then you could give it to him as a wedding gift.”
“Woohim?Datehim? What on earth are you talking about? I don’t have to talk him into anything. I’ll just tell him what to do!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir,” Ashworth said in that sarcastic tone he sometimes took with me. “I thought you wanted him to actually like you, but I guess you don’t care about that.”
Well, shit!
I gave him a disgruntled look. “You really think I shoulddate him?”
“Yes. You might even find it enjoyable.”
“Date him.” I repeated. “Do you think that’s necessary?”
“It would give you both time, sir. Time to get to know each other and time for him to prove himself. I think it’s important to him.”
“How do you know? You just met him too!”
“I’ve had experience with omegas in the past, sir,” he said in that enigmatic tone that drove me crazy. I never inquired about his personal life, and he’d certainly never volunteered any information. It would have been too intrusive to ask, but for the first time, I wondered.
“But that’s not the wayanyof this works. Suppose I gave him the time to earn money to buy out his contract? His father will only take whatever money Jax can come up with at the end of that period and keep it for himself. Then he’ll still try to sell him to the highest bidder.”
“Not if you intervene. Make sure it doesn’t happen that way.”
“I suppose I could. But wait…what about what Jax Jordan did to my uncle?”
“You don’t actually have any proof of that, sir. Why don’t you look into the matter first? And even if you found out he had taken advantage of your uncle, what would you do to him?”
“Well, I’d…or maybe I’d…” I opened my mouth and closed it a few more times, but it was no use. He had me on that one.
“So what exactly are you suggesting I do then?”
“Get some rest, while your bodyguards watch over him, for your own peace of mind. Don’t make any rash decisions and then go see him tomorrow. See how you feel then. If you feel the same way, maybe talk to him. Tell him what you’re feeling. Doesn’t the mating urge go both ways?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Well, then.”
I rubbed my forehead, which had begun to ache. “I’m so tired. I shouldn’t have yelled at him like I did, should I?”
“No, sir. But go to bed and get some sleep. Things will look better when you’ve had some rest. In the meantime, I will send him some flowers, with a nice card.”
I nodded. “And you’ll tell Kyle and Josh?”
“I definitely will.”
I sighed and got to my feet to go lie down. I took a few steps and turned back. “Just-just be sure to tell them not to touch him, okay?”
Red Dragons were notoriously protective and possessive of their mates, and it was an unbreakable tradition that a Red Dragon never touched another one’s mate unless absolutely necessary. Even then you were taking a hell of a chance and might get your hand bitten off for your trouble. I’d always thought that was a silly overreaction of some Alphas in the past. Now I was impressed they could stop at just taking off a hand. I wasn’t sure I’d have so much self-control. In fact, I was pretty sure I’d take the whole arm.