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I laughed. Oh, how I laughed. Bright and pure as sunlight playing across water.
“What a thought. Never.” Goddess strike me down for a liar because I wanted to paint us. “I might think it a pretty picture, consider the technique. But desire to remember the alpha who thought I had a price? No. Buy paintings from others. But never from me.”
He stepped back, spun away, and I missed his heat.
“What can I do to convince you?” He asked. “The paintings—”
“I’ll have none of alphas making demands of me,” I told him, suddenly angry. “Why must we omegas be so reduced? Made to be nothing more than a pretty ornament to make some other alpha jealous? No, my lord, no matter my omega price. I do not hold myself so cheap. How—”
I cut my words off short, for the butler arrived with tea. He placed it on the one bare table. The silence when he left was deafening.
“Pour a cup for me? I cannot do the office myself.” He bowed towards the tray.
I moved on instinct. Kneeling by the table for there was nowhere to sit. My hands moved as they had for years, decades since the first moment I’d been instructed in the ways of an omega.
“Do you know the Omega’s Three Virtues?” I asked.
“Propriety, Obedience, and Serenity.”
“Then know I am not a good omega.” I got to my feet with ease and handed him the cup. Our fingers brushed briefly and a fire flared in my body that I jerked away.
“If I’d not had a good grip on the cup it could have fallen.” He smiled down at me. On my knees or standing the difference in our heights would always be great . “Thank you, Vixen.”
“My pleasure.”
The silence stretched. He did not drink. I fidgeted. “This isn’t how I thought things would go,” I admitted.
“And how did you expect a midnight visit to my home would go?” He purred.
“I had no set thoughts… I should leave.”
“Pour yourself a cup. Sit with me a while.”
“Sir… My Lord…” I cast my mind about trying to discover some excuse, however flimsy, to aid my escape. “It would not be appropriate.”
“Appropriate? Weak sauce. Visiting a bachelor alpha after midnight could never be appropriate. Yet here you are.” He paused as if uncertain of his next words. “In the brief time I’ve known you, it is plain you do not follow the Omega’s Three Virtues. I doubt the concepts of propriety, obedience, or serenity have ever played a part in your personality. But then you are the daughter of Charles Hartwell… I’ve been reading your father’s writing while I recover. I cannot believe Charles Hartwell would raise his child to respect society’s expectations.”
“You presume a great deal.” I snapped. Suddenly, a cup of tea seemed like a brilliant idea. I sniffed the smokey flavour of the tea. With my omega’s nose, I knew it must have cost him a small fortune. “Our nurse used to say tea prevented many an argument.”
“So it does.” He drained his cup and put the delicate bone china down with a sharp click. “A most delicious way to soothe an omega, wouldn’t you agree?”
I clenched my teeth. “You are mocking me.”
“A little.”
I felt my lips twitch into a smile and drank my tea to hide my reaction to his honest speech. It was too hot, but I refused to let him see it. “The tea is lovely.”
“I shall ensure you have as much as you desire. Do you like tea? There are those who make an art of it. I myself am not proficient but should you so desire—”
“What do you care for whether I desire tea or not?” I asked. But what I wanted to ask, needed to know why my nerves were so frayed that my scent turned bitter to my nose. Why I reacted so uncharacteristically to this alpha I’d only met once before.
“Do not distress yourself, omega.”
I turned away, my face hot, and my heart troubled. I feared that I wanted to know more about his travels, what treasures he possessed, and why he thought I belonged amongst them. Because I hated him for making me want again, feel again, desire again.
“I’ve said my piece. My paintings are not for sale. I shall bid you goodnight.” I curtsied and turned to leave.
“Yes. Know this isn’t over. The Goddess dictated we meet. I might not pray, but I don’t ignore the signs she sends me.”
