Chapter 2
ADRIAN
"I saw that ad in the paper today," Jackson said, ripping his eyes away from the screen to look at me. "Did you see it? That one with that rich ass Dragon heir or whatever."
I made a non-committal sound as I washed another plate, hoping he would let the topic drop. I didn't want to think about this anymore. Didn't want to think about the handsome man in the picture who I'd never have a chance with anyway.
"Are you going to apply?" he asked. "Help me pay some bills around here instead of sitting on your ass and whining about your lost love or whatever."
"It's not my thing," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the sink.
What was Jackson thinking? I couldn't just have a baby for some guy I'd never met.
That was definitely not the way I'd pictured my life.
Then again, this wasn't how I'd pictured my life either.
I tightened my grip on the plate in my hand, scrubbing furiously at invisible stains.
"Paying bills isn't your thing? Tough luck. It's not my thing, either, but it's gotta be done, brother."
"There's other ways to pay bills."
"This sounds like it's right up your ally, though. Isn't baby making kind of what you omegas are made for?"
I snorted. Sure, that was all we were good for. In my brother's limited world view anyway.
"You should apply," he said again. "At least try, you know. I can't keep paying shit for you. That dude's rich. He'd throw money at you if you had his baby."
I put the plate on the rack to dry and turned to face my brother. He wasn't going to drop this anytime soon, I could tell.
"A lot of people are going to apply," I said. "Everybody wants the money." And a chance to get with a hot dragon.
"So what?" Jackson said. "You're pretty. You got a chance."
I felt heat rise in my cheeks, if only because Jackson rarely said anything nice about me. Of course, pretty wasn't a good word to call a man in his world, but to me it sounded nice enough. I'd always wanted to be pretty. To be treasured. Cherished.
That was why I fell so easily for jerks like Rory. Why I couldn't be so careless again.
"I don't want a chance," I said.
"You don't like the guy? C'mon. It's just a bit of sex and bam, nine months later, you have his baby and you've got it made." Jackson talked with his hands. He always did that when he was trying to make me understand something that seemed simple and logical and like the right thing to him.
"It's not that." Honestly speaking, I didn't know why I even tried arguing with my brother anymore. He made his mind up quickly, and usually, there was no changing his opinion once he'd formed one.
"Just try," he said, putting more force behind his voice, acting like I was being especially difficult because I didn't want to apply for a job having a stranger's baby.
"I'll think about it," I conceded.
"Apply for now," he insisted. "You can still say no later down the road, but you don't get an opportunity like this every day."
He did have a point there, so I nodded, and then I took care of the rest of the dishes.
After my brother had nagged me a couple more times, I applied for the job, sending all the requested things with a short cover letter that had felt impossible to write.
"Hi there, I see you're looking for someone who can make a baby and I have excellent baby-making qualities."
Yeah, right. I'd scratched about ten versions of that before I could settle on something that sounded semi-professional.
The reply came fast. Two days after I'd sent the note, I received a letter back. Together with a questionnaire I was supposed to fill out.
In the privacy of my tiny room, I took one long look at it and panicked.
All the things they wanted to know!
Height, weight, family history of diseases, past pregnancies… Those were all expected, but further down the page, the questions became pretty damn personal.
Favorite movie, hobbies, number of past lovers and sexual proclivity. The list escalated quickly, and I found myself blushing furiously. They could only dare ask such questions because there was a lot of money on the table.
Was I really that desperate for money, though? I put the paper aside and rubbed my face with my palm.
Calm down, I told myself. You don't really want this job, anyway.
I'd promised to try, though, and if I was going to apply, I wanted to do it right.
There was really only one thing to do in situations like this.
I picked up the phone and called my best friend, Luca.
I'd known her for years now and she'd always been a great source of comfort when things weren't going well between me and Rory.
She'd tried to get pregnant at the same time that I did, and though I hadn't been successful in my quest for a baby, I was happy that she was a mother now.
Little Mara was turning two years old in spring.
She drove her mother crazy, but I knew she brought her much joy as well.
"Adrian?" Luca answered the phone. "Thank God. I haven't heard from you in a while. I was starting to get worried, you know!"
I cringed, knowing that I should have made more of an effort to stay in contact, but I hadn't felt up to... well, anything, really.
"I need some advice," I said, voice low. My brother was probably asleep already, but I didn't want to chance him hearing our conversation. He could be so goddamn nosy.
"What is it?" Luca asked. "You know I'm always happy to help when you let me."
"I... There was this crazy job offer in the newspaper."
"You're still looking for a job?"
"I figure I can't live off my brother forever."
"Don't be silly. You won't live off your brother forever. You'll find someone to love, and then you'll raise an army of children who will drive you insane. That's my plan for you. Don't mess it up."
I laughed softly even though her words hurt a little. I just wanted that so much.
"So what's the job offer?" she asked.
"It could actually fit into your plan…"
"Details! Don't make me drag everything out of you."
"There's a dragon looking for someone to have his baby."
"A dragon? You mean a full dragon?" Disbelief shone through her words. "When do those ever come off their little island?"
"I guess he really wants to mate with someone more human for some reason. There weren't too many details, but they said it'd be a long term position."
Luca was quiet for a moment, a rare occurrence with her. "Does that mean if you do end up having his baby he'd let you raise it alongside him? Because, really, I don't want you to have to part with your little one when it's born. That would be horrible."
I hadn't considered that, but she was right. I couldn't do it solely for the money or the experience. If I had a baby, I couldn't abandon it to the care of strangers, no matter how wealthy those strangers were.
"I'm not sure," I said. "All the information seems pretty confidential. Maybe when I've applied and they accepted me…" I trailed off. After all, I had no idea how to even fill out this stupid questionnaire. "I don't know if I'm ready for another partner."
"It's been weeks since Rory," Luca reminded me, as if I didn't know exactly how long it had been. "You need to put yourself out there again."
"But is this job really the right way to do it?" This wasn't dipping my toe in the water—this was jumping down a waterfall. I got the feeling that as soon as I took another step forward, the currents would pull me along to an inevitable end, and there was no telling whether I'd like it.
"Only one way to find out," my ever optimistic friend said. "It's unconventional sure, but just applying won't hurt you."
"I guess maybe you're right. But they sent back these papers I have to fill out and I don't know… Some of the things they want to know are really personal stuff."
"Like?"
"Like how many guys I've had sex with. Why would they want to know?"
"That's… Okay, that's a bit odd. Maybe they're trying to see what kind of person you are."
"You think they're gunning for virgins or something?" At least in the stories I'd heard, dragons had a thing for virgins. But those were just stories, right?
"I really don't know. Couldn't you just lie, though?"
I shook my head, even though she couldn't see me. "You know that's not my thing."
"Tell you what, why don't you just come over here and I'll help you fill out the paper? Mara would love to see you, too."
"Sure." The corners of my lips tugged up. If I could do this with Luca, it might actually be fun. "Let me just take a shower and then I'll head over."
"See you in a bit!" She hung up. I put the phone aside, still not sure that I was doing the right thing, but determined to try and see anyway.