An energy burned between them, unspoken. It thickened in the air and raised the hairs on Crawford’s arms. A shiver threatened to work its way down his spine. The look Owen gave him made him want to reach across the table and kiss him ashewas.
It will get better, Crawford thought.Whatever struggles you’re facing, they will get better. All you need to do is trustinme.
“I may be an omega, but that doesn’t mean I need to be taken care of,” Owen objected. He didn’t outright reject what Crawford had said, though, and Crawford found that detail telling. “I’ve worked my ass off to get to where I am in life. I’ve struggled, and overcome, andsucceeded.”
“I’m not trying to downplay your accomplishments at all,” Crawford said. “But after all that, after working so long and so hard to get the things you want in life, I have a feeling that what you need is something that you can’t giveyourself.”
Owen’s expression didn’t change. “And whatisthat?”
“A chance to let loose.” Crawford arched an eyebrow. He sipped at his wine again as he considered what he said. “And maybe a little bit ofindulgentfun.”
The words broke through the severity of Owen’s expression and left his vulnerable. His eyes softened. He sat a little straighter in his chair and crossed his arms. “I don’thave funwithalphas.”
“What a terribly limiting thing to say.” In his peripheral vision, Crawford noticed the waiter approaching with their meals. Chef Hillard always prepared an off-the-menu selection when Crawford visited, and tonight, Owen would be treated to it as well. “I wonder, then, what it is you’re doing sitting across from me right now if you’re not looking to enjoy yourevening.”
Owen’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could reply the foodarrived.
“Your meal, sirs, compliments of ChefHillard.”
Crawford couldn’t help but grin. Owen was exactly the kind of man he wanted, and he hoped by the end of the night, he couldproveit.
4
Owen
The counting exercisesOwentaught his patients to pull themselves together in a tempting situation weren’t working. It didn’t matter how many times he counted down from ten—his mind went time and time again to the man sitting across from him, and his body screamed at him to give in and let Crawfordhavehim.
Crawford was even more handsome than Owen remembered. Dark eyed and quietly dominant, he was the type of man Owen never thought he’d want. It had been more than a decade since his last and only experience with an alpha, but Owen still harbored the damage. His wounds weren’t yetclosed.
He never wanted to let another alpha into his life, and yet here he was at dinner withCrawford.
And he wasenjoyingit.
Owen allowed the plates to be distributed and let the waiter fade back into the restaurant before he objected. “I don’t mean fun like that, I mean I’m not going to go homewithyou.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Crawford said. “Your choice isyourown.”
Crawford was different from anyone Owen had met before. He spoke his words carefully, and it was clear he was educated, but there was still an impish tone in his voice that made everything feel like play—and Owen didn’t know what to make of it. He didn’t get the feeling that Crawford was a bad man, but there was something lurking beneath Crawford’s composed surface that he was only letting Owen glimpse every now and then, and Owen wanted desperately to know whatitwas.
“Then I’m not going home with you,” Oweninsisted.
“That’s fine. The purpose of inviting you out tonight was to take you to dinner, not take you to bed.” Crawford sliced into the duck breast on his plate. They’d been served a seared duck with a Port sauce, by the looks of it. Owen knew a meal like that wasn’t cheap. “But for tonight—just for tonight, if that’s all you want—will you let me treat you to a good time? No stringsattached.”
The sincerity in Crawford’s voice rang true, and Owen felt himself growing flustered. He’d never been wooed before. Most of the time he kept tohimself.
“I suppose,” Owen said after some thought. He was attracted to Crawford, but that didn’t mean he had to act on his attraction. He’d drawn the line in the sand as far as expectations went. Crawford knew Owen wasn’t going to present his ass at the end of the night, and as long as Owen stayed firm about it, there was no reason not to have agoodtime.
“Good.” Crawford’s expression brightened, and Owen saw in it a simple beauty he’d previously overlooked. Crawford knew what he wanted and he wasn’t afraid to go after it, but he was respectful and courteous. Owen was beginning to think he really didn’t want anything beyond a simpledinner.
It was hard to fathom that a man as attractive as Crawford Daniels would be without someone to share hiseveningwith.
“So,” Crawford said. His gaze flicked over Owen, but the tender expression on his face didn’t change. Owen was taken with it. “I know you work for Stonecrest as a counselor, but I don’t know much else about you. What do you like to doforfun?”
“Nothing, really,” Owen admitted. He wasn’t trying to be difficult, just factual. The irregularity of his heats made it hard to plan anything, and it limited the activities he could take part in. Anything that met regularly was out of the picture. Anywhere too far from home was too risky to be worth attending. Owen needed to be close to somewhere safe should his heat strike suddenly. Unlike other omegas, he didn’t have the luxury of knowing approximately when his next heat would be, nor could he medicateagainstit.
Crawford chuckled. “So what I’m hearing is that you don’t have fun withanyone.”
“Very funny.” Owen rolledhiseyes.
