Page 7 of Carler

Females who mated dragons could be used in some of these positions, but only a few would be considered warriors. Female dragons generally mated other dragons. They had many requests to come and serve, but as far as Carler knew, every request came from a male, and most were looking for their mate.

That was not why he had come, yet he had found his mate anyway. The Emperor requested that he take the position for a few years to help get the colony going.

Carler was sure he would like it but wasn't sure what kind of people humans were. He liked the Empress, the Queen, and her relatives but did not believe they were average citizens. If they were, the planet would have colonized space long ago.

Although he had only met them a few times socially, he still felt the ladies were exceptional examples of Earth females, along with Ranger's Queen.

What still puzzled him was how difficult human females were to understand. Among his own people, finding a true mate guaranteed they would mate.

On Earth, it would be a battle to earn the trust and develop the relationship needed to convince them to mate. Thinking of how Viv turned away from him and said it would never happen made his heart hurt.

But Carler refused to give up. He knew deep inside he would never give up. Even if he wanted to, his dragon would not allow it. Viv would accept him, and he would ensure it if it was the last thing he ever did in life.

Dragons did not need the sleep that humans did, but they still needed sleep. He'd been up since Viv left but needed to sleep to be in good shape when she arrived.

Going upstairs to his apartment on the top floor, he thought about how close he was to Ranger and his Queen. It was a nice apartment, only a little smaller than the one their King had.

Viv had one of the apartments below him. They were also nice, especially by human standards. He undressed and took a shower to prepare for bed. It was a large bed because he was a large male, but unfortunately, it was empty. His mate was not in it.

Carler was so tired that he fell asleep when his head hit the pillow. He woke hours later.

Once dressed, he headed to his office to see what had happened while he'd been asleep. On his computer, a message let him know that Viv and her team were returning. Nothing else had happened, and no clues had presented themselves. In one way, he was relieved, but in another, he wished that Joe had been dealt with permanently.

Much of his work was done on the computer. He scheduled meetings, placed orders for needed materials, and made decisions about what to do next.

Carler got busy and was getting a great deal of work done when he received a notice that the plane had landed. His mate was there. He quickly cleared everything on his computer so he could greet her. They were going to have to discuss what to do about Joe Senior.

Ranger suggested Carler do an interview with a popular American station. Maybe letting people know what Joe Senior was doing and some background information about who he really was would make it harder for him to get people to do his bidding. It would not take long and might even increase the popularity of their casino and some of their tourist activities.

The interview would be short, and they would provide the journalists with a free room and a limited amount of money to play in the casino. Once the money ran out, they played on their own dime.

Carler knew they would try to ask questions to make his people look like they were in the wrong, but he could handle a few journalists. Maybe they would even relax after spending time in their incredible resort. The food and drinks were amazing. They had a variety of shows so anyone could find something they liked, and the gambling was addictive.

Maybe after Viv settled back into her room to rest a little while, he would call and schedule an appointment with some journalists. It wasn't like they didn't intend to have a grand opening where they would invite various people that would get them some good advertising. Maybe doing this just before the event would have a ripple effect on them. He had everything closed on his computer and was headed to meet his mate. If people had moved out of his way before, they were moving out of his way faster this time. He felt a deep need to see her and assure himself that everything was all right.

Carler felt that even though she denied it, she felt something for him. If she'd had a dragon, there was no way that she could have fought against it. That made this more difficult for him, but not impossible. Since they worked together, she couldn't escape him, at least not completely. That was something he planned to use to his advantage. Carler stepped outside to the car that was waiting for him. His driver quickly took him to the airport because this would be the car that the others came back in. It was a short drive. They pulled onto the tarmac and onto a plane that had just landed a short while ago.

The stairs had just been put in place, and the door opened. Kareth stepped through first, followed by his mate and then Viv. She looked so beautiful that his heart skipped a beat in admiration. They moved down the steps and headed to the car he stood in front of. He knew that she would not be pleased if he pulled her into his arms as he wanted to and kissed her deeply. Instead, he greeted them and explained that they would ride in the car with him.

The four of them sat in the back, and his mate sat beside him. He hoped she would eventually understand this was how it should be.

Once they mated, she would be his world, and nothing would come between them. All he had to do was convince her that he was her mate.

Catching Joe so that he could be punished would be a big step in the right direction. All they needed was the right opportunity because he could be dealt with if they could get him in person. He hoped to hear from Doran sometime tomorrow, and then he would know if he would have assistance with this problem. He did not intend to share this with his mate until they had results.

Somehow, he just knew she would not be pleased by him bringing in others on what she considered her personal quest. It was too late to change now, and he would just have to hide it from her until it was too late to hide it. Joe needed to be taken out because he was causing too much trouble. He just looked at his texts and discovered that security had caught two more people coming in and trying to cause havoc. The fact that they were catching them so easily didn't make him feel any better because he wondered if it was a distraction for something worse.

Security questioned the two, and they said they would let him know if they discovered anything worthwhile. He stood closer to his mate, pleased she didn't slide away. It was such a small thing, but it showed she was getting used to him. They arrived at the building where their office was, and he got out and helped her out. The others were left to take care of themselves.

"Are you hungry? I would like to take you for a meal. We can catch you up on everything that happened while you were gone," Carler explained.

"Yes, that sounds good. The meal on the plane was early, and I really am hungry now," Viv admitted.

He gently took her arm, leading her outside to the elevator that would take them to the steakhouse a couple floors down. Carler was certain everyone loved steak.

They were escorted to a private area where a waitress took their drink orders and left menus. When she returned with the drinks, she took their orders. Finally, they were alone–at least for a little while.

"We just had two more in the casino trying to cause trouble. Security is questioning them, but I'm sure Joe sent them. He seems to have an endless supply of people. Some are even willing to die for him."

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