No Reservations, page 15
Chapter Fourteen
Thursday on the set was entertaining, and when Friday arrived, she was nervous about the meeting regarding her book.
She put on a dress that Yemeen picked out for her. She had to. He had hidden everything else. It was wrapped and tucked and flowed and floated. She felt cute and cuddly and sexy at the same time. The good little omega in the package.
Olivia headed downstairs and watched the caterers setting up. She fussed and fidgeted before heading to the living room and queuing up footage from the previous day’s shoot. Alita was a lovely woman with a serious face and an amazing figure. She also could control a horse just by looking at it. She was on set with her four brothers, and they gathered around her protectively whenever she wasn’t in front of a camera. Her hair was also amazing, and when she rode full out, the knee-length stuff flew out behind her. That was it. It wasn’t riding. It was flying when Alita did it.
Ford’s process was interesting. He did all the background footage, the action, the stuff that didn’t require the presence of the singer, and then, he created a rough cut and recorded their performance, and after that, he spliced the two together. So, he had a lot of footage that he wasn’t going to use.
Lexa walked into the living room, and she smiled. “Alita is amazing on horseback, isn’t she?”
Olivia smiled. “Finished interviewing?”
Ford walked in behind Lexa. “Lexa is a ballbuster, and she pulled no punches. They had to abide by her storyboard, or it was game over. Fortunately... we found two who not only sound amazing, but they believe in telling the story in the video.”
Lexa grinned. “They start recording next week.”
Ford snorted. “Ula wants to begin on Sunday here at the studio. I already have a basic music track down.”
Lexa paused. “You do?”
“I am not just a pretty face. I can play a bunch of instruments, so I have laid down the track.”
“Can I hear it?”
He paused. “No. I want you to hear it with the vocals.”
Lexa groaned. “Meanie. Damn, I have to go get Hailey. See you at the crack of dawn tomorrow?”
Olivia grinned. “Wouldn’t miss it. I have always wanted to go to one of the parks.”
Ford snorted. “I think we are going to keep an eye on Olivia, so she doesn’t get into trouble.”
Lexa pulled on her leather jacket and flipped her helmet in the air. “How can she possibly be trouble?”
Lexa left the house, and her motorcycle roared away.
Olivia watched the footage and the goofing around behind the scenes that Ford always kept. Lexa stole a guitar and was singing to the horses. Alita and her brothers were smiling, and the horses were nodding their heads along to her song.
Olivia walked on screen and watched with the others as Lexa sang softly, and then, she picked up the guitar and brought it back to the person she had stolen it from.
The three girls stood close together, and Olivia smiled at Alita’s light scent of clover and honey. She was an omega, too, but everyone knew it. She had been in an accident when she had been interviewing packs, and by the time she recovered, no one wanted her. She had thrown herself into the trick riding that her family was famous for and used it as her physiotherapy.
Alita was quiet, shy, and she had a wicked sense of humour, and when she spoke with her brothers, she swore with astonishing skill.
“I asked Lexa to write a specific song for you three. It is unheard of to have three female omegas on a project who all get along.”
“That is just because omegas are always vying for attention. I have all the attention I want. I am good. Lexa and Alita don’t want attention, so they are good.” She smiled. “And you, you get all the attention you want, so you are good.”
“Well, not all that I want. While I love you curling up with me every night, I miss the moments when we were alone.”
She looked around with exaggeration. “We are alone now, and we have two hours before the book people arrive...”
He met her gaze and grinned, picking her up and hauling her off to his nest. Her dress was carefully put aside, as was her underwear, and then, he stripped, and they cuddled in the pillows with long, slow kisses until they were both twisting against each other. He lifted her leg to the outside of his thigh, and she gasped as Yemeen’s curiosity rose up.
“Damn. I forgot about the new trigger. How is Yemeen?”
“Curious. He hasn’t gotten this before. He was miffed that I had to work yesterday instead of playing fashion show with him, but he got over it.”
Ford grinned. “You gave him a blowjob.”
She blushed. “I am apparently getting pretty good at them.”
He pressed into her, and when his slick body met hers, she yielded to him. She panted and moaned. Ford pulled her onto him and rolled his hips up and into her in a slow, inexorable beat. He smiled. “You know I love your mouth on me.”
“You nearly drown me.”
He chuckled and kept moving. “Would you believe it’s a compliment?”
“It’s your body demanding to drive into something hot and tight.” She shuddered and moved with him.
“Your mouth is hot and tight.”
“Not deep enough, baby.” She gasped and whimpered as her first orgasm caused her to squeeze and flutter around him.
His dark laugh was all pleasure at her pleasure, and he moved faster and harder until the wet slapping sounds took over the room. She squeaked and tried to clench on him as she came, but he kept moving, and it was like squeezing a piston.
He rolled her to her back and held her hands next to her head as he pumped into her. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and her marks all fired on as she came and Ford came with her. She felt the pulsing deep inside her, along with the heavy jetting coating her. Olivia pressed tiny kisses across his face, and she licked his lower lip. He took her lip between his teeth. “This isn’t over.”
She grinned. “I would be devastated if it was.”
“After the negotiation, your ass is mine.”
She blinked and shivered. “Oh, dear. Can we table that until Sunday night? I don’t want anything interfering with my walking tomorrow.”
He chuckled. “Fine, your ass has a rain cheque.”
She exhaled in relief.
“Time for a shower, I think. The guys know what we have been doing, but there is no sense in everyone knowing that I have sex outside my pride.”
He laughed. “Except you put it in your book. Along with Lexa being a dancer and a single mother.”
“Oh, I am a bit of a blabbermouth. Do the guys mind?”
“Did they say they minded?”
“No. They all said they liked it.”
“As they should, it is an excellent memoir.”
She clenched on him once more to get him to spill the remainder of his cum. He grunted, and she got up, clenching hard.
He stared at her sex. “I swear I unloaded in you.”
“You did. I am practicing keeping tension. I figure that the shower was as good a spot as anything to relax. It is thorough.”
“Honey, you amaze me.”
“Thanks. I am losing containment, so I am going to make a break for it.” She smiled and walked in a controlled manner to the shower. Once the water was running, she relaxed, and the splash of their slick and his cum ran down her thighs. He stood in front of her and drew his fingers in and out of her.
“What are you doing?” She gripped his shoulders.
He grinned. “Helping. We need you squeaky clean, or you will smell like apples, and the guys will start laughing.”
“They are always laughing. I don’t care. They are having fun because I am having fun. When the IUD comes out and we try for a baby, they are all going to get tense... waiting for me to go into heat.”
Ford smiled. “You had a good day today.”
She nodded. “A little of the fear has let loose. I can pretend to be brave for a while, but to actually have to sit there and discuss things was harder than I thought it would be. So... I feel lighter today.”
“Which is why you trusted Ambrose a little bit.”
She sighed as he kissed her inner thigh. Startled, she looked down, and he was kneeling with one of her feet on his shoulder. “How did that happen?”
He laughed. “Call this compensation for my floor. I had no idea you could do that.”
She moaned as he pressed his mouth against her. “I didn’t know I could either. I have only been using my nails for hanging onto you guys or picking off stickers.”
His tongue was delightful, and the conversation turned to moaning as he drank from her with his usually implacable enthusiasm.
She held onto his hair and whimpered as he took her higher and higher. Her voice echoed in the shower, and suddenly, he pulled her down across his lap as he widened her with his entrance into her.
She whined in his ear and rotated her hips to feel the tight pressure everywhere. She continued until she was just on the edge, and then, Ford bent her back and attacked her breasts with strong suction and a flicking tongue.
She screamed and bucked against him. He gripped her hips and thrust into her, and her body continued to clasp and grip him as he used her spasms to milk him dry. He groaned against her breasts and slowly started to suck and nibble again.
She was limp and dizzy but had been cleaned out again before she got dressed and brushed her hair dry-ish. Ford came up behind her and kissed her neck. “Thanks for that.”
She chuckled. “You may not be bound by marks, but you are my Ford, as much as you will let yourself be. I am grateful for the moments you give me as well.”
He looked at her with a stunned expression on his features. He turned her to him. “Don’t thank me. Being with you is... different than anything I have ever experienced. I have decades of heats behind me, but you get me to that mindless drive with a smile and the touch of your hand. No pheromones required.” He inhaled deeply. “Though they are intoxicating.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I like yours, too. The more citric acid in the apple, the hotter you are.”
He nodded and cocked his head. “Ah, the guests are arriving.”
She looked him over. “Sadly, you should get dressed.”
“Meet you downstairs in five. Edgar is your agent, and he will be representing you.” Ford pulled out some black jeans and a silver button-down shirt. “Brown hair, glasses, eyes that can flay you on the spot.”
“Right. That isn’t creepy at all. See you downstairs.”
She headed down in her dress by Yemeen, parts of her still damp and her hair heavy on her shoulders. The servers from the caterer were in the living room, standing near the doorway. She stopped and got something small and nibbly before she entered the room, and she smiled politely. “Good evening.”
Argus got to his feet and left the man he had been talking to. Brown hair, glasses, deadly eyes. She waved. “Edgar?”
He smiled slowly. “So, you are Ford’s project?”
“He didn’t build me from a kit if that is what you are saying.” She paused to look thoughtful. “Though... there is a room I am not allowed into.”
Edgar snorted, and he got to his feet. She had thought he was a beta, but if he was, he was an exceptionally tall one. He extended his hand to her, and she shook his hand. His thumb glided over the back of her hand. “Ford’s hand is smoother.”
“Yeah, because he doesn’t do dishes or minor household repair.” She smiled. “Your hands are way smoother than Argus’s, but you don’t see me sneering at you... much.”
He grinned and kissed the back of her hand before he released it. “Your pride has engaged me to represent you, and I confess to being intrigued. Your pride alpha isn’t here.”
Olivia checked on her guys and nodded. “He’s coming. He doesn’t keep enough clean clothing here yet. Excuse me. I didn’t get lunch.”
She turned and went to get a teeny napkin and a handful of tidbits.
When she was standing next to him again, Argus murmured, “We’ll order some burgers for delivery when the evening wraps up.”
“It will be too late by then. We have an early morning.”
Edgar raised his brows. “Where are you off to?”
Olivia smiled. “A seven-year-old’s birthday trip to the amusement park. I am super excited.”
“You know someone with children?”
“Sure. My friend Lexa.”
His eyes widened. “The tall omega from the book?”
“Yeah.”
Argus murmured, “Her daughter has invited us to the park tomorrow, so we are all going.”
Edgar blinked. “All? How many is that?”
“Me, my pride, and Ford. And Lexa and her daughter.”
Ford came in. “Don’t worry, Edgar. I am going to take plenty of footage.”
“We need stills. I will get the permissions for anyone and anywhere that isn’t precisely public.”
Ford waved that off. “I have gotten early entry passes, wristbands, and we can do some fun shoots.”
Edgar beamed. “Excellent. I want to see them ASAP. I also want a formal photo of you taken before we start work on the dust jacket and cover. And a proper photo of Olivia for the cover.”
She snorted and was about to open her mouth when he mused, “And a bowl of peaches next to her.”
Her jaw dropped. “Nope, nope.”
Ford chuckled. “But, honey, it is an important thing. The cover sets the tone.”
She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “But does it have to give them that bit of information?”
Yemeen and Ambrose came in with Dexter behind them. She smiled, and they each came up to hug her and kiss her cheek. Ambrose lingered, and he whispered, “Playing with Ford?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
He grinned against her cheek. “You did a great job on the floor. I can barely see the marks.”
She snorted. “Don’t be all smug.”
“You trusted me completely. I am exceptionally smug.”
“I really want to punch you.”
He kissed her quickly and then swung around to introduce himself to Edgar. Edgar recognized the name and Ambrose’s position as the technical head of the pride. It was Ambrose’s name on the contract with Edgar.
Olivia got some more snacks and went in search of a glass of soda, and then, she returned to the gathering.
She was sitting on Dexter’s lap and talking to Yemeen when the first of the representatives from the publishing houses arrived.
Dexter grinned. “That’s my sister Elaine and her boss, Andre Weller.”
Elaine looked at her brother, and she raised her brows. She came over and smiled at Olivia. “So, you are the omega who is giving my mother fits?”
“Her fits are her own business. The pride needed a tiger. It got a tiger, and now, he’s nearly all grown up.”
He nipped at her neck. “Nearly?”
“You are still growing, junior.”
“Cougar.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Whatever.” She kissed him quickly and turned her head back to his sister, but he turned her and threaded a hand into her hair, kissing her softly until she whimpered and clutched at his shirt.
Elaine snorted when her brother let his omega up for air, then she sniffed. “Peach pie?”
Olivia ducked her head and hid her face against Dexter’s neck. She nuzzled down to his collar and carefully bit him. He stilled, and his breathing picked up. “Let go, cougar, or I will take you right here.”
She let him go, licked with a few flicks of her tongue, and she sat up.
She smiled benignly, and Yemeen reached for her and cuddled her next to him. “Just to keep you two from starting something.”
Dexter’s eyes were hot, and Elaine was a bit wary. “Well, Olivia, I have never seen my brother like that?”
Olivia looked at her. “It would be more disturbing if you had.”
“Oh, right.” She snorted. “Well, we are here to bid on your book. It is heartbreaking and hopeful all at the same time.”
Olivia smiled and looked at Elaine’s boss, who was talking with Edgar. “They sent you along to try and use your in.”
“Absolutely, but I can also see that you are pretty much defended from that kind of thing.”
“Yup. A friendly face would be nice during the editing process, but I would rather that the money goes to some women’s shelters to get them communication devices. Being stuck without being able to call or search for resources was my biggest problem being confined.”
There was surprise in Elaine’s expression. Dexter sighed and shook his head. “You didn’t read the book.”
Elaine blushed. “I was supposed to. I just had so many other things to do.”
Olivia laughed. “That explains why you are so relaxed. Most folks who read it get a sad face when they look at me.”
Andre and Ambrose came over, and Andre extended his hand. “Miss Haven. I am delighted to meet you. You are such a brave young woman.”
She extended her hand and smiled then turned to Elaine. “See? Sad face.”
Elaine blinked and looked nervous.
Andre smiled widely. “We are going to do our best to craft a suitable deal for you, aren’t we, Elaine?”
Elaine nodded weakly and excused herself. Olivia figured that she was heading off to frantically go over the book by skimming. She hoped Dexter’s sister didn’t hurt herself.
An hour later, with Margot and the legal representative from the Omega Centre there, they were ready to start.
Olivia looked at the three representatives from the different publishing houses, and she looked at them in turn. “What changes would you want?”
One woman looked at her and said, “Could you change the tone of the book to be more sombre? We feel that constant switch in tone is detracting from the message.”
Olivia nodded. “Something to consider. Miss Renfield, have you ever been injured? A break, or a bad bruise, car accident, or dislocation?”
