No Reservations, page 5
Yemeen muttered, “Ford’s going to film the video to go with the song.”
Olivia looked at Yemeen, and to everyone’s surprise, she cuddled against him. He closed his arms around her, and she relaxed.
Ford grinned, and understanding hit him. “She likes Olivia because the alphas around her aren’t hunting. Olivia likes her because Lexa has no interest in her alphas. That is why they are so at ease with each other.” He further understood. “Her irritation and the faint scent she gives off convince everybody she is a beta. No omega would just go striding around unaccompanied. Even I keep bodyguards around.”
“So, because she couldn’t be an omega, we never looked for one?”
Olivia murmured against Yemeen, “So many roses.”
Ford blinked. “What?”
Olivia lifted her head. “She smells like an entire room full of roses with a fresh lemon.”
Yemeen blinked. “Roses. Hell, I always thought it was just perfume that the models were wearing or my secretary.”
“I used to grow roses that smelled like that. I really like the scent. It is probably why I like riding with her. Something about her smells like home and comfort.”
Ford nodded. “Well, I will offer her a contract for the music and lyrics. Then contact a few singers and see who can emote the storyline.”
Olivia smiled. “That will be fun.”
Ford looked at her and at Yemeen’s besotted face as he held her. “Yeah, fun all around.”
Chapter Five
Olivia got out of Argus’s vehicle, and she was a little flushed and slightly mussed. The engagement party for Argus’s cousin Paul and his fiancée Emily was tonight, and the pride was showing up and then driving home immediately after. She had to go to Dexter’s family home for Sunday lunch, so the three-and-a-half-hour drive was shared between drivers, and everyone was staying sober. She didn’t want to stay in the town where she had grown up.
Ambrose had volunteered to stay in the back seat with her, and he had played with her for hours until the scent of her heat filled the entire truck.
She smoothed her skirt, and the layers of chiffon fluttered around her thighs. Argus came around and took her hand. “You look a little flushed, sweetheart.”
She cleared her throat. “Can’t imagine why. Shall we?”
“Right. Code black is the get me out of here right now code.”
“Yes. Got it. If I say it to anyone of you, I can just come out to meet you at the truck.”
Argus nodded, and he handed her the spare keys. “If you feel uncomfortable or threatened or anything, we will come with you. Got it?”
She nodded. “Got it.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
She curled up against Argus in his suit jacket and tried not to think about the farm and bed and breakfast just a few miles down the road. Her home and prison were a short walk away. She took a deep breath and focused on the big house she hadn’t been in since she was fourteen. She stepped through the huge doors with Argus and was momentarily blinded by the lights.
She heard warm voices greeting Argus, and as she blinked to clear her vision, she started recognizing faces. She knew the exact moment that they recognized her. She inhaled, straightened her shoulders, and walked into the party with Argus, Dexter, and Ambrose. She had her pride, and they had her back. She wasn’t going to be left alone all night. They meandered over to the happy couple, and Emily’s eyes lit up when she saw Olivia.
“Ohmygod. You came. Olivia, you look amazing!”
Olivia was surprised when Emily rushed to her and gripped her hands. The beta had a neutral scent of sunshine and daisies. “Um. Thank you. Congratulations. Paul is a good guy.”
Emily laughed happily. “Yeah, he is.”
Emily whispered, “You are really with Argus?”
“Um, yes. And Dexter and Ambrose.” She smiled. “And there is a fourth being vetted for admittance.”
“To you?” Emily was scandalized.
Olivia chuckled. “I suppose that is part of it.”
Paul moved to speak to her. “So, Olivia, still swimming?”
“I recently resumed the exercise. Our neighbour has a pool.”
“Neighbour?” Paul glanced at Argus.
Olivia filled in. “He films music videos. He’s nice.”
Argus snorted. “He’s a well-dressed satyr, but he and Olivia get along, so that is what matters.”
Olivia chuckled. “Right answer.”
Dexter congratulated the couple, as did Ambrose. Ambrose eased her away from the engaged couple, and they walked to where people were slow dancing. He pulled her into his arms, and they started dancing.
“I didn’t think you liked dancing.” She looked up at him.
“I don’t do it a lot, but it is excellent when you don’t want to talk to people. These folks know I am an architect, and they consider that an opportunity to get my advice on designing pergolas and gazebos in their backyards. I am hiding in your arms.” He chuckled.
“Oh, poor baby.” She stroked his chest and shoulder as they moved around the floor.
“By the way, thank you for being circumspect when it comes to Dexter and me and who does what to whom, but I don’t care who knows.” He chuckled. “Dex puts out a lot of dominant energy, and he might even gain my position as our leader. It would give me more time to work and make his parents crazy.”
“So, we actually have a leader?”
He patted her backside. “Now and then. Someone always needs to speak for a group. Argus does it when it comes to animals. I do it when it comes to the house. Dexter is starting to do it when it involves you.”
“Does Ford fit in?”
“Of course. He is the one we need to tell us what and how you are thinking. He’s also confirming that all the soft moments for you are not wrong, and you deserve to be safe. That is helping things enormously.” Ambrose sighed. “I wish I had done a better job of it to start with.”
“It got figured out.” She smiled. “With his help, I at least feel like a have a foothold on a future. I don’t even know if you guys really want kids. I mean, I know Dexter wants to wait, but his reasoning is obvious.”
“He doesn’t want to be confused for their older brother?”
She chuckled. “I thought he didn’t want to share his sugary cereal.”
Ambrose grinned. “I guess I need to explain a bit about the food obsession.”
She nodded. “It would be nice. I eat my food groups and get a strange amount of exercise for someone of my body type.”
“When I was little, my sisters decided I was a sort of a pet, and they plied me with snacks. I turned into a pudge ball and had difficulties with allergies and physical activity. With dieticians, doctors, and family meetings, they stopped giving me chocolate, sweets, and cakes whenever they saw me but still tried to ply me every chance they got. It became a matter of family effort to keep me healthy. Then, my alpha nature started kicking in, and I started running around and thinning out.”
“Wow. Why were they stuffing you?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Because I was so cute, they wanted to cuddle me, and the only way to keep me still was sweets.”
She chuckled. “I have no idea what that kind of behaviour is like. None of you have tried bribing me with food. Dexter looks like he is going to start with jewellery, and I hope he keeps it to mostly costume stuff.”
“Oh, right. What is the thing you want that is not costume stuff?”
“I want icons to protect the marks. Jaguars for Argus’s mark, a lion for you, tiger for Dexter.”
“Oh, that will be cute and hot. Why protection?”
“Clothing presses on them, and you guys notice.” She chuckled, and they swayed to a halt as the music stopped.
“Is that so bad?”
“Not really, but if I keep working with Ford, it is going to be distracting for you as the clothing and costumes rub the marks.”
He leaned down and murmured. “I don’t mind.”
“I don’t want to disturb you guys when you are working. My time is currently not on the clock. Yours is.”
He harrumphed, and the music resumed.
They danced for the better part of an hour before she had to use the restroom.
One of the bedrooms on the second floor had been offered up as a powder room, and she went to use the facilities in the en suite when she heard voices through the door.
“Can you believe she had the nerve to come here after what happened to Lara?” The voice was older and rather snide.
Olivia froze, nervous.
“She has to travel with them. It’s fine. We will just figure out when her heat is and schedule the wedding for then. None of them will make it. Emily will go along with it.” The other woman chuckled.
Olivia finished drying her hands and stepped out of the bathroom. Emily’s mother paused and went pale. “Don’t worry. I will probably be pregnant by then. I will tell Argus that our presence isn’t needed. I am glad I had to powder my nose. I would hate to embarrass anyone at the event. Still, this evening is lovely, and it has been nice to actually see some of the people I grew up with. It’s amazing what being confined and tortured does to your sense of self-worth. Ah well. I have a job, friends, and folks who actually care about me disappearing for days, months, and years. They know that it isn’t normal. What kind of asshole would think that was normal? Maybe a nice church-going lady who was nice to me growing up and then thought I grew another head when my omega status surfaced.” She breathed in and out. “Right. Sorry. I have to go to the guys. They are all outside the door. Ladies.”
She walked toward the door, and her alphas were waiting.
They hugged her and escorted her back downstairs. Argus led them to the happy couple and smiled at Paul. “Congratulations. We are on our way out.”
Paul’s eyes widened. “But, you just got here.” He smiled at Olivia. “Convince him to stay, Livs.”
She blinked and exhaled. “While you and Emily may be fine with me, the older generation isn’t, and they are the ones paying for the party. My presence at the wedding would be distracting, so it will be better if I don’t come back.”
Argus looked at her in surprise. She squeezed his hand. “It will be fine. You like your family and are welcome to visit as often as you like. Ambrose and Dexter can keep an eye on me.”
He stroked her cheek. “I wanted to dance with you at the wedding.”
She swallowed. “I... that would be nice, but I can’t dance with daggers in my back.”
He looked around the room and saw how many gazes were on them. She could see him counting in his head.
“There are more than I thought.” He said grimly.
“Yeah. I know. I was expecting it, but the reality is a little sobering.”
He looked at the dancefloor and sighed. “I really wanted to dance with you.”
She stroked his cheek. “We can dance at home... where it’s safe for me. At this point, I am nervous about going to the restroom again, so we are going to need to stop on the way home. My dad didn’t take action in a vacuum, and this was his crowd.”
Argus’s eyes went wide. “Holy... you think some of them are here?”
“I know of three.”
“Did you tell the investigators?”
“I did. As the case lumbers forward, things are going to get ugly.”
He leaned in and whispered, “Uncle Derek?”
“No. No one in your family. Lots of people from the church.”
He nodded and exhaled in relief.
The other two still had her back.
Paul frowned. “What happened? Things were going so well.”
Olivia turned to him. “I am afraid that I am fucking things up. I am sorry. I forgot where this was and who I was. I have no right to be here, and there are some folks who are rather vocal about it. Instead of making a scene, I thought it would be good for us to go.” She smiled. “I am really happy for you and Emily. If you want, you can tell folks that I am upset that I am not getting a wedding and that I am making Argus leave his family to comfort me.”
She walked over and hugged Emily tight. The bride blinked and was dazed. “You smell like peaches. How did I never know that?”
Olivia leaned in and whispered the why. When Emily was stricken, Olivia said, “I am trying not to mess with your party. I am leaving now and probably should not have come.”
“Argus said, invite him, invite all of you. You are going to come to the wedding, right?”
“Oh, no. That wouldn’t be a good idea.” She smiled sadly. “I am truly jealous that I can’t have a proper wedding. Do you remember all our plans when we were kids? I wanted the big poofy dress and the goats as ring bearers.”
Emily laughed. “Yeah. And the cow for a DJ.”
“Yeah. Well, that has gone down the tubes with everything else, so I have to accept that my life took a twist, and I need to deal with it. I will just deal better with a bit of distance between me and those dreams.” She stroked her friend’s hand. “Dreams always change when we wake up. Don’t they?”
Emily caught her in a crushing hug. “Fine. Go, but give me your cell for a minute.”
Olivia smiled, and Emily put her number in.
“Livs, I am going to try and convince you to come to the wedding. The invitations are still going out, inviting all four of you.”
“Fine. Feel free to convince me. I am going to feel free to dig my heels in.”
Emily nodded, and the glint of battle came to her eyes as she handed the phone back. “Cell phones at fifty paces.”
One more hug, and Olivia was dismissed. She returned to her guys and nodded. There were handshakes to Paul, and she got a kiss on her cheek before they left.
Ambrose got behind the wheel, and Argus got into the back seat with her. “What was said?”
“Nothing horrific. Just that they were not happy I was here. That I had to travel with you, and they would make sure that Emily moved the wedding date to when I was in heat, so we couldn’t come.”
He nuzzled her neck. “What did you say?”
“A lot. Basically, that I would probably be pregnant by then, so waiting for my heat wouldn’t work. That I was glad I had to powder my nose to learn we weren’t wanted.”
He chuckled. “I am never wanted, but I am family. The scheduling thing with the heat is exceedingly impolite, though. Did you tell Emily?”
“That her mom was a bitch? No. That was... stressful.”
Dexter turned. “We can skip my family lunch tomorrow.”
“No. That is direct hostility. That I can deal with. I just don’t want to react too strongly and alienate her.”
Dexter grinned. “Don’t worry. If you end up pregnant, my mom will be trying to carry you around on a pillow.”
“That is a disturbing image.”
Dexter laughed. “If it is a boy, she will have you bronzed.”
“Even if it isn’t yours?”
“Just female alphas in the family. I am the only proper chance at a grandkid unless one of my sisters finds a male omega. Your child is my child. That is the way it works, no matter who fathered it.”
Ambrose and Argus nodded. “That is what the pride is about. The many to support the few.”
She chuckled. “I remember that from my studies. Socialism.”
Argus snorted. “If you like, but all relationships are pretty much the same. One person has more financially, but the other supplies more help emotionally. You are our emotional gathering point.”
“Um, I am not quite stable yet.”
He chuckled. “So, our centre is in an eccentric orbit. We will deal with it.”
She was within his reach, so he cuddled her against him. “I am sorry that I wrecked the party.”
Ambrose chuckled. “I got to dance with you, so I am good.”
She smiled.
Argus snorted. “We will dance at home. But, that being said, we do need to have a night out somewhere. Maybe Ford would have an idea.”
Dexter perked up. “A night out as a pride? Cool.”
Ambrose nodded. “I also am up for a design award again. We could get seats at the fundraiser.”
Argus chuckled and kissed her cheek. “See, still things to do and people to meet. Nice people. People that didn’t see you in pain and turned their backs. Sorry. I didn’t think about that.”
“To be honest, I just disappeared from social interaction. I mean, a few tried to find me after I became an omega, but my dad described me as unstable... so people were praying for me. That did so much good.” She sighed.
Argus kissed her and held her. They remained that way for an hour until they stopped for gas. She sprinted to the restroom.
When she came out, there were two large men between her and the door. She cleared her throat. “Excuse me.”
The two alphas turned and looked down at her. “Well, well. Aren’t you cute?”
“I don’t know. Am I? I would like to get past, please.”
“Oh, so polite.” He leaned down. “When I have you on your hands and knees, will you beg?”
She looked at him innocently. “Will I have to get down with a microscope to find your cock? That is just upsetting.”
His buddy laughed and shoved his shoulder. They started a fistfight, and she gripped her wrist. The guys were out of the truck and inside the station in a second. Ambrose removed her, and Argus and Dexter had a nice chat with the other two.
Ambrose tucked her into the truck and smiled. “The police will be here in a moment. The clerk called them.”
She nodded and waited in her safe space.
The police showed up, and they hooked everyone in the store until they could get the explanations. A kind officer came up to the truck, and Ambrose opened it. Olivia was sitting still with her hands on her knees like she was in church.
“Hello, Miss. What happened?”
“We got here, and I made a run for the restroom. When I came out, the two guys were blocking the door. I asked them to let me through, please.” She took a deep breath. “The darker-haired guy asked if I would be that polite on my hands and knees. I asked if that was where I would have to be with a microscope to see his cock. His buddy hit him in amusement, and they started flailing around, so I called my pride, and they got me out of there then tried to hold the other two back.”
