No Reservations—Part One

by Viola Grace

  Time ceased to have meaning, but when her limbs felt heavy, she pulled herself out of the water and sat at the edge of the pool.

  Ford handed her her top. “You lost this.”

  “It jumped ship on the first dive.”

  “You can swim naked for all I care. I just thought that you would be more comfortable in a suit.”

  “Getting a sport suit for me is tricky.”

  He wrapped an arm around her, across her chest. He kissed her neck. “These things pop up, and we will deal with them.”

  “Things? Like my breasts?”

  He squeezed her. “Yeah. I will give them a stern talking to.”

  She snorted and went to grab a towel. “How long until you have to be at work?”

  “About ninety minutes.”

  “How far away is it?”

  “Twenty minutes.”

  “I am coming with you?” She looked at him seriously.

  “Honey, I am counting on you to drive. I will be your GPS. The guards will be ahead and behind us. Ready for a shower that will hit the borders of molestation?”

  “As long as it doesn’t cross the border.” She walked into the house with him, and he introduced her to the shower. She washed her hair, soaped up, and stood with her hands against the wall while all the sprays hit her from all the angles. She was gasping and tingling but clean as hell when she got out.

  Ford grinned. “Need a cigarette?”

  “No, but it was a very, very near thing.” She glanced back. “I think I want its number.”

  “It never calls.” Ford laughed.

  She dried her hair and brushed it, then braided it into a loose braid, and Ford handed her a hair tie.

  The clothes in the suitcase were a surprise. Actual underwear that wasn’t entirely made of lace and moonbeams, jeans and boots, a babydoll shirt and a gauzy kimono wrap.

  Ford chuckled. “I don’t know who packed this, but it wasn’t Ambrose.”

  She scented it. “Dexter and Argus. Well done, boys.”

  She got dressed, pulled on socks, and when all the fabric was on, she put on the boots and zipped them nearly to the knee. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She actually looked like the Olivia she remembered from way back when. She looked like the Olivia she had wanted to be when she grew up. A thrill of happiness ran through her.

  It was one of the first times that she had felt like herself in the last decade.

  She looked at Ford. “Now, can I make you breakfast?”

  He looked at her and smiled. “Yeah, I think that would be fun.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Ford looked a little nervous, but he settled when she kept pace with his bodyguards on the way to the shoot. She wove in and out of traffic and shifted easily. The car purred, and she missed her guys.

  Ford blinked. “You are really good at this.”

  She chuckled. “I helped neighbours all my life, herding their cattle. This is similar and less dangerous.”

  “I thought you didn’t leave your home. That was the implication.”

  “No, I wasn’t allowed to leave my home. My sister charged the neighbours for my services. So, I did the work at their farms and was taken home every night. I was only allowed to drive on private properties.”

  “Wait, so you use vehicles to herd cows?”

  “Sure. This is the twenty-first century. Trucks, quads, you name it. The horses are just for moving them in a relaxed manner and in areas where the vehicles couldn’t go.” Riding the horses had also been impossible for her after her father’s actions.

  “Oh. Cool. Can you ride horses?”

  She smiled slowly. “Definitely.”

  “Motorcycles?”

  “Of course.”

  “Excellent.” He had an idea.

  They headed to a warehouse district, and their little motorcade came to a halt near a group of other vehicles. She parked, gave Ford the keys, and he put them back in her hand, folding her fingers over them. She chuckled. “Dude. I don’t actually have pockets on this outfit. The jeans are so snug that I am amazed I can sit.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, they are. Dexter?”

  “Argus.”

  “Nice.”

  They got out of the sleek dark vehicle, and some folks rushed toward Ford. “Oh, thank god, Ford. We are ready to start, but I think something is missing.”

  Ford nodded to the man with the pink shirt, pinker hair, and enough piercings in his face to give Olivia the impression that he had been too close to a nail gun while drunk.

  Ford chuckled. “I will take a look. This is Olivia, and I want her to see what I do for a living.”

  The pink man looked at her and pursed his lips. “It isn’t like you to bring a woman... anywhere.”

  Olivia chuckled. “Oh, I am special. I am also his neighbour. I just moved in.”

  Ford grinned. “Spoiling my fun, Olivia. Come on. Let’s go.”

  She took his hand, and they headed toward an area lined with cameras. She saw motorcycles lined up, and folks everywhere were dressed in post-apocalyptic tribal. She grinned. “It’s like a costume party where everyone has to go to work.”

  He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. Did you want to play dress-up?”

  She gave him a dark look. “Dude. I just got jeans back. No one is parting me from them. Not without me actually trying some cocktails.”

  His eyes widened. “Oh. Right. It’s on the list.”

  “List?”

  “Things that you should try in private and then public.”

  She grinned.

  He chuckled at her expression and walked her toward the cameras. He got her a chair, showed her the safe areas where she wouldn’t affect the filming, and she sat and watched with a coffee in her hands.

  A lot of people stared at her, and she sat quietly as folks got in position, and they fired up the playback so that the actors and dancers could pace themselves to the music. It was a surprisingly sweet story being told by the song, but the counterpoint of the makeup and costumes lent it a whole new subtext.

  Rick was speaking with the choreographer, and they seemed to be talking shop during one of the resets for the scene.

  A woman was speaking urgently with Ford and putting her hand on his arm. He calmly slid the woman’s hand off his skin and spoke gently. She paused and blinked. He loved touching her. He had been holding her hand during most of the shooting.

  He smiled slowly and turned toward Olivia. “Honey, come here for a minute. This is Leora, and she is the talented musician and songwriter behind today’s project. She thinks that the female lead needs more edge. What do you think?”

  “She isn’t wrong. The lead looks too helpless. During the motorcycles circling her, she just wrings her hand. Who thought that up?”

  Ford shrugged. “Last week I thought it was a great idea. This week I think edge is what she needs. Could you get into makeup and be the body double? We are signing you up for a guild membership so you can get paid for it.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “How much?”

  His eyes sparkled. “I will tell you at home.”

  Leora looked at her and smiled, walking around her. “She has the right look for it. Body double? I think she could do the whole thing.”

  Olivia blinked. “Uh, I am really new to all this. I can’t act.”

  Ford stroked her cheek and neck. “No, but you take direction so very well. We will put an earpiece in, and you just need to do what I say. Got it?”

  She glared at him as he stroked her lower lip with his thumb. “No playing on company time.”

  He laughed, and Leora blinked. “That... I haven’t seen that before.”

  Olivia smiled. “I am complicated.” She bit at the tip of Ford’s thumb. She sighed. “What do you need me to do?”

  Things exploded into action. She signed into the actor’s guild and signed onto the shoot insurance. Her clothing w
as carefully set aside; she was put into the gauzy gown and soft doeskin boots. Her makeup was fun, but they covered her bond marks. That gave her a pang. She looked at herself in the mirror with Dexter’s and Argus’s marks hidden to the frontal view, and Ambrose’s had been dabbed over.

  The makeup artist looked at her. “You really bonded to three alphas? Why?”

  “It seemed like the thing to do at the time.”

  They had to settle for ear cuffs on the makeup front as Olivia’s ears weren’t pierced, and no one had a kit with them.

  “I am just going to hold the place. I think. I dunno. Ford had a funny look on his face.”

  “That just means he had an idea. He gets them now and then, and when that gleam is in his eyes, we all get to charge more for our next gig. The awards come.”

  Olivia grinned, and when she was dismissed and dressed like an after-disaster princess, she headed to the set.

  She knew the look in Ford’s eyes. She had seen it that morning when he looked up at her from between her thighs. She pressed her hand to his chest. “Down, boy. Now, get me the earpiece and tell me what you want me to do.”

  “Me. I want you to do me.” He grinned.

  She chuckled. “It wasn’t in the earpiece, so that doesn’t count. Now, lets’ get going. I want to find out if this princess can actually throw the bola to catch the bad guy.”

  His eyes gleamed. “I don’t suppose you can...”

  “I am a bit rusty, but I can probably snag someone’s legs.”

  “Can you practice first?”

  She shrugged and walked to where the stunt folks were waiting. She picked up the hollow bola, and the coordinator walked her through a toss. She waited until they were at a safe distance, wound up, and threw. Then she did it again. And again.

  The alpha came over with a pleased expression. “Can you do it on camera?”

  “I don’t know how I would get up onto a camera, so probably.”

  He snorted and clapped her on the shoulder then frowned. Her skin was bare, and she knew from contact with Ford that omega skin felt different. She smiled. “Congratulations, Ben. You found the one spot where they didn’t have to hide a bond mark.”

  He was startled. “You are a bonded beta?”

  She patted him on the arm. “I am bonded. ‘nuff said.”

  His nose was going crazy trying to catch her scent. “Ben, don’t hurt your sinuses. I just don’t perfume like normal. Now, which way to the set again?”

  He walked with her. She realized that he was acting as a bodyguard of sorts, and she blinked in surprise. Ford looked at her, and he grinned then he looked past her. “Ben, you are here to watch the scene?”

  Ben nodded.

  Ford grinned at Olivia. “Ready?”

  “Sure.” She got the earpiece, checked to make sure it worked and was secure, and walked out to starting position. She needed to stand in a windstorm with the bikes circling, throw the bola, and then get on one of the bikes when the stuntwoman would take over.

  * * * *

  Ford grinned and rubbed his hands together. Olivia was going to make a splash in his circles, and it was going to start today.

  The playback started, Leora lip-synched on her podium, and Olivia acted like the terrified omega she was supposed to be, all cute and soft and irresistible to the big bad alphas. She fell to the ground and kicked back with her legs, catching the bola as the leader of the pack came toward her. She waited until he got to the strike zone, her gaze hardened, and she rose to her knees. The bola spun, released, and took the surprised stunt guy down. She scrambled to her feet, jumped over his grasping hands, and Ford murmured, “Get the drones ready.”

  “She’s just going to get on it, isn’t she?”

  Ford chuckled and murmured into his mic.

  Olivia got on the bike, started it expertly, planted one foot, spun the monster, and shot past the stunned villains, and then, they got the order to give chase.

  The drones were careful not to be in the shadow, but they showed Olivia streaking across the barren landscape, and the pack was coming up behind her.

  “Cut it! Olivia, return to the set.”

  He watched the drone feed, and to his shock, Olivia was having to actively dodge the alphas who were coming after her. Shit. Rule one of being an omega. Never run.

  He called his team, and they got ready. When she roared back to the set, she got off the bike and climbed up one of the sets, getting high, and to Ford’s astonishment, she used one of the support ropes to get to an inaccessible part of the set. She knelt, breathed, and calmed down.

  He watched. “Holy shit.”

  She was crouching on the platform and watching the pacing alphas below.

  Rick tossed a canister of scent nullifier, and it swirled and spiralled out until they were all looking sheepish. Olivia dropped twenty feet and landed daintily in the cloud. She walked through it and headed toward Ford.

  He wanted to console her, but she asked, “Any more shots for me today?”

  He shook his head.

  She smiled. “Good. I really like driving motorcycles, so you are going to have to have that bike scrubbed with nullifier.”

  His eyes widened. “Got it.”

  Under the chemical scent clinging to her, peach was rising strong.

  “I am going to put some jeans on. Back in a few minutes.” She patted his arm, and he bemoaned the chance to console her. She didn’t look upset. She looked like this was just something that happened daily.

  He looked to Ben, and his friend was staring. “I have never seen an omega hunt before. That was... intense. Is she really an omega?”

  “Yup.”

  “She has bond mates, a pack?”

  “A pride. Yeah. They are my neighbours and are having difficulty in adapting the transition from independent to having an omega.” Ford shrugged. “She deserves better, but she has to meet the world out of her bubble.”

  “She’s... impressive.” Ben cocked his head. “Do you think it would be possible to kill her mates to break the bond?”

  Ford blinked. “No. She would gut you in your sleep, bond or not. Don’t let the soft exterior fool you. She’s made of more steel than you have seen in a lifetime.”

  Ben glanced back toward the makeup trailer. “I can see that. She is the calmest omega I have ever seen.”

  Ford smiled. “She goes wild, but she does it when she’s safe. Currently, she is my favourite thing.”

  Ben blinked. “I haven’t heard you talk like that before, boss.”

  “Yeah, well, she has created a new way of thinking. She makes folks around her want to be better. I plan on stepping up. Besides, have you ever fucked an omega? We are amazing in bed.”

  Ben flushed. “Um, no. I only knew what she was because I touched her arm. She was so soft.”

  “Yeah, like peach fuzz.” Ford sighed happily.

  They changed the topic and discussed the shoot, looking at the footage and making notes with Leora.

  Olivia bounced out of the trailer, her hair back in the braid and her casual clothes back in place. Her marks were also visible when she raised a hand to say hi. “I am back. I think she scraped five layers off.”

  Ford plucked a few strands of silver thread from her hair. “They missed a spot.”

  She smiled. “Kiss?”

  He leaned down and kissed her, stroking her cheek and cupping her jaw. Their tongues duelled, and he slowly raised his head. “What was that for?”

  “Your scent is stronger than mine. I am using you as bait.” She waggled her brows at him. “They won’t look at me if all they can smell is you.”

  He chuckled, and Ben hooted with laughter. She was definitely complicated.

  After lunch with the crew, where people kept staring at her, she sat next to Ford and chatted with Leora, who wanted to know where she trained and how she learned to ride a motorcycle.

  Olivia talked about growing up hours beyon
d the city where kids didn’t have access to the internet, but motorized transport was plentiful. And four-legged transport as well.

  “Horses scare the shit out of me.” Leora chuckled. “I have had to be on horseback for videos before, but I am really freaked out.”

  Ford snorted. “Olivia has been riding alternative four-legged transport lately.”

  He showed her the video and Ambrose’s voice saying, “And there my buddy goes... with my mate. Get back here, you asshole!”

  She watched her hanging onto Caesar for dear life. Romulus and Remus were chasing them, low to the ground and flat out.

  Leora blinked. “That is some kind of CG, right?”

  “Uh. No. My mates run the big cat sanctuary next to Ford’s house.” She smiled fondly. “That’s Caesar.”

  “Are they tame?”

  Ford snorted. “No. But the big cats like who they like, and they like Olivia a lot.”

  Leora smiled slyly. “Could we work them into the video?”

  Olivia frowned.

  Ford closed his eyes, and he tapped his fingers. “We could put her into makeup with green dots and put your face in with the register marks. You don’t mind being invisible, do you, Olivia?”

  Leora shook her head. “No, I meant Olivia’s face and body. Not mine. I don’t think a big cat would like her to sing in its face.”

  Olivia chuckled. “I could try it, but Caesar is a bit of a bully.”

  “Stick with the jaguars. They are a better contrast against her skin. Now, we just need to get Argus to agree.” Ford tapped his fingers together.

  Leora blinked. “Wait. Did you say that these guys are your mates?”

  Olivia blushed. “Yeah. They haven’t really explained how things work, but I think the animal rescue is Argus and Ambrose. The jaguars are Argus’s buddies.”

  Ford smiled. “They like her very much.”

  “Uh. Maybe. They like him more.”

  Ford said softly, “Can you ask him?”

  She blinked. “Are you whoring me out for jaguars?”