Page 20 of No Strings Attached
Which means that everyone has been slowly moving into Warren’s hands and I’m one of the last pieces of the puzzle.
As much as I don’t want to work for Warren, I want to live in his house even less. I take a deep breath and release it before sliding from the bed. There’s a dull throb in my head, my entire body still exhausted from yesterday but I force myself to move anyway. A small knock at the window steals my attention, Snow impatiently waiting for her breakfast.
“Yeah, yeah, I got you girl,” I whisper as I stalk over to the window and open it a little. There’s only a few walnuts left in the small container I keep just inside the windowsill. I’ll have to grab some more at some point. Snow scurries forward, her little paws holding onto one of my fingers for several seconds before she reaches forward to grab the walnuts.
It feels like a tiny embrace of assurance before she darts off into the trees, leaving me in silence. The soft breeze of the morning whistles through my hair as I sit there, running through all of my options or lack of them. Even spending the evening with Jamie and Olivia doesn’t completely wipe away my uncertainty, their scents covering my sheets, my body, and filling my nose.
Still, I turn to face the bathroom after the water shuts off, soft giggles echoing into my bedroom. Olivia and Jamie step out onto the carpet, only clothed in my shirts. Jamie has one of my old jersey’s from high school on but Olivia is donned in one of my button down shirts, not one of the buttons done up.
The fabric hangs open revealing every curve of her body. My breath catches, my eyes tracing the line of her waist, the swell of her breasts, and I feel a pull low in my gut, a mix of need and comfort I can’t shake.
I wait until she crosses the room before I pull her into my lap as I sit on the edge of the bed. Her legs straddle my thighs, her warmth settling against me, and I bury my head in her chest, inhaling her berry scent. Her fingers run through my hair as I hold her there, my arms tight around her waist, my raw knuckles stinging against the fabric of her shirt. “I’m pretty sure Tristan knows what happened in that car,” I whisper against her skin. It sickens me, wondering how many others have been through that exact same situation.
Jamie plops onto the bed beside us, his hazel eyes dark with worry. “What can we do to help you?” he asks. “You said you didn’t want to make a scene yesterday, but if they’re forcing…”
I cut him off, my voice sharper than I mean it to be. “Don’t go out of your way for me. I just have to figure something out.”
Olivia kisses my forehead, the warmth of her touch seeping into me. “If it’s not too forward, I can have our lawyer take a look at your contract.”
I blink, my head lifting from her chest, confusion swirling in my expression. “How, why…” I start, Jamie cutting me off. He places a soft hand on my arm, turning my attention to him.
“Sweetheart, you’re not the first person who’s gotten stuck in a contract with no way out. You’re not stupid, and I know you would have walked away last night if you could. Which means something in that contract is keeping you there.”
I huff, my shoulders slumping in defeat. “I can’t pay my way out. I’d have to sell everything and even then, I’m not sure that would be enough.”
Olivia’s hand cups my cheek, her thumb brushing across my beard. “Then let us help you,” she purrs. I give her a brief nod before setting her off to the side to grab a shower myself. Just like them, I wash with no soap, wanting to keep their scents on me as long as possible.
I don’t realize why I needed their scents on me or why I needed my scent on them until we get to the dirt road from yesterday. Just one glance at Nander and Tristan, I realize that their scents are a barrier from the bullshit I’m going to face. Smelling that berry and citrus scent, having it soaked into my skin is a comfort that I’ve never had before.
A reminder that there are people in my corner.
Jamie twists around in his seat and squeezes my knee. “You ready?” I give him a small nod before placing a soft kiss to his lips and climbing out of the car. I round the car to step up to the driver side, Olivia rolling down the window to meet my gaze. I lean in and kiss her through the window, my lips lingering on hers, her berry scent settling me further. “Go get ‘em, baby. If you feel uncomfortable, you call me. You have our numbers now, okay?”
“I’ll be okay,” I tell her, but the words feel like a lie.
Olivia’s hand brushes my cheek. “I know you will,” she says, her eyes searching mine. “But seeing you like that yesterday terrified me.”
I nod and pull back, watching until the car leaves the lot before I head toward my boss. Well, myformerboss. The crew’s already there, cameras set up, the motorbike parked on the path I’m supposed to drive, the ramp taunting me to actually conquer it today. Nander’s leaning against a truck, his short black hair tousled, his eyes red-rimmed from what looks like a sex-fueled night.
He smirks when he sees me, his arms crossed over his chest. Tristan stalks up toward me, his face twisted with rage. “You little shit,” he yells, his voice echoing across the set. “You think you can just walk out like you did yesterday? Punch me? Disrespect Warren?”
I tighten my expression and swallow down any response I want to give.
“You ruinedeverything! That was your chance to move up, and you fucked it up!” he screams, a glob of spit falling at my feet as his hands wildly move through the air. The entire staff freezes, their attention now on us. I’m so fucking glad that phones and cameras aren’t allowed to take pictures or videos of the set itself.
Otherwise, this would be one wild thing to leak to the public.
Someone shifts as if they’re thinking about intervening but stops, unsure. Another whispers to the Beta tech, but they just stand there, awkward, not knowing if to step in or stay out. Nander is the only one who seems to find this shit amusing, his shoulders shaking as he tries not to laugh.
“You’re nothing without me!” Tristan continues. “I built you, and you repay me by acting like a child? Warren’s furious, and it’s your fault!”
Nander finally bursts out laughing. “I think our sweet Omega here just got a little too big for his britches. After all, someonesmells like an Alpha today,” he muses. He straightens up, the smirk on his lips widening. “Who did you spend the night with? Warren? Did he finally get your sexy ass in the bed and fuck some sense into you?”
“Warren is not my Alpha,” I growl, my voice shaking with anger. The ghost of his touch on my skin has all but been washed away bymyAlphas but it doesn’t erase the memory. “The advances he made last night were inappropriate and unwanted.”
Nander snorts, rolling his eyes, dismissing me like he always does. Tristan steps closer as he jabs a finger into my chest. “You’re supposed to dismiss his behavior and let him do what he needs to do,” he throws at me. “He’s an Alpha. Your job was to network, but you disappeared not even an hour into the gala, and now you smell like an Alpha.”
Fuck, he knows. Tristan knows what happened last night and so does Nander. I suspected as much but hearing it, seeing the smug looks on their faces just makes it worse. “What I do in my free time is my own business, Nander. However, if either of you thought I was going to stay at a venue where someone assaulted me…”
