The Omega's Assistant, page 3
She looked to Ford, and he held out the drive. Rick squeezed her hand, and she took the drive and headed inside.
She got the blinds closed and the lights dimmed. She brought up the files, and everyone sat, and then she played the first file. The ad looked good. The music was good, and on the second run-through, she stopped it where Ulric said to. She controlled the display and made notes at a frantic pace until she started to sway.
On the ninth pass of the third version, her vision got spotty. Rick caught her, and he growled at Ulric. “You couldn’t have given her a day? In what universe did you go back to work the same day your heat ended?”
She looked at Ulric through the bright spots. “He takes three days off after.”
Olivia smiled. “I take at least two.”
Ford nodded. “Same. Her heat finished this morning?”
“Yeah, it was a long one. Five days. I am exhausted, so I am guessing she is flattened.”
She nodded. “I can manage the files from sitting.”
The stranger frowned. “Your omega said he took care of you.”
“Not my omega. My boss.” She mumbled it. “He got me an alpha for my heat. I didn’t get him anything.”
Rick laughed.
The stranger, who looked like a version of her ex-boss, looked at them. “Can you hand her over? If her heat were just over this morning, the scent would still be there.”
Rick nodded. “Bella? Are you okay with that?”
She looked at him and nodded. She saw Olivia make a sweet face and look at Ford. She looked at Olivia. “Quiet you. This is not a romance novel moment.”
Olivia laughed.
Rick stood and brought her over to the stranger. The man had a lean body type, hard as hell, and he settled her against him and inhaled the scent from behind her ear and in her hair. He shuddered. “Oh, that’s perfect.”
She blinked and cringed away from him. “What is?”
He held her, and a wave of black and silver fox fur moved over him, leaving her sitting in the lap of a man-sized fox with a fan of tails behind him. She blinked, but he leaned in and pressed his muzzle to her neck. She squeaked, and he licked her neck. She bent her head out of reflex, then felt teeth in her skin. She yelped and whined, and there was a lot of shouting. She held still, and the teeth remained in her skin. When he finally released her, he licked at her neck. She felt a connection to him, and he had a desperate feeling combined with an emotion she felt when she happy-cried.
He licked softly at the mark, then nuzzled her cheek until she sat up.
She looked at Rick, and he asked, “Are you all right?”
“I am. It just stings. There isn’t any sexual attraction on his end, so that isn’t in the link.”
The lap she was on jolted. “Yes, there is. I find you extremely attractive. Especially when you smell like sex.”
Rick murmured, “She has a problem with attraction. She doesn’t know when it is aimed at her.”
Bella frowned. “I don’t?”
The men in the room shook their heads. “You don’t.”
“Oh.”
Chapter Three
Ulric finally cleared his throat. “Bella, that is Loki. Loki, Bella.”
She looked up at the man who dismissed his animal form. “Uh, hello. So, why did you do that?”
He smiled and stroked her shoulder, easing her robe to the side. “Because you smell like a perfect mate. I didn’t want you getting away.”
She nodded. “Plus, foxes are sneaky.”
He grinned, and his nearly feline teeth showed. “There is that as well. May I have a kiss, Bella?”
“I am still on duty, so no.”
Ulric sighed. “Take the day off, Bella. Take two.”
“Are you sure?” She frowned. That would put them into lack-of-contract territory.
He nodded. “It’s fine.”
She looked up at Loki and muttered, “Everyone is looking, Mr. Loki.”
He smiled and cupped her chin in long fingers. “I know. Call me Loki or alpha, Bella.”
She nodded, and he kissed her softly at first, and then his lips were more insistent as she responded, clenching her thighs together. Her body picked up on the signals he was giving her, and she felt slick gathering between her thighs. When his tongue slid along hers, she clenched her hands in her lap and held very still. Her body was relaxing, opening, and waiting. The throbbing at the back of her neck was hard to ignore. Her clit was throbbing at the same beat.
When their kiss slowed, he bent her neck again and licked at the mark he had just left behind. She shivered in his arms.
She gave Ulric a sad look, and he cursed, got up, and left the room. Rick walked over to her and stroked her cheek. “It’s okay, Baby Bella. He deserves to be smacked a little for this.”
Bella rubbed her cheek against his hand. “Sorry, you got tangled in this.”
“I’m not. Watching Ford so deliriously happy has been entertaining and irritating in equal measure.”
Ford snorted and pulled Olivia onto his lap. “I don’t know why? I just got an omega of my own, after all. I have been wishing on stars for it since I was a kid.”
Olivia smiled. “I wished for a kitten.”
Ford snorted. “Well, you got one. Well, four.”
Bella shivered as the soft, wet sounds of Loki’s licking tongue got into her imagination, and she squirmed. “Uh, Loki?”
He lifted his head. “Yes, Bella?”
“How did Ulric find you?”
Loki chuckled and explained. “Ah, he went to your former employer and spoke with him. He’s still an asshole, so Ulric had a detective check lineage. He knew what he was looking for, so he spoke with my grandmother and explained that he had a beta with an alignment to multi-tailed foxes. My grandmother called me immediately as I don’t really mesh with most omegas. Six interviews and no takers. I need a woman with competence and independence. That isn’t something you find in standard omega interviews. So, my grandmother is looking forward to meeting you. She would like a great-grandchild in the future, but we can negotiate that.”
She flinched. “Kids?”
“Please.”
She swallowed. “I haven’t given a thought to kids. Just learning how my body worked and how to deal with what it was doing. Managing that was all that I could focus on. Future plans didn’t really enter into things.”
Her phone chimed, and her heart sank when she read the list of events she would need to attend. She knew how expensive the gowns would be, and tears tracked down her cheeks. It was half a year’s income that she would wear on her back because Ulric didn’t like her to be seen in the same gown twice.
Loki whispered, “That is a lot of despair.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine. I have a few days to organize things.”
Olivia frowned. “What do you need?”
“I have a budget for clothing for formal events, but there are twelve dresses here that I have to buy, and that is going to take out half a year’s income. I can’t wear the same dress twice.”
Ford nodded. “Right. I think we can help with that, but Olivia will have to ask.”
She smiled, and her thumbs were flying. “They won’t be cheap, but we can get you a hefty discount.”
Loki asked, “He makes you go to these events, but you have to buy your own gowns?”
“Yeah. I have a budget, which would be fine if I was a guy, but I am not.” She shrugged. “We discussed it for the original contract, but it wasn’t added in as a covered expense on the first and was again forgotten on the second. Now my savings are gone, and I am wondering about the next contract.”
Rick nodded. “You need the money to replace the savings, so you have to work, but work costs more than you make.”
“Right.” She yawned, and Loki pulled her against him. He smelled wild and green. “I have two days to figure it out. I hope he stops pouting by then.”
Rick sighed. “It isn’t a pout. He is upset that he couldn’t give you what Loki can.”
“If it’s a dick, I am pretty sure he could, but his own rules would get in the way. So, he’s stuck.”
Rick smiled. “Yeah. He is.”
She typed on her phone and waited. When it pinged again, she nodded. “Well, that is the answer. I asked him if he wanted to make any changes to the contract. He said no.”
She looked at Loki. “I don’t know what you do, but do you know anyone who needs a personal assistant?”
He smiled and said, “I believe that I could find—”
“I do!” Ford put his hand up. “I am suffering from a bit of pregnancy brain, and with the baby at the house, it is hard to focus. I have Olivia and the guys to come with me to parties, so your wardrobe is your own business. We have plenty of room until a pack is fully assembled for you.”
“I don’t need a pack.” She blushed.
Loki snorted. “You do. Omegas have protections under the law. You don’t. You can have a legal marriage, and that is about the only benefit that a beta has. They don’t have the support that omegas do, no centre to run to and minimal support when alphas resort to violence. You need protection.”
Bella thought about the different disasters that she had been through since the tattoo appeared. She shivered and had to admit he had a point.
She looked at Ford. “So, what are your operating hours, and are there snacks?”
He grinned. “The hours are flexible; we live on a road referred to as Omega Row. There are two other omegas and a beta with omega characteristics.”
She swallowed. “Oh, right. I would have to move.”
Ford nodded. “I am sure that Rick and the other alphas on staff would help you.”
“Oh, that isn’t a problem. I can be packed and gone in ten minutes. I don’t have much stuff.” She looked around. “This has just been home for six months.”
Ulric came back in. “It’s still your home. Where are you going?”
The room was quiet. Bella sighed. “I can’t afford to work for you anymore. Last quarter blew out my savings on dresses I had to buy but didn’t need. I can’t afford all the events you just sent to me.”
“We can just deduct it from your pay.”
“The cost of the dresses is conservatively more than I make in six months. Are you trying to bankrupt me so I will have nothing left?”
He blinked. “I thought that I was reimbursing you.”
“Ask Anthony. There is nothing in my contract to cover reimbursement over four thousand dollars per quarter.” She waved it off. “I get it, but you took me so many places, and I now have ten dresses that I can’t do anything with unless there are drag queens in need somewhere.”
He quirked his lips and sent a text. It came back, and his eyes went wide. “Huh. I am sorry. I didn’t know.”
She pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I mentioned it weekly. You laughed it off.”
He stared at her. “I laughed?”
“You said that the jewellery around your neck could pay that bill, and then you sank into the hot tub.” She shrugged. “The renewal date on the contract is the day after tomorrow, and I honestly can’t afford to work for you anymore.”
“How much do I pay you, Bella?” He frowned.
“Thirty-six thousand a year, after taxes.”
The crowd looked at her in surprise.
“Uh, Bella, this job pays seventy-five thousand a year.” Ulric looked at her. “That is what is on my contract copy.”
She brought up her copy and held it up to him.
“Fuckers. Well, that is one thing cleared up. Can we draw up a contract outside of the agency?”
“Uh, I just got another offer.”
His expression went from surprise to outrage. “Who?”
Ford chuckled. “Me. With the household so busy, I have need of an assistant, and with the baby on the way, the help is welcome. I have been watching her in action for the last six months. Bella knows what to do and who to talk to. If she decides to start a family, I will hang onto her as long as I can, but when she goes, she goes.”
Ulric did something he hadn’t done before. He reached out for Bella and held her close. He whispered, “Don’t leave me.”
“I don’t want to, but I don’t have stupid amounts of money to stay with you just because. Can’t be independent and be with you.”
He whispered, “What about if you are my roommate for free, and then you commute to Ford?”
“He lives half an hour away.”
“I know. I can send a car for you when you are done work.”
She blinked. “What’s changed?”
He turned his head and kissed her. Her raw senses kicked into overdrive, and she moaned softly, pressing her hips to his. Bella sighed and held onto him as her body rioted, and she felt a trickle of moisture down her inner thigh. She pressed in tight until his hand touched the back of her neck, and pain flared in her. She yelped, and her shaking fingers touched her new mark.
Ford sighed. “Betas heal a lot more slowly than omegas.”
Loki walked up behind her and licked at his mark. “Sorry, sweet. It has to be uncomfortable. You will need to stay with me for at least two days to get it healed.”
She whimpered and leaned against Ulric while Loki worked on the bite.
Ulric sighed. “Loki is welcome to stay with us until you are healed.”
Loki paused. “Bella, do you have a tea dress?”
“Um, weirdly, yes?”
Ulric chuckled. “One of the events we had to attend was an afternoon tea.”
“I am going to contact my grandmother and introduce you tomorrow. Wear the tea dress.” He nuzzled the back of her neck and gave one more lick.
“Grandmother?”
He laughed. “Yes. She’s eager to meet you.”
“She doesn’t know me.”
“That is why she wants to meet you.” He chuckled. “I am eager to learn more about you today.”
She froze. “About me?”
“Yes, family, upbringing, education, ticklish spots.”
“Um, don’t have family. Born a bastard. Raised in foster care and got a community college degree.” She shrugged. “I don’t know where I am ticklish.”
Rick offered, “Inside wrist, curve of her waist, and tailbone. Oh, and back of her knees.”
She stared at him and shrugged. “I guess he would know.”
He smiled. “I was paying attention.”
She pressed her forehead to Ulric’s chest, and he stroked her back softly.
Loki murmured, “You don’t know who your parents are?”
“Oh, I know who they are. I had DNA testing done a few years ago. I needed to know. So, now I know.” She grimaced. “It is not a great story.”
Ford and Olivia got to their feet. “Rick, are you coming?”
Rick paused. “Yes. Bella, I will be back in the morning.”
She nodded, and he stood next to her. She turned into his arms, and he lifted her to kiss her sweetly. He smiled and rubbed his nose against hers. “See you tomorrow. Text me if you want to. Call me if you want to do that.”
Ford and Olivia said their goodbyes, Ford had made notes that Ulric wanted changed on the files, and Rick kept his gaze on Bella until they left. When he was gone, her shoulders drooped.
Loki put his hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay, Bella. You just spent four days with him. It is understandable that you miss him.”
She turned to Loki and burrowed against his chest. “I feel like my emotions are scrambled.”
He chuckled. “I can tell. Do you want to be calm?”
She nodded, and through the link, cool emotion rolled through her, and she stopped burrowing against Loki and straightened. “Thanks for that.”
Ulric blinked. “What just happened?”
She looked at him and looked down at herself. “I should get dressed.”
She left them and headed to her bedroom. She had wallowed long enough.
* * * *
Ulric looked at Loki. “Her scent changed. What did you do?”
“I calmed her down. She was rightly upset that her alpha was leaving.”
Ulric frowned. “But we are here.”
“But we haven’t been the ones soothing and satisfying her over the last four days. That was Rick alone. Even though you brought him to her, he did all the work, and she knows it.” Loki smiled. “He was careful, gentle, and didn’t leave her with any anxiety. That has gone a long way to developing affection. She feels safe with him. Now, I just need her to feel the same with me. It’s trickier since I snuck in the mark.”
Ulric looked at him, and rage filled him. “That wasn’t what we agreed.”
Loki chuckled. “I know, but as Bella pointed out, foxes are sneaky. The moment I caught her scent, I didn’t want to chance losing her. She is for me, and her scent screams it.”
“She’s mine.” Ulric knew he was pouting.
“So you have said, but what have you done for her? You have let the agency take advantage of her. You have ordered her to go through her savings. Her body is so tense it is like she is about to snap. She’s relaxed from Rick’s efforts but really needs some attention. Does she have a medical plan? Can she get a therapeutic massage or something?”
Ulric blinked. “She once said something about that. That my hands would be nice for a back rub or something. She was serious?”
“She spends all day on her phone or at a computer. Her shoulders burn most of the time.” Loki smiled. “So, what does she like to do during the day?”
“Work.”
“Well, when she has a day off?”
Ulric felt ill. “She normally goes where I go.”
“Why?”
“Because I tell her to.”
Loki sighed. “Do you have a pool?”
“Yes.”
“We will spend the day by the pool then. Lying out in the sun will do her good. Did she ride out her heat in your nest?”
“No, in her room. The door doesn’t lock, so it was easy to get supplies to her and check on her.”
Loki stared at him. “Does your door lock?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
