Chapter Six #2
Skaay grinned and gave her the order of the songs, and Harper sang to seduce. She sang each song three times and was hungry by the time the final notes faded. She removed the headphones and hung them up. She looked at Skaay. “We good?”
He was dazed but smiling. “Yes, we are. This project is already off to a head start.”
Harper smiled. “Okay. I will head back to Emerald after dinner. Call me if you need me.”
Serin cleared her throat. “About that. We have a spot for you at the bed and breakfast if we can borrow you for two days.”
Harper paused. “I have to make some calls, but that should be fine. I don’t have clothing here.”
“Ahheel has been warned that you are coming, and tomorrow, you will be picked up by one of the Darings and taken to a spot near a sunken vessel.”
“I don’t breathe water.”
Serin smiled. “We have someone lifting the wreck for the shoot, and then she will put it back where it came from.”
Harper blinked. “Oh. Wow.”
Meeda paused. “Not me, right? I can’t do that.”
Serin grinned. “No, we brought a different mage in for that. She can raise the ship and keep it floating for the video without damaging it.”
Harper smiled. “Nice. Is she here on vacation?”
Serin chuckled. “She’s a friend of Violet’s, here for the baby shower.
When we were discussing the project, Violet voluntold her that she was participating.
She’s already gotten us five days of footage and several suits that Mia sent over.
” There was a pause. “Oh, and she did the run, which was more than we were expecting, but she found a team.”
Meeda chuckled. “Of course, Mia was already working on this.”
Serin nodded. “She’s been waiting for a chance to show off her new lines. Now that Meeda is feeling more like herself again, Mia wants to keep up the momentum.”
Meeda smiled. “I can only effectively model half of her creations.”
Harper nodded and checked the time. “I am going to get something to drink. Serin, which spot around here can I get a cup of tea without going to the hotel? I am meeting a friend for dinner and don’t want it to start earlier than necessary.”
Serin chuckled. “Come with me to the bed and breakfast. We have tea.”
“Excellent. I need to hit Ahheel’s shop before she closes.”
“Well, why don’t we go there now?”
Serin took Deno’s arm, and Harper followed with a chuckling Meeda. Skaay was talking to the two other alphas, and Harper hadn’t even gotten their names. Probably better that way.
Harper looked around the gift shop with her selections draped over her arm. She smiled at the enamelled jewellery behind glass along the wall. Delicate flowers made in gold and enamel were permanent symbols of the islands.
The alpha who owned the shop came by. “I can show you any of those if you like. They are crafted out here on the islands. The artisan is sought by many, but they will only do island subject matter.”
Harper chuckled. “The flowers here are like nothing else. Capturing them in metal and glass is a challenge that the artist enjoys.”
Ahheel looked at her. “You know them.”
“I do. Harp Enamel is my company. My hands shaped those flowers.” She grinned. “And a torch and a kiln.”
Ahheel stared. “I am honoured to have you in my shop.”
“I am entertained to be here. I got a call from Serin this morning and got on the ferry. I hadn’t thought I was staying the night, but here I am, getting something to sleep in.” Harper smiled. “Ostensibly. But it is more that I need a change of clothing for a few days.”
“Are you comfortable in all of that?”
“It is needed until I leave. Too many alphas around who might know my ex. I have already run into one.”
“Ex-husband?”
“Ex-fiancé who wanted to keep my brother as his omega but still marry me. That is all kinds of way too close for comfort.”
Ahheel flinched. “Yes, I can understand why you called it off.”
“Thank you. That’s what I thought, but he was insisting that he loved us both. Yack.” Harper grimaced. “If he had said anything before the engagement, I would have left them to be together quietly. It was a merger marriage. His link with my brother should have been enough to unite the companies.”
Ahheel paused. “Perhaps he was simply greedy.”
“Perhaps. I just know I feel better not being around him anymore. Knowing that he had been in my brother’s bed before he tried to get into mine. Bleah.” She shuddered.
“How did you know?”
“I could smell it on him. They had been dating for five months and four days based on the scent change.”
Ahheel’s expression changed. “You are scent sensitive?”
“Yeah, and contact. Stupid, but there it is.”
“So, why the disguise?”
“I have a distinctive look, and it tends to get attention, so I am just looking like a cowled weirdo.”
“How distinctive?”
“I look like a fairy tale character.” She smiled. “But I have markings I didn’t know about until I was nearly an adult.”
“What kind of markings?” Ahheel had a face that said she was trying to remain casual.
“Just some vines in curls and swirls.” She looked at the alpha. “Yes, I know what it is, but I have no interest in some horny idiot who thinks he can push things with me just because he’s on the endangered species list.”
Ahheel nodded. “So, you do know.”
“Yup, and here in the islands, there is no mandate to hand me over. Ah, blessed freedom.”
Ahheel grinned. “Yes, we keep our own and absorb the rest.”
“Yeah, and unless I wear a revealing top, no one knows. I bathe in nullifier.” She smiled. “Right. Well, I am very happy that you have some of my pieces in stock. I think your beta would look amazing with a crown of orchids.” Harper smiled and walked to the checkout.
“Why do you say that?”
“It will make her look like a nature princess as the pregnancy progresses.”
The woman at the laptop looked up with a shocked expression before she looked down. “Oh, boy.”
Harper paused. “Oh, shoot. You didn’t know?”
The woman shook her head, but Ahheel picked her up carefully and kissed her. There was a very sweet moment between the two, and then Ahheel said, “I suppose Exeter knows already.”
The beta smiled. “I think there is a whale out there doing backflips.”
“He will be heading here soon.” Ahheel grinned. “I hope he shifts before trying to leave the water.”
The beta giggled.
Harper grinned and added a few more items to her pile.
Serin was watching and grinning, leaning against Deno.
Harper looked at her and then Ahheel and her love and said, “A few more months and this place won’t be fit for public orgies anymore. How the times have changed.”
Ahheel laughed and rang up the items. “I don’t suppose you would consider opening a studio on the island.”
“I would love to, but there is no space for a shop here. I did look into it. That is why I ended up on Emerald. There was space for me. My actual workshop doesn’t take up much room, but the showcase...
that is something else.” She smiled. “I send a lot of stuff to fine jewellery shops as no two pieces are alike, there are a lot of custom orders.”
“You take requests?”
“Of course. If someone has a vision and I can bring it to life, that’s part of the art.”
Harper cocked her head. “Is there something you have in mind?”
Ahheel grinned and nodded, bringing out a phone and asking for a number so she could send it.
A moment later, Harper was looking at a spray of blossoms local to Wonder. “Yes, I can do something with that.”
The beta blinked and blushed. “Ahheel, you don’t need to do anything like that.”
Ahheel chuckled. “And yet, if I want to, I will.”
She smiled, and the beta smiled shyly. “Yes, you are the boss of me.”
Harper chuckled. “Before this escalates, I would like to check out and get to the bed and breakfast.”
Ahheel laughed, and Harper checked out, the chip in her hand acting as her payment method. It was nice not to carry a wallet near water.
She said her farewells and whispered that a flower tiara would look particularly fetching on the young lady, and it wouldn’t be sensitive to weight gain or swelling during pregnancy.
Ahheel smiled. “I will think on it.”
Harper took her bag and looked at Serin. “Lead the way, you magnificent galleon.”
Serin laughed, and Deno grinned.
They walked the distance up and into the jungle on the wide path. The hospitality building they were seeking just emerged from the green. Serin gave her a cuff to access her room, and the swirling vines appeared on her door as Harper put her stuff inside.
After a quick change, she headed back to get a cup of tea and relax. She still had to meet Tez for dinner. Oh, joy.
She chatted with Serin and finally gave in to her impulse. She sent her assistant a message of what she needed to keep herself calm.
Serin smiled. “Who are you talking to?”
“My sister by choice. She’s also my assistant, and if I am going to be staying overnight, I may as well get some design work done.”
“Do you need a second room?”
“She and I share a room at conventions. This will be the same.”
Serin looked at her. “I am getting you a second room. What is her name?”
Harper smiled. “Piper.”
“Isn’t that your middle name?”
Harper grinned. “Is it? Weird coincidence.”
Serin smiled. “It isn’t a coincidence.”
“No. We are second cousins and look like siblings. It’s a lot of fun. We can try on each other’s clothing so we know what our butts look like.”
Serin snorted.
Deno said, “Wow. That’s what Belle and I did.”
They all laughed.
Harper got the reply and nodded. “Piper will be on the next ferry with my drawing tablet and some supplies to fidget with.”
Serin cocked her head. “Does she have your wildling mark?”
“No. Her mark is different. You have to have a UV light.” She smirked.
Serin smirked. “Really? What is it?”
Harper looked at her blandly. “A UV mark.”
Serin sighed. “Right. When are you meeting your friend for dinner?”
“In half an hour. I am just finishing this tea before I go for the most uncomfortable dining experience this week.”
“If you aren’t looking forward to it, why are you going?”
“Because I need to talk to him. He’s one of my compatibles, and I am pretty sure he knows it.”