Huh. What would his smile look like? I paced some more. Rory was so fucking hot, he was fire. He looked like that Damon dude from that vampire show. All that soft dark hair against that pale skin. Not the fiery red most of his family sported. And his eyes... bluer than the prettiest lake on a summer day.
He'd stood behind that desk looking so stiff and proud. That pristine white button-up shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled to his elbows had revealed muscular forearms. First, who knew those could be so sexy? And second, was arm porn a thing? If not, it needed to be.
My first impression of Rory when we walked in was that the O’Malleys had been hiding the hot brother at home. But then I'd scented him, and it was like the heavens opened, and I heard angels singing and shit. And his scent was amazing. Lavender with a hint of pine, the mix as intriguing as the man himself. The one who'd ordered me removed.
Fuck. He’d wanted me to leave. To go away.
"Is it safe to approach you now, big guy?"
I looked over my shoulder when I heard Patrick behind me.
"I meant what I said. I really am sorry my brother acted like that. If anything, I would've thought finding his mate might've helped melt that icicle he's got stuck up his ass."
I snorted as I turned to face him. "Tell me more about this icicle that's supposedly stuck in your brother's ass. Not because I’m at all thinking about things sticking up his ass. Nah, I'm just asking for a friend. Or science. Yeah, that’s it. I'm asking for science. Because that's definitely a scientific question. Like, wouldn't an icicle actually melt inside a hot ass? Can’t see those being the next big thing in dildos but I’m willing to hear you out."
Patrick looked like he was ready to hurl. "Whoa. Not okay. No dildo jokes. And when you guys eventually work your shit out, I don't ever want to hear about anything being in or anywhere near my brother's ass."
"Hey, you're the one that started it. I was just reacting to what I heard." Joking around with Patrick was definitely lightening my mood. "Seriously though. Why would you even go there? That's your brother, for fuck's sake."
He sputtered, waving his hands in the air as if I were too much. It took him a few moments to recover the power of speech. "It's a family joke. My brothers and I call Rory the ice prince when he pisses us off. He's got that control on lockdown and always has to be the best in everything. So like, if a normal person has a stick up their ass, then obviously our ice prince has an icicle."
Vas grunted, shaking his head as if offended. "And people ask why I say brothers are the worst. Take it from me, it's not easy to handle everything that comes with being second to a don. Not only is it a shit ton of responsibility but we're the ones that get blamed when you guys screw up. And Rory being an omega only makes it harder. I know that from watching Joey over the years. No matter how open-minded the family is, people on the street will still give him shit."
"Sounds like you need to get that mate of yours to teach chain-fighting classes to his fellow omegas." Patrick looked impressed as he talked about River. "Not for nothing, but your mate isn't anyone I'd ever want to piss off." Patrick grinned before glancing back at me, his expression softening. "Listen, Misha. I'm sure Rory didn't mean that he was permanently pushing you away. He'll come around, just wait and see."
"I know. Now that I've had a chance to calm down and I'm not blinded by the initial excitement from scenting him, I don't blame Rory at all. Like Vasily said, he has a job to do and a lot of responsibility right now. Not to mention, he's got to be freaking out—just like your entire family must be—and he’s worried about your da. Hell, I'm not ever going to blame him for putting his father first at a time like this."
As I spoke, I knew in my gut that every word was true. We shifters weren’t pure animals. We didn’t rely only on instinct. My bear might be sulking that my mate had rejected me. He might want to shift, fight something, prove what a worthy mate I was. But I was also a man who understood the bonds of family.
"Rory's brain was in rescue mode and my arrival threw him off his game. He didn't deny me or turn me away. He just asked for a minute to himself and even said not to take me too far. So yeah, no pity parties for me. I'm going to give Rory the time he needs to process and do my best not to add to his stress. He'll figure out soon enough that I'm here to support him… to have his back."
Our conversation was cut short by the door opening as Rory walked in with the other O'Malley brothers right behind him. When I couldn’t smell him, I started to freak until I realized what the little sneak had done. Fucking scent blockers. A small part of me was frustrated that he would try to hide any part of himself from me, but I was mostly amused. What was the point? Did he think I was some caveman alpha who would lose my shit from smelling his scent?
Please, like I didn't already have it memorized anyway.
I wanted to greet him but hesitated, wondering whether or not I should introduce myself and put him at ease by asking how I could help. But then again, maybe this was one of the times when my family would tell me to shut my trap and put on my listening ears. In the end, it didn't matter because Vasily took over.
The fucker walked right up to Rory and held his hand out. "Let's start over. I'm Vasily Novak and that's my brother Misha. Our father sent us to assist in any way we can. As I'm sure you're aware, our fathers go way back. Pops was devastated when Patrick told us about your da. Have you heard anything new?"
Rory shook Vas's hand then led him over to a bulletin board, his attention totally focused on my asshole brother while he pinned a blown-up copy of the photo Patrick had shown us to the board. He pointedly didn’t look at me. "Sorry about before. I was caught off guard, but that was no excuse to be rude when you'd come to offer your help. I don't know if you saw the original picture, but my brother enlarged it so we could hang it here and search for clues. I realize that sounds a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but this is our only lead."
Vasily's hand brushed against Rory's as he reached up to straighten the picture. Anal-retentive bastard. Even though I knew he didn't do it on purpose, I wanted to beat him up—both for touching my mate and for monopolizing his attention.
I didn't want to beat him like I normally would, either. No, I wanted to pound his stupid nose into his stupid face. I knew it was stupid mating urges but whatever. I'd still kick his ass right here and now if the O'Malley family wasn't in crisis.
Vas was totally unaware of how his actions were pissing me off. Or he seemed to be, anyway. My eyes narrowed when he patted Rory on the shoulder. "I think it's a great idea. You never know what kind of clues we might sniff out."
I snorted. "You think so? I don't know, sometimes scents can be hidden no matter how hard you sniff. Kind of pointless to hide it though, don’t you think? Scents are like farts—once they're out there, the damage is done. It's not like you can suck it back in and shove a plug over it."
Shit. Did I seriously just say all that out loud? I really needed to get this jealousy under control before I blew any chance I had with winning Rory over.
Vas looked at me like I was insane. "What are you rambling about over there? If you ask me, it sounds like you've been sniffing glue. It was a metaphor, little brother. Or an idiom. I don't know, I can never keep them straight. But sniffing out a clue has nothing to do with smelling anything."