Crossing Ties - Susi Hawke Page 0,3

and rested a hand on my shoulder. I jerked my arm to knock his hand the fuck off me. His eyes were full of pity. "I'm sorry your mate turned you away, but we need to stay calm. Rory isn't wrong, Misha. Finding Boss O'Malley is paramount. That’s the important concern at the moment."

My fist swung before I could stop myself, catching Vas in the gut. "Fuck you, Vas. You don't get to tell me about priorities. Maybe ask me where my head's at before you start with that shit, huh?" Fuck. This wasn’t me. I was the joker in the family, not the short fuse. I pinched the bridge of my nose and started pacing around the small office where Patrick had shoved us.

Vas stepped back, trying to stand upright, but still hunching around his stomach a little. "Due to the circumstances, I'll give you that one, dickhead. But only the one. Touch me again and you'll be looking for your teeth." Vas tried to sound tough, but I'd gotten him good and he was winded. His wheezing growl normally would've had me laughing, but not right now. Nope. Not when my head was spinning.

Ugh… I knew I had to make nice since I'd punched him. "Sorry. I reacted before I was done thinking it through. I just... need a minute to process this whole mate thing. It's some crazy shit, yeah? We came here to help find Patrick's da, and then I scented Rory and... fuck it. You know what happened from there."

I mean... damn. A fated mate. Mine. Mate. Yep, I had a mate. A hot one too. And he was from another family, so that was a nice twist. Good thing our fathers were tight. Shit. His father. I didn't blame him at all for not wanting to think about jumping on my cock while his father was missing and presumed dead. But would it have killed him to spare me a smile?

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