Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Enzo
C yrus pulled the Land Rover we used when we all needed to ride together – or when Issa was determined to look her best for this first date – onto a long, dirt driveway.
“You sure this is the right place?” Ax asked from the backseat beside Issa.
It had taken every ounce of my control to pretend to be asleep as I’d listened to her whispered conversation with Ax. And I’d had this sick, voyeuristic need to hear them fucking around.
But then Cyrus had gone and opened his big, fucking mouth and they’d both clammed up.
She hadn’t realized we were attracted to her? Did she not see herself when she looked in the mirror?
Issa and Corazon – my brother’s omega – were similar, yet different. Where Corazon was petite and curvy with big tits, a big ass, and wide hips, Issa was a couple inches taller and…shit, that was about where their body differences ended. Issa had amazing tits, wide hips, an d a bubble ass that all three of us had ogled more times than she would ever realize.
Both women had thick, dark hair, but Issa’s was growing out from just above shoulder length when we’d met to now past her shoulders. She’d never said as much, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether the shorter cut had been her idea or that shit stain ex alpha of hers.
And no. I didn’t give two fucks that she still carried his bonding mark.
He was nothing. And if he ever dared come near her, dared to lay some fucking claim on her, I would relish in every second of pain I inflicted on him before ending his life.
Corazon had chocolate brown eyes, but Issa’s were closer to the color of honey or fine whiskey. There was no way anyone could look at either woman and not get a boner.
“This is where the GPS said to turn,” Cyrus said, glancing at the digital map on his dash before turning his attention back to the bumpy road.
After a few seconds, the trees gave way to an open expanse of land and a beautiful two-story house. Or rather a barn that had been turned into a house, complete with a covered wrap around porch.
There were chickens roaming the property, a horse walking along a fence line about an acre back, and someone was bent under the hood of a 1963 Thunderbird.
That particular someone was a tall, muscular omega wearing what I could only describe as a sundress. His hair was pulled back in a bun I’d seen both Corazon and Issa wear when they wanted their hair out of their face or couldn’t be bothered to spend any time on their locks.
“Is that Amir?” Issa asked, leaning between our seats to get a better look.
The omega in question lifted his head when he heard us approach.
“Yep,” Cyrus answered, amusement in the single word.
“Is he wearing a dress?” Issa asked, a tinkling laugh filling the cab of the SUV.
Amir wiped his hands on the dress that hung to his knees, adding to the smears of grease and dirt, then glanced at his phone .
Cyrus and Ax were out of the vehicle first with me and Issa directly after.
“Sorry. I lost track of time. Been trying to get this damn thing back on the road for months,” he said.
He took a step forward as though to hug us or shake hands, but then glanced down at himself.
“Would you be pissed if I took a minute to shower and change?”
“Do you often work on your car in a dress?” I asked, trying and failing to hold back an amused grin.
Amir’s shoulders rose and fell as he smiled. “It was the first thing I grabbed from the basket with all the work clothes in it. But Mom’s going to kill me when she finds it ruined.”
He lived with his mom? What about his father? Or father s ? He appeared to be in his early twenties, but that didn’t mean shit when it came to living with your family. Especially for an omega.
And being as Amir was one of those rare male omegas, he could have ended up at risk out there in the world without a pack to watch his back.
When he lifted his arms to pull the elastic from his hair, causing his biceps to bulge, I mentally took back that last thought. Amir looked as though he could handle himself, as though he would put up one hell of a fight if any asshole got it in their head to attempt to manhandle him or take him against his will.
Fuck, he was hot. Where Issa was soft and feminine, Amir was strong and masculine and obviously completely secure with his designation, sexuality, and appearance. Maybe he could rub off on Issa a little and help her pull out of her shell even more since she’d seemed surprised the three of us found her attractive.
He was hot, but he was also a bit…odd. But in a good way. Seriously. The dude had pulled on one of his mom’s dresses to work on his car. I wanted to ask why he didn’t just wear a pair of shorts, but part of me wondered if he was wearing anything at all under the dress.
And now I was hard.
“Take your time. We’re in no rush,” Cyrus said .
“Would it be okay if I go look at your horse?” Issa asked, the sweetest smile on her pretty face. She’d been so badly bruised and swollen when she’d arrived at my brother’s estate that day. The only thing that lingered was the lightest scar over her eyebrow and it was nearly invisible when she wore makeup.
“Of course. Actually, hold on.” He jogged to the porch and grabbed a small bucket. “Here. These are some apples Mom was going to give them later. Feel free to bribe her with treats.”
“What’s his name?” she asked as she took the bucket, her gaze dropping shyly for a second.
She’d been bold when booze had been in her system. We’d all seen the video of them dancing and kissing on the dancefloor, had seen her drag him to Cyrus’s office by the hand.
Now, she was having a hard time meeting his eyes in the most innocent moment.
“ Her name is Princess Fancy Pants.”
A sweet giggle tore from her lips and her eyes went wide. “Tell me you’re kidding. You did not name that beautiful animal Princess Fancy Pants.”
The smile Amir shot Issa was full of nothing short of affection. “Technically, my little sister named her. My girl is somewhere in the pasture. She might come up to the fence if she sees Princess getting a treat without her. My horse’s name is Pearl. She’s solid white and salty as hell. Watch your fingers with both of them.”
He gave her a toothy grin, then turned and jogged into the house to shower and change.
A part of me was tempted to ask if he needed help washing his back, but I had no idea whether his family was inside or not. We were courting Amir, but I didn’t exactly want to make a bad impression with his mom or dads.
We didn’t know much about him, didn’t know how many siblings he had or whether it was only the one sister, didn’t know what designation his parents were. All we knew was the few paragraphs he’d written on his bio for the Omega Center website .
I would have lost money if someone had bet me that Issa would have been the first to be with him.
We followed Issa across the property to where the horse was watching us, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as though it knew Issa had sweets for her.
Ax and Cyrus hung back a little with me, but all three of us kept a close eye on Issa. The animal was behind the fence, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get bit if she wasn’t careful.
As we watched her, though, it was obvious this wasn’t her first time around one of these animals as she laid her hand flat with the apple, then rubbed her free hand along the horse’s head and down her neck.
“Why was Amir working on that car in a dress so fucking hot?” Ax asked as he leaned against a post aways down from where Issa glanced in our direction periodically. “I don’t know if it was the dress, his dark skin covered in grease, or the whole fucking scene, but I’m about to burst through my damn jeans,” he said, adjusting his bulge.
She smiled and shook her head, but her cheeks went pink before she turned her head at the sound of hooves hitting the ground hard and fast.
“Hi, Pearl,” she said sweetly as an all-white horse appeared and shoved her way closer for a treat.
“Did she have horses with her family pack?” Cyrus asked.
“No idea,” I said.
Because Issa wasn’t exactly open about her past, like she refused to think about her previous life. Or maybe she just didn’t want to relive it by talking about it with us.
“We should get her one. We have the property for it. We’d just need a few things,” Cyrus said.
“Like a barn, saddle, food…” Ax started, but cut off when Amir’s steps caught our attention.
He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said his shower would be quick. His hair was damp and hanging in wet curls around his face. His warm, brown skin was free of grease and sweat, and he’d pulled on a pair of fitted jeans and a t-shirt .
“Sorry. I wasn’t sure what the dress code was for today. I can change if this is too casual,” he said, stepping closer to Issa and pressing a kiss to her cheek before giving each of us a quick peck on our cheeks.
Not all male omegas were actually attracted to men; they only accepted a male alpha in their bed during the heat to help with the pain and fever.
It might have been wishful thinking, but it sure as fuck seemed as though Amir was attracted to all four of us and not only our beta.
“You’re dressed fine. Issa declared we make our first date casual,” Ax said, winking at her when she turned a forced frown on him.
She’d donned a pretty sundress that covered her shoulders – and the mark she hated – but was short enough to give us all a display of her long, beautiful legs. The dip in front also gave us a hint of her cleavage.
Yep. I was a boob man.
Then again, I was also an ass man. I didn’t discriminate; a beautiful body was a beautiful body.
Issa gave each horse one more scratch, then joined us, leaning into Amir when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as we walked toward the SUV.
Damn it. I had hugged her, had even draped my arm around her the way the omega was now, but she never seemed as though she was as relaxed in my arms as she was with Amir.
Maybe after her little chat with Ax last night, shit would start to change.
I still couldn’t believe she didn’t know we wanted her. I supposed we could have been more overt about it, but we’d wanted to give her time to heal after the bullshit she’d endured, hadn’t wanted to rush her or make her feel pressured into anything with us.
Amir glanced over his shoulder, then reached out a hand when Ax picked up his pace to catch up. The omega smiled as Ax took his hand.
Cyrus turned raised brows to me as we followed behind the trio.
This was a good sign, right? The omega was definitely into Issa. And he’d greeted us each with a peck to our cheeks after he’d showered and changed. Now, he was seeking touch from one of his – possible – future alphas.
Omegas were all about comfort and touch. Then again, most omegas wouldn’t have been outside working on a vintage Thunderbird, either. At least none of the omegas I’d ever met.
I’d also only come across a few male omegas and they’d all been petite, small, and a little on the meeker side.
I liked that Amir was bigger. Meant he wasn’t fragile. I liked that he’d had zero problem flirting with then fucking Issa even though he’d come to The Vault to meet us. He wouldn’t have recognized our scents on Issa since we hadn’t met before that night, so it had merely been Issa’s beauty and appeal that had reeled him in.
Shit. She’d reeled us in before we’d even truly gotten a real look at the woman beneath the bruising and swelling. For someone who’d been mistreated by alphas her whole life, she seemed to trust us. And fuck if that didn’t make me swell with a pride.
“So where are we going today?” Amir asked, offering his hand to Issa as she climbed into the backseat. The big dude didn’t act like a needy, demanding omega. Yet another brownie point earned in his favor.
“Well, we were going to have a picnic, but after meeting Princess Fancy Pants,” Issa started, shaking her head with a smile at the name, “and Pearl, I thought…there’s a rodeo the next town over. I’ve always wanted to go to one. Any chance I can talk you boys into it?”
“I’m down for whatever,” Amir said, lifting her hand to his lips. “What do you think, alphas?”
My dick twitched at the honorific coming from his full lips.
I had never been to a fucking rodeo. Being on his family’s property was probably the closest to country life I’d ever experienced.
But when I turned to find the sweetest look on Issa’s face, I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell I could turn her down.
“We’ll need cowboy hats,” Ax teased.
“Really? We can go?” she asked, her smile growing wider.
Fuck me. She looked so excited over something as simple as us agreeing to her change in plans .
I really hoped Amir would agree to join the pack, but all I could see in that moment was the glow on her cheeks, the excitement in her pretty honey-colored eyes, or the way all four of us men were watching her like she’d hung the fucking moon with her dainty little hands.