Chapter 2
Kane
There’s something about teasing Timber that’s so undeniably satisfying.
Is it the way his cheeks flush whenever I annoy him? Is it the absolute fury in his eyes when I hit on him? Or maybe it’s just the fact that it’s the only time he ever acknowledges I exist.
Timber growls as he throws himself into the chair in front of Marilyn Mansfield’s desk.
His lips peel back over his teeth, and he shoots me a foul glare, which sends shivers straight to my cock.
He really has no idea how his scent twists and curls when he’s furious.
His rich coffee spikes my need, and I already want to push him just to see if he’ll go for me again.
I throw him a wink, and a snarl cracks from him, which makes my eyes widen with excitement. Even though we do this every other week, I can’t get enough of the way Timber reacts to me.
“Gentlemen,” Marilyn says, her cool voice washing over us as she taps her nails on the top of her desk. “If you’re quite finished.”
Marilyn is the PR Manager for the Scented Scorpions, and she’s usually the one who deals with us when we act out.
I’m pretty sure Timber and I visit her office the most out of all the guys on the team, mainly because fighting on the ice is kind of our thing.
We’re cute like that. Total couple goals. Or enemy goals.
I love the way he changes from an angry psycho alpha into a good, honest citizen whenever he’s out of his skates. It makes me feel special that I’m the only one who gets to see his messed-up side off the ice as well as on it.
About as special as an atomic bomb.
“So, do we have an explanation for this one?” she asks, her light gray eyes sailing between us as she waits for an answer.
“I’m sorry.” Timber shifts in his chair as he gives her a meek look from under the thick eyelashes I always admire. “I let my anger get the better of me again.”
I’ve only been part of the team for two years, so I wasn’t here when Marilyn lost her omega.
But the guys who were are way more subdued when she’s around.
Timber has played with the Scorpions for twenty-five years, and I’m pretty sure he’s seen it all, which is why he’s apologizing instead of going at me again like I want him to.
I’ll still rile him up later to see if he’ll finally let me suck his cock.
“Baby,” I whisper under my breath. A thrill runs through me as his hands tighten around the arms of his chair, and another low, sexy growl rumbles from him.
“I had the shot!” he snaps. “I would have landed it if Kane hadn’t—”
She holds up a hand, and he zips it instantly as she glares at us both.
“I’m not going to lecture you—you’ve heard it enough times. I’m tired of handling the fallout every time you two fight.” Her gaze swings to me. “Don’t smirk. You’re like a small dog who winds up a Great Dane to get it in trouble. You’re responsible here, too.”
“I scored the goal, Marilyn,” I say as I cross my legs, not missing the way Timber follows them. “That goalie would have stopped Timber’s shot, and then we’d be sitting here with a loss instead of a win.”
It didn’t matter that I landed another absolutely perfect goal because I’m just that amazing. Even if I’d missed, it was another way to get Timber on top of me. He never goes for me when we aren’t in our kit. At least not when he’s sober. I have to really push him to get him close to me off ice.
It’s easier if I do it like this. Whenever we get some alone time, I’ve tried to apologize. The only way to get him to come near me without a look of pain is to piss him off.
Marilyn presses her lips together, and I cringe at the icy look in her eyes. It’s not a good idea to act out, I might not be able to suffer the consequences. Especially when she sighs and threads her fingers together on top of her desk.
“We’re meant to be a team, and this is clearly not working. If you don’t get your act together, I’m moving both of you back to holdouts.”
We shoot forward in our chairs, gasps and shouts ripping from both of us.
“Wait, hang on,” Timber chokes out.
“We’re not that bad!” I cry. “Just because I like to get a little frisky with Timber on the ice doesn’t mean we aren’t producing results.”
If we get put into holdouts, we’ll basically be on the reserve team, and we might not touch ice for the rest of the season. It’s ultimately Coach’s decision, but Marilyn holds a huge amount of sway.
“We’re good players; you can’t boot us just because of a few fights,” Timber says.
“This is the fifth time you’ve been in my office this season.
That’s essentially two fights a month. We can’t call it ‘a few fights’ when you’re practically exploding every other game.
I managed to spin your last fight with that magazine feature, but there’s only so much I can do when everything gets recorded and uploaded to social media.
There’s even fan accounts specifically for your fights, for God’s sake…
” She pauses, running her hand through her silver hair.
“We’re actually improving since your teammates have found omegas, and I don’t want to ruin our chances this season more than we already have. ”
A funny feeling winds in my stomach as I get an idea of where she’s going with this. From the way he shifts in his chair, Timber seems to have cottoned on as well.
“I’m sure you’ve heard how some of your team members have changed. Now that they’ve found omegas, formed packs, and stabilized, our performance has definitely increased. We can’t trust either of you to stay calm when you’re on the ice, and in front of the cameras. So I’ll give you one chance.”
I grimace, glancing at Timber for support, but his head is firmly down, staring at his feet. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I hate that look on his face. Whatever it is, he’s nervous. And no matter how much I liked to screw with him, I don’t want him stressed out like this.
“Marilyn, come on, seriously,” I say.
Marilyn said ‘found omegas’, but most of us know what’s going on. Ever since the guys started packing up, the rest of us have been suspicious of any omega we happen to randomly bump into out in the wild. Or more like Is Marilyn behind this?
“No, Kane, seriously. I’ve been trying for years to get you boys back in shape.” Her voice softens as her fingers pull back, covering her wrist.
She strokes the gold bracelet her omega gave to her on their wedding day. And guilt comes knocking.
“You’re better than this. I believe the Scorpions can be a great team, but I need you to believe in yourselves and work together. And we won’t achieve that unless both of you behave.”
Timber spreads his knees, his elbows pressed against them, his hands clasped in front of him as he finally lifts his head. He looks at Marilyn with the same determined stare that always gets me going.
“So, you want us to find a pack?” he asks huskily, and my stomach positively flutters at how alpha he is. Especially when he says words like ‘pack’.
“Hey, why don’t you hook up with me? Then we can find a nice omega together.
” I sound like I’m joking, but only because the one time I tried to tell Timber my real feelings, he refused to talk to me for weeks.
He ignores me when I flirt and tease him, but telling him I want to do more than fuck? Bad idea.
In the past, I’ve had to worm my way back in by convincing him I’m only winding him up. And who would want to be in a pack with the guy who broke your nose, your career, and your marriage?
It’s hard to flirt with the guy you’re crazy about while pretending you aren’t crazy about him.
“Absolutely not, I refuse. I’m not packing up with you. Never,” Timber says bluntly. But it’s to be expected.
“Timber, you—”
“No, Marilyn. Not in a million years am I touching that asshole with a ten-foot pole.”
“You could always touch me with something else. You didn’t have a problem with it earlier,” I hum, hoping the way he shifts his hips means he knows what I was aiming for when I held him close on the ice.
“I didn’t say you need a pack. Just an omega,” Marilyn presses. “Which is why you have three weeks to find omegas, separately.”
Silence weighs heavily around us, and I’m kind of enjoying the weird tension. That is, until Timber speaks and rattles me in a way he never has before.
“I can’t… Marilyn…” he rasps, his hands twisting between spread knees as he hunches over. “I can’t be with another omega.”
“That’s why I’m giving you space to think about it,” she says softly.
My heart clenches at how his brow furrows, and how suddenly vulnerable he looks.
We’ve never been close enough for me to learn the whole story about his ex-wife, and I’m not sure I want to.
All I know is there was some horrible drama after I hit a puck into his nose, they broke up, and I was the dumb kid who took advantage of him when he was drunk and at his lowest. Which Timber helpfully doesn’t remember.
“Marilyn, listen,” I start when the silence stretches on for too long. “I can find an omega, but—”
She cuts me off with a pointed look. “Puck bunnies and supermodels don’t count. Not unless I approve of them.”
She got me straightaway. I’d rather find someone superficial and get the date over with quickly. The only other person I’ve wanted to be with my whole life, apart from Timber, is my scent match, and they haven’t appeared yet.
At least she’s giving us a heads up, unlike some of the other guys.
“I’m not asking you to bond,” Marilyn sighs. “You each need someone to help settle you so you don’t throw down at every opportunity. Plus, I don’t want you to end up with someone who might use you.”
Timber flinches, and I roll my eyes as I slouch back in my chair. I like fucking, sure, but to actually meet an omega who fits Marilyn’s criteria and is okay with our lifestyles doesn’t seem possible.
“How are we going to find a partner in the middle of the season?” I ask. “We’re at away games half the time, anyway.”
“That’s why I’ll find omegas for you if you can’t. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, so try it. I’ve already reserved a table for each of you at La Vie Bleue in three weeks. I expect you both there with omegas, or I’ll carry out my promise.”
“Like a double date?” I perk up. A foursome would be the perfect way to get Timber to consider me as a partner.
“Separate tables on opposite sides of the restaurant. Because we know how positively Timber reacts to you.” She tilts her head with a question. “Do you think you can do that?”
Timber glares at me again, and I swallow the urge to scent mark him just to wind him up.
I love it when I rub my scent on him, and he yells at me in a fit of sexy, red-faced anger.
It could be a good way to distract him from whatever thoughts are running through his head to make him look like Marilyn’s asked him to scale Mount Everest.
“You’re not leaving until you both agree to this. It’s your choice: holdouts, or dates?” she says.
There’s no other way around it. When Marilyn lays down the law, we have to obey.
“Yeah, sure, of course. I’ll try, but it’s not like a scent match is going to drop out of the sky. I’m only doing it because you’re telling me to.” When all I really want to do is drag Timber out of here and annoy him until he bites at me.
I would love a pack and an omega to take care of and whatever else alphas dream of nowadays, but Timber has always been my goal.
“Timber?” she asks more softly. Her eyes crinkle, and it’s clear they are both thinking of whatever his ex did. I really don’t like feeling left out.
He presses his lips hard together, finally looking up at her. “I just have to go on the date?”
“For now, yes.” A slight smile crosses her lips. “Just try getting to know someone, and see what you think.”
He gives her a hard nod. “Fine, I’ll give it a go, as long as you keep me on the ice.”
Her shoulders relax as she appears to be satisfied.
All the other players she meddles with haven’t just gone on dates with omegas.
They’ve mated and formed packs. I’m pretty sure as soon as we go on said dates, she’ll make another ‘request’, and then another, which will eventually lead to us bonding with an omega.
And I seriously don’t like the idea of being in a pack without Timber.
“Good. I have something else to discuss with you. Kane, you may leave.”
I blink at them both as Timber straightens in his chair, an even harder look crossing his face.
What the hell is she going to say to him that she can’t say in front of me? Timber and I aren’t exactly close, but now I’m itching to find out what little secret they’re about to share.
Unfortunately, Marilyn’s office is glass on three sides, and there’s no way I can get away with snooping around. So, I need to hunt down one of the older guys, like Levon or Ares, and find out what happened in the past that made Timber respond to Marilyn’s request as if it’s the end of the world.