Chapter 15
STYX
I’M WITH STUPID - STATIC X
“Why the hell does it smell so fucking bad in here?”
I look up from my monitor as my brother swaggers into my office with purpose in his steps. Someone clearly lit a fire under his ass tonight and now I’m going to be the one who gets burned. “Excuse me?”
His nostrils flare before his nose wrinkles in disgust. “You bringing patrons up here?”
“No.” I arch a brow and abandon my mouse and keyboard to cross my arms against my chest, leaning back in my chair to brace for whatever argument Ransom is about to start. “I haven’t ever done anything like that, which you are well aware of, so why you’re—”
“What the fuck is that?”
I clench my jaw as I follow his line of sight, the goddamn Adder scowl he’s wearing laser focused directly on my alpha while my matching expression swings back to my brother.
“Excuse the fuck out of me?”
Ransom’s eyes flick toward me before refocusing on Leon. “That. It looks like the illegitimate love child of Stevie Nicks and David Bowie after someone slapped it with the stupid stick several times, and it is definitely where that foul odor is coming from.”
My alpha grins as he bounces a tennis ball off the wall, catching it and repeating the action without skipping a beat.
“Cum, my friend. Lots and lots of cum. Mine, his. We’ve fucked at least three times tonight and I’ve yet to shower.
What you’re smelling is the scent of sloppy sex dried to my cock and balls, and your baby brother’s asshole. ”
I arch a brow and smirk, my gaze slowly moving back to Ransom’s face and I swear I can see every goddamn vein in his forehead pop.
He knows I’ve started seeing someone. He was the one who guessed I was and seemed relatively happy about it. As happy as my brother gets, anyway.
We’re thick as thieves, closer than any set of siblings I’ve ever met and I can honestly say he’s my best friend, but it doesn’t mean Ransom Adder is any less of a dickhead to me.
I’m not exactly a peach to him, either, so it’s fine.
It’s always been our dynamic and probably always will be.
That’s what happens when you’re Irish as fuck and the only two children of a mob pack that wanted at least ten kids.
The trauma of an emergency cesarean was scary but Mom has said she’d have thrown herself off a cliff if she had more than Ran and me.
We were enough hell on wheels for forty kids and she’s always been glad I forced her hand to stop procreating with our dads.
I’ve always thought something about the way I came into this world is why Ransom and I are so close but are just as quick to knock each other on our asses.
Like we’re the only ones who get to take those cheap shots but otherwise it’s us against the world because I almost didn’t come into it, and nearly took our mother out of it with me.
But my big brother was happy to see me finally put myself back out there after what happened with my last relationship.
He didn’t say it but I know he was thinking it.
He hated watching that fucking alpha bitch put me through the ringer, and he wanted to strangle me for letting her do it.
Ransom was glad to see me with some pep in my step the last week or so, and I’m sure he was thinking it’s been a nice change of pace.
My brother is probably regretting that right now.
Leon is not someone he’d ever be able to tolerate in passing let alone want me dating. They’re polar opposites but both hard headed and blunt, and they are going to clash on an epic scale.
My alpha is going to annoy the fuck out of my brother, who is going to bitch nonstop about why I’m with him because of it, and I’m here for it.
Ransom’s feelings about who I bang or bring home to meet our parents never really mattered to me, and this relationship won’t be any different in terms of that, but it is in everything else.
This is the long haul, packing up shit with Leon. I know I’m a bit of a romantic, that I’m way more ready to settle down than most would expect, and maybe that makes it easier for me to see what I want to when I meet someone, then try to drive the relationship in that direction.
That’s exactly why I have a string of shitty exes and a history that makes our mother cry, but I refuse to believe that outlook is all bad. Especially when that outlook and my instincts had me jumping at the chance to be with Leon.
He felt different from the start but being with him as much as I have the past week, I know for a fact that this isn’t some fleeting thing.
Our time together isn’t going to end if I can help it, so my brother is going to have to suck it up. Once he does, that’s when I’ll tell him that what he thinks of the people I’m going to spend the rest of my life with actually does matter to me, and I’m glad he approves of them.
Until then, I’m going to enjoy the show.
“That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Leon uncrosses then crosses his ankles as his booted feet start moving back and forth on the arm of the couch.
He tilts his head and grins wide at Ransom, still bouncing the ball off the wall to the same rhythm of his shitkickers.
“And it might be worth looking into. I was told my parents died in a car accident when I was two but maybe it was a coverup. That’s a lot of fame for one little baby to handle.
” He catches the ball then pushes up on his elbows, looking my brother dead in the eye with the most serious expression he can muster.
“I bet you’re right. That’s probably why I’m so goddamn attractive.
And it would definitely explain why I’m such a snappy dresser. ”
“Snappy dresser?” Ransom slowly turns back to me, every ounce of suppressed rage simmering under the surface. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Styx.”
I shake my head and smile. “This is Leon. We’ve been seeing each other for about a week.”
“Stop.”
“He’s all but moved into my apartment.”
“Cut it out, Styx.”
“He FaceTimed with Mom this morning,” I say as my alpha starts tossing the tennis ball again. “She loved him.”
My brother’s eye starts to twitch as he stares at me for a long few moments then he apparently collects himself enough to say, “Why is he here?”
“Because he’s my boyfriend?”
“In your office,” Ransom grits through clenched teeth. “We agreed to limiting the number of people who come up here.”
I nod as I reach for a hair tie and start pulling my hair up. “Yes, and that number has gone from four to five, if you don’t count the three of us. I don’t really think that’s some huge jump.”
There’s a long pause while my brother and I stare at each other, the sound of the ball thumping against the wall and Leon’s boots hitting each other the only thing anyone can hear.
Until my alpha lets his ADHD get the best of him.
“You two, Cole, who I’ve yet to meet, his adorable little sister at reception, and who else?
That’s four.” He catches the ball and double checks his count on his fingers.
“I make five. We’re missing three. Then again, maybe they aren’t missing.
Maybe they’re right under my nose. Maybe…
Oh my god. It’s Stevie Nicks and David Bowie, isn’t it?
Well, that’s only two. And David Bowie is dead, so it’s only one, really.
Do you have Stevie Nicks on payroll? I doubt she’d work here, not that there’s anything wrong with—”
“Would you shut the fuck up?” Ransom snaps before he lifts his hands, closes his eyes, and starts massaging his temples. “You really had to fall for this shithead?”
Leon flashes me a grin as my cheeks heat and I smile.
I fell fast for him, I know I did, but I haven’t said as much. Not in those words, or any other that allude to love but the feeling is there. That’s why Ran said that. He knows it’s where I’m at because he knows me.
This isn’t exactly how I wanted to tell Leon I’ve fallen in love with him, though.
Second hand through my idiot big brother takes away from the sentiment.
“Cole isn’t in yet.”
I pull my eyes away from my practically beaming alpha and turn to my brother. “Okay?”
“Tanner is waiting for him. They were supposed to meet before we opened to go over a replacement for the asshole we fired last night.”
The asshole who was harassing our dancers when he thought no one was looking.
Unfortunately for him, there isn’t one inch of this club that isn’t monitored in some way, and Cole oversees all of it. He didn’t hesitate to fire the alpha who was fucking around the second he saw it, but Cole doesn’t like loose ends.
We have a pretty big fucking staff here, a lot of security to keep our omegas safe so it’s not like that loss hurt us, but that’s exactly how he’ll view one less alpha on our team. A loose end he wants tied up tight into a knot. Which is why he was going to meet with Tanner, and possibly Alexei.
Those are two of the people my alpha is still trying to account for in his head based on the confused puppy look he’s got going on.
But Cole probably wanted to get Tanner’s read on borrowing an alpha from Alexei’s guys until we permanently fill the position, then I’d probably get pulled in to start a search for an outside interview.
Not our first rodeo, and this is Cole’s department so I’m not really sure why my brother is bugging me about it.
Then again, I know exactly why.
Cole is my best friend and has been since we were four.
We talk every day outside of the club, and work well together here.
He’s almost like another brother to me. A tan, blond, clean cut, slightly militant brother who doesn’t have one single drop of Irish blood in his body, but a brother all the same.
I do not, however, keep tabs on him.
“Maybe try calling him?”
Ransom blows out a breath and rolls his eyes. “You think I’d come in your stank ass office if I haven’t already tried that?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I don’t fucking know. Ask Salem. Maybe she knows what her brother is up to.”
“She’s not here yet, either.”
My stomach twists a little at that.
Ransom has known them as long as I have and I know he cares about the English siblings but he’s also an introverted dickhead who keeps to himself and avoids heavy shit if he can.
He doesn’t know what they have going on with their mom and I’d put money on that being the reason they’re both late to work.
“I’ll get a hold of him.” I frown as Ransom’s eyes shift between mine momentarily, concern flashing in those dark gray orbs. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
My brother shakes his head and postures, slipping his mask back into place. “Tell him I’m pissed and he needs to get his ass in here.” He spins toward the door and points to Leon as he leaves. “And limit that thing’s access up here.”
Then he’s gone.
“Your mom was right about him,” Leon says as the door slams closed. “He’s a good guy masquerading as a raging bastard.”
I chuckle and grab my phone, firing off a text to Cole and Salem before I slump back in my chair. “Been that way since he quit shitting his pants.”
“So, do you like it?”
I blink. “That my brother is a bastard?”
Leon laughs. “No, Red. The website.”
Ah. “I do.” I grab my mouse and wake up my computer screen. “It’s pretty fucking perfect, actually.”
“I know.”
“Ran will like it once he’s not fixated on finding Cole.”
“I don’t care if he likes it, I care if you like it.”
My cheeks heat again as I scroll the homepage and start clicking on things.
To say I was surprised when Leon told me he was essentially a computer genius would be an understatement, and the fact that he can design an entire secure website in a half hour blew me away, too.
Then he explained what he does for a living, and I saw his ADHD up close and personal, and it all clicked.
The one thing Knotted Obsessions lacked was a website, something he discovered when he was trying to figure out why Dimitri Volkov was here, and he took it upon himself to create one for us.
All while he explained why he’s following Dimitri, who he is, and how excited he is for the three of us to fuck.
My alpha is convinced Dimitri is our alpha and while I’m not against the idea, I’m definitely a little more skeptical about it than Leon is.
“How long has your brother been fucking your best friend?”
I start coughing uncontrollably, choking on nothing but my own spit as my eyes snap to my alpha. “Pardon?”
He nods as he sits up on the couch and starts tossing the ball up in the air. “He’s too pissed off. You don’t get pissed like that if you aren’t invested in someone. Invested beyond business partners.”
“They aren’t fucking.”
“Right.” Leon catches the ball and gives me a look. “Just like you and I aren’t fucking.”
“It’s not the same. Ransom is always an asshole, he’s always pissed when people are late to work or don’t answer him.”
“Whatever you say, Red.”
“That’s ridiculous. My brother can barely stand Cole.”
“Sure.”
I frown. “They’ve gone at it for decades, Leon. I’ve questioned if they hate each other at times.”
“Mhm.” He smirks. “And hate sex isn’t a thing.”
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
I’ve always suspected that maybe Cole had a bit of a crush on my brother but it stopped there.
No one likes Ransom, and he doesn’t like anyone, either.
It’s a miracle he’s not a virgin but one night stands have taken care of that and one night is typically all anyone can handle.
That hasn’t changed since we were teenagers, and it’s worse now than ever.
Those two are like oil and water. There’s no way anything is going on between them.
“Want to suck my dick before you open?”
I blink a few times and turn to my alpha, who is now sitting on the couch with his jeans around his ankles, legs spread wide, and his cock out and standing tall in his fist.
He grins as I get up from behind the desk and move to lock my office door.
“I promise I’ll return the favor after, I just like watching you suck me off too much to do anything else right now.
You’re so pretty with my cock in your mouth.
I’ll make sure you get off, though. It’s important to me to take care of you, too.
Then we can go downstairs and I’ll eye fuck you from the bar until I can really fuck you later. ”
I smile and shake my head as I sink to my knees between his thighs.
Leon is all over the fucking map; he’s pure chaos, the most beautiful disaster, and I really am head over heels for the dumbass.