Chapter 13

13

T he man, so similar to the one I obsess over, pretends not to understand. "Why are you saying I'm not Caleb?"

As he tries to come closer again, panic surges through me, and I dart away, putting the island between us.

"You're not Caleb," I say, my voice firm with certainty. "You're his twin, Damien."

Damien raises an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "How did you figure it out? Was it our scent? People always tell us our pheromones are the same, but none of them spent five days rolling in bed with one of us."

He sniffs the air then, and something changes in his expression. "Wait, have we met? "

My pulse leaps with panic. "No. How could we?"

"I'm not sure, but there's something familiar." He comes after me around the counter.

Feeling like a trapped animal, I circle in the opposite direction.

"Come on now, the house isn't big," Damien taunts, amusement in his voice. "It's only a matter of time until I catch you."

In desperation, I grab the chopping knife from the cutting board where the beginnings of breakfast have been abandoned. "If you touch me again, you'll pull back a stump."

A warm body slides up behind me, coming from the garage, and Caleb's hand wraps around my wrist before he plucks the weapon from my grip.

"This isn't sharp enough to cut through bone." Thumb rubbing over my racing pulse point, he sets the knife out of reach and faces his brother. "What's going on here?"

Before Damien can speak, I jump to explain. "He was playing the twin swap game and tried to kiss me."

A dangerous expression flashes across Caleb's face, and his hold on me tightens. "Did he get his mouth on you?"

Damien laughs and rubs his cheek, which bears the red mark left by my slap. "Quit with that glare. He knew from across the room I wasn't you."

"Of course he did." Caleb's hand releases my wrist and slides down my back to cup my ass.

Out of the view of his twin, he pushes on the butt plug still stuffed inside me, bringing me up onto my toes with an aborted whine of protest.

He rumbles at me in approval before glaring at his brother. "So why were you two playing cat and mouse in my kitchen if he already called your bluff?"

Damien leans against the counter. "For one, I'd like to know how he can tell us apart."

When Caleb looks at me with the same curiosity, I realize I'm trapped. "It's a lot of little things."

Caleb massages the toy in my ass, and my knees shake, heat pooling in my hips. "Like what?"

"Damien has pierced ears," I gasp out. "And his nose has a slight bump from being broken. You have a deeper dimple on the right when you smile and a small scar near your left eyebrow."

Caleb's pheromones curl around me, and I add, "You also smell nothing alike, no matter what people tell you."

Caleb studies me for a moment before he relents and stops tormenting me. "That's very observant of you. "

Damien rubs his earlobe, where a tiny black stud glints under the overhead lights. "You should pierce your ears, too, Caleb. And stop smiling so much."

"I'm not going to risk my ear being ripped open in a fight so we can have matching piercings," Caleb scoffs. "And you need to smile more often ."

Damien's smirk fades as he touches the slight bump on his nose, eyeing Caleb with an intensity that twists my stomach into a knot.

"If you try anything," Caleb warns him, "I'll break it again."

"Fine, fine." Damien's attention returns to me, and his expression clears with sudden recognition.

Panic flutters in my chest, and I turn to Caleb, hoping to steer the conversation away from whatever Damien has pieced together. "You promised me proper food."

Before Caleb can respond, though, Damien points at me, his voice laced with certainty. "The Grand Legacy Gala, five years ago."

My body stiffens, but I force out a laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not affluent enough to have ever been invited to something like that."

"Of course, you weren't invited ." Damien circles closer. "But you were definitely there. "

Desperate to put distance between us, I try to move away, but Caleb's hand on my shoulder holds me in place.

"Oliver here is excellent at noticing slight differences in faces, but I never forget a scent." A chill runs down my spine as Damien stares at me. "You were one of the waiters at the event."

The blood drains from my face. Oh, no. This isn't going to look good.

"Remember, Caleb?" Damien turns to his brother, excitement in his voice. "You swooped in and saved him from getting his ass whooped by that big Alpha."

Caleb's sharp regard shifts to me, and my shoulders hunch. "No, I?—"

But Damien cuts in with a triumphant shout, pointing at the scar next to Caleb's left eyebrow. "That's how you got this! You were like some freaking white knight, and the Alpha punched your lights out."

Caleb's grip on my shoulder tightens. "He didn't knock me out. Just put me on my ass."

Despite the lighthearted words, tension radiates off of him, making me more nervous. With the truth of our first meeting coming out, what will Caleb now think of me ?

Damien laughs, but when his gaze returns to me, no trace of humor reaches his eyes.

"You scampered away like a frightened little bunny, leaving us to clean up the mess." Contempt drips from his tone. "Then it turned out you weren't a bunny, but a rat who snuck into the gala for a scoop on one of the party guests."

Unable to deny it, I swallow hard.

Five years ago, I was in my senior year of college, desperate to prove myself as an investigative reporter to land a job straight out of graduation. I'd heard rumors about a congressman taking bribes, and the organizers were holding a silent auction that would be the perfect place for money to exchange hands unnoticed.

But instead of launching my career as a real journalist, I ended up needing Caleb's help to escape an angry Alpha, and I fled without so much as a thank-you.

"Now you've snuck into Caleb's home." Damien's expression turns chilly. "What scoop are you after this time?"

"I'm not after any scoop," I insist, though my voice shakes. "Things have changed."

"Isn't it your job to write gossip columns about our family? That's who you are, right? The columnist?" Damien raises a skeptical eyebrow. "From where I'm standing, you still look like a rat to me."

"Damien." Caleb's sharp tone silences his twin.

The tension between them stretches taut as a wire ready to snap. But what surprises me more is the realization that Caleb might be defending me against his brother.

"Fine," Damien huffs. "But if I find out you're lying, I won't hesitate to bury you."

The way he says it leaves no doubt that he'll finish what Caleb started and put me in a grave.

With the threat hanging heavy in the air, Damien stalks out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Caleb.

My heart pounds hard, my mind racing as I look up at Caleb. "I'm not?—"

His finger on my lips stops me. "I was aware of your profession when I brought you here." He pinches my chin none-too-gently. "And you're aware that if you hurt my family, I'll plaster that video all over the internet."

Relief sweeps through me, and I sag against him. Nothing has changed.

His mouth twitches with a smile. "So, white knight syndrome started your obsession? "

Embarrassed heat rushes to my cheeks, and I look away. "It was memorable for me."

He leans down to nuzzle behind my ear, breathing me in. "It's okay. Keep being obsessed."

My breath catches, and I tilt my head to the side. "With all your training, it must have been so humiliating when that Alpha got the jump on you."

His growl vibrates through me. "Don't push it."

"You were so heroic, coming to my aid." I clutch his shirt. "Made me fall for you at first sight."

"Why me and not my brother?" He sounds honestly confused. "He was there, too."

I lift my head to stare at him in disbelief. "The hit you took scrambled your memory of that night."

He grabs my ass, yanking me against his body and rocking the butt plug inside me in the process. "Explain."

Groaning at the sweet torment, I wrap my arms around his shoulders. "Damien was falling down drunk and laughing at you the entire time. He made no effort to help either you or me."

I huff at Caleb. "The impression stuck, and I can't say his attempt to kiss me today changed my opinion of his character."

He leans down to brush his mouth over mine. " Who do these lips belong to, my little obsessed Omega?"

I melt against him. "You."

A gagging sound comes from the entrance to the living room. "God save me from this sappiness. First Nolan and now my own brother. It's disgusting."

"You're just jealous that you have no one waiting at home for you." Caleb kisses me before gently setting me back from his warm body. "But Damien's annoying presence reminds me we're not alone. You have a visitor."

My brow puckers in confusion. "I do?"

Did the police come again?

"You do. Damien is just here acting as a bodyguard today." He catches my hand and draws me out into the living room. "Nolan is busy with work, so my aggravating brother escorted his fiancé here for an interview."

"What? Why?" I shake my head, still not following along. "Is this for a column?"

Then I remember the only engaged Rockford cousin I'm aware of, and I turn toward Caleb. "Wait, is it?—"

"Shh. Don't ruin my surprise." He leads me down the short hall to the cozy little office he said I could use .

As we enter, an angelic-looking blond man turns his head toward us from the chair in front of the desk. Sky-blue eyes twinkle, and his perfect, Cupid's bow lips curve into a welcoming smile.

I freeze, taken aback by his beauty. Roses have nothing on the soft blush in his cheeks, and the delicate air about him demands attention.

If I stand at his side, I'll look like a potato, and the knowledge burns. This is the type of person who usually graces Caleb's arm, gender notwithstanding. Of course, an Omega like this would catch the eye of a Rockford.

"You must be Oliver," the ethereal man struggles to his feet, revealing a belly swollen as big as a beach ball. "Caleb said you had some questions for me. I'm happy to answer them, but I don't know how I can help."

My mouth gapes, and Caleb's finger under my chin pushes it closed. "Oliver Kent, allow me to introduce you to Leo Daniels, the last resident of apartment 312."

My head snaps back toward the very pregnant little Omega, who may be the only person who can shine a light on what happened to my brother.