29. Garrison

Chapter 29

Garrison

W hen Resa is awake, taking my eyes off her is near impossible.

Now she's asleep, tucked in the armchair, my coat covering her. The way she's burrowing into it… inhaling.

I force myself to look away, concentrate on my puzzle.

A second later, my eyes return to the woman asleep feet from me. I stopped paying attention to my puzzle the moment I heard her soft treads on the stairs.

Mine.

My scent match is right there, and I cannot touch her the way I want to.

I think I know why she comes down here at the same time. After Blaine's near-death, sleeping was a minefield. It's what started my puzzle habit. Late one night, I decided I needed something else to focus on. Something that would keep my mind busy.

I tried everything: board games, chess, drawing, before I settled on puzzles.

There is something deeply satisfying about creating something when your mind feels shattered.

I'm still watching her when footsteps hurry down the stairs. Vaughn pops into view, blue eyes troubled. "I can't?—"

I lift a finger to my mouth, silencing him, then point that same finger into the armchair across from me. The way Resa is cuddling my coat, he wouldn't have immediately seen her.

His shoulders slump in relief, and I push myself up from my seat and cross over to him. "She's here. Sleeping."

"Is she okay?" His eyes slide past me. "Her door was open, and I thought?—"

"She'd run?"

He shakes his head. "That she might be hurt."

We stand in the entryway, watching her chest rise and fall in sleep.

The day Resa collapsed will go down as one of the most terrifying days in my life. And that drive to the clinic was one of the longest. None of us had known what was wrong, and even now, we're all watching her carefully, alert for more trouble.

It's the reason none of us slept when she was in the clinic. Sadie had reassured us that she was okay. We'd needed to be sure.

I texted Lex. He did some research and hand delivered the knife he'd found in the chair Resa had been sitting in. He'd gotten rid of it like I requested as well. Early the next morning, he'd stopped at a bookstore the moment it had opened and made another delivery to the clinic as Resa had slept.

Now we're all proud owners of a pregnancy book to ensure we know exactly how to look after Resa.

"I'm sorry about?—"

"Stop apologizing." I grip his arm and squeeze. "She needs you. No more guilt."

His gaze returns to mine. "But she should be with you."

I take a step closer, lowering my voice so I don't wake Resa. "This world has taught Resa to fear alphas and assume they will hurt her. You make her feel safe in a way that Blaine and I can't. Don't apologize for that. Don't feel guilty about that. And she isn't just our scent match; you are pack. She's yours too."

"What if the thing she needs is the fiancé? What then?" It isn't Vaughn who speaks.

This voice is raspier and comes from the staircase.

Blaine.

He wasn't happy about getting Resa a cell phone. He worried that the first person she would call was the fiancé. Vaughn didn't think it was likely.

"If she wanted to be with him, she wouldn't have been going to Ever Safe. She would have gone to him," Vaughn says, and not for the first time.

"I could look into him," Blaine says quietly. "It wouldn't be hard to find the fiancé if they announced the engagement."

I study him for several seconds. It's been years since he volunteered himself for a case. Anything that doesn't look like the most boring, straightforward case, he wants no part of it.

After Violet's death, he sees trouble everywhere.

"And if we learn something Resa wouldn't want us to know?" I can see where this is going and I don't like it.

Blaine stuffs his hands into his pockets. "I would just be looking into the fiancé."

"And is that all we're doing about the fiancé?"

No one says a word.

The silence tells me everything I need to know.

Would I like him dead? With every fiber of my being. But killing off the competition isn't how we convince Resa to stay with us. And if she ever found out?

"No." I shake my head. "I don't know what reassurances to give that she would ever believe. But we can show her what an alpha should be. Maybe that might be enough."

Vaughn bumps his shoulder with mine. "It's not like you to be so unsure of yourself."

"I just had the thing I've always wanted land in my lap with no warning."

Resa makes a soft sound halfway between a sigh and a whimper.

My gaze snaps toward her, and I frown.

She's been through a lot. Too much. If she's having a nightmare, then…

The soft sound comes again. She stirs on the chair, shifting restlessly as the soft half sigh, half whimper turns into a moan.

I halt one step into the den.

"Is she…" Vaughn's voice trails off.

I drag in a breath and take a step back out of the room as Resa fills it with the scent of her arousal, a perfume too alluring for me to ignore for long.

"What do you think she's?—"

"Garrison," Resa moans.

"Well, that sure cleared that up." Vaughn flashes me a grin. "Must be all the puzzle action that got her all hot and bothered."

I keep my expression blank, but it's good to see Vaughn so playful again. It's been a long time since he's looked that happy, mostly because he's spent more time out of the house than in it.

His grin widens. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

My gaze returns to the dreaming woman wrapped up in my coat, smelling of me, moaning my name. My mate.

A hand grips my arm, hauling me back. It's Vaughn. "Maybe that's not such a good idea."

I have no clue what he's talking about until I realize where I am. A foot closer to Resa than I was a second ago.

All I can smell is Resa, and all I can think of is taking her from the chair, putting her on the floor and?—

"Uh, Garrison." Vaugh clicks his fingers in front of my face, refocusing me.

My breathing is fast and hard, my hands clenched in tight fists as I fight a desperate, urgent need to strip the clothes from Resa and cover her with my body. She's dangerously close to tipping out of the chair, but if I put one hand on her, I won't be taking it off.

And then I remember Blaine. If I'm having this strong of a reaction, he must be as well.

I turn around.

The staircase is empty. Blaine is gone.

"He went upstairs a couple minutes ago," Vaughn explains, frowning. "Sometimes he seems better now that Resa is here, and sometimes…"

He seems worse.

Resa is ours scent match and he can't bring himself to touch anyone or let anyone touch him. Then there are his scars. I haven't seen his scars since his accident. No one has.

But he came to the party, I remind myself; he hadn't done that before. That was a big step for him. A bigger one than I thought he would ever take.

Resa's alluring scent winds around me again.

I make myself take a step back. It's like walking through tar. No part of me wants to retreat from the woman in the armchair. "She's going to fall. You need to take her up to bed."

"And you?" Vaughn is watching me.

"Will be in the office. Maybe I can get some paperwork done."

He arches a blond brow. "Really?"

No. The best I can hope for tonight is a cold shower will kill my erection and let me get at least an hour of sleep without being plagued with the sound of Resa moaning my name.

I'm not hopeful.

Vaughn gives me a long look, then shaking his head, he walks toward Resa, dropping in a crouch in front of her. "Hey, beautiful," he murmurs.

She moans again. As if my pants weren't tight enough.

I should walk away now. But I don't move. I watch Vaughn gently brush the hair from her face. That's what Resa needs right now. Not alphas. A beta like Vaughn who will make her laugh, be gentle with her, and won't be fighting the overwhelming urge to knot her.

Her eyes flutter open. "Vaughn?"

"You fell asleep. Okay for me to carry you up to bed?"

She looks around, adorably confused.

The second she looks my way, I step out of view. Hiding. Never in a million years did I believe I would hide the way I just did. If she saw me now, she would know I want her and she would run.

"Where's Garrison?"

If I detect a note of disappointment in her voice, it's only in my head.

"Not sure," Vaughn says vaguely. "You ready for me to pick you up? Promise I won't drop you."

I appreciate him checking in with her again, confirming it's okay.

"I'm not sure I should let you," is her quiet response.

"Because you don't trust me?" Vaughn asks.

"No," she breathes so quietly I almost miss it. "Because I do."