Page 52 of False Catch

I freeze, afraid to move, afraid to breathe, afraid she'll realize and let go.

She doesn't let go.

Tyler, meanwhile, has given up pretending to watch. He's fully analyzing data on his phone, the screen brightness turned way down. Cameron throws a pillow at his head.

"Ow! What the—"

"No. Phones."

"This is important data!"

"The movie is important."

"To who?"

"To me," Cameron says with such seriousness that Tyler actually puts his phone away.

On screen, the first creature appears. Reese's grip on my hand tightens. I stroke my thumb across her knuckles, trying to be soothing, but the touch sends electricity through my entire body.

"I need a drink," Bo announces suddenly, standing up. "Anyone else?"

"Water," Reese says quickly. "Please."

"Beer," Jackson grunts.

"We don't have beer," Eli reminds him. "Someone forgot to buy it."

"That someone was Beckett," Zane supplies helpfully.

"I was busy," I defend.

"Doing what?"

"Your mom."

"Real mature."

"Boys," Reese says quietly, and we all shut up immediately.

Bo returns with water for Reese, Coke for himself, and nothing for Jackson who glares at him. When Bo sits back down, he's closer to the couch. Close enough that Reese's foot rests against his shoulder.

The movie continues, tension building both on screen and in the room. The women are being hunted now, creatures closing in, and Reese is practically vibrating with anxiety.

"It's just a movie," Gray says from his chair, voice carefully neutral.

"I know that," she snaps. "I just don't like... confined spaces."

"You never mentioned being claustrophobic," Tyler says, because of course he's cataloging information even during a horror movie.

"I'm not. Usually. This is just..." She trails off as another woman gets dragged into the darkness on screen.

Without discussing it, Zane and I shift closer, bracketing her between us. Bo reaches up to rest his hand on her ankle. It should feel possessive, territorial. Instead, it feels protective. Right.

"We can turn it off," Cameron offers, which from him is like offering to donate a kidney.

"No, it's fine," Reese says. "I'm fine."

She's not fine. Her scent is spiking with stress and something else - arousal, probably from being surrounded by Alpha pheromones while her suppressants fail. The combination is intoxicating and concerning in equal measure.