Page 117 of False Catch

We both freeze for a second before I pull back.

"So," she says, voice slightly rough. "Torres is really filing her report this week?"

"That's the word. Kinsley's been in her office every day, playing the victim."

"And you know this how?"

"I have my sources." I steal one of her chips. "Plus Kinsley tried to corner me yesterday. Wanted to know if Gray was 'emotionally available' yet."

Reese snorts. "Emotionally available? Gray?"

"Right? Told her he was about as emotionally available as a brick wall."

"What did she say?"

"That he would change his mind when you 'showed your true nature.'" I watch her reaction carefully. "Whatever that means."

She goes very still. "She said that?"

"Word for word. Want to tell me what she meant?"

She's quiet for a moment, then: "My ex at Westlake. Andrew. He was obsessed with knotting, kept pressuring me to let him even though we'd only been together a few months. Said it was the ultimate high."

"Sounds like a dick."

"Gets better. When I wouldn't let him, he started fucking Andrea Sloane behind my back. She was the one who spread it around that I was an Omega sleeping with every Alpha I could find." Her laugh is bitter. "My dad threatened legal action to shut everyone up, but apparently Andrea still told Kinsley her version."

"Which was?"

"That I'm a knot-chasing Omega who ruins teams." She meets my eyes. "Kinsley probably thinks history is repeating itself."

"Except it's not."

"Isn't it? Jackson claimed me, Cameron nearly knotted me, Bo and I..." She trails off. "Maybe Andrea wasn't entirely wrong."

"Bullshit." I lean forward. "You didn't chase any of us. If anything, we've been circling you like sharks since day one. And Gray's halfway in love with you already."

The words slip out before I can stop them. Reese stares at me.

"That's not—Gray doesn't—"

"He does. We’re all on our way there, in our own fucked up ways." I run a hand through my hair. "Look, I'm not good at the serious conversation thing."

She laughs, but it's shaky. "Could have fooled me."

"I mean it. I usually deflect with humor or sex or both." I meet her eyes. "But with you, I can't seem to do either. You make me want to be real, and that's terrifying."

She's completely still, watching me.

"The pack bond thing," I say. "It should terrify me. One woman for the rest of my life? That's the opposite of everything I've built my identity around."

"But?"

"But when I think about not having you?" I shake my head. "That terrifies me more."

"You barely know me."

"I know enough." I lean forward. "I know you command better than coxswains with years more experience. I know you put the team before yourself every time. I know you're carrying secrets that are eating you alive but you still show up."