Page 78 of Healer’s Betrayal

Paul smirks but doesn’t say anything, and I sigh. Jackson hits my knee with his again under the table, and I scowl. When I look up at him, he gives me a small smile. Then he does something that nearly makes me fall out of my seat. He winks at me.

Chapter 32

Kayla

I take another sip of my coffee, mostly so I can recover from my heart nearly stopping at that wink. I look up at him, ready to make some smart comment about coffee, mostly just to get him to smile again. But his body stiffens, and I see his gaze on something. I look over and see that Garrett and Emma have just entered the room. Garrett’s eyes scan the room and land on us. The look on his face is...not good, and I remember how things went down last night. Without thinking about it, I drop a hand to Jackson’s thigh. For a moment, I lose my train of thought. His thigh muscles are way firmer than I thought they’d be. I look down. “Is there a problem?” Jackson asks in a deliciously, low sexy voice.

“How are your thighs so hard?” I whisper back and push on his leg again. “They’re like rock hard.” I reach out to touch him again, but he grabs my hand before I touch him again. Reality slams into me, and so does embarrassment. “Sorry; I didn’t mean to touch you. Well, I did. I was trying to get your attention.”

“You got it,” he says. “All of it.” I look up and see him looking at me with a look in his eyes that looks almost predatory. “And you don’t need to apologize for touching me. Ever.”

My breath sort of stalls in my lungs, and I look away...mostly so I can breathe again. I catch sight of Ransom’s grin and notice Paul’s as well. I scowl. “They can all hear everything, can’t they?” I whisper to Jackson.

“Every single word,” Ransom answers with a grin. He points to his ear and mouths, shifter hearing.

“Don’t mind them,” Sage says.

“Good morning.” Garrett’s deep voice greets all of us, and I jump in surprise. But I notice Jackson didn’t even flinch; he knew Garrett was there. Of course he did. “Can we sit here?” he asks.

I nod right away and then realize he’s not asking me; he’s asking Jackson. But I’m worried Jackson won’t respond well, so I answer for him. “Sure.” I smile at both of them and nudge Jackson’s knee under the table, giving him the same treatment he’s been giving me. But he shocks me by wrapping his long, strong fingers around my knee and squeezing gently. I have no idea what that means, but I stay perfectly still. It’s a long moment before he releases my knee, and it’s even longer until I can breathe again. I realize that I missed Emma introducing her and Garrett to my quiet brother.

She smiles at him. “Well, you definitely look alike?”

I look at Noah and then back at Emma. “You think?” Both she and Sage nod.

“Garrett and Emma,” I say, thankful my voice sounds mostly normal. “How do you both drink your coffee? Black or with cream and sugar?”

“Oh, with as much cream and sugar as possible,” Emma says right away.

“See,” I say to Jackson, giving him my most challenging look. I’m mostly trying to distract him and keep him calm. I’m not sure what it is exactly about Garrett that sets him off, but if I can help, I'm going to.

“Black,” Garrett says and takes a bite of food.

Jackson looks down at me and smirks. I frown at him. “Hey, you drank one of my concoctions before,” Emma points out to Garrett.

“That was one time, Baby,” he says easily.

“But you still did it,” she says with a grin. He gives her an affectionate smile, and I can’t help but stare. Emma turns to me with a bright smile. “We have a coffee shop on pack lands, and we’re always experimenting with new drinks.”

“Ooo, what’s some of the latest ones?”

“One of our most popular summer drinks was our peanut butter fluff drink available in either iced or hot.”

My eyes widen. “That sounds amazing; I can eat marshmallow fluff by the jar.”

“So can I!” Emma says.

“And she did,” Garrett says in a low voice. “When she was pregnant.”

Emma laughs. “What? I was craving it.” He smiles at her, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that kind of love before. Or maybe I just haven’t in a long time. Garrett turns to face Jackson and me, and his smile fades. I feel a shiver run down my spine, and it feels like Jackson shifts closer to me. But maybe not; maybe I just imagined it.

“Bryce called me this morning and relayed some interesting information about you, Kayla.”

I eye the alpha. “About me?”

He nods. “What is it?” Jackson demands.

Garrett levels a look at him, and I will Jackson to be calm. “There’s a healer in their pack,” he says quietly. “Her name is Sherese.” He looks between the two of us a moment. “She was born in the same city you were, Kayla.” My eyes widen in surprise. Before I can ask any questions, he continues. “Their tech guy found records, and you and she went to the same clinic the same week. She’s a few years older than you.” He pulls out a manilla folder and opens it up and slides a sheet of paper across the table to us. “You both had appointments the same day with the same doctor.”