Page 214 of Captive Omega

I shoot Vaughn a warning look. “Resa needs time to figure out what she wants. She can’t do that with us breathing down the back of her neck. Frost and Roman are watching over her while we get things ready for her.”

If she comes back.

I fucking hope she comes back.

Meanwhile, Lucas Security headquarters is shrinking. Our home, however, is growing.

This morning, the room we’re standing in was a meeting room. It’s on its way to being a home theater. We’ve painted the walls a deep midnight blue. We have drapes arriving tomorrow, marshmallow like couches Vaughn found online, and we’ll be setting up a projector. Maybe even getting a popcorn maker.

Vaughn puts his paintbrush down on the tray beside the empty tin of paint. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if?—”

“Vaughn.” I set down my roller. “I know you miss her. I miss her too. But she needs to choose us.”

“And if she doesn’t?” Blaine says, finishing up painting the white trim. He’s still in turtlenecks, and as far as I know, he hasn’t made an appointment for his annual checkup. But a step forward is a step forward, and sparring with Vaughn is a monumental step in the right direction.

He’s doing better. Not great. But I’ve stopped counting down to initiating an intervention.

“Then that will be her choice to make. And it’s one will have to learn to accept.” Vaughn opens his mouth, probably to argue, and I level a hard look at him. “Or we bulldoze over her wants and prove to her we are just as controlling as the alphas who spent the last two years abusing her.”

He snaps his mouth shut, his expression falling.

He’s always worn his heart on his sleeve, and had it bruised and battered more times than I would ever want to see, but that’s Vaughn.

I squeeze his shoulder, softening my voice. “You care, and she knows that. But we have to let her come to us. We choose her. She has to choose us.”

She might not and we will have to accept that being with her parents, even though her fiancé has moved on, is a life preferable to one with us.

I blink and Resa is on her knees beside my armchair in a pretty blue linen dress with one sleeve sliding down.

She’s smiling, and I feel an answering smile lift the corners of my lips.

There is nothing about this woman I would change. She’s perfect. Utterly perfect. Her lush rosy lips tempt me to lean in for a kiss. I fight the urge. For now.

“You are so beautiful,” I say, delaying the kiss that will end this dream. “I don’t think I will ever get used to how much.”

Her face softens in response and she blushes. “You’re just saying that because I’m your scent match.”

“I’m saying that because it’s true.” I stretch a hand toward her, taking my time stroking her satiny skin. If this was real, she would retreat from my extended caress. She trusts me now, likes me, and is on the way to loving me, but alphas hurt her, and if I tried to touch her like this in anything other than my dream, she would pull away.

She leans into my caress with a soft sigh of pleasure. “That feels good.”

It’s further confirmation that I’m dreaming this, even if I don’t recall falling asleep in my armchair.

Blaine predicted it before he and Vaughn went up to bed. After hours of painting, I should have known I’d fall asleep before I could make much progress on my puzzle. That’s okay. As far as dreams go, this is the one I wish I would fall into every time I close my eyes.

“I thought you’d be further along with your puzzle,” Resa says, nodding at the table beside my chair.

“I’m waiting for you to come back before I finish it.”

Her smile fades as she places her hands on the side of my armchair and heaves herself to her feet. “I’m here now.”

I cock my head, curious as she moves closer. Her eyes dart to my mouth and arousal punches low in my gut. I run my hand up her warm bare arm, pushing up the thin straps of her dress instead of pulling it down like I want to. “You are. But not the way I wish you were.”

Her brow wrinkles. “I don’t understand.”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.”

I’ll pull her into my lap, kiss her, and she’ll fade away. And like all the other times I’ve dreamed of her, I’ll wake up with puzzle pieces on the floor, a stiff neck, and alone.

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