by Paige Tyler
Zak glanced up from cutting his burger into small pieces. “I can see why you might have a problem with that. It’s kind of hard explaining how the SWAT team came to your rescue on their own, killing Hardy and most of his men before the rest of the DPD even knew where they were.”
“And don’t forget the part about me shooting Patterson,” she added. “I’m pretty sure that little tidbit doesn’t even show up in the official police report.”
He laughed, then winced.
“Sorry,” she said.
He waved a hand at her until he could talk again. “Just a suggestion. I know how much it’d bother you to drop the whole thing and let people figure out for themselves what happened to Hardy, but I think this is a case where the world is better off not knowing the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
Mac didn’t say anything. Actually, that same thought had been bouncing around in her head for the past few days. There’d be questions, but most people would assume the ruthless business mogul had gotten what he deserved. Would it be so awful if the world didn’t know the details?
“You know, you might be right about that,” she told Zak.
He did a double take before going back to cutting up his burger. “Well, damn. Getting engaged to Gage must be good for you. I never thought I’d hear you agree to drop a story, even if it’s for your own good.”
She grinned, glancing down at the beautiful diamond ring on her left hand. Funny how a piece of jewelry could change your perspective on a lot of things. “He’s taught me there are some things more important than the great and almighty journalistic search for truth.”
Zak nodded as he ate. Then he closed his eyes and groaned in appreciation. Mac couldn’t blame him. Apparently, SWAT held these cookouts at their compound at least once a month, and it turned out that they really knew what they were doing. Xander—the officer in charge of the grill at today’s cookout—had put out a spread worthy of that cute chef on the Food Network. She’d eaten more than her fair share of barbecue as proof.
She put her hands on the table behind her and leaned back, happy to sit there with Zak while she watched Gage run around playing in the sand. He was going to look like a sugar cookie by the time he was done. Not that she minded. She definitely enjoyed spending time with him in the shower getting squeaky clean.
Taking a shower was the first thing they’d done when they’d gotten back to her apartment after the rescue at the hangar that night. Then Gage took her to bed and made love to her until they were both exhausted. When they woke up, they did it all over again. The only time they got out of bed was to get something to eat. Well, that wasn’t quite true. Gage had insisted on leaving once so he could run some mysterious errand.
And when he’d come back, he’d taken her back to bed again, then slipped the diamond ring on her hand and asked her to be his One.
They’d made love, then spent the rest of the day talking about the future. Mac even convinced Gage into shifting into his wolf form again.
He’d looked stunned. “Right here?”
She’d nodded, refusing to let up until he did. Then she’d curled up against his big, furry body and fallen asleep while he’d rested his chin on his huge paws. It had been perfect.
Laughter coming from the volleyball court interrupted her daydreaming. Mac jerked out of her thoughts to see the game breaking up.
“Sure you don’t want to play in the next game?” Gage asked as he swept in and hugged her.
“Nah. My knee’s still a little sore. I’d rather watch anyway,” she said.
“Okay. But if you change your mind, there’s always room for you.” He leaned in to kiss her, groaning softly. “Mmm, you taste good enough to eat.”
“Said the Big Bad Wolf.” She laughed as he nuzzled her neck. “Down, big boy.”
“I’m right here,” Zak reminded them. “My face might be messed up, but I can hear just fine. And if you keep talking like that, I’m going to be ill.”
Mac laughed. She knew she should behave herself because Zak was still recovering, but she couldn’t resist teasing him. “Maybe we can slip off to the operations vehicle again,” she said to Gage. “You know I love all those cameras in there.”
“Okay.” Zak picked up his plate and got to his feet. “I’m going to find another place to eat that’s better for my digestion. See you two lovebirds later.”
Gage chuckled as Zak slowly walked over to join Xander by the grill.
“Keep an eye on Zak, Xander,” she said softly. “I don’t want him wearing himself out.”
Even though the grill was at least a hundred feet away, Xander gave her a nod. There was something to be said for extra-sensitive hearing. Becker, Cooper, and the two team medics—Trevino and Duncan—moved over to join them. Without a word, Cooper plunked down a folding chair, which Zak sank down into without complaint.
Gage climbed up behind her and pulled her back against his chest. “What are you smiling at?”
Mac pulled his arms around her middle and snuggled closer to all that muscle. He was covered in sand, but she didn’t care. “I was just thinking how nice it is being part of the Pack. I hope they don’t get tired of me hanging around all the time.”
“Not going to happen,” he assured her. “Like I told you, you’re one of the Pack now. You’re also a beautiful reminder that The One isn’t just an urban legend. There’s a reason for all the guys to believe they might find the woman who was meant for them—like I did.”
She tipped back her head and kissed him, only to pull away as a thought came to her.
“What is it?” Gage asked.
“I was just wondering if there might be a way for me to help each of the guys find their One.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it works that way. They just have to keep looking until they stumble across the right woman. Besides, I don’t think my team would appreciate you getting involved in their love lives.”
Mac sighed. He was probably right. Then again, maybe not. She smiled up at Gage. “You sure about that?”
He looked across the yard to survey his pack, who’d all stopped what they were doing to give her their full attention. One by one, each werewolf grinned.
“For some reason, I don’t think your pack agrees,” she said.
Gage groaned. “Why do I think this has the potential to get really messy?”
Mac only laughed and kissed him again.
Order Paige Tyler's next book
in the X-Ops series
Her Wild Hero
On sale May 2015
Click here!
Acknowledgments
My husband and I came up with the idea for the SWAT series by accident. I originally wanted to write an erotic set of stories in which all the heroes were cops, but I kept getting derailed by all those police procedurals we watch on television. Every story line I came up with begged for more story and less of the erotic stuff. So, after a very frustrating few days, hubby suggested scrapping the whole cop thing and writing about a zombie who falls in love with his dermatologist. I said, “Honey, I want to write a book that sells. Like something with wolf shifters. Better yet, wolf shifters who are cops.” Hubby thought a minute and said, “You know, you may be on to something.” So, we went to P.F. Chang’s (our favorite restaurant!) and batted ideas back and forth over spicy chicken until we came up with SWAT (Special Wolf Alpha Team), a series about sixteen hunky wolf shifters/cops and the women who make them howl!
In addition to another big thank-you to my hubby for all his help with the action scenes and military and tactical jargon, I want to also thank my agent, Bob Mecoy, for believing in me and encouraging me and being there when I need to talk; my editor, Cat Clyne, for loving this series and hot guys in tactical gear as much as I do; and all the other amazing people at Sourcebooks, including my publicist, Amelia, and the crazy-talented art department. I’m still drooling over this cover!
I also want to give a big thank-you to the men
, women, and working dogs who protect and serve in police departments everywhere, as well as their families.
And because I could never leave my readers out, a huge thank-you to everyone who has read my books and Snoopy Danced right along with me with every new release. That includes the fantastic girls on my street team. You rock!
Hope you enjoyed Hungry Like the Wolf and look forward to reading the other books in the series as much as I look forward to sharing them with you. Look for book two in the series, Wolf Trouble, this summer.
Happy reading!
About the Author
Paige Tyler is a USA Today bestselling author of sexy romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband!) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog!). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines who fall in love with them.
Visit Paige at her website, www.paigetylertheauthor.com. She’s also on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr.
READ ON FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT BOOK THREE
IN PAIGE TYLER’S X-OPS SERIES
HER WILD HERO
AVAILABLE MAY 2015
FROM SOURCEBOOKS CASABLANCA
After ten years of writing performance reviews, training schedules, and after-action reports, she was finally going on a mission. Kendra Carlsen was so excited she was practically bouncing in her chair. But getting all geeked up wasn’t going to get the work on her desk done—and she had a ton to do before she left.
She was just finishing up the semiannual performance evaluation on Trevor Maxwell’s team—outstanding as usual—when intel specialist Evan Lloyd stuck his head in her office.
“Some of us are heading out for lunch. Want to come?”
Kendra was sorely tempted, but she was heading to the airport in—she looked at her watch—three hours. Yikes!
She shook her head as she kept typing. “Thanks for the invite, but I can’t. I have way too much to do before I leave.”
Evan frowned. “You going on vacation?”
Kendra had a hard time keeping the silly grin off her face. “Mission in Costa Rica.”
His eyes went wide. “Seriously?”
“Uh-huh. John wants me to evaluate a big international, interagency training exercise down there.”
“You’re going down there alone?”
She printed out the report on Trevor’s team and signed it, then attached the secret cover page on it and slid the document into an envelope. “Of course not. I’m going with Tate’s team. They’re taking part in the exercise.”
“Oh.” Evan shook his head. “Damn, that sounds cool.”
Kendra grinned. “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?”
“Well, I’d better let you go then,” Evan said. “Watch yourself out there, okay?”
“I will.”
Kendra checked her email once more before logging off and thumbing the power button. It felt weird to shut down her computer. The only time she ever did it was when she went on vacation. And running around the hot, sweaty Costa Rican jungle for a week was going to be anything but a vacation. But she’d been begging her boss John Loughlin for months to go into the field, and now that he’d finally agreed, she was damn well going to make the most of the opportunity. Sure, she would have preferred if her first real mission had been going with Ivy and Landon to check out a hybrid research lab. Or maybe tagging along with Clayne and Danica to serve as backup the next time they took down a bad guy.
But John wasn’t ready to go that far…yet. He probably thought that if he sent her into the hot, humid, bug-ridden Costa Rican jungle, she’d hate it so much she’d never bother him about going into the field again. He was wrong. She was going to kick butt out there.
Order Paige Tyler's next book
in the X-Ops series
Her Wild Hero
On sale May 2015
Click here!
Thank you for reading!
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The book you’ve just finished is Book 1 in the SWAT series. Book 2, Wolf Trouble, will be available August 2015. You may also enjoy Paige Tyler’s X-Ops series, the first book of which is Her Perfect Mate. If you loved Hungry Like the Wolf, check out our mailing list for updates on new releases and access to exclusive content.
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