SWAT Team One and the Social Worker (5 page)

Then there was the other negative thought about the capabilities of

wolves.

She had witnessed what one wolf did to a human woman who

refused his sexual advances. Sam had been seventeen, and she

remembered it clearly. She also knew that the men were way more

experienced than her and a lot older. They planned on leaving the

department to retire soon. But she had so much more she wanted to

do. Even though days like this scared her and made her question why

she would expose herself to such danger, she couldn’t quit. Plus she

had nothing to go back to in Dallas or in the state of Texas for that matter. Then there were memories of Alex. She swallowed hard. Just

thinking his name still affected her. He was long gone. He was dead

because she hadn’t been there when he needed her most.

“Sam, honey, what’s wrong?” Kyle asked. He caressed her cheek

with his fingers, and she nearly forgot where she was and who was

touching her. She jumped from the contact, simultaneously pushing

his hand away. His light touch caused a reaction in her body that she

was trying to ignore.

“I’m good. I’ll take a slice.” Slowly, she sat up straighter. She

closed her eyes, willed away the memories of Alex and the ache in

her heart. Embracing her current state, she felt the tiny bit of dizziness and focused on that. She willed the aches and pains away as best she

could. Her eye felt more swollen, as if that were even possible. Even

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her neck and ear hurt.
Weird.
Once she calmed her breathing and cleared her mind of Alex, she felt ready to face the men.

When she opened her eyes, all five of them were watching her.

Dustin looked like he wanted to hit something. His expression was

one of concern, anger, and something else. She just wasn’t certain what. As she caught each of their gazes, she realized that they all held the same expression. She swallowed hard and felt the tears reach her

eyes. Then the anger hit her gut.

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?” she snapped at

them, and instantly they each looked away, except for Dustin.

He licked his lips. Obviously, he was prepared to say something,

but she wouldn’t have listened to a word he spoke because her focus

was on his lips. They looked firm and muscular just like the rest of

him. He held her gaze.

“I should get you some ice. It will help with the swelling.” With

that he left the room.

She looked around her, and the others were eating their pizza or

drinking a beer.

“Here, have this, then take the ibuprofen,” Trey told her as he

passed her a slice of pizza on a plate. She inhaled the aroma and

suddenly felt incredibly hungry. That’s when she remembered that

she hadn’t eaten all day.

She released an exasperated sigh.

“What? Do you suddenly not like pizza?” Adam questioned her,

and he sounded kind of snappy. She didn’t like his tone one bit. What

was he upset about? She was the one with the black eye and swollen

cheekbone. She had shared a pizza with him a time or two in the past.

They knew she liked to make her own pizza when she had the time.

His dark brown eyes held hers, and her insides fluttered. It seemed

that the more and more she hung out with the guys, the harder it was

getting to resist them. Just a smile sent her libido into overdrive and her breasts began to ache. She moved her arm, casually trying to ease

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35

the ache in her breasts. The move did not go unnoticed. She cleared

her throat.

“Of course not. I just remembered that I haven’t eaten anything

since breakfast.”

“Shit, Sam,” Trey reprimanded her.

“I know. But I’m eating now,” she replied then took her first bite

of pizza. Ten minutes later she finished the second slice at Donny’s

demand and now sipped on a cold beer. She didn’t dare show any

signs of the pain that chewing was causing. Myers had given her a

hell of a shot to her face.

* * * *

The men talked about how they had some friends in the

department patrolling Brandy’s neighborhood and that Charles was

recovering and released from the hospital after being grazed by a

bullet. Thank God he hadn’t been killed. They eased her mind about

the protection the family would remain under while Myers waited to

face charges. Unfortunately he would only be charged with assault

and breaking and entering. The other gang members who were with

him had disappeared once the cops showed up. It had been one of

them that had the gun that shot Charles.

The men continued to talk about football and the prospects of their

favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys. She had always been a Giants fan,

and they always teased her about it. A while had passed and she was

beginning to feel especially tired. All the excitement, adrenaline rush, and trauma to her body was beginning to weigh its toll on her. That’s

when she noticed that Dustin still hadn’t returned from the kitchen

yet.

* * * *

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Dixie Lynn Dwyer

Donny took a seat on the couch next to her. She was certain they

could hear the pounding of her heart. Wolves had impeccable hearing.

She looked at him in his tank top and military shorts. He was a total

chick magnet. All five of them were.

She sat with her one leg crossed over the other and clutched the

pillow to her chest. It had been uncomfortable eating that way, but she wasn’t wearing any bra, and she didn’t want to be advertising it. Plus, she hoped it kept her arousal hidden from them. It was torture being

in a room filled with macho military soldiers. These five men would

give G.I. Joe and his buddies a run for their money. The five of them

weren’t quite identical. They had such expressive eyes that sparkled and changed whenever they let their emotions get the better of them.

They had dark black hair, crew cuts, and tan complexions. Trey and

Adam had even darker brown hair. When they smiled, showing off

their bright white teeth, their eyes sparkled like chocolate diamonds.

Then, of course, were their bodies. They were made of pure muscle,

with Dustin and Donny being the bulkiest of the five. They were all

martial artists, although they didn’t need it because of their wolf

abilities. She had witnessed them practicing in their dojo and

grappling. That had created a month’s worth of interesting fantasies for her. She realized they caught her daydreaming again, and

instinctively she tried to hide it.

She reached up to push a strand of hair behind her ear and

accidentally hit her cheek.

She made a soft moan, and the others added their mumbled

comments.

“Hey, I didn’t get to say thank you for today.”

No one responded. They just sat there staring at her.

Feeling a bit insecure facing four of the five, she swallowed hard

and focused on the pillowcase before she spoke.

“What you do is pretty awesome. I didn’t know you could fly,”

she added then chuckled, but it came out sounding more like a choke

than a laugh.

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37

“What the hell were you thinking, Sam?” Dustin’s voice

penetrated the room and caused Sam to jump, knocking the pillow

onto the floor. She looked at him and knew she was about to get an

earful.

She decided to play dumb and tried to change the subject.

“What happened? Did you get lost in my kitchen? Oh, wait…I

know. I forgot to fill the ice trays. I can fix that, don’t worry about the ice.” Sam rose from the couch and attempted to leave the room, but a

quick movement by Dustin and she was trapped.

* * * *

Dustin held her tiny wrist in his hand, and his body came alive

from the contact. He held her there, looked down into her green eyes

and saw the fear, the worry, and also the sadness there. He wanted to

know everything about Sam, but she wasn’t willing to share. He heard

her racing heart, saw the fear and apprehension in her eyes, and it

almost made him release her.

“You know that I’m not talking about the fucking ice.”

She wrapped her free arm over her stomach and shuddered.

Obviously his angry tone scared her.

“What were you thinking, heading into that apartment with those

people and risking your life?”

She glared at him, and his cock stirred in reaction. It pressed

against the zipper of his shorts, demanding release. Samantha tried to pull away, but his hold remained firm.

She looked down toward where he held her then back up to glare

at him. Every time he saw the fucking bruise and welt on her cheek,

his anger increased. She was gorgeous and sexy. No woman deserved

to have such a mark on her.

“I’m not doing this with you, Dustin. Release me,” she demanded

and raised her dainty little chin up toward him.

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Dixie Lynn Dwyer

He took a step closer, and she retreated. That continued until she

hit the back of the couch, and her free hand landed on Donny’s

forearm as she reached back.

The second she touched his brother’s skin, she pulled away. Her

breasts bounced from the abrupt movement. The moment he entered

the house he knew she wasn’t wearing a bra. He stared at her chest,

absorbed the cleavage and the blotchy redness that covered her flesh.

She was embarrassed, but he hoped turned on as well.

His mind imagined lifting the tank top and tasting her skin as he

suckled her breast and her nipple. She had a perfect set of breasts.

“Dustin, please,” she whispered, her voice bringing him back to

the present.

Kyle and Adam now stood beside him while Donny and Trey sat

on the couch behind her.

Dustin held her wrist against his chest then reached slowly toward

her cheek and chin with his other hand, being sure not to get too close to the bruising.

“You have no idea what went through our minds when we heard

you were in there. When we heard the perp’s words and the way he

was talking to you.”

She held his gaze then glanced at his brothers.

“I had no choice,” she whispered.

“Bullshit!” Kyle yelled, this time making her jump then tremble.

He touched her hair. Twirled a wavy strand between his fingers.

He was inches from her.

The tears welled up in her eyes as Dustin caressed her chin.

* * * *

She was in complete panic mode. Being this close to them made

her want things she had no right to want. She couldn’t give in to the

desire she felt for them. They were intimidating, demanding, bossy,

and chauvinistic the majority of the time. That was fine when she

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39

wasn’t on the receiving end, but now, as they touched her, she knew

this was getting serious.

“Don’t yell at me, Kyle. I did what I had to do, and I would do it

again.”

“You could have been killed,” Donny stated from behind her. His

deep, masculine voice vibrated against her spine.

“And like any of you couldn’t get killed in your line of work?”

she challenged.

“There’s no comparison, and you know it,” Adam replied.

“Double standards, huh?” She tried the feminist approach then

remembered that she was dealing with a bunch of Alpha males filled

to the gill with testosterone.

“Don’t even go there, Sam. You shouldn’t have been in that

fucking neighborhood alone. You should have stepped aside, called

the police, and let them deal with it,” Trey added, and she

immediately became angry. Trey was always pushing people away,

trying to remain separated and what he claimed to be “objective,”

especially during intense situations. She had a feeling he was afraid to get close to anyone. He was afraid to fail and afraid to disappoint. She had a lot in common with him and plenty of time to think about him

over the last year.

“Well I’m not as coldhearted as you, Trey. When I make a

promise, I keep it.”

Well at least now I do. I failed Alex.

She knew she insulted him, but she was annoyed at them and she

needed space from them all. Quickly she pulled away from Dustin

and began heading toward the kitchen.

It was Trey who stopped her by grabbing her around the waist. He

pulled her to him, and she panicked.

“Why did you do it?”

She tried to control her breathing, but now that Trey was holding

her against his body, she couldn’t. How could she explain that she

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failed her best friend? She vowed to never make the same mistake

again. They would hate her for her selfishness.

The tears threatened to fall at any second. She had to pull away.

“Why, Sam?” Dustin asked as he placed his hands on her

shoulders and pressed his body against her back.

It was too much for her to handle. She was exhausted, achy, and

completely aroused by their close proximity.

“I made a promise,” she whispered as she looked into Trey’s eyes.

His dark brown eyes held hers as she felt the connection as well as the trust.

“Promise or not, you risked your life, and we could have lost