To Love a Wolf

by Paige Tyler

  It had also helped that the department psychologist insisted Landry’s actions were completely normal and refused to consider Coletti’s recommendation for a complete psychological evaluation.

  Everly was just taking another bite of her cheeseburger when the volleyball game broke up. Landry ran over to her, knocking sand off his hot, glistening body, and looking good enough to eat.

  As he slipped onto the bench seat beside her, the dog tags he was wearing shined in the late day sun. Dennis had gotten them from Jim’s personal belongings and given them to Landry a few days after Jim’s death. Everly hoped that little gesture on Dennis’s part meant Landry and the FBI agent might be able to work out their issues and be friends again someday.

  Everly brushed some stubborn grains of sand off Landry’s back as he wiggled closer to her. That was when she noticed the scars he’d gotten from the leap out the tenth-floor window and subsequent explosion were all but gone now. There were some faint lines that crisscrossed the skin of his chest, back, shoulders, and arms. The deeper scars—the ones from Jim’s death—would take much longer to heal. Landry still didn’t talk about it much, but he was opening up a little more each day, and she thought that in time he would let her help him with the horrific memory in the same way that he’d helped her get past her mother’s death.

  Landry eyed the other half of her burger with such an adorable expression she couldn’t help but slide it over to him.

  He flashed her a grin as he accepted her offering. “I love you, do you know that?”

  “Yes.” She laughed, leaning over to kiss him and getting sand all over her clothes in the process. She didn’t bother to wipe it off. She and Landry would be kissing a lot more before the barbecue was over, so she’d only get dirty again. Besides, a little sand was a small price to pay for one of his amazing kisses. “I love you, too.”

  He picked up the cheeseburger, but stopped with it a few inches from his mouth. She followed his gaze and realized he was looking at Gage’s table.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  She’d gotten used to Landry being able to eavesdrop on conversations from a ridiculous distance away. She only hoped they weren’t taking about him. She’d had all the drama she could stand between worrying about Landry being suspended and getting her brothers out of jail.

  But Cooper shook his head and turned his attention back to his burger. “They’re talking about a new drug ring that’s moving cut-rate heroin through mid- and south-Texas. The feds are considering setting up a joint task force to deal with the situation and asked if Gage could put a few of us on it when needed.”

  Everly hoped her eyes didn’t widen too much. “Drug ring? Aren’t those people dangerous?”

  Landry grinned. “Nah. We eat drug dealers for breakfast.”

  Everly shook her head, not sure she was ever going to be comfortable with the work Landry and his friends—his pack—did. But it helped knowing that since he was a werewolf, she didn’t have to worry about him as much. According to Landry—and her father—there wasn’t a whole lot out there in the world that could hurt a werewolf. That made breathing a lot easier for her.

  Cooper grabbed another cheeseburger when Alex passed by with more food. Everly wondered if she should get something for Mia and Joseph. They were catching some alone time at Everly’s apartment, but were supposed to be here soon.

  Landry had moved in with her and Mia a few days after they’d gotten back together. So far everything was working out well, but it was tight, especially when Joseph was there. Everly had talked to Mia about finding a place with Landry, and while Mia was bummed Everly was moving out, she was looking forward to having Joseph over more often. Everly was excited about the idea of her and Landry finding a place of their own, one big enough for her to have an art studio and office space, and to display Landry’s paintings, as well as her artwork.

  “Mia’s going out with Joseph tonight,” she said as she broke off a piece of Landry’s cheeseburger and popped it in her mouth.

  His eyes glinted gold as he watched her eat. After learning what the flash meant, Everly couldn’t believe she’d ever been so foolish as to think it was sunlight reflecting off his eyes. Now she knew it meant that he was aroused. She liked a visible sign of that. It made her feel good, especially since it happened whenever she was around him.

  “So we have the whole place to ourselves tonight?” He leaned over to kiss her. “You want to get naked in the studio and rub paint all over each other?”

  Everly thumped him on the arm, hurting her hand more than those bulging biceps of his. “No, silly. That would be a waste of paint. But if you’re willing to get naked, I could do another nude portrait.”

  He grinned. “That sounds good. You have a particular pose in mind?”

  She nodded. “Would you consider posing for me in your wolf form? I’d like to paint you that way.”

  They’d been working on her werewolf issues a little at a time over the past two weeks. While she loved Landry like crazy, she still wasn’t used to seeing him with fangs and claws. She was okay with the full wolf shift, but he’d only done it once since they’d gotten back together, and he hadn’t let her watch the whole change, saying it might be too scary for her. When he’d come out of her studio though, she’d been mesmerized by how beautiful he was in his furry wolf form.

  “This time,” she added, “I want to watch you shift.”

  “You sure about that?” he asked softly.

  She nodded. Landry was a werewolf and always would be. She needed him to know she was okay with that. “I’m sure. We have the whole night to take our time and get comfortable. Then I’m going to paint picture after picture of you in every pose you can imagine.”

  Landry kissed her again. “We’ll take all the time you need. As long as you’re in my arms as the sun comes up.”

  Everly smiled. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  The series continues in Book 5 of the SWAT series, Wolf Unleashed.

  Click here to order

  For more info and updates about the series go to:

  http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com/

  Like Christine Feehan and Patricia Briggs?

  Then you’ll love Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply by Terry Spear!

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  For more info and updates about the series go to:

  https://terrylspear.wordpress.com/

  Like Sons of Anarchy and Kat Martin?

  Then you’ll love Hell on Wheels by Julie Ann Walker!

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  For more info and updates about the series go to:

  http://julieannwalker.com/

  Like Top Gun and Lori Foster?

  Then you’ll love Heart Strike by M.L. Buchman!

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  For more info and updates about the series go to:

  http://www.mlbuchman.com/

  Here’s a sneak peek at book five

  in Paige Tyler’s sizzling SWAT series

  Wolf Unleashed

  Dr. Barton was bending over, rummaging through a bottom drawer of the built-in on the far wall. Even though Alex did his best not to stare, it was impossible not to notice that she had an incredibly spectacular ass. He’d always been a leg man, but one look at her derrière and he suddenly decided he’d been missing out. Then she stood up, turned around, and flipped her long, wavy blond hair over her shoulder and he realized that the rest of her was equally stunning. While her baggy white lab coat hid a lot, he could still tell that she had an athletic build and some really nice curves. It was her face that made his heart beat faster, though. She had the most captivating pair of blue eyes he’d ever seen, and full red lips just begging to be kissed. From this moment forward, whenever he pictured an angel, he would think of the beautiful Dr. Barton.

  Alex smiled and she smiled back, her heart thudding a little quicker. But then she looked down at Tuffie and her entire expression changed. Hurrying over, she dropped down to one knee beside
Tuffie, gently examining her ears and face.

  She gave Alex an angry glare. “Please tell me you arrested the people who put this beautiful girl in a dogfighting ring. Even better—tell me you shot them.”

  If Alex had thought her heart was beating fast before, it was nothing compared to the way it was thumping now. Clearly, Dr. Barton was very passionate about protecting dogs. In his book, that made her even more beautiful than she’d already been.

  “I wish I could, but unfortunately we never found the people who did it,” Alex said. “We rescued Tuffie when her owner was killed. He died trying to protect her from a psychopath armed with a high-powered rifle.”

  Dr. Barton’s gaze went back to Tuffie, her expression turning from anger to sadness as she ran her fingers down the fresh scars along the dog’s chest and side. “Looks like she got shot anyway.”

  “Yeah. It’s a miracle she lived long enough for my teammate and I to get her here in time for Doc Jones to save her. Thank God for sirens. I think we ran every red light in town.”

  The veterinarian straightened, gracing him with another dazzling grin, and Alex felt his knees go a little loose. Damn, what a smile.

  “I knew there was something I liked about you the second you walked in.”

  Alex felt his face flush. “It wasn’t a big deal. I’m a cop. Saving people—and dogs—comes with the job description.”

  He cringed the moment the words left his mouth. Had he really just said something that lame?

  Thankfully, the beautiful Dr. Barton didn’t seem to notice the cheesy line. Or if she had, she was too polite to laugh at him.

  “And is bringing Tuffie to her appointments also in your job description?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

  Was her heart beating a little faster now? Unless that was his own heart pounding in his ears. That was a definite possibility. Because it seemed like he had a real thing for Dr. Barton.

  He smiled. “It is if the rest of the SWAT team and I adopted her and gave her a new home.”

  Alex knew it was a shameless grab to get further into the doctor’s good graces, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

  “Not only did you save her life, but you adopted her, too? I think Tuffie hit the lottery with you, Officer…?”

  “Trevino,” he said, filling in the blank and offering his hand. “But please, call me Alex.”

  She took his hand and gave it a shake. “Nice to me you, Alex. I’m Lacey Barton.”

  Her hand was small in comparison to his, her skin soft and warm, and Alex found himself holding on a bit longer than was customary. Lacey didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she seemed just as reluctant to let go as he did.

  She pushed her hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. “I guess we ought to get on with Tuffie’s checkup. So you can get back to saving the world and everything.”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  Reaching down, Alex gently picked up Tuffie and set her on the stainless steel exam table.

  “Nice muscle tone,” Lacey murmured.

  Alex felt the compliment go right to his head. “Thanks.”

  “Actually, I was talking about Tuffie,” Lacey said as she tenderly ran her hands over the dog’s shoulders.

  “Oh.”

  She looked up at him from beneath her lashes. “But yours is pretty good, too.”

  Alex chuckled. Damn, this woman was good. He had her by a foot in height and more than a hundred pounds in weight, yet she was playing him like a fiddle, and he didn’t mind one bit. He couldn’t remember ever having such an immediate and intense reaction to any woman he’d ever met. Suddenly, he wanted to know everything there was to know about her, and then some.

  Coming December 2016

  Acknowledgments

  I hope you had as much fun reading Cooper and Everly’s story as I had writing it! If I had to pick characters most like “me,” it would have to be Cooper and Everly because a lot of myself showed up in Everly, and a lot of my husband (who is my writing partner) showed up in Cooper. Like Cooper, Hubby is former Army EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal—twenty years), and has a lot of the same personality quirks as Cooper. He can be a bit snarky, seems to have a somewhat laissez-faire attitude toward explosives, is steady when things get stressful, and is usually a calm sounding board for people who want to talk about their problems. So I guess it makes sense that when I started thinking about Cooper’s love interest, I patterned Everly after me. She’s certainly in line with the kick-butt heroines I’ve portrayed in my other books, and when those she loves are in danger, she can be fierce in her own way. But Everly also has a soft side. Like me, she draws and paints. She also seems to have a thing for doing nude figure studies. That was my favorite class in art school too, by the way. Everly has a very boho style, she’s emotional, and is quick to give her heart, which means she can fall for a guy really fast (like I did with Hubby!). In addition to all that, she’s somewhat of a free spirit, just like me. For readers who know my hubby and me well, I hope you saw a bit of us in Cooper and Everly. And for readers who don’t know us, I hope I gave you a glimpse.

  This whole series wouldn’t be possible without some very incredible people. In addition to another big thank-you to my hubby for all his help with the action scenes and military and tactical jargon, thanks to my agent, Bob Mecoy, for believing in us and encouraging us and being there when we needed to talk; my editor and go-to-person at Sourcebooks, Cat Clyne (who loves this series as much as I do and is always a phone call, text, or email away whenever I need something); and all the other amazing people at Sourcebooks, including my fantastic publicist Amelia Narigon, and their crazy-talented art department. The covers they make for me are seriously drool-worthy!

  Because I could never leave out my readers, 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 people on my amazing Street Team, as well as my assistant, Janet. You rock!

  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 a very special shout-out to our favorite restaurant, P.F. Chang’s, where my hubby and I bat story lines back and forth and come up with all of our best ideas, as well as a thank-you to our fantastic waiter, Andrew, who gets our order into the kitchen the moment we walk in the door!

  Hope you enjoy the fifth book in the SWAT series, coming December 2016 from Sourcebooks, and look forward to reading the rest of the series as much as I look forward to sharing it with you.

  If you love a man in uniform as much as I do, make sure you check out X-Ops, my other action-packed paranormal/romantic-suspense series from Sourcebooks.

  Happy Reading!

  About the Author

  Paige Tyler is a national 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 www.paigetylertheauthor.com

  She’s also on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, tsu, Wattpad, Google+, and Pinterest.

  Thank you for reading!

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  Hungry Like the Wolf

  SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team

  by Paige Tyler

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

  She’s convinced they’re hiding something

  The team of sharpshooters is elite and ultra-secretive—they are also the darlings of Dallas. This doesn’t sit well with investigative journalist Mackenzie Stone. They
must be hiding something…and she’s determined to find out what.

  He’s as alpha as a man can get

  Gage Dixon, the SWAT team commander, is six-plus feet of pure muscle and keeps his team tight and on target. When he is tasked to let the persistent—and gorgeous—journalist shadow the team for a story, he has one mission: protect the pack’s secrets.

  He’ll do everything he can to protect his secret

  But keeping Mac at a distance proves difficult. She’s smart, sexy, and just smells so damn good. As she digs, she’s getting closer to the truth—and closer to his heart. Will Gage guard their secret at the expense of his own happiness? Or will he choose love and make her his own...

  For more Paige Tyler, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Wolf Trouble

  SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team

  by Paige Tyler

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

  He’s in trouble with a capital T

  There’s never been a female on the Dallas SWAT team and Senior Corporal Xander Riggs prefers it that way. The elite pack of alpha-male wolf-shifters is no place for a woman. But Khaki Blake is no ordinary woman.

  When Khaki walks through the door, attractive as hell and smelling like heaven, Xander doesn’t know what the heck to do. Worse, she’s put under his command and Xander’s protective instincts go on high alert. When things start heating up both on and off the clock, it’s almost impossible to keep their heads in the game and their hands off each other…

  Praise for Paige Tyler:

  “A wild, hot, and sexy ride from beginning to end! I loved it!” —Terry Spear, USA Today bestselling author of A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing