by Paige Tyler
“Why don’t we head home?” she suggested softly, leaning in close. “I’m beat.”
Max gave her a look that told Lana he was onto her, but he didn’t call her on it. Instead, he smiled and kissed her. “Then let’s get you home.”
She and Max made the rounds of the compound, saying good night to everyone, then walked hand in hand out to his Camaro. As he started the engine and drove out of the parking lot, heading toward his apartment they were now sharing, Lana realized he was more quiet than usual.
“Hey,” she said. “Are you feeling okay? Should we stop in and see Dr. Saunders?”
He shook his head. “I’m okay. I’m was just thinking about stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
He shrugged. “About how crazy it is for us to be trying to have a relationship while we’re wondering when the hunters are going to show up and try to kill us again.”
Lana reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it hard, something that was a lot easier to do now that she had access to all her werewolf abilities.
“You can stop wondering right now,” she said firmly. “I just got you back, and I’m not wasting a second of our lives together worrying about what may happen with those hunters. If they come back, we’ll deal with them.”
Max didn’t say anything for a while, but then he looked over and smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way because I’ve been putting a lot of thought into not wasting time either.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” he said, turning his attention to the highway again. “What would you say if I told you I wanted to get married?”
Lana’s heart did a little happy dance. She’d learned enough about the legend of The One over the past couple of weeks to know it meant that Max and she were going to be together for life. After almost losing him to the hunters’ bullets, she realized she wasn’t interested in waiting around before starting that life. It was nice to know Max felt the same.
“I guess that depends,” she said coyly, “on whether you’re actually asking me to marry you or simply talking hypothetically.”
He suddenly pulled over to the side of the road, stopping in the grass. Cars sped by them at seventy miles an hour, but Max ignored them as he turned to look at her.
“I’m definitely asking.” He grimaced. “I’m sorry if this isn’t as romantic as it should be, with a ring and everything, but if I learned anything from going up against the hunters, it’s that things move fast—even when you’ve found the person you’re going to be with for the rest of your life. I don’t want to waste a second of the life we have together, Lana, so yeah, I’m asking you to marry me. And if you say yes, I’m completely okay with heading to the airport right now. We can be in Vegas by midnight, have a diamond on your finger an hour later, and be married by the time the sun comes up.”
She laughed and leaned over the console to kiss him. “The answer is yes, I’ll marry you, Max. And while a whirlwind wedding in Vegas would certainly do the trick, how about we slow things down just a little and see if we can set up something local? I don’t need much, just my parents, my friends, and the Pack. I want this moment to be perfect for both of us, okay?”
He tipped her head back and kissed her hard enough to make her almost change her mind. Then he pulled back and flashed her a grin.
“Okay, that’s the plan then. We get married as soon as we can pull everything together. A Christmas wedding, maybe. What do you think?”
Since it was almost Thanksgiving, that would give them a little more than four weeks until Christmas. She smiled. “I think that sounds good to me.”
Max suddenly turned serious again. “One thing, though.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“You have to be the one to tell your dad. He’s just now starting to like me, and if I tell him we’re planning to get married already, he’ll probably shoot me.”
Lana laughed and kissed him again. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle my dad. You just figure out where you’re taking me on our honeymoon.”
“I can handle that,” he murmured against her mouth. “Anywhere with you will be perfect.”
For more Paige Tyler
check out the X-Ops series
X-Ops Exposed
On sale April 2018
For more Paige Tyler
check out the X-Ops series
X-Ops Exposed
On sale April 2018
Acknowledgments
I hope you had as much fun reading Max and Lana’s story as I had writing it! Now we finally know why Deputy Chief Mason has always looked the other way when it comes to his SWAT team!
While this story is a work of fiction, the issue of domestic violence is a very real problem today. If you or anyone you know is affected by domestic violence, please visit thehotline.org for help.
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 need 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 Stephany, 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 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 hubby and I bat storylines back and forth and come up with all of our best ideas, as well as a thank-you to our fantastic waiter, Andrew, who takes our order to the kitchen the moment we walk in the door!
Hope you enjoy the next book in the SWAT series coming soon, 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 New York Times and 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 at paigetylertheauthor.com.
She’s also on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, tsu, Wattpad, Google+, and Pinterest.
Also By Paige Tyler
SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team
Hungry Like the Wolf
Wolf Trouble
In The Company of Wolves
To Love a Wolf
Wolf Unleashed
Wolf Hunt
Wolf Hunger
X-Ops
Book Her Perfect Mate
Her Lone Wolf
Her Secret Agent (novella)
Her Wild Hero
Her Fierce Warrior
Her Rogue Alpha
Her True Match
Her Dark Half
X-Ops Exposed
Thank you for reading!
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