Chapter 7

So much for limited-duty status.

Xander lay facedown on the roof of a three-story building downtown, slowly sweating in the afternoon sun. It wasn’t very hot for this time of year, but the way the rays were heating up the flat tar roof, it felt like the middle of summer.

He looked through his binoculars at the bank they were supposed to be covering, but it was over four blocks away and almost impossible to see with all the other buildings that were in the way. It made him wonder again what the hell they were doing here. Oh, yeah. Playing nice.

Gage had pulled him and the rest of his squad out of PT that morning, saying he had a job he needed them to cover. When Xander had reminded him they were on limited-duty status, the Pack alpha had given him a shrug.

“Sorry, but this one came out of nowhere. The FBI has a task force that’s been tracking a group hitting banks all through the Southwest. They’ve asked the DPD for assistance, and Deputy Chief Mason offered them SWAT.”

Xander had tried his best to weasel out of the job, mostly because he wasn’t too fond of working with the feds. “FBI has their own SWAT team. What the hell do they want with us?”

“They probably just want to have you available for perimeter work or something stupid like that,” Gage told him. “But they made the request officially through Mason, and he wants us to play nice.”

“So why can’t Mike’s team handle this? You know I still need more time training Khaki.”

His boss had stopped looking amused at that point, which told Xander the conversation was pretty much over.

“Because this job has the potential to turn into a recurring gig,” Gage told him flatly. “The task force isn’t exactly sure when the bank robbers are going to strike next, but they do know they don’t have the time to keep briefing support people every time they need to call them in. That means whoever I put on this will be subject to short notice recalls, and if your squad is going to be on limited duty anyway, I’d rather it be you.”

Xander checked in with his squad again. The senior agent in charge of the FBI taskforce, Philip Thompson, had said he didn’t want any of the locals using their own radios because there was too much chance of compromising the operation, but Thompson could kiss his ass. Xander was monitoring the FBI channel through one radio and earpiece while talking to his squad on a completely different radio and frequency. Who said men couldn’t multitask?

“Nothing here,” Trevor reported over the internal SWAT channel. “Not surprising since we’re so far from the bank that someone could have stolen the whole building and we wouldn’t know it.”

Xander swore silently. In theory, Trevor was covering the northern side of the perimeter with Becker and Cooper. But in reality, he was sitting on his ass just like Xander was doing here to the south of the bank with Hale and Max. Neither group would be in a position to do much when—make that if—the bank robbery actually went down. But that was the way the FBI had wanted it.

Khaki checked in from the western edge of the perimeter where she and Alex were maintaining a sniper and observation post nearly six blocks from the target. It wasn’t much of a sniper outpost since Alex didn’t have a better visual on the bank than the rest of them.

Xander had known this operation was going to be a soup sandwich the moment they met Thompson. Talk about a clusterfuck. Even the people in the local FBI field office didn’t like the way this new agent in charge had come in swinging his weight around. Xander couldn’t blame them. No one liked outsiders coming in and trying to run the show as if everyone else were a bunch of idiots.

Apparently, these particular bank robbers had hit nine banks in three months without leaving a single usable clue. That was Xander’s first indication these guys weren’t a bunch of amateur smash-and-grab types. Nobody could hit nine banks without leaving evidence behind unless they were serious professionals.

Thompson had spent some time explaining the crew’s MO in the briefing, saying they spent nearly a month conducting surveillance and planning in a particular city, then hitting three banks all in the span of a week.

“They’re disciplined, organized, and almost certainly have some kind of military or even law enforcement background. They come in heavily armed and have shown that they won’t hesitate to shoot if they have to. They’ve already killed three people. In two months of working this case, we’ve come up with next to nothing.”

“If these guys are so good, what makes you think they’re going to hit banks here in Dallas?” Xander asked.

Thompson could have tried to bullshit his way through a lie about the FBI’s amazing investigative skills, but instead he was completely honest. “We’ve been chasing hunches and rumors for weeks and haven’t come close to identifying anyone in the crew, much less where or when they’re going to strike next. Then, out of the blue, a woman contacted us who claimed to have information on the next bank the group was going to hit. She indicated the target was here in Dallas.”

“How reliable is the source?” Xander asked.

“We can’t really say at this point,” Thompson said. “All we know for sure is that the woman knows details about the previous jobs that weren’t released to the press. We think she’s one of the robbers’ jilted girlfriends and that she’s looking for retribution. She gave us intel on the next job, down to the address. We have to act on it because it’ll likely be our only shot to get these guys.”

After that, the rest of the briefing came down to one simple directive aimed specifically at the Dallas PD support personnel—don’t get in the way of our FBI operation.

Thompson had told Xander in no uncertain terms that he and his squad, along with the other local assets, were there for backup, contingency, and crowd control purposes only. Xander would have raised the bullshit flag, but Deputy Chief Mason wanted them to play nice. And with all the backing Mason had given Gage when it came to hiring Khaki, Gage was more than ready to support that request. The squad wasn’t happy about it, but they agreed to go along with the plan.

In reality, Xander wasn’t as pissed off as he normally would have been. With Khaki so new to SWAT, he wasn’t keen to get them involved in a serious shoot-out so soon anyway. At least this would give him a chance to see how she operated in a field environment without the threat of actual gunfire. It might be a good training opportunity.

Even though he doubted the robbers would show, Xander still kept his eyes glued to the bank—what he could see of it anyway. While he did, he replayed the events of last night.

On the one hand, he was thrilled that Khaki had trusted him enough to ask for help. But on the other hand, his whole damn apartment was so thoroughly saturated with her incredible scent that he was probably going to have to move if he ever wanted to sleep again. It was like he’d discovered some new form of torture. Lie in bed all night with a hard-on that wouldn’t go away, inhaling the overwhelming perfume of the most beautiful woman on the planet.

And the funny thing was, he’d put up with it forever if it meant having a chance to spend more time alone with her like he had last night.

When Khaki had shown up at his door in those curve-hugging jeans with her long hair free of its usual ponytail or bun, he thought for sure she was going to lay into him about being such an ass, so he’d been stunned when she admitted she needed help learning how to shift.

Being alone with her and the alluring scent she put off was hard enough at work. Getting hit with it up close for hours as they sat there together on his living room floor had been maddening. Then there was that sexy little way she pursed her lips when she was concentrating. It had taken all of his strength not to kiss her when she did that.

But the cherry on top of the cake had to be those eyes of hers. When she’d finally figured out how to control her night vision, those beauties, which were amazing even before the shift, had glowed with the most vivid green he’d ever seen. They were so mesmerizing it nearly stopped his heart. And the pure joy on her face as she ran around his apartment had made him so happy.

Afterward, he’d been sorely tempted to ask her to stay—for a beer, or dinner, or even to watch the game. He didn’t really care what they did as long as she stayed. But if he had, his control would have slipped, and he would’ve done something stupid. Like bury his hands in her silky hair and kissed her. They’d just gotten to a place where she might not hate him completely. He decided to count himself lucky and just leave well enough alone.

Xander was still daydreaming about getting together with Khaki for another werewolf lesson when he heard alarms ringing.

He immediately refocused his attention on the bank below him only to realize the sound wasn’t coming from that direction.

“What the hell is happening?” Thompson demanded over the radio. “Someone give me a status report.”

“You’re sitting on the wrong bank!” Khaki’s voice was angry in Xander’s earpiece. “They’re hitting the one in the building we’re set up on. The bank on Jackson Street.”

Thompson swore, then ordered his people to move in while at the same time yelling at the local PD to seal off the perimeter and demanding Khaki give him more info. But Xander was already getting a sinking feeling in his gut. A feeling that told him the FBI and everyone else had been royally played.

“Khaki, figure out what the hell is happening and give me a sitrep,” he said into his mic.

Even though his first instinct was to stay out of this and let the FBI go down in flames, Xander was up and running toward the far side of the roof. As he raced across it, he gave hand signals to the other guys with him—converge on the new target. Max and Hale were catching up to him before he even reached the edge of the roof.

As he neared the low wall that ran around the perimeter of the roof, Xander shifted, thrilling at the surge of power racing through him as his leg and core muscles twitched and thickened. His boot hit the edge of the wall and he propelled himself forward as hard as he could, ignoring the height he was leaping from and how far he needed to go to make it to the other building. He’d scouted the surrounding rooftops before settling into position earlier and knew that he could make this jump, even with all the tactical gear he was wearing.

From his scouting, he also knew that this was the fastest way to get where they needed to be. Three blocks west by rooftop, followed by a quick scramble down the fire escape would put him on Jackson Street. Then it would be a straight shot to the bank on the back side of the building where Khaki and Alex were set up.

Xander sailed over the matching low wall on the adjacent building and hit the roof in a tumbling roll, cradling his M4 to his chest to protect it. He was on his feet within seconds. He had five hundred feet of rooftop to cover on this building before reaching the next gap he had to leap over. He hadn’t gone more than twenty or thirty feet when he heard Max and Hale make their jumps. One of them—Max probably—shouted just before he hit the graveled roof. At any other time, Xander would have been worried about someone looking up and seeing three big-ass guys in full tactical gear jumping across a twenty-foot gap between buildings, but with a bank robbery in progress, he didn’t think that’d be a problem.

The robbers must have figured out someone leaked their plans to the FBI. Yet, instead of abandoning Dallas completely, they’d switched to another bank positioned just outside the textbook perimeter of the first target. Not only were these guys smart—that prior military-slash-law enforcement background theory was looking better by the second—they were ballsy. There was no other reason to hit an alternate target so close to the first one other than to show the FBI that they could.

“The suspects have reached the street,” Khaki reported over the FBI frequency. “There are six men that I can see, all heavily armed. Two black SUVs are moving in from the end of the street to pick them up.”

“I have agents converging on your location,” Thompson told her. “Sniper, can you engage? I need the suspects pinned down for a few minutes.”

“Negative,” Alex replied. “The target zone is full of civilians and it’s chaos down there. I do not have a clear shot.”

“Dammit!” Thompson swore. “Take the shot anyway. Shoot the SUV’s tires. Just slow them down.”

It was Xander’s turn to curse. He opened his mouth to countermand Thompson’s order, but Khaki beat him to it.

“We can’t do that. Even if we hit the target, the chances of a through-and-through ricochet hitting a bystander is too high.”

Max and Hale had caught up with Xander and all three of them cleared the alley and hit the next rooftop in perfect sync. Xander sped up and pulled ahead of his teammates, wanting to be the first one on the fire escape. He had to get eyes on the situation, because something told him it was going bad really fast.

Thompson was ordering Alex to shoot just as tires squealed nearby.

“One SUV is away. DPD cruiser in pursuit,” Khaki reported. “The other one is still on the curb. Looks like they’re waiting for someone. Additional cruisers are blocking either end of Jackson.”

“I’ll have agents on the scene in ten seconds,” Thompson told her. “Whatever you do, don’t let that second SUV out.”

Xander hit the top of the fire escape so hard he almost flew right off of it. He took the steep metal stairs three at a time, leaping the last fifteen feet into the alley rather than using the drop-down ladder. He raced out of the alley and sprinted up Jackson, pushing his way through the crowd of terrified people running in the opposite direction. He was still two blocks away when he heard gunfire.

This was going to be a bloodbath.

“Dammit, Thompson!” Khaki yelled. “Tell your people to stop shooting. There are at least twenty civilians behind the same row of cars the suspects are using as cover, and your agents are punching holes right through them.”

But no orders to cease fire ever came. Xander put on more speed, or at least as much as he could with all the people running away from the scene and blocking his path.

Xander heard Alex curse.

“Two of the suspects are using kids as shields. I can’t get a shot at them, and the frigging SUV is armored and has solid run-flat tires. Without armor-piercing rounds, I’m not going to be able do a damn thing to stop these guys.”

“The feds are going to hit the kids,” Khaki ground out in exasperation in his SWAT earpiece. “I’m going down there to get them.”

“Negative. Stand down.” Xander’s heart shoved so hard up into his throat he almost had to stop running. “That’s an order!”

Khaki didn’t answer. Xander hoped it wasn’t because she was doing something she shouldn’t, but as he reached the DPD cruisers barricading Jackson Street, he saw her rappelling down the side of the bank building from five floors up.

What the hell was she doing?

The answer to that was obvious as she dropped down behind the bad guys—and right into the FBI’s target zone. Luckily, some of the feds realized she’d entered the fray and stopped shooting. But others seemed completely oblivious.

Xander sped toward her, shouting for a cease-fire, watching in terror as bullets continued to rip through the line of cars in front of Khaki. Werewolves were tough as nails, but a lucky shot could kill them just as easily as it could a normal human. For all they knew, female werewolves might not have the same healing powers as their male counterparts.

Khaki ignored the hail of bullets. She lashed out with a well-placed kick to knock one suspect to the ground, then grabbed the other one and threw him half a dozen feet into a brick wall. Xander could hear her rumbling growl all the way from here. He only prayed she didn’t lose control and pick now as the time to finally shift completely.

But the moment the suspects were out of play, she reached down, scooped up the two little kids in her arms, and started running, herding a group of other children and women in front of her as she went.

Xander couldn’t help but admire Khaki’s actions under pressure even as he shouted at the few agents still popping off rounds to cease fire. The level of chaos only increased with the lull in shooting, as the civilians who’d been hugging the pavement and were pressed up against cars left their hiding places and ran in different directions.

The next thing Xander knew, the two suspects had jumped in their SUV and crashed through the police barricade at the end of the block. The heavy-armored vehicle smashed the two cruisers aside like they were toys. The few lucky shots that hit the SUV as it sped away didn’t do much more than knock divots in the damn thing.

Xander rounded the row of shot-up cars along the sidewalk, heading for Khaki just as Thompson strode up to her from the other direction with fire in his eyes.

“You had them and you let them get away,” the fed shouted. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

An animalistic rage like he’d never felt before crawled up Xander’s back and he let out a low growl. He wasn’t the only one. Hale’s fangs had elongated ever so slightly and his fingers flexed around his M4. Trevor, Becker, and Cooper came running at full speed from the same direction Thompson had approached, looking equally pissed. And Max? The team’s youngest werewolf looked like he was ready to shift and rip Thompson to shreds.

Xander was going to have a full-scale werewolf riot on his hands at any second.

Khaki rose to her feet from where she’d been kneeling beside a little girl and rounded on the FBI agent with her own brand of fire in her eyes. She advanced on him with so much fury that Thompson took a step back.

“What’s wrong with me? What the hell’s wrong with you?” Khaki demanded. “There were a hundred civilians on this street and you decided it was a good idea to pin the suspects in here and start shooting?”

She jabbed a finger at the row of cars parked on the street. “There were kids hiding behind those cars you just shot the crap out of. Why did I let the suspects get away? To save those kids—from you.”

Thompson opened his mouth to say something, but Khaki cut him off. “Save it! You screwed up here—not us.”

Brushing past him, she walked over to the kids she’d just rescued and knelt down beside the little girl again to gently brush her blond hair out of her tear-streaked face.

“Damn straight,” Max said softly. “Dropped his ass like a dirty toilet seat. That’s what I’m talking about.”

The other guys in his squad let out low chuckles. Xander could understand why. Khaki had just put Thompson in his place like a seasoned pro. They hadn’t caught the bad guys, but she’d saved lives. That was a win in his book.

But while he was proud of Khaki, he was damn pissed she’d thrown herself into the middle of that firefight.

Xander swore under his breath. Talk about a double standard.

If Khaki had been one of the guys on the team, Xander would have expected whoever it was to jump in and save those kids. So why hadn’t he demanded the same of Khaki? Because he’d been scared as hell she would get hurt.

Xander turned to see Alex jogging down the street. He must have used the stairs instead of rappelling like Khaki. Despite admitting his judgment was seriously impaired when it came to Khaki, that didn’t stop him from snarling at Alex.

“Why the hell didn’t you stop Khaki from coming down that rope?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Alex snorted. “Khaki has a mind of her own. Maybe you’ve been too focused on the details to see the big picture, but she’s as alpha as any of us. If she thinks something needs to be done, she’s going to do it. I couldn’t have stopped her—not without knocking her out cold. I doubt you could have stopped her either. She’s getting her feet under her damn fast. In a few more weeks, she’ll be ready to stand toe-to-toe with Gage.”

Xander stared at Alex, dumbfounded. He knew Khaki got along well with the guys, but he’d thought that was simply because she was…well…a woman. If Alex was right, she’d vaulted to the top of the Pack’s testosterone-laden pecking order in less than a week without ever having to snarl, punch, or body slam anybody. That didn’t happen in the Pack.

“Seriously?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Alex grinned. “You better watch out, or she’ll take over your squad before you know it.”

* * *

It was after six by the time they got back to the compound. Xander had hoped to knock out his required paperwork and go home, but Deputy Chief Mason had called Gage and said he wanted a full report before the end of shift. That dashed any possibility of getting out of there early. So while the rest of his squad was upstairs laughing, joking, and getting cleaned up, Xander was stuck at his desk writing out a detailed report on absolutely everything that had happened that day.

Nobody was blaming Xander and his squad for the way things had gone down. In fact, due to the magic of YouTube, their SWAT team, especially Khaki, had come out smelling like roses. But a bank had been robbed, the suspects had gotten away, and more than one lawyer was already in front of the cameras talking about suing the city. The chief and deputy chief wanted details, and they wanted them now.

Gage had called Xander into his office the moment they’d walked in. Not to talk about the possible lawsuits, but about what Khaki had done. Xander had admitted he was pissed she’d disobeyed his orders, but more than impressed by her willingness to put saving a life ahead of anything else.

Gage grinned. “Yeah, I saw the videos. Pretty impressive stuff. Look, I know there’s been friction between the two of you, and I’ve heard what some of the guys have been saying, but keep riding her hard. It’s paying off.”

Thankfully Gage let Xander go to finish his report. Considering the image his commander’s order had left seared into his mind, that had probably been a good thing.

It was nearly eight o’clock by the time Xander finished. So much for getting home early enough to catch up on some sleep. Not that he expected to get much rest with his place smelling like Khaki. Maybe he’d shower and sleep here instead. Like that would help. Her scent filled every corner of the compound too. It was so strong he couldn’t smell anything else but her anymore. Why the hell did it affect him so much?

He was so busy trying to figure out the answer that he didn’t even realize anyone was upstairs until he got to the top of the landing and saw Khaki wrapping a towel around her very wet, very naked body.

Xander stared at the towel-draped piece of perfection in front of him, unable to breathe. His heart was pounding nearly as hard as his cock.

Khaki looked up, her eyes locking with his. He expected her to run back into the showers or turn her back, but she merely stood there holding his gaze as she slowly tucked the towel more tightly around her wet body. The move made her breasts squeeze together, giving him an enticing glimpse of cleavage.

He forced his gaze away from her breasts only to find himself ogling her long, sexy legs instead.

Shit.

Xander jerked his head up to find her regarding him with those big, dark eyes of hers. Oh God. He needed to get out of here before he completely lost it.

Mumbling an apology, he turned and stumbled back down the stairs, practically falling over his feet. It wasn’t his fault. Walking down steps with a hard-on was nearly impossible. Not to mention the fact that his head was no longer functioning properly.

How could he not have known Khaki was up there? He’d just walked in on her half-naked, then stared at her like a perverted Peeping Tom. What the hell had he just done? More importantly, what was Khaki going to do about it? Call her union rep? Human resources? Get her gun?

Soft laughter drifted down the stairs, stopping him in his tracks. If Xander thought his heart was beating fast before, it was nothing compared to how it was racing then. Holy fudge monkey. She had the most beautiful laugh he’d ever heard.

Then it struck him.

He’d walked in on his one and only female teammate, gawked at her almost-naked body for who knew how long, and she didn’t seem the least bit upset.

What the hell?

* * *

Khaki was surprised to find Mac waiting for her when she got home. The dark-haired journalist was leaning against the wall reading something on her iPhone. Khaki quickened her step.

“Hey,” she said. “Everything okay?”

Mac pushed away from the wall with a smile. “Everything’s fine. It’s you I’m worried about. I heard about that shoot-out you and the guys got into downtown. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She could have just called, but Khaki was glad she hadn’t. She liked hanging out with Mac. Khaki unlocked the door to her apartment and pushed it open.

“Come on in.” Khaki glanced at Mac over her shoulder as she led the way into the apartment. Comparable in size to Mac’s place, it had the same open floor plan and a great view of downtown from the picture window in the living room. “Want some iced tea?”

“Thanks.” Mac flopped down on the couch, then hooked her arm over the back of it so she could look at Khaki. “The videos of you rescuing those kids are all over the Internet. I still can’t believe the way you came down the side of that building. My heart was in my throat just watching you.”

Khaki shrugged, embarrassed. She hadn’t done anything that any of the other guys on the team wouldn’t have done.

She poured two glasses of iced tea and carried them into the living room, handing one to Mac as she kicked off her flip-flops and sat down on the other end of the couch.

“I don’t even remember making a conscious decision to rappel down,” she admitted. “I saw those poor kids and let instinct take over.”

Mac laughed. “Well you should let your instincts take over more often because you looked awesome coming down that rope. I bet there’s a ten percent jump in women joining the Dallas Police Academy based on those videos alone.”

Khaki didn’t know about that, but it would be great if Mac was right. It was way easier to follow your dream of becoming a cop when you were a little girl if you had a female role model to look up to.

“How did your talk go with Xander last night?” Mac asked as she sipped her tea. “Was he able to help you?”

“Yeah, he did.” Khaki was still surprised how well last night had gone, even with all the issues Xander obviously had with her. “I can’t believe how much I learned from him in just a few hours.”

Of course, she didn’t mention the fact that one of the things she’d learned last night was that it was dangerous to be alone with Xander. He made her think about doing things she really shouldn’t.

Mac grinned. “I told you he could help. All you had to do was get past his rough exterior. How’s it going with the rest of the guys? They don’t know about you and Xander, do they?”

Khaki almost spilled her iced tea. She quickly set it down on a coaster. “Know about what?”

“That he’s giving you lessons on how to be a werewolf.”

“Oh.” Whew. For a minute there, Khaki was worried Mac had figured out she had a thing for her squad leader. “No. Xander told me they wouldn’t have a problem with it, but I made him promise not to say anything.”

Mac nodded. “I can understand that. He’s right about the guys though. They’re a good group.”

Khaki smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

After the shoot-out downtown, everyone on the squad—including Xander—had made it a point to let her know she’d done a hell of a job. She hadn’t even been here a week and it already felt like this was the place she was meant to be.

“Everyone on the team is absolutely amazing,” she added. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She wouldn’t mind asking for a better relationship with her squad leader. But she supposed she couldn’t have everything. No need to be greedy.

On the other end of the couch, Mac regarded her thoughtfully. “Why do I get the feeling there’s a really big but at the end of that sentence?”

Khaki forgot that Mac was a reporter—apparently a damn good one. She didn’t miss a thing.

“It’s just that it’s tough working around a team full of sexy men,” Khaki said, trying to sound casual.

Mac laughed. “I can imagine. I love Gage like crazy, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m with you on that. Those guys aren’t hard to look at, are they?”

You have no idea. “The hardest part to deal with is the scent he puts off. It smells so damn good.”

Mac paused to give Khaki a questioning look, the glass of iced tea in her hand halfway to her lips.

“What?” Khaki asked.

“You said, the scent he puts off,” Mac said.

“I did?”

“You did.”

Crap. She’d stepped right into that one. What the heck was wrong with her? She never got this easily rattled—because she’d never been around someone like Xander before.

Was that why she hadn’t said anything when she heard him coming upstairs earlier that evening?

She could have hidden behind the tiled wall, but she hadn’t tried to cover up or even look like he’d caught her by surprise. She didn’t have a clue what she’d been thinking. All she could say for sure was that she’d been as aroused as hell. If Xander had taken one step closer, she might have dropped that towel to the floor and jumped him right there on one of the wooden benches.

A smile curved Mac’s lips. “There’s one guy on the team in particular who smells especially nice, huh?”

“I didn’t say that.” Khaki uncurled her legs from under her and went into the kitchen. “Do you want something to snack on? Because I, for one, am starving.”

Mac followed on her heels. “Uh-uh. You’re not getting off that easy. I know all about you werewolves and your noses. I also know how a scent can get you going. So, tell me, who is it?”

Khaki opened the fridge and stared at the shelves of yogurt, skim milk, fruits, and veggies. Part of her didn’t want to tell Mac. She was Sergeant Dixon’s fiancée after all. How likely was it that Mac wouldn’t say anything to the man she was going to marry? Especially when she found out that the team member Khaki was lusting after was one of Gage’s squad leaders? A squad leader who was Khaki’s supervisor?

But another part—the bigger part—told her that she could trust Mac.

Khaki closed the fridge and turned to face her. “It’s Xander.”

If Mac was surprised, she didn’t let it show. “Xander, huh? I can’t say I blame you. He’s more than a little attractive and a really amazing person. Well, once you get past all the perimeter defenses. But that kind of complicates things, doesn’t it?”

That was an understatement. “I can’t help it. I know it’s wrong. He’s my squad leader, for heaven’s sake. But he’s so hot, I can’t stop myself. When I’m around him, it’s hard to even think straight.”

Mac tilted her head to the side, regarding Khaki thoughtfully. “Do you think Xander feels the same way?”

Khaki let out a short laugh. “Good Lord, no. He tolerates me, that’s about it.”

“You sure about that?” Mac asked in surprise. “I find it hard to believe he’s not attracted to you. Heck, probably half the guys on the team are. You’re the only female werewolf they’ve ever met.”

“I get what you’re saying, but none of the guys act like that around me,” Khaki said. “They treat me more like their sister. And Xander isn’t attracted to me at all. I’m sure of it.”

Which hurt more than it should have. Her head might have known it was a good thing that Xander wasn’t attracted to her, but right then, with nobody but her and Mac around, she could be honest enough to admit that her heart, and a few other parts of her anatomy, really wished he was.

“Are you?” Mac asked. “Sure, I mean?”

“I’m sure.” Khaki opened the fridge again and took out whole wheat bread, sliced turkey, cheese, and a tomato, then gave Mac a questioning look. “Want a sandwich?”

Mac shook her head. “I’m going to have dinner with Gage when he gets home.”

Who said anything about dinner? This was more like an appetizer. That was another perk that came with being a werewolf. She could eat whatever she wanted and not have to worry about extra calories ending up where they shouldn’t.

Khaki set everything on the counter. “I asked Xander flat-out when I went over to his place last night. He insisted he liked me just fine, but I knew he was lying. I could tell he was really uncomfortable around me. He was tense and on edge the whole time. Which is nothing new. He’s like that all the time around me. I think he finds me irritating and a nuisance.”

Mac gave her a dubious look. “If you say so. But either way, you’d better be careful. If being with Gage has taught me anything, it’s that werewolves are extremely affected by certain pheromones. If you go walking around lusting over Xander, he’s going to pick up on it—and so is every other guy on the team. Then things will get really complicated. I learned that the hard way. Those guys can pick up on arousal like it’s barbecue and they aren’t shy about letting you know it.”

Khaki groaned as she grabbed a plate from the cabinet. “Oh God. I never thought about that.”

“Yeah. And it gets worse.” Mac shook her head. “If I’m even slightly aroused and Gage picks up on it, he gets crazy horny—like he-can’t-control-it horny. What do you think is going to happen if all the guys on the team pick up on the fact that the one and only female werewolf on the team is aroused? You’ll find yourself getting chased by fifteen out-of-control, horny werewolves going crazy with lust. And while there are some women who might find that entertaining, something tells me you wouldn’t.”

Khaki set the plate on the counter with a thud. “Oh crap. What the hell am I going to do?”

Mac offered her a small smile. “Take a lot of baths?”