He snorted as he leaned in a little closer to her, still gazing down at the soft waves lapping the base of the pier. “I think you’re giving them a little too much credit. STAT was so eager to get their hands on another werewolf, they simply ignored my background, figuring that was Jake’s problem to deal with.”
“Even if you’re right about the people at the top seeing you as nothing more than a means to an end, what does any of that matter when it’s obvious your teammates couldn’t care less about your past?” she asked, looking over and capturing his eyes. “You guys are closer than Julian and I have ever been. Or ever will be. He might be my brother, but in all the ways that matter, I’m on my own. I can only dream of what it’s like to be part of something bigger, knowing you’ve got someone on your side.”
Caleb regarded her silently for a long moment, his face unreadable. “I meant what I said earlier when I told Ethan that you’re part of the team. After what you did for all of us in Siberia, I know Forrest and the rest of my teammates think of you like that, too.”
She let out a little laugh. “That’s a nice thought, but somehow I doubt it’s that easy. They all know I only agreed to work with STAT to find my brother. Doing one thing right isn’t going to outweigh that fact. People don’t trust that quickly.”
“I would normally be the first to agree with you since I’m not big on the whole trust thing myself,” Caleb murmured. “But when it comes to my team—my pack—I think you’ll find it’s easier than you think. You risked your life for them. That’s all they’re going to care about. So, give them a chance, okay? Like you said, they accepted me, even with all my baggage. If you let them, they’ll be there for you, too.”
Brielle didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, she found herself blinking to keep the tears from welling in her eyes. Where had these emotions come from? Was she so needy for acceptance that merely thinking about being part of the STAT team was enough to make her cry?
Sadly, the answer to that question seemed to be yes.
She and Caleb stood there, gazing out at the passing ships and chatting about some of that baggage he’d mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, beyond getting him to admit to having been in jail more than once, she couldn’t get anything else out of him. If she didn’t know better, she would think he didn’t want to make himself look bad in her eyes. Which was hilarious. He was amazing. Nothing he could say would change that.
“Why hasn’t there ever been anyone else?” he asked quietly. “I mean, you’ve mentioned several times that it’s just been you and Julian. Why aren’t you with a guy?”
The question was so blunt that all Brielle could do was stare at him with her mouth open.
Caleb held up his hands apologetically. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I just meant that you’re a beautiful woman. I find it hard to believe there haven’t been men interested in spending time with you.”
Brielle felt a burst of warmth and happiness swirling up inside her chest at his words, and suddenly, she wasn’t upset by his choice of words. The fact that she was reacting so strongly to him calling her beautiful struck her as both silly and juvenile. What was she, a sixteen-year-old going gaga over the latest boy band singer?
“I tried a few times,” she said, brushing her hair back when the breeze coming in from the water tossed it playfully around her face and forcing herself to answer his question instead of thinking about the way his casual compliment made her feel. “I dated a few guys, but it never went anywhere. Having a brother around who was constantly getting into trouble certainly didn’t help. What about you? Do you have anyone waiting for you back home when you return from saving the world?”
He let out a snort of amusement that quickly turned into a laugh. “I’m an omega. By definition, I’m a loner. Like you, I’ve dated, but it never seemed to work out. I’ve never had a connection with anyone.”
Brielle gazed up at him. Why did it bother her so much that this amazing man hadn’t found someone to share his life with? For some reason, it seemed like such a waste.
“Maybe you simply haven’t found the right woman yet,” she murmured, fighting the urge to reach up and caress his chiseled jaw. She wanted to do it so badly, she could almost feel his scruff under her fingers.
“Or maybe I have,” Caleb said, bending his head to touch his lips to hers.
He kissed her slowly, tentatively, like he wanted to give her a chance to pull away if she wanted to. She didn’t pull away—or want to. Instead, she reached up and buried her fingers in his shaggy hair, pulling him down and opening her mouth to invite him in, desperate to let him to know how much she wanted this.
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Acknowledgments
I hope you had as much fun reading Samantha and Trey’s story as I had writing it! If you read the previous books in the SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team Series, then you know Samantha and Trey have been flirting with each other for a while. It took some time to finally get them together, but I think it was worth the wait! And a big shout out to Mary Shelley and her story, Frankenstein, for inspiring Kyson’s character.
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 fantastic agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan, and editors at Sourcebooks (who are always a phone call, text, or email away whenever I need something), and all the other amazing people at Sourcebooks, including my fantastic publicist and the 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 reads my books and Snoopy Dances right along with me with every new release. That includes the fantastic people on my amazing Review 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 story lines back and forth and come up with all of our best ideas, as well as a thank-you to our fantastic waiter-turned-manager, Andrew, who makes sure our order is ready the moment we walk in the door!
Hope you enjoy the next book in the SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team series coming soon from Sourcebooks and look forward to reading the rest of the series as much as I look forward to sharing it with you. Also, don’t forget to look for my new series from Sourcebooks, STAT: Special Threat Assessment Team, a spin-off from SWAT!
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.