SWAT Team One and the Social Worker (6 page)

you,” Trey added then gently caressed his thumb against her lower

lip.

“I don’t break promises, Trey. I did that once. Never again.” Her

voice cracked, and she began to cry. Trey pulled her against his chest while Dustin caressed her hair. Her arms remained by her sides. She

wouldn’t hug him back. She wouldn’t give in to the need to be held

and receive compassion.

* * * *

Trey held her against his chest and released a sigh for the small

triumph. He was finally able to experience a hug from Sam. He

waited for this moment just as his brothers had for over a year. He

wanted to feel her arms around him, as well, yet she remained stiff

and unwilling to give in return. Her words lingered in his mind. She

failed to come through on a promise. What was she talking about, and

how intense of a promise was it that she was willing to risk her life for strangers?

He locked gazes with his brother Dustin and they shared their

thoughts through their telepathic link.

“She’s scared of something,”
Trey stated.

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41

“I know, but what is it? What happened to her, and who hurt

her?”
Dustin responded.

“She’s never opened up about her life in Dallas. All we know is

that her family is there. Then there’s the fact that her name is on the
watch list. Maybe that has something to do with it.”

Trey didn’t want to think about that. Two years ago, Sam had just

been a name and someone living in New York City that may need

their protection. That was all they knew about her.

Their conversation was cut short as Sam began to push away from

him.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry. I’m just really tired. I think I should head to bed.”

“Wait. Don’t be sorry for letting out your emotions. We care

about you, Sam.” Trey spoke then gave her a knockout smile. Her

belly warmed at his compassion.

“We worry about you, honey,” Dustin replied.

“I don’t need you to. I’m fine, and I’ll be fine on my own. It’s the

way it has to be.”

With that she headed toward her staircase that led to the bedroom.

“Can you lock up for me please? I just don’t have the energy.”

They all watched her walk away from them.

* * * *

“What the fuck?” Adam remarked.

Dustin began to give orders.

“We should lock up the windows and the doors. Make sure

everything is secure.”

“I think one of us should stay here in case she needs anything,”

Trey added.

They looked at one another. She was their mate. Their wolf

needed to be near her and ready to protect. It was becoming more and

more difficult to not mark her and then claim her as their mate. She
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Dixie Lynn Dwyer

had to come around soon or they would begin fighting again. The last

time that happened they took a leave of absence from the department

and went on a mission in Afghanistan. Maybe they would need

another one of those.

“I’ll stay, and the rest of you start looking into that other mission

the government called us on this morning,” Dustin stated.

“What? You seriously want to leave her right now when she was

nearly killed?” Adam replied, sounding angry.

“Yeah, what the fuck, Dustin? And why is it that you get to stay

here with her?” Trey added.

“I don’t think she’s ready, and I’m staying because I’m lead

Alpha,” he replied then fixed the cushions on the couch and imagined

the way Sam had looked as she sat there eating pizza with them. He

could get used to more nights like this, minus the bruises and near

death experience.

“Bullshit, she’s not. I know you all sensed her arousal and heard

her heart race the closer one of us would get to her,” Donny added.

“Shit, yeah. Even a pup could have sensed that.” Trey chuckled.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not leaving on

another fucking mission. I want to work on getting Sam to trust us

and take her place where she belongs. By our side as our mate.”

They all looked at Trey after his statement.

“Well?” Dustin asked, wondering if they all felt the same way and

whether or not a decision to seduce their mate was shared.

A series of
in
echoed through the living room.

“You mark her, Dustin. It’s how it is done,” Donny whispered

then released a sigh. Dustin knew they didn’t want there to be one

Alpha more important than the rest. His title and position as

commander was for the SWAT team, not for his brothers and their

family. They were his equals, no matter how hard they tried to push

him to be number one.

“We mark her together. No one does it alone,” he replied.

Kyle grabbed Dustin’s arm and turned Dustin toward him.

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43

“If you get the chance to mark her, you do it, brother. It will make

it easier for Sam to accept the rest of us and take her rightful place.”

With that last statement, the others agreed before they left the

house.

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Dixie Lynn Dwyer

Chapter 3

The caravan of lowriders slowly drove by the apartment complex.

Their rap music blared as they slowed down on the streets below. The

cops on patrol couldn’t do much about it. The gang members weren’t

breaking the law, but Brandy knew intimidation “Blood” style. The

gang would harass them, and if they had the opportunity, they would

come after her family. She wasn’t going to let the kids go to school

tomorrow. She was going to have to call Sam tomorrow and tell her

what was happening. Sam had mentioned a safe house established for

battered and abused women and their children. Perhaps it would be

the best option for her family.

Myers didn’t turn out to be the man she thought he was. Sienna

and Jimelle weren’t even his children. He was after Benny. Her heart

ached, and nausea filled her belly. Hugging herself, she promised she

wouldn’t let Myers near Benny. She would die first.

The sound of Benny crying, waking up for his bottle, had her

moving away from the window and the view of the gang members.

An uneasy feeling filled her inside. They would be living in fear as long as Myers was alive. At this point he was probably ready to kill

them all.

As she made the bottle for the baby, she explored her options and

what Sam had suggested. She would have to call Sam tomorrow.

* * * *

Sam was tossing and turning, waking up constantly, either in fear

from the nightmares she was having, reliving the events of yesterday,

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45

or from rolling over onto her bruised cheekbone. She decided to get

up, go downstairs, and get a drink of water. She glanced at the clock

on the bedside table. It was three o’clock in the morning. Reluctantly, she got out of bed.

As she walked down the stairs, she noticed a large figure on her

couch. Instantly, she was scared, but then she realized that one of the men must have stayed in case she needed something. She wasn’t

certain how she felt about that. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t sleep?

Somehow she knew that one of the brothers remained in her house.

She slowly approached the couch, and she recognized that the person

was Dustin. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her belly ached. He

was the leader of the team and the one who called the shots. He made

demands and made her a nervous wreck. Getting any additional sleep

was definitely not in the cards now.

He looked so huge on her couch. His legs were bent because he

was too tall to fit. She moved closer, noticing that he had removed his shirt, and damn, was he built. His skin looked smooth and muscular.

His chest had a dark dusting of black hair and a thin line that led to the waist of his shorts. She saw the bulge under his zipper. Even in

this lighting she could tell he had a huge cock. The thought of it made her insides quivered with desire. It had been so long since a man

made love to her. But she wasn’t feeling love when she looked at

Dustin or his brothers. She was feeling lust. She closed her eyes and

inhaled. If she had enough guts she could take what she wanted. She

could unzip his shorts, grab a hold of his cock, and lick the tip. She would be the one in control, not him. The thought of sucking Dustin’s

cock brought on a surge of twisted emotions. She felt the tears sting

her eyes. She wasn’t that brazen. Not when it came to sex. Alex had

been her only lover. She was too scared to get that close to someone,

never mind men like Dustin, Donny, Adam, Kyle, and Trey. She

looked at Dustin’s muscles and his military tattoos. The words

Semper Fi
summed up each of the brother’s personalities. In translation, “always faithful,” meaning they would always put the

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Dixie Lynn Dwyer

Marine Corps, their pack, their profession before anyone else. It made her proud to know them but also reminded her so much of Alex. She

reached out, her temptation to touch the crew cut hair and her

memories of Alex had gotten the best of her.

She softly touched Dustin’s dark brown hair. She let the rough,

pointy texture tickle her fingers. Then she heard him inhale, saw the

material under his zipper enlarge, and she knew he was awake. She

pulled her hand away.

“Trouble sleeping, baby?”

She stepped away from the couch and turned toward the kitchen.

His rough, sexy voice had her frozen in place.

“Yeah. Just getting some water.” Quickly, she headed into the

kitchen.

She grabbed a glass, filled it with cold water, and guzzled it down.

It felt good. That’s when she realized that the house wasn’t so hot

anymore. Maybe the heat wave was finally breaking. Which meant

the kids wouldn’t suffer so much sitting in the classrooms at school.

She looked out the window above the kitchen sink and stared into

the darkness. She couldn’t help the uneasy feeling inside.

“You okay?” Dustin asked, and she jumped, surprised again at his

presence in her home.

She turned toward him and was instantly at a loss for words.

Dustin stood in the doorway, taking up every spare inch of space.

His arms were crossed in front of his chest, revealing the definition in his forearms and more tattoos she hadn’t noticed before.

His wide waist and muscular abs peeked out above the waist of

his camo shorts.

He cleared his throat, and she was embarrassed for getting caught

gawking.

“You didn’t have to stay. I’m a big girl, Dustin.” The bitchy sound

of her tone even surprised herself.

He raised his eyebrows at her then snickered.

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47

“I didn’t realize that you could be such a bitch in the middle of the

night,” he snapped at her.

She felt her jaw drop at his remark. She was shocked. Then the

anger filled her.

“Screw you, Dustin! I’m not one of your little peons you can boss

around and give orders to!” She turned around and emptied her glass

of water into the sink then left the empty glass there.

She hadn’t heard a sound, but the next thing she knew, Dustin was

turning her toward him, staring down at her.

“No, you’re not. You’re a subordinate who needs to learn to

accept her fate.”

He pulled her against him then held her firmly by the back of her

hair and head before covering her mouth with his own.

His lips were hot and moist against her own. Sam couldn’t focus

or comprehend what the hell just happened and instead fought to

control the kiss. Dustin’s scent, his taste, filled her and drowned out any ability to fight her attraction to him.

He was on her like white on rice, cupping her ass cheeks, lifting

her body off the floor and placing her onto the kitchen counter. She

rubbed her hands through his hair, tried to pull on the small pieces

protruding from his scalp, but it was a lost cause. His military haircut was too short. She felt his ironclad thighs spread her thighs open, so he could press against her more fully.

Their tongues battled one another, but his was more dominant. He

kissed her breathless, had her panting for air as he nibbled and

released her lips then latched on to her neck and shoulder. His hands

were under her shirt, lifting the tank top up and over her head.

Before she could comprehend the out of control situation, his

mouth found her breast, and Dustin attacked.

It was hot and wild. The feel of his hard, large hands fondling her

one breast as his mouth devoured the other made her pussy quiver. It

practically throbbed. She felt so needy, so desperate to come, to

release the desire she held inside for so long, but she was scared.

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Dixie Lynn Dwyer

She pressed her hands against his solid chest. Her fingers pressed

into his flesh, immediately hitting muscle. He was built superbly just like his brothers. She felt them there. Somehow she could feel their

presence as if they were right in the room, yet she knew they weren’t.

It was both odd and consoling.