Espino, Stacey - Surrounded by Wolves [Wolves of Climax 1] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) by Stacey Espino Page B

lightning in Garret’s head. The crazy fool thought he was in love with the human girl. But wasn’t that why he sent Cassie to his pack in the first place—to see if there was a higher connection, to test if things could actually work between the five of them? He shook his head. Only four of them since Matthew was still missing. The sober thought reminded him that taking a life mate now would be a disservice to everyone. There was too much going on in Climax to add love bites to the mix.
    “Now’s not the time for a mate,” he said, adding finality to his tone.
    “You should have thought about that before playing the hero. Maybe if you’d had the balls to spend the night with her, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He dragged a hand through his blond hair, his muscles taut, ready to fight for the woman.
    “I can separate business and pleasure. You, apparently, cannot.”
    “Then where were you? Are you so special that you can go without pussy, but we can’t?”
    He could hear vehicles coming along the path into the mine. The staff would begin trickling in now. It was a good excuse for him not to deal with Evan. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to do himself, so didn’t need the added pressure. His test was both a success and failure. So far one of the three had the same instant connection to Cassie as he had. It solved nothing, only confirmed the fact that this strange woman had likely been sent by the gods, at the right time and place for them to find her. He believed in fate. But rather than be thrilled at the prospect of finding a mate, he was terrified. More responsibility when he’d already failed his men as alpha.
    “Not now, Evan. Don’t piss me off, I’m really not in the mood. Remember the blood bond.”
    Evan stormed off, climbing up to board one of the dump trucks. His pack was growing weaker rather than stronger, and Garret was desperate to bring them all back together.

    * * * *

    The morning had been awkward as she’d anticipated. She dressed, and then Travis and Patrick drove her to work. No words were spoken besides common greetings and mentions of weather. If only she could appreciate last night for what it was worth without yearning for more, hoping for forever. I promised not to do this to myself. She’d watched the three men dress, their bodies muscled perfection. Even as the many layers of plaid and flannel were added for a day of working out in the elements, she was aroused. There was something stimulating about a working man—work boots, roughened hands, no apologies, and a down-to-earth appeal. She’d never been attracted to all the suits in her office in the city. These were real men. Cassidy imagined they’d get jealous easily, fight for what they believed in, and she already knew they could fuck like studhorses. Why couldn’t they want her? Was she that unlovable? There had been many times when she’d felt something special between her and one of the men, something monumental. It must have been her imagination or wishful thinking.
    As she sat at the desk, she realized she didn’t know what the fuck she was supposed to do. If she went looking for Evan, Patrick, or Travis, they’d probably think she was being needy or clingy, looking for excuses to talk to them. She wouldn’t be that woman, not ever. If they wanted to keep things business from now on, she’d erase last night from her memories permanently…if only it were so simple to forget.
    “You’re early.” She looked up to find Garret standing in front of her desk. Was she that lost in her thoughts she hadn’t heard the whiny trailer door open? She couldn’t help but admire his dark good looks. Those haunting eyes gazed into hers.
    “I got a ride with a couple of your crew. I’m sorry, but I thought I was going to be given a crash course on how to do things. I don’t want to mess things up by guessing.”
    “Of course. I’m here to help.” He sat on the edge of the desk. “I was thinking