Xander was so busy figuring out how to breathe without overdosing on her scent that it took a minute for Gage’s words to register. When they finally did, he had to lean back on the desk again to keep from falling over. He’d just assumed Khaki would be assigned to Mike Taylor’s squad. Which was stupid, he realized. Xander had one less team member than Mike, so now they’d be even. But Mike was more patient than Xander, and less brusque. Or it only seemed that way because Mike thought before he spoke, whereas Xander blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Regardless, Xander felt he wasn’t the best person to train Khaki.
Even if he was, he couldn’t. She smelled too damn irresistible. He’d never be able to concentrate for more than a minute at a time, much less be objective about anything.
Khaki smiled and held out her hand. Xander shook it, trying to ignore how smooth and warm her skin felt in his rough mitt.
“Sergeant Dixon told me a lot about you, Corporal,” she said. “I’m looking forward to learning from you.”
Xander returned her smile, unable to help himself. “Welcome to the team.”
Thank God the rest of his squad came over or he might have stood there gazing into her eyes for the rest of the day. He released her hand and stepped back as Max, Hale Delaney, Becker, Cooper, Alex Trevino, and Trevor McCall crowded around Khaki, asking her where she was from and how long she’d been a werewolf. That was when reality kicked back in and reminded Xander that the woman he’d just spent the past fifteen minutes mentally undressing was going to be in his squad, and that he was going to be her supervisor.
He was in so much trouble.
There was no way he could be her boss. It wouldn’t be fair to her or his team, and it sure as hell wasn’t something he could handle. He’d end up spending all his time gazing at her like a lovesick puppy instead of training her on weapons and tactics. He’d probably get her or someone else on the team killed because he would be too distracted.
As Becker explained their rotating physical fitness program to Khaki, pointing out that she was more than welcome to put them through any kind of session she wanted when it was her turn—like yoga, for example—Xander caught Gage’s eye and jerked his head toward the door.
“What’s up?” Gage asked as they moved down the hall, stopping outside the indoor basketball court.
“You can’t put Khaki on my squad. It won’t work.”
Gage’s brows furrowed. “Why not?”
“It just won’t.” He folded his arms across his chest. “My squad is already set up and running like a well-oiled machine. I don’t want to screw that up by adding an unknown into the equation.”
Gage didn’t say anything.Damn. Xander should have known his boss wasn’t going to buy it. He’d have to come up with something better if he wanted to convince Gage to put Khaki on Mike’s team.
But what else could he say? It wasn’t like he could admit he was in lust-at-first-scent with the newest member of the team.
“You saw the way Becker was mooning over her,” Xander said. “You know that kid isn’t going to be able to work with Khaki without being distracted. He’ll end up getting himself killed.”
Xander hated throwing one of his teammates under the bus like that, but if it kept Khaki off his team, he’d live with the shame. It would be best for everyone involved.
“Yeah, I saw,” Gage said. “But I’m pretty sure you can keep Becker under control, and if you can’t, don’t worry. I have no doubt that Officer Blake will have no problem dealing with Becker on her own.”
That was probably true, but still…
“Gage, I’m serious about this.”
“I’m serious too,” Gage said curtly. “It’s in everyone’s best interest that Khaki does well in this unit. Not only will it keep HR out of our business, but it will also give us another person with a unique skill set that we can tap into to get the job done. I have no idea how high the ceiling is on her potential, but my gut tells me it’s up there in the clouds. That’s why I picked you to be her squad leader. You have more experience working with female cops than Mike does. I have no doubt you’ll be able to mold her into the best SWAT officer she can be. And regardless of Becker and his endless infatuations, I think your team will be the best fit for her.”
“But—”
“But nothing, Xander,” Gage growled. “I’ve already made my decision, and if you’d been listening, you would know she’s already fitting in with the guys on your squad. Besides, you’ve been one person down for a while now. Having Khaki on your squad will even everything out.”
Xander clenched his jaw. He wasn’t going to get out of this, so he might as well save his breath. And while he appreciated all the sunshine his boss was blowing up his ass, he was sure Gage was going to regret his decision. But until then, Xander was going to have to keep his raging hormones in check and train Khaki as best he could.
This had the potential to turn into a catastrophe of epic proportions.
* * *
Sometimes having really great hearing sucked.
Khaki was fielding questions from her new teammates about her background—where was she from, did she have any family, how long had she been a cop, how long had she been a werewolf—when she heard Riggs tell Sergeant Dixon that he didn’t want her on his team.
Crap. And here she thought her first meeting with her supervisor had gone well.
She thought it had gone better than that. Dixon had told her about Riggs when he’d picked her up from the airport, filling her in on his background and training methods. He’d sounded like the real deal, and someone she could definitely learn from. As soon as Dixon had introduced her to the man, she’d known he was someone special. She couldn’t really say why, but all of her newly discovered werewolf senses told her that she and Corporal Riggs were going to mesh perfectly. He exuded confidence, yet he didn’t come off as arrogant or cocky. Not like that jackass ex-boyfriend of hers.
