“Wait a second,” she said, sure she’d missed something important. “He’s the SWAT team’s what?”
Xander moved a little closer to her. He couldn’t possibly know what his presence was doing to her, could he?
“Tiny is the artist who does our wolf head tattoos,” he said.
Right. The snarling wolf tattoo that every member of the team had on the left side of his chest. She’d seen some of them up close, and the work was first-class, as were the muscled pecs the tattoos were on.
“He’s the only person in town we trust to ink us,” Xander added.
Khaki nodded, still thinking more about Xander’s well-muscled chest and smooth, perfect skin than tattoos. But as Xander continued to regard her, the implications of why they were here suddenly became clear. She looked around to see the rest of her teammates eyeing her expectantly.
Oh. “You want me to get a tattoo like yours.”
It wasn’t really a question, but Xander nodded anyway.
She broke eye contact with Xander before it became obvious she enjoyed looking at him way too much, and glanced at the rest of the Pack. “Um, now?”
Alex grinned. “Yeah. It’s what we always do to celebrate when someone comes off limited-duty status.”
“That makes sense.” She bit her lip, hesitating. “I definitely want to get the tattoo, but I’d rather not get it while you guys watch.”
“But that’s the way we always do it,” Max said.
“I get that,” she said. “But I’m not getting my tattoo in the same place you guys all have yours.”
“Why not?” Becker glanced down at her breasts, then jerked his head up, as if he just realized what part of her anatomy he’d been eyeballing. Was he blushing? “Oh.”
She smiled. “Yeah. And to get the tattoo in the place I have in mind, I’ll need to take off some of my clothes, and I’m not going to do that in front of you guys.”
Becker looked down her body again as if trying to figure out what clothes she’d have to take off. This time, he definitely blushed.
She glanced at the tattoo artist. “Or you either, Tiny. No offense.”
Tiny held up his hands in surrender. “None taken. I completely understand. My wife’s a tattoo artist too. She can ink you anytime. Her work is probably cleaner and more feminine than mine anyway. Just give me a call and we can schedule it.”
That seemed to satisfy the guys. Then all they were interested in was where she planned to get her tattoo.
“You’re just going to have to use your imagination,” she told them.
Cooper snorted. “Becker is screwed then. He doesn’t have any imagination.”
Becker punched Cooper in the shoulder hard enough to send him stumbling backward a few feet. “This coming from the man who reads comic books.”
Cooper laughed again, thumping Becker in the chest just as hard. Khaki winced. Both of those shots were going to leave bruises, for sure. Men were so strange.
“Knock it off,” Alex said. “If Khaki isn’t getting her tattoo tonight, let’s go party.”
Telling Tiny they’d see him around, Alex and the other guys headed for the door. Khaki turned to follow when she realized Xander was still standing there regarding her with that same glint she’d seen when she came down from the locker room back at the compound. Was he imagining where she was going to get her tattoo? Heat pooled between her thighs, making her sway a little and she quickly turned and hurried to catch up with the guys. She resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder at Xander again—but just barely. Thank goodness he’d driven his own truck. She wasn’t sure she trusted herself to ignore him if they were trapped in such a tight space.
The club the guys took her to was loud and the beers were cold, and she settled back in her seat to enjoy both. But she hadn’t taken more than a sip of her beer before Becker grabbed her hand and dragged her onto the dance floor. She laughed as he found a space for them.
She never would have thought it, but Becker could dance his ass off. Despite how tired she was, she got into the beat. She hadn’t danced in a long time and almost forgot how much fun it was.
Two songs later, Hale cut in. A few songs after that, Cooper did the same, followed by Trevor. When Alex came over to take his turn, Trevor stayed out on the floor with them. Before long, all the guys except Xander were dancing with her at once, twirling her around so many times it almost made her dizzy.
They probably would have kept her out there all night if some other women hadn’t been bold enough to move in and join the party. Khaki took the opportunity to escape back to the table for a break.
She dropped into her chair with a laugh as she watched the guys work their moves on their new partners. The women were clearly enjoying it, if the smiles on their faces were any indication. Khaki couldn’t blame them. The guys knew what they were doing on the dance floor. Tall, gorgeous, muscular men who could dance had a way of making women smile.
