Wolf Games: Granite Lake Wolves, Book 3 by Vivian Arend Page B

where she’d seen someone
    bump into him and dump their ketchup-covered fries all over him.
    Erik nodded. “I hoped you’d volunteer for the position, but not because I plan to keep you in wolf the
    whole time. You have an awesome sense of smell, and we need it for this challenge.” TJ grinned, his limbs
    jerking in enthusiasm. Erik pulled the map out of range in the nick of time and laughed. “You’re getting
    better. You’ve still got a little growing up to do, that’s all.”
    The pleased expression in TJ’s eyes made Maggie forget some of her own fears. Over the past couple
    of days every other time someone mentioned TJ’s name, he had been called a klutz, whether he was
    standing there or not. Suddenly she felt indignant for him. What kind of crap was that?
    “You just don’t want to carry a pack.” Jared poked TJ in the side and the two of them fell to the
    ground to wrestle like puppies for a minute. A tug on her sleeve caught her attention and she followed Erik
    off to the side a few steps.
    “I’m going to get TJ to change now. You okay?”
    How did he know? “I…have to be, don’t I?”
    He stepped closer and spoke softly, for her ears only. “You think I haven’t noticed you’ve tensed
    every time one of the other teams had a member shift? I didn’t think it was because you were embarrassed
    by their nudity.”
    “Well, there was that one guy…”
    “Hush.” He kissed her nose, and she went all soft and melty inside. Three days on the trail with him.
    It was going to be heaven and hell. Oh no, they would be camping out. How was she supposed to avoid him
    in the evening? Avoid giving in to the attraction between them that grew by the minute? It was one thing to
    say she wanted to hold off on becoming mates, it was another to stick to her guns.
    TJ stripped off his clothes and folded them neatly, slipping everything into one of the three packs
    waiting nearby. Maggie admired his muscular body. He might have two left feet in human form, but it was
    a pretty nice package of clumsy altogether. A low grumble from her left distracted her and she turned to see
    Erik staring, one brow raised. “You seen enough? Or do you want him to pirouette for you?”
    No way. “Are you jealous?”
    “Yes.” The warmth he’d started earlier grew into raging heat. “I want you to be looking at me like
    that, not at TJ. I want to see admiration in your eyes for me—for your mate. It doesn’t mean I’m going to
    go Rambo on his ass, but I’d appreciate if you’d stop drooling in front of me.”

    www.samhainpublishing.com
    37

    Vivian Arend
    Maggie stepped into his body space and wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him as close as
    she could.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Her instant need to comfort him puzzled her. Being in his arms
    satisfied something deep inside. Made her wolf rumble, low and needy. He stroked one hand down her
    back, the fingers of his other hand running though her hair. He held her for a minute, their heartbeats
    slowly synchronizing, and it felt so damn good she almost forgot where they were.
    “It’s okay. Apology accepted. He’s a good-looking kid and an even better-looking wolf. You ready to
    meet him?”
    She froze. TJ had shifted. Had Erik deliberately distracted her? Knotting her fingers in his shirt, she
    glanced over her shoulder. TJ sat on his haunches, his tongue lolling to the side as he panted in the heat of
    the noontime sun. His silver-grey fur shone, his eyes were bright and his nose twitched as he sniffed the air.
    She reminded herself again—it was TJ. They were in public. Erik was nearby. “He is a
    goo…good…looking wolf…isn’t he?”
    She could do this. Only she wasn’t doing it alone. She grabbed Erik, tugging him with her as she
    approached. She held out her hand, palm open like a person would with a strange dog.
    “What the hell?” Jared muttered.
    “Let her be,” Erik ordered. He squatted to the side and ran his free