Wolf Untamed (SWAT - Special Wolf Alpha Team #11) - Paige Tyler Page 0,74

gave him a sexy smile. “Actually, I thought we could hang out.”

He told himself the simple reason Bree licked her lips was because of the juicy burger she was eating, but when he heard her heart drum a little faster, he thought there might be another reason.

“Works for me,” he said, feeling his inner wolf stir as he gazed into Bree’s warm eyes.

“Good,” she said. “I was thinking maybe we could go to your place and you could show me around.”

Diego ignored the knowing grins from Rachel and Knox on the other side of the table, as well as his own suddenly rapidly beating pulse, focusing all his attention on Bree. “I’d love that.”

Chapter 11

If Bree had to guess what she thought Diego’s place would look like, she’d have said an apartment with a great view of the city or maybe a condo. A ranch-style home a few minutes outside the city surrounded by a veritable forest of lush trees definitely wasn’t it. But it was absolutely beautiful.

“Is this a werewolf thing?” she asked as they stepped up onto the wraparound porch. “Living in the woods like this, I mean.”

Diego glanced at her over his shoulder as he unlocked the back door. “In a way, yeah. When I first went through my change, my sense of hearing was out of control. I couldn’t sleep at night from all the traffic noise in the city, so I moved out here where it was quieter.”

When Diego led her inside and flipped on the lights, she was as wowed by the interior as the exterior. With high ceilings and no walls separating the kitchen, dining area, and living room, the space was open and airy. Sleek, stainless- steel appliances were the perfect complement to the granite countertops and central island, and the big, cushy sectional across from the gigantic wall-mounted television above the fireplace was—as Brandon loved to say—dope.

“You want something to drink?” Diego asked.

“Sure,” she said. “Whatever you have is fine.”

Bree wandered into the living room to check out the dozens of framed photos on the wall above the couch. Soft spotlights illuminated the collection, giving them a gallery feel. There were more framed photographs on almost every surface, from tables to built-in bookcases, some with fantastic digitally enhanced effects that made them seem almost otherworldly. But while the landscapes and wildlife pictures were stunning, it was the photographs of the people that caught her attention. She immediately recognized his SWAT pack mates, but the other faces she didn’t recognize were what pulled her closer.

“Are these photos of your family?” she asked, looking closely at a photo of two women and a man, individually and as a group, who had Diego’s eyes and smile. Around them were pictures of an older couple in which the woman bore a striking resemblance to the man Bree was quickly falling for.

Diego came over to stand beside her, two glasses of white wine in his hands and a sentimental expression on his handsome face. Bree could feel the heat coming off his body and sidled closer so she could feel more of that warmth.

“Yeah,” he said, handing her one of the glasses. “That’s my brother, Alejandro, and my sisters, Alicia and Karolina. And these are my parents, Sofia and Dominic. Well, technically, he’s my stepfather, but I think of him as my real dad all the same.”

She sipped her wine, taking in the rest of the photos. There were pictures of all the iconic places people think of when they imagine the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as all the natural wonders surrounding them.

“Did you take all these yourself?” she asked.

He nodded. “I got into photography when I was in high school. It was right after my real dad bailed on us and I needed something to focus on to keep from thinking about how he’d abandoned us. I fell in love with it and kept doing it. As you can see from all the photos, it’s a full-time hobby. Or obsession, I guess.”

She smiled. “I think they’re beautiful.”

“Thanks.” He grinned. “Wanna see the rest of the house?”

Bree nodded eagerly.

As they wandered from room to room, he talked about some of the renovations he’d made when he’d bought the house, as well as explaining the effort he had to go through to get some of the wildlife photos he’d taken.

“You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to sneak up on a wild animal when you smell like a wolf,” Diego said with a chuckle as she