Mated to the Wilde Bear novel Chapter 7

One by one, the conversations at the table died off. Still, Xavier continued to simply eye her. She shifted but held his stare as long as she could. When another of the men cleared their throat, she finally glanced down and away, secretly proud of how long she’d stood up against the alpha’s stare.

“I’m Jake,” the man across from Xavier spoke up. His hair was lighter than Xavier’s, and longer too. But more importantly, his expression was friendlier. He smiled up at her with light brown eyes and Laurel relaxed.

“Hi, Jake.”

Jake put out his hand, and Xavier scowled as Laurel shook it.

“This is Nash,” Jake said, pointing to the golden-skinned one next to him. Laurel smiled at the threaded bracelets and the tunic-style shirt he wore. Nash, the hippy, she recalled from the little she’d heard about him. “And that’s Lucas,” Jake continued. From next to Xavier, Laurel caught sight of dark eyes obscured by jet black hair that hung over his brow. Lucas half-waved and then stared down at his glass. Something about him reminded her of Eeyore. “And that’s Harley,” Jake finished, pointing.

At the far end of the table, Harley scowled at her.

“Hi,” Laurel said to the group. Her knees felt weak, and she had to remind herself to play it cool, professional. These guys were practically celebrities in this town and here she was, getting casual introductions.

“And you are?” Jake pressed.

Laurel opened her mouth to answer, heat rising to her cheeks as she realized how utterly awkward she was being. But Xavier beat her to it.

“This is Miss Adams,” Xavier said. “She’s from DOT.” Jake raised a brow at Xavier, and Nash and Lucas exchanged a glance. Xavier ignored them and swiveled back to her, his blue eyes melting every solid surface of her body. “Can I help you with something?”

“I… yes, I need to follow up about earlier.” Laurel felt her cheeks flush at the way she’d stammered. What was wrong with her? She was usually so confident—or at least good at pretending.

Xavier growled. “You couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”