Free Scratch the Surface (Wolf Within) by Amy Lee Burgess Page A

as a gentle lover, who always took care of me.
    Peter and I had only had five encounters in ten years, but Vaughn and I had slept together several times a year. I liked to give Elena some space with Grey. We made an awesome threesome, in and out of bed, but I’d thought they’d both deserved some dedicated time together without me, just like Peter and Vaughn deserved one-on-one time with Callie.
    “Hi, Peter.” I took his hand and, for a moment, tears burned my eyes. He was also affected. He had to clear his throat before he spoke again and he squeezed my hand more than he actually shook it.
    “Stanzie, I’m sorry,” he repeated, his voice husky and shaking.
    “You damned well should be,” muttered Murphy from beside me, and Peter flushed scarlet to the tips of his ears.
    “I know,” he said, turning to him. “I’m Peter Gardiner, one of the Alphas of Riverglow. You must be Stanzie’s new bond mate.”
    “Yeah,” allowed Murphy. He even shook hands, which was more than I thought he’d do. “Liam Murphy. Mac Tire.”
    “Our new pack mates, Colin and Devon, come from Mac Tire. The English branch of it. Do you know them? I guess it’s an off chance considering the size of the pack, but maybe you do?” Peter was desperate to make a good impression and some kind of connection with Murphy, but he could not have tanked more spectacularly. I winced as Murphy began to glower and I thought it could only be a matter of seconds before steam burst out of his ears and nostrils.
    “Him I know,” said Murphy and, amazingly his voice was controlled. No steam appeared. He was visibly hanging onto his temper, but that was no doubt because Jason Allerton had moved to stand behind the Riverglow pack mates, ostensibly to greet them, but also, I’m sure, to keep an eye on Murphy.
    The doorbell chimed again and Kathy tripped off to answer it, cocktail glass in hand.
    For some reason Peter either didn’t notice Murphy’s reined-in rage or was deliberately ignoring it, maybe in hopes if he didn’t acknowledge it, it would go away. He obviously didn’t know Liam Murphy.
    “Well, that’s awesome. You’ll get a chance to hang out with him again tonight. He should be here any minute. That might even be him at the door.”
    “I can’t wait,” deadpanned Murphy, and Allerton cleared his throat.
    Everyone turned to him and he shook Peter’s hand then Vaughn’s.
    Callie approached me, her blue eyes huge in her pale, unwell face. “Hi, Stanzie,” she all but whispered. “I’ve missed you.”
    Murphy didn’t say a word, but I could just about read his mind. I knew he was cursing her out in Irish. Of course, I don’t understand Irish, but I could still get the gist.
    “Hi, Callie,” I said. She moved forward as if to embrace me, but I held out my hand. I didn’t think I could bear to hug her.
    She half grimaced, half smiled, and shook my hand.
    “This is Liam Murphy, my bond mate. Murphy, this Callie Olstrom, one of the Alpha triad in Riverglow.”
    “Evening,” said Murphy. His jaw had to ache, the way the muscles bulged from him grinding his teeth.
    “Nice to meet you, Liam,” whispered Callie. “You’re very lucky to have a woman like Stanzie for a bond mate.”
    “I know,” he agreed, and he even thawed enough to take her hand and halfway smile as he did. “Your loss was my gain, it seems.” Allerton cleared his throat again.
    My heart did a sick little stutter in my chest as Jonathan and Nora walked in, trailed by Kathy.
    Jonathan swaggered, and I heard Murphy mutter something foul beneath his breath. Allerton moved to stand beside him and I took a step closer to Murphy myself.
    He surprised me by putting his arm around my waist. I took advantage of that and pressed myself against him, so close I could smell his cologne. And his anger.
    Jonathan was dressed to the nines in a navy blue pin-striped suit with a blindingly white linen shirt and a fancy black tie. His shoes were cheap, though. Cheaper even