Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors #6)(17)

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two more of the big men step into the room along with a woman. Her heart gave a small, excited leap. Hawke. Tighe had his arm around the shoulders of a brunette dressed, interestingly enough, in a pair of black pants and a red silk blouse, a gun hanging from the belt at her waist. A gun?

Together, the three started toward them.

Faith's pulse began to thrum as she shifted her gaze to Hawke and found him watching her, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Her breath quickened, butterfly wings brushing the insides of her ribs even as she looked away. Even as she tried to ignore him. But, just as it had in the kitchen, the air began to thicken and dance around her. Why did he have to affect her like this? Why didn't Maxim?

Maybe Maxim isn't the one meant for me. But even as the thought formed in her head, another blasted it down. You belong to Maxim. The voice pulsed within her mind, burrowing deeply. Disturbingly.

As the three neared, she hazarded another glance at Hawke. He'd turned to Maxim, his eyes losing all warmth. A shiver skittered down Faith's spine as she glimpsed the warrior behind those kind eyes, the Feral capable of handing out death with a few quick blows. Tighe's expression wasn't much warmer. Maxim had done a bang-up job of alienating the entire household, it appeared.

The woman beside Tighe thrust out her hand toward Faith as if she felt the tension between the males and thought it best to leave them to their glaring. "I'm Delaney. Tighe's wife."

Faith shook her hand gladly. "I'm pleased to meet you." Her curious gaze dropped to the gun.

Delaney's gaze followed. She smiled ruefully. "Ex-FBI. I feel naked without it. We're always glad to have another Feral wife around here. We're slowly evening out the numbers."

"I'm not a wife. Yet."

"You will be." Maxim's voice was as cold as the other males' expressions. "But first you will need a wardrobe fit for my mate."

Faith flinched. Delaney's eyebrows shot up.

Hawke's jaw tightened as he looked at her, his eyes at once hard and as warm as the summer sun. "You look lovely, Faith."

The ring of truth in his words had her blushing. Maxim hauled her against his side, a low growl rumbling from his throat.

Tighe clasped Hawke's shoulder. "I need a beer. So do you."

Jaw clenching, his gaze spearing Maxim, Hawke allowed his friend to steer him away.

Delaney threw Faith a curious look before taking the hand Tighe held out to her and following the men to the bar at the other side of the room.

Maxim's grip on Faith eased, but his arm remained around her shoulders as he started forward, leading her toward Lyon and Kara. Lyon watched their approach, his expression stony. They all watched. The room had gone silent, the atmosphere wary, as all pairs of Feral eyes followed them across the room.

"My accommodations are inadequate," Maxim informed Lyon. "I require larger quarters."

A scattershot of grunts and scoffs erupted around the room, but Lyon merely stared at his newest Feral with cold eyes. "Every room is the same size."

"The Radiant's room is far larger. More suited to my needs."

The sounds of disbelief grew louder. Faith wished she could sink into the floor and disappear.

"He's got to be kidding," one deep male voice rumbled.

"Who does he think he is?" another replied.

"I'm all for giving him lots of space," Vhyper muttered. "The whole backyard. I'll stake him myself, and we can see how well he enjoys the nightly draden visit."

A thinly veiled threat, for the draden would quickly kill any Therian who couldn't shift into an animal. But Maxim ignored them all.

Lyon's voice rose above the others. "You're a rank-and-file soldier, Maxim, and you're currently low man on the Feral totem pole. Until you're brought into your animal, you're not even that."

Maxim's hand spasmed on her shoulder. "And when will that ritual occur?" he demanded.

"Daybreak tomorrow." Lyon turned away. But when he would have steered Kara away with him, she shook her head.

"Give me a minute," Kara said quietly, and her mate obeyed her wishes, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze before joining Paenther and Skye. Kara's eyes were full of sympathy as she met Faith's gaze. "Do you like champagne? We always initiate new wives into the Feral sisterhood with champagne."

Faith smiled, grateful for Kara's attention, for the open declaration that the enmity against Maxim did not extend to her. "I've never had any, but I'm sure I'll love it."

"Never?" Kara asked incredulously, then gave a quick, self-deprecating shrug. "Then again, the only times I'd ever had it before I came here were at a couple of wedding receptions in my home town. I'm certainly no connoisseur." She grinned. "But I do enjoy a good bottle of champagne, and the guys never buy anything but good champagne."

"What animal am I to become?" Maxim asked in that imperious tone of his.

Faith looked up, wondering who he was talking to. No one and everyone, she realized. The way his head turned, he was well aware that all had chosen to keep their distance. Instead, he spoke to them like a commander addressing his troops.

"The fox," Kara told him.

Maxim's mouth twisted with ill-concealed disgust. "A fox is quite small."