Tiffani put her hand on the cool links then offered her thanks as well.
Another couple came to stand beside Engel. He glanced at them and nodded. “You have more guests to greet. We won’t keep you.”
Engel nodded and took Tia by the arm, steering her toward the refreshment table as Tiffani’s words chased them. “Call me, or whatever. I want to go shopping soon!”
“You got it!” Tia’s grin was filled with joy and I let my anger with Engel go. He was an old man playing an age-old game. I’d done my duty. Turned him in. It was time for me to let go of the past and enjoy my future with my new mate.
Tiffani
While I was enjoying the party, I had the same thoughts as Deek. I wanted to leave and get my mate naked. I was used to seeing him either in his armor or naked, but in fancy clothes, in what I thought of as an Atlan tuxedo, he looked… incredible. Edible.
And yet I had been the one to promise Sarah we would remain until the final guests were gone. Therefore, I had to restrain myself and resist my mate until the very end. If I even mentioned an interest in leaving, or even in just finding a quiet room somewhere and having an Atlan quickie, Deek would have tossed me over his shoulder and shouted out a goodbye. And so I just reveled in his constant attention, his constant touch, and enjoyed something I’d never had before—a smoking-hot man’s undivided attention.
It was because he was always touching me that I sensed a change in him before anyone else. His hand became hot to the touch, as if he were feverish. He became restless. His eyes, which had been calm and content all evening, now darted at every man who passed, searched every shadow for danger. He moved closer to me, hovering to the point of being ridiculous.
I appreciated the fact that he was protective, but this was a bit extreme. It was literally as if he couldn’t be more than a few inches from me. He held me around the waist or shoulder at all times, forcing our bodies to touch constantly. He spoke less to the guests. Within a matter of minutes he was reduced to single-word replies. Grunts, even.
I looked up at him and noticed he was sweating and tugging at the collar of his shirt. His skin was flushed and his eyes were dark, so much darker than I’d seen. Except when—
Oh, shit.
“Deek,” I said, tugging on his hand. “What’s wrong?”
The couple standing with us noticed the change in him and retreated quickly, their eyes wary as they whispered to each other.
“Fever,” he growled.
“Let’s get you out of here,” I murmured, tugging on his hand to steer him out of the room. Fortunately, he allowed me to pull him along.
“Commander.”
Engel Steen stepped in front of us, blocking our way. His gaze shifted between me and Deek, then settled on my mate with a frown.
“Is there a problem?” he asked.
Shaking my head and offering him a fake smile, I tried to move around him, pulling a very big Atlan commander in the throes of mating fever behind me. “No, no problem. We’re just very eager to… um, to be alone.”
Engel put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. “You have yet to meet the other councilor that just arrived. He will be very disappointed to have—”
Deek’s beast growled at the man’s touch and I instantly remembered that mated Atlans had a no-touching rule. Pulling back from Engel’s hand, I broke the councilor’s contact with my shoulder, but it was too late. Deek’s growl turned into an all-out roar, which practically shook the walls of Dax and Sarah’s house.
Everyone quieted and turned toward us. Before my eyes, Deek changed. His teeth became more pronounced, more like fangs. His chest and shoulders bulged, his arms nearly doubling in size as the muscle fibers expanded into the beast’s fighting mode. He grew nearly a foot taller, his spine elongating as he rose to tower above everyone in the room.
“Deek. Calm down.” I couldn’t help but stare at him, for while he’d been in beast mode at the jail cell, I’d never watched the actual transformation before. It was like watching an old episode of The Incredible Hulk on TV, but at least his clothes didn’t rip and fall in
to tatters. Seemed the Atlans made their clothes with beast mode in mind.
“He’s still got the fever,” Engel said, wide-eyed, as he put his hands out before him and backed away.
Deek was panting and only my hand on his chest kept him from jumping Engel.
“No touch,” Deek said, his voice that dark, deep rumble I remembered from before we mated.
“Step away, Engel. You shouldn’t have touched me,” I told him.
Engel took another step back. “I regret that now, but that is not what we should be focusing on.”
Dax and Sarah came to stand next to most of the partygoers, who were gathering. The male warriors shoved their mates behind them, just in case. In moments we were completely surrounded by over a dozen warriors whose sharp gazes and tense stance let me know they were ready to take Deek down at any moment.