Declan - Heart of a Tiger (Royal Taiga Streak #1) - J.R. Loveless Page 0,19

with cheese on top covered most of the surface.

Too many varying scents of shifters tantalized his nose on top of the food. He saw Sam, Tara, and Vicky already seated at the table, and he recognized the woman named Rose sitting close to the head of the table with Ronnie next to her. But it was the sight of an unknown man with dark blond hair, light blue eyes, and goatee which caused him to tense. He didn’t even realize he’d tightened his hold on Declan’s forearm until Declan brought his hand down on top of Sean’s. “Easy, baby,” Declan murmured. “This is Victor, my beta. He would never hurt you.”

“Hello, Sean,” Victor greeted, voice smooth and warm.

Sean slowly relaxed and gave a tremulous smile. “Hello.”

“Sean!” Ronnie cried, jumping from his seat to rush up to him. He threw his thin arms around Sean’s waist and hugged him.

Sean smiled and touched the top of Ronnie’s head, returning the hug halfway, still holding onto Declan.

“Careful, Ronnie,” Declan grunted out a warning. “He’s still not completely healed.”

“I’m fine,” Sean admonished Declan softly when Ronnie backed away as if his tail were on fire and he appeared crestfallen. “I barely feel it anymore. Promise.”

The grin returned to Ronnie’s face. “I wanted to come see you, but Mama said you couldn’t have visitors yet.”

“Well I’m okay enough now so you can come visit me whenever you’d like,” Sean replied, releasing Declan to lean forward and ruffle Ronnie’s hair.

Ronnie scowled at the childish gesture, straightening his hair out in a huff. “I’m not a little kid.”

Sean bit back a laugh and tried his best to give Ronnie a solemn expression. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Ronnie gave a short nod in acceptance of Sean’s apology. He grabbed Sean’s hand and tugged. “Come sit next to me!”

Declan sighed. “Ronnie.”

“Please?”

Sean glanced at Declan who gave him a small nod. He smiled and followed Ronnie the short distance to a chair near the head of the table. Ronnie pulled it out for him as well. “Thank you,” Sean said.

Declan took the seat at the end of the table, to Sean’s left. Sean smiled at Vicky and the other girls across from him. No one moved to take any food as Declan took the plate in front of Sean and began dishing food onto it. They waited until Declan had placed the food back in front of Sean and also filled his own plate before they served themselves. Sean wondered at the dynamic in confusion, but the food distracted him and he picked up his fork. There were green beans, the potatoes with cheese, rare strips of what appeared to be beef of some kind, and a roll. He didn’t even know where to start.

He scooped a bite of the potatoes and stuck it in his mouth. The explosion of flavor surprised him. He’d only ever had potatoes from a can before or left over cold French fries that his father had thrown away. A quiet moan escaped his lips and he stuffed in another forkful. The cheese tasted creamy and amazing. It wasn’t until he’d finished all of them that he saw a number of eyes trained on him. He flushed and dropped his fork on the plate.

A low growl came from his left and Sean startled, whipping his head toward Declan to find the man glaring at the others. Fascination kept Sean’s gaze on Declan for several heartbeats as Declan’s eyes and teeth had partially shifted. Fangs had dropped down from Declan’s gums appearing large and fearsome. Yet they didn’t scare Sean. If anything he felt the same heat building in his lower belly he had earlier when Declan had kissed him. Declan’s nostrils flared suddenly and the green eyes which had become rounder and more cat-like in his partial shift pinned Sean in place. Sean twitched in his chair for some unknown reason and he could feel his face and throat growing warm again.

The others in the room faded away and Sean leaned forward in his chair, his lips parting on a swift intake of air. He almost fell out of his seat in the desire to be closer to Declan. A cough brought both of them out of the stupor they seemed to have become lost in because Sean blinked and shook his head, grasping the table to keep from tumbling to the floor as he realized just how on the edge he was. Embarrassment flashed through him and he tipped his head forward,