Page 56 of Warrior's Reign
She stared up at him, then leaped off the bed, incensed. “You can’t do that! Pull me off a shift because of a bruise.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at her.
“Vykhan, you’ll make me look weak. Like everything Yilsa said about me being fragile and human was true.”
His lips thinned, but he nodded curtly. “Very well.”
Having thought he’d fight her on it, Reign was pleased enough to actually smile at him.
He stared at her lips, unmoving. Reign felt answering heat rise in her blood, felt his phantom hands on her wrists, his mouth crushing hers, his hard body weighing her down.
Eagan snorted and walked away. “Get a room. Out of my medbay.”
20
She was alreadyover an hour late for her shift, the unprofessionalism setting her teeth on edge. But Vykhan herded Reign to her quarters, and stood over her as she laid down underneath the portable healing unit. The warm light powered on, though her cheek was numb enough she didn’t feel her fractured bone knitting together.
“I spoke to Ibu earlier,” she said, closing her eyes. Like a coward.
His robes rustled as he moved closer. Fingers brushed her upper thigh. “You informed her of our courtship?”
“I have a bone to pick with you.”
“You aren’t supposed to be talking.” He sounded amused.
She sneered in his direction, eyes still closed. “We know how well I follow orders.”
“Hmm. Well enough if you respect the one giving the order. Though I expect you will give me additional trouble in that regard in the future.”
It was true. She frowned, tensing. Again noting how in a few weeks he’d come to know her so well. A confrontation in that regard was imminent, but she knew herself—confirmation would skyrocket her into a horrible temper. Eredan ghosting her had almost ripped her in two. It would be worse discovering he’d known where she was all along and chose not to reveal himself.
“I didn’t know what the dagger and dinner thing meant,” she said quietly.
Fingers absently caressing her thigh up and down stilled. “You did not know.”
“I went and asked Ibu. I had some suspicions after I realized how weird the whole conversation was.”
He said nothing and Reign sighed, pushing the device aside and sitting up. Vykhan stared down at her inscrutably.
“You set me up,” she said. “You know I didn’t know. Ibu says it wouldn’t have occurred to you but I thought about it. I definitely think you’re just that sneaky and high-handed. I don’t know why everyone thinks you prance on a cloud of Silent roses.”
“We don’t have roses on Yedahn,” he informed her. “It does not matter if you didn’t know. You accepted. Where’s the dagger now?”
He sounded way too placid, which confirmed her intuition. The bastard had known he was pulling a fast one. Reign reached under her robe and unsheathed the dagger from the belt she’d donned earlier, handing it to him.
Vykhan shook his head, eyes implacable. “I will not take it back. Whether you understood or not is irrelevant. The acceptance is a pre-contract.”
“There is no way in hell that is part of the Yadeshi legal code.”
“It is. It is not often enforced.”
“And the wear your dagger thing? I don’t see other females wearing their boyfriend’s phallic symbol.”
He shrugged. “The tradition has fallen into disuse in the cities. My family still does things the old way. I believe our parents have spoken. You should be receiving a call from Benyon and your mother soon. Also, I’m not your boyfriend. The term is courtmate, and soon, betrothed. After which you may simply call me yours.”
She couldn’t let him see how those words seized her insides and whipped them around like a mangy doll. Hers. Vykhan Rhyksai.
Reign closed her eyes, inhaling. “This is so weird.”
