Page 87 of The Dragon's Gambit
“No one really thinks much of it. He’s your mate, so it’s natural. He has to make a very public showing as the king. It’s the initiation that needs to be done for acceptance. The moment is a bit intimate, but it is necessary. The people will need to see this, now more than ever, because you’re not a dragon. It’s a powerful statement being made to have the king claim you so publicly.” Dex finally met with Reiya’s eyes. He could feel her hesitation. Sure, it was an intimate moment. But it was very much necessary, especially in her case.
Reiya took in a deep breath as she tried to control her emotions. She was trying to think about this logically and how she could avoid this situation. In order to protect her and Lee’s relationship, it would be necessary. It was necessary for this to be done for the dragons to accept a non-dragon mate. The problem was that it was the wrong dragon. The more she thought about it … something that public ... there was no way he could only pretend. And while Lee’s mark was already there and couldn’t be marked over, it would still feel very wrong, even if it was a farce. It would be wrong. And then there was another fear … what if she liked it? What if it stirred something else inside her? Unconsciously, she reached up and covered her precious mark. It was her constant proof that he had chosen her as his mate. It belonged to him. She belonged to him.
She wanted to go to him. To ask him about this. She wanted to really hear his thoughts. Was she being ridiculous? It was only for a moment. Maybe she was the one making a big deal out of it. The gut-wrenching feeling she had in her stomach was telling her otherwise. Her eyes looked up and naturally landed on Lee. Before she could discern what emotions were in his eyes, the door opened, and in walked the two wicked bitches of the South, along with their great grandfather.Perfect,Reiya thought sarcastically.
The old man looked around the room curiously at the fruit scattered all over the place. His eyes landed on Lee and he grinned, walking toward him with his two grand hags in tow. “Have you given more thought about what we talked about?” The two women had a half smirk on their faces as they met Reiya’s eyes.
Lee turned and glared at the old man. He took in a sharp breath. “I already gave you my answer. I would not ask again … I am not in the mood to be lenient today.” Lee’s voice dripped withice as he spoke. The hostility was not missed by anyone. A clear sign at how much he was annoyed over the mate acceptance kiss.
“I-I-I was just offering, since they are both unmated …” The old man stammered a bit as he continued.
Lee chuckled darkly, and then something flashed over his eyes. They flicked toward Reiya and then back to the old man. “You think that matters? I can have anyone I want. ANYONE. Whether they’re mated or not. Hell, I can even have her if I want, and nothing can be done about it.” He waved his hand toward Reiya and pinned his gaze on her, then grinned at the old man. “And, just to prove my point …” Lee took bold steps toward Reiya, his eyes fixated on her like a predator. He grabbed onto the back of her neck and roughly pulled her to him.
It was hot. It was rough. It was needy. Mmmm … It was delicious. He marked her lips with his furious need. His beast was enraged and was greedily staking his claim. He burned her lips, then bit her sensitive skin. He forced her mouth open and plunged his tongue inside, pressing her against him, demanding she respond to his kisses. She gave him what he needed obediently. Willingly. He pulled away from her, panting just in front of her lips.
Composing himself, he directed his gaze to Xander, who everyone was now watching. How was he going to react? His mate had just been kissed, but it was by someone he couldn’t fight. Xander, however, played his role to perfection. He squeezed his hands into fists. His eyes were dark, and his lips were almost curled into a snarl. He stood firm and held his gaze on Lee. Lee smirked and then turned his head to look at the shocked old man.
“Like I said, if I want it, it’s already mine.” Lee looked back to Xander. “You can blame the old man here for this. It’s his fault for angering me.” He then turned and stormed out of the room.
Xander quickly ran up to Reiya and pulled her into his chest. “Did he hurt you?” he asked, concern laced in his voice. It wasn’t fake concern, either. He could see just how angry Lee was and was afraid he was too rough on her.
“I’m okay.” Reiya’s head was spinning. His rough, passionate kiss left her reeling and wanting more. She leaned her head into Xander's chest, covering her flushed face. Inwardly, she was also elated that he had kissed her in front of those two snotty women. She caught the look on their shell-shocked faces, their jaws still on the floor.
Xander looked over at the old man. “It would be best if you and your granddaughters keep their distance from me and Leviathan for the remainder of your stay.” He then tugged Reiya along and slammed the door behind him as he left the room.
Chapter 58 Acceptance Kiss
Xander led Reiya down to the hall where their rooms were before they moved upstairs. He entered the one across from her room, which was Lee’s room. Lee looked up the momentthey entered the room. Once the door was shut, he pulled her from Xander and into his arms.
“I’m sorry, Reiya. I’m so sorry … are you okay?” Lee didn’t mean to be so aggressive with her. He let his anger get away from him. His inner beast was so enraged over another male touching his mark that he was no longer able to hold his composure. When the opportunity came, he used it to lay claim over her lips.
Reiya rested her head against him, her hands sprawled over his chest. He was apologizing. There was nothing to apologize for. She craved his urgency. She was glad he showed his intense desire for her in front of everyone. And he was able to do it in a way that wouldn’t raise suspicions. She tilted her head up to him and smiled. “Lee …” She rested her hand on his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “I’m fine. Don’t apologize for that, please.”
“No, you should be apologizing to me for embarrassing me back there. Man, now I have to think about how to play this all off.” Xander rubbed his temples. They would be expecting him to have some animosity toward Levi over what had just happened.
“This is your fault first, Xander. You’re the one who made him mad on purpose to mess with his head. And what is with this whole mate acceptance kiss? I’m not okay with this.” Reiya pulled back and looked between both men.
“I’m not okay with it either,” Lee snarled angrily.
“What am I supposed to do here, Levi? If I refuse to mark her publicly, then it would be like refusing her. I’m at a loss as to what to do.” Xander raised his hands and dropped them to his side.
Reiya understood what was at stake here. They needed the dragons’ acceptance. And if Xander didn’t publicly mark her, they wouldn’t get it. Then there was the whole problem of him marking someone that wasn’t his mate. But if he didn’t claim her as his mate, then the question would arise as to who her mateactually was. On top of that, there was the emotional struggle for her and Lee to allow Xander to mark her neck. Not a true mark, though. Lee's claim would remain, but a symbolic one. Reiya rubbed her hand over her forehead and groaned quietly. She had to pick a poison.
“So now what?” She looked up to Lee and pursed her lips together. None of the choices here were going to be good ones.
“There is no ‘now what.’ We continue on with what we’ve been doing. You have to keep playing the role of my mate for now. We can’t risk it the other way,” Xander whispered quietly. Lee winced and clenched his fists.
Reiya reached out and grabbed his hand. He tugged her into his hold and rested his head on hers.
“I can’t. We’ll just have to call off the charade, because there is no way I can allow you to touch her like that.” Lee kissed the top of her hair. How could he possibly let him touch her so intimately?
“Levi, man, you can’t risk it. It won’t mean anything. It’s just an act. It’s acting. One moment, and it’s done. And we can keep this going until you can get things worked out. Reiya …” Xander looked at Reiya, hoping to convince her. “If we don’t do this, you could lose him.”
“Maybe there’s another way to get the deities to accept us if Lee is unable to convince them.” She knew there was, but she was fishing to see if Lee would even bring it up.
“No, we need their acceptance,” Lee said quietly.
“So, your options are either go through with this charade, or don’t. If you don’t, you’ll have to keep trying to hide who your mate is while everyone wonders who I was protecting. Or they’ll think you’re my mate, but I don’t accept you.” Xander shook his head. “It’s obvious. There’s only one solution here, unless you want to risk it.”
