Page 86 of The Dragon's Gambit
Reiya scoffed and tilted her head over to Dex and Reese. “He’s calling you guys amateurs.”
“I heard.” Dex scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. He raised his brows with a smirk. “Care to put that to the test?”
Xander chuckled darkly. “Bring it on.”
Chapter 57 Taking the games too far
Reiya stomped across the room, pouting, and leaned against the wall close to Lee. She let out a loud sigh and furrowedher brows as she listened to the few chuckles that escaped from his mouth.Glad he thinks this is funny. She watched the other three men prepare themselves in their respective positions. “They won’t let me play. That’s not fair. It’s my game,” she mumbled quietly. A small smile rose on her face as she inched closer to Lee. Her arms were leaning against the wall behind her, making it look like she was casually watching the battle preparations. She inched her fingers over and wrapped her pinky finger around Lee’s. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and noticed the small smile that rose on his face.
“You sure you don’t want to get in on the match?” Reiya watched as the participants readied themselves.
Lee tilted his head and raised a brow.
“Oh … I see. You’re afraid you might lose, and that would look bad on your part, huh?” Reiya could see from the look on his face that he felt above it. He needed to have a little bit of fun, so she decided she would provoke him a bit. A deep chuckle sounded from his throat.
“If you were able to strike first blood, then it hardly seems like it would be a match for me,” Lee smirked, and Reiya’s eyes twitched from his jab.
Arrogant … pompous … damn these dragons and their deity.“I see … because there’s no way they could be any good if I was able to beat them. Right?” Reiya clicked her tongue. “I understand now.” She spoke louder now, making sure the other men heard what she was about to say next. “You’re afraid to join in, now that Xander is playing, since he could actually beat you.”
Lee gave her an unreadable side glare. Two of the men froze while Xander laughed loudly. “It’s okay, Reiya. Let him keep his integrity intact.”
Lee growled and took a few steps forward before turning to Reiya. “You aren’t participating, so just stay right there,” hegrowled, then marched forward to claim a position of his own. Reiya grinned and leaned back.Got him.
Xander grinned at Reiya. He knew Lee liked to act like a proper deity, but deep down he enjoyed having fun, too. It was just an act he liked to put on. Something like this was actually right up his alley. He turned his attention to Lee and flashed him a smile. “I’m not going to go easy on you just because you’re a deity.”
Lee scoffed. “You’re dead already. You just don’t know it yet.” His words sounded so chilling and convincing. This game was something he was taking seriously.
Reese seemed a bit nervous about engaging in a battle with their respected deity. Reiya could already see him squeezing his hands together and flicking his eyes around nervously, while Dex was relishing the opportunity. It might be a game, but this would be the best chance he would ever have at evaluating his skills.
Reiya leaned back against the wall, watching with interest. Sure, she wanted to play too, but this would still be entertaining. Xander took off his overshirt, leaving his undershirt on, and Lee followed suit. She watched his broad shoulder muscles flex as he tossed his shirt aside.Don’t drool, Reiya … don’t drool. It’s all yours anyway …She couldn’t help her gaze. She was greedily looking over Lee’s body and she could admit it … there was not a pure thought in her body at that moment. Thank goodness they were all too busy focusing on each other to notice her. She was not playing her role as Xander's mate right there. She was glued to the only male that existed in her mind. And he was pure eye candy.
“Reiya, aren’t you going to wish me luck?” Xander grinned and pointed to his cheek for a good luck kiss. He was trying to provoke Lee so he would be angry and not thinking clearly during the game. Was it dirty?Eh, all’s fair in war.
Interrupted from her lustful thoughts, she looked at Xander and folded her arms. She knew exactly what he was doing. Pfft. “No, I’m mad at you for not letting me play.” She pretended to pout. It sounded like a good enough reason to her for refusing him.
Xander smirked and his eyes flashed over to Lee. “You know, sweetheart, at the dinner tomorrow night, we are to share a formal dance. We are also to seal the end of our joining dance with a mate acceptance kiss.”
“What does that have to do with anything, Xander? Let’s start this already.” Dex shook his head, not understanding what Xander was doing. He could talk about that crap later. Lee fixed a stare on Xander. Both males had a slight glaze over their eyes as they carried on a private linked conversation.
“Umm, what is a mate acceptance kiss?” Reiya looked at Dex. She watched him look up at the ceiling, and a crooked smile spread over his lips.
“Umm … well, basically it’s where you publicly either mark or re-mark your mate for all to see and accept.” Dex looked at Reiya, who looked horrified.
“Wait, publicly? In front of everyone? Umm, isn’t that kind of ... too intimate?” Reiya was struggling with some sort of excuse. No. No way. Nope. Xander was not slobbering all over her neck. There was no way Lee would allow that to happen either, right? Her eyes darted between Lee and Xander, who were both locked in conversation.
“It’s necessary for the king to publicly brand his mate. It’s just a moment.” Dex still refused to look Reiya in the eyes.
Pfft. Just a moment.But he knew it would be embarrassing as hell. That’s why he wouldn’t look at her. She could manage it if it was Lee, but there was no way it could happen with Xander. Nope. None.
Xander broke his gaze from Lee and looked at Reiya. “Sorry. It can’t be helped. It won’t be more than a moment of the night and that’s it.”
“Xander.” Reiya had a low, threatening tone in her voice. These damn dragons were just going to do whatever the hell they wanted. She was a person with feelings and was not going to be a live spectacle. “If you even come close to pressing your lips on my neck publicly tomorrow,” her eyes narrowed on him, “You will learn exactly what happens when you piss me off.” She could see the shocked look in Xander's eyes at her very real threat, while Lee’s eyes flickered with pride at her refusal.
Xander's eyes softened, and he gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. There isn’t a way around it.”
Reiya made sure she met with all of their eyes, so she wasn’t just looking at Lee’s. Lee was fuming. But he also wasn’t refuting what was being said. Was he just going to allow this to happen?So, wait? I don’t get a say in this? I HAVE to let him mark my neck, or at least pretend to mark my neck?
She could feel her anger rising. This was never even once talked about. She knew why Xander brought it up at this moment, but why was it never brought up before? She liked Xander well enough, but the mark on her neck was special to her. It was something very intimate that she shared with Lee. She couldn’t let someone else touch her there.
