Chapter 39 Temper Temper
Reiya felt a blood vessel pop in her head.
These damn arrogant dragons. Did they really think that it was okay to take whatever they wanted?
Who the hell did they think they were? For one, she was the fairy princess.
Where was their respect? And two, it didn’t matter who she was.
They needed to respect other people. She was not their toy, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be passed around like a girl in a brothel house.
Reiya’s eyes narrowed on Weston. She stomped her foot into his and swung her hand, colliding her fist with his nose. “How’s that for playing nice?”
The crowd hushed, and the tension was noticeable.
Reiya could feel the many sets of eyes on them.
Who in the hell did she just hit? It really didn’t matter, because he was a jackass who deserved it.
She looked at the man holding his hand up to his nose.
He removed his hand and looked at the small traces of blood on his fingers.
Reese fidgeted nervously, and his eyes seemed to glaze over.
He was definitely anxious and wasn’t sure what to do next.
“You drew blood ...” He furrowed his brows as he inspected his fingers.
Then he lowered his eyes to look at her.
“You made me bleed.” His lips then curved upward, and he flashed her a white, toothy grin.
He chuckled as he took out a handkerchief to wipe his nose and hand.
Being a dragon, of course he’d already stopped bleeding.
He was just impressed that she’d managed to make him bleed.
“You’re tougher than you look. Yep, I’ve decided. ”
Reiya looked at the ball of crazy in front of her. She gave him a crooked smile and looked at him like he was an alien. “You’ve decided what?”
“I’ve decided to support you as the king’s mate.” Weston grinned, his eyes dancing about in amusement as he looked at her.
“So, was that just a test? Or were you really going to kiss me?”
He chuckled lightly. “I was definitely going to kiss you. But it was also a test.”
Reiya narrowed her eyes at him. “So, for a fun test, you thought you could bully your way into kissing the fairy princess?”
“Hardly. I’ve never had to bully anyone for affection. I dare say, most of these ladies here would gladly accept my lips. I am a pretty good-looking guy.”
“If you do say so yourself,” Reiya scoffed with an overdramatic eye roll.
“I do, but I don’t have to. It’s obvious. I’ve never been turned down.”
“I’m glad I could break that record for you.” Reiya gave him a sickly-sweet smile.
“I still think you want to be kissed by me.” Weston winked at her, lightly licking his lips as an invitation.
“Eeeewww, yuck. You can keep that nasty, hot, amoeba-infected saliva to yourself. I’m not even remotely interested.
” It was true, too. The very idea of him pressing his lips against hers made her gag reflex kick in and bile rise in her throat.
Sure, she could see he was good looking, but she wasn’t interested in him at all.
Weston laughed loudly, throwing his head back. “I can see the draw to you. You are something else. In fact, I’m starting to feel a bit possessive over you myself. You would be an amazing prize.”
“This isn’t a game, though, and I am not a prize. For the sake of trying to form a friendship, can we please just have a normal conversation? Otherwise, I’m done talking to you.” Reiya was fed up with his attitude. A prize? Pfft. He needed to step the hell back before she really got ticked off.
“Okay, okay.” He held his hands up in surrender. “How about we start over? I want us to be friends.”
Reiya smiled. He was being genuine for once, not acting.
“Perfect.” Reiya extended her hand out and he took it gently.
He raised it up to his lips and kissed it.
It was a very soft, hot kiss on her delicate hand.
She heard a few more gasps from the crowd.
She didn’t understand the problem with this. It was just a kiss on the hand, right?
His eyes flickered and a mischievous smile formed over his lips. “How about one more game?”
“You want me to bloody that nose again?”
“Go ahead, if you can this time.” Weston smirked and then spun her into his body. He held onto her tightly and then raised his hand up to cover her mouth so she couldn’t speak.
What the hell is he up to this time?
“Get your damn hands off my mate!” The words roared out and echoed off the walls.
Reiya’s eyes flew up to see a seething Xander marching directly toward them.
Lee was following behind him, looking very dangerous.
His eyes were dark and emotionless, fixated on the man holding onto her.
Great ... she was going to be the cause of a dragon fight now.
No, no she wasn’t. She bit down on his hand, spun her foot to the side and kicked him in the shin.
The moment he let go of her, she spun around and belted him in the nose again.
Reiya smirked as she saw the small blood dots appear under his nose.
“I guess I was able to do it again.” Reiya smiled sweetly and Weston chuckled as he grabbed his handkerchief out again.
“You’re too good for Xander.” Weston grinned as Xander walked up to them.
Xander immediately grabbed onto Reiya and pulled her to his side as he glared at Weston. He then turned and looked her over. “Nice swing, my dear.” He gave her a soft smile and looked at her more seriously. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Xander. Everything’s okay. He was trying to make you mad on purpose. He got what was coming to him, though.” Reiya grinned up at Weston, who shrugged sheepishly.
“That’s the second time you made me bleed. I’m pretty impressed.” Weston tucked his handkerchief away and straightened himself up.
“Second?” Xander asked with a deadly undertone.
“I figured your henchman here would have told you,” Weston said with a smirk, excited to see Xander's reaction. “I tried to kiss your mate.”
Reiya instantly grabbed onto Xander's arm as he clenched it in anger. She was sure the swing was coming, had she not held on. She also heard a very low, almost silent snarl coming from behind her. She could feel the icy chill emanating from Lee.
“Keyword is tried.” Reiya tugged on Xander's arm to pull his attention back to her. She could feel the rage building up in him, his arm trembling with anger. He was supposed to just act as her mate, but the rage he felt was real. This issue needed to be addressed. She couldn’t leave this to the hot-headed dragon males.
Diplomacy would never be reached. Weston was curling his lips, antagonizing Xander to continue.
Xander was barely hanging on to his temper.
Children. Dragons were like children who didn’t know how to control their emotions.
A waiter walked around them cautiously as he carried a tray of drinks. Reiya grabbed two off his tray and quickly spun around, pouring the contents on each of the two men. The water dripped off their faces onto the floor. They turned and blinked at her, both completely shocked at what she had done.
“Well, now that you’ve been cooled off, perhaps we can try this whole talking thing again.” Reiya folded her arms and tapped her foot at the two men.
“You should probably warn someone when you take such a dangerous person as a mate.” Weston used his forearms and wiped the contents off his face.
He looked up at the irritation still evident on Xander's face. “Oh, would you relax already? I was just testing her out. She passed. I’ve decided to support you. Well, support her, more specifically. I think she’s pretty special. ”
Xander let out a loud sigh and reached out to Reiya, pulling her into his chest. Reiya knew she had to play the mate part.
Still, she felt awkward being in Xander's arms with Lee right behind them.
She wished she could be in his embrace. She forced herself to lean her back into Xander and looked up at Weston, who had a peculiar smile on his face.
“So, who are you exactly?”
Weston smiled widely. “I am the First Prince of the Southern Kingdom.”
“Ruby’s brother?!” Reiya looked at him more closely.
She could now see the resemblance. Oh shit .
.. this was one of the guys she was supposed to convince to side with her against the demons.
Talk about an interesting first impression.
So that was why the crowd got quiet, and why the kiss on her hand was a big deal.
“I hear you’re the one that took away her mate’s curse. Like I said, you’re too good for Xander.”
Xander snarled at Weston, but Reiya tapped his chest to behave. “Oh hush. You know I’m too good for you.” Reiya winked, causing him to smirk down at her. In reality, there was a hidden meaning in what she said. She was Lee’s mate, not his.
“That’s not what you said last night.” Xander's voice was low and sensual. The implication made Reiya’s cheeks heat up.
Here, she hadn’t even officially mated with Lee, and he was implying she’d gone all the way with him.
She had to keep telling herself to play her part.
What seemed natural for Xander was chokingly hard for her.
She wanted to dive into Lee’s arms, to take in his scent.
It felt wrong being in another man’s intimate embrace.
She had to protect Lee, though. She didn’t want him to get sealed away. Deep breaths, Reiya. Keep up the ruse.
“I think you’re confusing things. You’re confusing being good with being better.
I said you were good, but I’m still too good for you.
” Reiya smiled up at him while Weston stifled a laugh.
Reiya wanted to vomit on her words. She never realized how torturous it would be for her to pretend to be another’s mate.
It was different before, with the playful flirting.
But now that she had been marked by Lee, it changed things for her.
Lee ... The moment she thought about him, she felt sick.
How hard it must be for him to watch this.
She couldn’t imagine how it would feel if he had to pretend he was mated to another.
She wouldn’t be able to stomach it. She wouldn’t be able to stand being in the same room.
Yet, here he was, standing behind them, quietly observing everything.
If he was able to play his role, which was harder than hers, then she should be able to, too.
She had to remind herself to just think of Lee, to just pretend Xander was Lee. Well, to a certain extent, at least.
“I can’t wait to see better tonight, then.” Xander smiled and then looked back up to Weston. “Thank you for your support. However, if you touch my mate again ...” Xander's friendly demeanor changed, and his eyes narrowed in anger. “I will kill you.”
Reiya’s eyes widened. This was the opposite of diplomatic, but Weston didn’t even bat an eye.
She guessed that must be a normal reaction for a dragon.
When she thought about it, she realized it would be a normal reaction for a werewolf, too.
She could only imagine how her father would react if someone touched her mother.
Yep. They would be dead in two seconds flat.
“The test is over. I won’t touch your mate again.
She’ll have my respect. I’ll look out for her as your queen and as a friend.
” Weston reached out and clasped hands with Xander in a firm handshake.
The dragon kings had reached an agreement.
The intense aggression was suddenly gone, extinguished as quickly as flipping off a light switch.
It was exhausting keeping up with their attitudes.