Page 57 of The Dragon's Gambit

Weston’s laugh boomed out of him. “I like you already.” He let his eyes trail over her for a moment. “I can definitely see what the king sees in you ... all of you.”

Reese shifted his weight as his gaze nervously flicked around the room. Reiya noticed his unease. This man must be a fairly high-ranked noble, since Reese felt uncomfortable around him.

“Hmmm. I wonder if you have some sort of pheromone that draws dragons to you.” Weston stepped closer to Reiya andleaned his head in. He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. “Mmm, you smell sweet.”

“Wow ... do those pick-up lines usually work for you?” Reiya rolled her eyes. If he was trying to make her uncomfortable, it wasn’t going to work.

A quiet chuckle escaped his lips. “What if I told you that I was someone who could give you what you wanted? All you need to do is play nice with me.” In one quick move, Weston wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. His face was dangerously close to hers and inching closer.

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 theirrespect? 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 onher 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.