Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Wait a fucking minute!
Bring along all of your hoard?
Did Xiang know he was the dragon?
Chapter 11
Li Xiang
“Hey! Wait a minute!” Kai breathlessly called out.
Xiang had to school his features to hide away his evil grin before turning to face Kai. Unfortunately, what he found was the man stumbling out of bed and nearly falling on his face to reach Xiang. That was not what he wanted. The mild panic and confusion were amusing, but the risk of some harm coming to Kai, especially after what he’d suffered, was not okay.
He rushed to Kai’s side, grabbing his arm with one hand and wrapping his other around his narrow waist to hold him upright. “Be careful now. You need to stay in bed. I’ll bring the tea to you.”
“This isn’t about tea, and you know it!”
“Come on, back to bed,” Xiang teased, trying to usher him to where it was warm and comfortable.
“No! We need to talk about what you said.”
“Kai—”
“Xiang! You said my hoard.”
“Yes.” Whether he wanted it to or not, the wide smile slid free this time as he stared into Kai’s very clear, silver eyes. He held his gaze as a full second ticked by when at last Kai gave him a shove.
“You know,” he gasped. He narrowed his eyes at Xiang. “You’ve known. How long have you known? You’ve known and not said anything.” The dragon in human form pushed Xiang again, finally breaking out of his hold only to stumble and nearly fall to the ground if not for Xiang catching him again.
“Come on,” Xiang admonished. Keeping a firm lock on Kai this time, he walked him over to the canopied bed. “You need to get in bed before you hurt yourself. Your body is still recovering from your fight with the fae.”
The man in his arms growled low. When he reached the edge of the bed, he broke free and crawled onto the mattress. But he didn’t stop there. No, the dragon actually moved to the center and pulled the blankets up over his head as he curled into a ball.
“Hey!” Xiang reached out and poked Kai in what looked to be his side. “I don’t know what you’re being so pissy about. I’m the one who was lied to. You’re the one who hid the truth from me. You have no right to be angry and grumpy with me, Mr. Dragon!”
With a huff, the blankets flew to Kai’s waist, and he twisted to glare at Xiang. His hair stood up in all directions from the blankets, giving him a wild and disheveled appearance. “How did you discover the truth?”
Swallowing the urge to laugh, Xiang climbed into bed next to him and reached out a hand to smooth his hair. “I began to suspect over a week ago, but you said a few things when you returned from dealing with the fae queen that sealed it for me.” He cocked his head at Kai and smirked. “Do you take me for some fool? That I wouldn’t figure it out?”
“No!” Kai shouted into his face. He immediately hunkered down, pulling the blankets up to his chin as he repeated at much quieter “No.” A faint redness stained his cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears.
“Start talking,” Xiang prodded. His tone was firm, but not mean. He had some guesses as to why Kai had hid the truth from him, and none of them were malicious in their intent.
“I hadn’t meant to hide the truth from you. Not at first,” Kai began. The fingers peeking out from the blankets lightly traced the patterns on the fabric while he stared at the bed. “When you first saw me, you assumed I was another captive or a servant of the dragon, so I went with it. I figured you’d let me check on you in this fashion. Just to make sure that you had everything you needed.” He twisted to gaze at Xiang, his tone growing defensive. “It’s not like I was planning to have someone living within my hoard. When the queen ordered me to take you, I didn’t know what else to do with you. It wasn’t hard to guess that you wouldn’t be treated well if I dropped you in fae camp.”
“And I thank you for not considering that option,” Xiang replied with a serene smile. He had a feeling he would have been dead already if Kai had handed him directly over to the fae after being captured. While he might have been bored and unhappy with being away from his clan, the dragon had kept him very comfortable during his imprisonment. A far cry from what Yichen had gone through when he’d been trapped with the fae for a century.
“I didn’t enjoy lying to you,” Kai murmured. “I know I should have told you sooner, but I figured you would be angry that I’d lied to you. When you learned the truth, you wouldn’t let me come near you anymore.” Kai suddenly sat up, lowering the blankets to his waist. “Why aren’t you angry at me for lying?”