Page 64 of Rescued By The Dragon

Glendora came out of the kitchen with two other serves and three push trays of food.

Amara gripped my thigh under the table. I glanced around to see what was causing her unease, and Georgina sat diagonal from us, staring daggers at me. I guess she is pissed about our time at the restaurant.

Glaring back at her, she finally turned her gaze when my mother hit the side of her wine glass and Glendora made her way around the other side of the table.

“I’m so glad everyone made it down. We’re so very happy to be able to share our home with our neighbors of The East Kingdom in their time of trouble.”

I grabbed the stem of my wine glass and eyed the king of The East Kingdom. He tossed a smile down my way, but I easily ignored it, by leaning down to whisper to Amara.

“We’re out of here right after desert.”

Amara took her wine glass and smiled up at me. “Not too much,” I warned her. “If you get too tipsy, I’ll have to take you up to my bedroom—,”

“Dorran,” my mother’s voice sliced through my sentence. “Did you have something to say?”

I cleared my throat, noticing my brother smiling beside her. “Yes, I was just sharing with Amara how thrilled I am that our kingdom is growing.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she played it off. “Glendora is bringing by our salads, our entrees will come next. Please do not hesitate to ask for anything during your stay. I know you want to repopulate after the battle took most of your city. We hope that we can help you do that.”

My mother sat down and sipped her wine. “Glendora, your Uncle said you’ve been searching for your mate for some time. Maybe you’ll find him here in our kingdom?”

She gave my mother a clipped smile. “Not everyone is as lucky as Dorran to find their queen so easily." Every set of eyes turned toward Amara, whose skin burned red in the spotlight.

“You looked beautiful at the ball, Amara. Dorran found you so fast. I was sure you two had met before.” The sarcasm in her voice hit my chest like a sledgehammer.

The bastard.

“I met her weeks before the ball. I just wanted to claim her in front of the kingdom, so everyone knew their chance had ended. But there are plenty of unmated dragons in our kingdom. My brother is of the royal line because I know that’s so important to you, so there is plenty of other sperm to impregnate the females at this table—,”

The Queen of The East Kingdom gasped under her breath and turned her eyes toward her salad. “Dorran, don’t be crude,” mother chuckled. “We are here to help them while they rebuild their kingdom.”

I tipped my wine glass toward her. “Of course.”

The second course, our steaks, came and went.

The home stretch.

“Amara,” Mother said. “I’d love to meet your mother since my son marked you so quickly.”

Amara had too much to drink.

I sensed it. I felt it through our bond. Over a mouthful of food, which was oddly adorable to me, but not so much to my mother, Amara laughed. “My mother died when I was young. So did my father. My step-monster raised me, or tolerated me, if you want to call it that. I think you can go without meeting her. She’ll suck you dry, trust me,” she said.

Every dragon at that table stopped eating and stared. Amara chuckled before taking another bite.

“Wait a second,” Georgina said. “Are you the waitress from that burger joint?” she asked with disdain. She hadn’t even connected the dots.

Amara waved her steak around on her fork with an adorable smile. “That’s me.”

Georgina’s gaze turned toward me. “You marked a ... waitress. I knew she looked familiar.”

That was it. My dragon unexpectedly broke free, forcing me to my feet, fire bubbled up my throat and out of my mouth, catching the chandelier on fire.

My father jumped up, and ran around the table, wrapping his arms underneath mine; he began to haul me out of the dining room with the help of my brother.

By the time they shoved me against the hallway wall, my dragon had backed off, and I took a much-needed breath.

“Holy Dragon Creator, Dorran, what was that?” my father screamed. “Why do you do this to your mother, son? She is going to have a stroke by the time she’s one hundred and fifty because of you. You know our insurance doesn’t cover fire when it’s on purpose!”

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