Riyala swallowed as she walked closer to Jason and gently put one hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat, and Jason could feel the tension between the two of them growing all of a sudden! There was a part of Jason that seemed to already know what Riyala was trying to say. Jason had been with Riyala for a long time now, so there was no way he wouldn’t know how she felt for him. Jason had seen many women look at him with a lot of interest over the years, but the look in Riyala’s eyes at that moment was deeper than Jason could ever begin to describe, and a voice in Jason’s head echoed that he shouldn’t even let Riyala finish her sentence. But Jason didn’t move. He stood calmly and looked down at her while waiting for her to speak. And he watched as Riyala gathered her courage for a few seconds before she spoke in a soft, intimate whisper.
"I couldn’t get you out of my head, Jason. Even while my mind and heart were being torn apart by the fire, the feelings I felt for you were the only things that I could never let go of, and it was the only thing that gave me strength in those flames. And I can’t... I don’t want to hide this anymore."
Riyala suddenly rose up to her toes, and Jason was surprised when she pressed her lips against his own in a soft kiss. Her lips were soft and hot like raw fire, and Jason felt her put her hands around his neck to deepen the kiss! Jason was too shocked to do anything for a moment, but at the next second, he got himself back and put his hand on Riyala’s shoulder and gently pulled back. The kiss barely lasted for three seconds, and Riyala’s blush had grown until her entire face was almost as red as a tomato, but Riyala had a loving smile on her face as she spoke in a low voice.
"I love you, Jason. I’ve loved you from the moment you saved my life, and now I know that I’ll love you forever. I don’t need an answer right now, and I don’t ever want to force myself on you. But you would make me the happiest person in the world if you accepted me—"
"Hey, Jason. Those old women wouldn’t let me go. How do I... look...."
A voice suddenly came from the side, and Jason turned sharply to see Gina looking at him and Riyala with wide eyes. Gina was wearing a long, beautiful red and black tunic that matched her hair perfectly. There were golden dragons embroidered on the tunic, and her hair was arranged in a sophisticated new braid that gave Gina an aristocratic and royal look. Gina’s hands were raised to the side since she had been trying to show off her attire to Jason, but none of it mattered anymore as she took in how closely Jason and Riyala were standing, and how Riyala’s hands were hanging off Jason’s neck. Gina’s eyes immediately narrowed as she glared at Riyala!
"What the fuck is going on here?"
Gina’s voice came out as a tense growl from deep in her heart, and it showed just how pissed she was at that moment! Jason cursed in his head while pushing Riyala back slightly and putting his hand out toward Gina. Jason knew just how intense Gina could be, so if he didn’t calm her down, she would likely do something insane.
"Gina, wait. Let me explain."
"Explain what!? How this bitch was trying to stick her tongue down your throat!?"
Gina’s anger intensified as she glared daggers at Riyala and Riyala almost seemed to shrink in on herself! At that moment, Jason could see how the bold and confident priestess suddenly vanished, and she was replaced by the shy girl who had been too afraid to hold his hand in the past. Damn, Gina was scary.
Riyala suddenly tried to speak up for herself.
"Wait, Gina. I can tell you what’s happening. I’m not trying to take him from you. I just want him to—"
"Get out."
Gina didn’t even let Riyala finish before she growled at her, and Riyala’s eyes widened in shock as she saw the sheer fury in Gina’s eyes. There was a wind blowing across the balcony that was already drawing attention from the various citizens on the ground, and Jason could tell that Gina’s power was going haywire because of her anger. Riyala tried to speak again, but Gina lashed out with a wind blade that tore through the balcony wall right beside Riyala’s face!
"I said, get out! Now!"
Gina screamed at her, and Jason finally sighed and spoke to Riyala.
"Go."
Riyala turned at him with hurt in her eyes, but Jason just shook his head and nodded towards the exit. Riyala realized that there was nothing she could do to make things better here. No matter what she tried to do, she was only going to make things worse. So she comported herself once again and gained back her calm composure before gracefully walking out of the balcony so things didn’t get any worse. Honestly, Riyala didn’t understand why Gina was so angry, and there was a little part of Riyala that also felt angry for how Gina had reacted, but Riyala buried that part easily since she knew that Radagan and Earth were two very different worlds in terms of relationships. It would be difficult for Riyala to convince Gina to accept her into their relationship, but she hoped that Jason would help her explain things to Gina.
Once Riyala was gone, Jason raised his brow at Gina while gesturing to the intense wind swirling around them, and Gina sighed tiredly as she finally brought her magic back under control. Jason put his hand out towards Gina, and she hesitated for a second before she finally reached out to take his hand and allowed him to pull her into a gentle hug. Gina pressed her face into Jason’s chest and she listened to his calm heartbeat while trying to get her anger under control. And it took a few seconds before Jason finally spoke.
"You should’ve let me explain what happened."
Gina pulled back slightly and frowned up at Jason.
"You don’t need to explain what happened! It was obvious she wanted to kiss you! How could she do that to me!? I trusted her, and she was trying to kiss you behind my back!"
This made Jason frown, and he suddenly realized that Gina already knew that Riyala liked him. How in the world was she able to find out in such a short time? Gina had been dead during the time when Riyala really fell for Jason, so Jason was sure that Gina somehow managed to find out in the few days since she came back. Jason huffed and ran a hand through his hair before he decided to come clean about what happened.
"Actually... she did kiss me."
Gina turned to Jason in shock!
"What-!?"
"Listen to me, it just happened, and I couldn’t stop it since I was just so shocked when it happened. I felt bad for her after hearing about what she’s been through, and then she told me that she loved me and wanted me to help her with children—"
Jason was surprised when Gina suddenly pulled away from him with a look of complete disbelief on her face. There was a hurt look deep in her eyes as she stepped away, and Jason’s eyes narrowed. Jason didn’t know what happened, but it was obvious that something was going through Gina’s head. And when Gina spoke, Jason was more shocked than he had ever been in his life.
"Do you love her, Jason?"
"What the fuck are you even asking me right now?"