Dragon Call by Emily Ryan-Davis Read Free Book Online

environmental
economics field and live in Hartford.”
    Cora stared at him, open-mouthed. She didn’t
know what to say. Fear returned to override irritation. What could
he do with information like that? Why would he even want it? And
where had he gotten it, for that matter? She didn’t care that he
knew where she lived or what she studied in college. He knew her
mother’s—and her mother’s mothers’—heritage, and that mattered more
than anything else.
    “Are you going to blackmail me like you do
Greg?” she asked, thoughts racing. What if he intended something
worse than blackmail?
    “My name is Salim,” he said, ignoring the
question. “I realize it doesn’t make our awareness of one another
even, but perhaps you’ll take the name as a token of good
faith.”
    “Blackmail or not?” Cora insisted.
    “Is that what he told you, that I blackmail
him?”
    “I asked you first.”
    “I cannot tell you details of my relationship
with Cho,” he said. “They’re privileged.”
    “And you’re pissed off because I know a
relationship exists at all. That’s what this is about, isn’t
it?”
    “This is about you, not him.” He frowned.
“I’m going about this badly. My intention isn’t to frighten
you.”
    “I’m not frightened,” she lied, “I’m angry
that you brought me out into the freezing cold to recite my
mother’s family tree and grill me on my choice in dinner
dates.”
    “Don’t be flippant,” he advised. “It’s
important that you know you should be cautious with how you involve
yourself with Cho. I believe you have something he needs, and I
don’t believe he’ll refrain from taking it from you.”
    “Great, thanks for the warning,” Cora said.
“I’m going back inside.” She reached past him to push at the door,
but he caught her up in his arms and pulled her away, deeper into
the recesses of the balcony. A shock of electric awareness shot
into her fingertips and toes the moment he touched her.
    “Who do you think you are?” she demanded,
stiff in his embrace.
    “Who I think I am isn’t important. Ask them,
inside, who they think I am.” His lips brushed her earlobe.
“You’re real enough to touch, which eliminates you from the ghostly
categories I’m familiar with. Tell me why you look familiar, if
you’re not a ghost I’ve seen.”
    “You’re insane.” Cora squirmed and strained
against his hold, but his arms were like vices and he held her
immobile. Her heart pounded hard and fast; she couldn’t break
free.
    “Maybe. I suppose it could have been a
dream,” he said, “but I think I’d have written that dream down to
remember it, and I never did.”
    Desire lurched in her abdomen where their
bodies touched. For a brief moment, she couldn’t decide whether to
push him away or lean into him, which was ridiculous given that he
was assaulting her. Did the hostess have the means to infuse the
circulated air with a love/lust potion? Maybe it was the popular
party favor of the season. That would explain Greg’s attraction to
her, as well.
    She didn’t want Salim to find her attractive
at all, though; she wanted him to let her go. “Look, blonde women
are a dime a dozen. I’m sure I’m not the same one you think I am.
Will you please let me go?”
    Behind her, the balcony door burst open and a
cacophony of noise, music overtaken by voices, escaped the
building.
    “We need to go,” Cora heard Diane say from
the door. “Emergency.”
    Salim loosed his hold, and Cora turned to
Diane. “What’s happened?”
    “Nothing yet. We’ll be gone before it does.”
Diane didn’t look directly at Salim, and Cora wondered about the
nature of his role in the live-action drama play that seemed to
dominate Diane’s life. She pushed her curiosity aside for a more
appropriate time and followed Diane inside.
     

Chapter Five
     
    Heavenly warmth and a familiar face welcomed
Cora back to the party. Greg had arrived during her exchange with
Salim and he broke away from a