Dragon Heat (Dragons of Perralt Book 2) by Sher Dillard Read Free Book Online Page B

beautiful. Even more beautiful, if that was possible. His heart lurched with need.
    “So, tell, me what did you do today?” he asked, forcing his voice to remain calm, casual.
    Laila smiled. “Emily is so smart. She taught me how to stand, how to walk. How to curtsy and how to shake hands. She knows everything. Did you know that the King’s first minister’s wife is having an affair with the second minister’s assistant?”
    Flint laughed. “And, that is important to know. Why?”
    Laila looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. How could someone be so stupid, she seemed to say?
    “Because, if things like that happen in the high reaches of government, then that means they’re no different than the people of Fifth Point. They want the same things, money and power, so that they can get what they really want, sex. More power, more sex. This world isn’t really different.”
    Flint laughed out loud as he nodded in agreement. “Things are the same the world over. People are people after all. Interested in one thing only.”
    They looked into each other’s eyes, the talk of sex hanging between them like a silent cliff edge. Not to be approached, less they fall off together.
    “Where are you from, Flint?” Laila asked with a curious frown, as she looked down at her hands resting in their bowls. “Emily said that you moved here only last year. Where from?”
    “So you spent the day talking about me?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
    The young woman blushed and looked away, then looked back and dipped her head in acknowledgement. “Just a little. I need to know about you if you are going to introduce me to the court. And, no changing the subject. Where are you from? Your accent is different.”
    “I don’t have an accent,” Flint said, giving her a haughty look as he took another drink.
    “Yes, you do. Slight, but it is there. You still didn’t answer the question.”
    Flint sighed and looked off into the distance. “The mountains,” he answered. “Deep in the mountains.”
    “Ah, the land of dragons,” she said with a smile. “That explains so much.”
    His heart jumped. “What do you know of dragons?” he asked, as he sat forward. Her answer was important. More than she would ever know.
    Laila shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing much. Just that you remind me of a dragon. Big, powerful, commanding.”
    “So, you think I am a monster?”
    “No, no,” she said, as she shook her head. “Believe me. I’ve been around monsters. You’re not one of them. You may be arrogant, and insufferable at times. But, you’re not a monster.”
    Flint laughed. “And, what about you. Have you always lived in the Fifth Point part of town? Why do they call it Fifth Point, anyway? I’ve always wondered.”
    Laila sheepishly nodded her. “Yes, always. The name of the city is Quaster. Right? It means four pointed star. Our part of town was too embarrassing to be included. Therefore, Fifth Point.
    Flint nodded his head, he understood the whole not being wanted feeling. He still remembered the shot of pain and loss when he learned of his exile. That sense of not belonging, not being needed.
    Taking another drink, he studied the young woman. There was something about her. Something more than the beauty and the pure sexuality she exuded. There was an inner strength. A sense of being her own woman. Not beholden to anyone. He admired that about her. Of course, he also admired those delicious curves of hers. What man wouldn’t?
    “So, family?” Laila asked, pulling him from his internal rambling.
    “Mother, two brothers, a sister,” he answered. Where was she going with all of this? He didn’t like talking about his history. He didn’t like people knowing things about him. He had too many secrets to keep everything straight.
    Laila smiled weakly, he wondered if she was regretting not having siblings. Or, was she sad about having lost her parents?
    “So, you never married?” she asked.
    That was where this was