Free Origin Exposed: Descended of Dragons, Book 2 by Jen Crane

nodded once. “I’ll handle it,” he said, and strode away.

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    “ W hat happened then ?” Mari asked, her eyes shiny with astonishment. Her strawberry blond hair was whipped into a ponytail that swished wildly as she served her patrons. She was waitressing and participating in our conversation. After tending her responsibilities her small but curvy body smoothly maneuvered back to our table each time.
    “Then I said, ‘Mr. Gresham, you heard the lady. I think she prefers that you fuck off .’”
    “You did not,” I scoffed, though I knew he had. We’d heard every strained word of Gresham and Ewan’s encounter. We could have even without super hearing. Their growled exchange rumbled through Sabre Hall like thunder reverberating along a riverbank.
    “I did,” Ewan said. “And I swear his hands twitched with the desire to choke me. Ha! I wish he’d tried. After that he left, nearly blowing the door off its hinges.”
    “You better be glad he didn’t take you on, wolf,” scoffed Boone. “You don’t stand a chance against him. Not to mention the fact he’s got a whole department of badass behind him. You’re just…well…you.”
    “Oh! Speaking of which,” I yelped, “why didn’t one of you tell me about his day job?”
    “What do you mean?” asked Layla after a swallow of her drink. “What’s he do?”
    “He’s Thayer’s director of defense,” Timbra announced with weight.
    “So you did know,” I accused.
    “Well, sure. I thought you did, too. It honestly never struck me that you wouldn’t. I mean, everyone knows him. Being a Cabinet member is fairly prestigious. Then again, you’re not from here... Um…sorry?”
    “Didn’t you wonder why the Director of Thayerian Defense was giving a nobody like me the grand tour?”
    “I did,” she said. “I asked several times, if you’ll recall.”
    “What is his interest in you, Stella?” Ewan had whittled down to the pith of the issue.
    And here we were again. I was in the position of telling all or lying to my friends.
    If I’d learned anything from the recent mess with Gresham it was that I couldn’t be too careful where I placed my trust. Could I trust anyone at all? Increasingly, I felt the answer was no.
    “Hello, Stella,” called a confident, sing-song voice. Emrynne moved through tables toward us, her blond hair swishing just under her butt as she walked. She had changed into a lavender goddess-dress that amplified her etherealness to damn-near radiating love and light. It could escape no one’s notice that her halter top wasn’t halting much.
    I had forgotten the deal we’d made. Damn. I felt terrible about the situation I put Ewan in, but when I turned to explain I concluded he wouldn’t mind too much. His eyes were firmly affixed to two peach-sized swells shimmying beneath lavender chiffon.
    I cleared my throat to attract his attention. No response. I cleared it with more force, and he turned to me with a distracted, “Hmm?”
    “Ewan, this is Emrynne. She lives on my floor. I invited her to have a drink with us tonight.”
    “Oh…ah…yes. Hello,” he said and stood. She proffered her hand as if he would kiss it, but his intention was clearly to shake it. The result was awkward, limp. “I’ve seen you around The Root,” he said, “though I don’t believe we’ve met.”
    “No, we haven’t. I’m so happy to finally meet you,” she gushed as a delicate pink flushed her high cheekbones.
    I introduced her to everyone else at the table, and she inclined her head to each before turning eagerly back to Ewan, who I thought went to great lengths to make her feel at home.
    After a while I slipped back into my own thoughts, turning both old and new revelations, and my potential options, over in my head.
    ‘ How did Gaspare react when you told him she’s his own niece ?’ Lochlain had said. I was certain they were referring to me. Who was Gaspare? I had an uncle? Did that mean my father had a brother? Other family?