Free Dragon Heat (Dragons of Perralt Book 2) by Sher Dillard Page A

leaned down and kissed the corner of each eye then brought her into a deep hug.
    “What now?” she said into his chest.
    “Now,” he replied slowly as his heart twisted in the wind. “Now, we get you your dream. A prince with a castle. What every girl wants.”
    She squeezed him, as if afraid to ever let go. “Just like that? We forget about last night.”
    Flint laughed. “Oh, Laila, I will never be able to forget last night. But, we each have a life to live. I have duties and responsibilities. You are the girl from Fifth Point who will marry a prince. Our lives are not always our own.”
    “Why can’t they be?” she asked as she continued to hold onto him. “Why can’t we do what we want to do? Why can’t every night be like last night?”
    He took a deep breath. Oh, how he wished he could follow his heart. But, the woman didn’t understand. She would never understand. His secret would ruin any chance of happiness between them. And, she deserved a prince. Hell, she deserved everything in this world.
    He gently pushed her away and looked deep into her eyes. “Laila, we can’t. There are things about me, you do not know. Things that would change everything.”
    “What? Do you become a ghostly ghoul on the summer solstice? I know, you have a wife and a dozen children? Or, you’re secretly a member of the City Watch. Sent here to capture Laila Mason, the dangerous pick pocket? What?” she demanded.
    Flint stepped away from her. How he had hoped to avoid this. But the only way to avoid this would have been to deny themselves last night. And nothing in this world would ever make him regret their night together.
    “Things, Laila, let’s leave it at that.”
    She looked up at him, hands on her hips, her look of adoration quickly turning to hate and contempt.
    “I see,” she said. “You got what you want. Now, it’s thanks, see you around sometime.”
    “No,” he barked. “It is not like that, and you know it. What’s more. It is you that will be leaving with a prince, remember?”
    Her eyes turned to spiteful flames as she shook her head at his idiocy. Giving a big huff, she stomped out of the room.
    Great, Flint thought. Just great.
    .o0o.
    Laila studied herself in the mirror. Her hair was up in an intricate arrangement that defied all sense of the laws of nature.
    She ran her hands over the front of her dress. Who would ever believe a girl from Fifth Point would wear such a garment. The deep blue fabric shimmered, the cut hung perfectly, accenting every good thing about her and hiding all the bad.
    The bastard wanted her to marry a prince. Well, this dress was going to make it happen.
    She glanced into the mirror at Mrs. Peabody standing behind her as she examined her one last time. The woman smiled and nodded her head with approval.
    Laila inspected the sapphire earrings Sharp had delivered to her room. They matched her dress exactly. The deep blue stones glinting in the candle light. Flint had sent them. Along with a gold necklace with a large sapphire pendant.
    She had put on the earrings, but decided to wear the locket he had given her. The one with the coin inside. It looked good around her neck, and she wouldn’t feel whole without it.
    “You will outshine every woman there, I promise,” the housekeeper said to her, catching Laila’s eye in the mirror.
    “Thank you, Mrs. Peabody. I couldn’t have done it without your help.”
    The housekeeper stopped fiddling with the fabric around the belt and looked up into Laila’s eyes again.
    “Remember dear,” the older woman said. “The only difference between them and us is that they think they are special, and we know they’re not. I’ve worked for a dozen different families. Helped arrange a hundred parties. I’ve seen them all, at their best and at their worst. And, believe me. None of them are as special as you. None of them could have come so far, so fast. None of them could have lasted ten minutes on those streets down at Fifth Point.