Origin Exposed: Descended of Dragons, Book 2 Read Online Free Page A

Livia , I thought. You’ve moved on. I’ll be sure to tell Gresham. Like hell.
    “Ah, here comes Dragon Lady now,” quipped Boone as we neared the table. “Take my seat, ma’am. Please.”
    “Oh, you guys are freakin’ hilarious, aren’t you?” All of the attention, good-natured ribbing or not, made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like having a spotlight shone on me. I much preferred to blend into the background—especially among these people, whom I’d come to love and trust.
    “I told her that everyone here wants to do her or be her,” said Timbra. “She thinks I’m exaggerating.”
    Enthusiastic ‘mm-hmm’s’ and ‘I know dat’s right’s’ erupted, but one face remained stony. Ewan. He turned his dark head from me and mumbled something almost inaudibly. He’d been in such a bad mood lately.
    “What’s that?” I asked.
    Ewan Bristol’s shiny black curls fell in layers almost to the top of his shoulders in back, and just around his temples in the front. No hair was in its proper place, but it was perfect just the same. Big, dark-brown eyes with nearly-curly black lashes topped the slender slope of his nose, which skimmed over slight nostrils and into cheeks that looked downy smooth when contrasted to the perpetual five o’clock shadow that ran the length of his jawbone. A hint of a mustache brought attention to his lips, which thrust out in an almost child-like pout.
    “I said, ‘My nose never lies. Someone’s already doing her.’” He finally raised his chestnut eyes to mine and his rugged jaw thrust forward with determination. He stared me down, his expression revealing such disgust that I jerked, horrified.
    The restaurant went silent. It wasn’t just quiet, but as if all of the sound in the room had been sucked out by a solar system-sized gravitational pull—a black hole, an absence of sound. My ears roared as humiliation pumped blood to them, and my cheeks flushed so quickly they stung. Words escaped me and my mouth fell open in surprise. Ewan had always been so reserved, so polite.
    I darted glances to Timbra, to Layla, to Boone. They all showed varying degrees of shock. Boone’s sharp jaws sat agape, Timbra’s fingertips hastily shot up to cover her mouth, and Layla’s lips formed a perfect “o.” Ewan’s comments were so out of character he’d stunned the entire table.
    As the blood slowly drained from my face and my shamed haze cleared, I found the other patrons weren’t hanging on our every word, but were eating, having their own conversations. My humiliation was mitigated to our table, at least. I avoided any further eye contact with my friends and fiddled nervously with a napkin. Several deep breaths did nothing to help me calm down, to move on, so I excused myself and raced toward the bathroom.
    I’d gotten nearly twenty feet when I heard a strained voice call, “Stella, wait.”
    Ewan, who’d followed me, grabbed for my elbow, but I shook him off and increased my pace.
    “Stella. Please. I’m sorry I said that.”
    I slowed and turned, letting him see the hurt, the questions in my eyes.
    “Well, how the hell did you expect me to feel?” He shook his head, his handsome face pinched into something bewildered and angry.
    “What are you talking about,” I hissed.
    “The last we saw each other, I—I thought we had something real.” His infinite gaze searched mine. “Hell, you pursued me . You kissed me. You felt as strongly as I did the connection between us. I know you did. Then, out of nowhere, I smell Gresham all over you. And Boone confirmed you’ve been seeing him.”
    “Oh, what does Boone know?” I scoffed. “He knows nothing.”
    “He knows what Timbra knows.” That hurt. I hadn’t expected she would share the details of my love life. “Surely you’re not denying it?”
    “No, I’m not denying it, Ewan.” I circled a thumb along my temple to ease some tension. “We…we got to know each other during my metamorphosis training. We’ve been