SavedDragon Read Free

getting that,” she graciously said to him when he rejoined her on the rough stone.
    “I did nothing worthy of your gratitude.”
    The smile began to slip from her face, but it clung precariously and lingered with renewed uncertainty. He was an odd man. Strange, but so very otherworldly and polite. His unrecognizable accent sent chills down her spine.
    “Where are you from?” she suddenly asked, eager to learn more about the man in her company. Her strange savior blinked at her in surprise, as if he’d expected anything but her curiosity.
    “From a land distant to this place.”
    “Europe?” she questioned again.
    Saul shook his head. “Hardly.”
    Am I prying into his business? she wondered. Her smile faded, swept away by her rising uncertainty. Unwilling to bother him any further, she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arm around them. The sleeping bag maintained her sense of modesty.
    “Tell me about you,” Saul said.
    “Me? Not much to tell. I’m a paralegal. We deal mostly with family law and property disputes,” she explained. “But I think I’m ready for a change. Lately…” The job lacked the rewarding qualities she once enjoyed. She wanted something fresh in a new city away from Freddy’s inane insecurities and Malcolm’s egotistical attitude. Chloe and her ex still crossed paths since they worked in the same building.
    Recently, rumors had traveled down the office grapevine about Malcolm’s new wife dumping him and finding a loophole in their supposed ironclad prenuptial agreement. She took him to the bank, and now he was on the prowl for a replacement. She confirmed it as truth when she caught Malcolm slinking around her office floor.
    If the distance of a few hundred miles separated them, maybe she wouldn’t feel compelled to take either loser back the next time one of them slunk into her life. She credited her best friend Marcy’s support for helping her through the last rough breakup. If not for her BFF reminding her of Freddy’s short fuse, she might have caved and allowed him in on her trip.
    Saul was as intuitive as he was attractive. “You are unsatisfied with your work. The clientele, perhaps?”
    “Sometimes. We see a lot of families come in to split up… with kids caught in the middle. Sometimes people use them like currency to hurt the other partner in the relationship. Ten years of watching people fight over things they could work out in marital counseling, and now I’m just plain tired.”
    “A union no longer carries the weight it once held,” he agreed.
    “Are you married?” she asked.
    Saul shook his head. “I remain untethered.”
    “A happy bachelor then?” Chloe asked lightly, putting a smile on her face.
    Her scruffy companion shook his head again. “It is not for lack of interest to find a better half or my failure to conduct a thorough search. She simply does not exist.”
    “Oh…” Crap, change of subject, change of subject! she thought. She admonished herself mentally for prying into the man’s personal affairs, and then quickly leapt into something safely impersonal. “Do you live or work nearby, Saul?”
    He shook his head again. “I work in Drakenstone Studios. Certainly not close by any means. I flew in to enjoy a fortnight away from the city’s filth.”
    The name struck a chord in her memory. A few recent blockbuster film titles flitted through her mind, the sort with lots of action and amazing effects.
    “You’re not an actor though, right? I’d have seen you in something.”
    Saul flashed her a toothy grin. “No. I do not act.”
    Pity… He had the looks for it but the idea of women across the world ogling him made Chloe irritable. The out-of-the-blue surge of jealousy unsettled her.
    As if sensing her discomfort, Saul leapt up to his feet and offered both hands out to her. He had agile moves, like a martial artist or gymnast. “Why have you remained stationary?” he questioned. “Come. You may resume your interrogation