Chapter 4

4

I t was a whirlwind of a first day, but when Neve begged off with a headache and a need for a shower, Pine let her go. Her room was something out of a fairytale, or a hotel way too high end for her to ever afford. But compared to flying on the back of a dragon, it was nothing.

The next morning, she tried to tell herself she wasn't hiding. No one had told her if breakfast was at a certain time or if there was some sort of schedule. Was the party that day? How long was she supposed to stay on this dragon planet?

She really hadn't asked enough questions the day before.

Neve told her brain to give the rest of her a break. It wasn't like she found out alien dragons existed every day. That kind of overwrote every other thing she might think about.

Did she even have appropriate clothing? She'd packed for a winter getaway and had thrown in a little black dress at the last moment. But it certainly wasn't something she'd wear to a ball.

There was a large wardrobe standing like a soldier against one wall. Neve opened it, hoping that maybe clothes had materialized overnight for her to wear, but there was nothing. And when she checked the back wall of the wardrobe, it was solid. No portal to another world. If there was one, she would hope it took her back to Earth.

"You've gone off the deep end," she muttered to herself.

Excited knocking at the door made her jolt in surprise, and before she could answer, the door creaked open, and a young woman with red hair and a broad smile on her face slipped in. "Do you mind if I come in? How'd you sleep?" She was bouncing from foot to foot, energy eager to burst out of her.

Was this another dragon? Was everyone but her a dragon?

Neve stared at the girl, not quite able to get her mind around what she was supposed to say. Where was Pine? At least she knew him.

Sort of.

"I'm Briar," said the young woman. "Pine's my brother. I'm so happy you agreed to this whole thing. I know it's kind of ridiculous and all, but Pine never just has fun with stuff, you know? Have the servants sent up breakfast? Are you hungry? Are you ready?" The questions poured out of her mouth like a landslide.

A younger sister. Apparently they were the same on every planet. Neve didn't have siblings herself, but she knew the type. "I haven't eaten." That was a good place to start. "And ready for what?"

Briar practically skipped into the room and looped her arm into Neve's. "Come on."

Breakfast was a relatively simple affair of fruits she didn't recognize and bread with cheese and some kind of meat. She didn't ask questions. They wouldn't serve her humans, right? Did dragons eat humans? Was she doing cannibalism?

Even though the meat was tender and well-seasoned, Neve avoided the rest of it and finished the fruit, bread, and cheese. It was another thing she couldn't think too hard about.

A servant walked into the room just as Neve was finishing her juice and addressed Briar. "The modiste is here, my lady."

"Thank you, Rendell." Briar grinned at her. "Pine doesn't think of this stuff. Come on, let's get you ready!"

And that was how Neve found herself standing in front of hastily set up mirrors in a sitting room, with cloth draped over her as Briar and the modiste, Kerren, eyed her like she was some sort of moving doll.

"What's going on?" Pine's voice startled her, and Neve jerked, brushing against a few of the pins keeping all the cloth in place.

"What do you think?" Briar asked, hovering her hands over Neve as she showed off the icy blue fabric.

Pine's eyes raked her from head to toe, and the heat of it felt strong enough to melt the icicle blue of her dress. Neve met his eyes defiantly. He'd gotten her into this mess, and he had to see it through.

They stared at one another for a heavy second. There was green in his eyes, flecks of it offset by gray. How strange. And pretty.

She didn't often think a man had pretty eyes.

Maybe it was the eyelashes. They were long and thick and framed his eyes like a painting.

Pine cleared his throat and looked back at the framework of a dress she was wearing. "You'll probably want to sew it all together before the ball."

Briar groaned. "You have no taste. Begone, dragon man." She shooed him with a negligent wave.

Pine chuckled and left them alone.

"He's really not so bad," Briar said once he was probably out of earshot. "He just takes too much on. He's got the weight of the world on his shoulders."

Neve would be lying if she said she wasn't curious. This was a man who'd summoned a woman from another planet for a simple date. In her experience, people who did things like that, or at least the Earth equivalent, weren't worried about how their actions affected others. "Is that so?"

"He's worried that if he doesn't make a good impression then I won't get the job I want in the ministry. The king seemed nice enough when I was presented at court, but Pine is always thinking about the ways things can go wrong. I hope he actually has fun at this ball. He hasn't since Father died."

He'd said something about that, hadn't he? Or something about newly ascending to his title. Neve kept her mouth shut. Briar wanted to talk, and it couldn't hurt to learn more about what was going on.

"Father was quite old when I was born, but he did everything he could for us. He got sick last year and just … faded. I don't think Pine let himself see it coming. And because Father was sick for so long, there's issues with the estate. Nothing that we can't handle, you understand, but it's a lot of work at once. And now with the king forcing him to go to the ball …"

"I thought you said he wanted to go because of your job." Briar had said a lot, and Neve wasn't sure if it all connected.

"When the king invites you to something like this, you don't get to say no unless you can come up with a really good excuse. Pine thought he could get away with just saying he was sick. I convinced him otherwise. So I guess you have me to thank for this whole thing. What do you think about beading around the collar?"

Neve's mind reeled there. Was Pine as bad as her parents, putting on a big show at the holidays merely for clout and position, or was it something more? Did it even matter? She was only going to be there until the ball; she didn't need to get caught up in family squabbles.

The modiste made some adjustments, and suddenly there was a string of delicate glass beads along Neve's collar and the draping almost truly looked like a dress. "I have enough here, ma'am. I can have this back to you the morning of the ball. That's three days. If there are final fit adjustments, we'll have to do them then."

Briar sighed but didn't argue.

Neve put her clothes on as the modiste packed up the fabric and supplies. At some point, Briar slipped from the room, and once the modiste left, Neve was alone.

What now?

She had no idea what time it was or if they even kept time like on Earth. Was lunch a thing on Vemion? And what else did Pine—or was it Briar—have in store for her today?

The door opened again, and Pine stepped in. "Did all go well with the dressmaker?"

"I hope so. I guess we'll know before the party." At least she knew what to expect for her parents' Christmas shindig. She was flying blind here. "So what can I expect? Dragons flying around all night? Fireworks?" Human sacrifice? She kept the last one to herself.

Pine took a step closer. "There will be food. Music. Dancing. The king will say a few words. It's all …" He sighed and didn't finish the sentence.

He wanted to go to this ball about as much as she wanted to attend her parents' Christmas party, except no one was about to kidnap him and secret him away to another planet. Maybe the dress fitting had put her in a good mood or at least cemented that there was no getting out of the event, but Neve wanted to cheer him up. She couldn't banish his grief, but at least she could help him have a pleasant night.

"What kind of dancing do dragons get up to?" She shimmied her hips to music only she could hear and moved her hands up and down.

"What's that ?" Pine was horrified.

"It's disco! Saturday Night Fever, baby." She laughed at his horror and started to do the running man and any other silly move she could think of.

"Is this what passes for dancing on your planet?"

Normally, you couldn't see a person question every life choice that led to this individual moment, but right then Neve could, and it made her laugh even harder.

"Why don't you show me what they'll expect? Unless you want me to show you how to boogie." Even saying it made her feel like she was living in some movie from the seventies, but Pine's sour mood seemed to be getting sweeter with every one of her antics.

He pulled something that looked like a regular phone out of his pocket and played with the screen for a moment until a melody started to play. It was like nothing she'd heard before on instruments she probably couldn't imagine, but it was beautiful. "Come here," he said and beckoned her forward.

Neve stepped close and realized her mistake.

Pine's scent enveloped her, something masculine and earthy with just a hint of spice. She wanted to roll around in it, bottle it up, and wear it forever. Her body lit up the closer they stood.

And she'd tempted him to dance.

This was a bad idea.

But she was only here for a few days. What would it hurt if she flirted a bit? After the party, she'd go home carrying impossible memories, things she could never tell anyone else if she hoped to be believed. She could flirt with a dragon.

She could do more than flirt.

"Show me how dragons dance."

Pine put a hand on her waist and drew her close, their bodies pressing together as he guided her in a slow and simple rhythm.

Neve could feel the heat of him, his muscles moving beneath his clothes, and his breath tickling her neck. She shivered and clung to him, not knowing what she was doing but trusting him to lead her through it.

It was the simplest of moves, but somehow the most sensual.

She never wanted it to end.

But Pine pulled back and smiled down at her, his eyes hooded. "That's something simple. I think you pull it off well."

"What's something hard?" The words felt completely filthy on her tongue, but maybe the double meaning didn't translate properly.

Pine put both of his hands on her hips and moved again. It was a more intense step this time, the music pounding out a beat she could barely match. She tried to follow Pine's footwork, but after a few seconds tripped, and he had to catch her, turning it into a perfectly executed dip.

The man could dance.

He helped her back up but didn't let go.

Neve didn't step back.

Her eyes flicked down to his lips, and her tongue darted out to wet her own. If she was ever going to seize the moment, the time was now.

She leaned in and brushed her lips against his. It was gentle. An invitation.

She pulled back and met Pine's eyes, waiting to see what he might do next.

She thought she smelled smoke.

Any worry evaporated as he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. His kiss was hot and urgent, like they were more than strangers, like he was a man dying of thirst, and she was his water.

It was all Neve could do to keep up, clinging to his shoulders and letting him take the lead. He groaned against her mouth, his hand cupping her ass and keeping her pressed tight to him.

She could feel him.

All of him.

And she wanted more.

But Pine pulled away, practically throwing her out of his embrace as he backed away. He swiped his hand against his mouth, and there was a strange halo of smoke that seemed to gather around his legs.

It must have been a dragon thing.

"I think you'll manage to dance just fine. Excuse me, I have to go."

And he fled.