Chapter 9

9

N eve was in a winter wonderland. And she wasn't even that cold.

Maybe it was the warmth from the cider. Maybe it was the bonfire.

She had a feeling it had something to do with the man, the dragon, beside her.

They'd left the winter festival behind some time ago and were now wandering the streets of the city, examining the window displays and dipping into any shop that caught their fancy.

Her fancy, actually.

She hadn't noticed it at first, but by the third shop, it was clear that Pine was following her lead. He hadn't suggested that they go into any store where she hadn't spent a good amount of time admiring their winter display, and once inside, he stuck close by, not caring about the wares for sale.

She hadn't planned to buy anything. She wasn't sure how dragon money worked, and she certainly didn't have any of her own. But Pine had put a stop to any of that thinking. In the first shop, he'd insisted that she get a scarf that shimmered in the light while still managing to ward off the cold. In the second shop, it was a small box of chocolates that tasted unlike anything she'd ever tried back home.

Now, in the third shop, she was trying her hardest not to look at the necklace on display.

A scarf and chocolates couldn't cost that much. Judging by the sparkle of the necklace, it had to cost a pretty penny. She wouldn't even try it on.

But her eyes kept dragging back to it.

Neve forced herself to walk away. And walking out of the store without a backwards glance was harder than it should have been.

"Shall we head home?" Pine asked when they reached the end of the main street without finding any more shops she couldn't resist.

Home.

For some reason, the thought of his manor sent a strange pang through her. This wasn't her home. It was a strange place, almost out of time, where she could experience impossible things with an impossible man and hope the memories stayed with her forever.

She shivered. It was getting chillier.

Pine called for their ride, and they waited on the sidewalk for it to pick them up. Then he cupped his hands together and blew into them.

Fire bloomed.

Dragon. Right. Definitely not what she was used to.

"Here," Pine said, "just be careful not to touch."

She let her hands hover over the flame, amazed that the heat was pleasant but never got too hot. A crazy part of her was convinced she could pull off her mitten and run her fingers through the flame like it was water and come out no worse for wear. Instead, she kept her hands safely out of range. Fire was fire, no matter what planet you were on.

The ride home—back to the manor—seemed shorter than the ride out. Once they were back inside, she and Pine stood in the entryway, neither of them seeming to know how to walk away.

All she had to do was lean forward to kiss him.

After this morning, she was almost sure he wouldn't run. But the memory of that first kiss a few days ago kept her rooted in place. Pine had rejected her once. One nice day couldn't wipe away the sting of that.

Finally, he took a step back. "We'll have supper in the informal dining room. I'm sure you'd like to rest after this morning."

They'd walked around town for a few hours; she hardly needed a nap. But, then again, she was on vacation.

They split up, and as Neve climbed the stairs to her room, her aching muscles told her that a nice long soak took priority over sleep. There was a gigantic tub in the bathroom in her suite, and it only took a few minutes to figure out how to work the faucet. She breathed out a sigh of relief when warm water started to flow. She didn't want to ask a servant to fill her bath—that seemed like a waste of their time.

She stripped off her clothes and climbed into the tub, letting out a moan of pure pleasure as she sank into the water. The tub was practically the size of a small swimming pool, and she could stretch out and let her whole body float if she wanted to.

Being a filthy rich dragon didn't suck.

Playing with the knobs and buttons on the side of the tub led to the discovery of how to turn on the tub's jets, and she also found the soap dispenser. She stayed in the water until her hands were prunes and she feared she might actually dissolve into a liquid.

And once she was out of the tub, the nap was irresistible.

Ah, relaxation at its finest.

There was a dress waiting on a hanger outside her wardrobe later that day. She'd woken from her nap and wandered around the house like she was in some sort of country house mystery. Luckily, she didn't find any dead bodies or hear about any intrigue. Instead, she found a library full of books in a language she couldn't read. Apparently, her translator only worked on the spoken word.

Bummer.

But when she got back to her room, it was clear that it had been tidied and someone—Pine? —had selected a dress for her. It wasn't one that she'd brought. Instead, it was a light green flowing simple gown with shimmering golden details around the cuffs.

She wasn't sure how she felt about someone else choosing her clothes, but Neve couldn't resist touching the fabric.

Silk.

Or whatever the draconic equivalent to silk was. It felt decadent.

Would it really hurt to try it on?

No, absolutely not.

The dress fit like it was made for her, and when she twirled in front of her mirror, she couldn't stop the burst of laughter that came out of her mouth, not even when she clamped a hand over it.

She was keeping this dress when she went home.

Neve stopped spinning, and the smile slid off her face. Home. Right. She wanted to go home. She had a life back there. Theoretically. There was her job, which bored her out of her mind. And her family, who she avoided at all costs. Friends … who she hadn't spent more than a couple of hours with since college.

Oh god, she didn't have a life.

Neve backed up until she basically collapsed onto her plush bed and shrank in on herself. Did anyone even realize she was gone? How long had she been gone for? She'd only been on Vemion a few days, but she had a vague idea that the universe was unfathomably big, and she remembered from old astronomy lessons that Earth was nowhere near any stars beside the sun. And she was pretty sure Vemion wasn't in the solar system. Someone would have discovered it by now.

Could Pine actually send her home, or would it be some sort of Rip Van Winkle situation where she arrived after decades that had passed for her in a blink?

A chime sounded, the call to dinner.

Neve pushed those thoughts aside. It had been a very nice day. She was wearing a beautiful dress. And she'd agreed to hang around for two weeks. She'd worry about the future tomorrow.

The worries fell away with each step towards the informal dining room, where Pine was waiting for her. She'd be lying if she said her heart didn't start to race a bit.

She'd thought he would kiss her earlier. She'd hoped he would.

If he kissed her tonight, she wasn't holding back.

The informal dining room was still nicer than anything that Neve had seen outside of Vemion. The table could fit about six people and was held up by gilt legs and had a small candelabra in the center.

Pine was already seated and stood when she entered. "The dress …" He trailed off, eyes raking over her.

She could feel her cheeks turning red and willed her blush to fade. "It's not too bad. It even has pockets." She stuck her hands as deep as they could go to show them off.

They might have stood there staring at each other like fools if a servant hadn't entered bearing two plates. Neve took her seat. So did Pine.

She barely tasted the food.

The whole meal, she couldn't stop looking at him. The way he held his fork-like utensil. The delicate way he patted at his mouth after eating a particularly saucy morsel. They way he'd look up every so often, and the candlelight would reflect in his eyes, making it look like they were lit with an inner fire.

When the last of the plates were cleared away, Pine held out a hand. "Walk with me?"

Like she could say no to that.

Neve placed her hand in his and had to suppress the shiver that tried to travel from her fingers down her spine and through the rest of her body. They were barely touching. No need to make such a big deal out of it.

Pine led her towards a glass door that led outside. If anything could break the enchantment between them, it was the chill of winter. Her dress was beautiful, but it wouldn't keep her warm outside.

It wasn't an issue.

The door led to a glass enclosed atrium that sparkled with a mix of candlelight and subtle electric light. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. And it was warm. She could feel the heat even through her dress.

She could feel Pine's hand in hers and his breath on her neck.

"What is this …" She wasn't sure.

"The winter garden," Pine filled in. "It's protected from the cold and can grow plants that would freeze or die outside."

Neve didn't care about the plants. She cared about the way Pine was looking at her, the way his thumb was rubbing against the back of her hand.

She didn't wait for him to make the first move. She turned towards him and lifted her chin.

"Kiss me."

His lips were on hers a second later. It was different than their first kiss. Confident. Gentle. Reverent.

Pine wasn't running away.

He had her pressed against the glass, the light from the atrium giving him a hazy halo.

"Beautiful," he whispered.

Neve didn't think he was talking about the flowers.

She couldn't stand it. She grabbed the lapels of his suit and pulled him down for another kiss. Her lips parted, and their tongues collided. Pine groaned, and his hand was suddenly in her hair, tangling and tugging just enough to make her shiver.

She felt his other hand slide down her side and cup her ass.

Oh, yes.

"We shouldn't be doing this," he whispered in her ear.

"Why not?" She arched her back, pressing herself against him.

"Because …" He trailed off, letting kisses rain down her throat. "Because I have a whole suite upstairs and a very comfortable bed. Join me?"