Intrigued her.
Raised her curiosity, which according to her brothers, never had a favorable outcome.They preferred her logical lists, which kept her on track.Yes, they teased her about her to-do lists, her planner with its colorful virtual stickers, but whenever she acted on impulse, disaster became her BFF.
She swallowed hard.Not going there.
Instead of staring at his hands and imagining his callused fingers trailing over her skin, she’d start her subtle interrogation.Back to the plan.Much safer for everyone.
“Do you have brothers or sisters?”
He finished inputting the course coordinates and set the ship to autopilot before he turned in her direction.She caught the flash of masculine interest before he tamped it down.The gleam of fiery gold in his eyes departed, leaving cool green-brown peepers.
“Are you going to sit there like a big ox and stare, or will we have a conversation?”Ah, yes.Her standard blunt, straightforward style.Her mother often told her she’d missed the tactful gene, this always uttered with grave parental concern.
His bright and unexpected grin made her girl-parts sit up and pay attention.“I have no idea what this ox thing is.”
“An animal with four legs.Eats grass.An herbivore.Brothers?Sisters?Do you have any?”
“I have a younger brother and two younger sisters.One is a half-sister who was not raised with us.When my father died, I invited her to live with our clan.Gryffnn has a son and a stepdaughter.He recently mated with a woman from another planet.”
“So you dragons don’t keep to yourselves?You cross-pollinate.”She winked.
“During my father’s time, our planet was closed to visitors.After he died, I decided we needed contact with others.Now, those who wish to come to Narenda apply for visitor visas.”
Scarlett stilled.Oops.“I didn’t do that.”
She received another of those charming smiles—a jolt to her system.“No, you thumbed your nose at procedure.”
“In my defense, I knew nothing of the visa requirement.My visit was a spur-of-the-moment thing after I heard talk in the market.If you hope to enforce this visa thing, consider placing guards to stop unauthorized visitors.No one mentioned dragons, and until you, I never saw another being.”
“I’ll mention this to Gryffnn.”
“Tell me about your sisters.”
“Jacinta comes after Gryffnn, and Sable is the youngest.Jacinta is a typical dragon female.She’s attractive with a trace of arrogance that keeps the males on their toes.Sable is my half-sister, the daughter of my sire’s mistress who came from Blackon.Some look down on her since she is unable to shift.Due to a childhood accident, she lost an arm.We purchased a high-tech artificial one for her.Some consider her flawed.”
“That must be difficult for her,” Scarlett said.
“Sable runs our household.Over the last rotations, she has grown in confidence.I’m proud of her.”
“What about your nephew and niece?”Scarlett’s curiosity had turned to interest.“Are they dragons?”
“Hallum is a full dragon while Lys is not.I haven’t met Lys yet, but I believe she resembles her mother.”He hesitated as if measuring what to say.“Gryffnn’s new family is complicated, but I’ve never seen my brother so happy.I respected Kaya before she paired with Gryffnn.Tell me about your family.You have brothers.”
Scarlett pulled a face.“I have five, all older.They’re bossy, they scare away potential boyfriends, and make my life difficult.”She shrugged, then grinned since they’d say the same thing about her.“I love them.I also have lots of cousins, most of them male.There aren’t many females in my generation, which is why the guys are ultra-protective.They’re the perfect contraception.”
Ransom’s brows rose.“If they’re so protective of you, why did I discover you alone on Narenda without a guard?”
“I didn’t require one.I escaped you, didn’t I?”
“How did you do that?”
She tapped her nose, indicating secrets.“I might require the same strategy a second time.”
“Why were you alone?”
An uncomfortable question because she’d had to use sneakiness when she much preferred a direct approach.She dragged in a fortifying breath, prepared to dodge the question.“I told my brothers I was going to Dalcon to purchase jewelry-making supplies.To be fair, the first time I never lied, but I met other suppliers and heard about the neighboring planets suitable for fossicking.”
“Not Narenda.”
