Chapter Four
The communicator hummed to life and Gerri pressed a different sequence of keys. The rotating cube stopped, and the screen faded to a dull gray. The humming stopped and the silence was almost ominous. Pieces of disjointed images formed and froze on screen, like trying to watch a movie on satellite during a thunderstorm. Valerie leaned closer, squinting to make heads or tails of the erratic pixels, jerking back when a man’s face popped on screen big as life.
“Dragosarra! We’ve been waiting for hours for your call,” he exclaimed, moving to sit on what looked to be a deck chair.
Valerie sat up straight, her mouth dropping open slightly. “Holy shit! Is he for real?”
Gerri’s lips pushed up in a side smirk and she spared a glance for Valerie. “Yes, honey. He is very real.”
The man was a romance cover model come to life. Rippling muscles and long dark hair and a smile that would make any woman weak and wet.
“Dragosarra?” he said again.
Gerri looked back to the screen. “Sorry I kept you waiting, Ryker. I came into some resistance on this end. Not everyone is as agreeable as Camille.”
Ryker’s eyes flicked to Valerie and he chuckled. “Camille told me you were a tough cookie.”
A gorgeous grin spread on his too perfect face and Valerie had to stop herself from staring.
“I know we haven’t been properly introduced, but I’m Ryker Dragos, Cami’s mate. It’s nice to finally meet you…well, sort of. Camille just left. There’s a baby shower at the palace today, but I can grab her. She’s not far and has been dying to talk to you.”
Dragos. Valerie’s eyes jerked toward Gerri, and the woman nodded.
“It’s complicated, honey, but I promise I’ll explain everything. You need to trust me,” she answered.
Valerie didn’t reply. Instead she watched Ryker jog to the edge of the deck, calling for Camille somewhere they couldn’t see.
“Wow. So, he’s the dragon shifter Cami found in her living room naked and willing to service her stupid? No wonder she left everything behind.”
Gerri nodded, sipping her drink with a smug look on her face. “Yup, and you could have your own shifter hotties if you want.”
Valerie spared her a quick look, letting a smirk take her face. “Give it a rest for now, okay, old lady?”
“Fine,” Gerri grinned.
Val absently adjusted the laptop to accommodate the man’s utter size. He was just as big as Arin and Xavier. “Are they all that big? I know I shouldn’t be checking out my best friend’s man, but damn!”
Gerri flashed a proud grin. “Well, it’s definitely not the camera angle. In fact, most shifters from Nova Aurora are that large, regardless of dual-natured species.”
“Nova Aurora?” Valerie questioned, taking her eyes off the laptop for a moment to look at Gerri. “That doesn’t sound familiar.”
The matchmaker eyed her. “Didn’t I say it was funny you said Camille ‘fell off the face of the Earth’?”
Valerie lifted one eyebrow. “Are you telling me Camille is on another planet? A planet with giant shifter men?”
The matchmaker nodded and both Val’s eyebrows shot to her hairline. She blinked twice, disbelieving, before slowly turning her eyes to the screen again.
“Does that mean Arin and Xavier—” she didn’t finish the sentence. Instead she took in the odd landscape in the distance, and the trees along the bluff.
The gentle water as it lapped against the far shore. Pink water. The trees with their violet bark and amethyst colored leaves dancing in the breeze, and the dual suns shining in the unusual blush-colored sky.
“Impossible,” she whispered.
Before Gerri could respond, Camille rushed up, breathless, a huge smile on her face. “Val! Oh my God! You would not believe this place! It’s out of this world!” she gushed.
“I’m beginning to see that.” The surreal feeling of Twilight Zone bit into her stomach and Valerie didn’t know what to think or say.
Cami nearly giggled. “Pretty wild, huh?”
If her senses were to be trusted, then her best friend was light years away and most likely never coming back.
She nodded, choking back a sob. “You look good, Camille.” Valerie dragged in a breath, shrugging to make light of what was almost too incredible to believe.
“So the naked guy that showed up in your living room turned out to be the real deal, huh? Your own personal prince charming,” Val teased, trying to sound light. “Live and in 3D Technicolor.”
Camille laughed out loud. “In the living room, in the bedroom, on the kitchen floor, in the shower, you name it.” She grinned, cocking her head. “Funny you should call him my prince charming, though.”
“Why? For a book nerd like you it doesn’t get any more fairytale,” Val chuckled.
Camille smirked, eyeing her friend. “Yeah, well. Royalty is more than just a state of mind when it comes to Ryker and his family.”
“Seriously? Hot, hunky and a royal? Of what country?” Val asked, forgetting for a moment Camille didn’t mean from Earth.
Cami’s gaze flicked to Gerri and then back again. “I think I’ll let Mrs. Wilder explain. Like I said in my note, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Her eyes scanned the part of the living room she could see through the communicator’s camera. “You did get my note, right?”
Valerie nodded.
“The owners have re-sublet the townhouse and the new tenants take possession at the end of the week, or so I think,” Camille replied. “There’s a huge time differential from home to here, so I hope you had time to pack my stuff.”
Valerie rolled her eyes. “Have I ever let you down? Let’s just say Mrs. Wilder was harder to get in touch with than I expected, and until I heard from you in person I wasn’t packing a single box. What are you worried about, though? You sublet the place furnished, and it’s not like UPS delivers to the Twilight Zone.”
The realization her best friend wasn’t around the corner anymore made Val’s chest hurt, but she forced a smile anyway. “You look happy, Cam. Really.”
Camille’s answering grin was soft. “I am, Val. Truly. Ryker and this place are more than even I could dream up. I wish you could see for yourself, though, but I suppose interstellar facetime is as good as it’s going to get. I wish you could see this. It’s amazing.”
She turned the camera on the communicator toward the water and the trees beyond. “See what I mean? The ocean water is cotton candy pink and always warm. You can float weightless the same way as in the Dead Sea on Earth, except here the water is vibrant with life. The trees are purple and smell like fresh lavender, and dragons fly in the distance over icy mountain peaks.”
With a laugh, Camille turned the camera back around. “Isn’t it great? When I say it’s out of this world, trust me, I mean it.” She leaned in, coming so close to the laptop lens her face got huge. “Val, promise me you’ll give Mrs. Wilder a chance to explain all this before you freak or threaten her with bodily harm—that you won’t get the way you get.”
Valerie cringed and Camille burst out laughing. “Val! Seriously, dude. Tell me you didn’t!” Shaking her head, she spared a look for Gerri. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Wilder. I should have warned you about my hot-blooded friend.”
“Everything’s fine, honey.” Gerri chuckled. “If I can deal with mule-headed shifters, I can handle a little human sass. In fact, Valerie and I came to a meeting of the minds. She’s even agreed to let me match her.”
Eyes wide, Val sputtered half her wine. “I did no such thing!”
“Val!” Camille laughed. “Respect, dude. Besides, what have you got to lose?” She sighed. “I’m so happy, Valerie. Please let Gerri work her magic for you, too.”
Valerie smirked, lifting one shoulder. “Maybe.”
“It’s your choice, I suppose.” Cami sighed again. “But I never thought you the type to go back to those skinny-jeaned, man-bunned metrosexuals and their lattes at the coffeehouse. Not when you pushed me to go for more.”
Valerie snorted. “Look at you turning the tables.” She watched Camille’s lip curl and she had to laugh. “I’ll make you a deal. Mrs. Wilder challenged me to a bet. I’ll accept and give the whole shifter thing an honest try, but only if my hook-up is twice as hot as Ryker. You ended up with Mr. Universe, so why not me?”
“Literally!” Camille laughed even louder, sparing a glance for her mate at the edge of the deck overlooking the pink water.
Following her friend’s line of sight, Valerie tapped on the screen. “Seriously, bookworm. Do they all look like that?”
Nodding, Camille giggled. “Pretty much, yeah.”
“Damn. There aren’t enough batteries in the world.” Val whistled low.
Camille’s brows knotted for a moment. “Batteries? For what?”
“For the adult toys necessary to deal with that kind of hotness day and night. Especially if it’s all lookee-but-don’t-touchee.” Val winked.
Camille’s grin spread ear to ear. “Yeah, well. If Gerri has her way you’ll have your own personal, flesh and blood adult toy to use day and night. Trust me, Val. Big time. And I mean BIG!”
A shadow of regret replaced the humor in Cami’s eyes and her contented sigh was suddenly tinged with loneliness. “Ryker is wonderful, and everyone here is so welcoming, but not having you around is the one thing I would change about my life right now.” Her breath hitched and Camille pressed her palm to the screen. “I miss you, so much, dude.”
“I miss you, too, bookworm.” Val pressed her palm to Camille’s as well, but before she could say anything else, her friend turned.
Pulling her hand back, Camille nodded to muffled voices off screen before turning back. “Listen, Val,” she began softly. “I gotta go. The queen’s baby shower is today and as a member of the royal house, I have to be there to represent.” She touched the screen one last time and blew a kiss. “I love you, dude. Always.”
“Cami! Wait! Is there a way I can call you? Email or something?” Val’s voice rose and she gripped the sides of the communicator, but the screen had already gone black.