“Yes,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster. She peeled off her coat and threw it to the floor.
He stared at her silk pajamas as she climbed into his bed, a low sound of approval rumbling in his throat.
“Now that we’re alone, can I see your valor tattoo?” she asked.
He huffed a laugh. “If you want me to take my pants off, all you have to do is ask, Scar.”
He wasn’t wrong about her motivation. “I just did, Brayden. But I really do want to see the tattoo too.”
Brayden chuckled as he sat up and slid off his drawstring pants, revealing a pair of boxer briefs underneath. He flopped back down onto his bed, ready for her inspection.
Scarlett swallowed as her gaze slid to the tattoo on his left thigh. Rising to her knees, she moved to get a closer look. The black-and-white tattoo of a bird made of flames covered his left quad. His muscular legs had a light dusting of hair that tickled her fingers as she traced the valor.
“It’s such a badass valor. Do you love being able to make fire?”
“Yep.” He held up his palm, and flames sprouted all over his hand. “They can getreallybig.” The little flames flared as if they concurred.
She gazed in wonder at his magic, unlike anything she’d ever seen in Soleil. “How big can they get? Have you ever run out of fire?”
“I haven’t pushed myself far enough to run out. Hopefully, that’ll never happen. I get exhausted if I use it too much though. I’ll show you how big they get as soon as there’s a chance. There are these gorgeous hidden pools up in Mont Noir. If we go up there, I can heat them up by doing a naked cannonball into the water while I’m on fire.”
She laughed. The idea of seeing him naked outside was taking her fantasies to the next level. “That’s incredible. I can’t wait tosee it.” She reached for his hand, stopping when she was close enough that the heat from the flames warmed her skin. She tried to touch the fire with a single finger, but Brayden pulled his hand away, and the flames disappeared.
“It’ll burn you.”
Her face heated. “Guess that was kind of dumb of me.”
He grinned. “Yep.”
Scarlett stuck her tongue out at the playful jab and then lay back down, this time curling up against Brayden and threading her leg through his. His warmth surrounded her as he began to stroke her hair, and she sighed happily.
“Does a Phoenix have any other cool powers?”
“I told you I’m hard to kill. What I didn’t tell you is I can theoretically come back from the dead.”
Scarlett stared at him. “Seriously?”
“Freaky, right? I haven’t died and come back myself, thank the Goddess, but there are documented instances from the past where firebirds have died of unnatural causes and woken up hours or days later mostly healed. There are hard limits, of course. Please don’t cut my head off.”
She stiffened as the day of the assassination came back to her. The car, the blood… If it had been Brayden who was shot, could he have survived that? The idea of him testing the limits of his magic that way made her stomach clench.
“Will you live longer because of your valor?”
“No. I’ll still age and die,” said Brayden. “I don’t want to live forever. I would hate to outlive everyone I love.”
The fireplace was all but extinguished, the dying embers and the faint glow emitted by Jax and Nori the only illumination in the room.
“I’d hate that too. It’s nice you can’t die suddenly like my parents did,” said Scarlett as she trailed her fingertips over his bare chest. “Is it fucked up that was the first thought I had whenyou told me?”
“No, it’s not fucked up.” He held her closer. “It’s one reason why we should consider getting the North Star runes sooner rather than later. Especially if you insist on going back to Soleil alone. I’m terrified of losing you.”
“You won’t lose me,” she whispered.
“Life is far from safe for you.”
“I’ll be careful. I’m way too bent on revenge to die,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood. It was late, but Scarlett wasn’t tired.
“I won’t let you die,” he said solemnly, and she didn’t respond, not wanting to point out that he wouldn’t be there.
