“If I wear it on my wrist, people will see it every day, which I like,” she muses, half to herself. “If it’s on my arm, I’d have to wear short sleeves. If it’s on my neck…” She trails off, a flash of vulnerability in her eyes. “What do you want this to mean?” she asks.
I swallow. “I want it to mean what you want it to mean. That’s why I made it.”
If only I had the guts to say it more clearly than that.
The cat takes a slow breath, her eyes never leaving mine. “Okay. Well, I want it to mean that I belong to myself, but also to you. I want it to mean that I choose to carry you here.” She taps her bicep, then her heart.
I am stunned silent for a second because it’s perfect and also because I could never have said it so well. “That’s… honestly, that’s better than anything I imagined.” I manage a shaky smile.
She grins back and, without warning, tosses the scale band at me. I catch it, barely, then blink as she slides off the chair and perches herself at the edge of the bed, right next to my knees. “Well, then,” she says, “put it on me.”
My hands turn clumsy, but Deli doesn’t seem to mind. She holds her arm out, and I wrap the scale band around her bicep, careful not to pinch her skin or snag the tiny hairs that bristle up at the touch. The band conforms, the flexible membrane at the core responding to the heat of her body and slowly sticking to itself, like cling wrap but ten thousand times cooler. The scales settle into place, gleaming green and red in the lamplight, and she flexes her arm, watching the colors ripple.
“There,” I say, trying not to sound too pleased with myself. “Now you’re ready to be officially marked.”
She inspects it in the mirror over the dresser, twisting her arm this way and that, and then she laughs—loud and real again. “It looks perfect.”
I sit back, a wave of relief washing over me. “Glad you approve.”
She turns, looking at me seriously. “Where would you put yours?” she asks, voice gentle now.
I pause, surprised. “I don’t know. I never thought about it.”
She grins. “Well, I have. And when I make you one, you won’t get a say because I asked, and you declined to assist.”
I can’t help but laugh this time, and the tension finally breaks for good. She sits beside me, shoulder pressing against mine, andtogether we look at the scale band, glowing in the last light of day.
She turns, hesitates, and then asks, “On your body?”
I huff, reaching down to untie the knee-high straps on her sandals. “Well, duh. It’s your mark, though.” Biting my lip, I arch a brow. “Maybe we should consider it after we finish this process?”
Her smile is knowing and sultry, which makes me feel ridiculous.
“I couldn’t suck at this more if I tried,” I growl. I look at her, squirming in my seat before I say, “Maybe you should get naked?”
Grinning, she looks at her short halter dress. “I’m not wearing much to start with.” After she shucks it, she lies on the bed. “I’m ready.”
I fiddle around for a moment, touching her body in gentle strokes before I whisper, “Stretch.” Her back shifts, and I laugh. “Not you—the mark.”
The scales lengthen, wrapping around her arm from wrist to elbow in a bold display. I blink in surprise as I note it looks perfect and unmistakable to anyone she meets. That makes my snake happy, so I ask, “Is this okay?”
She nods with a soft smile, everything about her serene suddenly. “It’s definitely as visible as his, and he’ll be very amused. You’re usually not as showy as the bird.”
“I could be a Vegas showgirl and not be as showy as bird boy.”
“Does it have a special word?”
I growl. “Yes. It took over an hour to convince Damien that ‘hunkette of burning sin’ would not work.”
“I swear, he wants me to get furry with him.”
“No, no. You, love of my heart, do not want him furry.”
“Humph. He doesn’t want to see me spark either. Bastard.”
Watching the kitty get miffed is fun; I’ll give the bird that. “You said ‘hunka’ for Taurus.”
“See if I ever do it again if he’s going to tell everyone.” She screams as if he can hear it, which, come to think of it, he probably can. I climb up next to her. “If you’re going to scream, love, we’ve got a mark to place.”
