And on Wing Island, everything was still as beautifully sunny and peaceful as it had been before.
Braeden reached out to take her hand, and Alyx sighed in pure happiness as their fingers entwined.
Who'd have thought that life could be so good. Nothing like a few weeks in a fire dragon lair to teach you to enjoy the good things in life!
“Timothy said we can stay for as long as we like,” Braeden said. “What do you think?”
Alyx stretched, enjoying the heat on her skin. She'd always loved the sun, but for some reason, it made her feel all energetic and giddy today. Almost as if something inside her was soaking up the heat like a battery.
Maybe that's what it means to be the Lady of the Fire...
She turned over so she could look at Braeden, smiling at his own blissful expression.
This time, they'd been fortunate. Timothy had given them one of the vacation homes right on the beach. Their deck was built on wooden poles right above the ocean, and they had complete privacy, copses of bushes and trees shielding their stretch of the beach from all eyes.
Maybe she could use that as an excuse to go skinny dipping at midnight. She'd always wanted to try that.
But right now...
Braeden gave her a knowing look, his eyes darkening as he stared at her. Alyx was wearing a bikini she'd bought in the bunny shifter's boutique. She stretched a little, loving the way his eyes lingered.
She didn't think it was the sparkly fabric that had him so distracted...
“I've got a present for you,” he said after a moment, his voice suspiciously rough. “Want to go inside?”
Alyx allowed her eyes to run down his body for a moment, lingering on the unmistakable shape of his arousal.
“There's only one present I'm interested in right now.” She gave him a teasing look. “It better not be a book.”
He grinned as he got up—and then she found herself unceremoniously lifted, carried inside while she giggled with laughter.
“It's not a book,” he promised earnestly.
“Mmm... A blindfold?” She arched her brow at him.
That earned her a grin. “No, but good idea.”
“Oh, is it?” She smirked at him, loving the sensation of his strong arms around her. “And what makes you think I'll let you put a blindfold on me?”
His own grin turned wicked. “Oh, you've been dropping way too many hints now.”
He set her down on the bed, which some helpful soul had strewn with rose petals. There was a cooler with a bottle of real champagne by the bed—and there, next to it, a curious little box.
A box that looked like it was made of solid gold.
“The box was a present from Gregory and Naomi,” Braeden said. “The pearls were a present from Timothy and Liana. And the gold comes from Damon and Autumn.”
He opened the box and then spilled its contents all over the bed.
Alyx gasped, her eyes going wide. There were strings of pearls, chains of gleaming gold, and a tiara. Every last bit of this treasure spilled all around her, worth more than what she made in a year.
And there were rubies.
Bright like fire, they glistened red in the light of the sun falling in through the window.
Without thinking, Alyx found herself reaching out for them.
Several of them were worked into a slender tiara of gold. Two in the shape of drops were earrings. Another gleaming pile of rubies and gold turned out to be a bracelet, the gold worked into a shape reminding her of flickering flames, decorated with the gleaming jewels.