Which was good. He'd hoped that after the horrors of the fire dragon caves, she'd see that there was a lot more beauty to the shifter world than what she'd seen.
But this wasn't his home. This was the ocean dragon's home.
And as much as Braeden wanted to give Alyx a community like this, he didn't have one.
But maybe that's all right. Alyx is smart and strong and good with people. Maybe she wouldn’t mind having to start from scratch together with me.
“Have you two thought about where you're going to live yet?” Liana asked as if on command.
“I want to go home,” Alyx said wistfully. “I know I can't—I'd be putting all my friends and colleagues in danger. But I miss them. I miss my work. I want them to know that I'm okay.”
“Once Steele is gone,” Braeden said softly. “You'll get your life back. I promise.”
Perhaps it wouldn't be as easy as he'd hoped. She already had a job she loved and a good life. What right had he to demand that she come build a new life when he didn't have anything at all to offer her?
“But in the meantime, this isn't bad at all. For a while, I thought I'd never see the stars again.” Alyx leaned back in his arms, craning her head to look up at the sky.
Braeden followed her gaze. There was not a single cloud in sight. The stars were so bright he could pick out the constellations.
He pressed a kiss to Alyx's hair.
No matter where they went after Steele was defeated, he'd be happy, as long as his mate was safe.
And perhaps he could live in the human world with her. He'd always wanted to know more about it. He still had a lot to learn.
Then the fish sizzled again, fat dripping into the flames, and Braeden realized he'd almost let their dinner burn.
Hastily, he reached into the flames and rescued the fish. It was a giant bluefin tuna which Timothy had caught for them—now it was charred black on the outside.
Fortunately, when they started to dig into it, it turned out perfectly juicy on the inside, with just a hint of the smoky aroma of dragon fire.
Alyx closed her eyes with pleasure after her first bite, then gave him a thumbs-up, too distracted by the delicious fish to stop to talk. Braeden smiled to himself, his heart filled by a deep, all-consuming warmth.
So this was what hope felt like.
Maybe they hadn't worked out everything yet. Maybe there was still an incredibly powerful and dangerous enemy waiting to destroy him.
But no matter what happened, at the end of it, Alyx would still be there. And they'd build something together.
***
“I like your friends,” Alyx said when they'd finally made it to their little vacation home for the night.
“Really?” Braeden had a hard time concentrating on what she was saying, because she'd just started to pull off her shirt.
“Mm-hmm.” She gave him a wicked little look that said that she knew exactly what she was doing to him.
Which perhaps wasn't that hard to figure out, given the rock-hard erection that was currently pressing painfully against his jeans.
“And I like this town. I always thought I was a city girl through and through, but this place is amazing. They've built a good thing here. I wish I could write about it.”
“You could,” Braeden said, his eyes riveted to where she was slowly unhooking her bra.
She grinned at him before she pulled it away. Braeden swallowed, thinking of his hands on all that soft, silky skin.
He held out his arms, but instead, she wo
rked open the button of her pants—teasingly slow.