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More likely, and she wasn’t going to say it out loud yet—not yet—she was falling in love. Nothing else had ever felt like this before.
Was he good for her? Who knew. Was he capable of change? She thought so. Was he capable of improving and being the man she knew he could be? Yes. Time would tell if he wanted to do the work, though.
She had work to do too. She had to be stronger for this life. It wasn’t like her human life. This was an entirely different world.
“You have a choice. You don’t have to do this,” he whispered.
Wreck was tall, and she had to arch her neck back to look up at him. “You aren’t hurting me now.”
“Because you damn-near killed me.”
She frowned. “What?”
Wreck released her right hand and brushed her hair off her neck. He cupped her there and lowered his lips to her ear. “Until tonight, nothing could hurt me.”
“I hurt you?” she asked, horrified.
He smiled tiredly. “It’s a good thing, Timber. Someone should be able to protect the world from me. You can.”
Gooseflesh rippled up her arms. “I don’t want to protect the world from you. I want to keep you safe.”
He cupped her cheek and rested his against the other side of her face, slowly swaying in the dance again. Being this close to him, smelling his cologne and the faint scent of that metallic smoke, it was so natural for the rest of the world to fall away.
He murmured again, “You said it’s okay.”
“Is that the first time anyone has told you that?”
“First time anyone but my mother has said that. You were supposed to run away.”
“That won’t work. I’m a therapist, remember? I can see that tactic a mile away. You were pushing me away. You’ll do it again and again, but each time will get smaller and smaller until you realize I am a barnacle and you just have to live with my friendship.”
He chuckled, and the vibration of the sound warmed her from the inside out. “Want me to plan a dinner? You can stand me up. Make it even.”
“Not my style, Mr. Bonfire Shifter. I would call if I have to miss. From now on, you will do the same. Them’s the rules if you want to be friends with me.”
He leaned back by inches and let her see his eyes as he murmured something that stopped the whole world.
“Phoenix.”
She gripped his arms, sure she’d misheard him. “What?”
“I’m not a bonfire shifter, or a dragon, or whatever else you have imagined. I’m a phoenix.”
“A phoenix?” she uttered on a breath as so many things clicked into place. Of course he was.
“It’s not like you think it is. It’s not all ‘and then the phoenix rises from the ashes.’ I destroy. I make the ashes. Now, I consume the ashes like the dragons do. There’s very little control though. Being a phoenix is a curse.”
“You are not cursed, Wreck.”
“Mmm. You’ll see it differently eventually.”
“Or maybe you will.” She pulled his hand up and traced a line down his palm, igniting a small trail of green flame. A smile took her lips. “New power unlocked.”
“You’re terrifying.”
“You keep saying that, but I’ll remind you I am just a little human who whines about paper-cuts.”
He snorted. His face was drawn and he looked exhausted, but at least he was still able to smile.
