Heart of the Phoenix

by A. C. Arthur

  The moment his lips touched her she was lost. She knew what she’d seen, knew that it was incomprehensible, yet at the same time she knew it was real—as real as the pooling lust in her center and the ripples of pleasure now floating through her. She said her head back against his chest and felt him sigh.

  “I will protect you with my life. He won’t hurt you. Ever.” His hands stroked her body as he continued to hold her close, whispering in her ear. Her trust was essential. So much so that he was willing to give and do anything in exchange for it.

  “Ms. Hampton! Mr. Delos!”

  They both jumped as they heard Ms. Dudley’s voice growing closer.

  He felt her thoughts shifting and turned her quickly to face him. “Trust me, Tayla. Please say you’ll trust me.”

  She didn’t know why, didn’t have a clue as to what was going on in her frazzled mind, but she nodded. Then her hand lifted, seemed as to float in mid air until her palm rested on his cheek, her fingers feeling the contours of his face. He was real. He kissed her palm and she sighed. “I trust you, Thaddeus.”

  Then Tayla moved to pull away from him. She didn’t want Ms. Dudley to catch her in his arms, but apparently she wasn’t as okay as she thought because the moment she stepped out of his embrace her legs buckled and she swayed dangerously close to falling to the ground.

  Effortlessly, Thaddeus lifted her and cradled her in his arms. “It is okay. I won’t let you go.”

  Chapter 5

  For the second evening in a row Tayla found herself wavering between fear and uncertainty. She hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the clearing. Her mind was just too full of questions and answers she was afraid to hear.

  They approached their group and when Tayla saw the concerned look on the children’s faces and the stern one on Ms. Dudley’s face, she attempted to wiggle out of Thaddeus’ arms. Coming across as a strong authority figure would be kind of difficult while being cradled in his arms like a baby. But Thaddeus held her tightly. He did not speak but he did not let her go either.

  Ms. Dudley questioned them the moment they were close. “What happened? We heard noises.”

  Thaddeus tightened his hold on Tayla, signaling her to remain quiet. “It was a fatally wounded animal. We moved closer and I had to put the animal out of its misery. Ms. Hampton suddenly felt faint, and is still in shock.”

  It cost her dearly, but Tayla remained quiet. Ms. Dudley didn’t look as if she truly believed Thaddeus, but Tayla was in no mood to go back and forth with the woman. She was afraid that if she spoke she’d start rambling about what she’d really seen and Ms. Dudley would think her a raving lunatic. Instead, she allowed Thaddeus to lead the group back through the forest, carrying her in his arms as if she weighed no more than Alisa.

  Back at the school the kids were excited about their adventure and hurried to their dorm to share the details with the students who hadn’t come along. Ms. Dudley continued to eye Tayla curiously. But Thaddeus never left her side, so whatever Ms. Dudley wanted to say to her would have to wait. Tayla was thankful for that, at least.

  It was early evening now. The sun had just begun to set and the kids were entertaining themselves in their quarters, while the staff took advantage of their own personal time. Tayla was still in her office, fiddling with a pen on her desk. So many questions were going through her mind she’d given up trying to prioritize them. One was just as important as the other, and somehow she knew they were all connected.

  “Are you hungry?” Thaddeus asked. She’d been quiet since the moment they were finally left alone. She wouldn’t look at him, so he couldn’t easily dip into her thoughts, find out what was going on in her mind. That was a good thing…perhaps. Some things she needed to keep to herself and, even though she didn’t know he had the power, he felt he owed her some privacy.

  Tayla shook her head. “A little.”

  “Let’s go.” He crossed the room, reached for her hand.

  She hesitated. “Where are we going?”

  Since their return, Thaddeus had been thinking about the appearance of Cerberus and what it meant. Cerberus was what mortals would consider a guard dog of sorts, except what he was guarding was not as believable. Cerberus was the guardian of the Underworld.

  His appearance could only have one meaning, and that frightened Thaddeus.

  He should take her back to his room; her husband would not expect her to be there. But she was still quite shaken up and his first instinct was to relax her, make her feel comfortable around him again. She had questions, he knew, questions that, like it or not, he was going to have to answer. Her life was at stake here. He couldn’t afford to lose her because he was too afraid to be honest with her. It should not matter what she thought about him, as long as she accepted his protection. If she detested him, if she was afraid of him…it should not matter. His job was not to have her like him, although a small part of him wanted that, and more.

  “I will take you home and feed you. Then you will relax and get some rest.”

  Tayla didn’t take his hand but stood to face him. “Then we’ll talk,” she stated in a tone that said it wasn’t up for negotiation.

  Thaddeus nodded.

  She walked past him toward the door and he solemnly followed behind her. Walking along the path, he noticed how each sound unnerved her. She kept looking over her shoulder and into the trees as if she expected someone or something to appear. He was irritated beyond words. She should not have to live like this. She should not be constantly in fear. But this situation was getting more dangerous with each day. He’d thought he was here to protect her from her husband, but Cerberus’ appearance alluded to the involvement of the Underworld. And that wasn’t good for either of them.

  Tayla opened her door and didn’t bother to close it because she knew he was right behind her. He’d stayed close to her ever since carrying her from the forest. Where he didn’t hover and was careful to give her breathing room, he was there nonetheless. Even had she not seen him, she would have known he was there. She felt him deep inside as if they shared one body—either his or her own.

  That was silly, she knew. They hadn’t known each other that long, and they hadn’t been intimate. So why did she feel this strong connection to him? Why did she know instinctively that his being here was connected to her worst nightmare? And why didn’t that scare her?

  She went directly to the kitchen, opened a can of soup and poured it into a pot on the stove. She moved methodically, not really thinking of the task at hand. While she was at the sink filling the teakettle, she felt him enter the kitchen. He walked so quietly, she never heard his footsteps, ever, almost as if his feet never touched the ground. But he was there, pulling out a chair at the table and taking a seat. She kept her back to him as she reached into the cupboard and took down two cups.

  Thaddeus felt her need to know everything, to have him explain what had taken place in the forest. But he had a quest for knowledge himself. He had to get a full picture of what was going on in order to make his next move. “Tell me about your husband, Tayla.”

  She stiffened at his words. He knew that she did not want to talk about her husband because she was afraid of him. It was her fear and his anger about it that made him give in to peek into her mind. Any thoughts about her husband were important. Her life was at stake now. Although he respected her privacy, in this instance he did not want her holding back.

  How do you know about him? Did he send you here?

  “I know that you were married. That you left him and came here. That you’ve been hiding from him here at Grayson Moore.”

  She whipped around, planted her gaze firmly on him. “And how do you know that? Have you been snooping into my past?”

  No, just your mind. “No. I have not. I told you I was sent to protect you. I believe I was sent to protect you from him.”

  “Who sent you?” She folded her arms over her chest.

  Thaddeus dragged his hands down his face. She didn’t believe him. She thought he
was a con…a fraud…she didn’t know what he was. Those weren’t her thoughts, but his observations from the tone of her voice and the way she was looking at him. “It really doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am here and I cannot fully protect you until I know the whole story. Why are you running?”

  She didn’t believe him, wasn’t about to believe him, because he didn’t make any sense. If he knew about Jerome then he must work for Jerome. And if he worked for Jerome he must be here to hurt her. Yet all he’d done so far was keep her safe. She found it very hard to believe that he worked for Jerome now, after all that had happened. But there was still something he wasn’t telling her. Exasperated by her conflicting thoughts, she thought of one of the tactics she often used with the children. If she gave a little information maybe she would get some in return.

  Besides, if Jerome had found her, and because of the arrival of that music box she was almost positive that he had, then she needed all the people on her side that she could get. And Thaddeus with his tall, broad body was certainly a good cohort.

  “I am not running,” she stated clearly. “At least not anymore. So if Jerome wants me, if he knows I’m here, then he can just come and get me.” She dropped her arms, clenched her fingers against the counter behind her.

  Her bottom lip trembled but Thaddeus resisted the urge to go to her, to hold her. That would be a mistake. If he touched her right now he would not be able to resist going farther. He wanted her as he’d never before wanted another woman. The sight of Cerberus had frightened him, not for himself, but for her. With one wrong move he could have lost her. Cerberus feasted on his kills.

  “What did he do to you?”

  She wasn’t going to cry, not in front of him. She refused to show that type of weakness. She took a deep breath, looked down at her feet, then back up at him. “Jerome is cruel. His family is evil. Only I didn’t find that out until after I married him. In the beginning he was so nice, so attentive, so loving. Then overnight he changed.” Much in the way that Thaddeus always seemed to change right before her eyes, but different.

  “We lived in a huge mansion. His family was very influential in the Boston area. I had a college degree and dreams of my own, but Jerome told me I could not work. His wife would not work. I tried to make him happy. I tried to do the right things. I stayed home, I went to the dinner parties, the snobbish socialite meetings. Actually I tried. But it just wasn’t me.”

  “And he could not see that?” Thaddeus attempted to hold on to his anger.

  “He didn’t want to see it. His mother set the standard for his life and he had to follow it. From the moment Jerome introduced me to her, she despised me. One time she told me I was trash, a gold digger with my sights set on her son and her money. But I wasn’t…I loved him.”

  Thaddeus did go to her then, because the pain she felt was so raw, so clearly defined in her face and alive in her voice that he could not bear it. He hugged her close to him and for the first few seconds she did not hug him back. She did not touch him at all. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, willing her to relax, to trust him. “Did he strike you?”

  She was so used to being strong, to holding everything in because she didn’t have anyone to confide in, to trust. She didn’t know who Thaddeus Delos was, or who had sent him to her, but at this moment she was eternally grateful for him simply being here. A muffled sob broke free and Tayla gave in, her arms moving around his waist, pulling him closer. She felt so safe, so right in his embrace. “He didn’t have to. The other things were so much worse.”

  She cried and he held her, determined to protect her from Jerome, and anyone else who threatened her. And he would do it not because his father and uncles expected him to, but because of what she had come to mean to him. The connection they shared, his ever-growing feelings for her, demanded he protect her with everything that he was. He only hoped there was enough time.

  * * *

  Tayla bawled until she felt like a dried-up well. Then she pulled away from him and rushed to get a tissue to blow her nose. Her soup was dangerously close to being scorched, and the teakettle was singing its annoyance that she hadn’t taken it off the stove yet. She moved through the kitchen quietly, Thaddeus right there with her, encouraging her to eat and drink. Then he walked her into the bathroom and prepared to run her a bath. When she didn’t move, he reached for the buttons on her shirt, keeping his eyes fastened on hers as he undid each one.

  She didn’t move away or try to stop him. And she did not look away. She wondered again why she wasn’t afraid of him. Why she hadn’t kicked him out or at the very least called the police to have him taken away. But his touch was gentle and caring, his eyes deep and mysterious.

  Earlier, the moment he’d turned from that beast to face her, his eyes had been a golden hue dilated more than three times their normal size. He’d looked…unearthly…as he stood there, his hair flowing down his back, his body thick and muscled, transformed to such magnificent proportions that he resembled a…a god.

  And still, she wasn’t afraid of him. He was different. He talked different, he looked a bit different. And she knew she’d never met another man like him. But there was no sense of fear, no thought that he would harm her in any way. Why else would she be standing there letting him undress her?

  No sooner had he let her shirt fall to the floor than his hands found the snap of her bra at her back and undid it too. Her breasts broke free, her nipples hardening quickly at the exposure.

  Thaddeus never took his eyes from hers.

  He unbuttoned her pants, slid them down over her hips, pulling her panties with them, then paused to untie and remove her boots. She leaned on his shoulder as he released one leg and then the other from her pants. Then she stood before him, naked.

  Thaddeus stood, and for the first time looked down the length of her. His breath hitched at such awesome beauty. Her skin was a pale gold, darkened only at the triangle between her legs and the center of those magnificent breasts. He felt himself swelling beneath his pants and reached out to touch her.

  His fingers traced a slow circle around first one nipple and then the other. Tayla sighed, her breath fanning over his bare hands. He moved lower, encircled her waist, his thumbs meeting at her navel, rubbing the slight indentation.

  “Thaddeus,” she whispered, unable to contain the swirl of emotions moving through her at his touch.

  His hands moved lower still until he cupped her bottom, squeezed the softness. With the tip of his forefinger he traced the outline of her pubic hair—across the top, down the left side, sweeping across the secret juncture, then up the right side. A perfect triangle.

  A perfect woman.

  An imperfect situation.

  He pulled away abruptly and took a deep breath. She looked at him with questions clear in those fiery eyes. He moved quickly, scooped her up and gently set her into the hot water. Then without a word he turned and left her there, alone.

  * * *

  Thaddeus cursed himself the moment he shut that bathroom door. He shouldn’t have touched her, shouldn’t have put himself through that exquisite torture, but had been unable to stop himself. She was even more beautiful than he’d first thought and now, now that he’d seen her, touched her—he wanted more.

  Long strides carried him across the living room floor, back and forth, forth and back. He tried to think of a solution, tried to figure out a way he could protect her and protect himself. He could fall in love with her, with her body, with her voice, with those startlingly beautiful eyes. She could become a part of him—a bigger part than she already was. He could make love to her and bring them both the release he knew they were searching for. He could use this time to get to know her better, to let her know him better. And he could…he could cause them both immeasurable pain.

  The cottage was suddenly too small, the walls closing in around him, suffocating him. Thaddeus was used to being outside in the open. He was used to freedom, no boundaries, no limitations.

  He w
ent to the door and stepped outside. Night had fallen, casting the forest in an eerie shade of dark blue. He inhaled deeply, loving the fresh scent of pine and the river in the air. The edginess of lust still pricked at him so he began to walk briskly, moving back and forth in front of the cottage. He could not go far because he did not want to leave her totally alone.

  A light breeze moved over his face and he moaned. Pulling the band from his hair he shook his dreads free. Running his hands over his face, he clung to the facts. Tayla was in dire need of protection. The elders had sent him to protect her because of the darkness they’d seen following her. The darkness that was undoubtedly connected to Cerberus’ appearance and the Underworld. He had never before failed to carry out a mission he’d been given.

  Thaddeus stopped, alert and listening to the air around him.

  “I never let a woman get to me that way. I simply take what I want and move on.”

  Thaddeus heard the voice, knew instinctively who it belonged to, and remained still. “I am not like you.”

  “No, Son, you are not. Of all my children you are the only one I have not touched in that way. It is a great power to have a woman do your bidding, to bind them to you with lust and declarations of love. I believe that is why I relish it the way I do.”

  Thaddeus thrust his hands into his pockets. “I will ultimately hurt her.”

  “No matter. Do what is right at this moment. Tomorrow promises changes for us all, especially their kind.”

  “What about our kind?” Thaddeus turned in the direction of the voice and was not surprised to see nothing there. “Do we ever find eternal happiness?”