Heart of the Phoenix

by A. C. Arthur

  “I did not at first. I mean, I never know about my assignments until it is time to complete them. Then I arrive, I protect until the dangerous situation has passed, and then I return to my home. But with you—” He paused. “With you things have become difficult.”

  His voice was like that hot cup of tea she’d had yesterday, moving slowly through her system, filling each gap with its warmth. “Where are you from? Why do you seem so different? And what happened in the forest yesterday?” She remembered that moment clearly, remembered that he was different and he’d killed an animal that was unlike anything she’d ever seen before.

  Thaddeus chuckled. “Slow down.” He took her hand in his, rubbed his thumbs over her smooth skin and thought for a moment about how to explain things without sending her running. “At your school I teach history.”

  Tayla nodded her head. “Right.”

  “When, in fact, I am a part of that history.”

  “Aren’t we all to some extent?” she replied. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Specifically, I am part of what you call Greek mythology. Are you familiar with the gods of Olympus?” At the mention of his home, of his family, a part of him warmed. Even though he spent an incredible amount of time trying not to be like them, he was proud of his heritage and his noble relations.

  “So you specialize in teaching Greek mythology?” What the hell does this have to do with you shape-shifting in the forest?

  Thaddeus was looking at her hands and chuckled. “Shape-shifting? Is that what you call it?”

  Again, Tayla opened her mouth to speak, only to snap it shut. How did he know she’d just been thinking that?

  He looked into her eyes. “I am a descendent of a Greek god, Tayla.”

  She chuckled at how sincere he seemed. He did look as if he could be a god, a descendent of Adonis, to be exact! “I would say that, too, if I were built and looked like you. Come on, Thaddeus, tell me the truth.”

  He liked to hear her say his name. Keeping his features serious so that she would believe him, he continued. “I am the son of Poseidon and Lythica.” He was almost positive she’d know who his father was; his mother, however, was not in the history books.

  Her hand stiffened beneath his. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” He looked damned serious, and she racked her brain for recognition of the names he’d given. “Poseidon is—”

  “God of the sea,” he finished for her, noting the little spark in her eyes that threatened to believe him. “That is correct.”

  “Uh uh.” Tayla began shaking her head, trying to pull her hand away from his. “No. You don’t have to sit here and feed me this line of bull. If you don’t want to tell me who you are and why you’re really here, you can just leave.” She was still trying to pull free, but he held her steadfast. “But don’t sit here and insult my intelligence by telling me this half-baked story.”

  “It is not a half-baked story.” He held on to her with one hand while caressing her arm with the other one. “Look at me, Tayla. Look at me and tell me a part of you does not believe what I am saying.”

  She did look at him, because he’d asked her to and because she wanted to see that he was lying, wanted proof that this story was concocted. But that’s not what she saw. In his eyes she saw sincerity and warmth; in his grasp she felt safety. “You would be a merman or whatever.” She looked down at his legs, thinking this still had to be a joke. “If I take you to the sea, will you morph again?” she said sarcastically.

  Thaddeus heard the obvious cynicism in her tone and smiled. “No, I am not a merman. While I can live in the sea, I do not possess the legendary fin. I am half my father’s creation and half my mother’s.”

  “And your mother was—” Tayla struggled to remember the name he’d said and how it related to history. She wasn’t an expert on Greek mythology but knew some of the basics.

  “Lythica. She was a rare and beautiful bird.” And he would leave it at that. To discuss the details of who and what his mother was would bring about the one piece of his reality that he did not like to think about.

  “A bird and a sea horse, those were your parents.”

  Thaddeus threw his head back and laughed aloud. “Not a sea horse, one of the gods of Olympus who chose the sea to rule.” Outside it was raining again, and Thaddeus knew that his father was enjoying this as well.

  “I don’t believe you.” She looked up at him and whispered, then turned away.

  “But you want to.” He cupped her face in his palms, forcing her to keep her eyes on him. “You want to believe I am what I say, just like you want to trust me with your life, with the feelings you have for me.” He watched her questioning glare. “I know because I have heard your every thought since I arrived. Well, not all of them,” he corrected. He hadn’t a clue what she was thinking now but wished to Zeus he did.

  Goodness, he was one beautiful man. Her eyes kept falling to his mouth, remembering those hot kisses from last night. Dammit, stop confusing everything about him with sex. This is serious, what he’s telling me is serious…if it’s true. “You read minds too? So you’re a psychic Greek god?”

  “I am a combination of all that is reported to you as legend and myth. My powers are limited in some respects and magnified in others. I can read a person’s mind—a person that I am connected to in some way. With you I assumed the connection was my assignment, but I find it increasingly harder to step inside your head when you are looking at me so intently. When you seem to be focusing in on my very own thoughts. Does that sound possible?”

  Tayla blinked. “Ah, newsflash, Thaddeus, none of this sounds possible.” She pulled away from him then, standing with her back to him. What the hell am I doing here alone with this lunatic? Does he really believe he’s some Greek god, or half of a Greek god? Does he really expect me to believe that? Well, she didn’t. She wouldn’t. He was a man. A lying and conniving man just like all the rest of them! And she wouldn’t believe him. She wouldn’t be touched by him.

  Thaddeus touched the nape of her neck. “I am what I am, Tayla. I am not a liar or a conniver. I am your protector.”

  Her eyes closed involuntarily. She should have jumped out of her skin. She’d walked away and he’d been sitting at the table. Now he was right behind her and she hadn’t heard a sound of his approach. Why did she feel so calm with him? Turning to face him, her next question died on her lips as he leaned forward until his face was only inches away from hers. His eyes seemed luminescent. In them she saw waves, then flickering flames. She opened her mouth to speak and he placed his mouth on hers and thrust his tongue inside, halting all words.

  It only took a few languid strokes of his tongue against hers before her arms moved around his neck. Thaddeus moaned, sucked her tongue, then nibbled on her bottom lip.

  Tayla felt a swarm of heat between her legs and tried to clamp them shut. His hands moved quickly, his fingers scraping over one hardened nipple. His lips devoured hers and she gasped.

  This was too much. He was too much. As much as she loved kissing him, Tayla tore her mouth from his. Still trying to catch her breath, she turned away and busied herself by retrieving the muffins from the microwave. He didn’t touch her, which was a good thing. He’d given her a lot of information, almost too much information. But then she’d asked for it, repeatedly. She wanted to know who and what he was and now that he’d told her she didn’t know what to think.

  But then she remembered what she’d seen and what she’d felt in the last week. He was different. She’d known that instantly. She never would have imagined his differences to go as far as Greek mythology could take her, but something told her that Thaddeus was telling her the truth. He really had no reason to lie. It was not as if he were trying to get her to sleep with him. She’d already offered him that. And as far as pick-up lines went, ‘Hi, I’m a Greek god,’ wasn’t what she normally heard.

  Her hands shook a bit as she set the plates with the muffins on the table and made them two cups of
coffee. He was sitting again and she joined him.

  “So if I believe what you’re telling me—and I’m not saying that I do—but if I did, I would have to ask what that thing in the forest was yesterday.” She broke off a piece of the muffin and stuffed it into her mouth because despite being nervous, she was hungry.

  Thaddeus mimicked her motions, savoring the flavor of the fruit-filled muffin. “What is this flavor?” he asked after he’d consumed almost half of it.

  “Yours is strawberry.”

  He looked down at the bright red spots inside the muffin. “Mmm, it’s tasty. What flavor is yours?”

  Tayla looked down at her plate because, truthfully, she hadn’t tasted a thing. She was too consumed by him. He was built like a god, big, chiseled, masculine, mouth-watering. And his face was void of imperfections, unless you counted the square jaw and thick eyebrows, which she did not. “I have blueberry. Do you want to taste it?”

  He smiled sheepishly. “Yes, I would like to.”

  Tayla pushed her plate with the partially eaten muffin on it closer to him. He broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. She watched him chew. That looked normal enough, but then from what she understood, Greek gods were fairly normal, if you discounted their mythical powers. “Do you like it?”

  “I do.”

  She smiled, suddenly feeling a warmth at having made him happy. She sipped her coffee. “So, the forest? That thing?” she reminded him.

  “Oh, yes, the forest. That was Cerberus.”

  “So the beast has a name?” she said dryly.

  “A name and a purpose.”

  “And what was his purpose?”

  “To frighten you.”

  She chuckled. “Well, he did a damn good job of that.”

  Thaddeus laughed with her, although he didn’t feel the least bit happy about Cerberus’ appearance. “He guards the Underworld. Which has his appearance puzzling me.”

  Tayla shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “The Underworld? As in hell?”

  “Yes. That is what you would call it.”

  “So not only do I have to worry about Jerome stalking me, but now the devil wants a piece of me too?” What did she ever do to deserve this fate in life?

  Thaddeus finished off both muffins, then drank the warm liquid he knew was called coffee. He’d had the concoction before and wasn’t that fond of it. Surprisingly, he liked the taste of it this time. “What did you put in this?”

  Tayla blinked. He liked to change the subject. “Cream and sugar. Why?”

  “I don’t think I have ever had it this way. But I like it.”

  For a moment he looked like a young boy who’d just received a new toy. It was just coffee, she thought. How could something so menial please a Greek god? “I’ll give you the recipe,” she joked. “Now back to the demon from hell chasing me.”

  Thaddeus stood. “Let’s get to your office. You want to have it cleaned before anyone else sees what happened.”

  He took her hand and Tayla stood with him. “Are you trying to get out of answering my questions?”

  He led her out of the kitchen toward the front door. “Tayla, you are very inquisitive. I doubt I will ever be able to avoid all of your questions successfully.” She turned, opened her mouth to speak and he covered her lips with his free hand. “However, I will try my best to answer what I can. Right now I am not sure about Cerberus’ appearance. Just know that I will be keeping a much closer watch on you now that he’s here.”

  “Here?” she mumbled beneath his hand.

  Thaddeus opened the door and pushed her forward. “Cerberus is immortal. He does not die.”

  “But you burned him?” she was saying when he had closed and locked the door.

  “That was just a momentary reprieve. Either he will return or someone else from the Underworld will take his place. The question is, why? There must be some connection between your husband and the Underworld, but that seems so unlikely.”

  They were on the path headed toward the school when she sighed. “He’s my ex-husband, and I’m not so sure how unlikely that is. Jerome can be the devil incarnate when he wants to be.” That thought sent chills down her spine.

  Thaddeus felt those chills and watched as she tried to disguise her sudden discomfort. He moved closer to her, taking her hand in his. “Don’t worry. I will take care of it.”

  She gave him a small smile. She wasn’t totally believing him. That would undoubtedly make her crazy.

  But she wasn’t completely discounting his explanations either.

  That frightened her. She cringed because she’d fought fear for so long and now it seemed to be seeping slowly back into her world. Eventually it would claim her, and she prayed she’d have the strength to survive when it did.

  * * *

  “She is not alone.”

  “What do you mean, she’s not alone?” Jerome kept his voice carefully leveled as he talked to his informant. He’d paid good money for his information on Tayla and for the room and board on this monstrous mountain.

  “There is someone with her. He stays very close to her.”

  Jerome clenched his fists. The thought of Tayla with another man was much more than he could stand. And too much to be tolerated. “Get rid of him!” he ordered.

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “What the hell do you mean, it’s not that simple? I’ve given you loads of money. This has to be perfect. Our reunion must be perfect. A threesome is not what I envisioned.” He walked across the wooden floors, detesting the earthy smell that surrounded him, the blast from nature that he’d subjected himself to just to bring her back.

  “I told you he never leaves her. He walks her to work, he walks her home, they have dinner together, they have breakfast together. They sleep together.” This was said with a lower tone. Jerome’s wrath had been displayed once, and that had been sufficient for all time.

  “He’s sleeping with her?” The veins in Jerome’s forehead pumped fiercely, puckering beneath his skin. “Another man is sleeping with my wife?”

  “I…I believe so.”

  “You believe so? Have you seen them?”

  “I’m not a Peeping Tom. I just assumed it since they are now staying under the same roof.”

  “I didn’t ask you who or what you were. And I didn’t ask for assumptions!” Jerome bellowed, clearing the contents of the mantel with a swoop of his arm.

  “I understand what you are asking and I am telling you what I know. He slept in the same house with her last night.”

  Jerome roared, a beastly sound that shook the walls. “I’ll kill him!”

  “Why don’t you just go get her instead?”

  “It is not time yet. I cannot go to her yet. That’s why I’m paying you to keep an eye on her. You aren’t doing your job.”

  The man sighed, went to the door and let himself out. “I don’t know what the hell my job is.”

  * * *

  Ms. Dudley was already in Tayla’s office when they arrived. Thaddeus tried to convince the older woman that they could handle the clean-up alone, but she’d been steadfast in her duties. He was positive her duties as the administrator did not include cleaning the principal’s office. He had a hunch that Ms. Dudley was trying to find out all she could about the break-in and his connection to Tayla. And he was certain that Tayla knew this too.

  Still, Tayla had gone about the task of getting the office back together without a word. She was thinking about their conversation. He’d felt her questioning glance several times throughout the afternoon so that reading her mind was not necessary. She did not seem overly concerned about her ex-husband now that his heritage was on her mind. He did not mind, really. Telling her the truth was only a bad thing if he were getting personally involved with her. In which case the look of disbelief or the act of repulsion would have hurt him beyond words.

  It was a good thing he was not getting involved with her on a personal level.

  “Let’s talk a walk,” she said when t
hey were leaving the building.

  The sun was high in the sky, shining brightly down on the thick greenery of their mountain surroundings. His father and uncle must have found something else to occupy their time today. Thaddeus thought he might as well take advantage of this good fortune.

  “A walk sounds fine,” he answered.

  He could handle a walk. She’d probably ask more questions and because there was no personal involvement he figured he could handle that also. What he could not handle was the moment she took his hand in hers and began walking toward the forest. He looked down on her questioningly. She only smiled and kept walking.

  “So tell me about your home? Where is it that you live exactly?” she asked when they were some distance away from the school.

  Thaddeus had been lost in his own thoughts—of her, of course. Even the touch of her hand in his caused deep waves of desire to ripple through him. He had to fight it off. She was talking, asking him questions about his home. That was a safe subject. If he talked about his lifestyle before he met her, then he couldn’t likely focus on this growing attraction between them.

  “I live on Mt. Olympus. Well, that’s where we all come from. My home is actually in the deepest part of the mountainside.”

  “You live alone?”

  The trees grew thick with low hanging branches. Thaddeus lifted one out of Tayla’s way before answering. “Yes. I live alone.”

  “That explains it,” she replied softly.

  “That explains what?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. Ah, do you have a…I mean, are gods allowed to have girlfriends?”

  Thaddeus smiled. Tayla had candor to go along with her natural curiosity. “We are allowed to do just about anything we want. I mean, we have laws that protect us from others who take their godly status over the limits, but generally we do just as mortals do.”

  “I see.” She nodded. Always there was a hint of sadness in Thaddeus’ eyes. She believed that sadness most likely stemmed from his solitary existence. “So what do you do for fun?”

  He took to the sky, letting the wind ruffle his feathers and soothe his weary soul. He stretched his wings and traveled great distances at high rates of speed. That, to him, was relaxing, rejuvenating, fun as she called it. “I have my own private place I go when I need to get away.”