He’d have to explain a few things to her, but Mia had done some errands in town for him before.
That problem solved, he turned his attention to accompanying Allegra to the police station to file her complaints about being chased through the woods and to the courthouse to file a restraining order. Maybe he could get Mia’s boyfriend to go with Allegra….
But that just brought more people into the circle, and Phoenix didn’t want to do that. He didn’t even want to talk to Mia about anything. He wanted to protect Allegra himself, keep her here until she saw he wasn’t the beast she’d perpetrated him to be, and hey, maybe she’d forget she didn’t like him too.
Yes, he had to ask Mia. In the morning. He’d ask her in the morning, because it wasn’t like they’d be able to get into town before then anyway. Probably not even after that, as the snow still fell in a thick curtain outside his window.
He got up and checked the lock on the window before drawing the blinds closed. He’d done the same thing in the main room to make sure everything was locked down tight before he’d left Allegra on the couch in front of the stove.
Sleep finally claimed him, only to have him be jolted awake sometime later by a wail and the thud of something hitting the floor.
Chapter Six
Allegra struggled against the drape of unconsciousness keeping her in the nightmare. She cried out again, kicking closer to awake, finally breaking through when Phoenix said, “Hey, it’s okay.”
She opened her eyes to find him kneeling on the floor in front of the couch, his hair disheveled from where he’d been sleeping on it. She flung her arms around him and pulled him close, needing the comfort of another breathing human beside her.
“I saw myself,” she whispered into the warm hollow of his neck. Slowly, his arms came around her too, enveloping her in a sense of safety she hadn’t had in so long. “I was in the woods, but I wasn’t walking. Sort of floating.” She shuddered as the nightmare played in her mind’s eye. It was slipping away, and she’d be glad to see it go.
“And I saw myself,” she said. “I was dead. Frozen.”
“You’re here,” he said. “It’s okay. You’re not frozen.” He started to withdraw from her, but she held on tighter. He smelled like soap and earth, and she wanted him to stay closeby.
When she whispered that, he pulled back enough to look into her face. “I don’t think this couch is big enough for both of us,” he murmured.
“Sure it is,” she said, feeling slightly crazed.
“You knocked Sally to the floor just a few minutes ago,” he said, the corners of his mouth turning up. “No way I’m dealing with that from you.”
Allegra basked in the warmth from his smile, his nearness. She released him and sat up. “I can’t…I won’t knock you off. You lay down first.” She got up and waited for him to lay down on the couch.
He only gazed up at her. “I really don’t think there’s room.” He wore a long-sleeved shirt and another pair of sweatpants, but she still noticed the shiver as it ran across his shoulders.
“We’ll be warmer too,” she said.
Phoenix straightened, and my, he was so tall. He would never fit on this couch, and Allegra realized she was asking him to give up a good night’s sleep to lie with her out here so she wouldn’t be alone. Guilt tripped through her, and yet she couldn’t withdraw her request.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “But let me go get a better blanket.”
“You have a better blanket and you didn’t give it to me?” she asked as he walked away.
“You’re sleeping in the room with the fire,” he shot back without looking at her. She glanced at the windows which he’d checked and covered before going down the hall the first time.
She could still feel Devon’s eyes on her, feel him pressing closer to her in the darkness. She’d told herself to just keep moving. Keep moving. Don’t stop. Don’t look back. She’d known she’d been moving north through the woods, and she knew she’d come to the lake eventually.
She’d had no idea she’d hear a dog barking nearby or that she was anywhere near Phoenix’s cabin. As soon as she’d recognized it, she’d dashed down to the gate he went through to go to work and sprinted toward his front door.
Phoenix returned with a long quilt trailing behind him, along with both dogs. “You okay?” he asked, peering at her with concern in his eyes. She’d asked him to leave the hall light on, and it shone into her face, probably revealing everything she’d like to keep bottled up. “You’re hugging yourself.”
He wrapped his arms around her in the same breath, and she relaxed into him, stealing some of his comfort and letting him reassure her with kind, whispered words. Then he lay down on the couch, turning all the way onto his left side and spreading the quilt over him. He opened it up and put her pillow over his bicep.
“All right. See if you fit.”
Allegra had dreamed of this moment, of sliding into a devilishly handsome man’s arms and sleeping with his heartbeat pulsing into her back. Maybe the man had never been Phoenix Addler. Or maybe he had.
All she knew was when she sank onto the couch and laid down, everything aligned in her body. He covered her with the quilt, tucking it around her as she snuggled into his chest. Then he draped his right arm over hers, lining up his fingers between hers and sighing again.
This time, when Allegra fell asleep, her nightmares didn’t follow her into unconsciousness.
* * *
Allegra woke and noticed that it was light beyond her closed eyelids. She kept her eyes closed as she remembered cuddling into Phoenix’s embrace the night before. Her neck was a bit stiff, but she didn’t want to move and disturb this moment.
Phoenix’s breath flowed gently across her ear before he steadily inhaled again. His chest pushed against her back, and she enjoyed the slow way he breathed, his fingers along hers slack now.
He’d obviously been able to fall asleep, and Allegra’s guilt from the night before abated. Her phone sat on the coffee table a few inches in front of her, and she wanted to check it. After she and Phoenix had made a tentative plan for her to bunk with him for a while, she’d texted Leah and Bea about the new development.
She hadn’t told them where she was going. Or when she’d be back. Only that she needed help with her cats, and that she’d keep in touch with them.
She expected to have several messages from the two of them, and her phone flashed with a green light, indicating that she did have some texts.
Slowly and carefully so she wouldn’t disturb Phoenix, she reached for her phone. Sure enough, they’d both texted a few times, things like, Okay, be safe.
I can take care of the cats no problem.
Is there something going on we need to know about?
How can we help?
She smiled at the concern she could feel in her friend’s texts, and her need to use the bathroom outweighed her desire to stay in Phoenix’s arms while he slept. He barely moved when she got up and went down the hallway.
It was definitely colder the farther from the stove she got, and by the time she finished taking care of her business, shivers shook her shoulders. As she passed the stove again, she realized that it was putting off very little heat.
A stack of logs sat on the brick beside the stove, and while she used a furnace to heat her place, she figured she could throw a log onto the fire as easily as Phoenix could.
The hatch made a screeching sound when she opened it, and she cast a quick glance at Phoenix to find him shifting and stirring. “Allegra?” he whispered.
“It’s fine,” she whispered back. “I’m just putting more wood on the fire.” But she stood behind the couch and watched him open his eyes, blinking a few times until he realized he was looking right at her.
A soft smile curved that strong mouth. Allegra couldn’t look away from his lips, a song of desire pulling through her. “Morning,” he said, twisting so he was on his back and taking up the whole couch. “Is it still snowing outside?�
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“I haven’t checked yet.” She tore her gaze from his and stuck another log into the stove. Then another. There was room, and she was freezing. Bright orange coals flared and then flames burst to life as the wood caught on fire.
She closed the hatch on the stove and went over to the window, glad for his thick socks to protect her feet against the surely cold floor. She peeked through the blinds and said, “Yes, it’s still snowing.”
“How much did we get?”
“Looks like at least a foot. Maybe more.” She dropped her hand and turned back to the couch. She wanted to curl up with him again and get warm, but now that it wasn’t dark and she wasn’t exhausted and she wasn’t terrified, a bit of foolishness crept in.
She padded over to him anyway, glad when he took the decision from her by turning and peeling the blanket back, inviting her in. She wedged herself against him and allowed him to cover her right back up.
“Do you have air conditioning in this place?” she asked.
“No,” he said, real soft like he didn’t want to speak too loudly in case someone was outside to overhear. “I open the windows or blow a fan. It doesn’t get terribly hot out here in the summer.”
Allegra nodded, unsure of what to say next. “I got my neighbor to take care of my cats.”
“That’s great, sweetheart,” he said, without an ounce of sarcasm or arrogance in the last word. She smiled, hugged the arm he had hanging over her shoulders, and nestled into him like they were a couple.
“How many cats?” he asked, his lips lightly touching the top of her head.
“Four.” Her answer held more air than body, and sparks shot down her neck and into her shoulders.
He shifted and kissed the bare skin on the back of her neck now. Heat filled her belly, and it would be so easy to turn into him and capture his mouth with hers. She didn’t move.
“What are their names?” he asked next, and he didn’t kiss her again. The heat between them continued to build, though, while Allegra searched her memory for the names of her cats.
“Oh, uh,” she said, trying to buy herself some more time. “I named them after squashes. Acorn, Butternut, Zucchini, and Spaghetti.”
He chuckled, the sound low and throaty and absolutely delicious. “Do you have an affinity for squashes or something?”
“Not really.” She giggled too, because she knew her cat’s names were a bit unique.
“Tell me about Devon,” he whispered next, and Allegra’s guard flew back into place. “Like, why is he stalking you?”
She told herself Phoenix’s question was relevant and not meant to hurt her feelings. She finally said, “I don’t know. He’s crazy, I guess.”
“Did the break-up go bad?”
Allegra sighed, because it seemed like Phoenix wanted to know details, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to share them yet.
“Sorry,” he said, shifting behind her. “I’m just trying to figure out how dangerous he is. Then I’ll know what to prepare for.” He stilled, and when he spoke again, his voice wasn’t right at her ear. “Seems like I remember him being about six feet tall. Dark hair. Not particularly muscular. Does that sound right?”
Allegra mourned the new distance between her and Phoenix, though he was still only inches from her. She hadn’t meant to push him away emotionally. It had just happened. Her mind spun, and she couldn’t believe that only forty-eight hours ago, she’d threatened to call the park rangers on him for crossing his property line.
“Yes,” she said. “He’s about six feet tall. Dark hair. And he must’ve hit the gym since you saw him last, because he seemed plenty muscular to me.”
“Oh, is that so?” Phoenix asked, a playful note in his voice.
“Yeah,” she said. “Maybe it takes a lot to move those bowling balls around.”
“More than it takes to swing an axe?” he asked, and she frowned.
“What?”
“Is he as muscular as me?” Phoenix asked. “I’m a lumberjack and swing an axe around for hours.”
Allegra swallowed, a truth about to come out. She wasn’t sure what her voice would sound like, and she didn’t want to give too much away.
“He’s not as built as you,” she said. “You arrogant jughead.”
Chapter Seven
Phoenix laughed at her insult. “I wasn’t trying to be arrogant,” he said. “I just want to know what I’m up against.”
“You’re stronger than him. Satisfied?”
He was absolutely not satisfied. He had a beautiful woman in his house—in his arms—and he couldn’t decide what to do. His nerves felt like he’d put them in a woodchipper, and his stomach demanded food, and his mind had only turned off for a couple of hours last night.
“I’m satisfied,” he said. “But I’m starving. Let me up, and I’ll make us breakfast.”
She complied, and he glanced at her in her rumpled, just-from-bed look. She was stunning in the rays of light coming through the slats in the blinds, and he had a flash of a future here with her in this cabin.
Minus the four squash-cats, of course.
He got up and went into the kitchen, the tether between him and Allegra almost at a breaking point. It felt tense between them, and yet easy too. He cracked eggs and scrambled them while Dozer and Sally waited right on the line into the kitchen.
Allegra went down the hall to the bathroom, and Phoenix took the opportunity to call his little sister.
“Hey, Nixy,” she said, and he rolled his eyes as he pushed the eggs around the pan.
“I hate that nickname,” he said.
“Oh, come on.” Mia giggled, and Phoenix wondered what it would be like to have such a carefree life. He felt like Kathy had crippled him at age twenty-seven, and he still hadn’t recovered.
Yes, you have, he told himself. His ex-fiancée may have driven him to this cabin, but she wasn’t going to keep him here forever. Jon had stopped by last week and said something about Phoenix dating. He’d brushed it off, because Jon was constantly looking for his next date. Or at least he had been until he’d met someone new.
Phoenix thought about Jon and his secret relationship with his culinary arts professor at the college. He hadn’t gotten many details, but he knew Jon better than most of his siblings, and something was definitely going to come from that class.
“You called me,” Mia said. “Hello. Phoenix?”
“Right,” he said, giving a fake cough. “I need some help.”
“Help?” She sounded dubious.
“Yeah, and I’d appreciate it if there were no questions.”
“No questions?”
“That’s a question,” Phoneix said, switching off the flame under the pan and moving it to a cool burner.
“I get three questions,” Mia said.
“Two,” Phoenix countered. Silence came through the line, and Phoenix sighed. “Fine, Mia, three. But I get to veto as many as I want.”
“Let’s see what the favor is first.”
“I need you to go to a…friend’s apartment and get a few things for her.”
“Her?” Mia squealed. “Oh my heck, Phoenix! Do you have a new girlfriend?”
“That’s question number one and two, sis. And the answer is no.” Even if the scent of Allegra’s powdery skin still tingled in his nose. Even if he could feel the heat of her skin in his lips. He couldn’t believe he’d kissed her neck—and she’d said nothing.
“That does not count as two questions.”
“You asked two questions,” he said.
“You only answered one.”
“Fine.” Phoenix blew out his breath like his sister would kill him with this conversation. “Can we move on now?”
“If she’s not your girlfriend, then who is she?”
Phoenix pulled open the fridge and grabbed a bag of shredded cheese. “Question two. She’s a friend who got stranded out here and needs some help for a few days.” He sprinkled cheese over the hot eggs. “I’m sure you know I have nothing for
a female in my cabin. She needs some clothes, some toiletries, that kind of thing.”
“Why can’t you do it?”
Ah, the most painful question, and Phoenix almost vetoed it. But then Mia would get another one, and he was done with this conversation. “I don’t go to town,” he said. “Question three.”
“Phoenix,” his sister said, and her voice carried sadness now.
“Plus, if you wore a hat, someone could mistake you for her,” he continued, throwing her a bone. “And that will really help throw the scent off of her still being in town. We’re trying to make it look like she’s gone for a little while.”
Footsteps came toward him, and Phoenix wanted to end the call immediately. “So,” he said, his eyes tracking Allegra as she came back into the main room of the cabin. “Will you do it?”
“You realize it snowed two feet last night.”
“I’m aware,” he said coolly, drinking in Allegra in her own clothes again. Oh, yeah, she definitely looked better in clothes that fit, though he certainly hadn’t minded her wearing his things.
“It doesn’t have to be right away,” he said to his sister, forcing himself to focus. “When are you going to town next?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Mia said in a falsely airy tone. “Westin wants to go to the movies this weekend. You and your friend should come with. Double date! There’s a new—”
“Uh huh, yeah,” Phoenix said, already bored—and there was no way on this snowy planet he was going out with his sister and her boyfriend. “So I’ll text you a list and you can go when it’s convenient for you.”
“Fine,” Mia said with a sigh. “But you really should get out of that cabin.”
“Bye,” he said and hung up without waiting for her to respond. In the past, Phoenix might have sighed and thought that maybe Mia was right. But he didn’t need to leave his cabin at the moment, because the most beautiful woman in the world was currently in it with him.
Taking A Chance (Rebels 0f Forbidden Lake Book 2) Page 4
