Heart of the Phoenix

by A. C. Arthur

  Thaddeus continued to walk, not pausing to enjoy the scenery. But then she thought he’d probably seen many wondrous places in his lifetime. It hit her then that she had no idea what his lifetime was, or even how old he was. Then her stomach growled and all thoughts of that kind ceased as she resumed thinking of food.

  A few hours passed and they left the rain forest behind, heading upward once again. Tayla looked to her left and saw what up until now she’d only read about. It was the legendary volcano, Mt. St. Helens. It looked strangely serene. She suspected it was in its pre-eruption stage. Still, the massive surge of earth reaching toward the endless sky was a sight to behold, and she stopped a moment to stare.

  Thaddeus, who had been guiltily dipping in and out of her thoughts throughout this entire hike, sensed she’d stopped and turned to see what she was doing. She was looking at the mountain, the one he knew had a heart as hot and volatile as his own.

  He’d thought of only her as they walked, of protecting her, touching her, needing her. Her scent was strong, especially now since it had mingled with his own, and his body was on full alert. His skin was over-sensitive, his clothes causing discomfort. He thought of shedding his clothing and getting her naked as well. They were in danger, yet his desire for her had grown, festering inside him like a fatal disease.

  He walked to her, visions of her naked and writhing beneath him permeating his senses, filling him completely. He touched a hand to her neck, rubbed its base before turning her to him, then swooping down to kiss her succulent lips. The kiss was demanding, feral and serious in its intent to make her swoon.

  Tayla gripped his shoulders, her knees buckling at the assault of his tongue inside her mouth. She tilted her head, opening wider to receive him, stroking against his tongue with the ferverent need he demanded. When he released her, they were both breathless, both as aroused as they’d ever been. He held out his hand. Without a word she placed hers inside his and allowed him to lead the way.

  Suddenly Mt. St. Helens and its fierce, firey history was about to take a back seat to heated passion between her and Thaddeus.

  * * *

  The cabin was nestled between thick evergreens and rolling lush hills. It was picturesque, to say the least, but Tayla’s mind wasn’t on the setting. That kiss had awakened something inside her—well, actually not awakened, but since meeting Thaddeus her sexual awareness had peaked. With every look he gave her, every touch, even if it were meant to be casual, she’d been as aware of him as a wild animal sensing its mate. He held her hand tightly now as they moved quickly to the door of the cottage. Her heart hammered in her chest as she visualized what they’d do once they were alone inside.

  She knew that danger was imminent, but admitted that it added another level to their mating. The intense emotions and instincts for survival seemed to meld with the primal instinct of male and female until the air crackled with sexual electricity.

  Thaddeus moved as fast as his human legs would carry him. If he hadn’t thought it might startle her out of the mood, he would have scooped her up in his arms and flown the short distance to the cabin. But as it stood, they were almost there. His breathing increased as he envisioned her naked, stretched out on the bed waiting for him. Her hair would be loose. He loved it that way. It made her look wild and wanton, just the way he liked her. She would probably touch herself. Tayla loved to touch herself, and he loved to watch her. Something about her bringing about her own pleasure aroused him just as surely as if it were his fingers caressing her. He licked his lips in anticipation and stepped up onto the landing leading to the door.

  Tayla was hot on his heels, so close that she stumbled against his back when he stopped to reach for the knob. “Sorry,” she whispered.

  He flung the door open, turned to her and lifted her into his arms. “Don’t be.” He moved quickly into the dark cabin slamming the door shut with his foot. Tayla dropped her bags and pushed the straps of the backpack of food Thaddeus carried off his shoulders. It hit the floor with a thump.

  Too aroused to think straight, Thaddeus moved toward the bedroom. He’d taken about three steps before he realized how much darker it was inside than outside. He cursed, set her gently on the floor and kissed her forehead. “Don’t move.”

  With lightning speed he located the candles he’d stored there and lit them one by one. Tayla looked around as the first room, the living room, she supposed, came to life before her eyes. It was rustic, with log walls and single-paned windows. A huge fireplace was off to one side while a sofa with thick dark brown pillows sat toward the other. A rug was on the floor, some type of animal fur. But none of that mattered.

  As the flames ignited, splashes of gold light illuminated the room, outlining the form of the man before her. He pulled at the band in his hair, letting those long dark locks flow freely down past his shoulders. His gaze held hers almost hypnotically as his fingers moved to the first button of his shirt. He moved in slow motion, allowing her the time to look her fill. By the time he’d pulled the shirt from his chest Tayla had to squeeze her thighs together tightly. Her skin itched to be touched and her insides pulsated with eagerness.

  All the Greek statues she’d seen in museums and textbooks did not do Thaddeus justice. His skin, a honey tone that made her mouth water, was taut over rigid peaks of muscle. His flat stomach gave way to the massive expanse of his pectorals, and his biceps bulged as if he were prepared to move a boulder. His hands went to his belt and she shuddered, her own hands moving upward to massage her tingling nipples.

  They did not speak—it was unnecessary. Their minds and their bodies were as one. He knew what she wanted. She knew what he needed.

  Thaddeus toed his shoes off, then pulled his jeans, boxers and socks off in one swift motion, then stood naked before her. Her hazel eyes drank in every inch of him until he felt like he’d turn into molten lava at her feet. She touched her breasts, pinching the tight buds between her fingers. His mouth watered; he could all but taste their salty coarseness on his tongue.

  When she was but a step away from him, she let her gaze fall to his midsection, to his perfectly aroused sex. He was absolutely gorgeous. His feral strength glistened in the cut of his body. In the candlelight illuminating him, he looked the unearthly being he was. Tayla wondered why she was so entranced by him. It wasn’t just his physical strength or his heroic good looks, but something more, something simple. He was a man with needs much like her own. He seemed lonely yet in full control of his position in life and resigned to live it just as it was.

  He was honorable; she could tell that by the way he spoke of his father and his uncle. He was loyal and protective of those close to him and those who were weaker. That made him sexier, more desirable than any man she’d ever known, and she ached with longing for him.

  She extended her arms to him and he came, taking the hem of her shirt in his hands and lifting it quickly over her head. He ripped off her bra, thankfully freeing her heavy breasts. She whimpered, then stood taller, signaling him to touch her there.

  Thaddeus did not need signals, she realized. In this, their minds were one. She did not believe for one moment that he was reading her mind, but instead feeding off the sexual energy she exuded. Her breasts beckoned to be touched. His hands lifted in response and groped them.

  With his tongue he lavished each extended peak, stroking her breasts from the base to the sensitized tips. Touching her brought them closer. Her skin burned beneath his palms, bringing his body to a fevered pitch. She was soft and cooperative, giving him everything he desired without his having to ask. It was like that with them, a constant giving, whether of emotional or physical support. It seemed as if they were two halves of a whole working together to one terrific ending.

  His hands spanned her waist and he reveled in the cushiony feel of her there. Quickly undoing her pants, he had her bare from the waist down in no time. Now they were both naked, standing in the candlelight. Thaddeus groaned. His two passions in life—fire and sex—blended together
until they were a whirlpool surrounding him, sucking him in without recourse.

  “Thaddeus.” She whispered his name.

  “Yes, my love,” he answered and stroked his tongue along her jawbone.

  “I need you now.”

  It was a demand, not a request, and Thaddeus knew they’d never make it to the bedroom. He knelt down quickly to retrieve a condom from his pants then picked her up and strode to the couch setting her down gently. Tayla lay back, spreading her legs in anticipation of their joining. When he could do nothing but stare down at her candlelit beauty, she wet her lips and called to him.

  “Come to me, my love.”

  Her throaty whisper was his undoing. Thaddeus sheathed himself and then lowered himself between her legs.

  She lifted her arms to pull his mouth down to hers for a deep soul-shattering kiss, a kiss that had her floating through clouds, over mountaintops until she rested on a cliff with him next to her, his beauty and his love shining brightly in his eyes. “Touch me,” she begged.

  And he did. His fingers moved through her damp folds until they sank into her heated core. She moaned. He pulled his hand away and replaced it with his thick, throbbing shaft, sinking it into her slowly, gracefully, lovingly.

  He moved inside her tenderly, stroking her with an infinite melody that played over her entire body like a concerto. She simply melted into the mind-blowing ecstasy. Heavily aroused, she looked up at him. With his chiseled jaw line and the statue-like precision of his face, he looked like some mythical warrior trapped in her time period. His hair flew from side to side, as his rhythm picked up and he thrust deeply inside her. Her desire built until she felt as if she were about to climb the walls. Instead, she shifted, agilely pushing Thaddeus backwards on the couch.

  Lost somewhere between worlds, Thaddeus willed his eyes to open. She was on top of him, his manhood still embedded deeply inside of her waiting to let go. His hands braced her hips, lifted her slightly then let her slide down over his length again.

  She sighed, licked her lips. “You are incredible. Whatever you are, just know that I think you are incredible,” she spoke as he pulled her down over his thick erection again and again. She began to move her hips, watching as his eyes focused on her.

  “You are everything I ever dreamed of.” She lifted, came down excruciatingly slow on him again. “And then some,” he said on a ragged breath. “I am whatever you want me to be.”

  Then Tayla picked up the pace, undulating above him until his hands clenched her hips and her own dam broke.

  They came together like one huge tidal wave washing over the entire world. Tayla fell against his thick chest. Thaddeus cradled her in his arms as his breathing returned to normal.

  He loved her.

  She loved him.

  Neither of them spoke the words.

  Neither of them had to.

  * * *

  It was a while later, after Thaddeus had finally moved them to the bed, that Tayla allowed her thoughts to consider their future. As he held her in his arms, she concentrated on his breathing, on the rhythmic match his heart made with hers. She wanted to be like this forever, and she wondered if Thaddeus felt the same.

  They could be happy, she thought. They could live here on the mountain and teach the children and maybe have some babies of their own. This could work, she insisted silently. But what if Thaddeus wanted to return to his home? What if he asked her to go with him?

  “Are there…is there…I mean, is everyone on Delos like you?” She lay with one leg sprawled over him, her head on his shoulder, her palm on his chest.

  “My people live all throughout the Cyclades, the islands of the Aegean. They are all different, though. I am the only one of my kind.”

  “So for centuries there has just been this hidden citizenship that nobody knows about?” She found that strange, but not totally unbelievable. That’s exactly what NASA was all about, searching for civilizations believed to exist but never seen.

  “We’ve been there for all time, watching over the mortals.”

  “And when a mortal is in trouble you swoop down to save them?” She was curious as to how he’d become assigned to her.

  “Assignments are delegated. Every mortal does not get help because sometimes they are getting what they deserve. The gods are very specific about the punishment fitting the crime. I am only assigned to those whose lives needs rejuvenating.”

  She sat up and peered down at him. “So you think my life needs rejuvenating?”

  He reached up, pushed her hair back behind her shoulders and let his hands linger there. “I think you are not living the life that was intended for you because you are hiding from your husband. In assuring that your husband will no longer pose a threat to you, I will be giving you a new life, a life to be lived to its fullest.”

  Tayla shook her head. “I love my work here with the children.”

  Thaddeus mimicked her movement. “You do not love the seclusion. I sense that in your life before you were vital, eager for excitement, greedy to take whatever life threw your way.” He traced a finger over her jaw line. “Now you say you are content to stay on this mountaintop forever. I do not believe that.”

  And because he didn’t believe her, the tidy little scenario of their building a family on this mountain was most likely out of the question. She looked down at him, dread building steadily in her chest. “So when this is done, when Jerome is no longer a threat, will you leave?”

  Thaddeus was silent.

  His silence was loud and nerve-wracking. That sense of dread increased and she felt the sting of tears threatening to overflow. “How can you simply leave me after what we’ve shared?”

  The hurt in her voice was insurmountable, but he’d known it would be there. He’d known this time would come. He had two choices: tell her the truth and hurt her even more, or keep it from her and let her believe that what they shared meant nothing to him and that he was not willing to live with her…no matter how short his time was. That would infuriate her, and Thaddeus wasn’t sure which one he could tolerate more: her pain or her fury. “I cannot alter the fact that I will leave, Tayla.”

  “Why not?” she screeched. “If you were able to come here, you should be able to stay if you want. Why can’t you choose?” She sat up then, giving him a stern look, praying the tears would not fall.

  It would have to be the truth, Thaddeus decided. Because he loved her. When he left Tayla Hampton he wanted her to know that it was because he had no other choice, that it was dictated by a being much more powerful than either of them.

  “Remember I told you that my mother was a very rare bird?” Thaddeus continued to touch her, one hand moving up and down her bare arm while the other grazed her hip. Touching her brought them closer, sealed their connection no matter what he had to say or how she reacted to it.

  Tayla only nodded.

  “That bird was a phoenix.” He waited a beat, looked down and saw the exact moment she grasped his words. “You know the legend of the phoenix, don’t you, Tayla?”

  “That they live for hundreds of years before killing themselves in a bed of fire,” she said quietly.

  He nodded. “It is out of my control. It is my destiny. I’ve lived my entire life knowing that one day that time would come.” He looked away from her then, out the window into the now indigo sky. He’d known the day would come but up until now had had no reason to dread it. “It is closer now.”

  “What? What is closer? What are you saying, Thaddeus?” Despite her question she knew what he was saying. The piercing pain in her heart confirmed it. “The legend says the phoenix will be reborn of the ashes. You can come back,” she said hopefully.

  “I do not know if after that rebirth I will be the person you now know. I may not even remember who you are.”

  Tayla shook her head, determined to think of a way they could be together, knowing deep down that there wasn’t.

  He lifted her until she straddled him once again. Her gaze searched
his and he felt as if his heart would swell and explode in his chest. He took a deep, steadying breath. “In a short time I will leave this place. I will return to my home on Delos and do what I was destined to do since my birth.”

  The tears came then, hot and fluid, cascading down her cheeks. He was going to die. Thaddeus was not only going to leave her—he was going to die. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t digest the reality of the situation.

  Thaddeus pulled her down into his arms, rubbing her back, trying to soothe her discomfort even though he was feeling a wave of anguish himself. “We will cherish the time that we have. We will take care of your husband and we will not think about the inevitable. Do you understand me, Tayla?”

  Tayla cried openly because bravado seemed futile now. None of this mattered to her. Not Jerome, not her life. All of it seemed in vain as she thought of the happiness she’d managed to find and the fact that she would lose him no matter what she did. How unfair was that? She’d been fighting all her life: first the embarrassment of her father’s alcoholism, and her mother’s blind eye to the obvious; then the Ranier family and their distorted opinion of her; and now Jerome’s unwelcome return. It seemed as if she was destined to suffer, eternally.

  “Do you understand me?” He gave her body a little shake this time.

  In the midst of her self-pity she recognized his voice for what it was. She understood everything he’d just told her, and she believed it. For whatever reason, he had been sent here to help her, to give her back the life she deserved. She could be nothing but thankful for that fact. If she’d fallen in love with him, if his touch had awakened things in her she’d never known existed, well then, that was an added bonus. But she didn’t want to think of her life without him, didn’t want to think of him dying.

  So she wouldn’t. She’d simply concentrate on the here and know. Denial would be her best friend.

  “Yes, Thaddeus,” she sniffed, “I understand.”