More than a Phoenix

by Ashlyn Chase

  Kizzy knew Noah was strong, but she hadn’t expected such musculature all over. His powerful thigh muscles rippled under the skin as he walked. His pecs, abs, and arm muscles all worked together as he turned down the bed.

  She was glad Noah wasn’t one of those guys who wanted to maul her to show how macho he could be. He didn’t rip off her clothes or throw them across the room. He held the covers up for her to slide under, and then he joined her.

  He cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes. “Are you really ready for this? I know your father wouldn’t approve.”

  “Well then, it’s a good thing he’s not here, because I want this very much.”

  Noah grinned, then laid her down and leaned over, kissing her soundly. Their tongues swirled together, and she tasted just a hint of beer along with Noah’s unique flavor. They moved together as one. He dipped his head and kissed a path down her sternum then over to one breast, which he suckled thoroughly. Then he moved to the other one and gave that side equal attention. When he pinched the nipple he wasn’t sucking, the electricity shot straight to her womb, making her hungry with need. The area between her thighs was growing damp.

  When she reached down, she found him erect and hard as steel. She massaged his cock and then leaned over and took it in her mouth. He groaned but soon let out a breath of relief. She sucked harder and watched him respond. He lifted his back up off the bed when she tugged on his balls at the same time. She loved the moans and groans that said she was on the right track. She wanted to make him feel good. The way he made her feel.

  “Good God.” He placed a finger under her chin and tipped her face up until he could see her eyes. “Can I give you some of that action, beautiful?”

  Kizzy smiled, knowing what awaited her and hoping nothing interrupted them. If Dante chose to come home at that moment, she might cry.

  She scooted back up until her head rested on the pillow, and he moved down to take his place at the intersection of her thighs. He licked her labia, taking his time. The cool smooth action of his tongue woke up her neglected body. She’d had sex before, but not often, and it was never that big a deal. She’d never been in love, nor had anyone said they loved her. This man made her feel like she was important to him. He was certainly important to her…like breathing.

  He flicked his tongue across her clit, and she raised her pelvis right off the bed. The amazing sensations that shot through her were nothing like she had experienced before. He returned to lavishing attention on her most sensitive bundle of nerves. She shivered and vibrated with repeated swipes of his talented tongue.

  At last, the tension spiraled to a breaking point. She felt like she was leaping off a precipice, and then she was flying. She had never experienced an orgasm like this. She felt like she could escape the confines of her body. This magnificent experience was something she hoped to repeat often.

  When her spirit had finally “landed” and achieved equilibrium, she calmly pulled Noah’s face up to her own and kissed him thoroughly. “Thank you.”

  “It’s not over yet. Unless you want it to be.”

  She laughed. “There’s no way I want to stop now.”

  “Do you need protection?”

  “I can take care of it with magic, if you trust me?”

  He smiled and settled his belly over hers, with his legs between her legs. “I trust you.” Gazing down at her, he kissed the end of her nose.

  She closed her eyes for a few moments, then opened them and nodded. “Go ahead.”

  Pushing forward, Noah entered her waiting center. It felt perfect. When he was buried to the hilt, he began his rhythm. She lifted her legs and buttocks and met him thrust for thrust. Their mating sped up as the sensations they were creating deepened. After a few minutes, she could feel the spiral of sexual pleasure rising again. When she reached her climax, she cried out.

  He encouraged her to let loose. “Go ahead. Let go. Scream it all out.”

  Kizzy allowed herself to be swept away completely. She screamed and quivered with the most powerful orgasm she could have imagined. It seemed to go on and on. At last, he followed her over the edge, jerking and grunting with his own release.

  Eventually, he collapsed beside her, and they panted, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

  “Wow,” Kizzy said breathlessly.

  “I second that.” He gathered her in his arms and tucked her head under his chin tenderly. Still breathing deeply, they recovered until at last their inhalations returned to normal. Finally, Noah sat up. “Can I get you something to drink? Another cold beer or ice water?”

  “I’m fine, thanks.” Kizzy rolled up off the bed and looked for her clothes. Then she remembered they were on top of the dresser. “I’ll just use your bathroom and get dressed…if it’s safe to go out there like this.”

  “We’re alone. Dante won’t be back for another hour or so.”

  “Okay.” Kizzy grabbed her clothes and peeked around the open door anyway. Then she ran across the hall to the bathroom, cleaned up, and dressed.

  Smiling, she realized how satisfied she was. Completely sated. Completely relaxed. Noah was good for her. She hadn’t felt this contented in weeks, months, maybe even years. Soon, she returned to find Noah in the kitchen. He handed her a glass of ice water—just the refreshment she needed.

  “I want to see you more often, Kizzy.”

  “I think that can be arranged.” She reached over and drew him in for another long kiss.

  He sat on the kitchen chair and pulled her down on his lap. They sat there holding each other without words. None were needed.

  At last, Noah broke their silent reverie. “I want you to meet my family.”

  “I already met your parents at the basketball game.”

  “Not just my parents. We all get together for Sunday dinner whenever our schedules allow. At least twice a month.”

  “Don’t you have a big family? Are you sure there will be room for me?”

  Noah laughed. “No, but we’ll make room.”

  “So you want me to meet your whole family some Sunday?”

  “Yeah. I want you to meet my big fat phoenix family, this Sunday. Please?”

  The invitation was sweet and signaled a shift in their relationship. She realized it was a direction she wanted to follow. “Okay.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I’ll meet your big fat phoenix family this Sunday.”

  Chapter 12

  Mallory ran for the phone ringing in the next room. “Hello?”

  “Mallory, honey, are you all right?”

  “Mom?”

  “Yes. Dad is here too. We have you on speakerphone. So, are you okay?”

  “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Oh, thank goodness.”

  “I knew it,” her father grumbled.

  “What’s going on, Mom?”

  “We just had a strange experience. One of the native tribesmen came to us with an interpreter. He said something about a group of men having put a curse on you. He wondered why we would abandon you when you needed us.”

  “Huh?” I’ll be damned. It was a curse!

  Her father’s voice became gruff. “I knew it was all bullshit. I just didn’t know why he would say something like that and walk away. He’ll probably be back, asking us for money to remove it.”

  “But you’re okay?” her mother asked again. “Nothing has happened?”

  “Yeah. I mean, sort of.”

  “Well, which is it?” her father barked. “Are you okay or not?”

  Mallory let out a sigh. “I’m fine…now. I went through something upsetting, but everything’s all right. I lost my job, but now I have a better one.”

  “You lost your job?” Her father sounded alarmed.

  “It’s okay, Dad. A customer at the mall kind of overreacted and got me fired. But then s
he felt bad and introduced me to a gallery owner. I had a show, and from that, I got a better job.”

  “That’s exciting. What kind of job did you get?” her mother asked.

  “It’s something in my field, actually. I’ll be a textile designer—designing printed fabric on a computer. For clothes and stuff.”

  “I’m glad it all worked out, honey.”

  “You will be? In other words, you haven’t started yet.” Her father had a way of drawing conclusions and stating his suppositions as if they were facts.

  “No, I’ve started. The fashion designer asked me to use three of my paintings as inspiration. He picked the ones he especially liked. Now I’m just learning to design straight on the computer.”

  “Well, that’s great,” he said. “I never thought that useless art degree of yours would come in handy.”

  She sighed.

  Her mother huffed in the background. “Give me the phone, Albert.”

  “No. I’m talking to my daughter.”

  “So, how are you guys?” Mallory asked.

  “We’re fine, but we’re coming home soon.”

  “Really? I thought you were going to be gone for a few months. Not a few weeks.”

  “There’s been a lot of protesting, and your father has had a change of heart.”

  That was something Mallory never thought she would hear. Her father was all about the bottom line. There must’ve been some reason it wasn’t lucrative anymore.

  “I’m sorry it didn’t turn out the way you’d hoped. But it will be good to see you.” Even though she had enjoyed her freedom, she was surprised to realize she really had missed them—her mother more, but hey, she’d like a hug from her dad too.

  “You guys are okay, right? The protesters didn’t hurt you? No one has threatened your life or anything, have they?”

  “There have been no violent threats to us,” her mother said. “We’re all right.”

  “Except for that moron threatening you. Now that we know you’re okay, we’re fine.”

  “So, what were the protests like?”

  Her father groaned. “It wasn’t like at home, where people peacefully march and carry signs. The equipment has been sabotaged. People have managed to get through the gates and argue with the workers until they quit, but that chief coming to us and telling us there was a curse on you… Well, that was the last straw.”

  He cared. Her father actually cared about her. She wasn’t surprised about his ability to power through equipment and employee problems. That’s what he did. What he’d always done. But a threat to her safety stopped him. “So, are you going to take a break and go back later to finish?”

  “No, honey. We’re just coming home,” her mother said.

  “I’m getting too old for this shit. When I was a young man, I would’ve taken this as a challenge, but I’m getting older now. If they don’t want us here, we’ll leave them to their backward ways. I could’ve brought jobs, education, commerce…”

  “Some people don’t want that,” Mallory said, knowing her honesty might upset him. “I imagine the native people around there have lived without Western ways for centuries. They might not even understand what you’re trying to do.”

  Her father just sighed.

  “Your father has plenty of options back at home. We just have to handle a few last details here, and soon, we’ll be packing.”

  Mallory thought that her mother was probably relieved. She hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of living in the jungle for months. Her father had supposedly built some kind of structure for them, not just a tent. But she was used to the finer things. Her mother hadn’t been a socialite, but she was from a wealthy family. How she wound up falling for her blue-collar dad was still a mystery.

  “Oh, I should let you guys know, I have a serious boyfriend. His name is Dante Fierro, and he’s a firefighter.”

  “Oh! That’s great, honey,” her mother said. “Is he good to you?”

  “Of course he’s good to her,” her father said. “It’s a new relationship. She won’t see his bad side for a few more months.”

  “I don’t think he has a bad side,” Mallory said.

  “Ha. We’ll see about that.”

  “You never know,” her mother said. “Sometimes people surprise you.”

  “Are you talking about me?”

  Mallory could picture the smile on his face as he teased her mom and vice versa.

  “Well, let’s just say you surprised a lot of people. My parents in particular.”

  He laughed.

  “We can talk more about that later. We just called to find out if you were all right,” her dad said. “Now I’m going to go and say a few words to the employees who stuck by me.”

  “We miss you,” her mother said.

  “I miss you too. When do you think you’ll be back?”

  “I’d say by the end of the week. There isn’t a lot of packing to do since we never accumulated very much. I was able to cancel most of my interior design orders.”

  “Well, let me know if you want a ride from the airport.”

  “Did you buy a car?”

  “No, but Dante has one. I’m sure he’d be happy to come and get you.”

  “That’s sweet, but we’ll probably just call a cab. I think we’d like to freshen up first and meet your young man when we’re rested and relaxed. Maybe we can all go out to dinner.”

  “That sounds good.”

  Now she had to prepare the love of her life for the people who thought nothing in her life was out of the ordinary.

  * * *

  Kizzy called her dad. “I found it! I found the other book!”

  “Seriously? Where is it?”

  “I’m at Noah’s house in South Boston. He thought it was a book of alchemy, and it is! Unfortunately, without the other book or books, he couldn’t have created gold from the ingredients alone. And we couldn’t perform some of our spells without the ingredients he has listed here.”

  “How big is this book?”

  “Not as large as ours, but it’s got about 150 recipes. I’m not really able to give you exact numbers, because they didn’t put any on the pages.”

  “So, Noah had it. Where did he get it? How do you know you can trust him?”

  Kizzy was annoyed her father would even ask that question. But if she bristled at him, he would just figure she was covering something up. “Here, why don’t you ask him yourself?” She hit the speaker button.

  “Uh… Hello, sir. This is Noah Fierro. I guess you have a question for me?”

  “I have several questions for you, young man. First of all, where did you get that book?”

  “I found it in an old bookstore on Cambridge Street.”

  Silence met their ears. At last, the elder Dr. Samuels said, “I know the place. I wonder how it got there?”

  “I don’t know, sir. Sometimes old books are found at estate sales. It could’ve come from one of those.”

  “Yes, that would make sense, if someone had the book and didn’t guard it closely, then died without heirs—or perhaps the relatives had no idea what it was. Either way, he or she should’ve had someone clued in… By the way, how are you feeling about all this?”

  “Sir?”

  “I assume my daughter told you. We’re not exactly a normal family.”

  “Yeah. I understand, and I’m perfectly okay with it.”

  “Wow. Just like that?”

  “I admit it was a bit of a surprise. But it’s okay. I trust your daughter. In fact, I love your daughter.”

  “I see. And if something happens between you two, are you going to tell anyone about us?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  There was a quiet moment on the other end of the line. Kizzy knew what her father was thinking. Now that Noah knew, breaking th
em up would not be a good idea. She was quite happy with that turn of events.

  “Guard that book with your life.” Dr. Samuels hadn’t addressed the comment to anyone in particular, but she knew he was speaking to Noah.

  “I will. It may not have been passed down to me, but Kizzy has let me in on some of the secrets it might hold, and I recognize the importance of it.”

  “Not everyone is as lucky as we are, Dad,” Kizzy said. “There are three of us. And someday, there may be more. Each generation has someone to pass it down to, usually.”

  “Until they don’t.” Dr. Samuels sighed. “Well, I would like to see this book for myself. But I don’t want either of you to take it outside where it’s vulnerable.”

  “You’re welcome to come here, sir.”

  “You can stop calling me sir. Why don’t you call me Aaron?”

  Noah visibly relaxed. “Thank you, sir. I mean Aaron. Why don’t I give you the address?”

  “Yes, please do that.”

  “It’s 40B L Street, in South Boston. We’re on the second floor.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be there with Nick Wolfensen as soon as possible.”

  “Dad?” Kizzy asked. “Is it a good idea to let anyone else in on this? I don’t know Mr. Wolfensen that well. Do you?”

  “I don’t see how we can keep this to ourselves completely. I may need Mr. Wolfensen’s strength and other abilities to get there safely.”

  Kizzy knew what those other abilities were. He might need an attack wolf. Her father didn’t have the same powers. In fact, his hands were tied, in a way. He had taken the Hippocratic oath. However, even though they were both healers, Kizzy was the stronger one when it came to protection. For some reason, the females received a little more power in certain decidedly female traits: Ruth’s psychic abilities, and Kizzy’s matriarchal protective instincts. Her father’s male protectiveness was more of a human trait. And he wasn’t allowed to destroy anyone. Not that he would. She hoped.

  Kizzy worried her lip. “Okay. Do whatever you have to do to feel safe, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea to put the books together.”