Phoenix

by Danielle James

“Jules would understand. I think she might even approve.”

  “I’m still not with ya man,” Phoenix lied. He really didn’t think he had a snowballs chance in hell to get Jules’s approval to do all the naughty things he wanted to do to Kelly.

  “Kelly. The way you feel about Kelly. You can tell me. I already know anyway.” he said, smug.

  “Yeah, I care for her. She’s a cool cat. But it stops there. I think you are mistaken, maybe even a little overly hopeful.”

  “Whatever you say,” Nick said, but he didn’t believe him and it was obvious. What did Phoenix care whether Nick believed him or not? It wasn’t like he was going to act on it or anything.

  They flew quietly for a while, stopping to pull a tree out of the road, or untangle some wires that were loose and twisted around poles in the street. They stopped at a hotel just outside of Boston on the west side, but it was full. The same story with most of the hotels for the next fifty miles. They were headed south toward the Carolinas. They finally settled on a bed and breakfast in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

  It was a large house that had been renovated to accommodate fifteen people. Nick went on inside and booked all four available rooms. Phoenix had lost his coat in the storm and something told him that these nice people wouldn’t take very kindly to a huge bird hanging out in their establishment. Nick said he was being ridiculous but Phoenix stayed away for that part just to be safe. He wasn’t happy about sharing a room with Andrew and Jared for the time being. Not that he didn’t like them. He wanted to share with a certain blonde who was living it up in her own room. Her bathroom connected with Phoenix’s though, and of course his brain went into overdrive just thinking about her showering in there.

  After the check in was complete, Kelly let him in through the second floor window so that he could get in and shower without scaring the daylights out of anyone.

  The vampires left to find somewhere to acquire blood, while Andrew went to get take out for the rest of the family. While they were gone, Phoenix fished his cell out of his pocket and dialed. Thank God they had found a spot with cell reception. The phone had survived the storm, but only because he had it stuffed in his jeans pocket. The charger, however, was probably hanging from someone’s clothesline in China. The phone rang four times before anyone answered.

  “Hello?” Heidi said, only with her accent, it was more like, Hallo.

  “Heidi, it’s me, it’s Phoenix.”

  “Phoenix! Thank God! I was so worried. You were supposed to call when you made it home, what took so long?”

  “You wouldn’t believe what happened. First, I fell asleep. When I woke up, there was a wicked thunderstorm going on, and then, the mansion was destroyed by a tornado.”

  “Oh my! Is everyone ok?”

  “Yeah, but we had to find another place to stay. How’s it all going there? What time is it there?” He didn’t know exactly what time it was in the U.S. but he knew it was dark and it was late.

  “Two o’clock in the afternoon. There was some craziness here too. We had a lot of storms. The news said there were a total of fifteen tornadoes in France overnight. So a lot of people are without power, and phone service is shaky at best. I’m surprised you got through. None of them hit us, though. We are fine. Oh, Michelle says hi. She says to tell Kelly hi too.”

  “Will do, I miss you guys.”

  “We miss you too, hey, by the way did you see...” The line went dead. She had told him before that her service was bad. Phoenix powered off his phone to save battery. He would try the girls again in the morning, but for now, he needed a bucket of headache pills, a good jack off session and a lobotomy. Maybe that would straighten him out.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  November

  They spent the next few weeks at the bed and breakfast. Phoenix knew exactly how long they had been there. Three weeks, two days and fourteen hours to exact. It had been the longest few weeks of his life. Every time he turned around, his senses were assaulted by the lovely almond scent that Kelly seemed to wear naturally. They were cramped in their temporary home and it seemed that if he couldn’t outright see her, he could smell her or hear her. There had been no sign of Michael and Jolice, and everyone was on edge. Phoenix refused to allow himself the fantasies that played in his head where Kelly was concerned. They had bigger things to deal with than his out of control sex drive.

  It was late one night when Phoenix had a particularly bad case of cabin fever. He crept out of the window and took himself for a flight. He let the night air and the sights of the city sooth his frazzled nerves. He made a wide arc around the city, familiarizing himself yet again with the layout. He tried to clear his mind and to not think of things, especially Kelly. If he jacked off any more, his feared his dick would chafe. He didn’t want to think about Michael and why they couldn’t find him. They couldn’t reach him by phone or otherwise and that really upset Phoenix. It just wasn’t like him. At first, they had all wondered if the angel and his bride had taken a vacation or an impromptu honeymoon. After these few weeks though, it became apparent that something was very wrong. There was no evidence to prove they had succumb to foul play, but to just disappear was uncharacteristic. Phoenix knew in his gut that something very bad had happened. He only prayed they were still alive somewhere.

  When Phoenix finally returned, he could hear the shower running. He groaned inwardly. There was no question who was in it. He stretched himself out on his bed and flipped on the TV. His roommates were out doing some shopping, so Phoenix had the room to himself. Andrew and Jared did all the shopping. It was a good thing too, because left to his own devices, Phoenix would survive off of frozen pizza and soda.

  He flipped the remote aimlessly. It seemed there was news on every channel. More than one tornado had blown over the east coast. Phoenix watched as a sinking feeling took over in his stomach. Not just the east coast. Not just France. Everywhere. Thirty six tornadoes wreaked havoc across the U.S. Three hundred and twenty seven all over the world in just a few weeks. This was extremely unusual. Unheard of. And then, as if that weren’t enough, a small island off the coast of South Africa had been completely destroyed by flood waters. An earthquake hit in the ocean and water was quickly rising all along the African and South American coast lines. Entire cities were covered in water, the total dead was unknown. He was sure the number would be astronomical. As soon as the others got back, he was going to have to tell everyone about this. It was just too much at once.

  Things were happening at an incredible rate. The destruction by Mother Nature’s hand alone was enough to make his stomach coil. Combined with the fighting going on in European and Arabic countries, Phoenix knew it was only a matter of time before the Americas were dragged into it. It happened before, and it could most definitely happen again. He saw it for himself back in the 1940's. Pearl Harbor. He couldn’t watch it happen again. Not if he could help it.

  The shower stopped, and he knew Kelly was getting out. He waited patiently until he heard the lock on the door between his room and the bathroom unlock and the door to her room open and close again. He opened the door and walked in and …. Holy Mother of God! Kelly was still in there. She was in front of the mirror brushing her hair. Phoenix couldn’t help himself. He drank in the sight of her. Her short blonde hair was dripping as she brushed through it and the little droplets of water were escaping down her neck. Phoenix stood there, with his hand on the door knob, staring at her. He was dumbstruck.

  He did, however, watch those little beads of water race down her slender neck and over her shoulder. He watched as one rolled down her chest and over a dusky nipped that pointed up from her pert breast. Phoenix’s mouth started to water. Why the hell was she naked? He forced his eyes to move and discovered that she was wearing a towel around her waist. Oh to be that water droplet, he thought. To move over her soft skin… his fingers itched to touch her and his mouth watered to taste her skin. Of all the billions of people on the planet, this one was made to perfection.

  �
�Oh hey Phoenix,” Kelly said with a half-smile.

  Phoenix yanked himself around and turned his back to her. “I’m sorry,” he managed. “I thought you were out.”

  Kelly laughed. “Nope. Almost done though.”

  Yeah so was he. In another minute he would be done and his boxers would need changing.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in like that, I thought you were done,” he mumbled as he started to exit the room.

  “You can go ahead and get your water going, I won’t pay any attention.”

  “That’s ok, I’ll give you your privacy,” he said.

  “Ha! After living with two others in a cramped little loft, I don’t even remember what privacy is! But thanks.” She had no qualms about being half covered. Phoenix left and closed the door anyway.

  He couldn’t believe he had just done that. He knew to knock anyway. It’s easy to forget though, he thought as he pushed his hair behind his ear. He tried to scrub the memory of Kelly’s naked torso from his brain, but it was no use. It was permanently burned into his cornea and he would see it every day for the rest of his long, long life.

  Kelly watched as Phoenix closed the door behind him. He nearly ran out of the bathroom, but not before he had stood there like a statue for a long moment staring at her. She felt a little bad for tricking him, but she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to know if he was as attracted to her as she was to him. At first, she doubted her decision to stay in the bathroom half naked. He came in and froze. But then Kelly saw the way his eyes raked over her body. She could feel his stare touching her and her body had responded. Her nipples grew to diamond hard points and moisture pooled between her legs as he licked his lips. She didn’t think he even realized he had done it. She also didn’t miss the enormous bulge that formed in his jeans either. Then when she talked to him, his face had turned a beautiful shade of red. She didn’t know the big, bad phoenix could blush. She smiled to herself.

  After he was absolutely certain the bathroom was free of Kelly, Phoenix took his own shower. He originally planned to take a long, hot, shower, but instead he took an ice cold one. He had to will his dick into submission. What was he going to do? She was all he could think about. And just what would happen if he acted on all the sexy things he thought about doing to her? He thought she would be on board with it, but then what? She was young. He knew she already held his heart in her hand, but what happened when she decided he was no longer any fun? No, he didn’t think he wanted to deal with that. He focused on getting himself clean and toweling off after. He scooped his hair and feathers out of the drain and dropped them into the waste basket.

  He wrapped a towel around his waist, it barely fit, and went back to his room. No sooner than he had pulled on a pair of sweat pants Kelly walked into his room. “Can I come in?” she asked.

  “Sure, if you don’t mind that I don’t have a shirt to wear,” he said. He noticed her eyes lingered on his exposed chest a little longer than necessary. Yes, she was just as affected as he was. When the little minx licked her lips, Phoenix thought he was going to explode.

  “I already took your clothes to be washed, mine too. We will have to go shopping tomorrow with Andrew. He’s got great style.” she giggled. So somehow she had managed to sneak in the bathroom while he was showering to grab his dirty clothes. He hadn’t noticed. She was taking care of him and that sent a warm feeling throughout his body.

  “Yeah, I guess he does. Wonder when he’s gonna get back, I’m starving.”

  “Me too, but it may take a bit to find someplace open all night. Do you mind if I hang out with you while everyone else is gone?” Andrew was on the food mission, as usual. They were all still on France time, so the days and nights got a little mixed up. Jared went with him, and the vampires were on a hunt for blood. It wasn’t as easy to get supplies there, not when you don’t have a personal blood bank. Phoenix knew they would never consider biting anyone who wasn’t a willing donor, so it took some time. He was certain they were looking for a supply they could break into without notice. Breaking and entering were not high on their list of things they did often, but sometimes it was necessary.

  “No, I don’t mind. Want to rent a movie or something? This place has pay per view,” he offered.

  “As long as it’s a scary one.”

  Phoenix clicked the remote and rented the best scary movie available, Night of the Living Dead. He thought it was gross and the special effects were awful. Kelly loved it. But Phoenix never cared for blood and gore in his choice of movies.

  “Thanks for being so good to me,” Kelly said, surprising the hell out of him.

  “What do you mean? Don’t I treat everyone pretty good?”

  “Yeah, I guess you do.”

  “Besides, I forgot all about your birthday, I never did get a chance to go shopping for you,” he said. It was true and he still kinda felt bad about it, even though things were happening entirely too fast for anyone to worry over a missed birthday.

  “Are you kidding? You gave me the best present of all!” she exclaimed.

  “How’s that?” he asked.

  “You are real,” she said, laying her hand on his chest. When his expression must have said it all, she explained. “Ever since the first time I read about you, I knew you had to be real, somewhere. Call it whatever you want, naivety, hopeless romantic, whatever. I didn’t think you would be a man with wings, but that’s pretty cool. I knew you existed, that you were more than a myth. I knew it in my soul. I knew I would find you someday. I always felt like the myths were speaking to me.

  “I knew I had a protector out there, that there was something magical waiting for me to find it. Somewhere deep down, I knew you just had to be real.

  “The myths turned out to be true. You do exist! And when I saw into your eyes for the first time, I knew you. I felt it. I couldn’t explain it, but it was there. I trusted you immediately. I feel completely and totally safe around you.” Phoenix listened as she explained. He knew she was telling the truth. He knew it because the same feeling crept over him when they met. He knew her soul when she stared into his eyes. He had felt it in France and he felt it right then as she told him all of this with her sapphire eyes staring into his. He knew he could never let any harm come to this woman. They air between them seemed to sizzle with electricity; he could almost see it.

  “I’m not freaking you out, am I?” she asked.

  “No,” he told her. He wanted to say more, but she leaned back against him, laying her head on the hollow beneath his shoulder. Phoenix hesitated, and then, since Jules was going to kill him anyway, he wrapped his arm around her small waist and held her.

  “Thank you, I don’t want to be alone right now,” she said. She had been through so much in just a few short weeks. Outwardly, she accepted everything in stride. Inwardly, Phoenix knew she was struggling. He wanted to tell her everything was going to be ok, that nothing bad would ever happen to her. He wanted to say a lot of things, but instead, he just nodded and mumbled “Uh huh,” and watched the movie.

  He only half watched. His mind was too busy with other things. His head was full of Kelly’s scent. Honey and almond. It was intoxicating. He had assumed it was her soap or shampoo before, but now he could smell the clean scent of ivory soap around it. It must be her natural smell. Jules smells like jasmine and honey no matter what kind of soap she uses. He could have, should have been worrying about the catastrophic events as of late, but he wasn’t. Phoenix was only thinking of Kelly. Could Nick be right? Could he care for this young woman more than he realized? He didn’t care what Nick said, Jules would hurt him. Just because he could heal didn’t mean he enjoyed pain. That woman scared him when she was angry. It was a good thing that he was indestructible, he thought. At least, as long as she put all of his parts in the flame, he would come back.

  “That feels good,” Kelly said. Phoenix realized he was gently tracing patterns on her back with his hand. She was curling a piece of his hair around her fingers.

>   “I’m glad you like it,” he said.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You said that feels good. I assumed you were talking about me rubbing your back,” he answered.

  “I didn’t say it, though,” she said sleepily. “I only thought it.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Michael was staring between the bars into the cell across from his. Jolice was crouched into the farthest corner, her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked as if she were trying to make herself as small as possible; as if she were trying to disappear into the walls.

  “You ok?” he asked her. He was speaking very softly even though he was certain no one else was there. She nodded, making her disheveled brown curls fall over her shoulders, but made no other movement. Her left eye was swollen and bruised. Her bottom lip was split and covered in crusted blood. Around her ankle, the cuff that held her chained to the wall was cutting into her skin. Her ankle was an angry red and dried blood surrounded her ankle and foot.

  Michael swore under his breath for the umpteenth time that day. Not only were they captured, but the sick bastard had beaten Jolice right in front of him. He cursed himself for having given up his wings. If he were still an angel, he could have stopped this. He could have protected her. Now that he was human, all he could do was watch in horror as they hurt the woman he loved from the confines of his cell. At first, Michael tried to break free. He shouted and cursed and jerked on his chains. He slammed himself against the cell bars. It was no use. He was exactly as strong as any other human man, which was not strong enough.

  They had been shopping. On the way to yet another store, a large dog ran out in front of the car, causing Michael to swerve. He stopped the car on the side of the road for what should have been only a moment to get over the shock, when both of the car doors were jerked open.

  Neither Michael nor Jolice saw their assailants. Whoever they were, they used a cloth soaked in something to cover Michael and Jolice’s mouths. They were knocked out immediately. When they woke, they were in these cells. Both were miraculously unharmed at the time, except for a pounding headache. If only that was the sum of their injuries now. Both of them had been beaten by the guards relentlessly. When the guards were done, the prisoners were tossed back into the cells. Michael could tell it was in a basement of some sort, with prison cells. It reminded him of a military brigade. After he saw the multitude of soldiers, he was sure of it. But which one?