Phoenyx Rising (Demigods Duet Book 1)

by Kolleen Fraser

  “Uh... Asher, this is my best friend and roommate Ianna Ceto; Ianna, this is Asher Blaze. We...uh, hung out last night after I left the party,” the confession comes out in a rush, distracted by his lips on my neck.

  Ianna’s eyes try to avoid looking at us. “Okay… I'm going to go. It's a little early for a live porn show, but y'all have fun now,” she stammers, trying to get away from us as fast as she can.

  Smacking his arm, “You totally freaked her out.” He just shrugs. I try to be brave as I stare into his dark brown, almost black, eyes, but can’t hold his stare for long. Nervously, my eyes shift down to my hands.

  “I was looking for you too. I wanted to say thank you for... for getting me home last night. That was...fun,” I respond with a shy smile he can’t see under the curtain of hair between us. He brushes it behind my ear, and his finger runs along my jaw, under my chin, tilting it up so our eyes finally meet.

  “I had fun too, Nyx. I've missed your lips since I dropped you off last night,” leaning down to kiss me; I pull back, looking up at him.

  “What we did last night… I mean, are we together? I... I like you, a lot. I guess, I just wondered how you felt. Was last night just a hookup or do you like me?” embarrassment washes over me. Now I'm terrified waiting for his answer.

  “Nyx, you are the only girl who matters to me. We were made for each other. Demigods with the same talents always carry a bond, but with us, it feels so much stronger. So yes, we are definitely together.” He leans in for another kiss.

  Then we grab our breakfast and sit with Ianna and Kai. Life feels whole for the first time. Asher makes me feel like the most important girl in the world. The world hums at our closeness. Every touch sends electricity through my body.

  As weeks pass, we spend more and more time together. Asher doesn’t tell me where he came from, but I get the feeling it was bad. Underneath all his false bravado, he is hiding something. Like me, he has this wall built up around him. He is strong, sexy, and above all fun. I feel alive when we are drowning our sorrows together. Though not everyone likes his influence on me.

  “You don’t understand the kind of hold he has over you.” Mason argues.

  “There is no hold, Mase. He understands me, he lets me be myself and helps me forget my messed-up past.”

  “Number one, you don’t even remember your messed up past so don’t throw that out there like it means something. Number two, if anyone here understands you; it’s me, not that fucking criminal. You could have come to me if you needed help.”

  “You gonna help me control my fire when I orgasm, Mase?”

  He pales for a moment before rage taints his features, “You had sex with him?”

  “Calm down, it’s not the end of the world. He gets me, Mase, and I get him.”

  “I can’t stand to listen to any more of this,” he states before walking away. What just happened? Why can’t he be happy for me?

  After a month together, the reality of our situation becomes clearer. Asher and I are two broken people holding on so tight, trying not to be cut on the shards. When we aren’t in class, we drink away our troubles one gulp at a time; the weight of the world lessens and my walls come down. Asher never tries to fix me or make me someone I’m not. He sees the darkness in me because it mirrors his own. Falling in love with him didn’t feel wrong at all, it was almost too easy.

  In his room, I pull his shirt over his head. Running my hands over his bare skin, moaning. God, he is so sexy. He obviously knows exactly what to do to wake my body up and make it come alive. We are both gasping. He reaches down and slowly pulls my underwear down my legs, leaving me naked in the night air. A shiver runs through me, and it has nothing to do with the cold.

  His eyes are liquid desire. He flashes that beautiful dimpled smile and I know I am lost. He drops his boxers, and I moan at his beautiful naked body. With my back against the wall, he presses his hard body against mine. His hands lift me up and my legs wrap around his lean body. I feel his hard cock at my entrance as he carries me to his bed, kissing his way down my body.

  Gasping, I feel panic rising as the cloud of alcohol lifts for a moment. What am I doing? Do I really want this? Is he really the one I want to be my first? Mason face pops into my head as Asher’s tongue runs over the bundle of nerves at my core, I banish the thought and stay in the present. Asher is here, he wants me, and he loves me. Writhing under his skilled mouth, I ride out my orgasm.

  Kissing his way back up my body he pauses, his body aligned with mine, “Are you sure about this?” I nod in reply, am I sure?

  He slams into me, filling me instantly. I cry out at the pain. Asher stills above me, kissing me deeply he maneuvers his hand between us, his touch feels so good. I grab onto him, digging my nails into his skin. His mouth claims me, forever marking me his. Slowly, he starts moving inside me, tipping my body over the edge. I feel an inferno tingling in my body; I’m able to hold it in now. His body is hot and aglow with the flames always present under his skin.

  “So good, babe,” he whispers against my neck before biting down.

  The waves of power mixing between us make every cell in my body explode. I am completely slammed by my orgasm; all I can do is gasp as it rattles through my body in waves.

  “Asher,” I moan as I feel his release following mine.

  We lay there clinging to each other. He kisses my forehead, my cheek, finishing on my lips. Claiming me once again.

  “I’m not through with you yet, why don’t you stay over?”

  I smile up at him, basking in the love shining in his eyes; he is so beautiful. He helps me clean up, before I lose myself in his arms and eyes once again.

  When I wake up naked in his bed, my head is pounding. We were both trashed last night, but the aching between my legs reminds me what happened. I start to cry, no idea why, but it feels like I’m betraying myself, giving him such a big part of my heart. Terrified what he will do with it. Last night, I felt safe, having his strong arms protecting me.

  He wakes to me crying and pulls me into his arms.

  “Don’t cry, baby. Everything will be okay now, I promise.”

  I curl back into his warmth and hold onto those beautiful words like a lifeline. Asher makes me feel beautiful and safe, not like the locked-away monster they say I am.

  What had started as a weekend party to blow off some steam quickly turns into our nightly ritual. There is always a group looking to drown their sorrows or victories, and Asher is always willing to join in. Our cycle of attending classes, drinking and sex makes one night bleed into the next. Before I know it, a month has passed in his arms, and I have never been happier.

  Stretching myself awake, I find myself in Asher’s bed with the sun shining through the blinds. Reaching out for him, seeking his warmth I find his side of the bed empty and cold, which is odd, maybe he hit the gym early. After getting dressed I manage to sneak back to my room unnoticed. Not that the guards seem to care, since we party together most nights but if Mason catches me, he will kick my ass or I’ll have to endure another lecture about Asher and how bad my choices are. No idea why Mason hates him so much.

  Ianna is just getting up when I walk in. She smiles, “I like that look on you.”

  “What look?”

  Her smile gets bigger, “Happy.”

  I smile big and bright the whole time I’m getting ready for class. Happy... what do you know, maybe miracles do happen.

  Asher is absent from his morning classes. No one has seen him since I left with him last night and it’s not like him to disappear, so strange. He must have been busted and sent to solitary.

  Sitting in my last class of the day when I get summoned to Dr. Grey’s office. It's not our usual therapy session, so I assume this has something to do with Asher’s absence.

  When I walk into her office, there is a man standing behind her desk staring at me, arms crossed over his chest. He is tall with short, dark blond hair that is styled perfectly; his whole wardrobe from his shoes to his
tie is perfectly in place. He seems so out of place in Dr. Grey’s office. His eyes are a dark grey, like a storm cloud on a sunny day.

  “Oh, sorry to barge in, Dr. Grey sent for me,” I stammer. His cold glare is making me nervous, brows are pulled together. He looks angry... at me.

  “Come in, sit,” he commands, motioning to the chair I usually sit in.

  I do as I’m asked. I won't step out of line with this man; every inch of his body screams dominance. He sits beside me, stormy grey eyes searching mine for something. He is handsome with a severe edge, but there is something in his eyes. Like a predator watching its prey. He shakes his head.

  “Asher Blaze? Asher fucking Blaze, Phee?” He stands up and starts pacing the room, running a hand through his hair and over his face. “Are you kidding me? I don't even know what I'm supposed to say to you at this point. I leave you here to be safe to start a life worth something, and you fall for the one person I hired to protect you,” he seethes.

  What the hell is this? Who is this guy?

  “With all due respect, asshole I’ve never met. My life is none of your business. I love Asher. Is this why I was called here? Did you do something to him? Who are you, and where is Asher?”

  I'm starting to worry something has happened to Asher.

  He shakes his head, and with a sigh he continues. “You don’t make anything easy, do you? Look, he’s gone, and he’s not coming back. The sooner you accept that the better. He was a pig and should have known better than to touch you!” he spits out.

  I stand up. “You're lying; he would never leave me here.” Tears stream down my cheeks. No, no, no this is not happening. “Asher wouldn't leave. No, he wouldn't leave me. You're wrong; you don't even know him.”

  I don't understand why someone would tell me these things. He takes hold of my hand, looking into my eyes.

  “I'm sorry for yelling at you, Phee. That wasn't fair. Don't be afraid of me. I promise you everything I do is to protect you, to keep you safe. Forget you saw me today. Asher is an asshole who chose to leave you; he isn’t ever coming back, you are better off without him, move on.”

  I wake up in my bed with a killer headache. It takes me exactly five seconds before the reality sinks in. Asher chose to leave me; he isn't coming back. I stare at the ceiling, trying to understand what I did wrong. He's gone, it was all a lie, every word, every caress was a lie, and he didn’t love me. My chest aches, so this is heart break.

  Alone again, I was always alone before Asher showed me what it was like to have someone who loved me. For six months, I lived in his world of lies. What did I have to show for it? A used-up body and a broken heart. I feel his absence all around me; the pain in my chest burns, breathing feels like work. Asher is really gone; he’s never coming back. I curl into my pillow and cry, “How could he leave me?” I can’t breathe without him.

  Ianna comes in at some point, rubs my back, and tells me she heard and that it will get better, that she loves me and I deserve better. She’s a liar. Nothing gets better; every day is harder than the last. Every time something good tries to grow, this black world crushes it. After she leaves, I pull out the flask I hid in my bag and drink it down in gulps until the weight of the world gets a little lighter. I crawl back into bed, not able to face the nightmare of my life yet. I will face it tomorrow.

  Chapter Nine

  Tonight, I’m wandering campus unable to sleep because I spent most of the day passed out. I hated Asher, and hated myself for falling for his bullshit and for whatever I did to push him away. Resorting to drinking more than I should to ease the pain of my stupidity and the emptiness his absence leaves in me. I refuse to go to class, and follow the rules. What does it matter? Criminals don’t get kicked out of prison. Occasionally I stumble to a class, but usually I sleep all day.

  Ianna, bless her heart, tried to snap me out of this rut, but after I threw a fit and slapped her across the face; she’s avoided me for weeks, not that I’m looking for her, I’m always looking for Asher, but he is nowhere to be found. He left me alone in this place. I really thought he loved me, but he just disappeared. Between missing him and hating him, I harden my heart to the fact that I was a naïve fool to believe he ever loved me. Spending my nights mourning the loss of someone who was never mine to begin with.

  Those old walls he melted were solidified once again, brick by brick, reinforcing them with bitterness, vodka, and self-loathing. I want to feel safe again, to feel that peace he gave me when I was wrapped in his arms. So, last night, when a guy came on to me, asking me to come back to his room, I said yes. It was so easy, and after, when he held me, I did feel that peace I felt in Asher's arms. In the light of day my reality becomes too harsh, too sharp and hollow to take sober. One moment I’m proud of myself for moving on, proving how little he meant to me and in the next breath I am disgusted in myself for not even remembering the man of the guy I went home with last night. The self-loathing leads to more drinking and more drinking leads to me wandering campus until I'm numb enough to find someone to numb the pain, which is easy. It doesn't take long for word to get around that I'm a sure thing. Girls hate me, obviously. Not that I care what they think; they don't give me what I need. Guys help me avoid my small dark room and the pain that I work so hard to numb. I rarely make it to my own bed. Most nights, I am too drunk to find my way, like right now.

  Tonight, I am walking my way to Jesse's bed, or I suppose stumbling would be a more accurate description. Jesse Cross is my fuck buddy du jour; he is the newest recruit of the Titans. He is tall with black messy hair, grass green eyes that make me think of summer. He is one of a few guys I can have fun with who doesn’t treat me like the whore I am. Sadly, his suite is on the other side of campus, and I am starting to seriously doubt my ability to walk that far, even with his help.

  Halfway there, we stumble and start laughing, causing us to collapse into the grass. Jesse is on me in a flash and, even in my drunken state, I am more than ready. I get his shirt off and feel him pulling off my panties. His head disappears between my legs and I moan when his tongue runs over my clit.

  “Oh, my God!” I moan as I grip his hair. I have a vague realization that we are outside; it reminds me of Asher…I quickly throw up a brick wall before I can feel anything. Jesse pulls me back to the present when he sucks hard on my clit. “Oh, yes!” I moan.

  This is why I like to party with Jesse. Some of the guys just get themselves off and walk away; Jesse is a man who aims to please and takes his time. I lose myself to my climax and Jesse kisses up my body, wraps himself in a condom, and plunges into me. I scream out in pleasure as he pumps himself in and out of me until we are both spent. He collapses on the grass beside me, gasping for breath and staring up at the stars. I lean my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat rapidly. This is the moment I crave, a moment of bliss, the closeness, the peace I find in his arms is fleeting, but still it's the only peace in the storm of my life. I cling to that peace like a lifeline.

  “Beautiful,” he says, staring at the sky. I nod, too exhausted to speak. “Can you make it home from here, Nyx? Do I need to carry you?” he asks, standing up, pulling his clothes back on.

  “I’m good,” I mumble, giving him the thumbs up while giggling. He stands, arms crossed, looking down at me smiling.

  “You’re a mess, Nyx, but a hot one.” He leans down and kisses my forehead. “Don't fall asleep. Mason’s on patrol tonight,” he warns. I grumble a few choice words about Jacob Mason. With a laugh, he walks off into the dark night. I should get up, but the stars are so pretty, and the grass is so comfy. If I manage to make it to my bed in my drunken state, it would be a miracle. No, I'll stay here for a few minutes, until I sober up. It's so cozy.

  I pass out blissfully on the grass only to be rudely awoken in the early morning hours by a sharp jab to my ribs. I grumble, smacking away the offending jabber. It jabs again. I force my eyes open to see one of the guards, Adam standing over me smiling, in full uniform… crap. Beside him is Mason,
shaking his head, looking pissed.

  “Double crap,” I groan, covering my eyes from the offending sun with my arms. Here I thought having a raging hangover was going to be the worst part of my day. Dealing with his disapproval is the icing on the cupcake of turd that is my life. A cool breeze blows over my body and am mortified to realize I am at least partially naked in the middle of the courtyard. I sit up, pulling my clothes into place. Mason, Adam and a few students passing by are watching me.

  “What, no one brought me a coffee?” I ask, granting me a growl from Mason.

  Adam offers his hand with a smirk, saying, “Looks like I missed all the fun, and who was the lucky guy last night, Nyx? More importantly, when is it my turn again?” Mason slaps Adam’s hand away, staring daggers at him. He then helps me up and pulls his coat over my shoulders.

  “Get back to work!” he shouts over his shoulder. I smile at Adam. He winks, making a call me sign with his hand. Shaking my head, I give him the finger. Ass.

  Mason leads me to my dorm without saying a word. Once I’m safe inside, I am finally brave enough to meet his eyes. His brows are drawn together, and he’s looking at me like he’s trying to work out what to do with me.

  “Clean yourself up. Doc wants you in her office ASAP,” he demands, still staring at me; always staring at me. I'm so sick of him judging me.

  “What, Mason? You got something to say to me? Then just spit it out. I’ve had enough of your judgmental eyes. You don’t know anything about me,” I argue, daring him to break character, to do something—yell at me, hit me, or kiss me. I've seen him at the parties. He watches me; he knows how many guys I've been with. He watches my ass as I walk away, yet he’s never came on to me like the others. If only he would, but no, he just watches and judges me. Well, screw him.

  Turning toward my bathroom, I pull my dress over my head, leaving me completely naked. I glance over my shoulder, and he has his eyes locked on my naked body, fists clenched. “You’ve still got nothing to say? Then, get the hell out of my room!” I yell and slam the door behind me. Screw him; I have bigger problems. Bad news travels fast, and if Dr. Grey wants to see me, I'm in big trouble.