Phoenix's Heart

by Khelsey Jackson

“I think so. Can you meet me for lunch?”

  Meg started laughing. “Sure, and it figures the first time you have sex you end up pregnant!”

  Jennifer walked out of the restroom and a few of her co-workers were looking at her. “Shut up.” That only made her best friend laugh harder.

  “What time should I meet you?” Jennifer looked at her phone, and noticed it was nine-thirty.

  “I think I should be done at twelve-thirty.”

  “See you then. Bye!”

  “Thanks, I love you.” She was at her desk and looked up to see Phoenix. Her heart pounded in her chest.

  He was glaring at her. “Boyfriend?” He looked down at her phone.

  Phoenix DuPont was jealous! She had to hold in her giggles. “No, Mr. DuPont. It was my best friend Megan. We are meeting up for lunch.”

  Relief flooded his face and she smiled. “Fine let me know when you are leaving.” He turned around and walked into his office.

  Jennifer sat down and opened the folder. She started working to stop worrying.

  Chapter Three

  Twelve-fifteen. Jennifer grabbed her phone and texted her best friend.

  Lunch, 12:45 at Subway. There was one across the street from the office. She finished the last thing in the red folder for Phoenix and knocked on his door.

  “Come in.” His loud voice sounded like it was coming out of a speaker box.

  She walked in and shut the door. He was noisily typing on his keyboard, turned around in his high back leather chair. She cleared her throat. “I am heading to lunch. Would you like anything from Subway?”

  He looked up at her and smiled. That smile made her heart stop, it was the same one he had when he made love to her.

  It took her a second to realize what he said. “What would you like?”

  He smiled again. “I said, surprise me.” His voice was low enough that she almost didn’t hear him. She felt warmth from him as if he was standing next to her.

  Jennifer’s phone vibrated in her hand and she glanced at it.

  At SW with the O-shit test.

  She flinched, and looked up. “Okay I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

  “Why don’t you take forty-five minutes?”

  “Thank you, Mr. DuPont.”

  He smiled and nodded. “You are welcome, Ms. Cruz.”

  Jennifer walked out of the office and headed to Subway. It didn’t take her long to get there. When she walked in she saw Meg sitting at a table already eating. Jennifer sat down without getting anything.

  “You're not eating?” Megan said with her mouth full of food.

  “I can't. I’m too nervous.” Meg put a brown paper bag on the table.

  “Take it, so we both know.” Jennifer nodded as she took the brown bag and made her way through the lunch crowd to the ladies room.

  She walked into the restroom, and closed the stall door. She took the test out and read the directions. She did what it said and waited. She closed her eyes, what would she do if it were a yes? She worked for the only man she has ever had sex with. She couldn't hide it from him, not long at least. She looked at her phone and three minutes had passed. Her heart felt like it might pound out of her chest, slowly she looked at the test and there were two lines. Oh shit, that meant she was pregnant.

  She walked out of the restroom and back to Megan. She was sitting at the table still eating.

  “Shit, you are pale! I take it, it said you are pregnant.” Jennifer nodded and sat down. “Well, too bad you don't know who or where the sex god is.” Megan said and passed her soda over to Jennifer.

  Jen took a sip. “Actually I do. He is my new boss.”

  Megan's eyes widened. “What?” she yelled.

  “Yeah, I didn't know until I saw him today. I was interviewed by his VP.” Jennifer gave Megan her soda back.

  “Well that’s crazy.” She took a drink and choked. “Wait, if the VP interviewed you, that means the sex god owns the company?”

  Jennifer looked down. “Yeah, he owns the company.” And she was terrified to tell him.

  “Well that’s good; at least you know who he is.” Megan didn't say anything for a minute and that made Jennifer looked at her best friend. She was never quiet, not when it was something this big.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  “What are you doing to do? I mean with a baby? We don’t live in the nicest neighborhood.” Jennifer knew she had to do something about her living arrangements, and about the baby there was only one choice.

  “I will keep my baby with or without Phoenix's help. And I am going to look for a nicer place.”

  “I want to be there for you, I love you and your baby.” This was why she loved Megan. No matter what she would always be there. “What are you going to tell Phoenix?” Jennifer looked at her phone and her lunchtime was running out.

  She stood up and Megan followed her. She ordered a sandwich for her boss/baby-daddy. “I will talk to him, I just don’t know when.”

  “Jen, I think the sooner the better. You never know, he might be a standup guy and take responsibility for getting you pregnant.” Jennifer looked at Megan and smiled. She hoped he would be the standup guy she needed, and not freak out on her.

  “I'll talk to him after work. I have to go.” Jennifer glanced at the front door.

  Her best friend shook her head. “I'll walk you in.”

  “Meg, it’s right across the street.” Megan smiled.

  “I know. I’m going to need to see your baby’s daddy again!” A couple of people turned to look at them.

  “Shh, keep it down,” Jennifer said as they walked out.

  “Sorry, it's just crazy. You have sex one time and you get pregnant by the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.” She was right; Phoenix was the hottest guy she had seen. “He fits the nickname I have for him, sex god.”

  Jennifer laughed. “Please don’t call him that!”

  Megan smiled. “Well he was, wasn’t he?”

  She blushed remembering his touch and his wonderful mouth. “Yeah.”

  “You know I hate you. I need a sex god. Wanna share?” Megan grinned.

  “Nope, you have to find your own.” They walked into the elevator and Jennifer pushed the button.

  “Are you nervous?” Megan grabbed Jennifer’s hand.

  “I am beyond nervous.” She squeezed her best friend’s hand. “I have no clue what I’m going to tell my dad.”

  “We'll figure it out.” Megan let go of her hand and they walked out.

  Jennifer walked to her desk to put her purse down and Phoenix was waiting at her desk. “I have your sandwich, Mr. DuPont.” He looked down at it, and then looked at Megan.

  “Thank you. We need to talk.” She could feel her heart speed up. She wondered if he already knew.

  “Hello, Phoenix. We met before, you know that night you took my best friend’s virginity.” Megan gave her best smile and Jennifer started choking on her saliva.

  She started coughing and Megan pounded on her back. Jennifer glanced at her boss; he didn't look too happy.

  “I'll see you later Megan,” Jennifer said and glared at her.

  “Love you!” Megan kissed Jennifer’s cheek and then pulled her into a hug. “Call me if you need me.” She whispered in her ear.

  “Okay,” Jennifer said and Megan smiled and waved to Phoenix.

  “In my office,” Phoenix said in a low tone, and walked to his office.

  She placed her hand on her stomach and whispered, “Nothing will ever harm you. I love you.” Jennifer let her hands fall to her sides, and walked into his office.

  “Shut the door.” She did, but remained at the door. “Jennifer, sit.” She stared at him and he looked angry. She slowly walked to the chair and sat across from him. “I need to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me.” She could feel her heart racing again, but she nodded. “Are you pregnant? I saw you throwing up, and I can sense something different with you.”

  Her heart dropped, he knew
. Jennifer felt the color drain from her face. “Yes.” She managed barely above a whisper.

  “Shit, I thought so. We need to take care of it,” he said and pulled out his checkbook.

  Her eyes widened. “No!” She jumped out of her chair, and Phoenix's head snapped up. “I don't want to take care of it. I am keeping this baby and I don't need you. I will manage on my own.” Her head felt light so she held onto the chair for support.

  “Jennifer, I don’t think that is wise.” He stared at her. Then he looked down at her abdomen.

  Now she was getting mad. “I don't care what you think is wise. This is my baby, and it is my body.” Her heart felt like it might explode.

  “There is something you should know about our baby.” He stood up and walked over to her. “There is something you need to know about me.” His large hand covered her abdomen, she looked down. His other hand cradled her face, and she looked back up at him. “I am an incubus.”

  “What?” She was stunned, did he think she was that gullible?

  “I am an incubus, I seduce women to have sex with me and I can enter dreams if I want. I feed off of the sexual energy during sex. Our baby is either another incubus or a succubus.” She moved away from him. She was carrying a demon spawn.

  “Do you expect me to believe you?” She put her hands on her hips.

  “Tell me, have you been having very detailed dreams about us?” She blushed. “I'll take that as a yes, that was my power reaching out to you.” He frowned. “I don't know why it's so drawn to you.” He moved to her again and smiled down at her. “Even now, I want to take you into my arms and do things to you. I want to see your blush cover your entire body.”

  Jennifer stared into his midnight blue eyes, and the light blue ring around his pupils. “You're really an incubus?” He nodded. “What will happen to our baby?”

  Phoenix looked down and touched her abdomen again. “Are you sure you want to keep a demon spawn?” She gasped, and wondered if he read her mind.

  “I want to keep it no matter what. It's mine.” She moved his hand and placed her hands protectively over her abdomen.

  “Then there are things you need to know. Our child will need me. I will have to show it how to feed without killing. But we don't have to worry about that until it is a teenager.” Her heart jumped when he said, 'our child.'

  “Our child?” She asked and looked up into his midnight blue eyes.

  A slow smile appeared on his beautiful face. “Yes, ours.” She searched his eyes and what she saw shocked her. He truly cared. There was a loud knock at the door and it made her jump. “We'll talk later.” He kissed her forehead, and electricity ran through her body. She looked up to see if he felt it and he smiled. “I will tell you whatever you want to know later, I promise.”

  “I'll be at my desk.” She walked to the door and opened it to find a beautiful red head with piercing dark green eyes.

  “You must be the new temp.” She smiled.

  Jennifer shook her head. “No ma'am, I’m not a temp.”

  The red head’s smile grew wider. “We'll see.” She looked past Jennifer to Phoenix and her face lit up. “Hello Phoenix.” She purred and Jennifer felt like she was going to throw up…again.

  “Hello Melissa.” She bumped into Jennifer’s shoulder as she passed and she looked over her shoulder to watch Phoenix glaring at Melissa. “Ms. Cruz, please close the door behind you.” Jennifer nodded but didn’t miss Melissa’s self-satisfied look that was plastered on her face.

  She closed the door and walked to her desk. She had no claim on Phoenix, so why was she feeling so jealous?

  ***

  Phoenix knew that Melissa had a thing for him, and he had thought about feeding on her. She was beautiful; with her deep red hair and dark green eyes; but he had a rule not to mix business with his pleasure. And now there is Jennifer. Melissa smiled her perfect white smile and walked towards him.

  “Melissa, what can I do for you?” She was in charge of his marketing department.

  “Just wanted to give you the ads that we will be running.” She handed him a large folder and he opened it up. The ad was what he told her he wanted.

  “Great.” He looked up at her and she was smiling at him.

  “So how about we go out for a few drinks?” Melissa tucked a piece of her red hair behind her ears.

  He tasted sexual energy radiating off of her and knew she would have made a perfect feeding, but his mind took him back to Jennifer. She was going to have his baby. He didn’t know if she should be happy or terrified that she was carrying his baby. He wouldn’t let his heart open for Jennifer, not for a human. “I already have plans for tonight.” He needed to call Max, and get him to check on Jennifer.

  She looked disappointed as she nodded. “Of course you do.”

  He pulled out his phone to text Max.

  Jennifer works for me, and she is pregnant.

  WHAT? Max responded right away. They knew that if either of them were with the same woman more than once they would start to drain their souls.

  I need you to meet me at my house. I want you to check her. Phoenix wanted to know if she would be okay. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he were the reason for her pain.

  Yeah, you know I have your back.

  Thanks Max. He put his phone back into his jacket pocket then he looked back at Melissa, and grinned. “I'm sorry about that. Let's go over the marketing plan.” He motioned for her to sit in the chair across from him.

  Chapter Four

  Jennifer looked at the time and it was almost time to leave. Melissa had been in Phoenix's office for four hours. She wanted to barge in there and tell Melissa to leave him alone, that he was hers. She reached for her purse and started gathering her things. She wasn't going to wait for him; she was tired and didn’t feel good. She stood up and started to walk away until she heard a door open and a woman’s laughter.

  “Phoenix, you must let me take you to dinner.” Jennifer wanted to run out of the office and go home. But she felt Phoenix's eyes on her back. Slowly she turned around and smiled at Phoenix and Melissa.

  “I won't have time for that. But thank you.” Melissa took a white card and put it in his shirt pocket.

  “Here is my number if you change your mind.” She patted his chest and he smiled. Jennifer wanted to rip her arm off.

  “Thank you, Melissa.”

  “See you later.” Melissa turned around and her smile faltered when she saw Jennifer waiting. She just glared at Jennifer as she walked by, but this time she didn't bump into her.

  “Does she know that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?” He laughed and his smile wrapped around her. “How do you do that?”

  His smile fell. “Sorry it's part of my charm. I can pull any woman in.” She put her hands on her hips.

  “Did you do that to me?” He looked down and she was getting angry.

  “A little.” He looked back up at her, and she narrowed her eyes.

  “I'm going home.” She turned around and started to walk away.

  A hand on to her shoulder stopped her. “Wait, we need to talk. Plus I have a special doctor coming to my place to look at you.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What? A witch doctor?” She saw his smile and it warmed her. “Stop that!”

  “Sorry, I will tone it down. And the doctor is a demon, not a witch.” She couldn't stop herself from laughing. “And I would like it if you’d ride with me.”

  Jennifer frowned at Phoenix. “What about my car?”

  “I can send someone to bring it to my house.” Phoenix walked in front of her and grabbed her hand.

  This shocked her; he told her that he kept his personal life personal. She tried to take her hand back, there were some people left in the office and they were staring at them. “I thought you keep your personal life personal.”

  He squeezed her hand. “That changed when you became important to me.”

  They walked into the elevato
r hand in hand. “You don't know me enough for me to be important to you.” She looked down.

  “You are the most important thing in my life. You are carrying my unborn child.” That was true but she wanted more. She wanted his heart, and she had a feeling he wasn’t going to give it up willingly. They walked out of the elevator and into the parking garage.

  “Let me call Megan.” She knew that she would worry.

  “Fine, but I don't like her.” She smiled, usually everyone loved Megan.

  She grabbed her phone and called her best friend. It went to her voicemail right away. “Hey Megs, I’m going home with Phoenix. I'll let you know later what our plans are. Bye, love you.” She looked at her phone and frowned. Megan always answered her phone.

  “Everything all right?” Phoenix asked and stood next to a black BMW.

  Jennifer nodded. “I think so, let’s go.” He opened the car door for her and she got in.

  He started the car and pull out of the parking garage. “Tell me about your family.” She saw a smile on his perfect face.

  “My dad owns a sports team, and my real mom died when I was a baby. He remarried an awesome woman, Cameo. She became my mother, even when she didn't have to. She showed me how to be a girl. Now my dad is with a twenty something year old and my mom is living about ten minutes from my apartment.” Jennifer smiled thinking about her mother; she was beautiful with her jet black long straight hair, warm hazel eyes and two deep dimples on her cheeks.

  “Is that why you live in that neighborhood?” he asked. She knew she could live anywhere and her dad offered to buy her a brand new house. She didn't want handouts, which was why she took the PA job.

  “I like to be close to her. I know she will always be there for me. My dad is too busy with his new young wife to care.” It hurt more for her to admit that than she thought it would.

  “Well you can add me to that list now. I am here for you and our baby. No matter what.” She smiled at him and prayed he was telling the truth. “I'm telling you the truth, darling. My kind don’t normally leave our young, and I’m not going to break that tradition.”

  “Good, I don’t want to be a single mother.” She would have if she needed to.