The phoenix.
It rose from a bed of flames, a proud bird with a powerful beak and six-inch talons that could rip a man apart. The bird’s wings were spread wide, encompassing the entire width of Phoenix’s back. Like his hair, the bird’s feathers were reddish in color and tipped in gold.
Incredible.
She’d moved before she realized she’d even planned to. Kneeling up on the mattress, she reached out and touched the creature’s wing.
Chapter Three
Phoenix’s entire body jerked when he felt Tilly’s fingers slide across his bare skin. Inside him, the phoenix screeched and preened, pleased that she seemed so taken with his tattoo. She’d never seen it before and he was very interested to see what she would do next.
She slipped her hand lower, caressing the inner part of the wing. He shivered and his cock hardened in reaction. He fisted his hands, forcing himself to remain still when every instinct he had was clawing at him to fuck her, to stake his claim.
When her fingers grazed the bird’s stomach, his own stomach muscles clenched. She stroked his left wing and his left shoulder trembled. He groaned and her hand stilled.
“The phoenix is alive inside you, isn’t he?” He loved the low timbre of her voice—the husky quality never failed to make his balls clench. Tilly’s voice was made for sex.
“Yes.” He swallowed back a groan of pleasure when she ran her fingers from the tip of the bird’s wings all the way down to his legs. “Wherever you touch the tattoo, I feel it in the same place on my body.”
“Really?” She teased a path over the bird’s stomach.
Phoenix growled and whirled around, unable to take her sexual teasing any longer. Her gaze went straight to his cock and he wondered if he hadn’t been better off facing away from her. After so long without sex, his control was precarious at best.
Tilly gave a low hum of pleasure, reached out and wrapped her hand around his thick shaft. “Come closer.”
Her willing slave, he did as she asked, stopping when he was standing directly in front of her. She smiled and leaned inward, kissing the center of his chest. His entire body clenched. “Tilly.” He wasn’t sure if he was warning her to stop or begging her to continue.
She ignored him and licked at his abs, her tongue following the delineation of each band of muscle. Her hand was busy as well. It moved up and down his cock from base to tip and back again.
Phoenix’s breath grew more rapid. His lungs worked to pull air into his starving body. When her mouth was within inches of his cock, he stopped breathing altogether.
She blew softly on the turgid length, sending a shiver of pleasure through him. Like the ripple in a pond, it grew and spread until his entire body felt as though it was one stroke away from imploding.
He fisted his hands and dug for every ounce of discipline he possessed. No way did he want to stop Tilly now, not when he was so close to heaven.
She dragged her tongue over the broad head of his cock and swirled it around and around. “Mmm, you taste spicy and hot.”
Surely there must be steam rising from the top of his head. “Tilly,” he growled, his voice barely human now.
She paid him no heed. Instead, she opened her mouth over him. Phoenix arched his hips and pushed his cock deeper. He gripped her long, thick braid in his hand, wrapping the length around his fingers, chaining her to him. She retaliated by grazing her teeth over his shaft. He threw back his head and gritted his teeth as pleasure unlike any he’d ever experienced threatened to consume him.
Tilly used her mouth, tongue and hands to please him. She stroked and sucked and licked at his shaft. He rocked his hips, pushing his cock deeper with each stroke. Tilly accepted all of him, making a purring sound of satisfaction that almost made him come.
And he didn’t want to. Not yet. Not until he’d pleasured her.
He stared down into her beautiful face. She was aroused but she was also in control of herself and of their lovemaking. It occurred to him in a flash of insight that she was used to being in charge during sex, didn’t like to be out of control.
He wasn’t having it. He had to have her trust, and that meant she had to let go.
As much as it pained him to do so, he pulled back, forcing her to release him. She gazed up at him, an unasked question in her eyes. Most men would think him insane for stopping her. But Phoenix wasn’t most men.
And he wasn’t angling for one time in her bed. He was playing for keeps.
He pushed her back onto the bed. She laughed as she tumbled down onto the mattress. He knelt on the floor, grabbed her thighs and pulled her forward until her ass was perched on the edge of the bed.
She was still wearing her underwear. As lovely as they were, hinting at the treasure hidden beneath, she’d look even better without them. He gripped the band of lace at the waistband and slowly lowered the delicate fabric. He held his breath, anticipating seeing her for the first time.
There was nothing lovelier than the female form. Hollows and curves, shadows and light. Women, even strong, independent women, were physically weaker than men. It took a lot of courage for a woman to lower her guard and allow a man into her bed. It was a privilege, and one he planned to make the most of.
He glided the fabric down her long, toned legs and whisked it off. He brought her underwear to his nose and inhaled her scent, imprinting it in his memory for all time. The phoenix went wild, squawking and flapping his wings. Phoenix knew just how the creature felt. Tilly had become the most important thing in his world.
There was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he wasn’t ready or willing to answer any of her questions. Not now. Not with the sweet, spicy scent of her arousal teasing him and making him crazy. He had to taste her.
He licked his lips, savoring the sense of anticipation that filled him. Then he carefully spread her thighs wide and nuzzled her smooth, toffee-colored skin. She looked good enough to eat. Her pussy was wet, plump and inviting.
Phoenix stroked the flat of his tongue over her damp folds. Her spicy flavor exploded in his mouth. He made a sound of pleasure as he lapped at her, ignoring the stinging of his scalp where she dug her fingernails into him.
“Phoenix,” she gasped and bucked against his mouth.
He decided he very much liked the sound of his name falling from her lips when she was frantic for his touch. He shoved his hands beneath her firm ass and lifted her, making it easier for him to lick and suck every delectable inch of her.
The inarticulate sounds that fell from her lips made him feel like a god. He lapped at her clit, teasing the tiny nub of nerves until she was practically yelling his name. Liquid seeped from the head of his cock and his balls ached, but he ignored them. All that mattered now was making Tilly come.
He found her sweet opening and circled it with his tongue before plunging it as far as it would go. Tilly wrapped her legs around his head and dug her heels into his back. He pulled his tongue out of her core and swept it over her clit once again. She tightened her thighs around his head, telling him just how close she was to finding her pleasure. Her back arched and this time she did yell his name. He felt her coming, knew she was rocketing over the edge.
He surged to his feet, flipped her over until she was on her hands and knees and drove into her from behind in one hard, long stroke. She was so tight and gripped his cock so hard he went blind for a moment, unable to see anything.
Tilly was in the center of a hurricane. And having grown up in Louisiana, she was very familiar with violent wind and rainstorms. Every cell in her body screamed for release as Phoenix worked her body, making it sing for him.
She’d always had trouble reaching orgasm with her former partners. She knew it came down to trust, and she had little of it for men. She usually enjoyed her bed partners and saw to her needs after they were gone.
But Phoenix wasn’t allowing her to hold back. He blasted through her defenses and laid her bare until she was a writhing mass of need beneath him. She wanted to push him away. She wanted to pull him closer.
Her entire body trembled when she came. Hot liquid pleasure flowed through her like warm chocolate sauce over ice cream. But she didn’t even have time to enjoy it before he’d flipped her onto her front and pulled her up onto her hand and knees. He did it so fast and so easy, she was reminded that he was more than just a man. His strength was enormous, his speed unmatched.
Then he was inside her, his cock buried to the hilt. Her pussy spasmed around him, trying to adapt to his invasion. It didn’t hurt—she was so wet he slid in easily—but he stretched her slick channel, his hard shaft rubbing against her sensitive inner muscles.
She glanced over her shoulder. He was behind her, his head thrown back, the cords of his thick neck standing out as he struggled for control. She was glad she wasn’t the only one whose self-discipline had fled.
His hands shaped her ass, kneading and rubbing.
She let her head fall back down and concentrated on just trying to breathe. Even though she’d just orgasmed, her body felt tight, her skin incredibly sensitive, as though it was climbing toward the peak once again. It should be impossible, yet it was happening.
He leaned down, and the motion pushed his shaft even deeper when she hadn’t thought he could go any farther. A low moan escaped her lips. There was no room for any thoughts with him filling her so completely. All she could do was feel.
His warm lips grazed her nape. “I’m sorry I couldn’t wait.” He nipped at the sensitive curve of her neck. Goose bumps raced down her back.
He kissed and licked a hot path down her spine. “You are so beautiful. I want to taste every inch of you.”
Her pussy spasmed hotly around his cock. She wouldn’t mind him tasting every inch of her either. In fact, it sounded like a good plan to her.
His hands seemed to be everywhere, stroking her back, her hips, her ass and down the backs of her thighs to her knees. Who would have thought the backs of her legs would be an erogenous zone? Not her. Not until Phoenix touched her in a way that made her pussy clench.
“I can’t wait. Not this time.” He eased her forward and knelt on the mattress between her legs. Then he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her so she was upright in his arms with his cock still buried deep inside her from behind. He clasped one of her breasts in a big hand and slid the other between her legs.
Then he began to move.
He flexed his hips, driving into her with short, hard strokes. He played with her nipples and her clit. He surrounded her. His arms chained her to him as surely as if they’d been forged of steel. Pleasure bombarded her from all angles at once. There was no escaping it. And she didn’t want to.
Then Tilly did something she’d never done before. She let go. She stopped thinking, stopped trying to be in control and simply lost herself in the moment.
As if sensing the change in her, Phoenix drove deeper, his thrusts grew faster and harder. They both gasped and moaned. His cock rippled deep within her and she knew he was close. She reached behind her and wrapped her arm around his neck. He buried his face in the curve of her shoulder and groaned.
He pressed his thumb against her clit at the same time he lightly pinched her nipple. On the next stroke of his hard cock, she came. Her pussy tightened around his shaft. He cried out and it sounded like the combination of a screech of a hawk and roar of a lion. His cock seemed to grow larger inside her, and it sent her pussy into another round of spasms.
His shaft rippled and she felt the warm flood of his release as he came. The moment seemed to last forever when she knew it had to be a matter of seconds. She felt every inch of his body where it touched hers, smelled his musky, male scent mingling with the perfume of her own skin and tasted his unique flavor on her lips from when she’d gone down on him. The echo of their groans seemed to reverberate around the room like living things.
Had she actually screamed his name? She probably had. Her loss of control should have appalled her, but she was feeling too damn good to worry about it.
Phoenix held her suspended in his warm embrace. The sun was streaming in through the bedroom window, which meant it was midafternoon. The day was quickly passing and they should have already left.
But Tilly couldn’t find it in herself to regret what they’d done. If Hades was coming after her, there was a good chance she might not make it through this alive. She was nothing if not a realist.
That’s what had probably prompted her total loss of control. That and Phoenix’s incredible lovemaking skills. Still, it was time to get things back to normal.
As if sensing her change of mood, Phoenix slowly withdrew from her, but not before he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. The soft caress went straight to her heart and tears filled her eyes. She quickly blinked them away.
“We should get dressed.” She did better when she had a plan.
“We should,” he agreed. He turned her so she was facing him, cupped her face between his large palms and touched his lips to hers. “Thank you for giving me such a great gift.”
Tilly didn’t know what to say. What did you say to something like that? “I should get a shower.” Better to change the subject and get things back on an even keel.
The corners of his mouth drew up in a sexy smile. “That is a good idea.” He climbed off the bed and scooped her into his arms.
She wrapped both hands around his thick forearm. “Alone. I need to shower alone.” His smile turned into a frown. She almost caved and asked him to join her. “We need to leave as soon as possible, and that won’t happen if we shower together.” There was no point in pretending it wouldn’t happen, not with every cell in her body still doing the happy dance. It wouldn’t take much to convince her to go another round.
No, what she needed was some alone time to regroup. The fact that she’d lowered her guard around Phoenix was shocking enough. That she wanted to keep it lowered was downright frightening.
He slowly released her until her feet touched the floor. “You’re right.” He raked his fingers through his hair, looking totally disgruntled. She wanted to hug him but made herself take a step away instead. “Go and shower. I will wait here.”
“I won’t be long.” She gathered her clothing quickly, pausing at her dresser to grab some fresh underwear and a clean tank top. She desperately tried not to notice the way he watched her, like she was some delectable morsel he was waiting to pounce on and gobble down whole.
Her body was screaming at her to relent and invite him to shower with her. And so was her heart.
Tilly didn’t look back as she hurried into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. The woman in the mirror was wide-eyed and frightened even though her body still hummed with pleasure. Without even trying, Phoenix had slipped past the barriers surrounding her heart. He was her friend, of course he was, but now he was something more.
“Stupid,” she muttered to her reflection. “How could you let this happen?” Then she stopped talking, fearful Phoenix would hear her even though he was in the next room. All the immortal warriors had enhanced senses.
She took a deep, calming breath. Big mistake. Her skin still smelled like sex, like him. Her pussy spasmed and she gripped the vanity for support. She carefully set her clothing down and pushed away from the countertop. She needed a shower. A cold one.
Tilly staggered to the enclosure and ruthlessly cranked the cold water tap, making sure the spray was chilly before she stepped beneath it. She clenched her teeth to keep from yelling and shivered as she washed all remnants of their lovemaking away.
But she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to wash away the memory as easily as she did the physical reminder from her body.
Phoenix stood outside the bathroom door and listen
ed. The shower was on, which meant water was spilling over Tilly’s gorgeous body. He wished he was in there with her, running his soapy hands over her warm skin, seeing the water cascade over her.
He shuddered and turned away. He grabbed his pants and pulled them on but didn’t button them. He’d take a quick shower as soon as Tilly was done.
Now that he was alone in her room, he took a better look around the space. It was vibrant and warm, just like Tilly. It was uncluttered too. There was a book on her nightstand, but there was no clothing lying around, no clutter except for the top of her dresser. He wandered over and examined some of the jewelry scattered there. Tilly did seem to like jewelry, but it wasn’t diamonds or rubies she wore, but colorful vintage pieces. Bakelite, he’d heard it call it once before. He put down the bracelet he was holding. Whatever she called it, it suited her.
He went to the window and peered out. The day was quickly waning. It had taken her a fair amount of time to organize her business before she’d been able to head home to pack. And after that…well, they’d gotten distracted, to say the least.
They should have been gone from here hours ago, but Phoenix didn’t sense any evil around them. Not yet. He figured Hades would concentrate on Jessica first, wanting to punish Mordecai most of all. The immortal warrior had lived in Hades’ realm for years and had tricked the god into believing he’d won Mordecai’s soul. All the while, the warrior had been playing Hades false and doing his best to help the remaining warriors. Still, it didn’t pay to underestimate the God of the Underworld. As soon as he showered, they were out of here.
Right on cue, the water went off. Phoenix turned, crossed his arms over his bare chest and waited. He knew Tilly was feeling off-kilter. Knew she was disconcerted by the way she’d lost control with him. He’d seen it in the way she’d tried to distance herself as soon as their lovemaking was finished. He’d also heard her muttering to herself in the bathroom.
She could build her defenses as much as she wanted. He’d beat them down again. If he’d learned anything over the long years of the curse, it was patience, especially when there was something or someone worth waiting for. He already knew how to fight. The two traits combined would allow him to win Tilly’s heart. He would accept no other outcome. For whether she knew it or not, she already held his heart in her hand.
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