Flame of the Phoenix: Hades' Carnival, Book 6 (5 page)

“Because I’d feel him.” He closed the door and went around and climbed in on the passenger side, buckling up before she told him to. “Now where are we going?”

“We’re going to the place I grew up.”

Phoenix shook his head. “That isn’t safe.”

“It is,” she assured him. “I haven’t been back there in twenty years.” She started the engine, put the car in gear and exited the parking lot. “Trust me. It’s the last place anyone would ever think to look for me.”

She could tell Phoenix had a million questions he wanted answered, but he held his tongue. She was grateful. There was enough to worry about without mentally traveling back to her dysfunctional childhood. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel. Before this was over, she was sorely afraid she’d have to deal with all those memories.

“It’s less than an hour away. It won’t take us long to get there,” she assured him.

“However long it takes, I’m with you,” he told her. She knew he meant more than the drive. He’d be beside her until the threat was over. She should be grateful, and she was. But more than that, she wondered what would happen after the threat was eliminated.

Hades reclined on his throne and watched the image of Mordecai and Jessica in the mirror with glee. This was even better than he’d hoped for. He knew the serpent cared for the human, but he’d had no idea just how much. It made his victory all the sweeter. It was only a matter of hours now before Jessica succumbed to his curse and he would be able to claim her soul. He planned on spending eternity taunting Mordecai with what he was doing to the woman deep in the bowels of Hell.

It really was delicious.

His entire body hummed with the power that he’d stolen from a dozen of his demons. It was nothing compared to his usual power, but it was better than feeling totally helpless as he had when the Lady of the Beasts had stripped him of his. He was using quite a lot of it to hinder communication between the Lady and her warriors, not to mention the amount of energy it had taken for him to create the death mark. It would soon be time for him to refuel.

He’d enjoyed walking through the ranks of his demons and picking some at random to kill. He had to take his fun where he could get it. It would be quite some time before he dared personally step into the human realm. Maybe decades or longer. His brothers were watching his every move. He could feel their spying eyes on him from time to time, and he played weak and pathetic whenever he sensed them.

They would lose interest over time. All he had to do was wait and slowly regain his power.

The picture in the mirror winked out the moment he sensed the presence of another god outside his door. He waved his hand at the entrance and it opened. He half expected it to be one of his brothers or at least one of their flunkies.

The sweet scent of wildflowers preceded her into the room. Persephone paused in the doorway, put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “What are you up to, Hades?”

His ex-wife strolled into the room like she owned it. He frowned when he realized how true those words were. She’d picked out almost all the furnishings, and he hadn’t changed a thing after she’d left him.

“What are you doing here, Persephone?” He hadn’t seen her since she’d appeared in his prison cell in Olympus telling him he was free. She was wearing tight jeans and a skimpy tank top. Both garments clung lovingly to her curves. He gripped the arms of his throne, not immune to her charms. He’d wanted her the first time he’d seen her. He wanted her still.

“Is that any way to greet a guest?” Hips swaying, she walked over to the sideboard and poured herself a glass of his finest whiskey. She lifted it to her ruby lips, sipped and made a face as she swallowed. Persephone had always preferred wine to hard liquor. He had several bottles of her favorite in the cabinet, but he didn’t tell her that.

“How can you drink this stuff?” she asked.

“How can you have so little appreciation for the finer things in life?” he retorted.

She set the glass down and inclined her head. “Touché.” He wanted to take back his harsh words. Persephone was the only person he’d ever met who made him want to be a better man. The feeling was uncomfortable to say the least.

He stood and walked toward her. She was much shorter than him and he’d always felt protective around her even though she was a powerful goddess in her own right. He cupped her chin in his hand. “I repeat, my love, why are you here?”

She shrugged but didn’t pull away from him. The sweet scent of wildflowers clung to her milky-white skin. She was flawless. Without comparison. And she’d once been his.

“I’m just keeping an eye on you.” She sighed and suddenly looked tired. “I don’t want you to do anything foolish. It took a lot of convincing to get Zeus to release you from prison. You’ve already been stripped of most of your power by the Lady of the Beasts and I don’t want to see you imprisoned in Hell for eternity. You like to come and go too much. You wouldn’t be able to wheel and deal and it would drive you mad.”

She knew him too well. He forced himself to release her and waved a hand around the room. “As you can see, I’m not doing anything more than relaxing in my home.” She shook her head and her long black hair moved like a curtain around her. He liked the color on her but preferred her as a blonde.

“I wish I could trust you, Hades. I really do. But I can’t.”

They truly were opposites. He was at home in designer suits and lived for the pursuit of power. She, on the other hand, was the most honest of all the gods and goddesses he knew and was at home in casual clothing. Although she was truly a goddess when she dressed up in high heels and a designer gown. He hadn’t seen her that way in decades.

He shrugged aside the sensation of loss that welled up within him. Gods and goddesses came together and split apart. It was the nature of being immortal. He was rubbing the center of his chest before he could stop himself and immediately dropped his hand.

“If you need someone to talk to…” She let her offer trail off.

“I’d like to do more than talk,” he shot back, giving her a suggestive leer.

Once upon a time, she would have laughed at his sexual taunt and run into his arms. This time, she turned away and walked toward the door. He almost called her back.

“Your pursuit of power will be your downfall if you’re not careful,” she predicted.

She’d never understood that part of him. “Don’t you worry about me,” he told her.

Persephone paused in the doorway. “But I do. I can’t seem to help myself.” Then she was gone. Her name echoed against the walls and he realized he’d been the one to call it.

He shook himself and turned back to his throne. He had things to do and plans to make.

Chapter Five

Tilly turned the car off the main road and drove down an overgrown dirt path. Phoenix had been quiet the entire drive, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. It was more that both of them were locked in their own worlds. Each lost in thought.

“It’s just up ahead.” Her stomach was churning at the thought of being here again. Her daddy had lived here on and off over the years. He’d passed on almost a year ago and, in a surprising move, had left it to her. She’d thought about selling it but had put off making that decision. She was grateful to have it right now. Although she had no idea just what kind of shape it was in.

The trees leaned over the road, making it impossible for more than one vehicle to pass at a time. Not that she expected to meet anyone out here. Although it was possible squatters had moved in. After all, other than Tilly paying someone to check on the property every few months, the place was deserted.

She pulled into the small clearing that was almost totally overgrown and stopped the car. The headlights broke through the gloom and spotlighted the house she’d grown up in. It seemed smaller than she remembered. The white paint was long faded to gray. It looked depressing and squalid.

“You okay?” Phoenix asked her.

She shook off her bad thoughts and nodded. “I’m fine.” Not giving herself time to think, she opened the door and climbed out. “Watch for snakes,” she warned him. There could be snakes of both the animal and human variety. This really wasn’t a good move, especially at night. “Maybe we should go somewhere else.”

Phoenix came to stand alongside her. “No. This place is quiet and out of the way.”

She tried to see it from his perspective. Huge cypress trees ringed the property, their limbs weighed down with Spanish moss. Tall grass grew up where once a small lawn stood. Her mother had grown flowers. It had been a pretty place once.

Tilly breathed in the heavy air. As many years as she’d lived away from here, it still smelled like home. Around them, the night was alive with sound. Insects buzzed, grasshoppers chirped and the bullfrogs sang their nocturnal song. Something flew overhead, probably an owl or a bat.

“We should go inside.” Standing outside wasn’t going to make the place look any better.

Phoenix took her hand and led her through the grass. The steps were weathered but held as they stepped up. She reached into her purse and drew out a set of keys. She pushed the right one into the lock and turned. The metal tumble of the latch being opened seemed unusually loud. She stood there, not able to make herself turn the handle.

As if sensing her hesitation, he did it for her. Phoenix turned the doorknob and shoved the door wide. It creaked in loud complaint.

“There’s a light switch on your left.” She’d kept the utilities hooked up just in case she decided to rent the place, although she never had.

Phoenix found the switch and flicked it. A dim bulb illuminated the room. Tilly was expecting the worst and was surprised that the place wasn’t all that bad. She walked forward and sniffed the air. It wasn’t musty. If anything, she caught the scent of lemon cleaner. “Someone’s been here.”

She started to move forward, but he caught her arm. “Let me look.” He didn’t wait for her to answer and prowled deeper into the house. Not that there was much to see beyond two small bedrooms, a bathroom and the open kitchen/living room area. She wasn’t willing to be left behind, so she followed him.

He glanced over his shoulder and frowned. She stared back until he sighed and looked away. The rooms were clean and vacant of anyone else. Tilly did her best not to look at the single bed in the smallest room—her childhood room. The only other piece of furniture in the space was a chest of drawers that had seen better days. The master bedroom was just as spartan. If someone had been staying here recently, there was no sign of habitation.

They walked back to the kitchen area, and she opened the kitchen cupboards and peered inside. Several cans of beans were tucked in the back of one of them. Beyond that, there were some mismatched dishes and a few pots.

“I wonder who’s been here?” Whoever it was, she couldn’t fault them. They’d obviously cared for the place while they’d stayed here.

“No ideas?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “It’s not Granny or one of her friends. She hated my father.”

“What about your mother?”

Tilly’s chest ached whenever she thought about her mama. “No. She remarried years ago and lives in Georgia.”

“What about your father’s family?”

That was something Tilly hadn’t considered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them had a key. I never bothered to change the locks.” She set her purse on the kitchen table and tried to shake off the ghosts of the past that lurked around her. Thankfully, the furniture was different from what had been here during her childhood. Sometime over the years, her daddy had bought new, probably new from the thrift store. He’d never had much money.

“I’ll go and get our things.” Phoenix left her alone in the house.

Tilly found herself drawn to the woodstove in the corner of the living room. It was the only heating source for the entire place. Tilly remembered many fires crackling in the colder months of winter and cooking there sometimes when the power went out. She wrapped her arms around herself, cold in spite of the summer heat.

Memories chilled her to the bone.

Phoenix returned and closed the door behind him. He set her bag on the faded brown sofa. One look at her face and he strode over to her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “What is it, Tilly? Why does this place hurt you so much?”

He was right. It did hurt her even after all these years. “I can still hear the echoes of her screams.” The words popped out of her mouth. Outside of her Granny, Tilly had never spoken of this time to another living person.

Phoenix tightened his grip. “Tell me.”

She didn’t think to deny him. Maybe it was having him wrapped around her, a buffer from the past. Maybe being back here triggered memories she could no longer keep buried. Whatever the reason, she found herself telling him everything.

“There were always more tears than laughter in this house. I think any laughter at all made the rest of it worse.” As a child, she’d learned early when to avoid her daddy.

Phoenix rubbed his hand up and down her spine, offering silent comfort. His heart was a low and steady beat against her ear. She clutched at his shirt to anchor herself to the here and now.

“Daddy drank more than he worked.” She sighed, remembering how hard her mama had tried to make things work. “We ate a lot of rice and beans. Mama found jobs where she could, but that made Daddy angry too.” Tilly remembered many fights between her parents over her mama working. Her daddy couldn’t keep a job, but he hated when mama worked. Said it made him feel like less of a man.

“I’m sorry.” Phoenix rocked her slowly from side-to-side.

“It is what it is.”

“He hit her, didn’t he?”

Tilly flinched at his question but nodded.

“And you too.” This time it wasn’t a question. She could feel the tension thrumming through Phoenix’s big body. Strange that he was so much bigger than her daddy but she didn’t fear him.

“Mama left him when I was still a kid. Granny Ledet took us in and scared Daddy off when he came looking.” Tilly leaned back and offered him a genuine smile. “Granny terrified him into leaving us alone.”

“I’m glad you had her.” Phoenix’s eyes were darker than usual, filled with concern.

“Me too.” She didn’t want to think about the past any longer. The present was scary enough without dredging up old memories long dead. Tilly went up on her toes and kissed Phoenix. “Make me forget.” She wanted to feel something good and knew he could give that to her.

Phoenix groaned and covered her mouth with his. Tilly focused on the here and now, setting the past free.

No matter how many years he lived, Phoenix could not understand a man who would hurt his wife and child. A man’s job was to protect those under his care. He knew that alcoholism was a disease, but that did not excuse abuse. Especially to a child.

Phoenix found it hard to picture the vibrant, strong woman in his arms as frightened and bruised, but knew it was that past that had forged her into the woman she was today. He wanted to love her hard and well, to make her feel so loved that the past would never have a hold on her again. Impossible? Maybe. But he was up for the challenge.

He lifted her off her feet and carried her down the short hallway to the bedrooms, stopping when she stiffened in his arms.

“I don’t want to go in there.” Her voice trembled, so unlike the courageous woman he’d come to know. But everyone had a weakness. His was the woman in his arms.

“All right.” He turned and pressed her back against the wall. “We don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to.”

She twined her legs around him, shoving up her skirt in the process. A sense of desperation seeped from the very pores of her body. When she leaned in to kiss him again, he did something he thought he’d never do. He stopped her.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this.” If his cock could speak, it would be swearing at him. As it was, his phoenix was not pleased with him. The creature flapped and roared in displeasure.

Tilly froze. Although she was still in his arms, he could feel her move away from him emotionally. “Put me down.”

He tightened his hold on her before doing as she asked. “No. It’s not what you think. I want you.” He wanted her more than he did his next breath. “I just don’t want to take advantage of you.”

And that was entirely the wrong thing to say. He knew it the moment her eyes narrowed and her lips tightened.

“You think I’m so weak I don’t know my own mind?”

He shook his head. “Truthfully, you’re the strongest woman I know.”

Now she looked confused. “Then I don’t understand.”

“Tilly.” He cupped her face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs over her soft skin. “You mean a lot to me. I don’t want to ever do anything to hurt you.”

Her smile was slow in coming, but it was genuine. “Then love me.”

He swallowed back the words
I do
, instinctively knowing it was not what she’d meant. She wanted the physical act without the emotion behind it. He wasn’t capable of that. Not with her.

She leaned closer and rubbed her breasts against his chest. Even though they were both wearing clothing, it was like pouring gasoline on a spark. He exploded.

Phoenix captured her mouth, claiming it. He used his tongue and lips to taste and touch and tease. He groaned when she dug her fingernails into his shoulders. Yes, that’s what he wanted. Tilly, wild and free. His.

Clothing, they were both wearing way too much. He had to stop kissing her in order to get her top off. And he would. Any minute now. But her lips were so sweet and she opened so freely to his touch, he couldn’t make himself pull away.

Her tongue challenged his for dominance. He refused to fight her for it and instead enticed her to play. Tilly made a soft sound deep in her throat and capitulated. Phoenix wanted to throw back his head and roar in triumph.

But as much as he loved kissing her, he needed more. “Clothing,” he muttered as he left a long string of kisses down her determined jawline.

Tilly tugged on his shirt, dragging it over his torso until he had no choice but to release her long enough to yank the garment over his head. She was wearing another one of those sexy tank tops she favored in the warm weather. This one was white with yellow flowers embroidered along the front. He traced several of the tiny blossoms before sliding the fabric over her breasts and off. The bra she wore was a deep mocha with lacy trim. As pretty as it looked on her, she’d look even better without it.

Phoenix reached behind and undid the hooks. He slid his hands around to the front and eased the straps down her arms. It was like unwrapping the most wonderful present. “Perfect.”

She made a humming sound and reached for him again, but he stopped her. He lifted her until her breasts were level with his mouth. Both nipples were taut buds, high and proud.

He captured one between his lips and sucked.

Tilly was burning up. It was the combination of this place and the memories it carried, coupled with the raw need she felt for Phoenix. He’d been willing to walk away from her after she’d offered herself for him. She’d been furious with him and herself. She was not weak. But he’d deflected her anger with his easy compliment. He thought she was strong.

Well, she wasn’t feeling strong at the moment. If he hadn’t been holding her upright, she’d be in a melted puddle at his feet. Whenever he touched her, it felt as though her skin was on fire in the most delicious way. She yearned for him.

There was something about Phoenix that pushed everything else aside until there was only room for him. The very idea was terrifying to a woman like her, a woman afraid of losing her sense of self to a man.

But she was not her mother, and he was not her father.

The notion popped into her head but was gone a second later when he took her nipple into his mouth again and sucked. Sensual tingles raced from her breast to between her legs with each pull he took. And when he flicked his tongue over the tip, her pussy clenched in response.

He turned and carried her back the way they’d come as though she weighed nothing. It was a complete turn-on. Something cool hit her back. She blinked and realized she was staring at the ceiling. He’d laid her on the kitchen table with her legs hanging over the edge. He loomed over her like some avenging god.

No, not a god. A warrior. Her warrior.

She ignored the possessiveness she felt and reached for him. She planted her hands on his firm chest and slid her palms over warm flesh. His eyes seemed to flame from within, something they only did when they were making love. His skin shone with a thin layer of perspiration. The air was thick around them. The tiny house didn’t boast air conditioning.

He moved closer to her, spreading her thighs wide with his hips. The motion pushed her skirt upward and it pooled around her waist. It also pressed his cock firmly against her mound. His shaft was thick and hard. Deep inside, her pussy began to throb. She reached out and dug her fingers into his jean-clad ass, pulling him closer. He flexed his hips, rubbing his erection against the damp crotch of her panties.