Touched by a Phoenix (17 page)

Underneath the cool aloofness hid the most complex man she had ever known. He had waited a lifetime to give his heart and now that he had, the intensity of his desire frightened her. Something in his deep-seated emotions laid claim to her heart. He was that place so beautiful, so dangerous, that she was sure it would torment her to the brink of insanity. She sensed his love for her would be so powerful she may never understand the depth of his conviction. In his eyes, she saw his soul. The still waters ran deep and turbulent. Brad would be a fiercely loyal and deeply passionate. It was time to make the most important decision of her life…all or nothing.

“Stay with me…,” as she melded into his arms.

His lips captured hers. Tenderness turned to a white-hot desire raging inside him and in an instant…everything stopped. There was nothing—nothing but this moment. His kiss was pure power, demanding. He was not asking, he was
taking
what belonged to him. The phoenix had escaped his cage, hungry and ready to devour his prey.

Brad broke away long enough to look into her eyes; they would tell him what he wanted to know. He fell into a million pieces as he saw the unadulterated hunger for him in her gaze. “Tell me Alexis,” he growled.

An uncontrollable moan escaped her lips as she gasped for air, “I need you.”

Like the phoenix, he grasped his prey with his powerful arms in a crushing, mind-blowing, no-escape hold. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bedroom. He sat her on the edge of the bed and abruptly stepped back, stripping off his clothes. In one swift move, he was standing before her in all his glory.

Alexis stared at him, completely undone and naked. She was teetering on the edge—edge of what? her mind screamed. The rush of fear she expected did not come. She wanted him as much as his full erection told her that he wanted her. My God, what was happening to her? She had always been able to control her emotions, able to maintain her senses, but not with Brad. He had the power to dissolve her pride at her feet. She could not remember who she was before but she knew…she was his now.

His voice broke all thoughts, “Stand.”

She stood at his commanding voice. Angry with herself for complying like some little chit but unable to, or perhaps unwilling, to deny his demand. The anger flashed in her eyes as he stepped closer, yet vanished the instant his gaze met hers. He was not commanding because he could. He was commanding because of the depth of his desire for her. Suddenly, she realized how badly she needed him, wanted to give herself to him…completely.

His fingers hurriedly made light of the top three buttons of her dress. He grabbed it at her hips and pulled it up and over her head, tossing it carelessly to the floor. His eyes then fixated on her, holding her motionless.

Effortlessly, he unfastened the hooks of her bra and tossed it away as he knelt before her. Her legs quivered as he reached for her hips and tugged at her panties, dropping them to her ankles before she realized what he had done. He smelled her arousal. The groan that escaped his throat was overpowering. He ran his hands up her legs until he reached her thighs. He slowed his pace as he moved to her inner thigh and through her swollen folds, awaiting his touch. The heat radiating from her body threatened to incinerate them both. He knew she would be so silky, so wet. He rubbed the pad of his thumb across her clit. Her thighs clenched as she struggled to stand. He knew better, knew she was not ready for this but God—he needed just one taste of her. He braced for the violent reaction that might come as he moved his mouth closer to
his Garden of
Eden.

What the hell was he doing? No, this was so wrong!
Her hands gripped his shoulders to support her weakened state.
Ohgodno…thisisthemostexquisite…form…of…torture….

She tasted like sweet nectar, so sweet and so silky. He could not resist the temptation to circle his tongue around her clit. Tasting her…torturing her like this was something to be savored. Not for his current greedy need but for the life of him, he could not stop his tongue from gently swirling, teasing…until he sent Alexis into explosions of pleasure. He could feel the weight of her against his hands as he continued to grip her bottom. Any further pleasure for her would have to wait until he had soothed his own raging needs.

He stood. His rock hard shaft against her sweltering garden. Both hands on her hips, he rocked her against him, allowing his manhood to tease her already sensitive clit until he drove her into another heated frenzy. Sweet juices dripped from her garden onto the head of his shaft as he continued to graze her sweet lips. He could barely hear her cries for the pounding of blood rushing through his veins like thunder roaring in his chest. It was over—he gripped her hips tightly as he picked her up and they crashed onto the bed. His body pressed hard against hers. Brad pinned her hands above her head as he placed the head of his manhood against her garden.

“Alexandria, your eyes tell me everything, but I need to hear you say it,” he informed her almost as if he was in pain.

“Please Brad, I want you…now,” Alexis’s voice husky was filled with lustful hunger as she surrendered herself to him.

With those words, she unleashed the storm. He drove into her the instant the words left her lips in a rush of air that sent him over the edge. He wanted all of her and he wanted her now. The rain fell like an ocean being thrown from the sky. An avalanche of water, threatening to drown them both. His forceful thrust drove stronger, harder, and faster until the thunder roared…shaking the room.

All was silent except for the urgent need for air. They lay together, both quivering from the eruptions, stemming from deep-seated emotions lying dormant just beneath the surface…waiting to be released.

As he calmed himself, he placed kisses, so soft and sweet on her lips…it made her breath catch in her throat. With more care than he had ever taken, he slid from her, pulling her close beside him. He knew he had been rough, perhaps too rough with her. He knew he had shocked her delicate senses with his tongue. His lips turned upwards in a wicked smile. She had enjoyed it though and not just a little…but immensely. The thought of sending her careening over the edge of some colossal cliff was enough to give him great pleasure.

“Brad, will it always be like this?” she asked quietly.

“Only with you my darling, only with you,” he assured her, drifting into a contented sleep.

It started somewhere in the recesses of her mind as she lay nestled against the gentle rise and fall of his chest. A flutter, soft and sweet, floating above her consciousness and transcending to her heart. There is such comfort in his arms. Did it happen in a heartbeat? Was it the minute she ran into him at their first meeting? When he assaulted her senses with his presence? She had known even then that there was something special about him…something that unnerved her from the beginning. Had her heart known all along and simply forgot to tell her brain? She closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to hold on to some sense of reality.

No, the reality was…somewhere along the line, she had fallen in love with Brad. He had made a place in her heart where she thought none existed. Was it when he asked her to trust him with his eyes or before then? Was it when she shared her secret…her darkness? Was it when he loved her when she least deserved it? Was it when he knelt in front of her…when she could see eternity in his eyes…the moment he made love to her? She was sure that her heart had fallen catastrophically in love with him at his first touch.

There was nothing left but this man; she needed him as she needed air to breathe. Everything changed in that single moment. “I love you,” she murmured as she drifted off to sleep.

He had been dozing, in-and-out of awareness for some time when he thought he heard her say,
I love you.
His heart stopped with those three little words, the words he had desperately wanted to hear her say earlier tonight. Their worlds collided months ago; her eyes had stolen his heart immediately. She had been a beautiful mystery, one he wanted nothing more than to uncover but she had been so aloof. His powers had been useless and she had been relentless, giving nothing away, hiding everything behind those mysterious and alluring eyes. No matter how charming he was, she refused to fall under his spell. Until the rain…until he touched her and in that moment, the planets collided, and his universe exploded.

Darkness surrounded his dreams like a heavy, dense fog. Alexis told him to leave. He was brutal, too intense. She had been wrong to trust him. He woke startled, a cold emptiness filling him. Long moments passed before he realized Alexis still lay entwined in his arms. Damn, he must have been dreaming.

He groaned inwardly. His behavior had been…well, less than chivalrous. The flurry of emotions and the intensity of this evening had been difficult to digest. He had witnessed the turmoil in her eyes, the fear, doubt, confusion, and uncertainty about the future—uncertainty about him. Then he saw it, the love she felt shimmering softly in her eyes. He had been so afraid she wouldn’t forgive him for not telling her about the Bio-Space agreement, afraid she would think he had ulterior motives for sleeping with her. That she would tell him to leave and when she asked him to stay, he lost control—control of every emotion he ever possessed. Hell, if he wanted to be honest with himself, he had acted like a selfish bastard! After all the pain she had suffered, how would she ever be able to forgive him for his behavior tonight? His own selfish need had denied her of any pleasure.

His mind froze. Through the dense fog, he thought he heard her tell him that she loved him. Was it reality or part of his dream? He wasn’t certain, he could not break free from the haze that shrouded his dream.

He lay still, listening to her soft, steady breaths, knowing she slept peacefully. Maybe the evening had not been as bad as he remembered. The knot in his stomach screamed…
yes it was!
Tonight he became the darkness he tried to hide from everyone, especially Alexis. No female had understood the depth of his dark brooking side, the depth of his intensity. Long ago, he had given up trying to become what others wanted him to be. Oh, he had learned to play the game, to hide that part of himself from everyone, which is why he never allowed himself to become attached to anyone. It was easier to take what women offered freely and leave when they wanted more or tried to change him.

Alexis accepted him for who he was—she wanted him as he was. Would she change her mind now and run from him? It was possible…more than possible…it was most probable and she was too delicate to accept the depth of his emotions and all they entailed.

What would he do if she told him to leave now? A terrible pain began in the deepest part of him and radiated outward…his heart broke. Sorrow filled his soul. What had he done? She gave herself freely and he took more, stripping her of everything…including her pride. His chest constricted with a sickening pain—pain like he had never known. He loved Alexis…could not live without her…not now…not ever. But more importantly, he would not be able to live with himself when he saw the hurt in her eyes.

Not wanting to disturb her, he slid his arm from beneath her as gingerly as he could. He needed to leave before she told him to leave. He would not be able to stand seeing the mistrust in her eyes—seeing her hatred. He dressed quietly, but she stirred.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you, go back to sleep,” his tone laden with anguish.

“Brad, what is the matter?”

“Nothing, my sweet. Please go back to sleep,” he tried to sound soothing as he turned to leave.

Alexis’s mind could not grasp what was occurring. Brad was leaving, but why? “Brad, please don’t go.”

Even in the darkness, his shoulders drooped as if he carried the weight of the world on them, “My sweet…sweet Alexis. I am so sorry. Tonight, I did the one thing I vowed never to do…I hurt you. It’s better that I leave.”

“I don’t understand…what are you talking about?” as she reached for the light.

He took her hand. “No, please don’t. I don’t want to see the hurt in your eyes.” He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. “My darling Alexis, I am so sorry, please forgive me,” he finished as he withdrew his hand from hers.