Chapter 23 #2
Every morning, he slipped out before dawn, back to his house or the brewery, leaving me with Braden curled at my side and a heart that raced too fast. I didn’t say it out loud, but I knew something had shifted.
We weren’t just falling into each other’s beds anymore.
We were finding our way into something deeper, scarier.
I hadn’t heard from Riley again. That should’ve been a relief, but the silence felt loaded, like he was waiting for the perfect time to remind me he still existed. The unease lurked at the edges of everything. But tonight, I wanted to push it back. Tonight, I wanted to focus on Phoenix.
“I’m cooking you dinner,” I told him at the brewery that afternoon.
His brow shot up, and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You’re cooking? Should I have Dominic on standby with takeout?”
I smacked his arm with the bar towel. “You’ll eat what I make, and you’ll like it.”
He leaned in close enough that his breath tickled my ear. “Fine. But I’m bringing something too.”
“You really don’t have to but if you insist, the apple crumble is to die for,” I grinned and then I leaned in and pecked his lips.
“Do you two ever stop?” Cooper chimed.
I pulled away, blushing.
“Mind your own business, Coop,” Phoenix growled playfully. That just made Cooper laugh harder, to the point that his shoulders were shaking.
“Where did you two meet?” I asked the two of them. Cooper was the easygoing fun guy, and Phoenix was so serious, yet they were the best of friends.
“In Prague,” Cooper answered immediately, grinning. “Backpacking hostel. He looked like a surly lumberjack who’d taken a wrong turn.”
Phoenix groaned. “I wasn’t surly. And I didn’t look like a lumberjack.”
“Oh, you did,” Cooper said, leaning against the bar. “Flannel shirt, beard that hadn’t seen a razor in months. Sat in the corner nursing a beer like you were auditioning for a brooding movie role.”
My laugh bubbled up before I could stop it. Phoenix’s glare swung between the two of us.
“I was traveling,” Phoenix said flatly. “After high school, I needed to get out. See something different. Europe seemed like a good place to figure myself out.”
“And by ‘figure himself out,’” Cooper added, “he means getting lost in Rome, nearly starting a fight in Amsterdam, and refusing to admit he couldn’t read the German train schedule.”
Phoenix shot him a look. “You missed your train too, genius.”
“Only because I was waiting for you.” Cooper shrugged. “Someone had to keep you alive.”
I shook my head, grinning. “So you’ve basically been bailing him out ever since?”
“Pretty much,” Cooper said cheerfully.
Phoenix muttered something about finding new friends, but there was a faint smile tugging at his mouth. I realized then this was Phoenix at ease. And seeing him like that only made me fall harder.
“That’s really sweet,” I countered.
“Men don’t like to be called sweet,” Cooper replied with his dashing smile and English accent.
“Sorry, my bad. Well, I better get going. I have to pick up Braden from daycare and cook dinner. Have a good night,” I said to Cooper and to Dominic, who was standing a couple of feet away.
“Enjoy your night, lovebirds.” Dominic winked playfully.
Phoenix scowled and I laughed. It all felt so normal and comfortable that I was trying not to freak out because, for the first time in my life, things felt stable.
By six the loft smelled like simmering tomatoes, basil, and garlic.
I’d gone all in and made a pasta from scratch, sauce like my mother used to make on Sunday nights, and garlic bread to soak it all up.
Braden was freshly bathed, tucked into his pajamas, happily gnawing on his plastic chew toy in the high chair while I stirred the pot.
The knock on the door startled me. When I opened it, Phoenix stood there with a massive cardboard box in his arms that nearly hid his face.
“What is that?” I asked, stepping aside.
“Move,” he grunted, carrying it inside like it weighed nothing. He set it down in the middle of the floor, dusted off his hands, and grinned. “Kid needs a real bed. Not a playpen.”
I blinked at the box. “That’s a crib.”
“Yup.” He crouched, tearing the tape with his bare hands. “Figured we’d build it after dinner.”
Warmth spread through me so fast it almost hurt. “You just… thought of that?”
He shrugged, suddenly sheepish. “Don’t worry, I got him something that meets all the safety requirements.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. This was Phoenix Thorne, he was grumpy, stubborn, never saying more than he had to, and he just admitted to reading about babies because of me. Because of my son.
“You’re impossible,” I whispered, blinking hard.
“Yeah, but I’m useful,” he said, flashing a grin that melted me on the spot.
I got back to cooking and Phoenix got the cardboard box and mattress situated off to the side, since Braden was busy crawling all over the loft.
When I heard him blowing raspberries, I stopped frozen.
This big burly man with a heart of gold was on the floor making funny sounds, and my son was eating it up and giggling.
It did something to my heart and made me feel a longing I didn’t understand.
My own father was never attentive. He didn’t do much in the department of raising Luc and me.
A proper father figure was something I was missing from my life.
Yet, I desperately wanted Braden to have that in his life.
Maybe that’s why I kept Riley around for so long.
I believed he would change for his son. He held a good job, he was educated, he just didn’t have any manners, and he had some very bad habits. I blinked and took a deep breath.
“Be still my heart,” I muttered under my breath.
With dinner ready, I called Phoenix to the table and he picked up Braden and struggled a little to get him in his high chair, but then he figured it out.
I loved watching those two together. Phoenix wasn’t smooth by any means but he was definitely eager to please my son, and Braden was eating up the attention from him.
Dinner was better than I expected. Phoenix sat beside me at the kitchen table, Braden was babbling from his high chair. Phoenix continued to make funny faces and blow raspberries, and Braden was giggling so hard his cheeks went red.
“This is delicious,” Phoenix said around a mouthful of pasta.
“You sound surprised.”
“Not surprised,” he corrected, smirking. “Impressed.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t fight the smile.
By the time dishes were stacked in the sink, the loft felt cozy. It felt like a home, and I realized how I’d never had this feeling before.
Phoenix rolled up his sleeves and nodded toward the box. “Let’s build this thing.”
We worked side by side on the floor while Braden gurgled on a blanket nearby. Phoenix did the heavy lifting; I read the instructions and handed him screws. We bumped shoulders more times than necessary, and each time, he smirked like he knew exactly what he was doing.
When the crib finally stood upright, Phoenix bent down and scooped Braden into his arms. My son yawned big and floppy, already half asleep. Phoenix tucked him gently into the crib, adjusting the blanket with careful hands.
“He looks comfortable,” Phoenix murmured. It felt like he wasn’t only talking about the crib.
My throat tightened. “Yeah. He does.”
We stood side by side, watching my son sleep peacefully in the crib Phoenix had built with his own hands. And in that moment, I knew the truth I’d been avoiding, Phoenix wasn’t just in my bed anymore. He was in my life.
Later, when the loft was quiet, I poured us each a glass of wine. Phoenix leaned back on the futon, watching me with those dark brown coffee eyes that always saw more than I wanted him to.
“You know,” he said, swirling the glass in his hand, “this place feels different now. Like it’s really yours.”
“Because of the crib?” I asked.
“Because of the crib,” he confirmed. “Because of Braden. Because of you.” His gaze dropped to my mouth. “And because of us.”
Heat spread low in my stomach. I set my glass down before I spilled it, suddenly too restless to sit still. “You’re awfully sentimental tonight.”
“You cooked me dinner,” he said simply. “What did you expect? You know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
I laughed, shaking my head, but the sound caught in my throat when he reached for me.
“Come here, Elyna.”
I went, because there was no resisting the low drawl of his voice.
The kiss started slow, teasing at first, then moved to exploratory as his mouth brushed mine. His hands slid over my hips as he guided me onto his lap, my knees bracketing his thighs, my body already humming with need.
“Different tonight,” he murmured against my lips. “Slow. I want to feel everything.”
My breath caught. He’d taken me hard and fast before, and I’d loved every second. But this felt different. It felt special.
His hands roamed up my back, under my shirt, fingertips skimming my skin like he had all the time in the world. He kissed me until I was dizzy, until I forgot my own name. Then he pulled back, eyes dark.
“Take this off for me.” His voice was low and rough.
I peeled my shirt over my head, my heart pounding as his gaze devoured me. He leaned in, pressing soft, open-mouthed kisses down my neck, over my collarbone, across the swell of my breasts until I was trembling in his lap.
“Phoenix…” I whispered desperately.
“Patience,” he murmured, tugging down my bra straps, kissing the skin he exposed.
“Let me take my time with you.” I could tell Phoenix was experienced.
He was a generous lover and I hated that Patricia entered my mind.
She was young and gorgeous with a body of a model, but I worked hard to push the thought away.
He said I was the only woman for him and, as long as I’d known Phoenix, he’d never been a liar.
He slowly removed the leggings and panties I was wearing, leaving me bare, and then his mouth was on my inner thigh.
A soft moan escaped me as he worked his way toward the apex of my thighs.
When his mouth landed between my thighs and his tongue teased my clit in a back-and-forth motion, I arched into him, my body erupting in lust and heat.
He alternated between kissing, sucking, and soothing with soft licks of my clit.
He was slowly unraveling me in the best way possible.
“Please,” I gasped, fingers threading through his hair.
He shifted, laying me back against the futon, memorizing every inch of me. His hands stroked my thighs, as his mouth worked me over and I was squirming beneath him. When he picked up pace I nearly cried out. His strokes grew hungrier, and he had me clawing at the cushions.
“You’re so damn sweet,” he groaned against me. “I could stay here all night.”
I bucked against him, desperate. “Phoenix. . .”
Then he paused and I felt the loss of his mouth on me.
“Why?” The question was more of a disappointed pout and it bought me a crooked grin from him. He sheathed his cock with a condom. I was so wet and swollen for him I still felt myself clenching around nothing.
Then he climbed back up my body until he reached my lips and kissed me fiercely, his body pressing mine into the futon. He guided himself into me with a groan, filling me slowly, deliberately, until I was shaking.
“Feel that?” he whispered in my ear, thrusting deep and slow. “That’s me. All of me. Not letting you go.”
Tears stung my eyes from the sheer intensity of it. I wrapped my legs around him, clinging, meeting him thrust for thrust as the slow burn built higher and higher.
It was different this time. Not frantic. Not wild. It was deep, consuming, a rhythm that made me feel cherished and wrecked all at once.
“Phoenix,” I gasped, nails digging into his back.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he groaned, hips moving in steady, powerful strokes. “Come with me.”
My release tore through me, shattering me.
My whole body arched and trembled as he followed with a guttural moan, spilling into me as he buried his face against my neck.
We lay tangled on the futon, a sheen of sweat coating our skin, our hearts still racing.
He brushed my hair back, kissed my temple, and whispered, “You and Braden are it for me.”
I swallowed hard, my chest aching with something too big to name. “You’re dangerous, Phoenix Thorne.”
He chuckled, pulling me closer. “Maybe. But I’m not going anywhere.”
For the first time in years, I believed it. I slept safe in his arms. By morning he slipped out quietly, as usual, and I woke up and took care of my son. When my cell rang a smile spread my lips because I thought it was Phoenix, and I already missed the sound of his voice.
I let myself imagine a life with quiet mornings, someone steady by my side, and Braden growing up with a man who wanted to be there. But peace never lasted. Not in my life.
I looked down at my phone to see: Blocked Number.
My stomach turned cold. That wasn’t Phoenix.
I shouldn’t have answered. Every part of me screamed to let it go to voicemail. But I pressed the button anyway.
“Elyna.” Riley’s voice slid through the speaker, smooth and smug like nothing had changed.
My fingers tightened around the phone. “What do you want?”
“Relax, pretty girl. I just thought I’d check in. See how my son’s doing.”
“He’s fine,” I said sharply. “And don’t call me pretty girl.”
He laughed, low and mocking. “You sound tense. Everything all right? Or did your new boyfriend wear you out?”
My chest squeezed. He knew. Somehow, he knew.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.
“You do,” he said, his tone turning darker. “I’ve got friends in Val-du-Lys. Small towns don’t keep secrets long.”
“My private life is none of your business,” I asserted, trying to keep my voice even.
“Yeah, but Braden is my son and I get to choose who’s in his life,” he replied, sending my pulse roaring. The man had done nothing since his son was born and now he thought he could dictate my life? Hell no.
I didn’t want to engage him though.
“You sent us away. Remember the bad guys from Montreal?” I reminded, unable to help myself.
“Don’t go rubbing my bad choices in when you have a list of your own,” he said, his voice cool and mean.
He wasn’t wrong. I lost my wind.
He let the silence stretch before adding, “Don’t forget who I am, Elyna. Don’t forget what I can do.”
Then the line went dead.
I fell back onto the futon, feeling like my life was crashing down on me. My peace was gone. Replaced by the familiar dread of Riley’s shadow creeping back into my life.
And the worst part? Phoenix wasn’t just tangled up in my bed anymore. He was tangled up in my heart. Which meant Riley had the power to hurt us both.