Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One by Melody Anne Page B

was that he was leery .
                  Jayden looked into John’s eyes, making sure he had his full attention. He cou ldn’t necessarily control human’s actions but he could bend them to his will .
                  “T hank you , John and I’ m sorry if you were worried,” Jayden said in his silky smooth voice.
                  “Oh, it’s not your fault . I just tend to overreact when I worry about people . I’ m sorry if I’ ve been taking it out on you,” John said, backing down . He was no rmally a nice guy and a tr ue friend and felt bad about his cold reaction to the stranger. It wasn’t Jayden’s fault for his bad mood .
                  “Thank you,” Jayden simply said and the two men left . Phoenix watched them walk away, taking a huge lungful of air. She hadn’t realized she’ d been holding her breath. She continued staring after Jayden, almost as if she was in a trance. The guy was so mysterious and his voice was mesmerizing.
                  She shook herself out of the trance, berating her stupid hormones. She was trying to convince herself not to get a crush on Jayden because she would most likely end up heartbroken all over again . Just as she was about to convince hers elf to forget all about him, Jayden turned around , flashing a smile and her heart fluttered out of control. She actually sighed aloud and her eyes drooped in pleasure. She was completely unaware Jayden heard her sigh all the way across the room and it was like fuel to a fire for him.
                  “Who the heck is that?” Sadie said, coming over to her with a dreamy expression on her face, breaking Phoenix out of her trance.
                  “His name is Jayden. I found him in the woods,” Phoenix said, realizing how stupid her words sounded as soon as they escaped her lips. It wasn’t like he was a lost puppy dog. Sadie looked at her like she was insane and the two of them continued watching the guys until they disappeared.
                  “I think I’ m going to try and get p icking duty more often if that’ s the kind of harvest you’ re getting,” Sadie said with a giggle . Phoenix realized the humor in the situation and the two girls started to crack up. They didn’t stop until they couldn’t breathe anymore and their stomachs hurt .
                  “Seriously , he’ s gorgeous , isn’t he ,” Phoenix said, needing confirmation that it wasn’t just her imagination.
                  “Yeah , he’ s dreamy. O h my gosh , I had to do a double take when he walked i n the room and believe me I’ m not the only one. I noticed Jessica about droo led on the floor. I think she’ s even forgotten Brian’s name,” Sadie said with a pointed look at Jessica, who was walking toward the hallway the boys had entered.
                  Phoenix had an overwhelming urge to rip the g irl apart. She’ d always been irritated by the way Jessica flirted with Brian but she’ d never wanted to stake her claim so badly. She had no right to a claim Jayden, though. He didn’t belong to her. S he’ d simply been the one to meet him in the wo ods and there was no way he’ d choose her when someone like Jessica was throwing herself at him. He was after all, male.
                  “Yeah, Jessica would spo t him immediately. I guess we’ ll see what kind of guy he really is. If he falls for her fakeness, he’ s definitely not someone I want to be friends with . I f he sees through her act, then maybe he’ s as good a guy as I think he is,” Phoenix said, not holding out much hope.
                  “Well , you know he’ ll be b usy for a while with the elders. They’ re going to want to know exactly what he' s seen and get new inform ation from him . W e may as well get ready for dinner. You know you’ re going to be the star of the show tonight since you brought