Phoenix Fallen by Heather R. Blair Page B

warm waves of one hell of an afterglow. He felt content for the first time in a very long time. Before Paris, yes. But even farther back. It had been ages and ages since he felt this free and at the same time so settled, so relaxed, so at home.
    Jules inhaled; taking in the smell of their sex, of Rissa's own honeysuckle scent, before finally rolling off of her to lie back in his bed. He tucked one hand behind his head and hauled her up against his side with the other.
    In fact, he may never have felt this way in his entire life.
    He stroked Rissa's hair and felt her purr, then curl into his side, tucked neatly against him as if she'd been made to fit just for that very spot. It should have worried him, made him uneasy how perfect she felt there, but it didn't.
    Not at all.
    Fan was right. He may have finally found what he'd been looking for. If it came with fangs….
    Well, he had them himself now. If he could find a way to live with his, he could damn sure find a way to live with hers.

Chapter 10
     
     
    He fell asleep almost instantly. Without them exchanging a word. It hadn't been awkward, though. Not a bit. It had been sweet and comfortable and right. Too right.
    Rissa watched him sleep, her cheek against the solid curve of his shoulder. She ran her fingers over his jaw, enjoying the rasp of his stubble, then brushing the contrasting smooth fullness of his lips. Her stomach tightened, remembering what that mouth had done to her. She let her hand fall to his chest, her pale fingers stark against his darkness.
    But Jules was more than darkness, he was light and heat. The man made her feel like she was bathing in sunshine, the bright warmth of it caressing every inch of her.
    Inside and out.
    Dangerous. So very dangerous. Rissa had promised herself long ago she'd never give anyone the power to hurt her again. No attachments, no getting in too deep. Yet, here she was, making those ties even when she should know better.
    She'd wanted Jules. Sure. Right from the first time she had saw him, she wanted that powerful body wrapped around hers, wanted the feel of him inside her.
    Now she'd had it. But in the time it had taken to get to the end goal, she'd gotten him inside her in ways she hadn't expected.
    She cared for him now. Hell, she even cared for his damn friends. Was actually looking forward to meeting Miles and Kelsey in a couple weeks. Maybe she'd even entertained hopes of going with Jules to the wedding in Paris…
    Damnit. She was a fool. Had the pain faded that much?
    No.
    She remembered the past. All too well. Her fingers tightened on Jules' chest and he stirred. Turning on his side, he wrapped a heavy arm around her, his head moving to the curve of her neck as he pulled her close. His voice was husky with sleep.
    "Relax, Rissa. I'm here."
    Yeah. He sure was.
    That might be the problem. But for tonight she was going to shut off her brain and close her eyes and push the past away. Far away where it belonged.
     
    Rissa's past was closer than she thought. Outside Jules' window, down on the street light glided lawn of the house across the street, Daimen Cross rubbed his jaw and spat on the ground.
    Fucking hell. Rissa with a darkie? She always been a strange one.
    Not wild. Not on the surface. On the surface, she'd been a good girl. His girl. Daimen smiled and the gleam of it cut through the suburbia night. He'd loved turning her.
    Grooming her, along with the rest of his little band. They'd been quite the sight back in the old days. Long before the Reveal.
    Him, Jacque, Rissa, Docie May and Betty. There had been others, of course. Some made it, others didn't. His eyes twinkled at the memories. He and those four, though, had been a family for almost fifty years.
    Until the night everything started to unravel. The night Clarissa had left him. He'd let the bitch get away with it. But he'd kept tabs on her. From Pointe Coupee Parish to St. Louis. Every town she wandered to, he had been there. Watching and waiting for the