I roll onto my stomach and look out the portal window to watch the lights of San Francisco twinkling far below. The city looks so beautiful from a distance. But like anything, if you get too close, you see the flaws.
That’s how things work, right?
With my lungs compressing in my chest, I force myself to breathe and backtrack to the intercom button. Pressing down, the button lights up under my finger.
“As a kid, I used to look up to planes flying overhead and wonder about the lives of the people on board. Were they rich? Were they happy? Were they going somewhere exotic? Were they as lonely as I was? My parents were dead. My aunt and uncle betrayed me. I was living on the streets and had nothing… I had no one.”
My eyes burn as I focus on the land below and blazing golden light pops up over the line of the horizon. “When Riley found me, I’d been on my own for three months, I hadn’t eaten in days, I’d been shaken down for my shoes, and I was terrified that if I went to a shelter or a soup kitchen they’d send me back to my uncle.”
I picture Riley that day, sweeping my hair back and saying. ‘You look like shit, girlfriend. You better come with me.’
“She said she lived in a palace and to us, that’s what it was. She had a fort made of old boxes and broken skids propped behind a Chinese food restaurant. When I got there, she went straight to work building an addition so I could have my own wing. The rest is history. We were a team.”
I close my eyes against the sunrise and flop onto my back. “When I found her lying face down in a puddle in the alley beside our apartment, the light in my life snuffed out. We had so many hopes. We saved up for three years to get that shitty one bedroom, but we didn’t care. It had a toilet and a lock on the door, and we were safe from the dangers of the streets. We could build a new life. I bought into the illusion… then, she was taken away too.”
I stare up at the ceiling of the plane and draw in a labored breath. It feels like a tank is sitting on my chest, keeping my lungs from filling with air. “I told Jaxx that first day that I’ve never made it work with any guy… but over the past four days, I decided to try. I’m learning on the fly here, and I’m sorry if I’m not who you want me to be, but I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not.”
I swipe at the tears warming my cheek and marvel at how far I’ve come in a week. “Anyway, that’s all I had to say. We can talk about it when we get to Kotah’s community… or not. I’ll let you decide because I honestly don’t know what the hell I’m doing, so… yeah, that’s it. Over and out.”
The button ceases glowing green when I press it with my thumb, and I pull the shade to block the window. The last thing I need is to see the shiny happy promise of a new day when my life is stuck in sucksville.
“Calli? May I come in, Chigua?”
“Only if you want to. I don’t want a pity party.”
The pocket door glides across its track. Kotah ducks inside and climbs onto the eight-foot by eight-foot bed. He crawls on his hands and knees until he’s beside me and flops down. “I would’ve been here all along, but the others thought you needed a moment to yourself to grieve your friend.”
“By myself?” My tears fall in earnest and I curl against his chest. “I hate being by myself. I thought you guys were pulling away from me.”
“Aw, kitten,” Jaxx says, climbing aboard. He lays on my other side and pulls me into a full-body hug. “Never gonna happen. We’re a lock, remember? Four males dedicated to meeting your needs, ensuring your safety, and devoted to helping you in the trials to come. Any of this sound familiar?”
Brant crawls in and stops Kotah from moving away. “No, buddy, she needs your comfort. You soothe our girl.”
He lays perpendicular to the three of us at the end of the bed and squeezes my feet. When he looks up at me, I’m engulfed by the emotion in his gaze. “We won’t always see eye-to-eye, beautiful, but that’s worlds away from not wanting you or what this bonding represents. You were right. If someone did that to my family, I’d snap their neck. Eye for an eye. Life for a life. It was misogynistic to expect different from you simply because you’re our female. Forgive me.”
I draw a deep breath and take a page out of Jaxx’s book. “Forgiven. Forgotten.”
The four of us settle into our love in and I can’t help but watch the empty doorway. Come on, Hawk. Be one of us. Except, he doesn’t come. I close my eyes and reach out along the mating bond to find him outside the door.
He’s close. He’s angry. And fighting the mating bond.
“I’m hoping for an appearance, Mr. Barron, not a commitment. And hey, the last show of mating faith worked out all right. My lips are still stinging from that kiss. I’m breathless anticipating where we go from there.”
Hawk fills the doorway and rolls his eyes. “Like I said before, Spitfire. You couldn’t handle it.”
“And like I said, Challenge accepted.”
~~ THE END ~~
~~ End Note ~~
Thank you for reading Rise of the Phoenix. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Calli and her guardians in their first days together. Things start heating up fast in book two and we get a deeper understanding of who these five are and how they’re going to fit together…(pun intended).
If you are inclined to help a girl out, it would be amazing if you could leave a star rating or review on Amazon.
If you want more, click here and snag your copy of book two, Wolf’s Soul
Author Notes: May 1, 2020
After writing 18 fantasy, paranormal, and sci-fi sexy/steamy monogamous romance novels, it was time to get my sexy on and expand into the realm of polyamory. Why choose, right?
Guardians of the Phoenix is a 4-book series and the first Reverse Harem I’ve written. I gotta say, it’s fun to have more sexy times to spread around. I hope these guys give you hours of entertainment and escape.
JL
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Web page – www.jlmadore.com
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Newsletter – JL Series Updates
Guardians of the Phoenix
Book 1 – Rise of the Phoenix
Book 2 – Wolf’s Soul
Book 3 – Bear’s Strength
Book 4 – Hawk’s Heart
Book 1 – Watcher Untethered (Zander)
Book 2 – Watcher Redeemed (Kyrian)
Book 3 – Watcher Reborn (Danel)
Book 4 – Watcher Divided (Phoenix)
Book 5 – Watcher United (Seth)
Book 6 – Watcher Compelled (Bo)
Book 7 – Watcher Unfeigned (Brennus)
Book 8 – Watcher Exposed (Hark)
The Scourge Survivor Series (Fantasy)
Book 1 – Blaze Ignites
Book 2 – Ursa Unearthed
Book 3 – Torrent of Tears
Book 4 – Blind Spirit
Book 5 – Fate’s Journey
Book 6 – Savage Love
Aliens of Atlantis Series (Sci-Fi)
Book 1 – Taryn’s Tiderider
Book 2 – Kai’s Captive
Book 3 – Alyandra’s Shadow
In the Shadow of Vesuvius (Roman Time-Slip)
In The Shadow of Vesuvius
Auburn Tempest
Pen Name for Fantasy Action Adventure (Not Romance)
Misty’s Magick and Mayhem Series
Book 1 – School for Reluctant Witches
Book 2 – School for Saucy Sorceresses
Book 3 – School for Unwitting Wiccans
Book 4 – Nine St. Gillian Street
Book 5 – The Ghost of Pirate’s Alley
Book 6 – Jinxing Jackson Square
Exemplar Hall
Prequel – Death of a Magi Knight
Book 1 – Drafted by the Magi
Book 2 – Jesse and the Magi Vault
Book 3 – The Makings of a Magi
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J L Madore, Rise of the Phoenix