Free Flame of the Phoenix: Hades' Carnival, Book 6 by N.J. Walters

rail. “There used to be chairs out here.” She’d forgotten that.
    “It’s a nice place to sit and think.” He caught the eave of the porch roof and leaned forward, staring out into the tangle of trees and vegetation.
    She tried not to notice how freaking hot he looked, but it was a losing battle. “It used to be nicer. Not so overgrown.” There, she was making conversation like any normal person. Not scintillating conversation, but it was better than sitting there with her tongue hanging out watching him.
    “It’s beautiful in a wild way.” He turned to her. “Much like you.”
    Tilly set her mug down on the porch. Her hand was trembling too much and she was afraid she might spill it. “What do you mean, like me?”
    “Ah, Tilly.” He prowled toward her and cupped her chin in the curve of his hand. “You’re so cautious and watchful, like a wild doe being stalked by a hunter.” He traced the curve of her bottom lip with his thumb, and she had to fight the urge to touch it with her tongue. “So tough, but so fragile on the inside.”
    She pulled away from him. “I’m not fragile,” she insisted. She’d worked hard not to be weak.
    “Don’t you know we’re all fragile, Tilly? All of us have a soft core. If we didn’t, we’d be nothing more than monsters.”
    His words made her chest ache and she was suddenly fighting back tears. “I don’t want to be weak.”
    He went down on his knees before her and clasped her hands in his much larger ones. “You could never be weak. In many ways, you’re too strong. You find it hard to let others help you even though you’re the first one to offer help. It doesn’t make you weak to need someone else, Tilly.” He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed each one.
    This wasn’t sexual. Wasn’t about getting her into bed. No, this was something totally different. She felt—cherished. That was the right word. No one had ever made her feel this way before.
    She wasn’t sure how she felt about this powerful warrior who was on his knees before her. All she knew was that she was in over her head. He touched parts of her she’d thought no longer existed.
    “Did you ever have happy times here?” he asked her. He lithely came to his feet and stood beside her.
    Although her first instinct was total denial, she forced herself to stop and think about it. “Yes. The early years were good, when Daddy was working regularly and not drinking so much. I remember Mama singing. She used to sing a lot.” Tilly hadn’t heard her mama sing in years. She had the sudden urge to call her and ask if she still sang.
    “After she left him, I pulled away from her just like I did from him.” It was a sobering realization to understand she was as much at fault for the estrangement between her and her mama as her mama was.
    “You were a child and you were hurt.” Such simple words, but they held a profound truth.
    “Yes. I pulled away from everyone.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged herself.
    “Even your granny?” he asked.
    Tilly smiled. “Granny is a force of nature. You kinda get caught in her wake and pulled in whether you want to or not.”
    Phoenix threw back his head and laughed. “I think I’d like your granny.”
    “She’d sure like you.” Tilly ran her gaze up and down his manly form. “She likes the good-looking ones.”
    Phoenix grinned and it made him seem not quite so hard. He’d never look young. There was too much ancient knowledge in his eyes and a sense of timelessness surrounding him. It was ridiculous how much she liked making him smile.
    “What are we going to do?” Tilly had a sense of time running out.
    “Whatever we have to,” he told her. There was a set to his shoulders, a stubborn tilt to his head that told her he meant every word. He’d do whatever it took to save her.
    Everything inside her screamed in protest at the thought of him putting himself in danger. They’d been friends and then lovers, but now they