The Gods of Rock 'n' Roll

Hope: Phillip

Chapter Nine

"Why aren't you telling me the rest?" Her breathing grew shallow as he closed the gap between them. They were nearly touching and his incredibly powerful gaze mesmerized her.

"Because I want to make music with you, Allison. I need it. You've awakened something in me. I've got to have more."

He placed his hands on her waist, tentatively at first as though he were waiting for her to balk. His mind was nearly gone. The muse within her was drawing him in close, and before he could stop himself, he lowered his lips to her unsuspecting ones. She let out a squeak of surprise and he tightened his grip.

One taste, just one touch of his lips to hers, and he was drunk with lust like he'd never experienced before. She pushed against him just once. When his tongue touched hers, she froze for a moment before she melted completely against him. She kissed him back with a force he was not expecting and he stumbled back. Their lips broke apart with a shock, and they were both a little stunned by the sensation. Allison touched her fingers to her lips while gazing wide-eyed at him.

"I am sorry to be so forward. I don't know what came over me. I would never take without permission," he offered by way of apology.

Allison laughed nervously. "You didn't. I mean, I guess my body said yes while my mind was still processing what the hell is going on here."

"Not hell, exactly. Not here."

"What do you mean?"

Phillip sighed. He needed to give full disclosure. She was too important for her to be scared off by the reality of their situation. He wanted her desperately, wanted her for her muse as well as her humanity, but no way did he want to give in to this feeling if she wasn't going to permit anything to happen. He held out his hand to her. "Come. Let me show you the rest of my home. I can explain along the way."

She raised an eyebrow and touched her lips once more. When they'd parted, he'd also felt a zap, almost like a shock from static electricity, but more. She rubbed her lips for a moment, drawing Phillip's eyes to their plump redness. They'd been so sweet. They tasted like coconut. She smelled like coconuts and vanilla, a combination that had his already heightened senses reeling. She really needed to walk with him before he made another mistake. A worse mistake.

Allison held out her graceful hand and clasped his. She shivered as his power coursed over her. He could feel how badly she wanted to ask questions, but she must have decided against it. Phillip led them out of the room and down a hall past another living area, a kitchen, a bar, down a set of stairs and, finally, to a closed door. He paused and turned to face her.

"I really hope you will love my space as much as I do. Somehow I think it will meet your approval." He smiled and winked at her as he opened the door. He walked in front of her down the short hallway and he could feel her trying to get around his bulk to see what was in front of them. He turned again and blocked her view.

"Before we go any further, I have to know something."

She frowned. "Okay, I guess. What do you want to know?"

He ached to touch her again. "Before you came to Las Vegas, what were you looking for? What hopes did you have?"

She cocked a hip out and took in a breath, her expression curious. "I hoped the tour wouldn't be my last. I hoped I would have a place to go, anyplace rather than home. I hoped..."

She looked down at the floor and raised a hand to her mouth. Phillip could feel the tension and sadness coming off her in waves. If he could capture that sorrow—

"I hoped I would find someone to make music with again. I miss my brother terribly. We were so close. He just got me, and when we made music together, everything made sense. Everything felt right with my world, even when it wasn't. With him gone, my heart feels like it's been looking for a match. To write lyrics and melodies with. To harmonize with. A true partner. The guys I've been playing with were just hired hands. I want more."

All the breath left Phillip in a whoosh. As a man, that's all he'd wanted as well. He knew her exact feelings as they'd once been his own. Too bad he'd trusted the wrong woman. He desperately wanted Allison to have what he could never have. A soulmate. As a god, he had no soul comparable to that of a creature like her. Being a god gave him certain powers, and perks to be certain, but that depth of feeling? Like she described? It could never be between them, and yet...

"Do with my space what you wish." He stepped back and drew his arm open in a welcoming gesture.

Allison gasped at the sight before her. A cavernous room built alternately of stone and wood. Instruments of every kind were displayed on the rounded walls of the dome-like structure. Separate rooms were embedded into the rock for recording spaces. Behind a wall of glass to her right was a large mixing board and complicated-looking recording equipment.

There were guitars and basses of all shapes, sizes, colors, and string counts. A large drum set was perched on a stand behind glass and separated from the rest of the room. A piano, horns, and other stringed instruments waited to be played. The space was just large enough to hold all of these prizes and still have a little room to maneuver.

Allison walked along the walls inspecting the guitars. She found one similar to hers, and her smile fell. Phillip fought the urge to run to her side.

"I am so very sorry for the loss of your instrument. I understand it was very special to you."

She nodded, still not speaking. She kept looking, then stopped before an Ovation twelve string. "May I?"

"What's mine is yours," he repeated.

She smiled and brought the guitar down from the rack, strumming it to get a sense of its sound and vibration. She carried it over to a stool and sat tuning it for just a moment before looking around for something.

"Cables are stored inside the amps. Plug in if you like."

She did just that and after a few more testing strums, she began to play scales in earnest. She was just getting warmed up. Phillip slipped into the control room quietly, amused at how involved she'd become with just one of his many guitars. This particular one had been played by Jimmy Page. He'd been pleased when Jimmy left it to him. The tiniest bit of the aura of the musician who'd played the instrument remained behind for always. As a muse, Allison would pick up on it.

He moved behind the soundboard, made some adjustments, and pressed record. He had a feeling something really special would pour out of her once more and he wanted to have something to remember her by after she was gone.

And she would go, he had no doubt. It hurt like hell to know that, but he knew he couldn't hang on to her for long. He'd protect her as long as Zendaya was still on the loose, but beyond that, he needed to extricate himself from her life, before he did something stupid.