Chapter 1

Chapter One

Phoenix sat at Magnus's computer station, opening the file he'd just received from Baldwin Kingsley III. His assignment was Lyra Bloom. The rest of his nosy team and their Littles were leaning over his shoulders, crowding him, making him want to tell them all to scatter.

He wouldn't do that, though. These were his people. His family. No matter how they might annoy him sometimes, he loved them all dearly.

A few months ago, he hadn't known any of the people he now considered the best friends a man could have. He'd been at the lowest point in his life, accused and nearly arrested for a series of crimes he had not committed, all because of a deranged, vengeful citizen whose home had burned down in an out-of-control fire.

Kingsley had sent a team to exonerate Phoenix, and now here he was on the other side of the globe, living in New Zealand at an amazing vacation resort. Granted, so far, he'd spent nearly every waking moment helping rescue each of his teammates' women from dire situations.

When the first marker had been called for Rocco, Phoenix and the other five men had made a pact to stick together and help each other accomplish their assignments.

What they couldn't have predicted or believed was that, somehow, Kingsley was a master matchmaker. Each of the four women they'd rescued so far had ended up being the perfect Little girl for the Daddy assigned to protect her.

It had taken the entire team to keep each Little safe. With each rescue, the men had grown closer. Now, with only Caesar and him left to complete their obligation, he trusted these men with his life. And my Little's—maybe . That was a hard thing to predict, honestly.

Phoenix had remained skeptical that he could be so lucky. After all, he'd known he was a Daddy all his adult life. He'd dated vanilla women now and then, but he'd never met anyone who enjoyed an age-play lifestyle until he'd come to Danger Bluff.

Jealousy had grown inside him as each of his teammates had met and claimed their perfect Little girl. Could it really happen for him?

With a deep breath, he opened the file. The first thing he saw was a picture of her. It took his breath away. It was a candid, carefree shot of her. She was standing barefoot on the beach somewhere, wearing a flowy white skirt that reached mid-calf. Her white blouse was sleeveless. The contrast of that stark, pale color against her brown skin made her look sun-kissed.

Lyra's arms were spread out wide, giving him the impression this still shot had been taken while she'd spun around in circles. Her head was tipped back. She was laughing. Unruly brown curls were flying in the wind.

Phoenix was so mesmerized by her that he couldn't take his eyes off her, not even to turn to the next photo and, eventually, the information Kingsley provided about her.

What sort of mess are you in, Little one? he pondered, hating the fact that she was indeed in some kind of trouble. After all, he'd been assigned to protect her.

"You okay?" someone asked gently. One of the Littles. Maybe Sadie.

Phoenix shook himself out of his stupor and sat up taller, clicking the mouse to switch to the next screen. It was another photo of her, this one totally different. She was wearing a long black gown. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun. Subtle, perfect makeup.

But more importantly, she sat with a quartet, playing the cello. Like the picture from the beach, it was an action shot. Her expression was serious, deep lines etched between her brows, as she leaned into the cello, the bow halfway through a note.

"Stunning…" Caesar said.

Phoenix shot him a glare.

Caesar chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. "So territorial already."

The other men laughed under their breaths, and now Phoenix finally understood how they'd each felt from the moment they'd seen their Little girls. They hadn't even met these women before they'd fallen for them.

Phoenix had thought it was all rather ridiculous. Who could possibly fall for someone they had so little information about and had not met? Already, his heartstrings were being tugged. He wanted to know everything about her. Every detail. He wanted to meet her. Now .

He wanted to rescue her from whatever sort of trouble she was in, and the uncertainty was making his chest tighten.

Phoenix was a big man. He was strong and worked out more than just about anyone, but his hand trembled as he switched to another tab to pull up information on Lyra.

The first thing he did was skim through her bio. He would go back and absorb every word later. For now, he wanted the gist. Cellist, thirty years old, from Kentucky. She played in a quartet and was apparently well-known. Her group was currently on tour in New Zealand.

All the air left Phoenix's lungs as he read that she was in a relationship with her agent, a man who traveled with her. And then his body stiffened as he learned this man did not have her best interests at heart and was using her. For what? Money? How much money do famous cellists make?

"Wait…" Sadie's voice interrupted Phoenix's thoughts. "What was her name again?"

"Lyra Bloom."

"I knew I recognized that name. She called earlier today. I had an ad looking for local musicians to play in the lobby and in the dining room. I hired her for this weekend, and she booked a room for a week."

Phoenix spun around. "When does she arrive?"

"Tonight. She's driving and said she'd be here in the evening."

"Alone?" Phoenix asked.

Sadie shrugged. "She didn't mention anyone being with her, nor did she add another name to the reservation. But that doesn't always mean anything. People don't always disclose who they're traveling with when they book."

Phoenix turned back to the computer just as the comm system came on through the speakers. Phoenix glanced at the monitors to find the incoming caller was at one of the entrances. Someone with security.

"Magnus?" a voice said. "You there?"

Magnus set a hand on the desk. "I'm here. The entire team is. What's up?"

"Oh good. This is Gerald at the south gate. Phoenix is with you then?"

"I'm here, Gerald," Phoenix responded, annoyed that he couldn't continue to focus on the data about his Little girl. My Little girl? Jeez. How the hell was he already thinking of Lyra as his anything?

The voice came through again. "I have a report of an accident near the south entrance. A vehicle hit the railing, ricocheted, and slid into the ditch on the other side."

Phoenix went into work mode. "Any report of fire?"

"No, sir. Single-passenger vehicle. Female driver. Apparently, she's trapped inside the car. A hotel guest saw it happen and stopped to help. I believe that guest is also a female. She's at the scene."

Phoenix jumped to his feet. Surely, it's not Lyra . It didn't matter. He was a trained emergency responder. His body automatically prepared to go.

"I'll go with you," Caesar said.

Phoenix nodded as he dashed toward the supply cabinets. He was far more stressed than he usually felt when heading for an emergency. Granted, historically, those emergencies had often been fires, but the fire department fielded all kinds of calls, and his company had usually been the first to arrive on any scene. If a car went off the road, there was a chance they would need equipment to get the passenger out of the vehicle.

Caesar had the supply cabinet open in seconds. They each donned a jacket before grabbing a few crowbars and a first aid kit. As long as there were no flames or threat of an explosion, they could surely extract the woman without the jaws of life. No one had insinuated the vehicle had flipped. That always made things worse. Buckled roofs made it difficult to get doors open.

"It could be anyone," Caesar stated as the two of them jogged toward the stairs.

"I know." Phoenix took the steps three at a time, and they rushed out a side entrance and hurried toward one of the SUVs.

It took five minutes to get to the accident. As soon as Phoenix saw a car pulled over on the side of the road, he pulled up behind it and jumped out of the SUV, grabbing his crowbar. At first, he didn't see anyone, and then he shifted his gaze down the slight incline to find a second car that had slid down the steep hill.

"Down here!" a woman shouted, standing next to the mangled vehicle.

Phoenix hurried down the grassy slope with Caesar on his heels. He heard Caesar thank the woman for calling and staying with the passenger while he raced to the driver's side door.

The glass was shattered. "Ma'am, my name is Phoenix. I work for the Danger Bluff Resort. I'm going to get you out of there. Are you okay?"

The world stopped spinning as the woman in the car turned her gaze to his. Lyra . His heart thudded.

"I'm fine," she said in a thin voice. "Just scared and trapped."

Ignoring the shattered glass, he reached through the window and wrapped his hand around hers. Automatically, Phoenix assessed Lyra's condition, noting no visible injuries but a sprinkling of shattered glass covering her. She was shaking, probably in shock. Her hand was cold. "You're not injured, Little one?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so, but the door won't open."

"We'll get you out of there, Lyra. I promise. Be brave for me, okay?" He glanced at the entire picture for a moment. The passenger side of the car was trapped against the embankment. He would need to get her out through the driver's side.

When he looked back toward Lyra, her huge brown eyes went wide as she stared at him. "How do you know my name?"

Oops . "Long story, but we were expecting you at the resort this evening."

"Oh, right."

"Can you move your legs for me, Little one?"

She wiggled both legs one at a time.

"Nothing is trapped by the dashboard, right?"

"No, sir."

Phoenix took off his jacket and leaned into the car to drape it over her, including her head. "Lean in the other direction for me so I can clear out the rest of the glass. I bet I can pull you through this window, but I don't want you to get cut."

"Okay." She did as he instructed, gripping his jacket around her head and torso.

Phoenix went overboard, clearing the shards of glass that still rose from the car door. Most of the window had shattered into a million pieces that weren't likely to have cut her, but he didn't want to take a chance. "Okay, I think we're good now." Thank goodness she was petite. A large man wouldn't have fit through this opening, but he was confident he could pull Lyra through it.

After easing the jacket back off her to drape it over the windowsill, he reached for her. "Twist toward me, Little one."

As soon as she did, he grasped her biceps and carefully pulled her out of the window. A few seconds later, he had her in his arms.

What he wanted to do was bury his face in her hair and inhale her scent, never letting her go after scaring him half to death like this, but that wasn't reasonable. She didn't know him at all, so he eased her to her feet, keeping her trembling body against his.

With one hand on the small of her back, he cupped her face with the other and tipped her head back. "Are you okay?" His hands ran over her spinal cord as he watched for any discomfort.

"I think so," she said softly. "Thank you so much. I had my seatbelt on."

"Good girl. I'm going to brush this glass off you with my gloves."

With that warning, he kept his touch very professional. The shattered glass clung to her clothing. Focusing his brain on helping her rather than enjoying her sweet curves, Phoenix removed the dangerous bits.

"You have some glass in your hair. Lean over and let me shoo it away," Phoenix directed.

He loved that she followed his instructions without question. A short while later, Phoenix helped her ease back to standing. "No dizziness?" he asked, trying not to notice how adorable she was with rumpled hair framing her face.

"No. I'm okay. Really. It was just a stupid accident at the worst time."

"These roads can be tricky in the dark. We need to see about getting some more reflectors on this section."

She bit her lip and looked down.

"Hey…" He lifted her chin again with a finger. "The important thing is you're safe now."

"It wasn't the road or even driving on the wrong side of the road that was the problem," she whispered.

He lifted his brows.

Her pretty face was better illuminated now by the SUV's headlights. If he wasn't mistaken, her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink. "There was a spider. He jumped out of nowhere and landed on my face. I panicked, which made me swerve and hit the railing. I'm so embarrassed."

Phoenix shuddered. Though he was loath to admit it out loud, he hated spiders. He would have reacted just as violently. "No reason to be embarrassed. I understand." He glanced at the car. "I hope you aren't particularly attached to this car. It's totaled."

She winced. "It's a rental. I picked it up this morning."

"Thank goodness for insurance then. Let's get you out of the cold," he said as he grabbed his jacket and shook it out to ensure there was no glass on it. He draped it around her shoulders. "The SUV is warm. Caesar can grab your bags so we can get you to Danger Bluff and settled in a room. In the morning, I'll bring a few men to come see about your car."

When he set a hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the embankment, she stiffened, not moving. He looked at her to find her staring at the car. "What's wrong?"