A Million Tiny Pieces

by Nicole Edwards

  “They’ve got pictures of the three of us from last week. They claim that you’ve set your sights on Mia and have informed Landry that you won’t back off until he drops the lawsuit. Landry gave a sob story about how he loves Mia and how he knows you’re using her to hide other things. Of course, that’s stirred up the rumors of…”

  Tarik didn’t need to finish his sentence; Phoenix knew where he was going. At one point, they’d claimed he was bisexual; another time, they’d claimed he was gay. Both times it had caused Phoenix’s mother to ask questions, but other than having to deal with her hope that he would one day settle down — according to her, she’d be happy either way — it had all just been a pain in the ass.

  “Motherfucker.” Phoenix leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and dropping his head in his hands.

  He couldn’t fucking believe this shit.

  Mia was skittish enough — as soon as she got wind of this, she was going to be livid. She’d admitted to trust issues, and clearly Landry was playing on that.

  “I need to go talk to her,” Phoenix stated.

  Tarik nodded. “Let me shower, and we’ll go down there together. Maybe we can do damage control before it’s too late.”

  Phoenix watched as Tarik walked across the living room and then disappeared out the front door. Since last weekend, when the three of them had slept in his bed, Tarik hadn’t been back. He’d been giving Phoenix space. Space Phoenix had initially asked for but wasn’t really sure he even wanted anymore.

  Getting to his feet, he headed to the kitchen for coffee. If nothing else, maybe caffeine would help him think a little better. He certainly had plenty to think about, but mainly he was worried about Mia and how she was going to react when she read that fucking article.

  »»»»»♥«««««

  MIA WAS SITTING on the couch reading when her cell phone rang. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she lurched for the phone, hoping it was Phoenix or Tarik. They’d told her they would be back yesterday, but she hadn’t heard from them yet.

  When she checked the screen, she saw that it was Alex.

  “Hey,” she greeted happily.

  “What are you doing?” Alex asked, the lack of usual cheer in her tone causing Mia to pause.

  “Sitting here. Reading. Why?” Mia asked, placing her Kindle on the cushion and pushing her blanket off her legs.

  “Do you have your tablet?” Alex asked.

  “I can get it. Why, Alex? What’s going on?”

  “I take it you haven’t been watching the news?”

  “No.” Mia’s worry was building as she walked to her room and grabbed her tablet from her nightstand, powering it on.

  “Do a search on your name.”

  Mia entered her name into the search bar and hit enter. A list came up. She began skimming the titles of the articles and the dates. Pulling up the most recent, Mia lowered herself onto the couch as she began to read.

  “This is bullshit,” Mia whispered as she continued reading, disbelief swamping her.

  We recently had the opportunity to talk to Damien Landry, the Austin real estate developer who claims that Phoenix Pierce’s father, Sidney, had agreed to sell the majority share of the Austin Arrows to him prior to his death. According to Landry, his life is in shambles because of the mishap. Not only did Sid Pierce pull back on the deal, but from what we’ve learned, Phoenix Pierce has moved in on Landry’s now ex-wife.

  Landry’s former wife, Mia Cantrell, filed for divorce after three years of marriage with claims of irreconcilable differences around the time that Landry claims Sidney reneged on the deal.

  “I knew something was wrong, but she wouldn’t talk to me. I tried to get her to open up, but Mia insisted it was over. I was away on business when she moved out,” Landry told us when asked about the reason for the divorce.

  Sources tell us that Phoenix has been courting Mia for some time now, and the pair seem to be getting closer. Although we have to question just what he’s up to when we look closely at some of these pictures.

  Mia looked at the images included in the article. There were some from the night she’d gone to dinner with Phoenix, a few from their adventure date, including one of her holding hands with both Tarik and Phoenix, and even one from when she and Phoenix had been talking after their argument at the Mexican restaurant.

  “Oh, my God. Why is he doing this?” Mia asked.

  “Because he’s an asshole,” Alex retorted.

  Mia glanced at her phone, remembering that she was on a call.

  “I wanted to warn you, Mia. Don’t believe a damn thing you read there.”

  “How can I? He claims I moved out when he was away on business. He cheated on me, Alex. He came home smelling like some other woman’s perfume.”

  “I know, honey. Don’t let this get you too worked up.”

  Too late for that. Mia was fuming with anger. She turned her attention back to the article to finish reading.

  Landry has informed us that he’s been in communication with Pierce after offering to settle their disagreement civilly. “I attempted to talk to Mr. Pierce. After I explained my case, he informed me that I could speak with his lawyers. When I asked about Mia, he told me that until I dropped the lawsuit, he wasn’t going to stop pursuing her. I’m torn. I love her, but this entire thing has made a shambles of my life.”

  Mia’s heart thrummed painfully against her ribs. She knew Phoenix wouldn’t have said that. Would he? No. He wouldn’t. She wasn’t going to start doubting him now. She knew better. This was all Damien’s doing. Just another heaping pile of lies to make him look good.

  “Ugghhh.”

  “Take a deep breath. Do you want me to come over?”

  “No. I’m good,” Mia told Alex now. “I need some time to think.”

  “Well, if you need me, you know where I am.”

  “Thanks, Alex.”

  “Sure thing, honey. Oh, and I’m sure your mother’s going to get wind of this. You might want to call her before she does.”

  Mia flopped back against the cushions, tossing her tablet beside her. Alex was right. This was just the beginning. “It’ll be easier if I go see her.”

  “I agree,” Alex concurred. “While you’re out, if you want to stop by, we’ll be here.”

  “Okay. Maybe I will. But you’re gonna want to have the wine ready,” Mia warned.

  “Already done.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  TARIK HURRIED THROUGH his shower, not wanting to leave Phoenix alone for too long. He could tell the guy was strung tight, and he worried what the recourse might be when he decided to turn that anger on Damien Landry. Not that it didn’t belong there, because it did, but Tarik had been witness to Phoenix’s meltdowns a time or two. They weren’t pretty.

  It wasn’t that Phoenix wasn’t familiar with this type of underhanded bullshit. It happened more often than people believed, sometimes as a way to get a little publicity — which was what he suspected Landry was up to. There were always frivolous lawsuits popping up for whatever reason, and Tarik had seen Phoenix deal with them on multiple occasions over the last several years. Because Phoenix’s company dealt with various things, including lending money to start-ups, acquiring others that weren’t able to keep afloat, as well as dabbling in real estate — buying and selling — there were plenty of things that people used against him. Phoenix had even ventured into property management on occasion, and Tarik had seen some crazy shit on that side of things. This was merely one of the many.

  However, Tarik knew that there were other things on Phoenix’s mind. Since the last night that they’d stayed with Phoenix a week ago, the other man hadn’t been the same. If he had to guess, Phoenix was dealing with feelings he wasn’t familiar with. And Tarik wasn’t going to believe that Phoenix’s feelings were only for Mia, either. What was transpiring between him and Phoenix was real and powerful. So potent he felt a breakdown coming. And it wasn’t going to be him breaking down.

  No, Ph
oenix was on a downward spiral, and he was going to explode any time now. Possibly in the next few minutes, and Tarik damn sure wasn’t going to be in the shower when that happened.

  Shutting off the water, Tarik grabbed a towel and roughly ran it over his hair, then his body before fixing it around his waist.

  When he stepped into his bedroom to grab clothes, he stopped short.

  There, sitting on his bed, was Phoenix.

  Green eyes slowly drifted up until they met his, holding. Tarik was frozen in place momentarily. What he read in that steady gaze nearly leveled him. There was a request there, something he couldn’t misconstrue even if he wanted to.

  Which he sure as fuck didn’t.

  “I called Mia. She said she was on her way to see her mother.” Phoenix’s gaze lowered briefly. “So I came here.”

  Tarik didn’t move, unwilling to break the spell. He understood exactly what Phoenix was telling him. He needed someone, and with Mia not home, Tarik was it.

  He briefly wondered whether he should feel like second place, but he couldn’t. He’d wanted to see Mia as much as Phoenix, possibly more. If she wasn’t home, then there wasn’t anything either of them could do about it.

  Rather than tell Phoenix any of that, he stood there, stone still as he waited for what came next. Phoenix had to make the first move. There was no way Tarik would be the first, not with something this crucial, something that would ultimately change the dynamic of their friendship forever.

  Phoenix pushed to his feet slowly, his gaze like a heated caress as it raked down him an inch at a time. Tarik didn’t bother to ask Phoenix if he was okay; he could see in his eyes that he was still strung tight, the equivalent of a rubber band being pulled to the point it was going to snap, and the repercussions were going to be painful.

  Which meant there was only one reason he was there.

  When Phoenix approached, Tarik didn’t move, didn’t hardly breathe. Big, warm fingers came up to trail a path from his navel up to his neck and then back down. Phoenix never stopped looking him in the eye, and Tarik found himself lost in his gaze, desperately wanting this to go where he thought it was headed but scared shitless to say anything that might fuck that up.

  “I’m tired of thinking,” Phoenix admitted softly, his eyes dipping down to Tarik’s lips briefly.

  “Then don’t,” Tarik stated firmly.

  “That’s why I’m here.” The uncertainty he heard in Phoenix’s tone and saw on his face surprised Tarik briefly. It was not something he was used to seeing in the other man’s eyes. Determination, purpose, tenacity, yes. This ambiguity, no.

  “Do you know what you’re doing to me?” Tarik asked as Phoenix’s hands continued to roam slowly over his bare chest, down to his stomach once more. Up and down, the movement was slow and reverent. Almost as though Phoenix was looking for some assurance that Tarik wanted this.

  “Yes, I do,” Phoenix answered. “The same thing you’re doing to me.”

  Tarik doubted that, but he didn’t say as much. The depth for which Tarik cared for Phoenix had been dug over a period of years, not weeks or days. Those feelings weren’t new to him. Nor did they shock him with their intensity anymore.

  However, what he wanted from Phoenix was likely going to blow the other man’s mind.

  “I want all of you, Phoenix. Every single piece.”

  Phoenix nodded, but Tarik still wasn’t convinced he knew exactly what he meant.

  “Right here, right now. This is between us. I don’t want anyone else in the room.” Tarik knew he didn’t need to explain himself. Phoenix understood precisely what he was getting at. No issues, no problems. Nothing and no one was welcome this first time. The first time Tarik would bury himself in Phoenix, lose himself in the pleasure of the other man’s body.

  Holy fuck.

  “Just us,” Phoenix confirmed.

  “Take off your shirt,” Tarik commanded, letting his eyes trail down Phoenix’s body, noting how his muscles bunched and flexed with every little movement. He was tense, and it had nothing, and possibly everything, to do with what was about to happen.

  Phoenix complied easily, pulling his shirt over his head and dropping it on the floor.

  Tarik was tempted to tell Phoenix to strip so he could see all of him, but he held back. He wanted to touch him, to taste him, and he couldn’t wait any longer.

  Closing the gap between them, Tarik grazed Phoenix’s hard cock behind the zipper of his jeans with the backs of his fingers as he moved his hand upward, trailing up his stomach similar to the way Phoenix had done to him moments ago. He veered off and circled Phoenix’s nipple with a fingertip, allowing his other hand to mimic the first, flicking each nipple firmly.

  Phoenix’s eyes lowered, fluttered, his mouth opening slightly.

  When he let his eyes close completely, Tarik tweaked both nipples. “Open your eyes. I want them on me at all times.”

  Those thunderous green eyes once again opened, and there was a hint of defiance backlighting them, but to Phoenix’s credit, he didn’t say a word.

  As a reward, Tarik leaned down and lashed Phoenix’s nipple with his tongue, then used his teeth to nip him.

  A harsh inhale was the only response, so Tarik moved to the other, teasing Phoenix briefly. Sliding his hands around to Phoenix’s back, he moved up as he stood. Angling his head slightly, Tarik pressed his lips to Phoenix’s as he dug his fingers into the tense muscles of Phoenix’s back, pulling him closer, their bare chests touching, warmth transferring between them.

  He tried to keep the kiss slow and easy, but it quickly morphed into something hotter, stronger, significantly more powerful. It was as though the energy that was thrumming inside Phoenix was redistributed to Tarik. He was infused with it, an urgency making his cock thicken, straining against the cotton towel.

  Pulling back because he wasn’t interested in ending this before it even got started, Tarik ordered Phoenix to remove the rest of his clothes. When he did, Tarik directed him to the bed with an upward tilt of his chin.

  “On your stomach,” Tarik commanded as he moved to the dresser to retrieve a condom and lube.

  When he turned back, Phoenix was on his stomach, his cheek flat on the bed, his eyes tracking Tarik as he moved toward him. Dropping the items onto the bed so that Phoenix could see them clearly, Tarik released the towel, allowing it to fall to the floor.

  He had every intention of massaging Phoenix’s back, trying to loosen him up a bit, but as he lay there, his mouth proved to be too much of a temptation. One he couldn’t bypass just yet.

  “Move closer to the edge,” he told Phoenix. “Take me in your mouth.”

  Phoenix scooted closer, remaining on his stomach as instructed, his mouth within inches of Tarik’s cock. Sweeping the head across Phoenix’s lips, he waited until he opened before dipping the tip inside.

  The mere brush of Phoenix’s tongue over the swollen head made Tarik’s hips jerk forward. “Open those lips for me, Phoenix. Swallow me.”

  Phoenix’s mouth opened wider as he sucked Tarik’s cock into his mouth. Shallow at first, but within seconds he was laving Tarik’s dick, tormenting him with the rough swipe of his tongue as he circled the head, teasing the underside, driving him toward the edge with a blinding intensity that took Tarik entirely by surprise.

  “Turn over,” Tarik instructed as he thought of a better position, needing a moment to regain his composure. “Hang your head over the side.”

  Phoenix moved easily, and when he was situated, Tarik looked down at the sexy man sprawled sideways across his bed. His tanned, hard body stood out against the black comforter. Tarik wouldn’t have minded looking at him like that all fucking day.

  “Suck my dick and don’t stop until I tell you.”

  Propping one knee on the bed beside Phoenix’s head, Tarik leaned over Phoenix, guiding his cock into Phoenix’s scorching mouth. He didn’t hesitate before he took Phoenix’s cock in his mouth, sucking the head between his lips, teasing the tip with
the flat of his tongue. Phoenix rewarded him with an urgent thrust of his hips and a rough growl that Tarik could feel vibrating beneath him.

  He knew the only way he’d survive this was to focus on Phoenix and not on the way Phoenix swallowed him, sucking him forcefully while wrapping his hand around the base of Tarik’s cock. It was too good. Needing to drive out some of the arresting satisfaction or risk coming too soon, Tarik focused his attention on returning the pleasure, wrapping his lips around Phoenix’s thick cock, pulling him into his mouth, releasing him slowly, bobbing up and down.

  It didn’t matter how much he tried to focus, the blazing warmth of Phoenix’s mouth was too much to ignore, causing Tarik to push up on his hands, releasing Phoenix’s cock from his mouth with a pop and then pulling his own dick out of the sweet mouth that had given him enough pleasure to make his head swim.

  “Back on your stomach,” he commanded, crawling up on the bed when Phoenix flipped over.

  “No one told me I should’ve stretched before I came in here. This is a fucking workout,” Phoenix joked, rolling back onto his stomach.

  Tarik smiled. “I was going to give you a massage, but if you’d prefer we skip that part, I’m game.”

  “I’m good,” Phoenix muttered when he got situated.

  Straddling Phoenix’s hips, Tarik began kneading the muscles of Phoenix’s shoulders, digging deep, trying to drive out some of the tension. He continued to massage deeply, moving from one muscle group to the next until he was at the tight muscles of Phoenix’s lower back. The rough groans that had accompanied the massage made Tarik’s dick throb. He eased down Phoenix’s body slowly, sliding down his legs, and now his cock was nudging between Phoenix’s firm ass cheeks, right where he wanted to be.

  “Tarik,” Phoenix growled, pushing his hips back.

  “Not yet,” Tarik told him none too gently.

  “Fuck,” Phoenix muttered. “I need to feel you.”

  The jagged need in Phoenix’s voice was almost enough to have Tarik rushing, but he knew better. He wanted to savor every minute of this. His first time inside Phoenix… Phoenix’s first time taking a man inside of him. It wasn’t something Tarik wanted to hurry through.