A Million Tiny Pieces (28 page)

“Fuck.
Oh, hell. Tarik, it’s too much.”

Tarik
didn’t even respond, just continued to rim Phoenix’s tight hole with one
finger, dipping it in to the second knuckle, teasing him, tormenting him,
driving him higher, making him more desperate.
He wanted Phoenix to be delirious
with need. He pushed his finger in farther, deeper.

“Tarik.”
The way Phoenix said his name was a warning. When Phoenix reached beneath his
prone body to stroke his own cock, Tarik gripped his arm, stopping him.

“Not
yet,” Tarik bit out. “I’ll say when you can come.”

“Damn
it,” Phoenix growled. “I can’t take any more.”

“What
do you want?” Tarik asked, sliding his finger deep into Phoenix’s puckered hole
again. “Tell me.”

“I
want you to fuck me.”

“How?
Do you want me to sink my dick into your ass? Take you slow and easy?”

Fuck.
The thought of
Phoenix’s ass clenching around his thick cock made the damn thing pulse and
throb.

“I
don’t give a fuck,” Phoenix groaned, his body bucking restlessly. “Just fuck
me.”

Reaching
for the bottle of lube, Tarik managed to squeeze more onto his fingers, coating
them liberally before replacing one finger with two. Inserting the digits
slowly, he encouraged Phoenix to relax as he eased inside him once more.

He
continued to fuck his ass with two fingers, adding a third when Phoenix was
gripping the comforter and thrusting back against him, once more begging. By
the time he had begun an even, rhythmic pace, Phoenix had relaxed somewhat, his
breaths soughing in and out of his lungs, still mumbling for Tarik to fuck him.

“Turn
over,” Tarik commanded, retrieving the condom and sliding it over his dick
before adding a generous amount of lube and stroking himself. “I want to see
your face when I take you this first time.”

Phoenix
flipped over, spreading his legs around Tarik’s thighs, his wild eyes glued to
his the entire time.

Pushing
Phoenix’s knees back, forcing them closer to Phoenix’s chest, Tarik instructed
Phoenix to hold them there. He was spread open for him, his rock-hard cock
resting on his stomach, his balls tight, an inviting sight that had Tarik
nearly gasping for breath, anxious to thrust into him, to claim him, to take
him for the first fucking time.

It
was nearly too much to think about.

Once
more, he began to finger Phoenix’s ass while he stroked himself slowly,
watching every expression that crossed Phoenix’s handsome face as he did.

“Damn
it, Tarik,” Phoenix snapped, his head going back, his body straining as Tarik
worked his fingers inside, massaging Phoenix’s prostate, bringing him higher.
“Fuck. Oh, holy …
fuuuck
. What the hell are you doing to me? It feels
too… Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Don’t make me come yet, Tarik!” Phoenix gripped his
cock tightly, banding his fingers around the shaft, clearly trying to hold
back.

Tarik
slowed his movements and then pulled his fingers from Phoenix’s ass before
leaning over him and guiding the head of his dick to Phoenix’s tight entrance.

Their
eyes locked, held as Tarik slowly pressed forward.

“So
tight.” Sweat was beading on his brow as he fought the natural resistance of
Phoenix’s body, trying to get past the tight ring of muscles. “Relax for me,
Phoenix. Stroke your cock.” Tarik sucked in a breath. “Oh, fuck, you’re tight.”

Phoenix
kept his hand between his legs, gripping his dick while Tarik slid in another
inch. Phoenix hissed, pain flashing across his face. Tarik didn’t stop,
although still attempting to take things slow despite the overwhelming need to
sheath himself in Phoenix’s tight ass. He didn’t want to hurt Phoenix, but
knowing that the pleasure Phoenix would find was looming in the near future,
just as soon as Tarik was buried inside him, kept him inching in deeper.

Phoenix’s
body continued to stretch around him, the oversensitive head of Tarik’s dick
breaching the ring of muscles.

“Oh,
fuck,” Phoenix moaned as Tarik pushed in more.

“Am
I hurting you?”

“No.
Yes.
No.
Oh, hell, it’s… It’s different. I feel… Fuck. Just don’t stop.
I want to feel you inside me.”

Tarik
grinned but then gritted his teeth when Phoenix’s ass tightened around him.
“Relax,” Tarik ground out. “Once I’m inside you, I’ll fuck you just the way you
need.”

“What
are you waiting for?” Phoenix asked, his voice strained.

“I
don’t want to hurt you,” he said softly, leaning forward and placing his arms
on each side of Phoenix’s head, bending him nearly in half as he pushed in
deeper.

Unable
to resist, Tarik leaned down and kissed him. This time he did keep the kiss
slow and easy, their tongues sliding together as Tarik seated himself inside
Phoenix fully. He circled his hips, grinding against Phoenix, going deeper
until Phoenix was moaning, his hands sliding over Tarik’s back, holding him in
place.

Pulling
back slightly, Tarik locked his gaze with Phoenix’s once more. “You don’t know
how long I’ve wanted this. To be buried to the hilt inside you.”

Phoenix
didn’t respond with words, simply held him tighter, trying to force him deeper.

Pushing
up onto his hands, Tarik lifted his hips, withdrawing slowly before sliding
back in, watching every expression on Phoenix’s too handsome face, waiting
until Phoenix relaxed once more.

And
then he began to thrust into him. He maintained a steady pace until his balls
drew up tight to his body, and he knew there was no way in hell he was going to
last. He wanted to make this as good for Phoenix as he could, but it was
overwhelming. He’d wanted this for so damn long.

“Tarik,”
Phoenix pleaded, pulling Tarik’s head down, biting his bottom lip. “Fuck me.
Hard. Make me come.”

Tarik
crushed his mouth to Phoenix’s and began to drive into him hard and fast until
he was hammering into Phoenix over and over, pounding him into the mattress
with every punishing thrust.

Coming
up for air, Tarik stared down into Phoenix’s face, watching the moment he’d
dreamed about for so fucking long.

“Oh,
fuck, Tarik! Oh, fuck. I’m gonna come. Fuck.”

Tarik
held out until he felt the warmth of Phoenix’s cum hitting his stomach, his
chest. Then and only then did he come, his cock pulsing in time with his
heartbeat.

PHOENIX
DIDN’T WANT to move from where he was. If he could, he’d stay for the rest of
the day, right there in Tarik’s bed. He was pleasantly sated, yet the hunger
for Tarik still pulsed beneath the surface of his skin. It was a different type
of need, though. One that had him wanting to claim Tarik the same way he’d been
claimed a few minutes before. Something more primal than the first time Phoenix
had fucked Tarik.

“Hey,”
Tarik grumbled as he rolled onto his side to face Phoenix. “What’s the plan for
the rest of the day?”

Phoenix
was grateful that Tarik wasn’t going to make this weird. As much as he’d
enjoyed what had happened between them, as much as he craved doing it again, he
didn’t want to dwell on it.

At
least not right now.

“We
need to talk to Mia.”

“Yeah,”
Tarik agreed as he rolled onto his back and sighed, “I was hoping that shit
would go away on its own.”

Phoenix
knew what Tarik was feeling. The fact that someone was trying to use Mia as a
pawn in this game was far too convenient, something that definitely suited
Landry’s intentions. He was out to hurt anyone he could, and it pissed Phoenix
off that Landry had put Mia in his crosshairs. It was one thing for him to go after
Phoenix, something entirely different to involve an innocent woman.

Before
he’d come down to Tarik’s condo, before he’d even tried to call Mia, Phoenix
had given in and read the article. It was all bullshit, every last word, but he
knew Mia well enough to know she’d be hurt by the accusation, although she had
attempted to play it off when he’d eluded to it on the phone. She hadn’t seemed
interesting in talking about it, so he had let it go. If they were lucky, she
wouldn’t buy into it, but she’d still be hurt, and Phoenix damn sure wasn’t
going to allow that to happen.

“I’m
gonna take another shower,” Phoenix said, still making no effort to move. “Then
we’ll figure out what we want to do. Maybe grab some lunch, wait until she gets
home, and go talk to her.”

“Great
plan,” Tarik stated, also not moving.

After
another minute, Phoenix laughed, forcing himself to crawl over Tarik. Before he
hurdled him completely, he was pulled back down, and Tarik’s greedy mouth found
his. Phoenix gave in to the kiss as easily as he’d given in to the man earlier.

“I’m
not much for conversation afterward,” Tarik whispered, his breath fanning
Phoenix’s lips. “But I want you to know that I fully intend to do that again in
the very near future.”

Phoenix
smiled down at him, a foreign sensation filling his chest. It was the same
sensation he got when he was with Mia. “What if I’m not willing to give up
control next time?”

“More
power to you, boss. Just be ready to do what needs to be done.”

“I
think I’ve proven my abilities to do that already.” Laughing, Phoenix pushed
away and got to his feet. As he dressed, he stared down at Tarik, still lying
prone on the bed, gloriously naked, semi-aroused again. It wouldn’t take much
to give in again, but Phoenix needed to work through all this shit in his head.
They had to do damage control before it was too late.

Half
an hour later, Phoenix was showered and dressed in another pair of jeans and a
maroon polo and heading toward the kitchen. Tarik had apparently finished before
him and was sitting at his table with his laptop open, his hair wet. Feeling an
odd sense of intimacy, Phoenix walked right over to Tarik, leaned over his
shoulder to see what he was looking at on the computer screen. “Anything new?”

“I
called Mia to check on her.”

Phoenix
cocked an eyebrow. “And?”

“Same
as when you called. She said she needed to go talk to her mother about the
article.”

Phoenix
stood tall, watching Tarik’s face intently. “She okay?”

“Seems
to be. Said she read it but didn’t elaborate much.”

“Shit.”
Phoenix thrust his hand through his hair.

“She’s
not buying it,” Tarik explained, although the words didn’t help Phoenix feel
any better. He wanted to see her. Talk to her himself. Make sure she really was
all right.

“So
what now?”

“Let’s
grab something to eat,” Tarik said, getting to his feet.

Tarik
closed the gap between them and surprised Phoenix when he kissed him.

“Food,
huh?” Phoenix asked when he felt something inside him release. Tarik’s ability
to calm him wasn’t surprising. Not after all that had transpired between them
over the last few weeks.

“Yep.
And then we’ll figure out what the next step is.”

With
a nod, Phoenix figured what the hell. He couldn’t fix the world at the moment.

Didn’t
mean he wasn’t going to come up with a plan to make it right. But first, he had
to eat.

»»»»»♥«««««

MIA
SAT AT her mother’s kitchen table, her hand wrapped around a coffee mug while
she watched Clarice Cantrell read the article that Mia had seen that morning.

“This
is…” Clarice’s ice-blue eyes came up to meet Mia’s.

“I
know. It’s ridiculous, Mom.”

“Well,
yes. That’s a given. Not unexpected, because this is Damien we’re talking about
here,” Clarice said, her eyes lowering to the screen once more.

It
was no secret that her mother didn’t like Damien. The feeling had always been
mutual, but Mia suspected that was because Damien thought everyone should like
him. Mia had always been caught in the middle.

Not
anymore.

“What
I want to know is what you’re doing with this man,” Clarice said, raising the
screen to show her the picture of her and Phoenix where they’d been captured at
the Mexican restaurant.
It looked incredibly intimate, the way Phoenix was cupping her face, his
expression serious as he stared down at her. She was surprised her mother had
focused on that image and not the one of her holding hands with
two
men.
Not that she was going to bring it up.

“His
name’s Phoenix, Mom,” Mia told her, taking a sip of her coffee.

“And
you’re only friends, right?” The disbelief in her mother’s tone told her she
was going to have an argument on her hands if she tried to go that route.

Mia
smiled. Her mother knew her so well. Or she thought she did, anyway. “It might
be a little more than friends,” Mia admitted.

Clarice’s
eyes widened. “Mia, please don’t tell me you’re gonna get caught up in this
lifestyle again.”

Setting
her coffee cup on the table a little harder than she should have, Mia took a
deep breath. “Mom, I’m twenty-four years old. Keep that in mind before you
grill me on what I’m doing in my personal life.”

“Yes,
well, twenty-four or not, you’re still my daughter. I had to sit back and watch
Damien ruin your life.”

“He
didn’t ruin it,” Mia said defensively. “Not entirely.” No, he’d merely
shattered her heart, but that was all behind her now. “Regardless, I’ve grown
up since then. Learned my lesson.”

Clarice
cocked a perfectly plucked eyebrow before glancing down at the screen once
more. “What if there is some truth to this? What if this Phoenix guy actually
did set this all in motion?”

“Mom,
seriously!” Mia exclaimed. “This is Damien we’re talking about. The man doesn’t
know how to tell the truth.”

“Maybe
so, but listen to me for a minute. What if this Phoenix really is using you?”

“He’s
not,” she assured her.

“And
how do you know?”

Mia
wasn’t about to tell her mother the details of what had transpired between her
and Phoenix, or her and Tarik. She knew better. Clarice, ever the
overprotective mother, would only hear what she wanted to, anyway. No matter
how frustrated her mother made her, Mia knew it was only out of love that her mother
worried.

“He’s
not,” Mia said, keeping her tone calm. “We’re just … dating. It’s not serious.”

Her
mother’s eyes raked over her face, and Mia wondered whether or not she could
tell she was lying. It was serious. Maybe not for Phoenix. Maybe not for Tarik.
But for Mia, it was as serious as it could get. It was the sole reason she’d
stayed away from them for an entire week, trying to put some distance there so
she could think.

She’d
been down the disastrous marriage road already. She had no intentions of doing
that again. The problem was, she felt herself falling for both of them. Hard.
And the worst part about it was she knew, without a doubt, that she would not
survive another round of heartache. Not at their hands.

“Mia,
I can’t help but feel we’ve had this conversation before. I only want you to be
careful,” her mother said soothingly.

“I
will. I promise.” Needing to change the subject, Mia turned the question on her
mother. “Now when are you going to tell me about your new boyfriend?”

Clarice’s
face went white, and she got up from the table, heading toward the coffeepot.
Mia watched her carefully, trying to keep from smiling. Her mother clearly
didn’t like when the tables were turned and she was the one in the hot seat.

“I…
What are you talking about? I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Liar,
liar, pants on fire,” Mia offered with a grin.

She
didn’t know for a fact that her mother was seeing someone, but she had a good
idea. After their holiday vacation, she had been pretty positive her mother was
seeing someone but didn’t want her to know. The way she responded now only
cemented that suspicion.

“I’m
not lying,” Clarice declared, but Mia noticed she still wasn’t looking at her.

“Mom,
seriously. It’s okay.”

Her
mother turned around, holding her coffee cup in her hands as she peered across
the kitchen at Mia. Her blue eyes reflected her doubt as she asked, “Is it?”

Mia
returned her cup to the table and got up, crossing the room to stand in front
of her mother. “Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Your
father…” Clarice began.

“Has
been gone a long time, Mom. He wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life
alone. You know that.”

Her
mother’s watery gaze lifted to hers. “He’s a nice guy. I really think you’ll
like him.”

Mia
smiled, her heart warming at the thought of her mother finding someone who made
her happy. It was all anyone ever wanted. The fact that Clarice had spent the
last fourteen years mourning the loss of the man she’d loved with her whole
heart told Mia just how deeply her mother’s love went.

“Come.
Sit. You can tell me all about him, starting with his name.”