A Million Tiny Pieces (11 page)

“Not
much. I heard someone call him Coach.” The car stopped before Mia could say
anything more, leaving her feeling a little strange about where she’d been
going with the conversation. Luckily for her, the driver was out and around to
the door before either man asked her anything more.

She
took Phoenix’s hand and allowed him to help her from the car, Tarik following
right behind them. To her dismay, Phoenix didn’t release her hand once she was
on her feet. Instead, he turned to speak to the driver.

“Anything
else tonight, Coach?”

Mia
knew her mouth was hanging open — something she seemed to be doing a lot of
this evening. She also knew she had turned beet red, but she couldn’t do
anything about it. This guy … was
that
guy?

No
way.

She
was praying for a strange coincidence, but she knew the name wasn’t all that common.

Oh,
God.

When
Coach … er … Phoenix turned around to face her once more, Mia saw the mischief
in his glimmering green gaze at the same time she heard Tarik’s gruff chuckle.
They’d known all along that she was talking about him.

“I’ll
walk you in,” Phoenix said confidently.

She
wanted to refuse him but couldn’t. Mostly because she couldn’t get words to
form at all.

And
now she only had one more question, one that he wouldn’t possibly be able to
answer.

Why
was this happening to her?

PHOENIX
FOUND THE fact that Mia was speechless a little amusing. However, he did try to
hide his reaction as he led her through the lobby and to the elevators, which,
according to Mia, left something to be desired about the building. That statement
had cemented his interest in the woman.

Not
only was she incredibly beautiful, she was also straightforward and blunt.
Characteristics he found quite appealing. Most women told him what they thought
he wanted to hear, certainly not what was on their mind the way Mia had. It was
refreshing, to say the least.

“So,
this guy you’re looking for … the one you’d like to meet…” Phoenix began when
the doors to the elevator opened, unable to hide his grin.

“Shut
up,” she said softly, stepping in as he put his hand on the small of her back.

He
chuckled as he turned and hit the button for her floor, Tarik moving in to
stand behind her.

“Why
didn’t you tell me you were the same guy?” she asked as the elevator slowly
began its ascent.

“How
was I supposed to know you were interested in meeting me?” Phoenix asked,
trying to avoid staring at her sweet lips.

Tarik
laughed but otherwise continued to remain silent. Thank God for small favors.

“I’m
not
interested,” Mia said adamantly, glaring at them both.

Phoenix
knew she was lying through her teeth, but he didn’t call her on it. For
whatever reason, Mia was trying to throw him off. She’d purposely led him to
believe she had an interest in another man, but now that she’d found out he was
that same guy, she was back to being as standoffish as she had been before the
conversation had started.

The
elevator finally reached her floor, and when the doors opened, Phoenix signaled
for her to precede him, following behind her. As he stepped out of the
elevator, he turned to Tarik. “I’ve got this. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Tarik
nodded, his smirk reflecting his amusement. “It was a pleasure to meet you,
Mia.”

Mia
turned back to Tarik. “You, too,” she said, her tone terse. Clearly she was
flustered.

When
the elevator doors closed, Phoenix urged her forward, following her as she made
her way down the hall.

“You
don’t need to walk me to my door,” Mia said, digging in her purse.

“It’s
what a gentleman does,” he told her.

“And
you’re a gentleman?” she asked, incredulity ringing in her tone.

“Have
I done something to make you think otherwise?” he asked as she inserted her key
into her front door.

“Well,
you could’ve stopped me before I made a complete fool of myself. That would’ve
been a good start.”

Phoenix
laughed. “Would it have made a difference?”

Not
at all surprisingly, Mia didn’t answer his question, and Phoenix knew she was
going to send him on his way as soon as she stepped inside. What she didn’t
know was that he didn’t want to come inside. Not yet, anyway. He was enjoying
this little game they were playing. More than he’d thought he would, and
leaving her alone tonight would give her time to think about him.

“Thanks
for the ride home,” Mia said, turning to face him but not looking him in the
eye as she spoke.

Phoenix
took a step closer, reaching out and placing his finger beneath her chin. Her
skin was so damn silky and smooth, and he was desperate to find out if her lips
were just as soft.

But
not tonight.

“You’re
very welcome, Mia,” he replied when her brilliant blue eyes met his. “I look
forward to seeing you again. Have a good night.”

And
with that, Phoenix lowered his hand and made his way back to the elevator. He
punched the call button, then slipped his hands in his pockets as he glanced
back at Mia’s door. She was still standing there staring after him. He wondered
if she had something else she wanted to say, but he didn’t probe her. If
nothing else, Mia was incredibly cautious. Then again, she’d been married to
Damien Landry, so she had every right to be.

As
far as he was concerned, they had all the time in the world, at this point. And
he fully intended to show her how much she could trust him. Starting tonight.

“Good
night,” he said again before stepping in the elevator, hearing the click of her
deadbolt before the doors closed and he was sealed inside the steel box once
more. Entering his code, Phoenix hit the button for the penthouse and waited.

Once
he was inside his condo, he shed his jacket and made his way to the highboy
that held a decanter of Glenlivet. Pouring two fingers into a glass, he headed
to the floor-to-ceiling windows and looked out at the Austin skyline bathed in
darkness. The clouds had moved in earlier, and he could see lightning in the distance.
They’d be getting a storm soon, which was quite fitting for his night.

Sipping
his drink and admiring the view, Phoenix thought back to seeing her at the
charity ball.

He
remembered watching her dance with Tarik, a sight in and of itself. Two of the
most … stunning — maybe that was the right word — people he’d ever met, pressed
up against one another. Watching them move together as one, it’d been both
erotic and sensual. Phoenix hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from them.

He
was curious about Mia. More so than he’d been about any woman, possibly ever.
And it wasn’t only a need to know what she would feel like naked and writhing
beneath him while he drove his cock deep inside her, either. Although there was
that. He could practically see her stretched out on his black silk sheets, her
silky blonde hair spread around her as he slowly slid into her.

His
dick hardened at the mental image. And he didn’t miss the fact that he’d
pictured her in his bed, a place he’d never taken any woman he’d brought to his
place. That was what he had a guest room for. Although he had some rather
lascivious thoughts running through his head, Phoenix couldn’t actually picture
Mia in that other room. No, he could picture her sprawled out damn near
anywhere else, but not there. Not where he took women he wanted to fuck for the
night and send home before he went to bed.

Why
that was, he didn’t know, but Phoenix decided not to question it. For now, he
had something to look forward to. Pursuing Mia was going to be interesting; he
knew that for a fact.

»»»»»♥«««««

TARIK
LEANED HIS shoulder against Phoenix’s living room wall, crossed his ankles, and
watched Phoenix as he stood staring out the window that overlooked the
impressive Austin skyline. He didn’t make a move to join him, wanting to give
Phoenix a little time to digest everything that had happened that night. As it
was, he was actually surprised to see him back so early, figuring he’d surely
talk his way into Mia’s condo for a little while.

As
for why he’d come up rather than locking himself in his condo for the night, he
wasn’t quite sure. Part of him felt as though they’d left something unspoken
between them tonight. Something that Tarik felt needed to be said. What the
words were, he wasn’t sure about that, either.

Not
that Tarik thought they’d made great strides, with one another or with Mia, but
he got the sense that Phoenix was spending a significant amount of time
thinking about things that weren’t business-related. And that both intrigued
and worried Tarik, which was why he’d returned to the penthouse rather than
going back to his place, where he belonged.

After
the night they’d just had, he could understand Phoenix’s infatuation with Mia.
Hell, Tarik would go so far as to say that he was having some rather
interesting thoughts about her himself. She was a far cry from any woman either
of them had taken an interest in as of late, that was for sure. Maybe that was
part of her appeal. She was sexy and sweet, smart and witty. But above all
else, she seemed genuine, if not a little flighty. From what he could tell, she
wasn’t trying to play games, and Tarik didn’t get the feeling that she gave a
shit about Phoenix’s money.

However,
he did get the impression she was nursing a broken heart, even if she didn’t
want anyone to notice.

But
as much as Tarik thought about Mia, as intrigued as he was about her, and as
eager as he was to get his hands on her, he still couldn’t stop thinking about
Phoenix. He wanted to eliminate the vast amount of physical and emotional
distance between them, take Phoenix in his arms, and force him to face whatever
this was between them.

It
wasn’t purely physical; there was something else there. Something with a steady
pulse that continued to spark between them. For whatever reason, Phoenix was
fighting it. And in the same regard, Tarik wasn’t pursuing him the way he
should. Not if he expected to gain ground, that is.

After
all this time, after all the feelings he’d developed for Phoenix, the truth
was, he was scared shitless to let their friendship fall apart. Sure, he worked
for the man, but there was more to it than that. Which was probably the reason
that every time he was around the man, the words he wanted to say eluded him.
Like now.

Just
when Tarik was going to call it a night and head out the door and back to his
condo, Phoenix turned around, their eyes meeting across the open living room.

“I
heard you breathing,” Phoenix said softly.

“I
tend to do that from time to time.”

“If
you’re here to ensure I didn’t slip into Mia’s and have my wicked way with her,
well, now you know.”

“That’s
not why I’m here,” Tarik stated.

“Then
why
are
you here?” Phoenix asked, his piercing gaze raking Tarik from
head to toe, kicking off shock waves of lust raging in Tarik’s veins.

Tarik
shrugged. He’d been asking himself the same question.

“No
matter how hard you try, you’re not going to figure this out,” Phoenix said,
his voice pitched low.

“Figure
what out?” Tarik asked, not moving from his spot as he watched Phoenix move
toward the glass decanter, refilling his glass.

“Me.
This. Whatever you think I want from you.”

Tarik
studied Phoenix for a moment before he pushed off the wall and joined him on
the other side of the room. He came to a stop directly in front of Phoenix.
“Whatever
I
think you want?”

Phoenix’s
gaze slowly rose until he was looking directly into Tarik’s eyes. Moments
before Phoenix spoke, Tarik saw the honesty flooding his features, knew the
words weren’t going to be easy for Phoenix.

“I
don’t know what it is about her, but for the first time in my life, this
doesn’t feel like a game to me. I don’t know what this strange attraction is
between you and me” — Phoenix motioned between them with his glass — “but I’m
not willing to risk what might come of this thing with Mia.”

Tarik
knew what he was about to do could have disastrous repercussions, but he
couldn’t help himself. Taking a step closer, eliminating the gap between them,
he reached for Phoenix’s glass. Setting it on the glass-topped table beside
them, he inched another step forward until they were practically chest to
chest. Phoenix didn’t move.

“Does
this feel like a game to you?” Tarik asked, keeping his voice low and even
before he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Phoenix’s. When the other man
didn’t pull away, Tarik slid his hands up and gripped Phoenix’s hips, pulling
him forward as he thrust his tongue past Phoenix’s lips.

He
tried to hide his surprise when Phoenix grabbed him, his powerful arms sliding
behind him, pulling him even closer as he crushed their lips together,
Phoenix’s tongue forcefully pushing against his, an urgent, heated battle
igniting instantly.
Within seconds, the heat consumed them both, the kiss turning into a
conflagration of energy and desperate need as they devoured one another. Tarik
took what he’d sought for the last eight years from that kiss, his lust coming
to a rapid boil, threatening to burn him alive.

Tarik
had waited a lifetime for this kiss, or so it felt. He’d thought about it,
dreamed about it, willed it to happen, but none of those fantasies equaled
this. Not even close.

When
Phoenix’s hands slid into Tarik’s hair, pulling hard enough to send shards of
pleasure-pain firing down his spine, he thought for a second he was going to
detonate. But then it was over as fast as it had started. Still, Phoenix didn’t
move away. Not far, anyway. Just enough that Tarik was forced to release him.

The
confusion that flared in Phoenix’s eyes made Tarik feel like shit, but the
frustration had built to a crescendo, and for the first time in years, he had
to know whether or not there was a possibility of something between them.
Something more.
Something … real.

“It
doesn’t feel like a game to me,” Tarik growled. “It’s never been a fucking
game. That night that you’ve conveniently blocked out, that was fucking real,
Phoenix. Goddamn real.”

The
memory of that night came flooding back as Tarik waited for Phoenix to respond: