A Million Tiny Pieces (40 page)

Authors: Nicole Edwards

BOOK: A Million Tiny Pieces

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And
then they switched again, keeping her hanging on the precipice. She had no idea
how long they continued to fuck her, taking turns filling her, but her body began
to hum, and she knew she needed more.

“Fuck
me. Please!” she demanded.

Tarik
was the one to grant her wish, gripping her hips and pounding into her,
crushing her against Phoenix as he did, her body molded to them both.

“Oh
… yes … please … more…” She managed one word after every punishing thrust until
she cried out one final time, her muscles locking as her orgasm gripped her,
this one more powerful than the last.

Tarik’s
fingers dug into her flesh, and she felt him pulse as he came inside her.

The
bed shifted and then Phoenix groaned. Mia could barely register what was
happening; her body was liquid.

“Fuck
yes, Tarik. Suck my cock. Make me come in your mouth.”

Phoenix’s
words echoed through the bedroom, followed by grunts and groans of pure
pleasure. Mia found his hands, held them flat to the bed as she rested atop him
and let Tarik send him over the edge with his mouth.

When
they were done, Mia didn’t bother to move. She wasn’t sure she would ever move
again.

Chapter
Forty-One

TARIK
STARED UP at the hotel room ceiling, listening to Mia breathe softly beside
him. They’d worn her out, and he figured she would likely sleep half the day
away tomorrow. As for him, he couldn’t even get his eyes to close. He wasn’t
sure he wanted to go to sleep.

He
was too content. For the first time in… Possibly for the first time in his
entire life, he felt whole.

They’d
gone to the game, and although the Arrows hadn’t won, the night had been one of
the best of his life. All because the Kiss-Cam had landed on them and Mia had
done something so shocking he was sure he would never in his life forget it.
The stadium had gone wild afterward, and he could still see the replay in his
head. When Phoenix had told her what she was supposed to do, she hadn’t
hesitated, planting a kiss on Phoenix’s lips that had half the crowd going
crazy. But then, she’d held up one finger — the universal signal for wait a
minute — and then she’d turned to Tarik. When her lips had met his, everything
in his world had come together in that moment.

Perfection.

She
was perfection.

After
the game, they’d grabbed a burger before heading back to the hotel, where she’d
proceeded to rock both their worlds.

And
now, as he lay in the dark, he couldn’t sleep although his body was completely
sated, his mind more at ease than ever even as Mia’s words from earlier echoed
in his head.

I
know what it’s like to have your heart shattered in a million tiny pieces,
Tarik. It sucks big-time. But what I didn’t know, until you and Phoenix, was
that those tiny pieces could be pulled back together. Only when they do, the
bond is stronger, more solid. That’s what I feel for you and Phoenix. I love
you both. With my whole heart. Every single one of the million tiny pieces that
it once was. It’s whole again. Stronger than ever.

Those
words had resonated with him throughout the evening, and he realized how true
they were. Growing up, he hadn’t known what love was. His parents had hated
each other, and they’d merely tolerated him. But he’d never let that define
him, and he hadn’t even realized it until Mia had pointed it out. He hadn’t
wanted to end up like them.

And
now, he had more love than he knew what to do with.

“I
love you,” Mia whispered as she curled up against him, her head on his chest,
her hand over his heart.

“I
love you, too, love,” Tarik said, the words coming easily this time.

“What
am I? Chopped liver?” Phoenix asked, his voice rough with sleep. The bed
shifted, and Phoenix’s hand came to rest on Tarik’s stomach.

“I
love you, too,” Mia told him.

“I
love you, too, baby.”

Tarik
found Phoenix’s hand and placed his atop it. “You own me, Tarik.”

Tarik’s
heart swelled at the words. “You own me, too.”

He
smiled into the darkness. For whatever reason, he liked that they had their own
term for how they felt about one another. It was still love; he knew that much.
But it was more than that. Stronger, more resilient. The way Mia had described
it.

“Just
remember, I own you both. Now and forever,” Mia whispered, followed by a little
laugh that sent a jolt right through him. “Now go to sleep.”

Epilogue

I
RECENTLY HAD the honor of sitting down for an exclusive interview with the
owner of the Austin Arrows, Phoenix Pierce. You might remember that just a year
ago, Mr. Pierce moved into the role as full owner of the Arrows franchise after
his father, Sidney Pierce, died of a heart attack.

Of
course, I hadn’t anticipated quite as exciting an interview as the one I
received when I was originally contacted by the Arrows spokesman, Tarik Marx.
Not only did I get to congratulate Phoenix on his team making it to the
playoffs for the first time in six years, but I also got to congratulate him on
something even more impressive. At least on a personal level, anyway.

Although
we don’t know which team will walk away with the coveted Stanley Cup just yet,
the Arrows certainly have earned their chance. But I can tell you that Phoenix
has already walked away a winner. It has officially been announced that Phoenix
will be tying the knot in just a few hours.

But
get this… Not only will Phoenix be marrying the lovely Mia Cantrell, he will
also be sharing his vows with Mr. Marx as well. Yes, you heard me correctly,
this threesome has taken the world by storm with their nontraditional
relationship, and just as we are with the Austin Arrows, we’ll be rooting for
them all the way.

Stay
tuned for my full interview with Phoenix tonight at ten.

As
Tarik made his way into the room, Phoenix hit the button on the remote to turn
off the television. Looking up, he smiled. “Is it bad luck to see the groom
before the wedding?” Phoenix asked.

“Maybe,”
Tarik said, handing him a beer. “I figure as long as we don’t see Mia, we’re
doing good.”

“Between
my mother and her mother, there’s not a chance of that happening.” They’d both
been warned within an inch of their lives to stay away. Now, as they sat
waiting in Johnathan Henry’s man cave to be told when and where they were
needed, Phoenix couldn’t keep the smile from his face.

“Don’t
forget Alex. She’s a bulldog when she wants to be.”

“I
wouldn’t let her hear you say that,” Phoenix said with a smirk.

“Trust
me, I won’t.”

Phoenix
nodded as Tarik dropped down onto the arm of the sofa. Tarik turned slightly
and lifted his beer bottle up. “This is it. The first day of the rest of our
lives.”

“That
it is,” Phoenix said, clanking his bottle against Tarik’s. “And what an amazing
fucking way to kick it off.”

Acknowledgments

My
daughter recently brought it to my attention that I’ve written 26 books, at
this point, 24 of those have been published. A little over 2 million words down
(holy crap, 2 million!) and millions more to go. And with every single word
comes a world of support from so many people. Although being a writer can be a
solitary endeavor at times, it certainly isn’t done in a vacuum.

I
have to thank my family first, for putting up with my craziness. From my sudden
outbursts when I think of something that needs to be added or when I question
why one of the characters did what they did, to the strange hours that I keep
and the days on end when I’m MIA because I’m under deadline or just engrossed
in a story… Y’all are incredibly tolerant of me and for that, I am forever
grateful. I love you with all that I am.

My
street team – The Naughty & Nice Posse. Ladies, your daily pimping and
support fills my heart with so much love. You are a blessing to me, each and
every one of you.

My
beta readers, Chancy and Denise. Ladies, I’m not sure thanks will ever be
enough. However, not only are you the ones who catch the weird things and ask
the bigger questions, you’ve both become my friends and you keep me going.

My
copyeditor, Amy. Punctuation and grammar… well, that’s not my strong suit. But
it is yours and you are truly remarkable at what you do. You simply amaze me
and I am so glad that I found you.

My
agent, Mark. It’s been a bumpy ride, I know. I’m not the easiest person to work
with (just ask my husband), but we’ve made progress over the last year. Thank
you for allowing me to be candid with you on what I want.

Blackstone
Audio for investing in me and putting my books in audio.

My
lawyer, Steve. Yes, you deserve a tremendous amount of credit. I’ll be the
first to say that contracts, trademarks, copyrights and the like confuse the
hell out of me. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be rereading all the fine
print.

Jennifer
at Enticing Journeys. You are incredible at what you do. The amount of work you
put into making sure word gets out about my new releases allows me to celebrate
with the readers.

Nicole
Nation 2.0 for the constant support and love. This group of ladies has kept me
going for so long, I’m not sure I’d know what to do without them.

And,
of course, YOU, the reader. Your emails, messages, posts, comments, tweets…
they mean more to me than you can imagine. I thrive on hearing from you,
knowing that my characters and my stories have touched you in some way keeps me
going. I’ve been known to shed a tear or two when reading an email because you
simply bring so much joy to my life with your support. I thank you for that.

Dear
reader,

Thank you
for reading A Million Tiny Pieces. I hope you enjoyed Phoenix, Mia and Tarik’s
story. This is a standalone novel, however, if you’re interested in checking
out any of the series that I write, you can visit
my
website here
. If
you’re interested in keeping up to date on all things Nicole Edwards, you can
sign up for
my monthly newsletter here
.

Want to be
notified of a new release? An author takeover? Where I’ll be? Sign up for
text messages here
.

And last
but certainly not least, if you want to see what’s going on with me each week,
sign up for
my Hot Sheet
!

About Nicole Edwards

New
York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author Nicole Edwards lives in Austin, Texas
with her husband, their three kids, and four rambunctious dogs. When she’s not
writing about sexy alpha males, Nicole can often be found with her Kindle in
hand or making an attempt to keep the dogs happy. You can find her hanging out
on Facebook and interacting with her readers - even when she’s supposed to be
writing.

Website:
www.NicoleEdwardsAuthor.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/Author.Nicole.Edwards

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/NicoleEAuthor

Nicole
also writes contemporary/new adult romance as Timberlyn Scott.

Website:
www.TimberlynScott.com

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