A Million Tiny Pieces (6 page)

Jerking
his cock more firmly, Phoenix let his head drop back against the cushions,
closing his eyes and imagining those soft pink lips wrapped around the head of
his dick while he fucked her mouth, his fingers twining into the silky strands
of her blonde hair.

The
fantasy morphed into something far more erotic, and Phoenix imagined Tarik
behind him, driving his thick cock deep into Phoenix’s ass while Mia continued
to suck him, her sweet lips caressing the head of his dick.

Oh,
God.

»»»»»♥«««««

THE
FIRST THING Tarik noticed when he walked into the darkened penthouse was that
Phoenix was home. He could see the back of his head as he sat on the couch
facing the wall of windows and the illuminated Austin skyline beyond.

Closing
the door as quietly as he could, Tarik moved closer. He had come to give
Phoenix shit about the blonde woman and then see if he wanted to grab dinner,
but he was pulled up short when he heard Phoenix speak.

“Oh,
fuck yes,” Phoenix said breathlessly.

Tarik
narrowed his eyes, moving closer still, trying to see if someone else was
there. That was when he realized Phoenix was jacking off on the couch, no one
else in the room. That was new. Tarik’s dick stood up and took notice
immediately, and he was tempted to pull out his cock and stroke it along with
Phoenix, but he managed to refrain, mesmerized by the sounds coming from the
couch, the soft moans, the low growls.

“Fuck.
Oh, yeah. That’s good.” Phoenix groaned, jacking his cock harder, faster, his
head leaned back against the sofa cushions, eyes closed. “Tarik. Mia. Oh,
fuck.”

Tarik
nearly swallowed his own damn tongue when he heard Phoenix say his name. It
didn’t surprise him that Phoenix had called out for Mia. He was fixated on the pretty
little blonde for whatever reason. But for Phoenix to say
his
name… Did
that mean…?

Phoenix
groaned, followed by, “Oh, fuck. I’m gonna come. Take all of me.”

Tarik
wished like hell he knew what fantasy was playing out in Phoenix’s head right
then. Was he thinking about Tarik positioned between his legs, sucking his
dick? Or was he thinking about Mia riding his hard cock while Tarik fucked her
ass?

It
didn’t matter. Whatever Phoenix was thinking about included him.

“Coming,”
Phoenix moaned, his arm stilling, his head rolling side to side on the couch
cushion.

Not
wanting to interrupt or to let Phoenix know that he’d been watching, Tarik
slipped back down the hall to the front door. He exited silently and then
headed for the stairs.

Once
inside his own condo, Tarik maneuvered through the darkened living room, and
without an ounce of finesse, he yanked open his pants, shoving them to his
thighs as he plopped onto his couch and took his dick in his hand. Closing his
eyes, he pictured Phoenix on his knees, his sweet lips wrapped around the head
of his cock, sucking him hard and fast while Mia straddled Tarik’s face. He
wanted to taste her, to lick her pussy until she was screaming and begging for
more.

He
had no idea why he’d become infatuated with her after only seeing her once in
the elevator, but he had. Maybe it was the idea of Phoenix wanting her; maybe
she had some sort of voodoo. Shit, he didn’t fucking know, but he couldn’t stop
thinking about her any more than Phoenix could.

Tarik
stroked himself faster, cupping his balls with his free hand, fondling them
aggressively while he jacked himself. He didn’t stop until the pleasure
accosted him and the only thing he could do was come in his fucking hand.

And
as he’d suspected, when he opened his eyes, bringing himself back to reality
slowly, Tarik was left with an even stronger desire and a still-hard dick.

But
at least one good thing had come from tonight… Tarik now knew that Phoenix
did
think about him. No matter what he wanted Tarik to believe.

“I
STILL CAN’T believe you cooked that all by yourself,” Mia teased Alex as she
helped to remove the dishes from the table.

Alex’s
husband, Johnathan, shot Mia a knowing look. One that said he had given his
wife a hand with the fantastic meal they’d recently devoured.

“Never
doubt my abilities,” Alex replied readily. “Now, shoo,” she told Johnathan.
“You’ve got a game to watch. We’ll take care of the dishes.”

Johnathan
planted a quick kiss on Alex’s lips before heading back to the room he’d been
in when Mia had arrived a good half hour before.

“Did
he just leave the other guys in there while he ate dinner?”

“Yeah,”
Alex said. “They’re used to it. I’ve offered to cook for them before, but they
refuse every time. So I quit asking.”

“I
guess the game’s more important?” Mia carried the last of the plates to the
sink, where Alex had flipped on the water and was rinsing the dishes.

“Of
course. I think my husband would bypass dinner if he didn’t think I’d be upset
with him.”

“Would
you?” Mia asked.

“No.
But don’t tell him I said that. I like having dinner with him.”

Mia
laughed as she opened the dishwasher and began loading dishes.

The
only thing Mia had walked away with from her divorce from Damien, other than
the three mil and her personal effects in one single suitcase, was her
friendship with Alexandra Henry, better known as Alex. She had met Alex after
Mia and Damien were married. Mia had been attending a charity event, bored out
of her skull, when Damien had left her sitting at a table alone so he could
converse with everyone else in the room.
Everyone
but her. Alex had
joined Mia at the table, and they’d hit it off with shots of Patron. Alex’s
idea. They’d forged a solid friendship, and over the next few months, and the
years that followed, they had become best friends. Alex had even stuck with her
during the divorce, proving that their friendship wasn’t based on her marriage
to Damien. Mia was grateful to Alex for that. At this point in her life, she
certainly needed a friend.

Until
the last four or five months, they’d usually managed to get together at least
once a week for girls’ night. Since school had started, Mia had found herself
busier than usual between that and trying to keep her mother convinced that she
was doing fine now that she was single and living on her own. Not that Clarice
believed her, but Mia certainly tried her best to assure her.

Mia
missed spending time with Alex, though, even when that time consisted of
drinking wine on the living room sofa while men acted like teenage boys in the
room beyond.

“His
love for hockey really is his only flaw,” Alex stated with a giggle as Mia
glanced over her shoulder toward the room where Johnathan and a few of his
friends had locked themselves in order to watch tonight’s Austin Arrows game.

Mia
knew absolutely nothing about hockey. Nor did she even care for it. That was
probably due to Damien’s complete and utter fixation on the sport for the last
year. Ever since he’d gotten it in his head that he needed to own a hockey
team, one of his many obsessions, things had started to go downhill.

“I
hope for your sake that they win tonight,” Mia said as a round of boos erupted
from the back room. Closing the dishwasher, Mia grabbed a hand towel and wiped
her hands.

“Me,
too. Things get rather interesting when they win.”

Mia
didn’t need Alex to elaborate to know what she was referring to. It was no
secret that Mia’s best friend had a very exciting sex life. It wasn’t something
they had in common, because, of course, Mia had been married to Damien. Not
that she knew what interesting sex should be like per se, but she got the
sneaking suspicion that it was more than she’d ever experienced with her
ex-husband.

“I
don’t even want to know what that means,” Mia said, laughing as she headed into
the living room.

“Of
course you do,” Alex teased. “Sit. I’ll be right back.”

Mia
made herself comfortable on the plush, chocolate-suede sectional that sectioned
off the formal living area from the rest of Alex’s exquisitely detailed house.
Maybe
mansion
would be a better description. The house was two stories,
ten bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, and if she recalled correctly, somewhere around
twelve thousand square feet. It was ginormous, even more so considering Alex
and Johnathan were the only two who lived there aside from Kevin, their live-in
house butler.

Alex
returned a minute later with two glasses. She set them on the table, flipped on
two of the lamps at the ends of the sofa before disappearing again. Mia watched
her friend as she moved about.

“I’m
so glad you’re here,” Alex stated when she returned with a bottle of wine, patting
Mia’s hand before dropping onto the sofa and pouring two glasses and handing
Mia one.

Mia
took a sip, her eyes following Alex as she once again jumped up and headed toward
the kitchen.

“Where’re
you going?” Mia asked, not bothering to get up and follow her friend. She was
too comfortable where she was, and knowing Alex, she wouldn’t settle down for
at least another five minutes.

“I
forgot something. Don’t move.”

“Don’t
worry, I won’t.”

An
eruption of shouts and clapping echoed from the back room, and Mia glanced over
her shoulder toward the closed double doors in time to see one of them swing
open as Johnathan stepped into view. “Where’s Alex?”

Mia
pointed toward the kitchen as she watched him stalk across the room. He looked
so unlike the man she was used to seeing. Although scrubs were a suitable
outfit for him, she was used to seeing him dressed in slacks and a tailored
shirt that Alex usually picked out for him. Today he was wearing an Austin
Arrows sweatshirt and jeans, a baseball cap on backward, making him look a
decade younger than he actually was.

“Hey.
Who’s winning?” she asked.

“The
Arrows,” he said excitedly as he passed through the living room. “They’re on
fire this season.”

Nodding
her head as though she actually knew why that was, Mia watched Johnathan
disappear into the kitchen. A second later, Alex returned, laughing as she ran
toward Mia.

“That
man is insatiable,” Alex declared as she retrieved her glass from the table and
flopped back down onto the sofa at the opposite end from where Mia was sitting.
“So, tell me, how’s school?”

“Good,”
Mia told her friend. “This is the first full week back since winter break, so
it’s like starting all over again. I don’t know what to do with the extra time
I have right now.”

“Maybe
you should relax a little. You’ve been going nonstop for months now. You
deserve a little break. Speaking of break, how was the Colorado trip?”

Alex
was referring to Mia’s Christmas vacation with her mother, something they’d
started a couple of years after her father had died. It was a way for the two
of them to get away and spend time together without normal life intruding. “It
was … interesting.”

“Uh-oh.
What does that mean?”

Mia
sipped her wine and then considered her next words carefully. “I think my
mother is seeing someone.”

Alex’s
perfectly plucked, dark eyebrows shot skyward, and a huge smile broke across
her face. “Really? Is it serious?”

“I
don’t know. I think she’s scared to tell me.”

“Did
you ask her?”

“Sort
of,” Mia explained. “I was trying to be nonchalant about it. I don’t think she
got the hint. That or she didn’t want to talk about him.”

“What
makes you think so?”

“She
spent a significant amount of time texting on her phone. And I could tell it wasn’t
work-related because she was usually smiling like a schoolgirl.”

“Are
you happy for her?” Alex asked.

Mia
heard the concern in her friend’s tone. “I am,” she said, nodding. “My father
died when I was ten, and my mother’s been alone since then. I think she
deserves to find love again.”

Neither
of them said anything for a moment. Mia sipped her wine, thinking about how
happy her mother had been during their vacation. They’d spent time at a ski
lodge, neither of them doing any skiing, but they’d had a good time, anyway.
She looked forward to that trip every year, and now she had to wonder whether
or not her mother would be inviting someone else to go with them. Even while
Mia had been married to Damien, she had gone with her mother each year. Alone.
He had refused to go with her, claiming he couldn’t be away from things for an
entire week. It had been a weak excuse, but Mia had never pushed him.

As
though reading where her thoughts had gone, Alex asked, “Have you heard from
Damien?” Her expression was guarded, as though she knew Mia didn’t want to talk
about him, but felt the need to inquire anyway.

“Not
a single word,” Mia said. “Thank God.”

“I’m
glad.”

“How
about you?” Mia asked, glancing toward the kitchen to where Johnathan had yet
to return from.

“No.
Doesn’t surprise me, though. Johnathan never was a big fan of Damien’s.”

Johnathan
traipsed through the living room then with several beers dangling from between
his fingers, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were talking about him.
Then again, he knew his wife, and as far as Alex was concerned, nothing was
off-limits to talk about on girls’ night. Including her own husband.

For
the next half hour, Mia chatted with Alex about school, what they’d both done
for the holidays, and the hugely successful charity drive at the children’s
hospital that Alex had recently concluded. The conversation had lulled enough
that Mia considered heading home when Johnathan erupted from the room he’d been
holed up in, followed by a round of cheers.

“I
take it they won?” Alex asked, sparing Johnathan a look.

“They
did,” he said, a huge grin on his face. “I want to listen to the owner’s press
conference, and then we’re off to bed.”

Alex
nodded, sending a mischievous look toward Mia.

“That’s
my cue to go,” Mia said, pushing to her feet.

“I’ll
have Kevin drive you home,” Alex said, referring to their butler.

“I
can call a cab,” Mia told her friend. “No need to have him get out this late.”

“Are
you kidding? I’m sure he’d be happy to get a few minutes without all the noise.
At least when he gets back, it’ll be quiet around here.”

“Sure
it will,” Mia teased.

“Well,
besides that,” Alex confirmed with a sly grin.

»»»»»♥«««««

“DINNER
AND A beer to celebrate?” Phoenix asked Tarik as he passed him on the way to
the locker room, where the players had converged a few minutes ago.

“After
the press conference,” Tarik agreed, reminding him that he had something else
to take care of before he could relax for the evening.

Not
that relaxing was the first thing on his mind. He was still reeling from the
close game that they’d won in the last seconds. His blood still pounded in his
veins the same as it always did when he was that close to the action. The only
thing that could’ve been better would’ve been if he’d been out on the ice with
those guys.

Nodding
his understanding to Tarik, Phoenix continued down the hall, heading in the
direction of the cheers and shouts that erupted on the other side of the heavy
wooden door. Making his way inside, Phoenix encountered the rough-and-tumble
group celebrating another win.

Bringing
his fingers to his lips, Phoenix let out a sharp whistle, wanting to gain their
attention quickly. “Hey, guys. I wanted to stop in and congratulate you. Big
win tonight. I’m impressed with the stats. You played hard. It was close, but
still a W. Can’t ask for much more than that.”

Several
hands came his way, and Phoenix shook them, clapping players on the back,
mentioning some of their personal achievements of the night. He’d made a point
to talk to the team after every game. Although his coaching staff did a damn fine
job of motivating the team, Phoenix felt it was important to remain hands-on as
much as he could. It was something his father had prided himself on.

When
the players started heading for the showers, Phoenix nodded to the team’s head
coach as he worked his way back out to the hall, locating Tarik, who was
waiting for him.

Camera
flashes erupted when Phoenix walked into the room that had been dedicated to
the press conference. He was the first from his organization to arrive, but he
knew the coaches and a few of the players would be along shortly. Hopefully by
then, Phoenix would be on his way to the hotel, and they could handle the rest
of the political crap for the night.

“Phoenix!
What do you think of the team’s performance tonight?”

Questions
were lobbed at him right and left, and Phoenix did his best to answer them with
a smile. He’d made a decision to be as transparent with the media as he
possibly could, something that he hoped would keep him out of the limelight as
much as possible. For the most part, it had worked, although he did find
himself answering questions he preferred to pass on to others.