A Million Tiny Pieces

by Nicole Edwards

  One that she realized was quickly and easily tightening the chain that bonded her to Phoenix and Tarik. She wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. After yesterday, having to deal with Damien’s nonsense, she didn’t want to think about it right then.

  Hurrying into the shower, she took care of every little detail, and when she climbed out, she realized she was still smiling. So much that her cheeks hurt.

  Quickly dressing, Mia hoped to surprise them, but she knew that was impossible. Not both of them at the same time, anyway. She would have to call someone in order to get up to the penthouse since she didn’t know the code to get up there. She decided to reach out to Tarik because she didn’t think he’d mind. Another ten minutes and she was pulling up his number on her cell phone, listening to it ring on the other end.

  “Mornin’,” he greeted in that rough, gravelly tone that made her heart skip a beat.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  “I take it you’re out of bed?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “Why do you sound so disappointed?”

  She was met with a throaty chuckle, and she remembered what Phoenix’s note had said. “Well, there’ll be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I need to be fed, but I was hoping to surprise you both. Since that’s not an option, I figured maybe we could surprise Phoenix. Could you by chance let me up there?”

  “I can. I’ll be down in two minutes.”

  “Okay.” Mia hit the end button and then paced her living room as she waited. She was eager to see them both. She knew they needed to talk about Damien’s article because they probably had questions the same as she did, but after last night, seeing them was her main priority.

  Deciding she couldn’t take the waiting, Mia grabbed her key and headed for the hall at the same time the elevator dinged to announce the car’s arrival. Tarik stepped out, looking sinfully delicious in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve black T-shirt that accentuated the hard planes of his chest.

  His eyes were trained on her as he approached. Mia laughed when she realized he was backing her up against the wall. He placed his hands on each side of her head, palms against the wall before pressing his mouth to hers. She breathed him in, soothed by the delicious scent that was unique to him.

  “That’s the way to greet a woman in the morning,” she said breathlessly when he pulled back.

  “I intended to, but you were sleeping so soundly.”

  “Well, maybe tomorrow morning then,” Mia replied before she realized what she’d said.

  Tarik didn’t respond, but his golden eyes glittered, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a cocky half smirk.

  “Come on. Let’s get Phoenix and grab some food.”

  Mia took his hand when he offered, and they waited for the elevator together. He held her close, wrapping his arms around her while she stood in front of him. The fact that he wanted to touch her made her insides sing. As had been the case since the first time he’d touched her, Tarik made her feel safe in ways she’d never known before. As though he would fend off all of the demons that chased her, slay all the dragons. She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but she craved the security he brought to her. Even though she realized there was still so much about him that she didn’t know.

  The elevator arrived and they climbed in. Tarik made her watch how he entered the code so she would know in the future. “I’m not sure Phoenix wants me to know that,” she told him.

  “Oh, trust me, love. He does.”

  They were stepping into Phoenix’s condo less than a minute later, and Mia heard voices. One belonged to Phoenix and the other belonged to a woman. She didn’t sound happy.

  “Shit,” Tarik muttered.

  “Tarik, is that you?”

  Mia glanced up at Tarik, wondering whether or not they should flee while they still had the chance. She felt an odd sense of impending doom wash over her at the thought of another woman being in Phoenix’s penthouse.

  “It’s me,” Tarik called out, meeting her gaze. “Hope you’re ready for this.”

  Mia wanted to tell him that she wasn’t ready for anything, but Tarik linked his fingers with hers and pulled her along behind him. When they stepped into the vast room that made up most of the condo’s entertainment area, Mia came face-to-face with … a woman who looked a lot like Phoenix, only prettier and much, much smaller.

  She met the hard-set green eyes and wondered what she was supposed to say, but those same eyes instantly softened, and a smile formed on the woman’s lovely face. The woman glanced at Phoenix and then back at her, not saying anything.

  “Hey,” Phoenix greeted her, drawing her gaze to him. His smile seemed forced, but he looked happy to see her. She figured whatever conversation had been taking place before they’d arrived had contributed to his mood.

  “Mother, this is Mia Cantrell. Mia, this is my mother, Ellen Pierce.”

  “And you must be Phoenix’s girlfriend?” Ellen asked directly, her voice soft yet holding an authoritative edge, similar to Phoenix’s tone.

  Mia glanced at Phoenix, then down at Tarik’s hand still holding hers.

  Well, this was certainly awkward.

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” Ellen said, turning her attention back to Phoenix after her gaze darted down to Mia’s hand still warmly ensconced in Tarik’s. “You might have some explaining to do, but I’m ready to listen when you’re prepared to talk.”

  Phoenix didn’t respond, merely sipped his coffee and watched the three of them as they stood there, amusement now reflected on his attractive face. Mia didn’t know what to say or do. Suddenly her desire to surprise him didn’t seem like such a good idea.

  “Are you hungry?” Phoenix asked Mia after several painfully long seconds.

  “I am,” Mia replied softly. “But no rush. We can … sit down and talk if you’d like.”

  Phoenix’s smirk told her that she probably shouldn’t have said that.

  “That’s an excellent idea,” Ellen said cheerfully, looking back at Mia. “Come. Sit.”

  Tarik released her hand, and Mia felt the loss of his protection instantly. Not that she felt Ellen Pierce was a threat, but for some reason, having him next to her made her feel less under the microscope.

  That feeling of security disintegrated entirely when she joined Ellen on the sofa.

  The same sofa where she and Tarik and Phoenix had…

  Mia’s face heated as the memory swamped her.

  “Do you live around here, Mia?” Ellen asked, retrieving her coffee cup that was sitting on the glass table.

  The same glass table where Phoenix had…

  Oh, God.

  This wasn’t good.

  Phoenix cleared his throat, and Mia’s eyes darted up to his. He was laughing at her.

  “Would you like some coffee?” he asked politely.

  “Yes,” she said. So I can pour it on you. She kept that part to herself. No need getting his mother defensive.

  Phoenix and Tarik both disappeared into the kitchen, and Mia wondered since when did it take two of them to make coffee.

  “I’ve read the papers, so I have to say I probably know a little more about you than you know about me.”

  Mia nodded. “I hope you don’t believe everything you read.”

  “Of course not,” Ellen said, setting her coffee cup down and twisting to face Mia.

  The woman was strikingly beautiful. If Mia had to guess, she was close to sixty, maybe a few years younger. Her ebony hair didn’t show a hint of gray, but she knew how that worked. A good stylist could easily take care of that. But the fact that her face was smooth and flawless spoke of either good genes or a really good plastic surgeon. She didn’t know which it was, but whatever had contributed to Ellen Pierce’s looks, she’d taken advantage.

  “You’re a student?”

  “Yes,” Mia replied. “I’m majoring in psychology at UT.”

  “Interesting choice. The human psyche is quit
e interesting, so I can see why you’ve chosen that field.”

  Mia didn’t know what to say to that, but she had a feeling that Ellen knew more about what was happening between her and Tarik and Phoenix than she was letting on. Mia had no idea what Phoenix had told her, if anything, but she certainly wasn’t going to be the one to provide her with the details.

  Ellen leaned over and patted Mia’s hand. “Don’t worry,” she said softly. “I don’t bite. No matter what my son tells you. I’m actually quite happy to meet you. I knew that someone was putting a rather rare smile on his face these days, and I didn’t think that it was only Tarik.”

  Swallowing hard, Mia tried not to choke as the realization set in. Yes, Ellen was a very perceptive woman. She had evidently caught on to the attraction between Tarik and Phoenix, yet Mia had to wonder whether Phoenix knew that she knew.

  “Coffee,” Phoenix said from behind her.

  Mia smiled at Ellen and then turned to retrieve the cup.

  “Well, I really should be going,” Ellen said happily as she got to her feet. Smoothing her hand over the silk pantsuit she wore, she smiled at Mia once more. “It was a pleasure to meet you. One of these days, you’ll have to come to dinner. My son is gone quite a bit; maybe we’ll have a chance to talk while he’s gone. I could show you pictures of him as a little boy.”

  Phoenix grumbled and Tarik laughed, although he covered it with a cough.

  “That would be wonderful,” Mia said, glaring up at Phoenix. “I’d love to see pictures of him.” And she would do it, too, as payback for him putting her on the spot now.

  “Wonderful. Well, I’ll leave the three of you to it then. Phoenix, I fully intend to resume our conversation. Soon.”

  “Bye, Mother,” Phoenix said, Ellen’s heels clicking on the hardwood as she headed for the door.

  When the door closed behind her, Phoenix let out a sigh of relief, and Tarik chuckled.

  “I’m going to hurt you,” Mia told him, putting her cup on the table and getting to her feet. “How dare you put me on the spot like that!”

  Phoenix didn’t answer. At least not with words. He stalked toward her, cupping her face in his big, warm hands before planting his mouth on hers in a kiss so hungry, so fierce, she forgot everything that had happened during the last few minutes.

  »»»»»♥«««««

  “PLEASE TELL ME y’all are hungry, ’cause I’m starving,” Mia said when he reluctantly released her mouth.

  “Starving,” Phoenix muttered, his eyes still on her lips.

  Mia slapped his arm lightly. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I wanted to surprise you. Then I hoped we could eat lunch.”

  She’d surprised him, all right. Showing up at his penthouse in time to meet his mother probably wasn’t her idea of a surprise, though.

  “I could eat,” Phoenix told her.

  “Thank God.” Mia pulled away from him, her eyes settling on Tarik. “Please tell me you like pizza.”

  “One of the basic food groups, right?” Tarik asked, leaning against the wall closest to Mia.

  “In my food pyramid, it is,” Mia replied as she reached into her back pocket, retrieving her cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” Phoenix asked, taking another step toward her, eliminating the gap she’d intentionally put there.

  “Calling for pizza.”

  “Sorry, but we can’t do delivery,” Tarik inserted, coming to stand in front of Mia, both of them crowding her.

  “No? Then what do you suggest?”

  “We’ll show you,” Phoenix said. “But first, I think I need a little incentive.”

  “Incentive?” Mia’s thin, silky blonde eyebrows lifted toward her hairline. She looked so damn cute with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, a pair of jeans hugging her phenomenal ass and sexy legs and another one of those body-hugging, long-sleeve T-shirts making Phoenix’s mouth water.

  Cupping her face in one hand, Phoenix nudged his body against hers and then lowered his mouth until he reached the smooth contours of her lips once again. This time he aimed for gentle and sweet, but Mia clearly had other plans. She gripped the back of his head, pulled him to her, and then thrust her tongue into his mouth, practically devouring him whole as she clung to him, her breasts crushing against him.

  “Holy fuck,” he muttered when she released him.

  “That’s what I’m thinkin’,” Tarik said, elbowing him out of the way before grabbing Mia and lifting her easily. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him with as much fervor as she had Phoenix.

  “Shit, woman, I thought you said you were hungry,” Tarik muttered when they broke apart.

  “I am.”

  “Then you shouldn’t kiss a man like that,” Tarik teased huskily. “I’m tempted to take you to the bedroom and strip you naked. I could do without food and just feast on you for a while.”

  “What if I said there was more where that came from after we eat?”

  Tarik started toward the front door, still carrying Mia. She laughed, the sweetest sound Phoenix had heard in a while, and his answering smile was proof that just being in her presence had already made his day better.

  “You coming?” she asked, looking back at him.

  “Something like that,” he mumbled.

  Tarik lowered her to the floor, and she met Phoenix’s gaze, a twinkle of humor mixed with heat reflected in the crystal blue. Yeah. His day was certainly looking up.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  MIA PRACTICALLY SKIPPED into the restaurant when they arrived twenty minutes later. It’d been a short walk to the pizzeria that she hadn’t even known existed until now. She felt light, as though all her stresses had been obliterated and she was left with clouds filling her insides.

  Truth was, she had missed Tarik and Phoenix over the course of the last week. Last night had been the first time she’d seen them since Sunday morning when she’d woken up in Phoenix’s bed, crushed warmly between their big, hard bodies.

  As each day had passed, she’d wanted nothing more than to go back to the penthouse and spend every waking minute with them, but she had forced herself to come up with an excuse. It helped that they’d been out of town some of the time. The separation had given her time to think. Having promised herself after marrying Damien that she would never make an impulsive decision again when it came to her heart, she had feared that if she spent too much time in their company, she would want something more from them than either was willing to give her.

  The sex was off the charts, as far as she was concerned, but she also knew that there was something going on between Tarik and Phoenix, and sometimes Mia wasn’t sure she fit in there. She wanted to, but she wasn’t sure whether it was a possibility or not, so she had convinced herself to back off a little. Give it time.

  Then, of course, her conversation with Alex yesterday had redirected her priorities. Alex had somehow managed to convince her that she was worrying too much. Mia hadn’t been able to argue. Especially after reading the article about Damien, she hadn’t been able to do much other than worry.

  Only Phoenix and Tarik had shown up last night, picked her up and taken her home, and then made her feel as though she was the most important thing in the world to them. She couldn’t deny the anticipation that was building inside her again. She wanted more. From both of them.

  “How’s school?” Phoenix asked when they sat down at a table after ordering their pizza at the counter.

  “Good, actually. I’m taking psychology this semester, and it’s extremely interesting.”

  Phoenix’s brow lifted slightly. “How so?”

  “I’ve always been a little curious about human behavior.”

  “Is that why you questioned our bisexuality?” Tarik asked casually, as though it was a common topic of conversation.

  Mia felt her face flame, remembering back to the conversation when she’d been the one to bring it up. Luckily she hadn’t been taking a drink or she’d probably have spit it all over P
hoenix, who was sitting across from her and Tarik this time.

  Phoenix’s lips tilted, but he was trying to hide his smile; she could see it in the way the skin by his eyes crinkled. God, he was beautiful. And he seemed so much more at ease with the situation, almost as though he’d come to accept it as much as she and Tarik had.

  “Partly,” she said when she managed to swallow past the nervous lump in her throat. “Let’s just say I’m not exactly … up to speed on certain things. I was a virgin when I met Damien.”

  She noticed the way Phoenix’s gaze shifted to Tarik’s and lingered there for a moment.

  The feeling that something was different about them returned. It’d first come up when she’d seen the two of them together in Phoenix’s penthouse. Almost as though they were having a silent conversation between the two of them. Possibly a memory they shared?

  Last night, she’d been intoxicated and hadn’t spent much time paying attention to anything more than the pleasure they’d bestowed upon her. But now, as she watched them, she sensed something had changed between them. Something major. Looking at Tarik and then back at Phoenix, Mia smiled. “Did something happen between the two of you that I don’t know about?”

  An implacable mask fell over Phoenix’s face.

  “It’s not an accusation,” she clarified, leaning forward and resting her forearms on the table. “It’s just… Something’s different. The way you’re looking at each other…”

  Tarik leaned close to her ear and lowered his voice so that no one else could hear. “Are you asking whether I had my wicked way with him?”

  Heat erupted in Mia’s insides, radiating outward slowly, sinfully. It was a delicious feeling, combined with the warmth of Tarik’s breath against her ear. A sudden chill raced down her spine. “If I was?” she taunted.

  “If that’s what you want to know, then I’d tell you. But, little girl, you’ve got to learn to ask the question if you want to hear the answer.”

  Mia studied Phoenix, noting he was still trying to appear detached from the discussion, which was all the more telling. She doubted he had any regrets if something had happened. No, what she saw there was uncertainty. He wasn’t sure how she would handle the news, maybe?