"Damien Landry is a fucking psychopath."

"That's not news," Tarik said, his eyes searching Phoenix's as though there might be something to discern from the frustration he knew was flickering on his face.

"That was Phil," Phoenix said, exhaling sharply.

"I got that part," Tarik said. "What'd he want? Must've been important for him to call on a Saturday."

"Landry has concocted some bullshit story claiming my father agreed to sell him the team. Even claims there's paperwork."

Tarik laughed, the sound reflecting the same disbelief Phoenix had had when he'd heard the news. "You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I were. Landry wants to meet with me on Monday. I told Phil that was a no-go."

Tarik pushed to his feet and moved to the window, his hands on his narrow hips. Phoenix stared after him, admiring the way he looked after a hard workout, sweat glistening on his skin, every muscle defined and rigid. He was a masterpiece, and that wasn't the first time Phoenix had admitted that to himself.

The guy was taller than Phoenix by an inch, six foot three inches of solid muscle. He was bulkier, his muscles honed from weights, while Phoenix kept his routine mostly contained to his daily run. Phoenix wasn't interested in bulking up, and he'd been content to maintain the well-toned muscle he had, but he certainly admired Tarik's hard body.

"We've got another problem," Tarik said, still facing away from him.

"What's that?" Phoenix asked, figuring nothing could be as bad as the news Phil had laid on him already.

"You made the tabloids once again."

Phoenix dropped his head back against the cushion and closed his eyes. "Why do they even give a fuck what I do? I'm not a goddamn celebrity. What I do should not be newsworthy."

"Oh, but you are," Tarik explained gruffly. "And since you own a team that's racing toward the playoffs - their words - they want to know what you're doing. And how you're doing it."

Phoenix heard what he said, but he still didn't understand why they gave a shit. The media bullshit should be reserved for world events, not entertainment.

He would give anything to start the day over. As it was, he had been hoping they could spend the day with Mia since he hadn't seen her for nearly a week, since last Sunday when the three of them had woken up in his bed. She'd slipped out quietly after kissing them both and promising to come back. Phoenix had managed to convince her to let his driver take her to school during the week since he'd been out of town. They hadn't gotten back until late last night, and he'd opted to wait until today to see her. According to the phone conversations he'd had with her during the week, she'd been busy with schoolwork, and since Phoenix had been too busy to argue, he'd let it slide, giving her a little space in the process.

"What do they say?" he asked, not really wanting to know.

"It makes more sense now," Tarik said, turning to face him and then nodding his head toward Phoenix's cell phone sitting on the couch. "The article claims that you sabotaged Landry's marriage, seducing his wife when you found out your father was selling the team without your knowledge. He claims that he met Teresa when she came to inform him about the affair you were having with Mia. One thing led to another, she consoled him. It's all bullshit."

Fuck. Phoenix knew where this was going, but he asked anyway. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I wish I were. But it gets worse. You know how they get when they want a story. They make up all sorts of bullshit."

Phoenix knew Tarik was stalling. "What. Is. It?"

"They've got pictures of the three of us from last week. They claim that you've set your sights on Mia and have informed Landry that you won't back off until he drops the lawsuit. Landry gave a sob story about how he loves Mia and how he knows you're using her to hide other things. Of course, that's stirred up the rumors of..."

Tarik didn't need to finish his sentence; Phoenix knew where he was going. At one point, they'd claimed he was bisexual; another time, they'd claimed he was gay. Both times it had caused Phoenix's mother to ask questions, but other than having to deal with her hope that he would one day settle down - according to her, she'd be happy either way - it had all just been a pain in the ass.

"Motherfucker." Phoenix leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and dropping his head in his hands.

He couldn't fucking believe this shit.

Mia was skittish enough - as soon as she got wind of this, she was going to be livid. She'd admitted to trust issues, and clearly Landry was playing on that.

"I need to go talk to her," Phoenix stated.

Tarik nodded. "Let me shower, and we'll go down there together. Maybe we can do damage control before it's too late."

Phoenix watched as Tarik walked across the living room and then disappeared out the front door. Since last weekend, when the three of them had slept in his bed, Tarik hadn't been back. He'd been giving Phoenix space. Space Phoenix had initially asked for but wasn't really sure he even wanted anymore.

Getting to his feet, he headed to the kitchen for coffee. If nothing else, maybe caffeine would help him think a little better. He certainly had plenty to think about, but mainly he was worried about Mia and how she was going to react when she read that fucking article.

MIA WAS SITTING on the couch reading when her cell phone rang. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she lurched for the phone, hoping it was Phoenix or Tarik. They'd told her they would be back yesterday, but she hadn't heard from them yet.

When she checked the screen, she saw that it was Alex.

"Hey," she greeted happily.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked, the lack of usual cheer in her tone causing Mia to pause.

"Sitting here. Reading. Why?" Mia asked, placing her Kindle on the cushion and pushing her blanket off her legs.

"Do you have your tablet?" Alex asked.

"I can get it. Why, Alex? What's going on?"

"I take it you haven't been watching the news?"

"No." Mia's worry was building as she walked to her room and grabbed her tablet from her nightstand, powering it on.

"Do a search on your name."

Mia entered her name into the search bar and hit enter. A list came up. She began skimming the titles of the articles and the dates. Pulling up the most recent, Mia lowered herself onto the couch as she began to read.

"This is bullshit," Mia whispered as she continued reading, disbelief swamping her.

We recently had the opportunity to talk to Damien Landry, the Austin real estate developer who claims that Phoenix Pierce's father, Sidney, had agreed to sell the majority share of the Austin Arrows to him prior to his death. According to Landry, his life is in shambles because of the mishap. Not only did Sid Pierce pull back on the deal, but from what we've learned, Phoenix Pierce has moved in on Landry's now ex-wife.

Landry's former wife, Mia Cantrell, filed for divorce after three years of marriage with claims of irreconcilable differences around the time that Landry claims Sidney reneged on the deal.

"I knew something was wrong, but she wouldn't talk to me. I tried to get her to open up, but Mia insisted it was over. I was away on business when she moved out," Landry told us when asked about the reason for the divorce.

Sources tell us that Phoenix has been courting Mia for some time now, and the pair seem to be getting closer. Although we have to question just what he's up to when we look closely at some of these pictures.

Mia looked at the images included in the article. There were some from the night she'd gone to dinner with Phoenix, a few from their adventure date, including one of her holding hands with both Tarik and Phoenix, and even one from when she and Phoenix had been talking after their argument at the Mexican restaurant.

"Oh, my God. Why is he doing this?" Mia asked.

"Because he's an asshole," Alex retorted.

Mia glanced at her phone, remembering that she was on a call.

"I wanted to warn you, Mia. Don't believe a damn thing you read there."

"How can I? He claims I moved out when he was away on business. He cheated on me, Alex. He came home smelling like some other woman's perfume."

"I know, honey. Don't let this get you too worked up."

Too late for that. Mia was fuming with anger. She turned her attention back to the article to finish reading.

Landry has informed us that he's been in communication with Pierce after offering to settle their disagreement civilly. "I attempted to talk to Mr. Pierce. After I explained my case, he informed me that I could speak with his lawyers. When I asked about Mia, he told me that until I dropped the lawsuit, he wasn't going to stop pursuing her. I'm torn. I love her, but this entire thing has made a shambles of my life."

Mia's heart thrummed painfully against her ribs. She knew Phoenix wouldn't have said that. Would he? No. He wouldn't. She wasn't going to start doubting him now. She knew better. This was all Damien's doing. Just another heaping pile of lies to make him look good.

"Ugghhh."

"Take a deep breath. Do you want me to come over?"

"No. I'm good," Mia told Alex now. "I need some time to think."

"Well, if you need me, you know where I am."

"Thanks, Alex."

"Sure thing, honey. Oh, and I'm sure your mother's going to get wind of this. You might want to call her before she does."

Mia flopped back against the cushions, tossing her tablet beside her. Alex was right. This was just the beginning. "It'll be easier if I go see her."

"I agree," Alex concurred. "While you're out, if you want to stop by, we'll be here."

"Okay. Maybe I will. But you're gonna want to have the wine ready," Mia warned.

"Already done."

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

TARIK HURRIED THROUGH his shower, not wanting to leave Phoenix alone for too long. He could tell the guy was strung tight, and he worried what the recourse might be when he decided to turn that anger on Damien Landry. Not that it didn't belong there, because it did, but Tarik had been witness to Phoenix's meltdowns a time or two. They weren't pretty.

It wasn't that Phoenix wasn't familiar with this type of underhanded bullshit. It happened more often than people believed, sometimes as a way to get a little publicity - which was what he suspected Landry was up to. There were always frivolous lawsuits popping up for whatever reason, and Tarik had seen Phoenix deal with them on multiple occasions over the last several years. Because Phoenix's company dealt with various things, including lending money to start-ups, acquiring others that weren't able to keep afloat, as well as dabbling in real estate - buying and selling - there were plenty of things that people used against him. Phoenix had even ventured into property management on occasion, and Tarik had seen some crazy shit on that side of things. This was merely one of the many.

However, Tarik knew that there were other things on Phoenix's mind. Since the last night that they'd stayed with Phoenix a week ago, the other man hadn't been the same. If he had to guess, Phoenix was dealing with feelings he wasn't familiar with. And Tarik wasn't going to believe that Phoenix's feelings were only for Mia, either. What was transpiring between him and Phoenix was real and powerful. So potent he felt a breakdown coming. And it wasn't going to be him breaking down.

No, Phoenix was on a downward spiral, and he was going to explode any time now. Possibly in the next few minutes, and Tarik damn sure wasn't going to be in the shower when that happened.

Shutting off the water, Tarik grabbed a towel and roughly ran it over his hair, then his body before fixing it around his waist.

When he stepped into his bedroom to grab clothes, he stopped short.

There, sitting on his bed, was Phoenix.

Green eyes slowly drifted up until they met his, holding. Tarik was frozen in place momentarily. What he read in that steady gaze nearly leveled him. There was a request there, something he couldn't misconstrue even if he wanted to.

Which he sure as fuck didn't.

"I called Mia. She said she was on her way to see her mother." Phoenix's gaze lowered briefly. "So I came here."

Tarik didn't move, unwilling to break the spell. He understood exactly what Phoenix was telling him. He needed someone, and with Mia not home, Tarik was it.

He briefly wondered whether he should feel like second place, but he couldn't. He'd wanted to see Mia as much as Phoenix, possibly more. If she wasn't home, then there wasn't anything either of them could do about it.

Rather than tell Phoenix any of that, he stood there, stone still as he waited for what came next. Phoenix had to make the first move. There was no way Tarik would be the first, not with something this crucial, something that would ultimately change the dynamic of their friendship forever.

Phoenix pushed to his feet slowly, his gaze like a heated caress as it raked down him an inch at a time. Tarik didn't bother to ask Phoenix if he was okay; he could see in his eyes that he was still strung tight, the equivalent of a rubber band being pulled to the point it was going to snap, and the repercussions were going to be painful.

Which meant there was only one reason he was there.

When Phoenix approached, Tarik didn't move, didn't hardly breathe. Big, warm fingers came up to trail a path from his navel up to his neck and then back down. Phoenix never stopped looking him in the eye, and Tarik found himself lost in his gaze, desperately wanting this to go where he thought it was headed but scared shitless to say anything that might fuck that up.

"I'm tired of thinking," Phoenix admitted softly, his eyes dipping down to Tarik's lips briefly.

"Then don't," Tarik stated firmly.

"That's why I'm here." The uncertainty he heard in Phoenix's tone and saw on his face surprised Tarik briefly. It was not something he was used to seeing in the other man's eyes. Determination, purpose, tenacity, yes. This ambiguity, no.

"Do you know what you're doing to me?" Tarik asked as Phoenix's hands continued to roam slowly over his bare chest, down to his stomach once more. Up and down, the movement was slow and reverent. Almost as though Phoenix was looking for some assurance that Tarik wanted this.

"Yes, I do," Phoenix answered. "The same thing you're doing to me."

Tarik doubted that, but he didn't say as much. The depth for which Tarik cared for Phoenix had been dug over a period of years, not weeks or days. Those feelings weren't new to him. Nor did they shock him with their intensity anymore.

However, what he wanted from Phoenix was likely going to blow the other man's mind.

"I want all of you, Phoenix. Every single piece."

Phoenix nodded, but Tarik still wasn't convinced he knew exactly what he meant.

"Right here, right now. This is between us. I don't want anyone else in the room." Tarik knew he didn't need to explain himself. Phoenix understood precisely what he was getting at. No issues, no problems. Nothing and no one was welcome this first time. The first time Tarik would bury himself in Phoenix, lose himself in the pleasure of the other man's body.

Holy fuck.

"Just us," Phoenix confirmed.