Phoenix was tempted to ask Alex if she knew where Mia might have gone but reminded himself that he was aiming for less stalkerish. As it was, he was still reeling from the dance, from the way Mia had felt pressed up against him. It'd taken a tremendous amount of willpower to keep from pulling her lips to his. He had an overwhelming urge to kiss her, to thrust his tongue in her mouth and see if she tasted as sweet as he imagined.

For a moment out there on the dance floor, Phoenix had thought she'd been longing for the same thing. The way her blue eyes had glittered, her soft pink lips had parted... She had been entirely kissable at that moment.

But somehow he'd managed to resist the urge.

"Put your tongue back in your mouth."

Phoenix rolled his eyes as he turned and came face-to-face with Tarik.

"Where'd you go?"

"To check on a couple of things," Tarik said, handing Phoenix a bottle of beer before turning to survey the crowd.

"And?"

"All's good. How was the dance?"

Phoenix didn't bother to answer. He knew Tarik was trying to rile him up, had been ever since they'd stepped out of the elevator behind Mia.

"Ah. Okay. She disappeared on you, huh? I knew you'd lose that magic touch at some point."

Phoenix smiled around the lip of his beer bottle. He disliked Tarik almost as much as he liked him. It was an ongoing battle simply to put up with his jabs, but because they'd become good friends over the years, Phoenix had learned to tolerate him. Barely.

"Fuck you. I didn't see you dancing with her."

"The night's still young," Tarik countered as he turned toward Phoenix.

When the other man took a step closer, their arms brushing, Phoenix swallowed hard. He tried to ignore the current of electricity that coursed through his veins whenever Tarik dared get close enough, but it was getting harder and harder. Then again, so was his dick. And for the life of him, Phoenix couldn't explain the untimely reaction. He'd already decided what he wanted, or rather, what he didn't want. As far as he was concerned, the hedonistic thoughts and fantasies he'd succumbed to recently didn't count. But this... It was beginning to get out of hand.

Tarik leaned in closer still, his breath warm against Phoenix's neck. "But I'm always open to sharing."

"Of course you are," Phoenix said.

Tarik was as open to threesomes as Phoenix was. However, as the line that separated Phoenix's interest in Tarik had begun to blur, he'd put a halt to those encounters. Not to mention, the tabloids were having a field day with their speculation.

Didn't matter that Phoenix had jacked off to thoughts of Tarik and Mia nearly every fucking day for the past week, and his fantasies seemed to be getting more and more intense, more detailed. And unfortunately, they left Phoenix wanting something he wasn't sure he could deal with.

"Phoenix Pierce."

Damn it.

"I'll be back," Tarik rumbled against his ear before making a hasty exit.

Phoenix didn't blame him. He knew he should've escaped out the back door when he'd had the opportunity. The voice coming from behind him was recognizable even before he turned around. He also knew that he didn't want to turn around because what she had to say to him would probably only end up pissing him off.

But he figured he might as well face the music. Get it over with. That or he was going to spend the rest of the night avoiding her, and he preferred the cat-and-mouse game he seemed to already be involved in. The one where he was the cat, not the prey.

Pivoting slowly, he came face-to-face with Teresa Somerhaus. "Teresa."

"It's so good to see you," Teresa said in that saccharine tone that made his teeth hurt. When she leaned in, kissing him on each cheek, one at a time, he didn't return the gestures. He wasn't much for kissing.

Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. He was all for kissing, but not this woman. Not anymore.

"How've you been?" Phoenix asked, aiming for polite. Pretending to actually give a shit.

Teresa held up her left arm, wiggling her fingers, and that was when he noticed the huge rock weighing down her hand.

"Nice," he said, thinking nothing of the sort. He had known from the beginning that the woman was out to land her a man with money - she'd outright told him so when they'd first met. Apparently her goal had been achieved.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

"Congratulations," he replied resolutely. He really didn't give a shit that Teresa was now engaged ... again. If his count was correct, this would've been fiance number four; however, she'd never married.

"Thank you. I'd love for you to meet my man, but" -Teresa glanced around the room before she returned her gaze to his - "he's currently talking business. You know how that goes."

Oh, Phoenix certainly knew how to play the game, but he obviously differed from her new man, because he would've never left his date to fend for herself or chat it up with old fuck buddies while he talked business with the stuffy white collars who filled the room. It wasn't who he was. His encounters were usually only one night, but that didn't mean he didn't have a deep respect for women. He was always up front with them about what he wanted and what he didn't want, but for the time he was with them, he did make an effort to treat them the way they deserved to be treated, and leaving them alone at an event like this wasn't in his nature.

"So, who's the lucky guy?" he asked, attempting to look relaxed as he let his gaze roam the room, still trying to locate Mia.

"It would've been you, if you'd ever bothered to ask," she said thoughtfully, batting her thick, fake eyelashes as she always did.

And it would've never been him, because he would've never asked. Not that Phoenix was opposed to marriage or permanent relationships, but he often found the women he ended up with weren't looking for much more than what his wallet could afford them. Teresa was a prime example. He always figured the day he found a woman who looked past his net worth, he'd be down on one knee in an instant.

As he rapidly approached his thirtieth birthday, he still hadn't found her. Granted, he wasn't going to tell Teresa that.

"Well, congratulations again, Teresa," he said politely, hoping to end the conversation. Phoenix raised his eyebrows, as though peering at someone across the room. "It was great to see you. I need to ... uh..." He didn't bother filling her in, because at that point, she wasn't paying much attention to him, anyway; her gaze had drifted to the diamond sparkling on her finger.

"I'm marrying Damien Landry," Teresa blurted before Phoenix could get two steps away.

The admission drew him up short.

Damien Landry. Was she fucking kidding? That man was a first-class asshole. And according to Tarik, the bastard had cheated on his wife...

Mia.

Holy. Shit.

"I wish you both well," Phoenix told Teresa now, a bald-faced lie. He forced his feet to move, wanting to get as far away from the woman as he could. Where most women had hands, Teresa Somerhaus had claws, and she did whatever was necessary to get a good, firm grip on a man's wallet. And that meant that she'd likely been the woman Damien had been cheating on his wife with. Or one of them, anyway.

Phoenix wanted to pound the shit out of the guy.

Moving across the room, Phoenix did another search, hoping to find Mia because... Hell, he didn't even know why he wanted to find her now. Knowing that she'd been the trophy on Damien's arm should've told him more than he cared to know about the woman. So why he wasn't heading in the opposite direction, he didn't know that, either.

According to what he'd read in the tabloids, Landry had tossed his wife aside for a newer version, but now that Phoenix thought about it, Teresa Somerhaus certainly wasn't a newer version of anything. But Teresa had a couple of things going for her: she was wild in the bedroom - maybe that was what Landry was after - and if that wasn't it, her father was loaded.

Shit.

Phoenix still wanted to punch Landry in the face.

Thankfully, that opportunity didn't present itself, but Mia did, and as he watched her glide across the room, her eyes scanning as intently as his had been, Phoenix wondered if she was looking for him. Funny, because he got the impression she was, but her perusal wasn't for the same reason he'd been looking. No, if he had to guess, Mia Cantrell was trying to stay far, far away from him.

Then again, if she'd been burned by Damien Landry, Phoenix couldn't necessarily blame her.

But that didn't mean he was going to step back and let her get away. In fact, it made him want to chase her all the more. There was something about that woman. And he intended to find out what the attraction was, even if he had to spend every waking moment pursuing her.

TARIK SAW HER as soon as she rejoined the crowd. He had gone with his gut, figuring she'd escaped to the bathroom to do whatever it was women did when they disappeared in there.

He'd been right.

So, while he'd kept a close eye on Phoenix, he had watched for Mia, and he wasn't disappointed to see that she was moving toward him. She was scanning the room, which was probably why she nearly ran right into him. That or the fact that he stepped right into her path. Either way.

"Mia," he greeted softly, gently gripping her arm when she nearly fell right into him.

"Oh! I'm ... sorry," she replied, looking up at him with wide eyes. Beautiful eyes. Guarded eyes.

"Would you care to dance?" he asked, doing his best not to glance down at her glossy lips.

"I ... uh ... I was just..." She seemed perplexed on how to answer, so he helped make the decision for her.

"Just one," he told her. "Then you can pull a Cinderella and disappear into the night if you wish."

Mia smiled. He'd apparently caught on to her plan.

"Thank you, Mr. Marx."

"Call me Tarik, please."

Taking her hand in his, Tarik tried not to focus on the softness of her skin or the sweet scent of her perfume as they moved through the crowd and over to the dance floor.

The song playing was conveniently slow, and as he pulled her into his arms, noting how well she fit against him, Tarik sent up a silent wish for another slow song to follow. He wasn't sure one dance would be enough for him. She settled against him nicely, her heels making it so he didn't have to lean too far down. With the significant difference in their height, Tarik still had to bend to get his mouth close to her ear, but it wasn't a hardship, by any means.

With her soft body pressed up against him, Tarik whispered against her ear, "Are you having a good time?"

"Surprisingly, yes," she said, laughing softly. "Sorry. That was probably a little too honest."

"I like honest," he told her. "It's one of my favorite qualities in a woman."

"Is that so?"

"I didn't say it was top of my list, but not too far off," he teased as he slid his hand down her back, being a perfect gentleman and keeping it above the rounded globes of her delectable ass. Although the desire to pull her completely against him was intense, he managed to keep himself in check. They were in public, after all.

"So what is at the top of your list?" she asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he replied, leaning in closer, his mouth dangerously close to her ear, his lips barely grazing the outer shell.

Her breath hitched, a sexy sound that made his body harden. He forced back the lascivious thoughts that drifted seamlessly through his mind. No reason to scare her off yet, he told himself.

"Maybe not," she answered, her voice a little shaky.

Nodding his understanding, Tarik held her tightly and moved slowly across the floor. He wondered if Phoenix knew they were dancing. Probably so. Knowing the man, he was keeping tabs on Tarik as much as he was keeping an eye on Mia for this exact reason. Not that Tarik cared. He would've danced with Mia either way, but he liked the idea of Phoenix stewing for a minute. Considering how hot and bothered he'd kept Tarik all week, the man deserved a little payback.

"Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" Mia asked. The question sounded like a form of polite conversation, making Tarik smile.

"I am now," he told her, keeping his voice low. "Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?"

Standing to his full height, Tarik looked down at her, noticing the slight blush on her creamy cheeks, visible even under the dim lights above them.

"Thank you. You look pretty nice yourself."

"This old thing?" he joked, looking down at his chest. "I pulled it out of the back of the closet."

Mia laughed, just as he hoped she would.

"I believe it," she muttered, causing Tarik's brows to furrow.

There was something in her tone. It sounded a lot like distaste, and he wondered where he'd gone wrong.

Repositioning himself so that he wasn't looking down at her, Tarik wrapped his arm more tightly around her, holding her close. He wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as possible. The song would be over soon, he knew, and as he'd seen her do earlier, Mia Cantrell was going to run far and fast.

The song began to fade away, and Tarik leaned close to her ear. "Don't leave. One more song."

Mia's body tensed, and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but when another song began on the heels of the first and she didn't pull away, he exhaled deeply.

The song wasn't even halfway through when Mia pulled back. Tarik immediately glanced down at her, and he noticed she was looking to his left. Slowly peering over, he realized what - or rather who - had caught her attention.

"Mia."

"Damien," she said curtly.

Tarik didn't release her, although he got the impression she wanted him to. Keeping his arm around her, Tarik moved to her side, his eyes pinning Damien in place. Tarik knew more about Damien Landry than he cared to. With the pending lawsuit against Phoenix, Tarik had made it his mission to learn every damn thing there was to learn about the bastard.

"I'm glad you could make it. Nice to see you're making wise choices with how you spend my money."

Mia jerked as though Landry had slapped her, and Tarik couldn't contain the growl that erupted in his chest.

"My money," Mia stated through clenched teeth. "And it's nice to see that you're still the same condescending asshole you've always been." Mia looked up at Tarik. "I need to go."

"I'll walk you," Tarik told her, glancing back up to meet Landry's gaze, masking his features but making sure Landry could see the promise of retribution in his eyes. Clearly the guy wasn't too happy that his ex-wife was dancing with another man.

Not that Tarik gave a shit. The guy deserved to feel the pain of losing her. After what he'd done, he deserved a hell of a lot more than that.

Granted, Tarik wasn't going to say as much, because he'd acquired his information by doing quite a bit of digging into Mia's background. He had yet to share all of the details with Phoenix, because he hadn't felt the need to. Yet. Now that he saw the blue flame of hatred that burned in Mia's eyes when she looked at Landry, his worries about her intentions abated. She'd clearly been hurt by this man.

Mia turned abruptly, and Tarik had to walk fast to keep up with her. When she stopped suddenly, he nearly ran her over.

"Thank you for the dance, Mr. Marx. But I really must be going."