MMF BISEXUAL ROMANCE: Phoenix Running (17 page)

“But I don’t want you to stop! Damn it, Phoenix!” He dove his tongue inside of her and made her body jackknife. She whined hoarsely as she dropped her back to the cool floor, letting her legs fall open in surrender. “And where does this leave Ashley?” she dared to ask.

Phoenix couldn’t talk around a full mouth. He nibbled and licked her clit as he dug his cellphone out of his pocket. He paused only long enough to peek at the screen and connect to Ashley on a video call. “Let’s ask him.” He pushed the phone into Cee-Cee’s hand.

“Oh, wow,” she moaned. Her body moved against his mouth in waves, seeking the heat of his kiss. She held up the phone to her blushing face. “I can’t do this.”

“Just hold it for me,” said Phoenix.

The call connected and Ashley’s face filled the screen. Phoenix lifted his face from between her legs to smile at the camera. Cee-Cee held the phone at navel level for him. “Hey, hey! Phoenix? What are you doing, mate?”

“Glad you asked. I’m over here trying to convince Cee-Cee to be our girlfriend. Care to join me? I need help. She’s being intractable.”

“Address. Now.” Ashley grinned.

“Oh, my god,” Cee-Cee giggled. “Both of you
again
?”

A
shley sped
down the highway in the rental car. He was getting familiar with the area, which was odd. He had come to this country expecting to feel like a wanderer, lost in the wilderness. Could it be possible that America would feel like home away from home the longer he was on this tour? Of course, he was constantly nagged by the fact that he wouldn’t be able to hang out here for too much longer if Tegan had her way. There were other cities to hit, much farther away. Commuting wouldn’t be an option.

But now Phoenix was calling with this girlfriend business. Ashley was intrigued. Cee-Cee would be the ultimate partner—smart, funny, sexy. He heard again Phoenix saying “our girlfriend” and felt a connection with the man that was half-illusion, half-denial. Ashley knew the mayor was into him, even if Phoenix would never admit it publicly.

That was the problem. He shouldn’t be tearing his way to Phoenix’s house for another mind-blowing sex session like the one from the previous weekend. He should have some damn standards and put his foot down. All or nothing. They could be together openly or not be together.

“Who am I kidding?” he whispered.

He footed the accelerator and made it to the condos in record time. His hand barely rapped the door before it swung open. Phoenix stood out of sight to the side of the door with his pants unfastened, black boxers showing. “Just in time.” Ashley pushed into the condo and shut and locked the door behind him. When he turned around, he found Cee-Cee naked and bound loosely with a crimson silk cravat. It set off her pale skin and black hair quite splendidly.

She was blindfolded with another cravat, spread-eagled on the rug with her bound wrists looped around the leg of the coffee table that had been pushed against the wall. Her chest heaved as if she was already at peak arousal. Ashley stared at her glorious body.

“What can I do to help, mate?” he asked.

Phoenix stared at him with desire-darkened brown eyes. He visibly tried to drag his gaze back to Cee-Cee, but Ashley held his attention in a way that couldn’t be denied. He was trying mightily to suppress what came naturally, but it was clear to Ashley. Phoenix craved him. Ashley stood rooted to the floor waiting for him to come to him. It couldn’t always be Ashley making the sacrifices of pride.

Phoenix gestured at Cee-Cee. “She changed her mind faster than expected,” he laughed. “You’re looking at
our
new girlfriend.”

“Excellent!” Ashley high-fived him and started undressing as Phoenix stared with a bemused expression.

“Why the hell are you so damned sexy?” he muttered.

“Who, me?” asked Ashley with a grin.

Phoenix backed away and returned to Cee-Cee, untying her. She lifted the blindfold and stared at him with a throaty moan. “I hate you,” she whispered, kissing him.

Phoenix chuckled and lifted her in his arms, rising to his feet. “Was I that bad? Hey, Ashley, can you look down the hall in the left bedroom on the right and bring me that blanket off the foot of the bed?”

Ashley retrieved it and helped him get the sated Cee-Cee comfortable on the couch where she very quickly drifted off to sleep, leaving the two men staring at each other awkwardly.

“Hope I didn’t call you away from anything important. Guess I made you make a blank trip. I get impulsive sometimes. I shouldn’t have called,” said Phoenix sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“No, I don’t mind. Hell, I’m glad to get out for leisure instead of a show.” Cee-Cee stirred, and Phoenix put a finger to his lips and led Ashley down the hall to his bedroom where they could talk. He sat at the foot of his bed while Ashley leaned his back against the wall in front of him. Ashley’s gaze lowered to Phoenix’s obvious erection.

Phoenix self-consciously dropped his hand into his lap. “So…”

“I can take care of that.”

“…Should we be doing this?” He massaged his temples and sat forward, shoulders hunched. “I’ve already got someone trying to blackmail me with pictures from us out on the yacht. That’s kind of why I need Cee-Cee to be my official girlfriend now, to throw people off.”

“What?” Ashley was surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“Someone who doesn’t want me elected is trying to steamroll my campaign. They are doing so by releasing photos of the three of us together in order to make people question my sexuality. I need to appear as hetero as possible.” He muttered to himself, “And what do I do? Call you over…”

Ashley crossed his arms as he watched the battle of emotions on Phoenix’s face. First self-deprecation, then sadness, anger, hopelessness. Phoenix dropped his head with a tired shake.

“This is why I live my life out loud,” Ashley said quietly. “Because I can’t imagine what you must be going through. I can’t imagine not being able to be myself.”

“It’s not that simple, and I wish you wouldn’t. You can’t live yourself out loud with me.”

Ashley blew out an exasperated breath. “Right. I know.”

Phoenix looked up at him. “I wish I could let you. I swear, I would…just to see.”

“To see what?” Ashley eased away from the wall, drawn to him like a magnet. He clasped Phoenix’s chin and stared down into his deep brown eyes. “To see what?”

“To see the you that you don’t show to the rest of the world,” he said. Ashley felt the words sink deep inside, opening doors he didn’t know were closed. He felt, at once, very happy and startlingly sad. Phoenix wished he could…but he couldn’t. Wouldn’t.

Ashley moved to the curtains and shut them completely, but in the darkened room no one could’ve seen them, nor what they would do next. He returned to the bed and pushed Phoenix back. He dropped to his knees between his legs as Phoenix stared at the ceiling. Yanking at his pants and boxers, Ashley freed him. His erection sprang loose and dangled temptingly.

Phoenix rose on his arms to stare at him. What passed in that long look scared them both. “Don’t fall in love with me, Ashley.”

Ashley lowered his eyes, then slowly brought Phoenix's cock to his mouth, closing his lips around the thick tip. Phoenix shuddered and fell back onto the bed. A silky thread of saliva fell from Ashley’s lips as he pulled away, pausing so they both felt the craving, the sting of abandonment, before once again taking Phoenix’s cock into his mouth, eliciting a moan of arousal from his lover.

He slid his fingers to his velvety balls and gently caressed them while he sucked. It was like strumming a violin, plucking Phoenix’s strings until he whined with pleasure. Gasping, Phoenix grabbed him by the hair and held his face to his inner thigh as he stroked in and out of his mouth. Ashley closed his eyes and savored the slick member brushing his tongue and lips. He clasped Phoenix around the base of his shaft and masturbated him in accompaniment.

Phoenix whimpered his name. Ashley rolled his tongue and tightened his mouth with expert control, making Phoenix grip the covers and strain forward. “Ashley…” He kept going, tugging, sucking, moaning. “Ashley!”

Ashley pushed his thighs back and licked from the base of his penis down to his ass, kissing and licking with sensual abandonment. He let Phoenix’s muscular thighs rest on his shoulders as he made love to him with his mouth, sniffing the musk of his asshole and fondling his rigid cock. The room filled with sounds of satisfaction and excitement. It was slow tantalizing work taking the mayor to his zenith.

Ashley eased a finger into his ass where he had licked and kissed seconds before to make the entrance painless. He found Phoenix’s male g-spot with his probing digit, rubbing it gently as he returned to sucking his cock. And it took seconds…seconds to make him explode. Phoenix opened his mouth in a soundless scream as he felt his body losing control.

Ashley swallowed as much of his length as he could and held steady as Phoenix whimpered and let go into his mouth. The climax was explosive. His juices erupted and shot to the back of Ashley’s throat, making him hum with pleasure as he pulled back to suck harder, to draw every drop free.

Phoenix writhed against the mattress, blown away by the sensation. It was more powerful than any other orgasm he had ever experienced. He bucked against Ashley’s face, gasping. He cried out and screamed his name. He begged him to stop, keep going, take it, suck it. “Fuck. FUCK!” Phoenix howled. Ashley milked him. Stroking his prostate with one finger and clutching his dick with the other hand, he drained Phoenix dry.

And when he was done, Ashley wiped his lips and warned him, “Don’t
you
fall in love with
me
, mate. You won’t be able to hide it.”

Ashley left him in the bedroom, recovering. He snatched up his keys and let himself out of the condo. He was in a dark, fatalistic mood, savoring the taste of Phoenix on his lips—a taste that was so much sexier, so much more just right than any other man’s, who knows why—while he told himself he was an idiot to have come.
Like a puppy to his master
, he scolded. There was so much going on here that none of them could control. Someone was going to get hurt. Badly. But for the life of him, Ashley couldn’t just disengage. He couldn’t. It wasn’t the sex.
It was them.

T
he next day
, Cee-Cee surprised him by showing up at his hotel. He answered her knock and stared down at her with a bemused smile. Her black hair hung longer in the front than the back and half-obscured her clear blue eyes. The sight of her coyly standing with hands clasped behind her back and face upturned brightened what had started out to be a bad day. “Why are you here?”

“Because.” She held up a real estate circular. “It’s a holiday over at the university, and I don’t have class. Phoenix is busy with politics. I want to spend a nice, leisurely day doing my favorite thing in the whole world. House-hunting! Only I don’t want to do it alone, so get dressed. Let’s go.”

They hopped into Cee-Cee’s car, and she handed him the pulp magazine like it was a map. “I’ve got the properties I want to see circled. All you have to do is key them into the GPS. Okay?”

“Easy enough.”

“About last night. You want to talk about it?”

He stared out the window at the quaint little town and shrugged. “Worried. I’m canceling my tour. I already told Tegan, and then I fired her ass. She had already gotten on my bad side. So I’m going to be here for a while.”

“What?” Cee-Cee swerved the car in surprise. “Whoops! I’m sorry.”

“Watch the road,” he chuckled.

“You’re staying. You fired your manager. All this because of a man you barely even know? Ashley, what about your music? I hope you’re not giving up. You worked so hard…and I hope this doesn’t have anything to do with me and Phoenix, either.”

“Cee-Cee, I really don’t expect someone like you to understand this, but I’m going to be here for my dad,” he grumbled. She knew the basics of the situation, but she wouldn’t understand because it wasn’t something the career-minded beautiful woman sitting next to him would do. And so what if him staying had a little to do with the two of them as well? He had spent weeks trying to figure out how to separate from them to no avail. He wanted to be here, whether they wanted him or not. But, of course, they did. He knew that. If he were the only one in this…obsession…it would be easier. He’d been hurt before; he could deal. But he wasn’t the only one and he had no idea if Phoenix and Cee-Cee could deal.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I dunno. You know. All you really care about is making sure you accomplish your goals. I’m not like that. My goals can wait. As long as I have breath, I can dream another dream if this one doesn’t pan out.”

She stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel. In a quiet voice, she retorted, “I’m not that cold-hearted. Of course I’d do the same thing if I were in your situation. Anyway, I’m here for you. And, since I’m doubling down on my dream house, I might even be able to offer you a spare room instead of you having to crash at a hotel.” She smiled hopefully.

Ashley eyed the first circled property and read the specs, stared at the astronomical price tag. “This is doubling down?” He whistled low.

They arrived at the listing, and the real estate agent she had been working with was already there. “Hey, Becky!” Cee-Cee greeted her warmly. “This is my friend, Ashley. He’s going to be looking at some houses with us today.”

“That is fantastic! Let’s get started.”

Ashley grabbed her hand and followed her into the house, which Becky described as the perfect “cozy little bungalow for two.” Ce-Cee snickered. She whispered to him, “The place I really want is perfect, but apparently it’s custom-built for serious single businesswomen. Now, this one here is the cozy little bungalow for two. I take it she thinks we’re a couple.”

He stole a kiss while the agent wasn’t watching. “We are,” he whispered. “Sort of. I’ve been thinking. Since I don’t have to leave anytime soon, we don’t have to break things off. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise. I was wracking my brain to figure out how to spend more time with you and destiny intervened.”

“Welp, looks like it’s just me and you for a while, pal. Phoenix is going to be very, very busy over the next few weeks.”

Becky ushered them into the master bedroom, and Ashley nodded, impressed. “Isn’t this sweet? Take a look at that view. Windows all around letting in plenty of sunshine, but with those built-in shutters, you can keep things nice and dark until you’re ready to get up in the morning. See this stunning closet? Plenty of room for two!”

“Can we do a walk-through on our own and meet you back downstairs in a minute?” Ashley piped up. Becky’s encouraging nod was puppy-like in her aim to please. She was a bundle of agreeableness. Cee-Cee laughed out loud after the perky real estate agent was out of the room.

“Why are you trying to get me alone, buster?” she asked suspiciously. He squeezed her hand.

“I wanted to ask you why you’re giving up your dream house.”

“I can’t afford it. I kept the dream alive for as long as I could, but it’s time to bury it and move on to something more realistic. This one, though. I’m not feeling it.”

“Yeah, me neither, but I can’t tell if it’s the house or the agent. I tell you what. Let’s go take a look at that dream house of yours instead. I want to see it before we stick a stake in it and call it dead.”

She giggled. Cee-Cee sobered quickly, however. “Ashley, you know Phoenix is falling in love with you, right?” He lifted his brows. She rolled her eyes. “You know he is. That’s why I’m not super-ecstatic about you being here for longer than expected, as much as I might personally want you to be here. I don’t want him to get hurt. Plus, with those pictures coming out….”

“About that.” Ashley shuffled nervously, wondering if he should tell her. The minute he had seen the photographs and learned Wallace Briton was using them to blackmail Phoenix, he had known Tegan was somehow tied into this. He remembered seeing the pair talking at the fundraiser. Was it possible she had been delivering the shots to Wallace?

She apparently hadn’t let go of the idea of a scandal doing his image some good. Ashley sighed and spilled the secret. “I think my manager had something to do with those pictures that Wallace Briton dropped off. I initially found them in her tablet and destroyed them. I didn’t say anything about it because you know how he can be.”

“Oh, my god. Really, Ashley? Why the hell would you keep something like that a secret?”

“Because…I didn’t want to scare Phoenix off. I thought I had handled it. I warned Tegan not to say anything to anyone about me spending time with him, and when I found the pictures I threatened to fire her. She was only working for me because I hadn’t had a chance to vet anyone else. I decided that as soon as I got back to Australia, that’d be the first thing I’d do.

“As it turns out, I fired her this morning after I made the choice to stay in town for my dad. I think the plan you and Phoenix worked out last night will work. Five Parker is a brilliant speaker and activist. In his interview, he’ll be a fair man and let Phoenix craft his message however he chooses. So don’t worry about the pictures.”

Cee-Cee covered her face and groaned. “No. I have to be the worst PR person ever. My uncle is going to kill me when he finds out about this. And Gina is going to eat it up. She’s been dying to have some way to one-up me, and this is it. Ashley, why did Tegan have those pictures in the first place? What was she trying to do?”

“To link me to a scandal.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“I know. That’s what I told her. She thinks any press is good press, and she feels like not enough Americans know anything about me. Being embroiled in a sordid love affair with a mayor like Phoenix would reach headlines. That’s what she was counting on. My guess is, Wallace probably offered her a tidy sum for those pictures, and she was all too happy to oblige.”

“That greedy bastard should pay for ruining his own son’s life. I can’t believe anyone would stoop so low. I hate to say it, but I have to tell my uncle about those pictures and our involvement. He’ll take me off the project for sure. Ugh! Why is this so complicated?”

“Don’t tell him. I know how hard you’ve worked to get where you are. This is my mess. I’ll fix it.”

“How?!”

“I’ll figure out a way to make those pictures disappear for good.”

“Oh, Ashley, I love you, but you have to be the most optimistic, idealistic fool I’ve ever met.”

“Give me a chance. I’ll show you that you can count on me. Look, I know you think most men bail out when you really need them. Judging from what happened to your sister, I can see why. But any Asher fan will tell you that when I set my mind to something, I do it. Have faith in me.”

She sighed. “I want to. I will. But please don’t let me down. I won’t tell Bryan, and let’s both hope this interview with Five Parker works for us. You do what you have to do to get those pictures. Just don’t let Wallace Briton know you’re coming after him, or he’ll release them ahead of time and ruin everything.”

Hours later, Ashley paced his hotel room, wondering how the hell he was going to make good on his promise. He scrubbed his eyes and threw his body back onto the bed with a tired huff. No shows tonight. He’d go to see his father at the hospital sometime that evening. Until then, he had plenty of time to come up with a solution.

After seeing Cee-Cee’s dream house and hearing how close she was to making home ownership a reality, even if it meant moving into something a little smaller, Ashley knew he had to do everything in his power to keep her job from being compromised. He would get those pictures.

He didn’t know who Tegan’s photographer was, but he knew he could find out. Picking up his phone, he dialed her up. “Tegan, I’ve been thinking about some things,” he began as soon as she answered.

“Well, well, well…this is a surprise! Please tell me the tour is back on.”

“I’m afraid it’s not, but it was stupid of me to fire you. I’m in over my head here trying to get all this stuff canceled and rescheduled. I need you.”

“Oh, Ashley, tell me why I should help you. You’re not doing me any favors by sticking around taking care of dear old dad. I empathize, really, but this is business. I have other clients to represent.”

“What if I agree to your plan? You said my career needed some scandal. Well, Phoenix Briton, that arse, has really fucked up big time by coming out publicly that he’s with a woman when he knows what there is between us. I told him I wouldn’t be anyone’s dirty little secret. I guess he didn’t listen,” he lied.

“This is what you really want out of me. Hmmm, go on…” She sounded excited about the prospect of Ashley wanting to cause trouble, which bothered him to the core. What sort of woman had he been working with this past year? She was more amped to wreak havoc on Phoenix’s life for headlines than she’d ever been about music. He should’ve fired her sooner.

Ashley dropped his voice conspiratorially, “So, I’m ready to make his life a living hell, which is exactly what you said my career needed. I know you still have copies of those pictures.”

She hesitated. “Actually, I don’t. I, uh…I sold them. To Phoenix Briton’s father. I think he was buying them to keep them from ruining his son’s career.”

“Shit,” Ashley swore softly. The conversation was going exactly as he had hoped it would, but the fact she didn’t have the photographs was a snag. “Well, the person you hired to get the pictures has to still have copies. You’ve gotta get in touch me in touch with him or her. It’s even more critical now that I have to take this break to deal with my dad. I need to stay relevant, and a scandal would be the perfect way to do that.”

“Alright, I’m on my way to your hotel. I’ll call the photographer and have her meet us there, and we can figure out how to proceed.”

“No, no, my fans won’t trust it if it doesn’t come from me directly. You have to get that photographer to give me the originals. I want full control of how this gets released. I don’t need it to make me look too bad, just to hurt him. I can’t believe the bastard chose Cee-Cee over me.”

“I thought the three of you were all in this together.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought. Stupid of us. Men like Phoenix have their own agendas. I realize that now.”

“Well, Ashley, we’ll make him pay. I’ll get you those originals, and you get us that scandal.”

“Wonderful! See you when you get here.” He hung up the phone and let out a triumphant shout. With the originals in hand, the battle was half won. He just had to make those prints that Wallace Briton had disappeared as well.