by Rena Marks
TEMPTING
TEMPEST
Rena Marks
Tempting Tempest
A Xeno Sapiens Novel
Rena Marks
Many months ago, they agreed to a purely sexual relationship. Of course, that was before she accidentally killed him.
Tempest can’t allow herself to fall for a human, no matter how scrumptious he may be. Her trainer, Shawn, is the only one who manages to tempt that rule. She’s sure it’s guilt over the stabbing, compounded by the fact that he’s the sexiest man in Xenia.
Everyone is aware that Tempest is perhaps the most damaging—and damaged—Xeno Sapien there is. Coveted for her beauty, her body was a prize for others to battle over. Being abused taught her to protect herself by hurting others—and herself.
It’s Shawn’s job to teach her otherwise. His job to teach her she can be loved. Because there’s no one else he loves more than her.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Xeno Sapiens
Alien Stolen
Abducted
Space Babies
Artificial Intelligence
Stargazer Series
The Hunter
Also by Rena Marks
Chapter One
TEMPEST GASPED AND TRIED to pull herself from the darkness. But it felt like she waded through cotton, unable to rouse. Unable to differentiate between wake and sleep.
So the dream continued on.
Shawn, his eyes frozen straight ahead, his skin rapidly cooling as she sobbed. As she shook him, pleaded with him to wake. But he wouldn’t wake because Tempest knew what death looked like.
She knew what Shawn’s death looked like.
And this was it. This had happened. It was a dream…and it was a memory. And like a broken record, it replayed.
Lily, her personality snapped back into that of a child, brimming with jealousy as she taunted Tempest. Jealous, even though Lily had the attention of Jason, it wasn’t enough. She wanted Shawn, too. Once the guys had left the ring for an emergency at the gates, she tried to pick a fight with Tempest, even though it was Tempest that used to protect Lily from the pedophiles in the lab when she was a teenage child in captivity. Tempest tried to ignore her childish words, so Lily grew angry and her skin began to glow with her newfound siren powers.
“You’re a spoiled brat,” Tempest snapped. “Stop it. You’ll hurt everyone here with this unnatural glow. Control it!” She grabbed Lily’s upper arms, holding her against her like a wayward child, hoping against hope Lily would snap back into the adult she should have been. But then, Lily flung Tempest backward, smacking against the cage of the gladiator pit and the fight was on. With a snarl, Tempest jumped up and backhanded her, flinging her further into the pit.
That was a shock. It was the first time Tempest herself had ever struck Lily. No, in the past, Tempest had allowed herself to be struck by many men—just to spare the young Lily. Both women froze as they faced off.
“No one wants you,” Lily whispered, her voice cold. “Not Jason. Not Beast. Not any Xeno Sapien. Not any human.”
Beast. Lily knew just how to hurt her by bringing up his name. Beast had been forced to rape her by their captives—but they’d laughed when he couldn’t get hard and had given him an injection. Most of the other Xeno Sapiens didn’t have this recollection of memory, but Lily obviously did.
But it was the human that got her. Somehow, Lily knew of her interest in Shawn. “I don’t want or need anyone.” But Tempest’s voice was shaky, wondering what else Lily remembered.
“And no one needs you.”
And then the guys magically appeared, getting in the way of the fight. Jason and Shawn, returning to harm’s way.
With a blast of energy, Lily pushed past Jason’s arm, shoving Tempest backward into Shawn, the muscular bodybuilder behind her.
What happened next wasn’t of her planning, but it was exactly what Shawn had been training her not to do. Tempest’s bones broke of their own accord, using her anger at Lily as fuel. Unfortunately, Shawn was her mattress, breaking her fall with his soft human tissue.
He fell with an oomph, Tempest on top of him.
“Shawn!” Tempest screamed, pulling away from him to turn. The pain was excruciating as her bones pulled from his body with a slurp, like blades being unsheathed.
“Shawn!” Jason yelled it at the same time she did. But Shawn was unconscious, his eyes open and staring straight ahead.
Not unconscious. Dead.
One bone shard had pulled from his heart.
Dead.
“No! No! No!” Tempest howled.
Jason was screaming into his communicator and now that Lily was distracted, the other Xeno Sapiens were up, pulling out of their frozen state where her powers had gripped them as they sat on the benches around the gladiator stands, watching in horrified silence.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion for everyone else. But for Tempest, time had stopped. At that moment, too late, she realized she loved Shawn.
At that moment, she turned that love off.
Shawn. The one human she vowed to protect. The same human she’d once slaughtered. That was the only reason why her heart sang when he called. When he looked at her. When he called her name. But no more. She’d kept him at arm’s distance since he’d recovered in Medbay.
Like now, as they faced each other in the gladiator pits. Fine dust wafted up from where they kicked their feet, mixing with the sweat on their skin. Rolling in the dirt required hot water to wash all the grime off afterward.
“Tempest. Come on, my pretty. Focus.”
“Hmmph.” If any other male called her something as frivolous as my pretty, she’d jab them in the throat. But when Shawn said it—something melted inside. It was never a sleazy innuendo, never an enticement—it was different. But she couldn’t figure out why.
Her chest felt tight because she kept holding her breath, which was wrong, she knew. She was supposed to breathe deeply during sparring. But she couldn’t help it. Fear gripped her heart with icy fingers and wouldn’t let go.
What if?
What if she couldn’t control it?
What if she tripped and he was behind her to catch her fall? Her heart thumped harder, against the painful spot in her chest where she couldn’t quite suck in enough air.
Her sparring showed the effects as her fists slowed.
Shawn had no mercy for Tempest, flinging her against the wall and pummeling her, yelling at her to remember her training. Her muscles ached and her temper flared—but she felt impotent. She grew angrier by each growing minute but didn’t hit back. She couldn’t. Instead, she flipped herself away from him and jabbed back lightly. She didn’t seem like she was trying—because it took a lot of energy to fake. And she was wiped out from the ass-kicking he gave her.
But if it went on much longer—she’d either have a panic attack or…or else she’d hurt him. She had to get away.
Finally he flung her to the ground. She lay there, wiped, heaving breath as she stared up at him. Then he did the unthinkable. He dropped himself right on top of her, his large, muscled body covering hers.
She gasped at the added weight. His scent teased her nostrils, and she craved the intimate contact between the
m. Like she had once before. But she thrust that thought away.
Because now, at this very moment, she had zero control left. He had to get away.
Shawn:
Shawn had Tempest where he wanted her. Everyone else around them grew quiet. In any other scenario, this might be construed as a tad bit…sexual.
But with him and Tempest? There was much more to this than sex.
This was the position she avoided—their bodies mashed up against each other. Because this was how he had died.
The last time their bodies had been this close, Tempest’s bones broke through her skin and pierced his vital organs. Not purposely, of course. But because she had lost control. And control was something he aimed to teach her.
“Get off, Shawn. Get off!” She squirmed underneath him.
“No.”
She froze. “No?”
“No.”
“Someone get him off me!” She yelled out for the others in the pits but everyone looked the other way. No one would come between Tempest and her trainer.
No one. No one came running to his aid because no one believed he would be harmed… but her.
“Get him off!” She screamed. “He could get hurt!”
And there it was. All these months later, he finally broke her.
“Control, my pretty.” No one else could hear the words he whispered softly into her ear.
Her body froze under his, her luscious form still tempting despite her obvious terror.
He continued to whisper. “Control isn’t about shutting down your emotions, Tempest. Control is about owning your feelings.”
“What feelings?” she whispered. Her eyes were large. Her arms were stretched high over her head, his arms directly on top of hers. That meant there was no defense between them. Not even his arms kept the weight of him off her body. She was strong. He knew she could take his weight.
“I get too heavy for you, you let me know,” he whispered. “I’ll flip us so you’re on top.”
“No,” she squirmed, a note of panic in her sweet voice.
“Shh,” he whispered. “You’re not going to relive my death by being on bottom. Just relax. Feel me.”
For once, she did as he requested. It felt like long minutes stretched with her delectable soft body under his. And then, slowly, he pulled his hands down her arms, feeling every inch of skin for the heat that would signify an oncoming break of bone.
She whimpered. “Don’t, Shawn.”
“Don’t what, my pretty?” He loved being able to whisper into her ear. To call her endearments when no one else knew but the two of them.
“Don’t flip us over.”
She wasn’t ready for that. It was okay.
“I won’t.”
“You promise?”
“Of course.”
He lowered his arms and braced them on either side of her body, holding the bulk of his weight from her so she could breathe. Her arms continued to stretch over her head. He allowed them to remain like this, staring into each other’s eyes, for long minutes.
“Wrap your arms around me, Tempest.”
“No, I—”
“Do it.” There were no choices for refusal when he was her trainer and she was his trainee.
She wrapped her arms loosely around him.
“The tighter you hold, the less likely I am to flip us,” he said. “Because a sudden flip could smash your arms under me.”
He felt like an ass going back on his promise, but damn if he didn’t have her where he wanted her. He could make her hold on. He could pretend she wanted to. She complied, hugging him tighter and he fought to hold back a groan.
“This is weird,” she whispered. “People are staring.”
“Not overtly,” he whispered back. “They’re at least pretending to look the other way.”
“Get off now. You proved your point.”
“Yes, I did. Now I have another to prove so you just hold still.”
“What point is that?” Even through the tumultuous threads of her thoughts, her curiosity levels were raised. That was one thing he could always count on with Tempest.
“That I had some more memories come to me from the time before my death.”
By the way she froze, he knew she realized what memories he referred to.
“Why didn’t you tell me, my pretty?”
“Tell you what?” she snarled.
He leaned to whisper into the dainty, feminine shell of her ear. “That you and I agreed to fuck each other senseless?”
“Because it was a stupid idea and I realized it when you were so weak as to die on me,” she said, flipping them over on her own. Before he could catch her, she was on her feet and stomping off, leaving him heaving while flat on his back.
For a few precious moments, he watched her walk away. The length of her legs. The sweet curve of her ass. He barely noticed anyone’s approach.
“Left you high and dry? Well, that’s embarrassing,” Jason said, holding out a hand to help him to his feet.
“High and dry? Nah,” Shawn said, accepting the bottle of water he offered and taking a big gulp. “We made strides. She was forced to see the barrier she’s erected between us.”
Despite being his boss now, Jason had been Shawn’s trainee back when they were both in the military. Jason had opened his own security firm upon discharge, and begged Shawn to come work for him. Shawn agreed—and it was the chance of a lifetime when new beings were discovered. Their first mission was to get the newly released Xeno Sapiens safely to their own city from an island where they were being protected by two women doctors—one of whom was Jason’s sister, Dr. Amanda Becker.
“Acknowledgement is the first step,” Jason said. “I imagine she’s stomping off to Robyn’s office to complain of your high-handedness.”
“Yep. She’s gotta have the last word.” Shawn grinned. “And it’s gonna bite her in the ass when she realizes, in Robyn’s presence, her feelings for me. Then she’s gonna insist on that doctor/patient confidentiality—probably even try to threaten Robyn over it. Which will make Robyn insist she maintain regularly scheduled visits.”
“She’s going to be so frustrated,” Jason said. “She needs a friend to talk to. If she wasn’t so damn closed off from everyone.”
“Lily,” Shawn said suddenly. “Lily can be her friend.” Who better to be Tempest’s friend than Jason’s wife?
“I’m not sure Lily is the best person,” Jason squirmed. They were all aware of Tempest’s crush on him when he’d first assigned Shawn to be Tempest’s trainer—and then had taken up with Lily under her nose. Tempest had felt tossed aside to what she called the second best while Jason protected and courted Lily. Not to mention that it was Lily who had stirred up Tempest’s emotions to the breaking point that time in the ring when Tempest had punctured Shawn into a slice of Swiss cheese.
“That’s exactly why Lily is best for the job. She understands exactly where Tempest is coming from.”
Jason sighed. “I’ll ask her.”
Shawn grinned, because they both knew the soft-hearted Lily would accept.
“I’ll go smooth things over with Robyn,” Jason said.
A fist bump later, Shawn turned to another Xeno in the ring, slamming his fist into the palm of the opposite hand. “Who’s next?”
Chapter Two
Tempest:
“HE—HE—HELD me down. In front of everyone. It was humiliating.” She snarled the words, mad enough to spit. Especially because Robyn’s demeanor was so calm.
“Why?” Robyn asked, though it sounded a bit more like a statement.
“Why?”
“Yes. Why exactly was it humiliating? You’ve been sparring with Shawn for a year and a half now. In all states of undress. You’re not going to tell me that a clothed Shawn collapsing onto your body humiliated you. Hell, a naked Shawn wouldn’t humiliate you.”
“He has never collapsed on top of a male the way he did me!”
“Every person is unique,”
Robyn said. “None of the males ever stabbed through Shawn when he was trying to teach them to control the breaking bones projecting from their bodies.”
Control. That damn word again, the same one Shawn had used. And here Robyn was a different person to use it. Something must have flickered in her eyes, because Robyn leaned in.
“You had control, didn’t you, Tempest? How were you stretched out, exactly?”
“Flat on my back. My legs spread. My arms above my head. He spread out on top of me and had his massive, muscular arms stretched out over mine, grasping my wrists, stretching his bulk to where I could only see ridge upon ridge of muscle. Obviously trying to entice me in other ways…”
“Did it work?”
“Excuse me? Of course not.”
“Why not? A lot of Xeno Sapiens are exploring sexual relationships. When was the last time you explored a relationship—any relationship? Not necessarily sexual. Perhaps a friendship. Maybe a flirtation.”
“I—I have friendships.”
“Do you?”
“Of course! I am friends with Sunny. With you. With…Lily.”
“Mmm. You are co-workers with Sunny. You visit me during consultations. And when…exactly…was the last time you hung out with Lily?”
Tempest felt her mouth drop. Is this truly how her friends thought about her? “I am more than co-workers with Sunny. Sunny chose to work the gate because I—her friend—worked there. She wanted to be a co-worker with me because of our friendship. I helped her pick out her underwear so she could snag Beastly, did I not?” She knew Robyn’s best friend’s name was Beast, of course, but that didn’t mean she had to use the correct one. Especially not when they all chose to gang up on her this way.
A slight curve bent Robyn’s lips. “You did at that.”
“And you…I would choose to do things with you outside of consultations, but you are a busy woman. Mated to Steele. Running ragged with the pipsqueak.” Despite her harsh words, she smiled at the small, silver toddler who waved at her from his gated pen in Robyn’s office. She winked at him to show him she meant no offense with her next words. “What is the hooligan doing here, anyway? You knew since last week I had my session scheduled for this time.”