by Amanda Kay
Tempest’s Paradise
Tempest Westfield is a soldier in the U.S. Army. She is strong, independent, and trained to kill. Devin Maddox is a third generation CEO of a company that holds government contracts. The first time the two of them meet they do nothing but fight and bicker. Devin wants to keep Tempest safe, but Tempest is a soldier who is trained to put herself in danger for her country.
They are able to meet in the middle but their happiness doesn't last long as someone rips them apart and tries to keep them apart. Devin finally finds Tempest but she is harboring a secret and the one who wanted them separated is still at large.
Will Devin and Tempest be able to find and keep their happily ever after, or will the unseen enemy win?
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 52,714 words
TEMPEST’S PARADISE
Amanda Kay
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
TEMPEST’S PARADISE
Copyright © 2014 by Amanda Kay
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-437-1
First E-book Publication: March 2014
Cover design by Christine Kirchoff
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
I just want to say thank you to my family and friends who continue to support me. I love y’all!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
About the Author
TEMPEST’S PARADISE
AMANDA KAY
Copyright © 2014
Chapter 1
Tempest truly hated weddings, especially her sister’s. This was her fourth in as many years. She really felt bad for the groom because this one was actually a good man. His name was Mark, and he doted on her sister. He wasn’t a drinker or a druggie. He had a good job and was very good-looking like all of her sister’s husbands. Her sister Lizzie was just as beautiful as on her first wedding. She was a typical willowy platinum blonde. Her breasts were fakes, courtesy of her second husband. Her lips were full, plump, and looked just like Angelina Jolie’s. Her lips were courtesy of her last husband, number three. Her eyes were a pretty cobalt blue, those were real, but her eyelashes were fake. It was amazing. Nothing on her older sister was real anymore, but the men still seemed to flock to her.
Tempest was the opposite of her sister. She wasn’t fat, but she wasn’t a svelte blonde either. She always had a plumper, fuller figure. It had never bothered her. She had large natural breasts that sat high on her chest, but she figured being seventeen would do that to a girl. She had an indented waist and an ass that she liked to think looked like Salma Hayek’s. She didn’t think of herself as ugly either. She had a pleasant face with a smattering of freckles across her nose, big green eyes with long lashes, and natural plump lips. She just didn’t have the drop-dead gorgeous looks going for her like her sister.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked down at her watch. Only a few more minutes until she had to leave. Only a little bit longer of having to deal with her sister’s man-hunting behavior. In about an hour, Tempest would never have to deal with her sister hounding her for money and demanding that she fork it over.
The truth of the matter was pretty sad. Their parents had both died when they were very young. Tempest had been about nine and her sister Lizzie had been thirteen. Evidently their parents had been well off and left a very generous trust fund to each of their girls. After their deaths, the sisters moved in with their grandmother. She was a wonderful woman and loved them both dearly. She had a tendency to crumble like a sand castle in the tide when Lizzie made a commotion. Because of this, Lizzie grew up selfish and entirely self-centered.
When their grandmother had died last year, she left a rather large estate behind. Each of the girls had yet another trust fund that gave them a monthly allowance, but neither of them could touch the principle. Tempest was made executor of the estate, but since she was still underage, the estate and trusts were managed by lawyers until she turned twenty-five. Lizzie wasn’t given anything outright because her grandmother had seen how she was and refused to give Lizzie money for fear she would mishandle it. Even though Tempest was the youngest, she always seemed to be the responsible one. She looked around the reception and wondered where her date was. Well, date might be too strong of a word. He was more like a guy friend who came with her to the wedding. They met at the recruiter’s office and just started hanging out. He was a freaking good-looking guy, but he still didn’t do anything for Tempest. She had asked him to come with her to the wedding simply so she wouldn’t have to come alone. She finally spotted him as he was coming out of the back of the building. He looked entirely too smug and satisfied with himself.
Tempest had always been able to read people. It was a little bit of a blessing an
d a curse. Something was extremely wrong, and then she noticed her sister slinking back into the reception, too. You have got to be fucking kidding me! Her sister tried to discreetly straighten her dress and make sure that her hair and makeup were still intact. Amazing! Simply unbelievable! She hasn’t even made it out of the building with her new husband and she’s screwing someone else! I’m done!
She sat at the table fuming. She didn’t care about her date in any kind of romantic way, but come on. He could at least have enough respect or just some fucking common decency not to fuck the bride at her own wedding. He came and sat down beside her all sprawled out and satisfied, releasing a small sigh of contentment. Tempest had never in her life lost her temper, but she snapped. But in true Tempest fashion, she kept her cool as she lost her temper. She always seemed to be able to look calm.
“So where have you been? We need to leave in a few minutes,” Tempest began, her eyes blazing emerald fire.
“I was around. I got a little sidetracked,” he said smugly.
“Really! I’m sure my sister is going to be a little upset when she finds out that you consider fucking her a sidetrack.” She watched with great satisfaction as her date’s face went a pasty white and his eyes got as big as saucers. “I’m heading out to the base. I suggest you find your own ride there,” she said coolly as she walked to the front door with her head high and her shoulders back. She was so done with people walking all over her. She was finished with people trying to use her to get what they wanted. She was especially done with her sister and her slutty ways.
She had almost made it to the doors and her freedom when she felt a hand on her forearm. The fingers were like bands of cold steel around her arm. She knew it was her sister’s hand and readied herself for battle. She turned and looked at her sister with cold eyes and a rigid posture.
“Can I help you with something?” Tempest asked calmly, never once betraying her turbulent emotions.
“I need money,” Lizzie sneered.
“You just got your allowance from the trust fund. You should have plenty of money.”
“It’s gone. I need more for the honeymoon.”
“It’s not my problem that you can’t hold on to your money. You should’ve thought of that before you blew it all on nothing. I have to go.” She turned sincere eyes on her newest brother-in-law. “I hope you both have a wonderful time on your honeymoon.” She gave him a smile, and he returned it. He really was such a nice man.
“You always were such a fucking bitch,” her sister whispered harshly so that only she could hear it.
Tempest once again snapped, but this time she didn’t try to smother her reaction or her emotions. Her eyes snapped to her sister’s face and saw the hatred resting there on the surface. She pulled back and let her hand fly with full force. It connected with her sister’s cheek, causing her head to snap to the side. Tempest’s hand stung like it never had before, but a great sense of satisfaction filled her body.
Lizzie grabbed her face and ran back to her newest husband crying like a child. The man looked at Tempest like she had the plague, but she didn’t care. She was finished with all this crap.
“Lizzie, if you ever speak to me like that again, I will skin you alive and hang your hide on a wall. You will get your allowance like always at the same time of the month as always. You should try being more responsible with your money. Your inability to manage funds is not my problem nor is it my responsibility to make sure you have money. I’m the younger sister. I shouldn’t have to take care of you. If you don’t have any money, why don’t you ask your new husband? Better yet, why don’t you ask my date!” Tempest said with fake cheer. She was about to save Lizzie’s newest husband from a year of heartache. “He considers fucking you as a sidetrack, so he might be amenable to paying you for your services.”
Her sister gasped, and rage clouded her features. Her husband looked startled, and then everyone in the room turned to look at her date sitting at the table. His face was sickly pale, and his eyes were bugging out of his head. He looked guilty as hell, exactly what he was. The new groom turned back to Lizzie and looked at her in disgust. He let her go so fast one would’ve thought she was carrying leprosy. He took a step back and looked to Tempest.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I like you. You were nice to me, and I couldn’t let her use you like she used the rest of her husbands. You can get an annulment since you haven’t consummated the marriage yet,” she said before she turned to leave again.
Tempest pushed open the doors and heard her soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law say thanks. She heard her sister weeping uncontrollably, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to leave she wanted to get away and do something. She was definitely getting away, and she was definitely about to do something.
On her seventeenth birthday, she had taken a piece of paper to her guardian and had him sign it. She went to the recruiter’s office and joined the army that day. She was now heading to basic training. Her car was packed with only the bare essentials, and she climbed in and headed out. She stepped on the base and immediately felt she was where she needed to be. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but she was going to give it the old army try.
She joined the rest of the new recruits in line and listened to the instructions given. Their drill sergeant finally appeared. She was a big woman and looked like she ate lead for all three main meals. She walked over to the line and zeroed in on Tempest because she was the only one wearing a dress.
“Well, well, well, seems we have a princess in our mist. Would you mind explaining why you’re wearing a dress to the rest of the class?” the drill sergeant said with a haughty tone.
Tempest was no fool. She knew that the drill sergeant was baiting her, but she had lived with a bitch for a few years and knew how to deal with it. “I was at a wedding, drill sergeant,” Tempest answered in firm strong voice.
“I see, and whose wedding were you attending, princess?” the drill sergeant asked with a sneer.
“It was my older sister’s wedding, drill sergeant. Her fourth, drill sergeant,” Tempest offered helpfully.
“I see. I hope you don’t have a problem running in a dress, princess, because you’re going to be wearing that for our first two-mile run!” the drill sergeant yelled in her face.
“Not a problem, drill sergeant! I wore flats!” Tempest yelled back in true new army recruit fashion.
The drill sergeant looked down and gave a bark of laughter. Tempest had on a pretty pink flowered dress with capped silk sleeves. She also had on ankle socks and tennis shoes. “All right, recruits, stow your gear and be back in formation in five minutes!” she yelled to the group of young women.
“Yes, drill sergeant!” they yelled in unison, and then the world broke into chaos as they all made a mad dash for their bunks to put the bags down and be back outside in time. Tempest had a huge grin on her face as she ran like hell to get to her bunk and be back first. She had always had an uncontrollable urge to be the best at everything she did, and this was no different. She loved it, and it was only the first day.
* * * *
Devin watched as everything unfolded. He felt horrible for his best friend Mark. He had been head over heels in love with Lizzie from the moment he saw her. Everyone else knew that she was a skanky ho bag, but there was no telling Mark. She had hit on every one of the guys in their little tight circle of friends. They all tried to tell him, but Mark just insisted she was trying to be friendly.
Devin knew how friendly she was trying to be, but what could he do? He just had to wait for his friend to realize the truth and then be there for him after. It didn’t seem like that moment was far off. He saw the tall young stud come out of the back and watched as a young pretty girl saw him, too. Her back stiffened, and her green eyes turned a turbulent green. Something was definitely off, and then he turned and watched as the bride came out of the same room a few minutes later, adjusting her clothes as she went.
Devin’s mouth almost hit the tabletop and he w
atched the pretty girl clench her fists so tight her knuckles went white. The rest of his buddies at the table noticed his reaction and turned to look and figure out what was wrong. They all saw, and not a one of them needed it explained. The tension and anger running around that table was palpable. Their table was right next to the pretty girl’s table. All the young men started to rise and confront the younger stud, but they all halted when they heard the pretty little girl speak.
“So where have you been? We need to leave in a few minutes.”
“I was around. I got a little sidetracked,” he said smugly.
“Really! I’m sure my sister is going to be a little upset when she finds out that you consider fucking her a sidetrack. I’m heading out to the base. I suggest you find your own ride there.”
Devin watched the girl stand and head to the front door. He and his friends all exchanged looks. So this was the little sister that Mark had been telling them about but none of them had ever seen her. It wasn’t any wonder that Lizzie never invited her sister to go anywhere with them. She was a knockout even for being so young. She was hot, but according to Mark she was only seventeen. Can anyone say jailbait?
They all followed her at a distance, not wanting to miss a second of what was going on but also wanting to be close to Mark. Devin had a very sneaky suspicion that he was going to need them in a few minutes. They all saw a hushed confrontation between the two sisters. Devin saw when the little sister completely lost her temper and snapped. The slap echoed around the room like a gun firing. The words spoken by the girl were no long hushed. The entire room heard what she said loud and clear.