The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

  I would need a magic wand to banish thoughts of Bryan Jackson from my mind forever.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Bryan

  An insistent rapping that matched the pounding inside my skull woke me. Bleary-eyed, I squinted at the hotel clock.

  Shit. I’d slept the whole fucking day. No surprise, given the amount of liquor I’d consumed.

  Someone banged on the door again.

  “Hold on!” I shouted, swaying unsteadily as I shoved my legs into my jeans and managed a couple of buttons before I made it to the door and swung it open.

  “You look like crap,” Dizzy said after looking me over.

  I shrugged. Incidentally, not a good move when you’ve got a hangover as bad as mine.

  “War told me to get you.” Dizzy came into the room, glanced at all the empty mini bottles, and raised a brow. “You drink all that liquor by yourself?”

  I nodded, which was another bad idea. The motion made the room rock and my stomach roll. I ran to the bathroom, ejecting what was left inside my tortured guts.

  Dizzy walked in just as I was flushing the toilet. He leaned his rear against the counter. “What’s going on? The guys and I heard you and War arguing on the bus. Sounded like he threatened you.”

  I stood up slowly, holding on to the door frame for support before pushing Dizzy aside to unwrap one of the plastic drinking cups so I could rinse the vile taste out of my mouth.

  “Can you give me a break here?” My gaze met his in the mirror as I pulled out a toothbrush from my bag.

  Dizzy unsympathetically shook his head. “This is because of my sister, isn’t it?”

  With the toothbrush sticking out of the corner of my mouth, I closed my eyes and nodded.

  “He finally find out about prom?”

  I shook my head.

  No. Not yet. Thank God. When War found out about that, there would be more than just a shove and a warning involved.

  Staring at the sink, I went back to brushing my teeth.

  “What then?” Dizzy’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you slept with her again?”

  I spit, drank a sip of water, rinsed, and spit again. “Dizzy, c’mon.”

  “No, Bry. You come on. You know how War is about her. Remember what happened when he found out about her and Martin?”

  “Yeah, I remember. Not easy to forget.”

  Dizzy knew the basic facts, but he didn’t know the whole of it. War had scared the hell out of me, though. I’d found out how deep his feelings for Lace ran, as well as how closely they mirrored mine. This situation between the three of us was such a tangled-up mess.

  I gave Dizzy a hard look. “You know Lace is using now too?”

  “Yeah, Bryan, I fucking know. She said she’s quitting. That she’s got it under control.”

  I snorted. That’s what War had said too. “And you believe her?”

  “I gotta believe her.” Dizzy shrugged but appeared troubled. “What can I do? It’s her life. You can’t control what other people do. Right?”

  Yeah, that was pretty much the same basic conclusion I’d come to . . . after nearly drowning myself in a sea of booze, thus the godawful hangover.

  I was really worried how this was all going to play out in the end. War’s warning hadn’t been an idle threat. He would do anything to keep her, just as I would give up anything for a chance to make her mine.

  Knowing that they were both shooting up had ratcheted up my sense of urgency about everything. I didn’t want a replay of what had happened with War before.

  • • •

  Two years ago

  “War! Asshole!” I yelled. “Open the damn door!”

  When he didn’t respond or come to the door, I looked over my shoulder and gave his mom a worried glance. She seemed just as concerned as I was, with her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

  “How long’s he been in there?” I asked.

  “Since last night.”

  Fuck. It wasn’t like him to stay in his room. Not in this house.

  “He was really upset when he came in.” She bit her lip. “I haven’t seen him that upset since the time he tried to see his dad.”

  Yeah, well, I definitely remembered how that went down, and that wasn’t a good sign.

  I banged on War’s bedroom door again. Nothing.

  “I’m gonna break it down. Okay, Ms. Jinkins?”

  She nodded.

  I kicked the door with my booted foot, giving it two solid tries. On the third, the wood splintered and the door swung open.

  “Shit!” I exclaimed when I saw him.

  War was facedown on the carpet, deathly still. The room reeked of vomit, and spoons and a syringe lay on the floor beside him.

  “I’m calling an ambulance,” Ms. Jinkins told me and hurried out of the room.

  I fell to my knees next to my friend and turned him over.

  War groaned.

  Thank God. I pulled him up to a seated position and slapped his face a couple of times. “Wake up, dammit. C’mon, man.”

  “Why, Lacey,” he mumbled without opening his eyes.

  “Shit. War, listen to me. Your mom’s gone to call an ambulance. That’s gonna bring in the cops. Me, personally, I don’t give a shit, but I know you do. You’ve got priors. This will land you in jail, and that’ll kill the RCA deal for sure. You okay with that?”

  War opened his eyes, his legs shooting out straight as he tried and failed to stand. He clumsily wiped the side of his mouth. “Mom!” he slurred. “Mom, c’mere!”

  “War.” Out of breath, she ran back into the room, a phone in her hand.

  “Put the phone down, Mom. I’ll be okay. Don’t need that kind of trouble. Not with my record.”

  Ms. Jinkins frowned. Looking uncertain, she glanced at me.

  I grabbed War by the shoulders. “Shooting up drugs is serious shit. The next time could be your last.” Leaving the choice up to him, even though it was against my better judgment, I said sternly, “If you don’t want us to call the ambulance, you gotta promise not to do this kind of shit ever again.”

  “I screwed up.” War hung his head. “I lost her. Lost Lace. I should’ve listened to you. I should’ve talked to her first about the RCA deal and explained, but it’s too late now.”

  When he spoke again, his voice was so low, I had to lean closer to hear him.

  “I saw her again with him last night, Bry. With Martin Skellin.”

  I knew. I’d seen her too. It had been like having a hot knife rammed into my abdomen. Long legs, short-ass skirt. She’d been practically having sex with him out on the dance floor. That guy was bad news. There was no way he loved her.

  That’s what made the whole deal such a brutal wakeup call. Until then, I’d been sure that if she ever broke it off with War, she would end up with me.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Lace

  Present day

  Bryan in a faded black Gibson T-shirt, and my brother in his leather jacket, were sprawled out shoulder to shoulder on the bus couch, playing a video game. The surround sound system filled the air around us with the sound of simulated gunshots. Since we’d boarded the bus again, I’d felt Bryan glancing at me, but we hadn’t spoken since his discovery last night.

  On the bench at the banquette, War’s arm tightened around my shoulders. I turned to look out the window and saw the mall where War and I had gone shopping earlier today. After I’d agreed to do the song in Atlanta, he’d insisted I have a new outfit. I hadn’t found exactly what I wanted, but with a few minor adjustments, it would probably be all right.

  Conversation buzzed on around me as we continued heading south on I-95. Sleepy, I leaned my head on War’s shoulder as he, Sager, and King continued their game of poker.

  War had made love to me twice back at the hotel. He’d never been so tender. I’d been a little surprised by his enthusiasm, given the amount of dope he’d used the night before. But I understood that it had been his way to show me that he cared and to affir
m that I was his.

  I suspected that my kiss with Bryan was weighing on War’s mind. My mind, however, was on much more than just that one kiss . . .

  • • •

  Two years ago

  Bryan’s hot skin slid against my naked back as I strummed my guitar. Warm kisses rained down, first along the base of my neck, and then across my shoulders. I sighed from the sheer pleasure of it.

  “Are you okay?” he asked from behind me.

  “Mm-hmm.” I was better than okay. Bryan had just made love to me in my bed after prom, and I was still basking in the afterglow.

  The darkness that had fallen over me like a shadow since our kiss on the beach, and seeing him with Missy afterward, had lifted. Being with him with the wall between us gone had inspired me. A melody and words rushed around in my head that I had to get down on paper. I’d loved him so much and had for so long, but now everything finally made sense.

  “I mean, are you sore?” he asked, trailing a finger softly up and down my spine while I tried to jot down the last of the notes and words on the music paper I kept beside my bed.

  “A little.” I set down the guitar and turned my head, smiling shyly at him over my shoulder. “But not too much.”

  His fingertips traced a featherlight trail along the line of the silk ribbon I still wore around my neck. “I love you, Lace Lowell.”

  My breath caught as my heart stopped and then restarted. Its previous stumbling, syncopated pace changed to a more harmonious, steady rhythm, reflecting the joy his words gave me.

  I shifted, twisting so I could look at him. “I love you too.” My lips parted as my shy smile blossomed into a radiant one that couldn’t be contained.

  My words seemed to have a similar effect on him. Using the roughened pad of his thumb, he reverently traced my wide smile, his lips curving up at the edges as if he’d absorbed my happiness through that simple touch.

  “Lace,” he said softly, his expression even more intense as his gaze moved over my face.

  The gray-green depths of his eyes fascinated me, especially the range of emotions I saw there. Love. Adoration. Desire.

  “I’d like to have you again.”

  My body flooded with warmth at his words. It was a heady feeling to be wanted and desired by the man you loved.

  He kissed me between my neck and shoulder. “Slower this time,” he mumbled against my skin.

  The first time had been wonderful, but over too quickly, a rush to a culmination and closeness with him that I’d never allowed anyone else. And though I’d messed around with War enough to know my way around the male anatomy, I’d still been a little unsure if Bryan had been pleased.

  It was intimidating to know that he’d been with other women. A lot of other women. Knowing now that he loved me gave me an additional boost of confidence that had been missing the first time around.

  I started to move, but he stopped me, his hands heavy and firm on my shoulders.

  “Hold on. Be still. I wanna try something.” His fingers tickled a bit as he untied and slid the silk ribbon from my neck. “This is sexy as hell. I’m never going to be able to look at a black ribbon again without remembering this night with you.”

  He leaned over me and pressed closer, the stubble from his chin rough where it rested on my shoulder. I watched the ribbon slide down to unfurl over my breast. A shiver rolled through me as he moved it, light as a feather, over the tightened bud of my nipple.

  “You’re so beautiful.” His words were warm in my ear before his tongue replaced them.

  As his tongue plunged in and out, I became hot and restless, and when he traced around the shell of my ear with the tip, I moaned his name. I reached for his face, wanting to bring his mouth to mine.

  “No, Lace.” He took my hands and kissed them. “It’ll be your turn in a minute. But for right now, I just want you to lie down.”

  I gave him a speculative look, and his lips curved up into a seductive smile.

  “Trust me.”

  “Okay, Bry,” I said. There was no one I trusted more to have a care with me.

  “I think you’ll like what I have in mind,” he said, his voice a persuasive low rumble.

  “I’d better,” I teased, stretching out on my bed as he shifted to kneel beside me.

  He slanted a brow. “Oh, I’m sure you will.”

  That sounded like a sultry promise.

  Still giving me that foreplay smile, he slid another pillow beneath my head. “I want to play a little, prolong things this time around. The rule is you look but don’t touch. Not until it’s your turn.”

  Sounds like fun.

  An anticipatory thrill pulsed through me as his heated gaze traveled the length of my body. With my heart pounding, I watched his hand open above me.

  The ribbon unfurled, and he glided the soft end up and over the slope of my breast. The silk barely made contact with my skin, but I was already so focused on what he was doing that I felt it with an intensity that surprised me. Then he withdrew the ribbon and leaned down.

  I felt the heat of his breath, right before I felt the warmth of his lips and the wetness of his tongue as he slowly and thoroughly retraced the ribbon’s path. My fingers fisted in the sheets. That felt fantastic. I moaned deep in my throat, and my back arched completely off the bed.

  “Told you you’d like it.” His lips formed a self-satisfied smile.

  I made a face and stuck my tongue out at him.

  Bryan’s eyes darkened a moment before his face swept down and he captured my tongue in his mouth. By the time he finished with it, I was panting for air and wanting more, so much more than he’d yet given me.

  He gave me a wicked grin, and then began teasing and tantalizing with the ribbon and his mouth on my other breast, using just the right amount of heat and pressure to make me go crazy, writhing on the sheets.

  “It’s not enough,” I said breathlessly. My nipples ached and my clit throbbed.

  “Not for me either.” He moved the ribbon lower, trailing it over my sensitized skin from the middle of my breasts down to my navel, and soft kisses followed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”

  My eyes slowly opened. Refocusing on his handsome face, I saw that his lips were parted and his breathing was just as ragged as mine. Knowing that bringing me pleasure was turning him on that much made me feel powerful and sexy.

  Without pausing, he moved his attention to the lower half of my body, running the ribbon down one leg and up the other, kissing, licking, and getting so very close, but never quite touching where I wanted him the most.

  Going crazy, I shuddered with need. “Enough.”

  I grabbed his hand and stopped him, and he turned his head, his smoldering eyes connecting with mine. I wasn’t going to last much longer, and I wanted to have my chance to touch him too.

  I peered at him from beneath my lashes. “My turn to play.”

  He pressed one more light kiss on my hip bone and then switched places with me, straightening the pillows and stacking his hands behind his head. His eyes gleaming, he grinned at me as if he were the one in charge.

  “Comfortable?” I asked, and he nodded. “Not for long.”

  Pulling in a breath, I took a surreptitious peek at the impressive length of him.

  Copying his technique wherever the ribbon had landed on me, I sucked, licked, and tasted every single glorious male inch of him without shyness, because this was Bryan, and I loved him. He was so incredibly sexy; the salty flavor of his skin gave me a stronger buzz than alcohol ever could. I discovered that I loved teasing and working him into a frenzy, just as much as he’d seemed to enjoy doing it with me.

  Making love with Bryan was so much more than I’d ever imagined it would be. He was passionate and playful, and yet so very tender. His body and its contrasts fascinated me. He was hard where I was soft. His chest was wide and smooth, his pecs defined, and his abdomen was a row of concrete ridges.

  When I paused to lick the flat coins of hi
s nipples, he moaned my name and grabbed the back of my head. Leaning back, it was me this time who breathlessly ordered him to open his eyes.

  With those gray-green eyes glittering with heat, he gazed back at me through his thick lashes. I gave him a naughty grin before strategically opening my hand and letting the ribbon drop, the length coiling around the steely tip of him.

  “Enough, imp.” Bryan growled, grabbing me and flipping me over onto my back. “Playtime’s over.”

  He knelt between my legs and brought our bodies together in a single masterful motion that felt so good, I hummed low in my throat.

  Finally, I was getting the more that I’d wanted. Once we were connected and he began to move, the buildup was so quick that it was only moments before we spiraled out of control and climaxed together.

  • • •

  Present day

  “Wake up, Lacey.” War’s voice washed the memory away like being doused with ice water.

  I opened my eyes, lifting my head from his shoulder and feeling disoriented.

  “You were moaning in your sleep, babe.” War’s brown eyes danced as he smiled. “Remembering the two times earlier, huh?”

  My cheeks flushed.

  “Bryan, dude,” Dizzy said. “Pay attention, man. Quit looking at them. You’re getting us killed.”

  Feeling Bryan’s attention on me, I pushed against War’s solid chest, the pressure of my fingers creasing the soft material of his white T-shirt. “You’re embarrassing me. Let me out.”

  “Come on, babe.” He tried to kiss my cheek, but I ducked away.

  “War, please.”

  “Oh, all right. Sorry, babe.” He scooted out so I could exit the banquette. “It’s just I’m so glad you’re back in my life, and I had a good time with you today. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing,” I mumbled with my gaze on the floor.

  I shouldn’t have been this upset. I wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t been dreaming in vivid detail about what it had been like with Bryan. It made what I’d done with War seem almost tawdry by comparison.