The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

  Sure my dad loved me, and I loved him, but moments where he was openly affectionate like he’d just been were still few and far between. He usually saved them for times when he was worried about me. Sometimes I wondered if that was one of the reasons Cass had acted out so much, because she’d wanted to get his attention, too.

  Since her death, we were a family in name only. We resided in the same household in LA, but we each lived a completely separate lives. Mom was emotionally closed off from both dad and me, always consumed with Cassie’s Cause. Sometimes I wondered if she remembered that she had two daughters, and that I hadn’t been buried alongside Cass that day.

  Dad was almost as inaccessible. He was more of business manager than a father to me, more of a roommate than a husband to my mom. The rare times he was home, he slept in a separate bedroom. They interacted with polite coldness in a way that grated and made me wonder what kept them together besides me anymore.

  No things were most definitely not gushy sweet in the Bentley household.

  Those thoughts skirted around the perimeter of my mind as Warren came closer, face hard, the cross pendant bouncing with each agitated stride, his bracelets jingling on his wrist.

  “You’re full of shit, Sweetness,” Warren countered, seeming to consider my family situation a personal affront. “Anyone can see that your old man loves you. Enough that I think he could take you being honest with him. Enough to understand that you’re old enough to live your own life. I’m sorry about your sister. That really sucks. But it was a long time ago, and it was her decision. You’re not responsible. You’ve got a good life now. You’re famous and successful. Wake up and look around you. You’ve got no reason to do anything stupid.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, to explain better that my life was not at all the way he thought it was when Alex interrupted, his shout carrying back to us from the living room. “You guys gonna stay back there a while? It’s fine if you do. I just wanna know if I can go ahead and eat some of this food. I haven’t had anything since this morning, and I’m starving.”

  War stopped directly in front of me. He was close enough that I had to crane my neck to meet his gaze. His thoughts were veiled behind dark eyes.

  “Are we done?” I asked peering at him through my lashes, hoping it was a seductive look because I was certainly in no hurry to leave my bedroom now that I had Warren Jinkins in it.

  I shifted my feet side to side waiting for his answer. Only a few inches separating us, his heat called to me. I didn’t want to argue anymore. What I wanted was a repeat of that kiss he’d given me earlier. That phenomenal one. Passion and technique in equal measure. Blew Alex’s formulaic one right out of the water.

  But his current hesitation made me think maybe it hadn’t been all that for him.

  I licked my lips. Well, so what. So I didn’t quite rock his world. I knew he was interested. He was the one who’d kissed me after all. I’d settle for that if it meant we could pick up where we left off.

  His gaze dropped to my mouth. Something heated glittered in his eyes that made my pulse pound in response. I swallowed, hope rising as he closed the remaining distance between us. His lids lowered shadowing the spark. In one quick movement, he had me up against the wall. He slapped one palm down near my hip, the other one up beside my head, caging me in. Then he leaned, my breasts crushed to his hard chest. I lifted my chin in anticipation, so eager now that I knew what to expect, now that I could feel his temptingly hard thighs and what lay between them pressed against me. His handsome face lowered, filling my vision. The world reduced down to just this, him and me and this moment.

  “We should be done,” he said, the harshness in his tone dousing my hope and extinguishing the flickering flames of desire. “You shouldn’t be looking at me like that, Sweetness. You’ve got no fuckin’ clue about a guy like me. I’d lay it out for you, but I don’t think that’s necessary. I think you’re smart enough to figure it out.” His words were meant to warn me off, to discourage me, and they would’ve, except his actions belied them, confusing me, maybe even confusing him, too.

  I held my breath as his thumb ran down my cheek, the gesture surprisingly erotic against my fevered flesh. Every sensation seemed magnified, the cool smoothness of his metal ring contrasting the rough warmth of his calloused skin.

  His eyes tracked his thumb’s movement. When he brushed the pad across my bottom lip, I didn’t think. I acted, touching my tongue to it, tasting the saltiness of his skin.

  He inhaled sharply, yanking his hand away. His eyes were an almost black mahogany now. Grabbing both my hands, he pulled them over my head and held me captive in his enticingly strong grip. I arched into him wanting to be closer. Wanting those warm masculine fingers interspersed with cold metal all over my body. Wanting more of everything that was him.

  “Guessin’ I need to spell it out.” His hard male contours beckoned, compelling me to rock wantonly. His warm breath fanned my lips like a vaporous kiss. I couldn’t have stopped the needful shudder that rolled through me even if I had wanted to try. “I’ve been bangin’ bitches since I was thirteen,” he growled. “I have my pick most of the time. Whoever I want, whenever I want, however I want. Not braggin’ darlin’. That’s just the way it is. I like to fuck. I like it rough, and I like it often. And sometimes I enjoy doing it with more than one.” Mahogany eyes plumbed my depths, searching and hardening as they found their mark. “I see that you’re finally getting me.”

  Oh yeah, I got it. He was being coarse. Vulgar. Letting me know I didn’t rank. That he didn’t want me. Not even for a night.

  I squeezed my eyes shut. The images he created with his words burned themselves into my brain. Dreams I’d already foolishly started to nurture went up in smoke. His words served their purpose, but the rejection in them cut too deeply. He was the first man I could ever remember wanting this badly and even though he was right here close enough to touch; he was too far to ever reach.

  “Open your eyes and look at me, Shaina.”

  I did, steeling myself for derision, but finding none. Instead his eyes were soft with apology and so were his words. “It’s not you. It’s me. I tried the boyfriend shit once before, got reamed up the ass for my trouble. Lost my best friend and my woman. I’m not going there ever again. And darlin’, we both know that’s what a girl like you is looking for.”

  He brought my arms down. He was such an irresistible contradiction, of hard and soft, cold and warm, a lot like the differences between those rings and the fingers he was trailing gently over my skin. He squeezed my hands before he released them. “Let’s eat, then I really gotta go.” He took a step back and went around me on his way out of the room.

  I didn’t move. Not for several long moments. I breathed deeply and blinked back the sting of tears, disappointment careening wildly around inside my chest.

  He was right. What I wanted I couldn’t have. He couldn’t give it to me. It was good that he had been upfront about it. Good to put those silly girlish fantasies to rest. I could adjust my expectations though. If I couldn’t, I never would’ve made it this far.

  What I had wanted every single day for the past eight years was for my sister to come back. For her to return to the home that now felt like a tomb. For her to take my hand and sit on the bed and giggle with me about boys like we once had. For her to give me advice on how to seduce a guy like Warren. Because that’s what I was going to do. That’s what had my heart running a mile a minute. I decided to take whatever he could give me.

  I’d be his whoever, and I’d take his whenever however crumbs if he’d be the one to feed them to me.

  He was wrong. I wanted lots of things, but I’d gotten quite accustomed to settling for less.

  I was desperate to feel.

  Something.

  Anything.

  I was sick and tired of being numb.

  CHAPTER NINE

  War

  “She’s got it bad for you, Jinkins.” Shaina had left to go brush her teeth after we
finished eating, and Treyall seemed determined to grill me in the interim.

  “Yeah. I know,” I popped some mints in my mouth and slid the tin back in my pocket. “I’ve got two eyes, bro.”

  “Whatcha planning to do about it then?”

  “I already spelled it out for her.” I met his gaze across the dining table strewn with empty plates and miniature condiment bottles. “She’ll be over it by tomorrow.”

  Alex leaned back folding his arms over his chest and continued to study me. “Think you’re making a big mistake, man. There’s definitely something going on between the two of you.”

  I didn’t acknowledge that. This was just his latest effort to get a rise out of me. It seemed like the guy had been baiting me during the entire meal. My jaw was sore from clamping my teeth together to keep my mouth shut. And it wasn’t just the things he said, it was the things he’d done. He’d scooted his chair so close she’d practically been sitting in his lap. They’d eaten off the same plate, drunk out of the same glass. He’d even wiped ketchup off her chin with his thumb.

  “She’s sweet as fuckin’ candy, but you should keep a better eye on her, Treyall. She’s a danger to herself.” I leaned forward, feeling my brow knit. “With someone else,” I lowered my voice, “the impulsive shit she pulled at the bridge, and here, could’ve gotten her raped or worse.”

  “She’s not as clueless as you think.”

  “Yeah?” I snorted. “I have to disagree.”

  “I’ve known her a lot longer than you have. I trust her judgment. She’s good at reading people.”

  “She’d need to be fuckin’ clairvoyant.”

  “If you care so much about her,” his eyes narrowed, “why don’t you stick around, keep her safe instead of running like you’re getting ready to do?”

  I was spared having to answer because Shaina walked back in the room. When she reached us, she stopped behind Treyall’s chair, leaning her body close like they were lovers, fingers absently fiddling with his hair.

  I pressed my lips flat. I’d had enough of watching this kind of PDA with them. The easy manner they had together made my blood boil. I set my beer down, telling myself that it wasn’t my place to get involved. I’d stayed way too long already. I needed to depart the psych ward before I became another one of the patients.

  “Warren,” she called and my eyes went straight to hers like a puppy. I fuckin’ loved the way she said my full name shy and breathy like that. “Could you stay for a minute longer? I wanna ask you something. But I need to see Alex to the door first. Ok?”

  How could I say no when she asked for something like that?

  I gave her a nod and myself a mental kick in the ass.

  Treyall threaded his fingers together with hers, kissed her knuckles and they walked to the door holding hands, again more lovers than friends. I lost sight of them when they turned the corner into the foyer. I sort of wanted to hear what they were saying, and I sort of didn’t.

  I’d meant what I’d told the dude. If he was really such a good friend to her, he needed to rein her shit in, rather than encourage it.

  A moment later, I heard the door close quietly and Shaina reappeared. I watched her face carefully as she walked toward me. Nothing there. I couldn’t get a read on what was up with her. She’d been acting differently since I laid things out for her. Quieter. Less talkative. Less animated. Her light switched to dim.

  She’d mostly spoken to Alex during dinner. Treyall had relentlessly teased her about the shoot they’d done today, never saying what the scene had been, but telling me how good she had been at it. She’d gotten red cheeked and flustered, which seemed to amuse him.

  She’d apparently given up trying to pry anymore personal information out of me, which was a good thing, I told myself. But I was a little surprised and maybe even a lot disappointed that she had given up so easily.

  I tensed when she reached my chair and I saw the look in her eyes. The fire was gone and in its place was something different. I couldn’t quite put a name to it, but already knew I didn’t like it.

  “I just have one question.” She licked her lips and threw a leg over my lap, sitting and straddling me. I sucked in a breath. “How do you want it, Warren?” Her voice was a low suggestive purr, but this felt calculated, forced, so not Shaye. “Face to face like this not too boring for a guy like you?” She curled her fingers into my neck, lowered her head, and touched her lips to mine. “This good?” she murmured against them.

  Fuck yeah it was good.

  My dick had gone hard as soon as she’d put her sexy ass in my lap. Her lips, her soft breasts, and all the rest ignited a fire in my blood that was only just barely contained. “Hold on,” I managed, and fuck me if she didn’t take advantage of my parted lips to stick her sweet tongue straight into my mouth. Though she seemed uncertain about what to do next, I wasn’t, her hesitation not making a bit of difference.

  I was way the fuck turned on.

  She wiggled in my lap, and her fingers slid up into my hair fingernails scraping my scalp.

  Fuck it. There was no way in hell I wasn’t getting some more.

  I grabbed her ass, spread her legs wider and brought them closer to where I wanted them to be. Then I straightened and angled my head. I was going in deep. I executed a slow delicious drag of my tongue against hers. If passion had a flavor her sweet delicious mouth was definitely it. The kiss went from hot to wet to carnal. She made a low murmur of approval, stamping her breasts into my chest.

  Yeah, she was with me.

  Her nipples were so hard I could feel them even through her shirt and mine. Somewhere in my brain it registered that she must not be wearing a bra, but I stopped thinking clearly after that. Gave up on logistics. Went totally on what felt good, and Shaina felt good, wicked good.

  Every curve was a temptation that I traced. Each soft moan fueled my desire.

  Wanting her became a roaring need that I gave into and worked it so we both blazed even hotter. I tongued her mouth, aggressively, giving her long lashes hard and deep. She took everything I gave, and I was giving it to her good, staking my claim, setting an impossible pace, already imagining the finish line and doing her naked in this chair.

  I got my hands under her shirt, loving the feel of her silky soft skin, knowing I’d have to go back and take my time exploring it later, but for now I concentrated on removing all obstacles in the way of my ultimate goal. I had the material of her shirt gathered in my hands but was reluctant to take my lips off of her delectable mouth to completely remove it. So I took one last leisurely taste. She liked that so much she whimpered, and then I pulled back to whip the fabric over her head.

  “Fucking beautiful,” I whispered as tendrils of her hair settled around her bared shoulders.

  And she was and those tits were. As pretty as any I’d ever seen, and I’d seen a lot of ’em. Full, well-shaped and topped with perfect sized rose shaded nipples. I’d caught a brief glimpse during her peek a boo performance earlier, but there was nothing to hinder my enjoyment now and better yet they were only inches away.

  I couldn’t wait to get my mouth on them.

  Her shoulders went back, her spine straightening. She didn’t go all shy as I expected (did this woman ever do what I expected?), but seemed to blossom under my obvious approval like a flower in the warmth of the sun.

  So stunning.

  So completely captivating.

  Lips swollen from my kiss, cheeks flushed, lids seductively lowered, her pretty eyes shining beneath them with a lustful glaze, I groaned as I felt her hands inching up my thighs.

  Enough of the poetic nonsense. I yanked her up by her armpits to get her higher and into position. Time to take what was right in front of me. She knew what this was. I’d already given her the score.

  My mouth parted and I was just about to latch on and have that sample I wanted when my usually on hiatus conscious decided to make an unwelcome appearance. “Darlin’, you sure about this?” With her for some reason, I had
to know she was certain.

  “I’m sure, Warren.” Her voice was a sexy purr. “No strings. No expectations after. I promise.” She slid off my lap and started to wiggle out of her pants, demonstrating her commitment to move forward. The skin she exposed made my mouth go dry, but I put my hands over hers stopping her.

  “No.”

  She flinched as if I’d physically struck her, squeezing her eyes shut, but not before I saw the truth in them. She was lying. To herself and to me. I should’ve known better. Things between us were already too complicated for this to be ok as just a meaningless hookup. No matter what she said, she would be even more disappointed if we went forward than if I just put a stop to it right now.

  So now it ended. I wasn’t doing this. Not to her.

  I got up, grabbed her discarded shirt, and placed it in her hands. Standing in front of her looking down and her bowed head, I willed her to look up at me.

  She opened her eyes, her fingers closing on the fabric, but her gaze remained elusive, splotches of embarrassment coloring both cheeks.

  “This stops right here, Shaina.” I slid my fingers under her chin, turning her face so she had to look at me. Her eyes were glossed up green. “No more foolin’ around. I’m not buying it.”

  “Why not?” She held the shirt up in front of those gorgeous tits, covering just enough to be as provocative as any centerfold pose I’d ever seen.

  “Because I’m the master manipulator or so I’ve been told. Because I’ve seen all the games, darlin’. Because I know all the plays.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Shaina

  “I’m not playing a game,” I started to protest. “I want you.”

  “No you don’t. You think you do, but you don’t, not really.” He leaned in, my clasped hands and my shirt trapped between our bodies, and kissed my cheek. His lips were parted, and his breath was warm on my skin. He wasn’t trying to seduce me, but still I had to lock all my muscles tight to stop the shiver that threatened to glide through me. “I’m hopping off this crazy train before it jumps the tracks. I don’t have room in my life for these kinds of complications.”