The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

  “I’ve taken numerous statements. Members of the Bruins offensive line were very forthcoming. She seems to like the big guys. They say she fucks like an animal. But how hot is she really?” I could barely hear him over the pissed off roar inside my ears. No way would he let this ridiculous footage make it to the air. No, he was just trying to provoke me. And it was working. I crushed the key fob in my grip. It was instant insanity for me to imagine anyone else with her.

  “She can’t be as good as all that,” he continued. “C’mon talk to me. Give me the details. Set the record straight,” he coaxed, putting his hand on my shoulder. “She better than Raven?”

  “Fucker.” I grabbed him by his shoulders and threw him into the side of the Hummer. “You should have kept your hands to yourself and your worthless mouth shut.” His eyes were wide. The skin beneath his fake tan turned paler than pale. “You hearing me?”

  “Hey, hold on there just a minute. Do you understand who I am?”

  “I don’t give a shit who you are.” I set him down so hard his teeth clattered. “You touch me again. You even come near me or Miriam, and the lawsuit my record label will file on my behalf will be the least of your worries. ¿Comprende?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  King

  I was so upset my hands shook as I wrapped them around the steering wheel. I squeezed the metal tight instead of getting back out of the car and strangling that motherfucker. I avoided picking up my cell though I was sorely tempted to open the browser to see if the things Besille had alluded to were really true. But I knew that was the path to madness. She’d had other guys. I’d been with other women. I had told her myself that the past didn’t rank. I stared at the chain link fence in front of me and concentrated on slowing my breathing. Miriam was mine now. Mine alone. Or she would be after I made things clear tonight.

  I pulled out of the parking spot. Taking a moment to be a little evil, I spun the tires of the Hummer right at the talk show host and his cameraman, sending a kick up of loose gravel before letting off the gas enough to steer onto the street.

  Hearing him curse my name made me feel slightly better. It had been totally classless of him to seek me out and ambush me with that bullshit. I set the vehicle toward home, toward Miriam while asking the voice recognition software on my cell to ring Sager.

  “Hey, what’s up?” mi hermano answered after the third ring, his voice sounding like the gravel I had just slung at Besille.

  “Did I wake you?” I glanced at the clock. Had my errands and workout taken longer than I had thought?

  “Um, no. I’m in bed, but I’m not sleeping.” I heard a feminine giggle, and I got it.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  “You didn’t. I mean, you would have if you had called a couple of minutes earlier.” The line went quiet but for a low murmur. “I’m totally ready to go again, but it seems that my pixie needs a breather.”

  “Yeah, right,” I heard her say and also heard a muffled whack that sounded like his palm slapping her bare ass.

  “Do not put any clothes on, woman. This is only a reprieve for you. But I’m far from finished, I assure you.”

  Another giggle.

  “Sager,” I called.

  “Yo, bro.”

  “Focus.”

  “Hard to do, man.”

  “I get it. I totally do. But I need your advice about Miriam.”

  “You got it. What is it?” The teasing tone disappeared from his voice. “What’s going on?”

  “I just got ambushed by Carter Besille at the gym.”

  “That sucks.”

  It did. “He’s bringing up her past. Other guys she’s been with. Shit that makes me feel homicidal.”

  “You’re jealous.”

  “Fuck yeah, I’m jealous.”

  “You wanna kill anyone who has ever touched her. Anyone you think might consider touching her. She’s on your mind constantly. She’s all you can think about. You probably have the Hummer gas pedal to the floorboard right this very minute so you can get back to her faster. You want her on your cock now. You want her on it twenty-four seven. And you want to keep her in your bed for at least a week. And even then you know it won’t be enough. That it will never be enough.”

  “Sager,” I heard Melinda chastise. “Way too much.”

  “Am I right?” He ignored her reproof.

  “You’re right.”

  “Damn.” There was a definite smile in his voice.

  I felt like a damned man at the moment. Too many things were uncertain between Miriam and me.

  “Oh how the mighty have fallen.” He chuckled.

  “Go ahead, mi hermano,” I grumbled. “Get it all out of your system.” I had given him plenty of shit. I was getting my due.

  “No more fiestas for you, my friend.”

  “Oh, I’ll continue to have them alright. Only they’ll be naked parties for only two.”

  “I hear ya. But have you told Miriam how it’s going to be?”

  “She’s not exactly the kind of woman you tell things.”

  “Yeah, neither is Bluebelle. You’re gonna have to use some finesse.”

  “In other words, I’m fucked.”

  “No, just feeling it, like we all have, all the guys in the band, at one time or another. The timing sure sucks with our father in the hospital, her family drama and the media stuff and all. If I were you I’d get her away from all of that. Take her somewhere private to talk.”

  “I was going to take her out to dinner.”

  “Yeah, a decent plan, but too public with guys like Besille lurking around. I’d go for somewhere more intimate. Somewhere where it’s just you two. Somewhere you can say exactly what’s on your heart without interruption. On second thought, don’t worry about finesse. Don’t worry about the past. That’s not gonna matter for shit. Nothing will, once you give her the words that are inside of you.”

  • • •

  Miriam

  “Ann! Holy shit!” I exclaimed when I saw her. “I wasn’t expecting you.” I flung the front door wide and reached for her.

  “I’m surprised you remember me.” She was stiff in my arms as I hugged her. When I pulled back I could see that her eyes were emerald flames beneath her creased brows.

  Oh, fuck. More family fun forthcoming.

  “You wanna come inside before you lay into me like everyone else?”

  She flinched.

  “C’mon.” I waved her into the house. “But close the door after you enter. It’s Southside. You know how it is. Best to keep domestic issues behind closed doors unless you want the ever-present cops getting involved.” When I reached the middle of the living room, I turned back around to face her. “Go ahead.” Stomach cinched tight, I lifted my chin, pretending her disapproval didn’t hurt. “Cut me down to size like Bryan and Mom already have.”

  “I would. I truly would.” The flames washed out as her eyes filled. “Only I know exactly how it feels to be alone.” She sniffed. “How could you do this to me? Lie? Shut me out? Keep everything from me? Why?” Tears once free, spilled down her cheeks one after another.

  “Because.” I crossed to her, eliminating the space between us when reason cautioned against it. Let her hate me. It would have been better, safer for her to not be on Campanella’s radar. But I couldn’t let her suffer.

  She didn’t fight me. She didn’t reject my embrace. Relieved, tears of my own escaped. “I didn’t want mom to find out,” I explained. Suppressed emotions broke loose from the tangle inside my chest. “Because I’m selfish. Because I needed your love. I’m so sorry Ann.”

  “Miriam, I’m your my sister. I’ll always love you no matter what.” She sniffed again and leaned back to look at my face. “What do I have to say? What do I have to do for you to truly believe it?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” We were both sobbing now. Hot tears tracked down my cheeks.

  “There’s nothing wrong with you. That
you continue to insist there is upsets me the most.” She stared at me a long beat, her gaze steady. I noticed changes I had missed since I had last seen her. Her brown hair was lighter like polished copper. Her eyes seemed a deeper green. Her features were more mature. A pretty girl had become a stunningly beautiful woman. That realization hurt, too. She would change more. She would keep growing, and I would miss out on it all again, only this go-round for nobler reasons, though she might never know them.

  “There’s no fatal flaw inside of you that makes you unlovable.” She put her hands on my shoulders and squeezed. “You only believe that there is.”

  “Let’s count my flaws, shall we, Ann? I’m self-centered. Prideful. Dishonest.”

  “You are the least self-centered person I know. Your pride is believing you are stronger than you really are and refusing to let those who love you help you. Yes, you lied. Yes, that hurt me. But you did it for a good reason, one that you’ve yet to reveal. If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t be here. So why, Miriam? Why did you really lie to me?”

  “Because I didn’t want you to know how horribly I failed.” My shoulders sagged. “I didn’t want your opinion of me to change. I couldn’t have done what needed doing if you had withdrawn your love from me. Knowing I had it gave me the strength I needed to pick myself back up after I lost everything. More than Mom. More than Bry. You matter the most.”

  “Oh, Miriam.” She shook her head sadly. The wiser more mature one. “I’m here now. You have me.” She took my hand. “And you have Juaquin?”

  “Yes.” For the moment.

  “Does he treat you right?”

  “Better than right.”

  “Good. Does he know what you’re worth? Does he love you?”

  He saw me. He knew me as well as she did, better in a lot of important ways. We understood one another. We were so good together. But he didn’t love me. I couldn’t allow myself to believe that fantasy.

  I shook my head.

  “If that’s true, then it’s his loss.” Her fingers flexed sympathetically around my own. “I know how much you’ve always cared for him.” She straightened her shoulders and gave me a firm look. “So the porn and everything else that’s all over the internet. What are you going to do about it?” She stared at me expectantly.

  “I don’t know, Annie,” I lied once more. I did know. I knew exactly what lay ahead for me, but I was too big a coward to completely sever the cord from her and her faith in me.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  King

  I tapped my foot impatiently on the entryway tile.

  “Gracias.” Miriam kissed my mother’s cheek and hugged her. Then she knelt down in front of my grandmother. They exchanged soft words, but I couldn’t hear them.

  “Ándale, mamasota. Hurry up.” She was taking an eternity to say goodbye. “You’re not leaving forever. Just going to a hotel for the night. Dale. Come on.”

  “Patience, nieto. I would say a bendición.” Abuelita waved me over. I almost growled but dutifully complied. I wanted Miriam to myself, us alone and both naked in the hotel room I had reserved for us after Sager’s advice. But how could I refuse my abuelita?

  “God of Grace, bless these two children and the love they have found for each other.” I cracked opened my eyes to see how my queen reacted to my grandmother’s words, but her face was composed, and her eyes were closed. “Through its power may they always hope and believe and endure all things. Amen.”

  “Gracias, grandmother.” I leaned down to kiss her cheek. Miriam did the same, then I tugged on her arm. “No more goodbyes.” I hitched the backpack higher on my shoulder. It was light. I had warned my queen that she wouldn’t need anything tonight but a toothbrush.

  “If I didn’t know you so well,” I told Miriam once we were outside and I helped her into the passenger seat of the Hummer, “I would think you were stalling. Tassels,” I added. The hem of her crochet sweater hung down into door frame.

  “You know better than that.” She swept the offending strings inside the vehicle. “I want as much time with you as I can have.” She peered up at me through her lashes. “I’m looking forward to spending the entire night alone with you, Juaquin.”

  Ay Dios mio. I wanted her so badly. My throat went dry. I could only nod to acknowledge her statement. My cock was so hard, it was difficult to walk with dignity as I rounded the hood. Somehow, I managed it, got in and fired up the engine. She cranked up the volume on the stereo, returning the smile I gave her.

  “You’re an excellent copilot.”

  “Not a hardship to be sitting shotgun beside you, Juaquin.” She glanced away. “Any woman would be honored to be in my place.”

  “Thank you, Reina.” I felt her praise pierce my heart. The words I planned to say were ready to flow, but I staunched them. Not here. Not yet. Everything had to be perfect when I told her.

  The screaming vocals. The blazing guitars. The kickass drumming. They vibrated the metal cabin as I steered the vehicle through the streets in the direction of the freeway.

  “Where are we going?” She shouted to be heard, and I grinned, reaching for the dial and turning the music down.

  “The Alexis.”

  “Whoa. That’s a pretty fancy address.” She glanced down at herself and frowned. I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You look fantastic.” Lacey sweater that fell to her knees. Tank. Jeans shorts. Sandals that drew attention to the length of her legs. Sexy bohemian with a southwestern kick. “I love your style. Though I will admit I prefer you naked.”

  “I prefer you that way, too.”

  “Excellent.” I grinned.

  “But seriously, it’s a high tone hotel. I went there during prom when one of the rich kid’s parents bought a couple of rooms for us to party in. You don’t need to spend that kind of money on me. I’m a sure thing.”

  She was anything but a sure thing, at least the type of sure thing I wanted her to be, every single night beside me. But I determined that I would get her there.

  “Miriam, I have money now. I know the value of it. I worked hard to get where I am. I want to splurge tonight. Not to impress you, but because I want to make tonight special for you.”

  “It already is.” Her lips formed a smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “I feel the same way,” I stated softly. After so many wrong turns we had taken, this felt right. I turned my gaze away from her to focus on driving. The hectic downtown traffic deserved my attention.

  I exited the freeway and got lucky with green lights all the way to First Avenue. I pulled the Hummer directly in front of the historic four story turn of the century building. Killing the engine, I swiveled part way around, grabbed the backpack from the floorboard behind me and got out. A light ocean scented breeze tossed my hair around as I rounded the hood to let my queen out of her unconventional chariot.

  “Thank you,” she said, and the simple act of her sliding her hand into my outstretched one made my heart pound and my eyes burn with possessiveness.

  “Mr. Acenado,” a valet in a crisp black uniform called, drawing my attention from Miriam. “I’ll take your keys if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course.” I tossed them to him. Two world tours. A triple platinum album. Yet, I sometimes forgot the drill at fancy hotels, and the fact that strangers often knew me by sight.

  Hand in hand, we ducked beneath the awning emblazoned with the name of the hotel, entered it through the glass doors and stepped inside the small but elegantly appointed lobby.

  “Mr. Acenado.” A middle-aged woman in a dark business suit abandoned the front desk and scurried to greet us. “I’m the VIP concierge. We’re honored to have you staying with us.” She gestured to her left. “If you’re ready to go to your room, I’ll escort you there personally.”

  I nodded and she took us to the elevators, holding the door open for us to enter ahead of her. Once inside, she discretely faced forward, and I took advantage of the relative privacy to pull Miriam close. Brus
hing the length of her hair aside, I trailed my nose along the exposed column of her neck. I felt her shiver as I planted a soft kiss beneath her ear. We arrived at our floor too soon for me to take things any further.

  The concierge stepped out, and we followed once again as she led us down a quiet hall. She stopped at our door, waved a card in front of the pad and entered the suite. We stepped past her, the oceanfront view out the floor to ceiling windows drawing both of us forward.

  “It’s beautiful.” Miriam withdrew her hand from mine to get a closer look. “You can see the Ferris Wheel. The water. The market. Everything. It’s very romantic.”

  “So the room meets with your approval?” the concierge queried.

  I didn’t care so much about the room. Miriam monopolized by attention. But I managed to withdraw my gaze from her for a quick glance around. Luxurious seating area. Plush carpeting. A huge four poster bed. Numerous places I planned to have my woman or let her have me. Plus I noted it had a view of the city on the east side of the room as I had requested.

  “Everything’s perfect,” I asserted, staring at Miriam once more. She still had her back to me, her eyes on the water. I moved toward her vaguely registering the door clicking closed as the concierge left. Sensing my presence or maybe seeing my approach in the glass Miriam turned to me even as I slid my arms around her waist.

  “I love how you do that.”

  “Do what, Reina?”

  “Glide toward me so smoothly. Touch me so gently. Press your body into me. It’s sexy.”

  “If you are across the room, I am thinking about closing the distance between us. If I’m not touching you I’m contemplating it. When our bodies are close, I only want them closer. After I have you, I want you again. So if I am sexy, it’s just a reflection of the way I feel about you.”