by Aliyah Burke
disheveled Lex striding towards him.
Maverick stood and met her halfway, enclosing her into
his arms. For a while, there were no words passed among the
eight people there. Hugs were given freely as the men tried
valiantly to hold onto their emotions.
Their mission had gone horribly wrong. Not given the
proper intel, the team had gone in essentially blind. All of the
men had received some type of injury, but the worst by far was
Harrier. He’d taken three bullets in the chest and another two
had barely missed going through the main artery in his leg.
The doctor on the carrier had stabilized him the best he
could, but the entire Team had been flown to the closest
military hospital within fifty-two hours, which was in Spain.
Someone had notified Alexis and so it was not any big surprise
to see her at the hospital.
They’d believed that he was going to be okay; but
unfortunately once they landed, Harrier had slipped into
unconsciousness and then began to flatline while they were
trying to prep him for surgery.
The doors to the OR swung open and eight sets of eyes
turned anxiously to the doctor who appeared. Alexis stepped
forward and demanded, “How’s my husband?”
With a deep breath, the somber man opened his mouth
to deliver the news.
_
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Tempest groaned as she leaned over to pick up the
phone. She’d just fallen asleep. “Hello?”
A feminine voice crossed the wire. “I need to speak to
Sarah Whitehall please.”
Instantly awake, Tempest sat upright in her bed. “I’m
sorry you have the wrong number. No one by that name lives
here.” Trembling, she placed the phone back down.
It hadn’t even been there for five seconds when it rang
again. This time, Tempest turned on her bedside light and
stared at the phone. One the fifth ring, she picked it up again.
“Hello?”
“Don’t hang up. I know you used to be Sarah
Whitehall.” This time the voice was laced with more than a
little bit of scorn.
“Who are you?” Tempest demanded.
“I want you to stay away from my son. Tell him you lied
before and that thing you call a son isn’t his. I don’t care what
you say; just make it so he stays away from the likes of you.”
The light bulb flickered on. It was none other than
Maverick’s mother, Dawn Lonetree. “First, I told you no one by
that name lived here so you need to keep your fucking mouth
shut, talking to me like you are all high and mighty.” Her
fingers dug into the smooth sheets of her bed. “I don’t lie, so
you just need to accept that. Now stop harassing me.” She
hung up again.
It rang again. Tempest wasn’t trembling this time, at
least not from trepidation. Now she was pissed. “Look, you
bitch, stop calling my house,” she snarled into the phone.
“He’s got a kid you know. With Talli. She’s pregnant.
He’ll never be yours. He knows to stay within the tribe.” The
voice was scathing. “He can’t wait for the child to be born. He
is so looking forward to be a father.”
It was like a knife was shoved into her chest. The room
began to spin as she turned off the phone and let it drop to the
mattress beside her as she slumped over. Fighting down the
nausea, Tempest turned off the light and despite the hot
summer night, she climbed under the sheets and pulled up a
blanket to try and contain the shivers that racked her body.
That night, her dreams were filled with images of
Maverick standing next to a beautiful Native woman and their
children. His face was scrunched with scorn as he told her he’d
found the one he was to be with forever.
Two hours later, with no chance of falling asleep,
Tempest swung out of bed and went to her backyard to begin
meditating. Her body finally sinking into a relaxed state, her
mind found the peace it so desperately sought.
Tempest was still in the lotus position when a shadow
fell over her. Cracking open one eye, she looked up to see her
son standing there. In his hand he had her cordless phone. As
they made eye contact he held it out to her.
Considering the calls she’d received early this morning,
Tempest was hesitant to accept the offered object. Her son
waited until she took the phone, then he sat down on the chair
and watched her.
“Tempest speaking,” she said into the receiver. “I’ll be
there in less than an hour.” She shut off the phone and
groaned. “There goes the rest of my morning.” Carefully
moving out of the lotus position, she got to her feet and smiled
tiredly at her son.
“I have to go into work. Mimi’s sick and can’t take the
shipment.” Leaning over to kiss his smooth cheek, she
continued, “I’ll see you later on this evening. Have a nice day at
school.” Then she disappeared into the house to shower and
dress.
As much as she tried, Tempest couldn’t get the hateful
woman’s words out of her head. It had been a month since
Maverick had pressed her body between his and her bedroom
mattress. He filled her dreams at night and her thoughts during
the day. While she knew he was working, Tempest found that
late-night call extremely disturbing.
Was he off with this Talli woman? She remembered a
child in that area who had gone by that name. She’d been
beautiful. But then, most Native Americans were in her
opinion. And James “Maverick” Chayton Lonetree was most
assuredly blessed in the looks area.
Stifling a sigh, Tempest grabbed another case of rum
and moved to the steps to take it up to the bar. Standing at the
top was the man she’d been thinking about way too much. He
wore solid black, his hair a bit longer than she remembered, but
he still made her heart skip a beat and her body flood with
desire.
His arms were crossed over his marbled chest as he
stood there watching her with eyes like black diamonds.
“James,” she breathed out on a long exhalation. The box
was placed back on the floor as she looked up at him.
“Hello, beautiful.” His voice flowed over her body like
Amaretto DiSaronno being poured over ice. He moved towards
her with the ease of a jungle cat. Each step was smooth,
graceful, and lethal.
His tall body halted before her. He didn’t say a single
thing as he drew her into his powerful embrace. The only
sound in the basement was their breathing.
Closing her eyes, Tempest allowed him to hold her. The
rich scent of Maverick infused her senses. Her hands wound
into his skintight shirt, clutching him closer.
It felt so good to be clasped in his embrace. But he felt
different. Tension emanated from his body into hers. Tempest
stepped back so she could look at him.
The concern in her eyes nearly brought tears to his. He
didn’t want to talk
right now. He wanted to feel. He wanted to
forget.
One blink and his hands slid down the cotton of her
yellow shirt and came to a rest on the denim of her shorts. With
one easy motion, he lifted her off the ground and walked them
back until she was pressed against the cool wall.
Tempest moved her hands up to latch around his neck
and her mouth found his. The kiss was tentative until she
released a moan into his mouth. Primal need to possess and
conquer her flared to life within Maverick.
His hands moved up underneath her shirt, barely
slowing before he jerked it off her head and left her clad in her
bra, a white, lacy thing that barely cupped her full breasts. Its
stark pale color stood out vividly against her smooth dark skin.
Maverick’s eyes softened as his hands moved almost
reverently over the firm nipples. His hands trailed over her
ribcage and down to the swell of her hips. The bronze of his
skin blended so sweetly with her darker hue.
With a deft movement, his fingers unbuttoned the shorts
she wore. Tempest never said a word as she watched him
observe her body. He unwrapped her legs from around his lean
waist and steadied her until her feet hit the floor.
Lowering the zipper on her shorts, he slid them down
over her hips and they pooled at her feet. Dropping to his
knees in front of her, he was face to face with the womb that
had housed and protected his unborn child. A light touch with
one index finger, traced the stretch marks on her belly.
“You are so beautiful, Tempest.” His lips followed the
path his finger had just taken. With extreme care, he lifted one
foot after another to remove her shorts from her sandaled feet,
leaving her in bra, underwear, and her sexy strapped sandals.
His hands moved up her satiny legs, reveling in their
softness. Never before had he touched anything so supple, so
intoxicating, and so enticing in his entire life.
Maverick looked up to see her staring down at him. He
couldn’t read her expression and it scared him more than he
wanted to admit. A small furrow appeared between his brows
and he opened his mouth to say something when two of her
fingers placed themselves over his lips.
Tempest shook her head. His tender touches left her
body aflame and she wanted more, so much more, but he
seemed to be hesitating. It was as if he weren’t sure he was
doing anything she wanted.
She knew he desired her; the hard ridge in his pants
when she’d been pressed against him had told her that; but for
some reason, he was trying to keep that under control now.
The uncertainty on his face spurred her into action.
Taking her fingers off his mouth, she knelt down on the cold
concrete floor and put her hands on either side of his face. Her
callused hands cupped his smooth cheeks and her thumbs
caressed his lower lip.
“I need you, Maverick,” she whispered moments before
she pressed her lips back on his.
“I need you, too, mitawin. By the Great Spirit, I need
you.” His mouth enveloped hers as he reached around and
undid the clasp on her back. “Let me love you, for once. Just let
me love you.”
As her bra straps slid from her shoulders, his mouth
covered one nipple while his hand covered the other. She
moaned in pleasure as his warm mouth tugged on her, sending
jolts through her system.
His tongue swept over the pointed tip only for a teasing
graze of his teeth to follow. She shuddered and knew he felt it.
Suddenly, it felt like it was one hundred degrees down in the
cool basement.
Sweat popped up all over her body as she let her head
lean back and rest on the wall behind her. His right hand fell
away from the breast it held and trailed down her side,
memorizing each dip and swell of her curvaceous body.
Tempest whimpered in frustration only to stop when his
mouth switched breasts, tugging on that nipple just like it had
on the first one. Her whimper changed into a purr of
contentment.
Maverick’s finger flicked the turgid tip of her free breast
before both of his hands settled at the edge of her plain white
bikini underwear. He pulled them down and tossed them to
the side. Maverick let his eyes roam over the stunning beauty
before him who stood only in her sandals with its alluring
straps around her ankles.
The smell of her sex wafted to his nose and he inhaled it
deeply. She smelled of cloves and citrus. His cock twitched
painfully in his jeans. He wanted to slam into her, dominate her
and make her realize she was his. She belonged to him and
there was no way anyone else was ever going to have her.
Mind-numbing sex was what he craved to force his
mind blank. But the second he looked upon her exposed beauty
and witnessed the trust she had for him in her gaze, a need to
show her what love was going to be like with him took over
instead. What it should be. How it was destined to be between
them.
Maverick pulled her closer by her full hips. Closing his
eyes, Maverick inhaled one last time then rose smoothly to his
feet and pressed her naked body to his fully clothed one.
Her brown eyes overflowed with unbridled passion. Her
small yet strong hands untucked his shirt before moving it up
his hairless, chiseled chest. When the hem was almost to the
top of his shoulders, he took over and removed it.
Tempest released a breath as she was faced with the
most gorgeous torso she’d ever seen in her life. It was marred
by faint scars and one fresh one that went from his left nipple
down diagonally across his ribcage.
Her fingers barely touched him as they skirted down to
the button on his black jeans. She didn’t hesitate to undo it and
slowly lower the zipper. Her eyes jerked up to meet his when
his hand gripped her wrist.
“I’m wearing boots, Tempest.”
She didn’t care. Tempest could see the long outline of his
hard penis and she wanted it. A sex-crazed woman was what
this man made her just by being in her presence. “James,” she
complained.
“Touch me,” he said even as he let go of her wrist and
ran his palm over the back of her head.
Eager to do just that, Tempest slid her hand beneath the
black boxers he wore and curved her fingers around his
throbbing erection. Maverick groaned as he felt her willing
touch on his body.
Her eyes dropped down before moving slowly back up
to meet his dark gaze. A tiny smile lifted the corner of her
mouth. “You sure have grown up quite nicely,” she said softly.
“Tempest,” his one word was strangled.
“Yes, James?” Her hand began to stroke him.
“Something you want to tell me?”
“Aside from the fact I’m about to take you against the
wall?”
Her fingers tightened as she met his blazing gaze. “Then
do it.”
Fourteen
Maverick lifted her against the wall. His pants were
around his ankles with no way of removing them without
stopping and getting rid of his boots, but that didn’t matter.
His thick, swollen cock knew just where to go.
Tempest’s legs were wide in open invitation. “Please,
James,” she said in a husky voice.
One thrust and Maverick had thoroughly sheathed
himself in her wet core. His eyes rolled slightly back in his head
as her heat encased him. Nothing in his life had prepared him
for this feeling.
“Oh, hell.” He drew out on a long breath. His body
rippled as he tried to not erupt within her.
Hooking her ankles behind his back, Tempest used the
wall at her back and his strong hands to support her. She
sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth as pleasure washed
over her.
Looking at the woman who offered herself to him,
Maverick knew he was in love with her. The feelings she
brought out in him were ones his grandfather used to talk
about. This was where he was to be. He knew it.
Moving his hips slowly, Maverick began to pump in and
out of her. Each stroke in her went to the hilt. When he
withdrew, her muscles clenched around him as if never
wanting to let him go.
“Tempest,” he moaned as he thrust back into her wet
body.
Her fingers wrapped around his wrists as she fought to
open her eyes. “What?” Her word was more of a grunt, as he
sent her body back against the cold wall behind her.
“I wish it had been better for you the first time.” He
pulled back so only the swollen head of his cock was left in her.
“I wish I had taken the time to love you as you deserved. I’m so
sorry.”
“Stop apologizing for that night. We were both young.”
Her dark eyes opened fully and focused on his black ones.
“Please, don’t dwell on that.” She shuddered as he slipped
back into her completely.
“As you command it.” Maverick began moving faster
and faster within her. His fingertips dug into the flesh of her
hips as he pounded deeper.
Tempest had her mouth open and short panting sounds
emerged from it. Despite the cold wall behind her, he saw the
sheen of sweat that covered her dark body. Her breasts jiggled
with every forward stroke he delivered.
Looking down, Maverick slowed and watched his rigid
