The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

  My heart pounded hard.

  The black Tempest T-shirt he wore fit his sculpted chest nicely, and the color made his eyes appear more gray than green in the low-lit corridor. He hadn’t toweled off well, leaving a fine sheen of moisture glistening across the dark tattoos on his corded arms.

  I glanced away, my cheeks burning as I recalled how I’d looked when he saw me last.

  “Where’s War?” he asked without any hint of embarrassment in his tone. Guess he’d already moved on from what happened last night.

  “Back on the bus, would be my guess. He was still sleeping when I left.”

  “It’s eleven fucking thirty,” Bryan grumbled, drawing out his phone. His long masculine fingers moved quickly and efficiently across the screen.

  “War. Asshole,” he said into his cell. “Do you know what time it is? Get the fuck ready . . . Yeah, yeah . . . She’s with me.” A sigh. “Okay. We’ll see you there.”

  Bryan slipped the phone back in his pocket. “Come on, Cinderella,” he said, guiding me toward the elevator. “Prince Charming wants me to escort you to the ball.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Bryan

  As soon as the elevator door closed, I turned and put my hands on her delicate shoulders. I could feel the warmth of her skin through the gossamer material.

  I lowered my voice, even though we were alone. “Lace, I’ve been trying to tell you since yesterday. What you overheard me say to Dizzy that morning, you’ve got it all wrong.”

  She shook her head, and the silky ends of her hair brushed across the tops of my hands.

  Like it happened just yesterday, I remembered how soft it had felt against my bare chest. All the blood in my body rushed south in response to the memory.

  I took in a lungful of air, trying to get myself under control. Last night had been a test of willpower too, a toss-up between wanting to kill my best friend for having his hands on her, and wanting to be in his place.

  I’d bought her that pink dress that had been bunched up around her waist. I’d wanted to be the one between her legs. I’d wanted her head thrown back in pleasure because my mouth, not War’s, was on her breasts.

  My heart rate jumped into overdrive at the memory. I lost the battle of mind over body, and my hold on her turned into a caress.

  “What was it I got wrong?” Lace’s shoulders tensed, and her angry tone penetrated my sex-hazed brain. “Was it our whole relationship, or was it just one of the two times you fucked me that night? Maybe it was my inexperience,” she said, her expression as harsh as her voice. “Though the way I hear it, most guys get off knowing they’re the first.”

  “Stop it.” My fingers dug into her arms. “Don’t make it into something ugly.”

  “I don’t need to do that. You did that all on your own with what you said.” Her eyes narrowed, and the pain I saw in them left me feeling cut up inside.

  I had to fix this.

  “Listen, Lace Lowell, and listen good.” I lifted my hands to gently frame her face. “What I said to your brother was the only part about that night that wasn’t real. Stop twisting my words. That night with you was beyond incredible. What you gave me was the most beautiful gift I’ve ever been given.”

  “Bryan . . .” She softly breathed out my name, looking unsure and shaken.

  I put a finger over her smooth, satiny lips. What I intended as a silencing gesture became something else entirely as soon as her lips parted, and I felt her warm breath against my skin.

  I stared into her mesmerizing eyes. “When Dizzy showed up, I admit I panicked. I didn’t know what to do about War. Plus, there was all that pressure back then about the RCA deal. I was worried about how that would affect everyone, including you. I was just trying to buy some time so we could sort it all out. But I never meant to hurt you. I—”

  The elevator dinged, and the door slid open. Dizzy, Sager, and King stared at us with their mouths open.

  I dropped my hands, and Lace took a step back. She wobbled a bit as she stepped out and moved past her brother.

  Dizzy frowned, then gave me a meaningful glance. “War’s up. He’s meeting us at the venue.”

  Silent as a funeral procession, we all piled into the chauffeured Suburban. Conversation was subdued.

  Sager slurped on a coffee in the back row. In the passenger seat, King drummed on the dash, earning a couple of warning glares from the driver. Dizzy stared out the window, and I watched Lace out of the corner of my eye.

  Looking pensive, she was perched on the edge of the middle bench seat between Dizzy and me. She kept her head down, picking at the threads on her jeans the entire fifteen-minute ride. I desperately wanted to know what she was thinking.

  As always, I was hyperaware of her presence. The air between us was charged. My nerve endings sparked with heat each time we turned a corner and my leg brushed against hers.

  Once we reached the venue, we all climbed out, passed through security, and then were escorted to the stage.

  “Wow!” Her eyes big and round, Lace turned in a circle, taking it all in. “This place is huge.”

  “Yeah. With nineteen thousand capacity, it’s a lot bigger than the Orpheum.” Dizzy dropped his leather jacket on the floor and lifted his guitar from its stand. “That was more of a historic vanity stop. This is the real deal, a proper rock venue.”

  Sager whooped, his yell echoing in the empty, cavernous arena.

  I continued to watch Lace. She still seemed unsettled from earlier, or maybe I was just projecting because I certainly was. Tugging on the lacy cuffs of her purple Henley, she looked uncomfortable and out of place as we got ready to play.

  It wasn’t so long ago that she would have been getting ready right alongside us. As I plugged in my Les Paul, she wandered over to the edge of the stage, and my mind drifted back in time to high school . . .

  • • •

  Four years ago

  “Where is he, Bry?” Lace asked me again for the third time.

  “I don’t know,” I said, but the truth was I did know.

  War was at the courthouse, doing a little extra credit to reduce the sentence he’d served that should have been mine. But I wasn’t at liberty to tell her that. I’d made a promise. And God knows I kept those, especially for him.

  I blew on my frozen fingers. The temperature in her uncle’s garage wasn’t much warmer than it was outside, and the damp night air seemed to seep into my bones.

  Sager scowled. “I’ve got to go to work soon. Can’t we just go ahead and rehearse, crank out a few songs without him?”

  “Yeah. This is bullshit.” King punctuated his statement with a drum roll on his snare.

  “Lace,” Dizzy said. “Why don’t you teach us that ballad you showed me the other day?”

  She shook her head at his suggestion, her long blond ponytail swishing between her shoulder blades.

  “C’mon,” Dizzy said. “I told you it’s really good.”

  “We could use a ballad,” I said, throwing in my support for her.

  She glanced at me, trying to communicate something. A warning or a plea? I didn’t know which.

  “I agree,” Sager said with a nod. “We need something couples can slow dance to in the clubs.”

  All eyes turned to Lace.

  “All right.” She sighed and moved to her keyboard. “I’ll play it through one time, but I’m stopping if anyone laughs.”

  Her jeans tugged tight across her ass as she took a seat. I swallowed and looked away, my gaze colliding with Dizzy’s narrowed, knowing eyes.

  I ran a hand through my hair, remembering his sobering warning to me. “Unless you plan to tell War, you need to put a lid on those feelings, bro. If I’ve noticed how things are between you two, it won’t be long before War figures it out too.”

  I couldn’t bottle it up. My feelings were way too strong to deny. Maybe I could have put a lid on them if War wasn’t always sending me in his place to smooth things over with her whenever they fought, which was all the
time. But I knew that was unlikely. From the moment Lace had stepped back into my life, I’d wanted her to be mine.

  The first few notes of a somber cascade of sound reached my ears, demanding my attention. I turned to look at her.

  Lace’s eyes were closed. Her contralto voice was hesitant, but soft and powerful. It got under your skin and tunneled straight to your heart, just like she did.

  Watching her, listening to her, I felt chill bumps break out all over my skin. Vaguely, I noted that everyone else was stock-still and staring at her too.

  As soon as she started the chorus, I realized why she’d given me that look earlier. This song was about us. About hidden passion and desire that couldn’t be denied.

  • • •

  Present day

  “Lace, do ‘Forbidden,’ please.”

  Sager’s annoyingly whiny voice brought my mind back to the present. His bass was strapped on and thrown over his back, his elbows resting on the piano where Lace had taken a seat.

  “Please,” he said again, putting his hand over his heart and acting like a complete dork. “I love that song. It always gets to me.”

  “No.” Lace shook her head, glancing at me.

  “Please, Lace.” King begged, copying Sager’s dorky gesture as he moved over next to him.

  “Oh, all right, just for you two.” Lace ran her fingers over the keys and tapped on the mic. “Test. Test.” Then she sat back, poised her fingers over the keys, and began to play.

  Her contralto voice sounded amazing in the empty arena, magnified by the tour sound system. Her face registered surprise when she heard it like the rest of us did. As we’d all already discovered, there was a world of difference between singing in a garage and hearing your voice pumped out through concert-voltage amps.

  Straightening her shoulders, she continued without missing a beat. Her beautiful amber eyes took on a faraway look, and her voice . . .

  Holy fucking shit.

  It was strong, confident, and seductive as hell. She had a talent that was meant for center stage. She was meant to be where she was, only with a spotlight shining on her, nineteen thousand people leaning forward in their seats to listen.

  For me, it was like no time had passed, and we were right back in high school when the emotions between us had reached their crescendo. During our first walk on the beach, I’d reached the tipping point. By the time we took our second one, she’d reached the same point.

  If I ask you to begin

  Would you make me all brand new?

  I would never let it end

  Build a world for me and you

  My forbidden love

  Do you feel the same?

  I come all undone

  When you breathe my name

  Am I just wishing things

  That can never be?

  My forbidden love

  Will you ever be with me?

  If I lay my soul down here

  Would you take it up from me?

  It’s yours to own, you know

  If you could only see

  My forbidden love

  Do you feel the same?

  I come all undone

  When you breathe my name

  Am I just wishing things

  That can never be?

  My forbidden love

  Will you ever be with me?

  If I beg to cross that line

  Would you erase it now?

  I know it would be so fine

  If you were mine somehow

  My forbidden love

  Do you feel the same?

  I come all undone

  When you breathe my name

  Am I just wishing things

  That can never be?

  My forbidden love

  Will you ever be with me?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Lace

  Four years ago

  I peeked over at Bryan as he walked on the beach beside me. His hoodie was pulled back from his head, allowing the breeze to ruffle his hair, sifting through the silky light brown strands like I wanted to. He stared at the ocean, which sparkled like his gray-green eyes reflecting the last rays of the sunset. Waves rolled rhythmically onto the shore like gentle breaths.

  I tried to focus on the soothing sound as I watched him.

  What would he say when I told him? I wasn’t sure. That’s why I’d kept silent for so long, so I decided to ease into it.

  “Have you given any more thought to my idea about adding my ballad to our set list?”

  “Yeah, I think it’s a good idea.” Bryan turned, his eyes meeting mine. “I think the other guys are on board. But have you and War talked about it?”

  “He was less than enthusiastic.” I puffed out my chest and lowered my voice, mimicking him. “If you want a ballad in our set list, come stand at center mic and sing it.” I completed my impersonation with one hand on my hip and a finger wag near Bryan’s face.

  “Yeah. That sounds about right.” Bryan raised a brow. “I have to say, you’re the only one with a voice to pull off singing ‘Forbidden.’”

  “Maybe you’re right about that one.” I gave him a long look, waiting to see if he would say or do something like he had on our last walk.

  When he didn’t, I was disappointed. But maybe he’d already made his move and was uncertain about my response. I realized that it was going to have to be me, all me this time, and not him.

  “But we have other ballads,” I said, “and you have to admit that ballads are some of the biggest hits for your favorite bands. ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ is Guns N’ Roses’ only number-one hit. And what about ‘Nothing Else Matters’ for Metallica, or ‘Home Sweet Home’ for Mötley Crüe, or—”

  “Okay, okay, Lace,” he said. “You made your point.”

  “It’s what sells,” I said, pressing my point. “More women buy music than men.”

  “Write another one then that War can sing, and I promise I’ll back you up about it with the band and with War. Maybe together, we can win everyone over.”

  Together. Oh yeah. I liked that idea. A lot.

  My heart pounded hard, and my palms got sweaty. No more stalling. Time to tell him how I felt. That I was in love with him . . .

  Hopelessly.

  Helplessly.

  Heedlessly.

  But I was terrified to say the words out loud.

  Because although sometimes I thought Bryan might feel the same when he looked at me with warmth in his eyes, or when his touch lingered, there were plenty of other times like right now when I just couldn’t read him.

  And then there was War.

  He and Bryan were so close. The bond they’d forged during their years together in middle school was real, strong, and obvious to everyone.

  And I loved War too, but it was so different with him. He didn’t make my heart pound out of my chest like Bryan did. Sure, War listened to me, but Bryan seemed to really hear me, and made me feel like my opinions were valuable.

  With War, and the other guys I’d dated before him, I held a part of myself back. War never pushed to get past that barrier. More often, he just ran over me to get what he wanted.

  Deep down, that made me wonder how much he really cared.

  The longer I was with War, the more I found myself opening up to Bryan instead. Recognizing this, I pulled back from going all the way with War.

  I wanted Bryan to be the one.

  “Bry,” I said, putting my hand on his arm at the same time he said, “Lace . . .”

  “You first,” I said with a teasing ghost of a smile. I was still afraid. Still unsure.

  “All right.” He sighed and stared back at the ocean. “I have feelings for you.”

  I froze. My heart racing, I held my breath.

  “Feelings I have no right to have.” He shoved his hands deep into the front pockets of his jeans and finally looked at me.

  My heart stopped. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t the way I wanted the unfinished business between us to go.
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  “War’s my best friend,” Bryan said softly. “We’ve gotta stop hanging out together, Lace. It’s wrong. I shouldn’t have let it go this far. We can’t do this anymore.”

  Shaking my head, I blinked back the tears that filled and burned my eyes. No!

  I turned and ran back the way we’d come, too proud to cry in front of him. Hearing his footsteps behind me, I sped up, glad to be wearing lace-ups instead of slip-ons. I couldn’t let him see me like this, so I ran faster. Thinking I was going to be able to get away when I made it to the stairs, I had my hand on the railing when he caught me. Stupid, stupid sand had slowed me down.

  “Lace.” Breathing hard, he grabbed my arm and spun me around.

  My long hair slapped against my face, stinging like his words had.

  “Let me go, Bry. I heard you. Message received, loud and clear. I get it.” My voice sounded as raw and exposed as I felt.

  “No, you don’t, Lace. How could you? You didn’t give me a chance to finish.” He raked a hand through his windblown hair.

  “So finish,” I said harshly.

  “You’re only seventeen—”

  “Oh, and you’re such a man of the world because you just turned nineteen,” I said, sticking my chin out. “I love you. I’m old enough to know that much. And I’ll be graduating early, at the same time as you. I’m not a child.”

  He tenderly framed my face with his hands. “I know that. Believe me, I’m very aware of that fact.”

  I melted when he brushed his thumbs softly across my cheeks. The roar of the ocean and the cries of the seagulls receded, giving way to the thundering sound of my heartbeat in my ears. As we stared at each other, I could see myself reflected in his gorgeous eyes.

  Bryan swallowed, breathed my name in a whisper, and then his lips touched mine. My body erupted with sensation—warmth at the point of contact, tingling across the surface of my skin, and molten heat inside that all but consumed me.

  It was just as I’d always dreamed it would be with him, only better.