The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

  “I’m sorry too,” I said. “I guess I’m just stressed out about Atlanta. I’ll feel better after I work on my wardrobe.”

  Once I was alone in the back of the bus, I was able to catch my breath and regain my equilibrium. I placed the outfit I planned to wear for Atlanta on the bed. Low hip-hugger jeans with a little flare at the knee, a cool silver peace-symbol belt, and then the lacy long-sleeved midriff-baring top that was really lingerie. That was the part I needed to fix. In its present condition, it was completely transparent.

  I took out a needle and thread and went to work.

  After a while, I heard a lot of banging around outside the door, followed by the sound of the guys warming up with their instruments. I picked up my stuff and wandered back to the front to join them. Bryan’s eyes searched mine for a moment before he looked away.

  I immediately recognized the melody he was strumming. It was the one I’d been working on after the first time we made love. Luckily for me, he didn’t have the lyrics that went along with it. If he sang those right now, it would probably kill me.

  Why is he doing this to me?

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Bryan

  Two years ago

  I smoothed a finger over Lace’s brow. She looked so peaceful while she slept.

  What have I done?

  I’d convinced myself last night that because I loved her so intensely, that this must be right. But as daylight seeped in through the blinds in her bedroom, I knew that I couldn’t hide from the glaring consequences of my actions.

  A couple of soft knocks might as well have been the shots of a firing squad to my guilty conscience. My gaze snapped to the door.

  “Bryan, if you’re in there,” Dizzy whispered from the other side of the door, “you need to wake up, man.”

  Shit.

  Carefully, I moved to the edge of the bed and pulled on the tuxedo pants I’d worn the night before. I glanced back at Lace. She held the black ribbon in one of her hands and was lying on her side as she slept, her beautiful blond hair spilled across the pillow. The sheet had fallen away from her chest.

  The beautiful Cinderella without her ball gown.

  Dizzy knocked again.

  Time for the prince to leave.

  I slid the ribbon from her grasp and tucked it in my pocket before gently pulling the sheet up over her. Moving for the door, I grabbed my shirt, jacket, and tie on the way.

  Dizzy’s amber eyes widened when he saw me. “I hoped I was wrong.”

  I shrugged. I wasn’t going to get into this with him right now.

  “War’s on his way over.” Dizzy ran a hand across his face, and I felt my stomach drop. “If he sees you here with her, it’s gonna be over for all of us. Ruin everything for everyone. Right when we’ve got two labels fighting over us, and a chance for all of us to get out of Southside.” He frowned. “Never figured you were such a self-centered prick.”

  Panicking, I blurted the first thing that came to mind. “War doesn’t need to know.” My stomach churned. “It was just prom. Getting laid is a rite of passage. It didn’t mean anything.”

  • • •

  Present day

  “What’s that mellow shit you’re playing?”

  Dizzy’s question brought my wandering thoughts back to the present.

  Of course he didn’t recognize it. Only Lace and I knew that melody. It was the song she’d strummed in her room the night after prom. I played it now, meaning it as a message for Lace, wanting to remind her of what we’d once shared. To remind her of that night when she’d been mine, and mine alone.

  “Yeah, man, no mellow stuff.” Sager pushed his jet-black hair out of his dark eyes before he put his pick between his lips and plugged in his bass. “What we need is some good road music.”

  “How about ‘Endless Highway’?” King banged his sticks against a practice snare pad.

  “No way.” Sager made a face. “RHCP’s ‘Road Trippin’.’”

  I sneaked a peek back at Lace while King and Sager continued to argue about the merits of their choices. Her head was down, her blond hair spilling over the embroidered ivory blouse she wore while her fingers deftly weaved a needle in and out of a scrappy piece of white material she held.

  “I’ve got the perfect song,” King said. “‘Born to Be Wild.’ That’s us right there.” He laid down the intro beat, and Dizzy joined in on rhythm guitar.

  “Steppenwolf. Hell yeah. Good one, King.” Sager picked up his cell. “Hold up. We need to get this on our YouTube channel.”

  I slanted a brow. “You guys have a YouTube channel?”

  Sager nodded. “TMT. Tempting Men of Tempest.” He and King moved back to back, their arms crossed over their chests. “We’re dynamite and sin all wrapped up together.”

  When I laughed, Sager scowled at me.

  “Don’t be a hater, man. We’ve got over thirty thousand subscribers.”

  “Lined up lots of good tail because of it,” King said proudly, his lips curving. “Primo poon. Remember Dana?” He wiggled his brows.

  “Oh yeah.” Sager nodded. “Redheads are sweet. Remember her, Bullet?”

  I frowned and glanced at Lace. Her lips flattened as our eyes met.

  “Hey, Bryan,” Sager said and held out his cell. “Here. We need a cameraman.”

  I took his phone and began filming as soon as the guys started up again. War wandered over during the second play-through and provided the vocals. Lace put down her sewing and twirled around in the aisle on her bare feet, looking like a young Stevie Nicks in that gypsy top as she sang along with him.

  My lips lifted into a nostalgic smile as I watched them. This was how it had all been when we’d first started out, jamming in that old musty garage, covering our favorite tunes. It had been fun and easy when it was just about the music.

  The bus lurched to a stop, and I glanced out the window. “Looks like we’re stopping for fuel.”

  “Thanks, man.” Sager grabbed his phone from my hand. “Let’s go get some snacks, King.”

  “Wait up,” Dizzy called. “I’m coming too. I need some new reading material. How ’bout it, Bryan?” he asked over his shoulder.

  “Sure.” I glanced at Lace. “I’m betting they have popcorn in there.”

  “Then I’m in.” She turned back. “You want anything, War?”

  He shook his head, pointing to the cell he held to his ear. “I need to finish this call.”

  While the others filed into the truck stop, I lingered, checking on the driver and trying not to look suspicious. But I was determined to find a moment alone inside the convenience store with Lace.

  I found her at the back, near the coolers. Placing my hands on her arms, I leaned over her shoulder and wasn’t surprised when I felt her muscles tense beneath the gauzy sleeves.

  “We need to talk,” I said, turning her to face me.

  “No, Bry.” She shook her head. “What’s left to discuss?”

  “Lots.” I shoved my fingers through my hair. “The messed-up shit you’re doing with War, for one.”

  Over on the adjacent aisle, King raised his voice as he popped off to someone. Usually loud and boisterous with a notoriously quick fuse, the only time our drummer was shy and quiet was around the ladies. At the moment, though, I only had interest in one person.

  Focusing back on Lace, I shifted closer, trapping her between my arms so she couldn’t move. “I can’t get you out of my head, and that was before the kiss we shared on the bus. If you’re being honest, I don’t think you can either. Emptying the minibar was the only thing that kept me from coming and taking you away from him last night.”

  I saw the truth reflected in her eyes.

  “I’ve never forgotten prom, and how it was between us,” I said emphatically, and probably a little too loudly.

  I yanked her closer, watching her tongue dart out to moisten her lips. I wanted to pull it into my own mouth, and that was just for starters.

  “Don’t tell me there’s n
othing left to say.” I slid my hands up to cradle her face and lowered my voice. “Meet me tomorrow morning in the hotel workout room in Atlanta. Eight o’clock.”

  “I can’t.” She shook her head.

  “Bullshit,” I said tersely. “Find a way, Lace. If you don’t show, I’ll come find you.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Lace

  In the front lounge, I waved my hand in front of my nose as the guys stuffed their faces with fast food. “Jeez, it smells like a grease factory in here.”

  “C’mon, Lacey. Have one.” War offered me a French fry. “You used to love McDonald’s.”

  “No, I didn’t.” I shook my head at him and raised my brows. “You must be getting me confused with the other love of your life,” I teased. “Yourself.”

  “Dick’s Drive-In was her favorite,” Bryan muttered under his breath.

  When his gaze met mine, my cheeks flamed. I’d been a sucker for those gray-green eyes since I was five.

  War frowned. I think he noted my response and didn’t like Bryan pointing out things he knew about me that War didn’t.

  Bryan stood and crossed the aisle, and I turned my head to follow him. As he reached up to rummage around in the top cabinet at the kitchenette, his black T-shirt rode up, providing a glimpse of his bared midsection. The view of his flat abs and contoured hip bones mesmerized me nearly as much as his eyes did a moment before. The black color of his shirt was a perfect backdrop for his tats. I’d told him once that I thought the tattoo sleeves were a waste of money.

  Looking at him through my lashes right now, I decided I’d changed my mind. The intricate black Japanese characters that spelled out his mom’s and his sisters’ names were sexy as hell, and worth every single penny. I imagined tracing the marks with my fingers, or maybe even my tongue.

  “Lacey, pay attention.” War’s frown deepened. “The guys wanna know if you’re in for a game of truth or dare.”

  “Oh, okay. Sure.”

  “What’s going on with you?” War shifted to study me, his brow dipping. “You seem really distracted today.”

  “I’m fine.” I shrugged. “Does this game work like the one we played when we were kids?”

  “Basically,” King said. “We still find out embarrassing shit about each other. But now we get really drunk too.”

  I chuckled. “Fun times.”

  “Rules are twenty dollars and a shot of tequila to whoever passes the truth-or-dare challenge,” Dizzy said. “Oh, and the last person left standing usually gets a bonus prize.”

  “A kiss from Lace!” King shouted as Bryan moved toward us with a stack of shot glasses in one hand and a bottle of Cuervo in the other.

  I smiled at King’s enthusiasm. “Like that’s anything special.”

  “How ’bout a night to sleep in the back bedroom?” Sager rolled up the sleeves of his Black Flag concert tee. “No offense, Lace, but you and War have been hogging it.”

  “Not happening,” War muttered. “I’m sleeping with Lace, and I’m not sleeping with her in a bunk.”

  “Uh-oh, is that the only bottle of tequila?” Dizzy asked Bryan.

  “Yeah.” Bryan nodded. “Just this one.”

  “Oh yeah,” Dizzy said. “I remember who drank the other one.”

  A look I didn’t understand passed between my brother and Bryan. Dizzy removed his jacket and took a seat on the couch beside War and me. Sager, King, and Bryan sat on the opposite one.

  “Who’s going first?” Bryan asked.

  “We’ll just do it reverse alphabetically,” War said.

  “Confusing as hell,” Bryan said. “And just to put that out there, that’ll put me last.”

  “Great. What he means is that the game’s already his.” Dizzy rolled his eyes as he arranged the shot glasses. “No one can hold their liquor the way Bryan can.”

  “War, you’re up,” King said, tapping the side of his full shot glass. “Truth or dare?”

  “Dare,” he said.

  King’s dark brows rose. “I dare you to share what you said about Avery Jones when she was here on the tour bus.”

  A heated nonverbal exchange passed between War and Bryan.

  “You’re such an asshole, King,” War growled. “I’m out.” He shot to his feet. “I’ve got better things to do than play this idiotic game with you pissants. I’m going to the back.”

  He leaned in and gave me a tight-lipped kiss, and I started to rise.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “That’s all right, babe. Stay. Come when you’ve had enough. Knowing these motherfuckers, that won’t be long.”

  I stuck my chin out. “I can hold my own.”

  “Sure you can.” Sager’s head bobbed in agreement. “You did with those cops when they hassled you and King.” He glanced at his best friend. “You remember that? Don’t you, King?”

  “Oh yeah.” King nodded. “She stood up to them for me. Said we don’t get to pick our family.”

  “Just our amigos.” I held out my knuckles to King for a fist bump.

  “Okay.” Dizzy smiled indulgently. “You’re next, Sager, mi amigo.”

  “All right.” Sager leaned back and stretched out his arms over the back of the couch. “Give me a truth.”

  Dizzy ran a finger over his eyebrow piercing. “Did you really do the nasty with Mrs. Neboski on that science field trip to Lake City?”

  His lips curving, Sager gave him a quick nod.

  “Hot damn!” Dizzy‘s brows rose almost to his hairline. “I thought that was just urban legend.”

  Expressions ranging from disgust to admiration went around the table as Sager pocketed his cash and knocked back a shot of tequila.

  Bryan refilled the shot glass. “You’re next, Lace.”

  “Okay.” I pulled the shot glass with a twenty underneath it toward me.

  “Truth or dare?” Bryan asked.

  Shit. This could be tricky. Bryan had a devilish glint in his eye that concerned me.

  “Truth. No, dare,” I said quickly, changing my mind, nervous about how far he might take things.

  “Hmm.” He ran a finger slowly across his mouth.

  My stomach did a little flip. I licked my dry lips as he continued to stare at me, obviously enjoying making me squirm.

  Finally, Bryan grinned. “Kiss your brother . . . on the lips.”

  I snorted. “No way!”

  Dizzy shook his head as he glared at Bryan. “That’s just sick, man. I’m giving her my turn, and she earns a modify since you went so far over the line.”

  “Agree.” Sager rubbed his chin as he stared at Bryan. “Now she has to kiss you for forty bucks. You’re almost like a brother to her, anyway. She’s already so pissed, I’d watch out. She might bite.”

  “Promise?” Bryan grinned as he gave me a slow once-over.

  My cheeks warmed. “I just might, you ass.” I crossed over to him, ignoring Dizzy, who was violently shaking his head at me.

  I was surprised my brother didn’t have more faith in me. That forty dollars was already mine.

  I bent down to give Bryan a peck. As soon as our lips touched, he took over. I forgot all about our audience, which was a huge mistake.

  “Lace.” War’s voice snapped my head up like a whip. “Come to bed.” His expression was furious.

  Blood roaring in my ears, I swiped my winnings off the table before hurrying after him.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Bryan

  Shifting in my bunk as I wore my earbuds, I turned up the volume again, trying to drown out the sound of Lace and War yelling at each other in the back.

  I shouldn’t have taken things so far with that kiss, but I wasn’t sure I gave a damn. I’d wanted to taste her again.

  A terrible thought hit me. What if War got physical with Lace? Not that I’d ever seen War hit a woman, but drugs could make you do irrational things.

  I pulled out my earbuds, listening intently. Just more shouting.

  But now that my im
agination had gone there, I couldn’t rest until I saw for myself she was okay. I threw my legs over the side of my bunk and started to climb down from my top roost.

  “Stay put.” Dizzy grabbed hold of my leg before my foot even hit the floor. “Get the fuck back in bed. Haven’t you caused enough trouble for one night?”

  “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t hurt her,” I told him flatly.

  “He wouldn’t dare. Not with you standing by, ready to take her off his hands. Besides, you know Lace can take care of herself.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. After Martin and now the drugs, I wasn’t sure about a lot of things anymore.

  “Why can’t you let it go?” Dizzy asked in a low voice.

  I didn’t answer. Dizzy would never understand. I’d never seen the dude have an emotional connection with any woman. He went through them at a faster clip than I ever had. Dizzy had the whole grab ’em and bag ’em thing down to an art form. It seemed like an obsession with him more than a game.

  Eventually, things quieted down in the back, and my tensed muscles began to relax. But then I smelled something acrid burning.

  Fuck.

  They were shooting up again. I put my earbuds back in and blasted up the volume. I could certainly relate to Axl’s sarcastic introduction to “Estranged” from the live version. As Slash’s guitar solo wailed in my ears, I squeezed my eyes tightly shut.

  • • •

  Lace

  I tapped the soles of my stilettoes on the floorboards. On edge, I peeked out around the stage column. The arena in Atlanta was a complete sellout. An ocean of fans bounced in the pit as Bryan stood in front of the band, playing the catchy guitar riff in “We’re Through.”

  Shirtless, War was a sexy sight as well, his upper torso gleaming with a fine sheen of perspiration under the intense heat of the spotlights. A pair of panties arced through the air and landed at his feet. With practiced ease, he bent down, picked up the scrap of pink material, and held it in the air before stuffing it in his jeans pocket.