The Complete Tempest World Box Set

by Mankin, Michelle

  Melinda might do or say one thing. She might have shot me down after my ultimatum about us being exclusive. She claimed to have moved on after the messed up chain of events that had followed. But I believed those windows to her soul told a different story... if you ever had the chance to stare deeply into them.

  • • •

  The next morning, I had my earbuds in and Five Finger Death Punch cranked up to the maximum to drown out the noises coming from King’s bedroom. I looked up when one of the random bitches he had brought home the previous night wandered into my room. She was naked and still dripping wet from the shower.

  “That’s it. I’m done,” I declared. She blinked up at me totally clueless. I steered her back to King’s room. He was kind of busy with the other one, but I slapped the chick’s ass, shoved her inside and firmly closed the door. She would figure out how to join in. She had the look of a definite team player.

  Reading glasses already atop my head, I snagged my key card off the entry hall table and my iPad so I would have something to distract me from thinking about Melinda and what she might be doing with that hockey player. I exited the apartment, alone in the hall and in the elevator as I rode down to the lobby. Waving to the staff at the front desk and dipping my chin to acknowledge the girl who took care of the flowers, I moved quickly through the lobby on my way to the in house restaurant. I got there as they were opening the doors to begin serving weekend brunch.

  Ravenous after being awake all night, I loaded up a plate, returned to my seat and scarfed down a heaping portion of scrambled eggs, toast and bacon before going back to the warmer trays for more. Kicking my legs out after stuffing myself, I put my readers on and opened up my Kindle app. I lost track of time and place as I immersed myself in a world of viral vampires and post-apocalyptic mayhem.

  “Mr. Reed?” a voice queried just as I reached a part where all hell was starting to break loose.

  “Uh-huh.” I glanced up over the black rim of my glasses to find the restaurant manager peering down at me. Looking nervous, he straightened his tie. “Is there anything additional I can get for you?”

  “No. I’m good, but thanks for asking.”

  “Yes, well. Most of the morning staff has clocked out. We’re switching shifts. You’re welcome to stay for lunch.”

  “No. I’m leaving now. Sorry.” I glanced around realizing that all of the other tables were empty. I held up my iPad to explain. “I didn’t notice the time.” I rolled shoulders stiff from sitting in the same position too long. “Have you read The Passage?”

  “No. I can’t say that I have.” He shook his head. “I’m not much of a reader, though.”

  “I wasn’t either, not until I got stuck on the road in a tour bus with a bunch of losers and nothing to do.” There were only so many times you could watch the same damn porn videos. “It’s pretty absorbing. You should give it a try. They have it on audio, too.” I stood and stretched my arms over my head. The Fender t-shirt I had thrown on earlier lifted above my belt. “You can charge the meal to my room.”

  He nodded and picked up my coffee. No doubt it was ice cold. I really had lost track of the time. I glanced at my leather watch cuff, the one Melinda had given to me. Reality check. Trying not to think about her would probably be a lot easier if I took it off and put it away. But I couldn’t seem to bring myself to do it.

  The analog face revealed that most of the morning had slipped away. Surely King’s overnight guests were gone by now. I relocated my place in The Passage, swiping through a page as I retraced my steps across the marble floors of the lobby. Waiting for the elevator, I had my gaze down and was so focused on the story that I practically plowed Melinda over when she unexpectedly sprang from it.

  “Whoa.” I grabbed her upper arm to steady her. Her pale skin was as warm and silky soft as I remembered. Her eyes widened and locked on mine.

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she apologized too loudly as she plucked the Skullcandy buds out of her ears. A becoming blush colored her cheeks. I caught the unforgettable sweet scent of her along with the unmistakable guitar screech of Tempest’s “My Way or the Highway” before she managed to hit the pause on her phone. I felt a surge of primal satisfaction from the realization that it had been my bass pumping in her ears.

  But who does she think about while she listens to our music, I wondered. Me or Dizzy?

  I wanted to believe it was me. The connection I felt with her was as strong as ever. Making love to her after I had unveiled my deepest darkest secrets had been like a merging of our souls. Unconsciously, my fingers latched more firmly around her arm.

  She gasped, and I knew I had to relinquish my hold. As much as I might wish otherwise Melinda wasn’t mine anymore. She had her boyfriend. And we had only our past.

  “You’re up early,” I began carefully.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” she explained, and I slid my gaze over her barely clothed body. I tried not to fixate on her powder pink sports top that revealed acres of creamy skin and some serious under boob or the black spandex shorts that hugged the curves of her hips and barely covered her ass. “I need to exercise. I have to shed some more weight for the modeling I’m doing now.” My brows rose. Not about the modeling. She was gorgeous. But it seemed to me that she was already too slender. In my opinion she had been perfectly proportioned a month ago, though there had been little clues that she didn’t see herself that way. For instance, the notepad next to her bathroom scale where she recorded her weight twice a day and put a frowny face next to it anytime it went up. She swallowed. “How about you?” Her voice sounded dry and raspy almost as if I made her nervous. “Why are you up so early?”

  “Someone woke me up.” I shrugged. The truth was I had been up the entire night drawing her, but I couldn’t admit that.

  “Yeah, I imagine she probably did.” She glanced away. “Congratulations by the way. She’s very pretty. The blonde you brought to April’s party.” I noticed her grip on her phone tightening. “If you’ll excuse me.” She flicked her eyes back at me, her expression shuttered. “I’m on my way outside for a run. I don’t want to hold you up. I’m sure she’s waiting for you.”

  “No one’s waiting for me.” Was she jealous? Would she be if she were still hung up on Dizzy? It had been my intention to test that theory when I had taken the blonde with me to April’s party. I had wanted to make Melinda admit that she had feelings for me. But it had been a bullshit move, and it hadn’t worked out any better than my ultimatum after we had slept together.

  “Oh.” Her eyes widened revealing her surprise. “Well, I…”

  “Seeing you last night got me thinking.” I stepped closer. I wasn’t going to let this opportunity get away. Who knew when I would have another chance to talk to her alone? “I didn’t like the way things ended with us. I don’t want things to be awkward whenever we run into each other. I know we can’t undo the past, but maybe we can start over again…as friends. What do you say?”

  “Do you really think that’s possible?”

  No, I didn’t. But only because I didn’t really want to be just friends, and I sure didn’t want to start over. I wanted to start right the hell back from where we had left off, minus all the drama that had torn us apart. But she would figure out what my intentions were soon enough. I planned to be subtle at first so she didn’t spook and bolt again, but then I was going to press my claim, and I was going to press it hard this time.

  “Why not?” I said adding another casual one shoulder shrug for good measure. “Anything’s possible?”

  “I can think of a lot of reasons.” Her eyes narrowed. “Dizzy. April. And I don’t think King likes me very much, either.”

  “I don’t really care what anyone else thinks about you and me,” I announced, my tone as firm as my resolve. She got incredibly still. I scrambled to buff out the revealing words. “What I mean is…I don’t really care what anyone else thinks about you and me being friends again.”

  “I don
’t know.” She looked like the idea terrified her.

  I leaned closer, holding the cross at the end of the rosary Abuelita had given me in my tight grip. “Since when did what anyone else thinks ever stop you from doing what you wanted to do?” I waved an irresistible red flag in front of my proceed-without-caution pixie.

  She gave me a haughty look through her lashes. “Never.” The tight press of her lips relaxed…finally.

  “Then it’s settled.” I began to roll the beads of the rosary between my finger and thumb while saying a quick prayer that she would agree, though petitions of that sort probably weren’t the reason Abuelita had given it to me.

  “Alright.” She pointed with her chin toward the street exit and lifted her phone. “But I better get going.”

  “Yeah, so should I.” We stared at each other yet didn’t move an inch.

  I wasn’t sure what I gave away in my gaze, but her eyes softened in response. “I’ve missed you, Sager Reed.” She swallowed, and her voice was lower, sexier as she continued. My cock stirred in my jeans. “You were kind to me. I didn’t do anything to earn it. And I certainly haven’t done anything to deserve a second chance. But for what it’s worth, which isn’t much since it’s coming from me, but here it goes, I’m sorry. I was hurt, but what I did was horrible. I just...”

  “It’s ok, Blue. It’s ok,” I said, meaning it, holding her captive with my gaze but wanting to do more, so much more. I wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her while at the same time soothing myself. This past month contemplating a future without her in it had been hell, but I wasn’t blameless in the way things had gone down. I knew her side of the story. I had witnessed firsthand how badly it had bruised her self-esteem to see Dizzy and April in bed together. If my motives had been pure, I would have stopped her from going all the way into his bedroom and getting an eyeful. I had known all along that she didn’t stand a chance with our rhythm guitarist. I should have told her straight out, but I had hoped seeing him with April would convince her once and for all that she had set her affection on the wrong guy. I had anticipated her running into my arms afterward. Instead, she had run in the opposite direction, away from me, away from all of us.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Melinda

  We were going to be friends.

  That was all.

  That’s enough, I told myself while at the same time knowing it was a lie.

  I was aggressive almost to the point of recklessness on the course today. I felt lighter, like a burden had been lifted. All morning gripping my poles with determined hands, I pressed ahead of my teammates on every single run. Gliding along the very top edge of the high banks. Riding just the right amount of air on the jumps. I was tight and in my lines on all the straights. For the first time in a month everything clicked into place beautifully.

  Because of him.

  Because of the way he looked at me with those soulful artist eyes of his like I meant something.

  Because of the indescribable way he made me feel.

  I slapped the mute button on my inner dialogue before it went any further. He had only suggested a platonic relationship. I had agreed against my better judgment. It was crazy. Crazy how sexy I thought he had looked in a faded baseball tee and jeans with those cute readers and his mussed up just rolled out of bed hair. What if he could tell what he did to me? What if he knew that seeing him again reawakened all the desires I had tried so hard to suppress?

  My stomach churning on my misgivings, I clumsily entered the roundhouse, taking longer than usual to stow away my equipment.

  “Good work out there, Bluebelle.” The ski cross coordinator gave me a nod of affirmation when I finally entered the gym.

  I gave him a distracted nod, though I was pleased by the praise. I took a last swig of my diet soda lunch I had grabbed from the vending machine on the way over. Tossing the can in the trash, I unzipped and threw my jacket in a locker.

  “Great job, Belle.” Parker mumbled from his perch on a weight bench as I passed him, no doubt a feeble attempt to get back in my good graces.

  “Way to go, rookie.” My fitness coach lifted the bill of his ball cap as I toed out of my shoes and climbed onto the trampoline. “You were cooking out there today. Beat Marielle’s best time from earlier this week, and the course is running slower today.”

  “Thanks,” I acknowledged already vaulting up into the air, flipping and landing on the trampoline in a prescribed series of maneuvers designed to stretch my muscles and improve my balance. Next I went to the gymnastics mat for more strength work. It was much harder to do the tumbles and jumps without a bouncy surface beneath me. Sweat was dripping in my eyes by the time I completed the session. But luckily I was through for the day. On the way to the lockers, I received a pat on the back from one of the other trainers.

  “See you tomorrow,” I managed over my shoulder with a weak smile, though my legs were trembling with exhaustion. I felt like hurling. There were trashcans all over the facility for just that purpose. Training in the gym was just as hard core as anything we did on the mountain.

  As I turned toward the bank of lockers, my field of vision darkened unnervingly around the edges. Flailing as the ground suddenly seemed to rush up toward me, I reached back and grabbed one of the open locker doors to keep myself from falling. My heartbeat was fast and erratic. Scared, I closed my eyes and took a couple of slow deliberate breaths. After a few purposeful inhalations, my pulse settled into a more regular rhythm. When I opened my eyes again I was relieved to find that my vision had returned to normal as well.

  Ok, I decided as I slipped my arms into my jacket. Maybe skipping so many meals in a row isn’t such a wise weight loss plan after all.

  • • •

  Sager

  The strings felt right beneath my fingers today, the groove inside my head transforming effortlessly into some popping chords.

  “Hola, Major Tom.” King tapped on my headphones. “Ground control calling.” I slid them down to my neck.

  “What the hell?” I raised my brows.

  “That sounds real good pendejo but we’ve been here all day. Let’s go already. I’m starving.”

  “Sure.” I unclipped the strap, unplugged my bass and placed it in the stand. I planned to come back later. Notes still lingered inside my head. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep until I got them all out.

  In the hall, I could hear the faint sound of activity coming from the other recording rooms. Black Cat got busy from the early afternoon to the late evenings on weekdays, peak working time for musicians. It was a good thing I had reserved my studio.

  “Where to?” I asked King as we headed to the parking garage.

  “I was thinking Tojo’s for sushi.”

  “Fine by me.” I nodded.

  King had us to the popular restaurant on West Broadway in half the time it would probably have taken a less aggressive driver. Once there, we got lucky and nabbed a parking spot directly in front. The place was upscale with its cool ocean blue concrete and steel accents. It wasn’t anywhere we would have ever dreamed of stepping a foot inside growing up. But here we were now, dressed down King in his favorite Cannibal Corpse tee and me in the same maroon sleeved baseball tee I had worn when I had run into Melinda. Yet the hostess greeted us as if we were wearing robes and crowns. We weren’t quite rock and roll royalty yet, but you couldn’t prove it by King. Girls flocked to the restaurant hoping to see him since word had quickly gotten around that Tojo’s was in his regular rotation.

  “King.” A chick in tight jeans jumped down from her seat at the bar and moved to intercept him. He cocked his head.

  “Do I know you, chica?” he asked.

  “Do you want, to?” she countered brazenly.

  His gaze dipped to her tits. “Quizás.” Perhaps. King wouldn’t take chicks inside the bathroom to bang ’em like Dizzy used to do, but he wasn’t above a little action in the backseat of a car if he was really interested.

  “I’m going on t
o the table.” I pointed to the one beside the stairs where the hostess had already dropped off our menus. I ignored the chica’s friend who was squirming on her barstool trying to get my attention.

  “Order me a Kirin Ichiban. I’ll be back in a minute.” King slid his hand down to the girl’s ass and crooked a finger at the friend. Apparently he was backseat interested times two. He wasn’t shy with the ladies anymore. The mantle for chick magnet seemed to have passed from Bryan to Dizzy to him. I wasn’t interested in being on the list. Not after having had a taste of something better.

  I had finished a miso soup and was on my second beer when King swaggered back to the table. He pulled back his chair, dropped into it and smoothed back his hair. “Sometimes I really like being a rock star.” He lifted his beer bottle in the air and tipped it nearly dry in one pull. “The second chick was really into you hermano. She kept talking about you. It was a little awkward at first until I got her mind on something else.” He waved the waitress over and ordered another beer. “You order yet?”

  “Yeah. A couple of spicy tuna rolls. Yellow tail nigiri. Some toro.”

  “Gracias, sorry about the…you know.”

  “De nada. It’s cool.”

  “¡Órale!” I feel like fortune is smiling on us pretty good lately. If we can get War back, no telling how high we can climb. But what’s with you lately. This isn’t the first time you’ve turned down a hot chick. You’re not still obsessed with the pixie are you? Because if that’s the case...”