Chayton's Tempest (3 page)

casing the joint. Not with this man. There was something about

his carriage that made her shudder. After he’d done that, he’d

followed his group to a table and sat down.

When
Mili
, one of the waitresses she employed, leaned

up on the bar, Tempest sent her a smile. “Wow, that is one hot

group of men,” the Latina said with a grin.

“Most men in here are hot, according to the ‘Bible of

Mili
’, so that is nothing new,” Tempest teased her as she

reached for five beers.

“I have a good eye for men. And the tallest of that group

is a
man’s
man. I mean, Jesus, did you see the size of his arms?

Or his chest?” The young woman was nearly panting. “His legs

or the fact that he could crack a walnut with his ass?”

Tempest burst out laughing. “Damn,
Mili
. You’re

horrid!” Sliding the drinks toward the dark-eyed woman, she

shook her head. “Get back to work.”

With an overly dramatic sigh followed by a shoulder

shrug, the woman did just that, weaving in and out of the

increasing crowd delivering drinks to the patrons.

Maverick had focused his eyes back on the sexy

bartender as she spoke to the woman who’d taken their drink

order. The waitress was nothing to scoff at, but the second

she’d gone next to the bartender, Maverick had lost all interest

in her. His total attention had fallen upon the dark, smooth skin

of the woman flipping drinks.

When her head had tipped back in laughter, his cock

had jerked so intensely in his jeans, it’d made him jump. He’d

groaned as she’d graced the waitress with a full-blown smile

that allowed the white of her teeth to contrast against her dark

skin. Whatever her response was, he’d had no idea; all he could

see was the way her tongue snuck out to trace along her lips.

The overwhelming urge to cross the room and kiss that

woman senseless was mind blowing. Maverick had amazing

eyesight, a trait that enabled him to be a sniper, and he could

see everything she offered. The oval shape of her face,

unbelievably full lips, a small somewhat flat nose, wide
darkcolored

eyes.

Her hair was put up in a tight ponytail, allowing

everyone to see her high cheekbones. She wore a black cutoff

shirt that had the Harley Davidson logo on it. He could see the

muscles in her arms moving as she worked.

“You okay, Maverick?” one of the men asked, waving a

hand in front of his face.

Blinking, he nodded. “Fine.”

The waitress appeared at their sides and placed the

beers down in front of each man. “Enjoy,” she purred when

they placed tips on her tray.

He drank as the night went on. The group with him was

getting rowdy. Maverick noticed how two bouncers were

keeping an eye on their table. “Get it under control, guys,” he

muttered. “I don’t want to get kicked out.”

The men nodded without really hearing him. Movement

at the door behind the bar grabbed his attention. He noticed a

young man with dark skin and black hair come out and walk

over to the bartender, slipping his arms around her waist.

Maverick’s eyes narrowed as she served her drink and

spun around with a cheer as her arms encircled the man’s neck.

He growled his displeasure. The man holding her nodded at

something she said, which set her off on another round of

cheers.

Strong arms had slid around her waist. Tempest had

pushed the Jack and Coke across the bar to the man waiting for

it before acknowledging the man behind her.

 
“I did it!” he blurted before she faced him.

“Dakota!” she exclaimed and turned in his arms. She

looked up at her son who was a few inches over six feet. “I am

so proud of you!”

The early years had been difficult for them. Being such a

young girl and raising her son had posed an immense

challenge, but Tempest succeeded. She’d even finished high

school and had gotten her degree in business management.

When her aunt died, she left everything to the young

girl whom she’d taken in years earlier. So now, Tempest and

her son owned a bar in Albuquerque and he was currently

attending the university, majoring in African-American Studies

and Anthropology.

“So you passed it?” she asked as he let her feet find the

floor.

“I aced it,” he said and nodded.

Tempest hugged him and cheered louder. He’d been

taking his final in The African World. “I will stop now before I

embarrass you anymore.”

He smiled down at his mother. “I love you and I’m

ready to get to work.”

“You just passed a major test; why aren’t you out

celebrating with friends?” Tempest questioned her child as she

heard a drink order being yelled and began to make it.

“I always work on Tuesday.” He moved to the other end

of the bar and started preparing drinks for the patrons at the

other end of the bar.

“I’m taking ten,” she shouted over the music to her son.

He waved her off as he continued to flirt with the

women and serve drinks. About to go into her office for a few

minutes of quiet, Tempest changed directions as she heard a

loud commotion from on the floor.

Instantly, she headed for the table creating the ruckus. It

was the group she’d noticed coming in earlier, with the

handsome man. And he only got hotter the closer she went.

She felt the large presence of one of her bouncers at her back.

 
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” she said, loud enough to get

their attention. Five sets of eyes fixated on her.

“Hey, baby,” one of the men slurred.

Tempest controlled her eye roll. Drunken men were all

the same. These weren’t wasted but definitely on their way.

“Look, I am very glad you came in here but you need to get

control of your emotions. I don’t need you being louder than

everyone else combined.”

Maverick was impressed. She had no fear as she talked

to the loud men, yet at the same time she was very respectful to

them. At the moment, her gaze was not on him but on the

loudest of the group. His eyes roved over the jeans that hugged

her bubble butt to perfection. She had a profile any goddess

would envy.

“Sorry,” the slurred word came. “We are on our last

vacation before Matt here gets married.” The man slung his

arm around his friend. “You know, kind of like a last fling.

Sending him off with a bang…so to speak.”

“Well,” she said with a smile. Maverick noticed how the

bouncer slipped away. “In that case, let me get you a

round…on the house. Just don’t get into a shouting match.”

Determined to get her beautiful face on him, Maverick spoke

up. “That is so kind of you; thank you.”

That tone, that voice, sent shivers through her body.

Tempest turned to face him. The second their eyes met, that

shiver changed to dread and then downright rage. It was a

huge struggle to remain calm.

Maverick noticed her eyes looked panicked before they

were reined in under control. He watched her run russet gaze

over his seated frame. His body hardened from her close

proximity to him.

It was, however, when she spoke again, that he flashed

back up to her face. He knew she was trying valiantly to be

nice, but he could hear the strain in her voice. “Well, I aim to

please.” She waved to the same waitress who’d been attending

them very well. “
Mili
, give a round of drinks to these men; they

are celebrating.”

One last hard stare at the tall man and Tempest was

gone. Heading through the crowd, she slipped into her office

and shut the door. Moments later, she was crumpled on the

floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Tears formed and began

pouring down her dark cheeks.

As Tempest closed the front door of the house behind

her, the question came. “Are you okay, Mom?”

Without turning she merely nodded. “I’m fine,
Dak
,

don’t worry. Just a bit tired.” Tempest continued on to the

kitchen. She lived in the same house that she’d since she

arrived here. It was left to her when Aunt Bertha died.

“I will let you get some sleep, then,” he spoke from

behind her. “I have some more work to do before I crash. See

you in the morning.” Dakota kissed her on the cheek and

strode out of the kitchen and off to his room with his long legs.

“Love you,” he tossed back at her from the hall.

“I love you too,” Tempest hollered back as the tears

threatened to begin again.

She also left the kitchen for her room. Closing the door

behind her, she walked to her bathroom, dropping clothes

along the way. Turning on the shower to as hot as she could

handle it, she stepped in, stood under the spray, and let the

tears win.

Looking into those eyes had nearly killed her this

evening. What the hell was he doing here? It didn’t look like he

knew who she was, but maybe he was biding his time. “Not

like twenty-one years isn’t long enough,” she hissed to her

shower wall.

Tempest pounded on the speckled tiles that lined her

stall until her hands went numb. She cried and cursed

Maverick as her fists couldn’t take anymore. Turning off the

water, Tempest walked nude back into her bedroom and stood

in the middle of her room, letting the dry desert air suck the

remaining moisture from her skin.

Her body moved over to the tri-fold full-length mirror

that was in a corner of her room. Positioning her body so she

could see the lower part of her back, Tempest placed her eyes

on the tattoo that rested just above her tailbone.

It was a bed of thorns that squeezed a word and there

were drops of blood visible. In and out of each letter the thorns

wove. The word:
Maverick
.

“This tattoo hurt like hell,” she whispered as her heart

hardened. “But it was a reminder of you and what you put me

through.” Tempest dried her hair,
lotioned
her body, and

climbed into bed.

Sleep was a long time in coming, for she was haunted by

memories she’d believed long buried. And beyond them was a

pair of black eyes that seemed to penetrate her soul.

Dakota frowned as he heard his mother crying. It was so

unlike her. His mother was the strongest woman he knew.

She’d been the rock at Bertha’s funeral. His mom worked her

ass off to give him everything she could.

He knew the cost of her being a single mom. For a while,

he’d wanted to know his father, until she’d said he didn’t want

them. And she didn’t try to stop his anger at being abandoned

by his unknown father, allowing him to vent and get it out of

his system.

But unlike many kids at school who couldn’t care less

about the strain it put on the single parent, he always did his