Chayton's Tempest (11 page)

She moved as close to him as the bar allowed and stared

at him with amazement in her eyes. “Thank you,” she

murmured. “For that.”

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Maverick asked,

reaching for her wrist.

The slightest touch of his skin upon hers made her

tremble. “I’m fine. Excuse me; I have to get back to work.”

Tugging slightly on her arm, she tried to get her arm back but

he held it instead. His thumb moved gently across the smooth

inside skin of her wrist.

“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” he promised her

in a low voice.

 
“I don’t have the ability to be hurt anymore,” she

snapped, not liking her body’s reaction to his touch. “You saw

to that.” Tempest ignored the flash of pain in his gaze and

jerked her hand free.

He shook his head. “That was just nasty.”

“I’m sorry you expected me to fall willingly into your

arms, like most women would. But I’m not like that.” Tempest

turned away only to stop and face him again. “But I do thank

you for your help. Any drinks you have tonight are on the

house.”

“What if I don’t want a drink? What if I want a date

instead?” Maverick blurted out over the noise, causing it to

drop considerably again.

Tempest saw the way her employees were watching her.

Mili
was nodding in encouragement. Putting her dark eyes on

the chiseled physique of the man who had given her Dakota,

she tilted her head. “You want a date with me?”

I want so much more than that.
“Yes. I don’t want free

drinks; I want a date with you. You, Tempest. You can’t tell me

we have nothing in common; you are the mother of my child.”

“One date?”

“For starters.”

Tempest allowed herself to ogle his body; he stood there

so proud and strong. Maverick was dressed in blue jeans, those

black boots, and a white tee shirt that offset his bronzed skin

coloring so beautifully. “One date,” she conceded.

Half of his kissable mouth turned up into a smile.

“Wonderful. Tomorrow?”

“Sure,” she agreed.

“Perfect,” he stated as his large body sat back down on

the stool. Pulling some money out of his wallet he slid it across

the bar at her. “I’ll have a Coke.”

“What are you doing? I thought you were leaving,” she

stuttered, suddenly nervous.

 
“Nope. I’m staying until closing. I’ll pick you up around

two tomorrow.” Pushing the money closer, he sent her a

predatory grin. “Plain Coke.”

Biting her lip, Tempest got him his drink, sliding it

across the smooth finish. “Here you go; no charge.” Then she

was gone, moving down the counter to tend other patrons.

Maverick’s glass never went empty but Tempest kept

her distance. He could tell the other workers wanted to ask her

what he’d meant by his blatant admission. But she shook off

their questions and stayed focused on her work.

It was after two-thirty in the morning before the place

was empty aside from Tempest,
Mili
, and Maverick.
Mili

finished up sweeping the floor while Tempest cleaned behind

the bar and did some inventory.

When Tempest had announced it was closing, everyone

had groaned but began leaving. Last call had been made much

earlier, so clean up was relatively easy. Maverick had merely

drunk his Coke and watched people leave.

Only when two bouncers approached him had he

reacted. He’d cast a glance back towards Tempest, who’d sent

the men a nod of approval. So the men hadn’t bothered him

and had made certain everyone else had left in an orderly

fashion.

“You know you can’t make this a habit,” Tempest said

as she ran a dry rag over the counter, making it gleam.

“Can’t make what a habit?” Maverick asked,

deliberately being obtuse.

“Staying here all night. Don’t you have something more

important to do?” Turning her back on him, she ran a critical

eye over the bottles before her, taking stock.

Maverick allowed his eyes to travel all over her body.

She stood with most of her weight on her left leg. Her stance

allowed the leather of her pants to form even tighter to her

derrière. She had a beautiful hourglass shape, one he longed to

explore and get to know on an up close and very personal

level.

With a quick wink to
Mili
, he vaulted effortlessly over

the bar to land silently behind her. “I don’t have anything more

important to do.” He allowed his eyes to move over her one

more time, trying to control the insistent jerking of his swollen

cock inside his pants. Maverick had to give her credit; she’d

only jumped a small bit.

“What are you doing?”

“Turn around,” he spoke in a low, authoritative voice.

Slowly, Tempest complied with his order. “What? I’m

really tired and want to get in bed.”

His eyes twinkled. “Is that an offer?”

Tempest blushed. “No!” She stepped back until her butt

hit the shelving’s edge. Her pink tongue snuck out to wet her

dry lips as he advanced closer.
He smells so damn good!

Maverick stopped before her. There was barely enough

light between them to be considered legal. “I want a fair

chance, Tempest.” His large frame eclipsed her shorter one. “I

want a chance to get to know you, to be a part of yours and

Dakota’s lives. I want to explain what happened and I want to

know what his childhood was like.”

Hardening her heart and emotions to his plea, she said,

“I’m not part of this deal. We can talk about his childhood

tomorrow, but I don’t want to constantly relive what happened

to me.”

“I don’t want you to relive it, I want to try and

understand what I missed. And I disagree. You are very much

part of this deal.” One powerful hand cupped her cheek

making sure she looked up at him. His thumb caressed her

lower lip as he mumbled in a low voice, “
Nimitawa
ktelo
.
”

“What did you just say?” Tempest asked as his thumb

delivered a feeling through her that she’d believed was long

past. All he did was shake his head silently.

Eight

Taking a deep breath, Tempest ran her hand over her

face, tugged on the hem of her shirt, and opened her front door.

The sight that greeted her kicked her pulse high.

Standing on the other side of the door was the man

she’d agreed to go out with, his muscular body poured into

another pair of jeans, these dark blue. His defined torso was

shrink-wrapped by a hunter-green tee shirt. Dark sunglasses

covered his black eyes and those same black boots were on his

feet.

“Hello,” he uttered in a sexy voice as he removed his

sunglasses, allowing her eyes to meet his.

“Hi,” Tempest said quickly.
Every time I look at him, I can

feel myself weakening. No one has a right to be that fine.

“You look beautiful,” he told her as he looked her over.

She wore blue jeans and an eggplant-colored tank top. On her

feet was a nice pair of sandals.

Her eyes narrowed briefly but all she said was, “Thank

you.”

“Ready to go?” His voice was deep and it flowed over

her body, permeating her soul.

Swallowing hard to regain control of her wayward

emotions, Tempest shook her head. “I’m not getting on that

thing,” she said, pointing at his bike.

One jet black brow rose. “Why not?”

“No way. I’m taking my Envoy. You can ride with me or

take your bike, alone.” Tempest crossed her arms and waited

for him to decide.

“I’ll ride with you then,” he responded as his eyes flared

with passion. “Are you afraid of motorcycles?” he wondered as

they moved towards her silver SUV.

 
“Something like that.”
More like I don’t want to be that

close to you.
One they were in her vehicle, Tempest wasn’t sure

this was any better. He dominated the interior with his size and

presence alone.

“Where are we going?” Maverick asked, sensing her

discomfort.

“Do you like Mexican?”

“Sure do.” He wiped his palms on his jeans.

Tempest kept her own counsel as she drove them to the

restaurant. She could feel her heart softening toward him and

she wasn’t sure she liked that. Her anger had suited her just

fine over the years.

Once parked, they walked into the restaurant side by

side, Maverick putting his hand on the small of her back. The

greeter smiled at them both as a waitress appeared to lead

them to a corner booth that was pretty private.

Tempest watched him as he looked over the menu.
I

want to know your game, James
Lonetree
.
He really was a very

handsome man with beautiful yet extremely masculine facial

features, perfect skin, and teeth. His hair was gorgeous and