Chayton's Tempest (25 page)

cock pop out of her mouth. Her tongue ran around her lips as

she slowly sat upright in her chair. Those deep pooling eyes of

hers were full of lust for him and he reveled in that bit of

knowledge.

“I have work to do,” she said once more and slid her

chair further back from where he sat.

Maverick couldn’t believe it. His entire body blazed and

the woman who had created that sensation within him was

acting like she were bored. Carefully putting himself away, he

stood and walked the short distance to where she sat.

“Why?” He knelt down as he asked the question. His

eyes found and held hers.

“You seemed a little tense.” Tempest tried valiantly to

ignore the need her own body cried out for.

The back of one hand stroked along her cheek while his

other one rested on the black shorts she wore. “What about

you?” He leaned closer, clearly enjoying the increase of her

pulse. “You are extremely tense as well. Will you allow me to

return the favor?”

Her lids fluttered closed briefly as she conjured up a

mental image to go with his words. It was hard to drag her

eyes back open, but she did. “No. I have work to do.”

“Let me pleasure you,
chante
.
Allow me to help you find

the release I know your body is craving.” His lips moved

lightly against her chin as he stayed kneeling between her legs.

 
“No. I have tons of work to do. Isn’t there some woman

you should be trying to get into your bed?”

His eyes gleamed with promise. “I am and she’s right

here.” Both hands dropped to rest at her waist and he slowly

slid her lower body closer to him. “I can smell your desire,

Tempest. Don’t tell me you’re going to refuse me.” Taking his

face away from hers, he buried it in between her legs and

grazed the inside of her left thigh, hitting both material and the

sensitive skin with his teeth.

Tempest whimpered as her body shivered with need.

She didn’t fight it when he pulled her closer to the edge of the

chair. In fact, she even spread her legs further apart.

Maverick took his time licking along where the edge of

her shorts rested against her tantalizing dark, smooth skin, one

side and then the other. Her spicy scent filled his nose and his

cock was rigid in the confines of his jeans.

“James.” Her voice trembled.

“Tell me, it’s okay. Be honest and admit you want this,”

he mumbled against her skin. His face moved directly to the

center of where her legs met and he inhaled deeply as his

tongue began to run along the seam.

“Please, James. Stop tormenting me.” Her thighs

tightened around his ears, holding him in place.

He did. And with a busy bar just on the other side of the

door, Maverick indulged himself on the abundant juices that

flowed from Tempest. Her legs were spread wide over the

arms of the chair and his face was buried deep in between

them. The only important thing was what they were sharing,

nothing else.

Seventeen

Maverick strode confidently into the bar. This was going

to be the night he put it all out on the line. Of course, that was

what he’d been saying for the past few weeks he’d been

separated from her.
Damn, I could use a cigarette.
His black eyes

scanned the nightly crowd, easily recognizing some of the

patrons.

It had been instinctive for him to come here after the last

mission he’d just returned from. The stint had been a shorter

one; they’d gone back to where Harrier had been wounded,

eager for revenge, although not the main reason they went.

They were a man short with their leader still out of commission

in the hospital; however, they had a much better prognosis for

him. And with
Lex
at his side, all of them knew Harrier would

pull through.

The music was loud and kept the place hopping. Like a

heat-seeking missile, his gaze zeroed in on Tempest in a flash.

She was behind the bar serving drinks in a way that would

make many bartenders jealous.

He watched her toss a bottle behind her back and catch

it effortlessly. She poured the drink and slid it across the table

to the customer waiting. The next time she flashed the man a

grin, Maverick moved forward, shouldering his way up to the

bar.

He leaned against it once there, nodding to
Mili
before

taking in the attire that graced his woman. Another pair of

deliciously tight, low-rise, dark-blue jeans hugged her lower

body. A white tank top gripped her torso in a way that made

him remember what it was like to hold her himself.

Dakota stopped in front of him and met his gaze. “What

can I get you?”

 
“Evening, Dakota,” Maverick said. “I’ll take a Jack and

Coke.” His son nodded and within seconds, the drink was in

front of him. There was no asking of where he’d been, or how

he was doing. Maverick wasn’t entirely sure of what to make of

that.

Tempest almost dropped the bottle as her gaze landed

on the handsome man who sat at the bar.
My life was so much

easier before you waltzed back into it, James
Lonetree
.
She refused to

admit how much she’d missed seeing him these past weeks. It

was unlike anything she’d experienced when Burl was gone.

Maverick winked across the bar at her as if he knew

exactly what his presence did to her. “Evening, Tempest.”

Maverick lifted the drink to his mouth and took a sip, never

releasing her eyes, not even when he ran his tongue over his

lips to get every last bit he could.

“James,” she gritted out.

“I need to talk to you, Tempest,” he told her as she

stopped in front of him.

Her eyes briefly dropped to meet his before she looked

over the crowd. “About what?”

“Us,” he said.

The towel that had been over Tempest’s shoulder landed

on the bar before Maverick. He looked up at her face and

scowled. The admiration she had in her eyes made him furious.

“Damn!” she drew out on a long breath. Even
Mili
was

frozen beside her with that same look on her face.

She looks like she’d just had a steamy and intense round of

passionate love making.
Maverick turned around on the stool

he’d sat upon and followed the women’s line of vision. Almost

all of his irritation at her reaction disappeared.

The men of the
Megalodon
Team stood there. All of

them. Tyson. Ross.
Osten
.
Dimitri
.
Aidrian
. Ernst. Scott. The

last used a pair of crutches to assist with his walking and

balance; but, damn it, at least he was standing upright. And

alive.

Maverick couldn’t stop the grin that crossed his face as

he looked at them. His team was back together again. Looking

over his shoulder at Tempest, he almost grew jealous as he

witnessed the lust her face until he remembered each of those

men was happily married.

Before he could head over to meet them, a slim arm

draped around his shoulder. “Hello, Maverick,” a sultry voice

purred. “I’ve missed you.”

The sweet and sickly smell of familiar perfume assaulted

Maverick’s nose and he noticed every single emotion in

Tempest’s face closing up.
Talli
.
What the hell was she doing here?

“
Talli
,” he muttered as he shrugged her arm off of his

body. “Do I even want to know what you are doing here?”

Tempest glanced between them both before asking in a

tone Maverick knew was forced politeness. “Can I get you

anything to drink?”

Talli
sat on a seat next to him and said, “I’ll just have

some of his.”

“No, you won’t,” Maverick snapped. He met Tempest’s

cold gaze and his heart, which had been so full of cheer at

seeing her, dropped to the wood floor beneath his heavy boots.

Tempest lifted a shoulder and moved away, her eyes

drifting back to the group of men who had settled down at a

table. The men were still watching the bar where Maverick sat.

Mili
had
graciously
gone over there to take their orders.

Maverick knew he had to deal with one woman before

he could attempt to explain her presence to the other. His black

eyes fell upon the overly painted face of
Talli
. She was

watching his face with a longing he knew would never be

fulfilled on his end.

“What are you doing here,
Talli
?” Maverick lifted his

glass to his mouth and drained his drink.

 
“I’ve been here for almost a week. I had to track you

down, an act that was no easy feat.” She leaned closer to him.

“We need to talk.”

Mistrustful eyes roved her body. One strong shoulder

lifted and dropped with ease. “Why? We have nothing to talk

about.”

“Yes, we do,” she said as her brightly painted nails

moved along her slightly distended belly.

Shaking his head, Maverick stood up. “Oh, hell no! You

are so not about to pin a pregnancy rap on me.” He was

unaware of the eyes watching him.

Her lower lip was caught between her teeth. “You can’t

possibly think I would lie about something like that.”

“Please, I would expect a lot of things from you,
Talli

and that is definitely one of them.” His eyes cast back to the

table where his teammates were sitting and being served by

Mili
…and Tempest? “Why the hell would you say that?”

“Didn’t your parents call you?” One
taloned
hand

reached for his arm.

“What for?”

“To tell you. As soon as I found out, I went to them and

they were so excited about having a grandchild.” Her gaze

rang false. “As soon as we can, we should be married. We

wouldn’t want our child who was conceived out of love to be

born a bastard.”

“Can I get you anything, sir?” a male voice asked.

Maverick looked at the man speaking and found his son

watching him. He knew full well that Dakota had overheard

everything. “No, thanks, I see some friends and I’m going to

join them.”

Clenching his jaw, Maverick wondered just how far back

this was going to set him with Dakota. He knew Tempest

wasn’t going to be easy; and as sure as he was breathing he

knew Dakota would tell his mother what he’d overheard.

“But, Maverick,”
Talli
whined. “What about our

situation
?”

The eyes that looked down at her were less than civil.

“
We
don’t have situation. You may, but I don’t.” Maverick

walked away, knowing he would say something harsh if he