Tempting Tempest Read online

  It wasn’t easy to loosen up when Shawn held her. When she knew that Shawn was aware of the pact they’d made and she’d since called off. And hell, he could find out that the sexual awareness hadn’t released.

  He pulled her close to him—so close she could feel the thundering of their hearts beating together. His thighs moved against hers, showing her when to step, when to sway.

  He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to dip you. Just let go and trust that I won’t let you fall.” His arm tightened around the back of her waist.

  It was more than a dip. It was an exhilarating free-fall as he swung her backward. When her body was swiftly brought up, it seemed like they were closer than ever before.

  “Should be illegal to be that flexible,” he muttered.

  “I fail to see how this…dancing is work,” Tempest said.

  “What do you notice around the room?”

  “People dancing. People watching us. People laughing, drinking, having a good time.”

  “Well, look at that. We’re keeping the world a safer place with our presence.”

  “It is not safer when I lose all coherent thought around you,” she explained. “When your body is so hard against mine. It feels like…balance. I want to explore it more without the barrier of our clothing.”

  Her own purple hand came up to clamp over her wayward mouth. What the hell had just spilled out?

  “Welcome to the world of mimosa. Or dare I say it was the downing of the pina colada and daiquiri that brought all that truth bubbling to the surface?”

  He twirled her and a whiff of his woodsy male scent tingled in her nostrils.

  “Still can’t be safe.”

  “Perhaps we can be more dedicated to our work if we’re not so focused on fighting what’s between us.”

  “I believe you said that to me once before.”

  “I believe I did. And you agreed once before.”

  “And then I killed you and you forgot about our pact.”

  “I don’t regret dying, my pretty. I just regret the momentary brain loss that made me forget.”

  She scoffed. “How can you not regret dying?”

  “Because it made you care for me.”

  “What?” The nonsense the human spouted was bizarre.

  “You may not realize it, Tempest,” he said, his lips moving against her temple. “But this thing between us. It can’t be denied. It will be here forever.”

  “I shall not be tied to a weak human,” she said. “Do you know how easy it would be to use you against me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They could take you. Force me to do things I don’t want to do to keep you safe.” She looked into his eyes, even as hard as it was to focus. “And then afterward? They would do horrors to you anyway.”

  “You’re safe now, baby,” he said. The new endearment brought a shiver up her spine. Because baby could mean so many things. A young one. A young, innocent child. Her eyes flicked to where Lily stood, laughing with Jason and a crowd of others. They’d called Lily baby once. It wasn’t a good thing. It wasn’t by loved ones. It was by monsters who preferred females to look young.

  “Holy fuck,” Shawn said, his eyes glued to her face. “You remember, don’t you? The other Xeno Sapiens remember bits and pieces…but you have recollection of the whole time in captivity.”

  She shut down. To deny it would be to spark his curiosity. To admit it made it real. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter, my pretty. And I’m going to help you through it. I’m going to help you get rid of your fears.”

  “You don’t understand,” she said, stepping back. “My fear is losing you.” Damn that alcohol-loosened tongue.

  The infuriating male smiled at her…and then pulled her to his side. He flagged down a waiter, grabbing a drink to hand her.

  “Have another drink.”

  Chapter Six

  SHE SHOULD BE appalled. She woke naked with a man in her bed. Not any man…but Shawn. Her trainer. Her crush. The human she tried to avoid unless it was work-related.

  “Good morning,” he said, his stormy gray eyes clear with recent sleep.

  She got straight to business. “I don’t remember getting home.”

  “Because I got you drunk and brought you home.”

  She sat quickly, the sheet falling away. She checked her arms and legs, her torso—for any tears in the skin where her bones might have broken through. There should be tender spots, red with healing, but sore as hell.

  “You didn’t stab anything or anyone.”

  “How could I not?” she gasped. “I lost control.”

  “You didn’t lose control, my pretty. Your trainer was there.”

  “I can’t always rely on that. You’re human and therefore weak—”

  Her words were cut off when his naked form rolled onto her. Holy mother. Shawn was as naked as she was.

  “Get off,” she hissed. But his skin—bare against hers—felt incredible. She couldn’t let him know.

  “Does it feel like I’m weak?”

  “I don’t like to be pinned.” She struggled, but he was heavy.

  “I know. And for that reason, I never pinned you. But now you’re going to learn the difference between strong and weak.”

  “Are you saying I’m weak if I can’t shake you?”

  His face softened. “No. I’m saying those without physical strength can resort to inner strength. It’s not a matter of being strong or weak. You have all the strength, cunning, and skill to beat countless fighters in the ring. And yet you feel weak right now.”

  “I don’t feel weak.”

  “You do. Or you would have knifed me already and flung me to the floor. Because me, pinning you naked? It reminds you of being in captivity.”

  “Stop,” she snarled. It was too early to be reminded of that hell.

  “And one day,” he continued. “One day, me being naked on top of you will remind you of how much you wanted me months ago. That’s the route we’re taking now. So no, I won’t get off you. Not until we make that switch.”

  “I don’t like this, Shawn,” she warned.

  “Don’t you, my pretty?” he said, his face buried in her neck. “Then how about this?” One large hand caressed her hip, trailed down her thigh, then swung her leg up over his hip, wrapping it around his muscular ass. And all thoughts fled her brain because her wanton, heated core was right there, skin to skin with his hard, jutting length of cock.

  Fuck.

  She held perfectly still concentrating on the hot rush of feelings running through her.

  “You can break the hold, you know,” he said as he nibbled on her ear. “You can do what you do. Stab away and thrust my carcass to the floor.”

  “I can’t do that,” she said. “You’re my trainer.”

  “So do you feel weak?”

  Exhilarated was what she felt. Horny. Trapped and weak was what she should have felt, but somehow he’d switched that.

  “No.” She had to be honest.

  “Me either,” he said. “I feel strong.” He ground his hips into her and her body responded by erupting in flame. Her pussy melted and swelled at the same time and she craved more of his touch.

  Somehow her other leg came up around his other side and both of her legs locked around the globes of his ass. Right there. The pressure was good, so good. If he would just move faster.

  This was her. And Shawn. It felt somehow right.

  “Where does this leave us, my pretty?”

  “Don’t talk,” she gasped. “Just rub. Harder.”

  “You want me to make you come?” He gritted out the words, his voice harsh, like he could barely speak.

  “I—ah—need, I don’t know.”

  “No. I asked, ‘Did you want me to make you come?’” He emphasized the me. What did he mean? There was only two of them in this room. What exactly was he getting at?

  “You may as well.”

  He seemed to free
ze. “And then what?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What happens after your body—as delectable as it may be—is all flooded with sex-happy, feel-good hormones? Do you go back to resenting me for being human?”

  “Resenting you? I don’t resent you for being human.” Yet his words made her squirm uncomfortably.

  “Tempest,” he said, his voice throaty and rough. “If I thought you would ever actually give yourself to me, if I could have you, really and truly have you, I’d take you. Right now. Right here. Give me the words.”

  She couldn’t stop staring at him, from the expression in his eyes to his mouth, his luscious lips. What would it be like to be taken by him? To sate this burning, constant need? She could feel the heat of his skin, smell the scent that wafted from his skin—the scent she’d smelled countless times and craved with a burning need. But at what cost did that come?

  “But no one can ever have you,” he continued. “Because you’re in love with hating yourself.”

  Is this how he felt? The truth a bucket of ice water to the fire in her veins. Grit in her voice, she flinched with pain, then retaliated without thinking. The way he always predicted she would. “Oh yeah? Well, you’re in love with hating me,” she spat.

  “Hating you? You got it half right, my pretty.”

  “And then what did you say?” Lily asked. Yes, like an inexperienced maiden, she’d run to her girlfriends. But Sunny was with Beast, and Robyn and Amanda were both at work. So, pathetic creature that she was, she showed up on Lily’s doorstep.

  “Say? I couldn’t say anything. He got right up, picked up his pants off the floor, and walked out. He left everything else there, right in my room. His shoes. Socks. Tie. Everything.”

  “So what do you think he meant?”

  “I have no idea. That is why I came to you. What does ‘half right’ even mean?”

  “You’re in love with hating me. Half of that statement would mean he’s in love…or he hates you. And somehow, I doubt Shawn hates you.”

  “He does not love me,” Tempest protested.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Of course I am sure! He does not treat me the way Jason treats you. He does not go all googly-eyed and silly the way Beastly does around Sunny.”

  “No. But he’s focused all of his attention on you. Every shift? He’s your partner. Every sparring match? He’s your partner. Every function? He seeks out you. He makes sure you attend volleyball on the beach and lunch in the mess hall.”

  “That’s all work-related,” Tempest said. “He’s my trainer. He assumes a certain responsibility. The responsibility that Jason gave him.”

  “What about last night’s dance?”

  “That was supposed to be work-related,” she said. “I signed up for overtime, remember?”

  Lily shook her head, her green hair flitting delicately over her shoulders. “No, he took advantage of that. The chance to get you in evening wear and ply you with drink.”

  “Yes, but the drinking was to teach me a lesson in control.”

  “In how to loosen up! You were supposed to end up naked in your bed with him, all right. But you were supposed to do the dirty.”

  Tempest’s mouth fell open. “Surely he can’t think—”

  “Yes! Now you’re getting it. That’s exactly what he thinks,” Lily said.

  “But what will I do?”

  “Do? You fuck his brains out!”

  “I…I cannot. What if he dies?”

  Lily leaned in. “Then you deal with it then. Just like he’ll deal with it if you die. Just like we all dealt with it when we died in the labs. And were revived. Over and over, in a horrible life that wouldn’t end with the peace of death.” She shook her head to clear it.

  “What if we’re wrong? What if Shawn doesn’t want me in that way?”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “Trust me. He does. But if he doesn’t, what’s the worst that can happen? He’ll gently pluck your tentacle-like arms and legs from where they’ll be wrapped around his rock-hard body and tell you to control your raging hormones. So what?”

  Well, put like that it didn’t seem like such a puzzle.

  “Okay then.” Tempest took a deep breath. “How do I seduce him? Just once, you know. So I can get this,” she allowed the sneer to show across her face, “unwanted lust from my system.”

  Chapter Seven

  Shawn:

  ALL AROUND HIM, everyone froze. Noises stopped. Fists stopped the constant smacking of sweaty skin, grunts stopped, even the labored breathing in the ring grew quiet. All heads were turned toward the gate.

  Tempest had arrived. She was casually leaned up against the door frame. But damn. Something about her looked different. Was the leather corset that she wore a bit tighter? Was the skirt she wore shorter? He didn’t remember her boots reaching up to her delectable thighs.

  Surrounded by blood and sweat and men, his dick hardened. Fuck, he needed to get laid and soon.

  He grew irritated with the way everyone stared at her luscious but exposed purple skin.

  “Tempest,” he snapped. “Over here.”

  The Xeno Sapien he had been sparring with looked relieved as he made his way down the ropes of the ring.

  The little skirt swished when she walked. “We are sparring here? In the ring? Not in the pit?”

  “The pit’s already reserved,” he said. “Why are you here? Today’s not your practice day.” Normally he didn’t mind when she showed up unannounced but today…today she was wearing a fucking flirty little skirt. A sexy leather halter. Tall, fuck-me boots.

  “No.” She shrugged delicately. “But I felt the need to let off a little steam.” She smiled. She fucking smiled at his goddamn misery as if she knew he shifted the fucking pole in his pants. A little steam was what she called this lustful attraction between them.

  The little steam was about to blow.

  “What are you wearing?” he growled.

  “Same thing I always wear.” She shrugged, her delicate shoulders moving up and down, raising her breasts, showing him the hardened points of her nipples through the thin casing. He’d seen her nipples before, of course. Xeno Sapiens weren’t shy about nudity. And hell, it had just been last night that he’d stripped that deliciously flimsy, gold, barely-there dress from her gorgeous body, stared his fill, and then pulled her close.

  He could see them whenever he closed his eyes. Hard. Flushed a darker purple than the rest of her. Her areolas were large and for some reason, that turned him the fuck on. He wanted to suck as much of her breast as he could into his mouth. But it wasn’t worth it. She’d hate him afterward. Any leeway he’d made months ago dropped dead when he did.

  “Maybe everything looks different with my new boots,” she said, twirling for him. Her sassy little ass bumped up and he knew he wasn’t imagining things. Her corset was tighter, her skirt was shorter.

  Tempest was up to something.

  So he dropped into position, turned up his palm, and motioned her closer.

  As usual, she didn’t start light. She blasted into him with an uppercut he blocked, a hook he ducked, and a kick he caught. But instead of thrusting her leg away, he pulled her in, watched her eyes widen and then slapped her ass as he tossed her away.

  Oh, yeah. The goal was to piss her off.

  They still sparred even when the last two men waved, heading to the showers. He glanced at the clock. The mess hall would be open for another forty-five minutes. Just enough to get her fed…and put to bed.

  “How are you not tired?” she gritted. “You sparred before I even arrived.”

  He refrained from pointing out he wasn’t weak. She’d have to figure that out on her own.

  His leg swept out, knocking hers from underneath her. He landed on top of her—didn’t even brace for the pain that might erupt.

  No pain.

  She didn’t stab.

  “Good job,” he murmured softly.

  “It was easy,” she warned. “But i
f you would have landed on the bottom…” she stopped speaking when he slipped his arm underneath her and swept it along her body, down her spine, over the curve of her sweet ass.

  “Nothing broke through behind you,” he pointed out. Not like that day she was so terrified of.

  “But it could,” she insisted.

  “No,” he said. “You have more control than that. You just don’t know it.” And then he did the unthinkable.

  He covered her mouth with his.

  Her plump, sexy lips were soft and parted in surprise. He took advantage to slide his tongue across her bottom lip. She moaned softly. Blistering desire shot straight through him and he lost all thought processes as his need took over. There was a hot thrust of his tongue, her returning stroke and he realized she was greedy, just as greedy as he was. A note of desperate arousal sounded deep in her throat as her body lifted as if trying to get closer to his.

  With a low groan, he tore his mouth from hers. Fingers bunched in her hair, he tilted her head back, bearing the long expanse of her graceful neck. His teeth scraped the side of her neck before his lips kissed her over her racing pulse, licking his way up to the curve of her jaw as she trembled in his arms.

  She was fucking delicious. Honey and flowers, but something wild and exotic, too. Strength wrapped in beauty. He found her lips again and this time she was ready for him, her tongue stroking against his, her delectable breasts pressing against his chest.

  This time when he released her sweet lips, they were both gasping. But for a totally different reason.

  “That was unprofessional,” she said.

  “Yeah. It was,” he agreed. “Also made you forget the fact that you were afraid to lose control and stab me. If my kisses don’t make you lose control, nothing will.” He winked, and then rose from his prone position. He held out a hand to help her up.

  “Go get cleaned up,” he said. “We’re heading to the mess hall before it closes. There’s something else I want to discuss with you.”

  He’d learned long ago never to ask with Tempest. Never force her…but never give her a chance to refuse. He pushed her off to the right while he took the showers on the left. He was done in a flat ten minutes and waiting for her where the showers both exited into the lobby.