Chayton's Tempest (18 page)

“Good afternoon. Hello,
Dak
,” she mumbled and went

to the fridge for a drink of lemonade.

“Hey, Mom,” he said in a voice that sounded

remarkably close to the man that had sired him. “Did we wake

you? If so, sorry, we were going to let you sleep until Shelia

arrived.”

Holding the pitcher of lemonade, Tempest bit her lower

lip as a bronzed hand held out a glass full of ice for her. Taking

it from him, she risked a glance to his eyes and shuddered at

the look he had. It was a mix of possession and a feeling she

didn’t want to see. Filling the glass, she turned away from him.

“You didn’t wake me,
Dak
. It was past time for me to get

up, anyway.” Tempest took a small sip and couldn’t contain

the shiver that invaded her body as Maverick brushed against

her with his hard physique.

Maverick couldn’t help allowing their bodies to touch.

Tempest looked like a stunning vision. The way her sarong fit

over her made him long to peel it away and enjoy what lay

beneath it. He could see her breathing was affected by him

being there, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into

his arms and kiss her senseless.

The doorbell rang and Tempest walked away from the

overwhelming amount of testosterone in her kitchen. Pulling

open the door a genuine smile crossed her face as she looked

upon Shelia.

“Good morning, Ms.
Burnell
,” Shelia greeted her. In her

hands she held a cake box.

“Good morning, Shelia. Please call me Tempest.” She

winked and added, “Or Mom.”

Shelia leaned in and kissed her cheek before walking

into the kitchen, opting not to answer that comment. Tempest

shut the door on the scorching afternoon and breathed a sigh of

relief that her house stayed cool. She heard the swamp cooler

kick in and send more cool air through the home.

“You have to watch how you stare at me, baby, or I’m

going to go all ‘caveman’ on you and carry you off over my

shoulder and ravish you.” Those words were spoken directly

into her ear.

Tempest jumped as Maverick settled his hands on the

sides of her waist. “What are you doing here?” she hissed,

hating that her body still desired his.

Stepping away, he allowed her the much needed

distance between them. His eyes were serious as he met her

gaze. “I came by to see how you were doing after reading that

letter. Dakota asked if I wanted to stay for lunch.” He grinned,

seeming suddenly boyish. “He is a great kid.”

One you were nowhere around during the hard years. You

show up after he is grown.
Forcing a smile, she nodded. “He is.”

As if he could read her mind, he shook his head. “I’m

sorry I wasn’t around. If I could go back in time I would. But I

can’t.”

Biting back her spiteful remarks, Tempest took a deep

breath. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Thank you for

last night.” Her eyes raked over his black-clad body one last

time before she left him standing there as she moved into the

kitchen.

 
“You’re welcome,
mitawin
.” For a moment, Maverick

remained in the living room and watched Tempest, Dakota,

and Shelia interacting in the kitchen. His gut clenched as he

witnessed the true joy on Tempest’s face as she laughed and

joked with her son and his girlfriend.

In that moment, Maverick knew he’d found his family.

His grandfather was right; he and Tempest were destined to be

together. Although he hadn’t been there for her in the past, all

that was going to change. His eyes turned possessive as he

looked over his family. Yes,
his family
. There was no other way

to think of them. As he walked to the kitchen to join them, he

could feel his grandfather’s approval wash over him.

Lunch was a lighthearted affair. Afterward, Shelia and

Tempest cleaned up since the men had made the meal. Dakota

took Maverick out into the living room.

“What do you do?” Dakota asked as his mom and Shelia

entered the room. His arm settled around his girlfriend as his

mother took a solo seat across from Maverick.

Maverick met his gaze before glancing at Tempest

quickly. “I’m in the Navy.”

“Really?” Dakota clearly fought back the grin that

tempted to fly across his face. “Mom dates a guy in the Air

Force. He claims to be some secret operative or something like

that.” He grunted from the elbow Shelia delivered into his side.

Years of hiding emotion came in handy again as

Maverick turned his gaze from Dakota to Tempest. “You’re

dating a Fl…Airman?”

She shrugged. “We’ve been out a few times. But it’s

nothing serious.”

“Not for his lack of trying,” Dakota added.

“And that means what, exactly?” Maverick asked his

child.

“Just that he wants to be a permanent fixture in this

household.” Tempest glared across the room at her soon-to-be

deceased son, who ignored her evil look.

When hell freezes over.
Maverick nodded slowly, not

letting his true feelings on the matter out. “And what do you

think of him?”

“He’s not bad. He’s nice enough to me and Shelia. Treats

mom like a queen.” This time there was a silent challenge in

Dakota’s eyes.

“Good for him,” Maverick managed to force out. No

man needed to be treating his woman like anything.

Dakota got in one last dig. “I think once he gets back

from his latest mission, he is going to ask mom to marry him.”

That almost broke the control Maverick had on his

temper. His eyes snapped over to land on Tempest, who

suddenly found the fabric of her chair extremely interesting.

“And if he does? What will you say, Tempest?”

She lifted on shoulder slightly. “I don’t know. He’s a

wonderful man.” Tempest wouldn’t meet his gaze.

Heedless of the other two people in the room, Maverick

stood up and stopped in front of her chair. “Look at me,” he

commanded.

Her head came up slowly. “What?”

“You won’t marry him.”

Dark-brown eyes narrowed as the stared at the imposing

man before them. “And why not,
James
? You have no say over

what I do and whom I do it with.”

Maverick filled her vision as he leaned down and placed

his hands on the arms of her chair, blocking out everything but

him. “I said you aren’t going to marry him,” he ground out. His

chiseled face directly in hers made his furious gaze

unavoidable.

“You know what?” Tempest leaned forward and put her

face nose to nose with his. At his answering raise of an

eyebrow she continued, “I’m long past the age of needing a

keeper. If I
were
needing one, I wouldn’t take you.” Her eyes

raked up and down his close physique. “I needed you then, not

now,” she spat at him.

The tension in the room grew to gigantic proportions in

seconds. Maverick’s eyes flashed dangerously before he

reached out with one strong hand and gripped her chin. “You

know what? I’m getting tired of you throwing that in my face. I

can’t keep apologizing for it. I have owned up to my mistake of

ignoring you in town after that blundering time I took your

virginity. But damn it, I wasn’t the one who kept your

pregnancy from me; that was our parents. Mine and yours.”

His fingers tightened as she tried to pull her chin free.

“No, you listen to me now. I’m trying to make up for this. I

want to be a part of Dakota’s life; he is not just your son but
my

son as well. He is ours.” Maverick lowered his face even more,

putting their lips millimeters from each other.

“Oh, yeah. One other thing. You remember my

grandfather?” He waited to get her acknowledging nod. “He

seems to think that our lives are intertwined. According to him,

you’re my
mitawin
.
”

“What the hell does that mean? And let go of me!” She

smacked at his hand and received a narrow glare before he let

go that said if he didn’t want to let her go, she wouldn’t be able

to make him.

“I’ll tell you when you are ready. Until then, just know

you can’t marry him.” Maverick’s voice dropped to a low tone,

but it still echoed through her soul. “Don’t try to fight with me

on this. Accept your destiny, for it is intertwined with mine.”

Not wanting to hear anything similar to that, she shoved

him away. “Nothing of me is intertwined with you.”

“Not yet,” he vowed. Maverick looked from her eyes

down to her plump lips and back up again. He opened his

mouth to say something else when his beeper went off.

Standing upright, he jerked it off his belt and glanced at the

number.

Solemnity settled across his features as he pulled off his

cell and dialed a number. “Maverick,” he snapped off when he

got someone. “Arrange a transport for me out of Kirkland and

I’ll meet everyone in San Diego. See you there.” He closed the

phone with a snap.

Looming over the woman in the chair, Maverick stared

down at her. “Stand up,” he commanded.

Stunned by the emotion in his voice, Tempest couldn’t

ignore him. She stood and looked up at his face. “What?”

“Don’t forget what I said. I’ll be back.” Large hands

settled on her shoulders as he pulled her in closer to him.

“
Toksha
ake
wacinyuanktin
ktelo
.
” Still unmindful of the other

two people in the room, Maverick pressed his mouth to hers.

In a second, Tempest had melded her body into his

strong, hard one. A purr of contentment erupted from her

throat as her fingers scrunched up the sides of his shirt. Despite

her harsh words, it was obvious she was into the kiss as much

as he was.

Maverick let his hands move down her back and settle

on her firm butt. Bringing her in even further, Maverick

increased the passion of the kiss. His tongue swept through her

mouth as he relearned her taste and taught her his.

As his cock throbbed in his jeans, he knew he had to

stop. Reluctantly releasing her mouth, he pulled back so he

could stare into her hooded eyes that were darker than normal

with passion. “
Toksha
ake
wacinyuanktin
ktelo
.”
He leaned in for

one more kiss and then he turned around and walked out the

door with a wave to his son and his girlfriend who’d been

watching what they’d done with shocked expressions on their

faces.

Moments after the door shut behind him, they heard the

rumble of his motorcycle. Then there was the relative silence of