Tempest's Paradise (Siren Publishing Allure) Read online

  “Lizzie, if you ever speak to me like that again I will skin you alive and hang your hide on a wall. You will get your allowance like always at the same time of the month as always. You should try being more responsible with your money. Your inability to manage funds is not my problem nor is it my responsibility to make sure you have money. I’m the younger sister. I shouldn’t have to take care of you. If you don’t have any money, why don’t you ask your new husband? Better yet, why don’t you ask my date! He considers fucking you as a sidetrack, so he might be amenable to paying you for your services.”

  Wow! Devin thought. He watched as a sad, sympathetic look crossed her face and was directed at Mark, who looked like he was about to choke his new bride. That amazing girl then straightened her spine and walked out the door with all the confidence and grace of a queen.

  Devin had to mentally shake himself and turn his attention back to his friend, who was struggling to keep his composure. The young stud had snuck out the backdoor when the room’s attention was focused on the commotion at the front doors. Mark was at this point trying to untangle himself from a near-hysterical Lizzie. Mark finally broke free, and the look on his face was a mixture of anger and hurt.

  “I’ll have my lawyers contact yours. Good-bye, Lizzie,” Mark said in a deadpan voice.

  Samuel and Phillip, who were identical twins, and Devin flanked Mark and left with him. He didn’t know and didn’t care what happened in that building once he walked out. He just needed to get Mark out of there and fast. They all instinctively headed to Devin’s extended cab pickup. They all four climbed in and then left the parking lot.

  “Do you think Tempest was lying?” Mark asked and sounded like he was close to tears.

  “No, man, she wasn’t. I’m sorry. I even saw those two come out of the back room,” Devin said with regret.

  Her name was Tempest! Devin rolled the name around in his mind. She definitely was a storm.

  “She was a hot little thing!” Phillip piped up. He never was one to think first.

  Samuel smacked the back of his brother’s head hard. “What the fuck, man! That is not cool!”

  “I was just sayin’,” Phillip said as he rubbed the back of his head and wore an unrepentant grin.

  “Jailbait, man! Absolute jailbait!” Devin said forcefully. He didn’t like the idea of his friends thinking about Tempest like that.

  Mark actually chuckled. “Besides, I doubt you’ll be seeing her ever again.”

  Devin’s body tightened at the idea of never seeing her again. “Why not?” he asked, but he didn’t mean to. It just kind of slipped out. Samuel and Phillip both shared sly looks.

  Mark pushed a hand through his hair. He looked tired. “She was going to basic training today,” Mark said with sadness etching his words.

  Devin knew that Mark had really taken to Lizzie’s little sister. He had felt very protective of the girl, and now it was understandable.

  “She joined the army?” Mark asked in surprise.

  “She sure did. The day she turned seventeen she had her legal guardian sign a paper saying she could join, I sure hope she’s going to be okay,” he said with concern.

  Phillip gave a snorting laugh. “I’d say she was going to do fine. From what I saw today, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was running the army before long,” he said, and that got a little laugh from all the young men.

  Devin didn’t doubt it either. The lush Tempest was a feisty little thing. Devin turned to Mark and saw him staring out the window. “You gonna be okay, man?” he asked with growing concern.

  Mark continued to look out the window but let out a long breath. “I’ll be fine. I knew something was off when we met and so did y’all, but I didn’t want to listen. She was just so damn beautiful. She was like this bright white light that was blinding and I couldn’t see that she was leading me to a cliff,” Mark said.

  Devin fought the urge to roll his eyes. The man was an English Lit major, and he had a tendency to be a bit dramatic. “Then why did you ask her to marry you?” Devin asked and couldn’t keep the disbelief out of his voice.

  Mark shrugged his shoulders and scrubbed his hand over his face. “I thought she would change after we got married. To be honest, I was a little taken by Tempest, too. She is such an amazing kid. She was smart, funny, and she just has something a little extra, too. She kinda reminded me of Lily,” Mark said, his voice cracking a little as he thought of the little sister he had lost. “I saw how Lizzie treated her, and I couldn’t stand it. She was always so mean and snarky to her. She was always saying some of the meanest things, and Tempest just took it in stride and ignored her. Which only made Lizzie that much more angry. I just felt like I needed to protect her since I couldn’t protect Lily.” Mark swiped an errant tear from his cheek.

  None of the guys commented on his show of emotion. They had all been sixteen and Lily had been ten when she died from some kind of aggressive brain cancer. It had nearly killed Mark. He had always been so protective of Lily. He made sure no one picked on her. He made sure she was safe, warm, and anything else he could think of. His parents were rich socialites, kind of like all their parents, but Mark’s parents tended to forget about him and Lily. He had practically raised Lily, and when she died, he emancipated himself from his parents and moved in with Devin and his folks.

  “I’m just glad Tempest got out of that house,” Mark said quietly.

  “I’m sure she’ll be just fine. You could always write her and keep track of how she’s doing,” Devin added helpfully.

  Mark perked up a little. “Do you think she would want to hear from me?” he asked.

  “I think the reason she dimed out her sister was because she likes you, and not like that,” Devin added quickly and looked in the rearview mirror to see Phillip smirking. “She didn’t want to see you saddled with her sister and all her drama. I think she wanted you to be happy and knew that her sister definitely wouldn’t make you happy,”

  “I think he’s right, man. She truly seemed to be sorry that her sister had betrayed you. I think it would be good for you to keep in contact with her. Besides I can’t see Lizzie being there for her after this. From what I understand, she doesn’t have any other family but Lizzie. Her grandmother was a friend of my mother’s, and she passed away last year. She won’t have anyone else,” Samuel said last. Samuel tended to be the group’s voice of reason and logic. He was the one that kept them all grounded and not running off at the first inclination to do something stupid.

  “Okay, I can have my attorneys get her address from her guardian,” Mark said excitedly. He was nearly bouncing in his seat he was so excited.

  Devin did roll his eyes this time, and he heard Phillip snicker in the backseat while Samuel, once again, smacked him on the back of his head. Lizzie and his heartache were forgotten and a thing of the past. He had only needed an entire forty-five minutes to get over it. Then man was so damn fickle it was like hanging out with a woman sometimes. Devin had to wonder how long it would be before Mark, once again, found his one true love.

  He then thought about Tempest. She was very young, but she was already an amazing girl. Devin didn’t doubt that she would become an amazing woman. He smiled at the idea and finally admitted that he had ulterior motives for Mark keeping in contact with Tempest. He wanted to see what kind of woman she turned out to be. He wanted to be around when she came back.

  * * * *

  Four years later

  Tempest stepped off the bus and headed to grab a cab and get to her destination. She only had a four-day pass to be off post, and it had taken her a day and a half just to get here. She would only be able to spend the night and then head back to the base. She had been ecstatic to get the invitation to Mark’s twenty-fifth birthday party. She had to beg, borrow, and steal to be here, and she wasn’t going to miss a minute of it.

  She had been pleasantly surprised the first time she got a letter from Mark while she was in basic. She had thought he would never want to spea
k to her again, but it had been the exact opposite. He had thanked her from saving him from a fate worse than death! The man always tended to lean toward the dramatic side of things.

  He even asked her to write back and tell him how she was doing and where she was going to be stationed. It was almost like he had adopted her as his little sister. Tempest had to admit it made her smile. Lizzie had disowned Tempest after the wedding, saying she would never speak to her again. This didn’t bother Tempest as much as she thought it would. She would still have control of the estate when she turned twenty-five, and not having Lizzie around to hassle her all the time already felt like a relief. It had already been four years since she last talked to Lizzie.

  Tempest wondered briefly what she might’ve lost out on, but she didn’t wonder for long. She had already been deployed twice to Iraq. She had returned relatively unharmed with only a minimal aversion to loud sounds. Their FOB had been shelled a lot.

  The taxi pulled up to Mark’s house, and the party was starting. Tempest had to control her urge to jump out of the car and run to the front door. She checked her clothes and was glad she had opted for nice yet casual and comfortable. She had decided on a light summer dress. She enjoyed wearing feminine clothes since the army had a uniform. Anytime she got to wear something that made her feel like a girl was fun. She had even let her hair grow out, too. It hung to the tops of her shoulders. For the women in the army, their hair had to be up and off the collar of their shirts. She loved wearing her hair down whenever she could, and tonight was the perfect opportunity. She really and truly felt like a girlie girl, and she loved it. She even had her fingernails and toes painted pink just for this occasion.

  She walked up the stairs to the opulent house and rang the doorbell. She heard muffled conversation from the other side, and in the next second Mark appeared. His mouth hung open for the briefest of seconds, and then his face split into a huge smile. He grabbed her around the waist and spun her into a bear hug. She giggled like a little girl and hugged him back. He set her back on her feet and gave her an approving once-over.

  “I’m so glad you made it, Temp! I was worried you wouldn’t be able to get the pass,” Mark said with his smile still in place.

  Tempest laughed. “I had to do some true army finagling, but I got it worked out.”

  Mark grabbed her hand and gently tugged. “Come on. I want to introduce you to the guys before everyone else shows up,” Mark said and hurried her off down the hall.

  Tempest was excited to meet Mark’s friends. He had written her about his ragtag group of buddies, but she had never personally met any of them. She knew that they had been at the wedding, but she didn’t remember them.

  She rounded the corner into the kitchen, and the breath stalled in her lungs. They were a good-looking group of men, and two of them looked exactly alike. Wow! The one who truly caught her eye though was the odd one out. He was big and tall. He had to be at least six feet four inches. He had a dark, brooding feel to him. His hair was thick and black with a spiked type of style that wasn’t punk but it wasn’t preppy boy either. His eyes were like melted caramel, amazing orbs of deliciousness that Tempest could’ve gotten lost in. His body was lean but muscled. He had wide shoulders, a trim waist, and narrow hips. He was dressed in a black T-shirt that was entirely too tight in a totally good way. His pants were also mouth-wateringly tight. The motorcycle helmet he had tucked under his right arm just added to the bad boy vibes that were rolling off of him in screaming waves.

  The twins were also too good-looking for their own good. They looked like a pair of surfer gods that had escaped from Mt. Olympus to cavort with the human females. They were tall like Mark but not as tall as the dark one. Tempest didn’t need Mark to tell her that he was Devin. The twins were Samuel and Phillip, but she wasn’t sure which was which. One had on a red shirt and the other had on a blue shirt. Their blond hair and sun-kissed skin stood out in amazing contrast to their bold color choices. Their blue eyes twinkled with laughter.

  She didn’t know these men, but she already liked them. Mark had written to her about them, and she felt like she already knew them even though they had never met. She gave them all a tentative smile, and the twins smiled back at her warmly and then shuffled off to finish some party prep-work. She couldn’t stop the giggle as they immediately started arguing good-naturedly with each other.

  Mark went to go and do something, leaving her alone with Devin. Of all the men, he was the one she felt intimidated by. She wasn’t sure what to make of him other than he was obscenely handsome, but she dealt with it like the army taught her. Show no fear and never back down.

  Devin was regarding her with a complex expression. She was pretty sure his heavy stare was meant to be unsettling, but she had been in a room with more powerful men than him. He was going to have to work a lot harder to put her on a noticeable edge. She let a brow jerk up at him in question and a little bit of a challenge to be honest. She had only been in the army for four years, but she had worked damn hard to get where she was. She didn’t make it to sergeant in less than four years by being someone that was mowed over easily. The army rewarded intelligence and strength of body and character.

  She decided to ignore his attempt to intimidate her. She went for uninterested. She wasn’t here to try and pick up a guy anyway. She’d had a couple since she joined up but was unimpressed and didn’t feel the need to go looking for another one.

  “Do y’all need my help with anything?” she asked Devin and was so happy her voice didn’t shake. This guy was intense. The trick was not letting on to him what she thought.

  “Nah, I think we got everything under control. Do you want something to drink?” he asked.

  His voice moved across her skin like melted chocolate. It was an amazingly rich baritone that vibrated across the wooden floor, into her feet, and straight to her naughty bits.

  “I’d love a soda if you have any. If not, water works, too,” Tempest said, thanking God her voice didn’t quiver like her girlie parts. They were going to have to have a long talk after this about how to not react to just a voice.

  * * * *

  Devin couldn’t believe it. She was here! She was actually here in Mark’s house, and he was looking right at her. She had grown up a lot over the last four years. She still had her killer curves, but she was toned and tight all over. Her breasts were still large globes high on her chest, and her legs…Dear God in heaven, legs like hers should be illegal. All Devin could do was imagine those legs wrapped around his head or better yet his waist. Her legs were shapely beyond what he could’ve ever imagined. He really hoped she still had amazingly thick thighs. She had on a cute little pink sundress that did unseemly things to his libido.

  He had stared at her for a noticeable amount of time. He had noticed that she didn’t flinch or shrink away from his intense scrutiny. He also didn’t miss that barely noticeable quirk of her eyebrow. She might still be young, but she wasn’t one to be intimidated by anyone, least of all him, even though he did his fair share of intimidating people, especially women.

  “So Mark tells us that you’ve been doing well in the army. What rank have you reached?” Mark asked with true interest.

  She could do this! She can talk about the army all day! “I’ve made it to sergeant so far,” she said with a quiet smile of pride.

  “You’re what, twenty-one? Isn’t that a little young for that rank?” Devin asked with disbelief.

  “For a female soldier maybe, but it’s not unheard of,” she said with a little shrug of her shoulders.

  “Wow! All right then. So what is your job with the army?” he asked again.

  “I’m a twenty-nine Echo. That’s an electronic warfare NCO or noncommissioned officer,” Tempest offered when Devin looked confused.

  “Sooo, what exactly do you do?” Devin asked again.

  “Well, I prepare for possible electronic attacks and help prevent electronic attacks on the United States,” she said.

  Devin arched
a brow at her. “Is that all?”

  “Some of what I do is classified, so I can’t talk about it.” She gave him a reluctant shrug of her shoulders but didn’t seem to upset that she couldn’t talk more about what exactly she did.

  “Have you been deployed yet?” Devin asked, and his gut tightened waiting for her response.

  “Sure, I’ve already been deployed twice to Iraq and my third is coming up soon. I was thinking—” She never finished.

  “You can’t go back there!” Devin yelled at her.

  Tempest’s mouth dropped open in shock for a second. It took her a minute to process that he was yelling at her for seemingly no reason. Personally she didn’t like anyone yelling at her, but she tolerated it from those who outranked her. She didn’t have to tolerate being yelled at by a civilian especially when she wasn’t in her uniform.

  She cleared her throat and scrunched up her brow. “So explain to me where I can’t go?” she asked, confused and not just a little irritated.

  “You can’t go back to Iraq!” Devin yelled again. The noise he was making attracted the other three men from their previous locations.

  Tempest studied Devin thoughtfully for a moment, and then she just burst out laughing. It wasn’t some girlish giggle or twittering. No, Tempest was laughing from deep down in her gut, tears-in-her-eyes laughing at him. Her face turned a pretty pink, and she was gasping for air on occasion. She was leaning over clasping her stomach and with her free hand slapping the bar’s granite tops.

  Mark and Samuel stood close by with their mouths hanging open their gazes snapping between the laughing Tempest and the glowering Devin. Phillip, on the other hand, had a smirk and was silently laughing with Tempest. He wasn’t about to laugh out loud at Devin because that man was fucking huge and he looked like he was ready to spit ten-penny nails.