Chapter Six
Sargent
The second Maddox walks in at five in the morning, I stop him in the hall.
“Don’t leave me to babysit her again, do you understand?” I snarl and he’s so startled he backs up a step.
“What the fuck, Dad?” He frowns, his happy drunken smile gone. “What happened?”
I run a hand through my hair. Do I tell him? He should know.
“She got naked,” I blurt and my voice sounds higher than it should. “I helped her to her bedroom and she got naked.”
He just stares at me for the longest time, blinking slowly before his lips twitch. “I mean, yeah, I should have warned you. She does that when she’s high.”
“Does what?”
“She calls it becoming one with nature.” He chuckles as though it’s not a big deal. Am I making it a big deal?
“She got naked in front of your father.”
“She’s not underage, Dad, chill, and she doesn’t have the worst body in the world to look at. Why are you so upset?”
How can he be so flippant and easy about all of this? If she were mine I’d be raging. But then again, I always have had a temper and been possessive.
“You’ve got to get your kicks somewhere,” he adds, laughing harder.
Little twerp. I get plenty of kicks.
I follow him into the kitchen where he moves to the fridge.
“Is that all she did? That’s why you’re mad? Because she stripped in a room she’s staying in?” He takes a swig of juice and waits for my answer.
“I’m going to bed,” I say and skulk to my room. “Keep her out of my way.”
“Dad,” he shouts after me but I ignore him.
What the hell kind of man have I raised?
Tempest
When I wake up the next morning, in bed, nude from head to toe, blankets kicked onto the floor, I groan and roll onto my back, scratching at the tattoo on my arm.
“Morning, sleepy.” Maddox grins from the doorway, tossing me one of his oversized shirts.
“Morning,” I reply and pull it on before sitting up on the side of my bed. “My head is spinning.”
“Mine too,” he admits, chuckling. “But you might want to avoid my dad today, you gave his aging heart a bit too much excitement last night.”
“Oh, I know,” I reply bitterly, my bad mood increasing. “He called me disgusting. That’s something I won’t be forgetting any time soon.”
“He what?” Maddox’s smile vanishes.
“I wasn’t thinking, okay? I just started getting undressed and he was there. He didn’t see anything anyway; my back was to him,” I ramble and then move my tongue around my mouth. I taste like sand and feet. I need to brush my teeth.
I pad into the en suite.
He follows. “What did he say?”
“Just that: you’re disgusting.” I shrug like his words didn’t hurt but they did. “He’s so harsh. Like I was steaming, mate. I wasn’t thinking about his sensitive little eyes. I’m not that hideous, am I?”
“No,” Maddox assures me. “I’d fuck you if I didn’t consider you family now.”
“Not a visual I want, Maddox.” I giggle at him and start vigorously cleaning my teeth. “I’ll be out soon anyway, I need to look for a new job, or beg for my old one back.”
“I’ll have a word with my dad.”
“No!” I blurt, dribbling foamy toothpaste down my chin. “Please, don’t. It’ll make things awkward.”
“He needs to chillax.”
“I know, but he won’t if you start on at him.” I splash water on my face and turn to him. He hands me a towel, I thank him and dab my cheeks and nose gently. “Let me deal with this myself, okay?”
“Fine, but if he gets too much for you just tell me and I’ll sort him out.”
My arms wrap around his waist as I drop the towel onto the ground and we hug in the middle of the bathroom.
“What time is it?” I ask quietly, inhaling his scent. He’s showered already, I can smell his peppery shower gel and a spritz of aftershave.
“Noon.”
“Shit,” I murmur and release him. “And where’s your dad so I can avoid him?”
“In his office probably.”
He’s not in his office, I discover when I creep into the kitchen for food, wearing a white vest and the same shorts I wore last night. They’re clean enough and the rest of my clothes are in the dryer. I chucked them in last night before I went out.
I don’t greet him as he eats a slice of toast and reads a newspaper. I do however look at him and narrow my eyes when his come to mine.
“Morning,” he tries but I turn away from him and grab a yogurt from the fridge.
Just as I pull myself up onto the counter, mostly because I know he hates it, a man walks in from outside. I didn’t spot him before but I do now and my lips part.
He’s delicious, muscular, with dark skin and hazel eyes. He’s tall too, nearly as tall as Sargent and Maddox but not quite.
When he sees me, he crosses the distance, wearing a light gray vest that covers nothing and white board shorts that cover too much.
“You must be the girl, it’s a pleasure. I’m Devon but everybody calls me Dev.” His smile is as charming as his tone. “I don’t think I can recall your name though?”
I notice how he said, the girl. Likely because that’s what Sargent always calls me. God forbid he should actually be polite. It’s nice that he has polite friends at least.
“Tempest.” I place my hand into his and try not to blush. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Your name is Tempest?” Sargent asks, looking between me and his friend. Or I assume they’re friends, they look to be around the same age. I can see him trying to fight a smile.
“You have a problem with my name now too?” I snap, hating that he has the power to irritate me so easily.
“I think it’s a beautiful name.” Devon catches my eyes and his easy smile makes my frown melt away. “Are you named after the play or the storm?”
“I don’t know,” I admit, shrugging.
His smile remains in place. “Have you ever seen the play?”
“Unfortunately, no, but it’s on my bucket list.”
“Oh yeah? What else is on your bucket list?” he asks, sounding genuinely interested. Before I can reply though, he flips the conversation. “So, let me just get my ducks in a row here… You’re Maddox’s girlfriend, right?”
I laugh at that. “No. Definitely not.”
“So, you’re single?”
“Devon,” Sargent snarls and Devon raises his hands defensively.
“I’m just scooping the gossip.” He chuckles moving away and sitting on a stool a few down from Sargent who is glaring at me. “I must have misheard. This asshole told me you were his son’s girl?”
I shake my head. “No, Mad and I have never been like that. We were always just friends and hopefully always will be.”
His thick, black brows almost hit his hairline of tight, black curls. “Well isn’t that an interesting development?”
“What is?” Maddox finally joins me, getting his own yogurt from the fridge and spoon from the drawer by my thigh.
“He thinks we’re together,” I say, pointing at Devon with my thumb.
Maddox rolls his eyes. “Who doesn’t when they first meet us? Just ask Dad, we sleep in separate beds and everything.”
“In that case, are you free tonight?” Devon asks good-naturedly.
“Fuck off, Dev, you’re like twice her age,” Maddox laughs, pulling himself up onto the counter beside me.
“Behave yourself, Dev,” Sargent warns but Devon seems to think they’re both hilarious. “Are you joining us outside, Maddox?”
“No, I’ve got that fucking freight to oversee at the docks, remember?”
Sargent nods. “I’d almost forgotten. You sure you can handle it?”
“It’s just inventory before sailing.” Maddox hops down and tosses his empty yogurt pot into the recycling bin. “I’ll be fine. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Dev looks at me and asks, “Are you joining us today?”
“I’m going job hunting.” I look at Maddox who winks at me. “He’s dropping me in town on his way to work.”
“I’d be glad to escort you,” Devon tries again, looking at Sargent and grinning when he glares at him.
“It’ll be boring,” I laugh nervously, hoping they don’t make me put them out. “I’m just handing in my CV to anywhere that will take it.”
Sargent
I watch one of my oldest friends flirt unabashedly with the girl who I now know to be called, Tempest. Even going as far as to offer her a job at his surfing business doing admin work.
Oh he wants to fuck her and he isn’t ashamed to show it. He’s always been a dog and until now it never bothered me.
“Well then it’s settled, you’ll start Monday, I’ll even throw in some surfing lessons.”
“She can already surf,” Maddox states. “She’s pretty good actually. We learned in Thailand.”
“It was incredible,” she adds and the way she breathes the words has my cock twitching again. I wonder if she’ll say that exact statement about me when I finish inside of her, buried deep in her tight little… Well, my thoughts just went elsewhere that’s for sure. “But I can’t just accept a job.”
“Sure you can, Maddox is family and you’re his guest, which means we’ve got to take care of you too,” Devon replies, suave and easy.
I’ve never hated him until the moment she blushes and starts giggling. It’s definitely hate I feel toward him now. Complete loathing.
“Excuse me while I vomit.” I stand and leave the room, unable to watch this anymore.