Page 10 of Tempest

“Yeah, I’m -- I’m not feeling great,” I choked out, praying she wouldn’t come investigate.

I slammed my bedroom door, leaning against it as my legs gave out. Sliding to the floor, I hugged my knees to my chest, finally letting the tears flow. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I muttered, banging my head against the door with each word.

Tempest’s face flashed in my mind -- the hurt in his eyes, the tension in his jaw. God, how could I have been so impulsive? So cowardly? I stumbled to my feet, stripping off my clothes as I made for the bathroom. The shower hissed to life, steam quickly filling the small space. I stepped under the scalding spray, letting it sear my skin.

“What were you thinking?” I whispered, pressing my forehead against the cool tile. “He’s the Sergeant-at-Arms, for Christ’s sake. Dad would lose it if he knew.”

The water pounded against my back but did nothing to wash away the memory of Tempest’s touch, his intensity. I closed my eyes, remembering the way he’d looked at me -- like I was the only thing in his world that mattered.

“But at what cost?” I asked the empty bathroom. “The club is everything to him. To Dad. I can’t… I can’t be the reason it all falls apart.”

Yet even as I said the words, my traitorous heart rebelled. The thought of never feeling Tempest’s arms around me again, never seeing that smile he seemed to reserve just for me -- it felt like a physical pain in my chest.

“Damnit, Tempest,” I growled, slamming my palm against the tile. “Why’d you have to make me fall for you?”

* * *

Tempest

The cigarette flared to life in my hand, a tiny inferno against the encroaching twilight. I inhaled deeply, the smoke a searing brand down my throat, acrid and bitter. My eyes narrowed, tracking the empty road where Kasen’s taillights had vanished minutes ago.

“Fuck.” The word was a gritty rasp on my tongue.

Frustration coiled through me, tension in every muscle. Kasen’s wide, questioning eyes haunted me, her faltering words about needing space echoing in my head.You knew this wouldn’t be easy. She’s Tank’s daughter, damn it.

The rumble of a motorcycle cut through the quiet, drawing my gaze across the street. Viking, fiddling with his engine. Had he seen her? The thought twisted in my gut, a cold knot of apprehension. She’d freaked over him seeing us together, and I’d told her it didn’t matter. But now… I got her point and understood her worry over the situation. Didn’t mean I had to like it.

Another drag, the smoke curling into the twilight.She’s not ready. Maybe she’ll never be.

But doubt gnawed at the edges of my conviction. The memory of Kasen’s smile, the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t watching -- it sparked something in me, a flicker of warmth in the frozen wasteland of my heart.

“Damnit, girl,” I muttered, letting out a frustrated groan. “What are you doing to me?”

I flicked the cigarette, watching embers scatter like dying fireflies on the concrete. My jaw muscles worked beneath the skin like restless demons.

The club would have opinions. Loud, unwelcome ones. Kasen was one of the club princesses. I might be an officer, but that wouldn’t matter. As far as Tank was concerned, no one was good enough for his girls, which was probably why all three were still single.

I could already hear the whispers, feel the prickling heat of judgmental stares. Tank’s daughter and the Sergeant-at-Arms. It was a recipe for disaster, a powder keg waiting for the spark of gossip to ignite.

But I’d meant it when I said if we took that next step, that was it. Neither of us would be able to take it back, and I didn’t think I wanted to. Now that I’d set my sights on her, I was having a hard time letting her go. For one, it wasn’t in my nature. For another, I’d finally given myself permission to have the one thing I’d wanted for a while -- Kasen. Now I was giving her the space she needed, and I fucking hated it. She didn’t think she could handle being mine, and while there was a chance she was right, I also knew she was stronger than she realized.

But a small voice in my head kept whisperingwhat if she’s not? Being the woman of the Sergeant-at-Arms wasn’t for just anyone. She’d need nerves of steel. Her mom was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. If Emmie could stand by Tank, then I figured Kasen shouldn’t have an issue being by my side. It all depended on her, and how much she decided to believe in herself. And whether she’d allow herself to be happy without worrying about what everyone else thought.

The roar of a passing bike shattered the silence, making me straighten instinctively. It was just Thunder heading to his house. I gazed across the street at Viking again, but he still wasn’t paying me any attention. Staring off in the direction Kasen had left, my eyes narrowed. “I need a partner. Not a liability.”

I crushed the cigarette under my boot, the sound a satisfying crunch that echoed the breaking of my own doubts. My gaze fixed on the horizon, where the setting sun painted the sky in shades of blood and fire, a canvas of chaos mirroring the turmoil within me.

“Ball’s in your court, Kasen,” I murmured, the words barely audible but heavy with meaning. “Show me you can handle this life, this dance on the razor’s edge. Then we’ll talk. Then we’ll see if the fire in your eyes can truly withstand the storm.”

Viking’s voice sliced through my brooding. “Girl problems?”

“None of your damn business.”

“Might be the club’s business,” Viking countered, wiping his hands on a rag as he stepped closer. “That was Tank’s kid, wasn’t it?”

I turned to meet Viking’s steady gaze, heat pooling in my chest. “And if she is?”

He shrugged, but his eyes sharpened like daggers. “Just saying, brother. You’re playing with fire.”

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