Chapter Twelve

**Tempest**
Everybody is so lovely. They have a strict sexual harassment policy too which means if some jerk grabs me like that Cap guy in the diner then I get to fuck him up and it’s all good.

I make fast friends with a girl who is just a year older than me. Her name is Sadie and she’s lovely but definitely on the geek side. I learn that she loves to watch Anime as much as she loves to surf and she adores science and diving.

Her enthusiasm for everything makes me feel as though I am constantly miserable.

Devon realizes we get along and leaves her to show me the ropes.

I had assumed this would be an admin role but Devon tells me he thinks I’ll do better on the shop floor. Apparently, I’m charming.

I wax boards, help people carry them to their cars, make sure the shelves are stocked and keep an eye on potential shoplifters.

Everybody is so pleasant, the beach dwellers are friendly and calm, there are so many dogs too I lose count during my break where Devon takes me next door to the café and treats me to an iced tea and an egg salad sandwich.

He’s a really nice guy and not nearly as perverted as I initially thought. If anything, he’s extremely respectful of my boundaries and very supportive of me as a woman. He declares he’s for equality and feminism though he could just be saying that because he wants to get me into bed.

At sunset, he nods for me to follow, waits for me to change and then leads me to his white Bentley which is parked in a private garage just around the corner.

“You did really well today, I’m impressed with your work ethic.” He smiles ahead, showing white, straight teeth that stand out amongst his dark lips and skin. “I’m going to work you in on the schedule for the next couple of weeks. Are there any days you can’t do?”

I shake my head. “I’m free, thank you for the opportunity. I’ve been going out of my mind with boredom.”

“You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who likes to sit still, that’s why I put you on the shop floor instead. You’ll rotate with the crew. I like to give them all time in different areas so they don’t get bored. We need to sort out your health insurance too but I’m not sure how that will work with your temp visa.”

I wince. “It’s complicated, I know, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s nothing we can’t handle.” He smiles so kindly I feel at ease in a way I haven’t all day. “So, did you end up drawing the stiff?”

“The stiff?”

“Sargent.”

My lips form an O. “Oh…. No, not yet.”

“Well if you need another model I’d be happy to oblige.” He grins playfully.

My inner artist overrides my need to keep a distance from my boss. “You would?”

His grin becomes a smile as he replies, “Of course. So long as I get a copy of the end results. I’m a big fan of art and I think your idea; The Divine Skin was it?” I nod and he continues, “Is superb. I know Sargent thinks so too.”

“Will you really pose? You won’t be all weird around me afterwards?”

“If I started acting weird around every woman who has seen me naked, I’d never be normal.” He clears his throat as I stifle my laugh. “That sounded better in my head.”

I throw my head back and laugh as he pulls to a stop outside my temporary home. “Let me get some new pencils and some more paper for my sketchbook and we’ll set a date.”

“Sounds perfect,” he replies, winking at me as I climb out of the car.

“Thank you for bringing me,” I say before closing the door behind me and all but skipping to the house.

I immediately race to my journal and jot this amazing day down, then I pull out my sketchbook and my last pencil. It’s dark and smudges well but it’s not the best pencil I’ve used.

Maybe soon I’ll be able to start sketching and painting again. Not long now until I get paid. He said the end of the month and it’s the middle so I shall be counting down the days. This is going to be epic.

***

**Sargent**


I find Maddox in the break room, speaking to some of the people we work with. He gets along with them so well, his moods nothing like my own and I wonder if I’ve allowed myself to be consumed by bitterness. Or perhaps I’m just a bastard.

“Boss is here,” a woman mutters and they scarper, all but Maddox who greets me with a smile.

“I was wondering when you’d get here,” he pours himself a coffee at the machine and offers me one but I decline. “How’d she get on? Did you have a word with Devon?”

“She was fine and yes, I did.”

“What did he say?”

I lick my lip, wondering how to approach the subject without implicating myself. I’m simply testing the waters.

“He seemed to think I was saying it because I want the girl.” I say this as flippantly as possible.

His eyes darken with a scowl. “So he saw her as a challenge?”

He clearly trusts me to not do anything with her or he’d have asked me if it were true. Christ, I’m a fucking cunt.

“Possibly, but he said he’ll leave her be,” I reply. “Unless she makes the first move.”

“She won’t,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me.

I blow out a breath. “Why are you concerning yourself with her sex life?”

“She’s my best friend, am I not supposed to?”

“Feels like a more than friendly gesture to me.” Why am I pushing this?

“Dad…”

“I’m just suggesting that maybe you think and feel more for her than you’d care to admit?”

He places his cup angrily on the side. “Don’t go putting shit in my head. She’s family to me. I don’t want to lose her.”

“I just don’t get it, she’s young, adventurous, artistic, calm,” I list off her qualities and wonder when I noticed these things about her. “She’s sexy…”

“She’s my friend, don’t call her sexy, Dad, that’s weird. She’s young enough to be your daughter.”

The look he gives me is a clear warning. Too late for that.

“You’re honestly telling me you don’t feel anything? Women like her don’t just appear around every corner. If I were your age…”

What am I saying?

“Dad,” he groans, rolling his eyes. “We’re friends.”

“I’m just saying,” I reply, holding up my hands defensively. “She’ll move on eventually.”

“Dad, she doesn’t like me like that either. She can move on all she likes.”

I shrug like I don’t care, which I shouldn’t care, but I also do. His feelings are the only feelings I care about.

“So, really, you don’t care if she and Devon…”

He shoots me a look and interrupts, “Are you trying to campaign for your friend? She’s my age, Dad. She’s not like other women. She doesn’t just fuck anybody. I know that because I traveled with her for a year and she never once looked at another guy. She never once looked at me.”

So she was lying when she said that shit to me this morning. I had a feeling she was.

“Leave her alone, both of you. If I find out either of you have done something to make her uncomfortable I will never speak to you again.”

Shit. I let that escalate but at least now I know where I stand with him were he to find out about what happened.

**Tempest**


The next morning, I creep into Maddox’s room and find him sitting on the rug, cross-legged, looking at an image of a ship and a bunch of papers with numbers and lists on them.

He looks stressed and thoroughly confused.

“Made a mistake?” I ask, sitting on his bed and picking up his phone to play a game.

He shrugs and then stretches his neck. I wonder how long he has been sitting here.

I put his phone down, shift to sitting behind him and start rubbing his neck.

He groans and lets his head fall forwards.

“What’s wrong?”

“I counted an extra crate on the last two freights I released.”

I keep rubbing, digging my fingers into the tight spots on his neck. “That’s not your job is it?”

“No, but you know I like to be thorough.”

“But if it’s not your job, there’s a chance you’re missing something. Have you spoken to the person who runs that department?”

“No,” he grumbles and then sighs heavily, resting back against my knees and dropping his head in my lap so I can massage his forehead and scalp. “That would probably be a good idea wouldn’t it?”

“Yes,” I reply, leaning down to kiss his jaw.

He smiles and rolls away. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“Then tell your dad.”

“No,” he blurts, gathering the paper. “I want to handle this myself.”

“Show him what you’re made of?”

“Exactly.” He grins, scratching the stubble on his chin. “I’ve got this.”

“I have no doubt you do.”

I watch as he yanks his shirt off over his head and for the first time since we became friends, I start to feel awkward. This is all Sargent’s fault.

“How was your first day?”

“It was incredible. Devon has offered to let me draw him!”

He gives me a scowl when he pulls a clean shirt on, hiding his muscles from my view. Not that I was looking. “I bet he has.”

“What’s that tone for?” I giggle nervously and flop back onto his bed. “It’s all for art.”

“Does he know that?”

“Would it matter if he didn’t?” I remark playfully and his scowl deepens. “Don’t be like that.”

“I don’t want him taking advantage. He’s a shit when it comes to women.”

I close my eyes but my smile doesn’t vanish. “You sound jealous. Do you want a piece of him instead?”

When his dirty sleep shirt hits me in the face I squeal and throw it back.

“I’ll keep away if you like him,” I jest. “Just say the word… ACK!”

He dives on me and I know what’s coming before he starts. He licks his hands and as I battle to keep him away, he rubs one on my face and then the other.

“You arse!” I yell, twisting under him as he straddles me and laughs at my disgust. “Let go.”

I buck him off but we both tumble from the bed and onto the floor with a thud. I land on him so I’m fine but he looks a bit dazed.

I use this moment to my advantage and straddle him like he just did to me.

He laughs uncontrollable, his chest heaving and his eyes squeezing shut as I dig my fingertips into his sides.

“Stop,” he begs but that’s not our magic word. He tries to grab my wrists but I twist them this way and that, keeping them out of his hold.

Suddenly his demeanor changes, he stops laughing and his body goes still.

“Stop,” he says firmly this time.

“Nope,” I laugh, still tickling him.

“I said stop!” he yells and with a strength he’s never used on me before he rolls me over and pins me down, my hands above my head.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, noticing the look in his eyes as one I’ve not seen before.

His chest heaves aggressively as he tries to catch his breath.

“Nothing,” he murmurs and smiles sweetly at me. “I thought I was going to pee myself.”

“Urrrp,” I laugh dramatically while pretending to vomit. Then I feel something else. Something I didn’t notice until I shifted in a way that has it pressing directly between my parted thighs. “You have a boner.”

“Yeah,” he murmurs, scrunching his face up in disgust. “It’s been a while since I got laid and you were wriggling on top of it… there’s only so much stimulation it can take before it starts to say hello.”

I have no words. This has never happened before. I’ve seen him get morning wood but never has he reacted this way to me. Or if he has, he’s hidden it well.

We just stay on the floor, him still between my thighs, my arms still pinned above my head.

“You need to move,” I whisper.

He grinds against me and groans, a tingle shoots up my spine. Of course it feels good. He’s stimulating an area that is supposed to feel good.

“Not like that!” I screech, staring into his dilated pupils.

He starts laughing and collapses on top of me, crushing me into the ground.

“Dude, you are crossing so many boundaries right now.”

“I’m sorry,” he says genuinely and with a smile on his face he climbs off my body and covers himself with his hands. “Are you okay?” I nod. “Are we okay?”

“Of course,” I reply, standing and looking at him as he grabs the pillow from his bed and places it over his thing when he sits down. “Is this suddenly weird between us?”

He shakes his head. “Definitely not. I’ll jerk off to some porn and go get laid this weekend. My body doesn’t know we’re friends and my dad was saying all this shit to me yesterday that has only succeeded in confusing me.”

I try not to panic at that and ask, “What shit?”

“He just pointed out all the reasons you’re basically marriage material.” He looks as though he’s gauging my reaction so I make a point to not react. “But we’re us. Marriage, sex, kids, that’ll all ruin everything.”

I hum my agreement and move toward the door. “Tell your dad to stay out of our business.”

“I will.”

“We’re best friends, Mad,” I call over my shoulder. “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t.”

What the fuck is his dad doing? Is he not content with playing with me that now he has to bring his son into the equation too?