Last Minute (Timeless Series Book 3)

HE HAD LIED.

My sexy mystery guy was a big, fat liar!

It left me feeling unsteady.

He’d said we had fallen asleep and that had been it. But I knew it wasn’t the whole truth. It couldn’t be. Not with the hickey I was sporting and attempting to hide with my long hair. I just wanted to get home and get my memories about the night before ironed out.

I hadn’t slept with him. I was sure of that. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Not only was there what I remembered about the night before, but I could see it. He might be serious and grouchy like Rosalee said he was, but he wasn’t a creep. Max was a good guy at the heart of it. Was he embarrassed about making out with his little sister’s friend? Had he regretted it in the light of a new day?

While we sat in traffic, Rosalee behind the wheel of one of the sexiest cars I’d ever been in, I sat in the backseat and stared out the window. I tried to get a hold of the bits and pieces from the night before. I couldn’t shake the feeling I was forgetting something. Something big.

I remembered going back to his hotel room. Feeling protected and safe in his presence. The attention he had given me made me feel like I was floating on air. Probably the tequila, I chastised myself.

We had sat next to one another. He had said something, and I touched his thigh as I laughed. Max had grown quiet and tense. The air had started to crackle and snap around us. Deep longing and anticipation coiled around me, and then he’d made his move.

With my hand in his, he brought it up to his lips. His dark eyes on mine, never wavering as he kissed the tips of my fingers. His tongue flicked the pad of my middle finger with just enough pressure it had made me shiver. Yearn for more. Crave to know how his mouth would feel on other parts of my body, especially the covered-up parts. I’d said as much, and he had groaned deeply. The manliest sound I’d heard until then.

He’d looked tortured. Like he had wanted to take me up on it but couldn’t get himself to go there, and I had known why. Because he might have been known as a grouch, but he was a gentleman.

“Not until we are both sober, Spark Plug.” He’d winked and I’d whined. Too drunk on lust to question his nickname for me. Begging for something more than him holding my hand. He caved.

His firm lips crashed over mine and took them hostage.

We had kissed long and hard. Flames licked and overflowed. Long past after we were both breathless and gulping for air. I’d never, not once in my entire existence, felt like I had for a man like I had with him. Intense passion had ignited, burning furiously in the pit of my belly. So much so, now that I was sober and a little hungover, anytime I snuck a peek at the man in the passenger’s seat, I had to shift in my seat because the reminder made me squirm. The memory too clear and bright in my mind.

“Are you feeling adventurous?” Rosalee asked in a whisper, and I met her gaze in the rearview mirror. Her blue eyes sparkled with glee.

“Uh oh… what are you thinking?”

“There is an art installation just off the freeway,” she said quietly, and I glanced at Max. His eyes were closed, and anyone would have believed he was sleeping, but I wasn’t positive.

“The seven magic mountains.” I met her eyes and she nodded.

“Just a quick stop.”

“Would he be okay with that?” I said softly, pointing in Max’s direction.

“He’s snoring. He’ll be fine. He won’t even notice.”

“If that was true, you wouldn’t be whispering,” I pointed out, getting a bad feeling.

“Pshh.” She shook her head and turned on her turn signal at the exit. “He’s always been a heavy sleeper. Trust me!”

“I don’t know, Rosalee.” I hesitated.

“Come on, you see this traffic.” She waved forward. “A small detour might help us avoid a little of this traffic.” She winked and I shrugged.

“Why not?” I’d seen those rocks on a couple of my cousins’ Insta-pages. They were beautiful and seeing them would be fun. “We can get some great pictures,” I added, and she flashed a bright smile in my direction before focusing on the road ahead of her.

Rosalee drove, and I snuck another peek at him.

What could I lose by taking my fill of him while he slept and Rosalee focused on getting us to the middle of the desert? He had long dark lashes fanned and resting on his cheekbones. He was beautiful. Handsome. Utterly masculine. Older than me. I knew from Rosalee he was about seven years older. Looking at him, I lost track of time, and before I knew it, we were parking.

“Grab your phone; you have the better camera,” she whispered before opening the door and sliding the driver’s side open. I grabbed it and slipped out.

Max

I’d been quick to blame my little Spark Plug for my sister’s rebellious streak, but it seemed Rosalee had it all along with her. I’d heard her instigate this little of a pit stop. A damn art installation.

I opened my eyes and searched for them from where I was seated. There were enough tourists around to make it difficult to spot them, but when I did, it was Leti who caught my eye.

My Spark Plug.

I watched her smile and laugh with my sister about God only knew what. They took turns snapping away pictures and then Rosalee asked a stranger to take a picture of them together. The stranger gave them their phone back, but my sister started talking to the tall guy, and I frowned. I watched Leti walk away and couldn’t help myself. Without thinking it over, I rushed out and hurried to get to her.

“Hey!” I called, and she turned around, her pretty gaze widening as I approached.

“You’re up,” she said cautiously, like she couldn’t read my mood.

“I am.” I grinned at her and felt her eyes fall to my lips. “And we made a pit stop.” I pointed at the colorful mounds behind her.

“A pretty one.” She shrugged before turning to look behind her. Leti pointed at the giant neon-painted boulders behind her. One stacked over another, it was a miracle that somehow managed to stay balanced. But my eyes weren’t on the art installation when she turned. They were pinned on her. She was fucking incredible.

“Very pretty,” I said, leaning in closer. Not too close to be weird but enough so only she could hear what I was saying. The blush covering her cheekbones told me she didn’t miss my compliment, and the soft smile and look of amazement in her eyes faded and she shook her head.

“You lied,” she said, her voice stern but slightly unsteady.

“What?” I asked, confused by her accusation.

“About last night,” she hissed, looking over her shoulder. It was obvious she didn’t want Lee to overhear anything.

“I did?”

“Yeah.” She stood ramrod straight, her arms crossed over her chest. “I have a hickey on my neck that says we did a lot more than sleep,” she huffed, and fuck, that image made the blood head south.

I’d marked her.

I’d never left a hickey on anyone in my thirty years, but looking at her dark eyes made me want to always leave a mark on her. A primal, caveman-like need washed over me. I wanted to see my mark on her. I wanted others to see it and…

“You are something else,” she huffed and started to turn, but I stopped her, taking her hand into mine. She looked over her shoulder at me. “What?” she snapped, and I grinned.

“I don’t know what I did to piss you off, Spark Plug.”

“Not only did you lie, but you kept information from me. You don’t think I should know we…” Her words drifted off to silence, and my lips tipped upward.

“We what?” I raised a brow as I challenged.

“We messed around,” she puffed, but it was the worry in her eyes that caught my attention and made my smile drop. I got it. She was worried we’d gone further than that and she couldn’t remember.

I squeezed her hand to get her attention, and when her eyes met mine, I cleared it up for her. “All we did was make out,” I clarified. “When I get between those sexy-as-hell thighs, and that’s a when not an if, trust me, Spark Plug, you’re gonna fucking remember every damn moment.”

“You’re a smug mother—“

“Hey!” Rosalee chose that moment to find us. I guess she was done flirting with whoever she’d walked off with. “You’re awake!” She grinned and looked between me and Leti. I was still holding her hand, and when my Spark Plug realized it, she dropped it like it was going to burn her.

“And you made a pit stop,” I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at my sister, trying to ignore the beautiful girl standing next to me. My girl.

“You gotta admit it’s a pretty cool pit stop.” Rosalee shrugged, and I rolled my eyes putting my hand out.

“Keys,” I muttered, not missing the way my little sister rolled her eyes while fishing my keys out of her jeans.

“Whatever,” she said with a huff, then suddenly her face changed. Brightened with a look I knew better than to mess with. “Wait, you need a pic!” she whined, and I knew better than to try to change her mind when she had that tone.

“Fine. Here.” I handed her my phone, a quick idea springing into action. “Take a picture with me,” I told Leti. It was more of an order than a request, and the raised sassy little brow of hers let me know she didn’t appreciate being bossed around by men. I sighed.

I wasn’t sure why, maybe because I was still nursing a hangover or the fact she was more than likely the one woman on this planet, other than my mother and grandmother, who could put me in my place, but I bent.

“Please,” I added, my voice and face softer than before, and I saw the surprise in hers.

“Fine.” She stepped forward, and I grabbed her hand and brought her into my space. Close into my space.

When she looked up at me, everything around me faded.

The dull headache clinging on disappeared. The people around us were nothing but a muted background. The sculptures. All of it. The only thing that existed in that moment was Leti. Leti looking up at me with the prettiest brown eyes with flecks of gold. Me standing next to her, one hand holding hers and the other around her waist, and a small gust of wind that had her hair swaying this way and that. Her presence alone melted everything away from the edges of my mind, and before I knew what the hell I was doing, I was leaning in closer. Her eyes slightly glassy, her pretty mouth parted, I knew she would kiss me back. I bit away a groan when the tip of her bubble gum tongue peeked out and licked her bottom lip.

Bubble gum tongue? Who the hell did I think I was? John Mayer?

“Okay, smile!” my sister yelled, and I shook my head, the thoughts Leti was creating too intense for a girl I’d just met.

I was a realist.

I planned out every moment possible.

This girl was a last-minute curveball I never saw coming.

“Max!” Lee yelled, and I blinked. “You okay?” she asked. There was concern and mischief in her gaze, and I swallowed hard.

“Yeah.” Because as intense and crazy as it was for me and my practical side, having my girl next to me was the one thing that made more sense than anything else in my world.

I just had to make her realize that.