Minute by Minute (Timeless Series Book 2)

“YOU’RE STILL HERE.” She smiled, her hands cupping my face.

She playfully said that every morning. Almost like she was surprised I hadn’t slunk away like after our first night. The soft tips of her fingers traced the bridge of my nose down to my lips before she kissed me good morning.

It might have sounded stupid, but I fucking loved that she did that. I loved it as much as I did waking up next to her.

“Morning, Cap,” my voice rumbled, and her eyes sparkled. “You ever been to Vegas?” I asked, my fingers stroking her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. We had arrived in Las Vegas late last night, three days after dancing in a bar in the middle of nowhere, and I was excited about spending time with her here.

“No,” she whispered, cuddling in close, obviously comfortable with our naked bodies touching, a familiarity between us that only seemed to be growing. “You?”

“Once. On leave,” I shared, leaving out how it had been a buddy’s bachelor party.

“Ah, let me guess. You lived it up. The whole ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’?”

“Something like that.” I chuckled. “Let’s just say for the sake of argument that I wasn’t an altar boy.”

“Any other confessions you wanna get off your chest?” She giggled, her breath tickling my chest.

I’m falling for you. Those four simple words were on the tip of my tongue. She shifted, her easy smile faltering.

“I was kidding, Sam. We both have pasts and…” Crap. She thought I was serious about the past when here I was fighting the urge to hand her my heart and balls.

“I, umm.” I was at a loss for words. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to catch on as she grinned, lifting her head to get a better view of me.

“Relax, baby,” she soothed. Her ‘babies’ were going straight to my head. “I didn’t think I was your first, Sam,” she joked.

You’ll be my last. Again, the words almost choked me, unable to say them out loud, not completely understanding where the hell this was coming from. The need to say them like a vow was so fucking strong, and it through me for a loop.

I was a good-time guy, not a family man. Or am I? What the hell was I thinking? I didn’t even know what that looked like.

“Sam?” Her voice was like a beacon to me, helping find a way out of this inner turmoil about myself and what I was capable of, and a need washed over me.

I rolled her over; her body under me felt like heaven. Nirvana, really, especially when she wrapped her body around mine. Her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck, guiding, giving me permission to burrow my face in the crook of her neck. And breathing in the clean, warm scent of her skin.

“Sam.” The soft giggle turned into a moan the second my lips touched her skin. The sound making my dick jerk toward her.

“How about I show you a good time?” I rumbled, and this time when she laughed, I worked on having her cry out in pleasure. All morning long.

_______________

“You sure you wanna be here?” I whined, my arms crossed over my bare chest, the smell of saltwater and chlorine around us, my eyes pinned on my girl. My girl?

“The pool?” She smirked at me over her big cat-eyed sunglasses perched on the tip of her cute little nose.

“You could get sunburned,” I muttered, my jaw clenching as she extended a leg and I looked over at a group of assholes watching her. Macie Marks was fucking fantastic in that bright pink bikini. Too bad every other dick around thought so too. Is this what being jealous feels like?

“I don’t burn; I tan.” I couldn’t help the laughter that barked out of me.

“Captain, you’re fair as hell and a ginger to top it off. The sun here is a little stronger than you’re used to back East. You’re gonna burn,” I argued, and she rolled her eyes. Fuck me. Every time she did that, it made me wanna put her over my lap and spank her luscious ass.

“I don’t burn.” She sipped her umbrella drink. “A, you put sunscreen all over me before we left, or did you forget?” she flirted, the reminder of my hands slathering the white thick lotion over her very naked body making me hard. “And B, I’m half Puerto Rican, Sam.” That made me stop and look at her.

“How?” The stupid question slipped out. The girl’s fair skin, her strawberry-blond hair, she could have passed for born and raised Irish girl if she could do an accent.

“My mom,” she shared, and as I observed her, I could see it. The wide bright eyes, the flare of her hips, her more-than-a-handful breasts. God, she short-circuited my brain.

“No shit.” She’d mentioned her parents here and there on the road, but I could tell it was a sensitive subject.

“Si.” She smirked, tilting her head toward me, her hair falling over one shoulder making me ache to have it clenched around my fist.

“You speak Spanish?”

“Pocito.” She laughed, setting her drink down, and I reached for her hand. “After she died, I didn’t really have anyone to talk to, so I kind of lost it,” she confided and then shook her head, a small smile falling over her lips. “My dad didn’t really like me speaking Spanish after she… I think it was too much of a reminder…” Her thoughts drifted off, and I waited patiently, swallowing hard. Her dad sounded like a real piece of work. A real grade-A dick.

“Anyhow, Nina’s grandma kind of took me under her wing. When we talk, she makes sure to speak to me in Spanish and help me pronounce things right. Over the years, it’s come back a little.”

“She sounds like a great lady,” I said, steering the conversation about her parents.

“She’s amazing. She’s going to love you.” She took her shades off her eyes, letting them rest atop her head, her eyes glittering with mischief.

“Why is that?” She shifted in the lounger, her knees now between mine, her lips just a whisper away.

“You have a great ass,” she said unexpectedly, and I shook my head, coughing away a laugh.

“Is that a blush I see, Mr. Santino?” she teased.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I denied. “You’re pretty sassy on vacation, Cap.”

“You like my sass.” She winked and stood up, her almost naked body in front of me making my mouth water and wish we were completely alone. “Ready to cool off?” she asked and walked toward the pool without waiting for my response. The girl was playing with fire. I had a feeling this pull to her was far from cooling down.

Macie

“Maybe I overestimated my Latin roots a little too much,” I mumbled. The deepness of his soft chuckle made me shiver. His strong body was right behind me, its heat and the spicy notes of his after shave and body wash enveloping me.

“Don’t worry.” His voice felt like velvet. “This will help.” He nuzzled my neck, and my pussy clenched with need.

“Thank you.” I looked over my shoulder and into his bright blue eyes. “You have the most beautiful eyes.” The compliment slipped from my lips.

“Buttering me up?” I shrugged and turned, feeling slightly shy. I’d opened up, telling him things about myself, more than I’d shared with any other guy. But he didn’t do the same. Not really. Past his buddies in the Marines and the places he’d been during his enlisted time, Sam was pretty quiet about his life.

“Where in Arizona did you grow up?”

“Scottsdale area,” he muttered, and I moaned. Not because he was doing anything dirty but because he was smothering cool Aloe Vera gel over my shoulder.

“Did you like it?”

“Mace.” He gently sighed, his hands all over my back, cooling off my sunburned skin.

“I don’t talk about my mom. To anyone. But you, I’ve told you all sorts of things. About both my parents. Stuff I haven’t even told Nina. But you haven’t shared much and—’

“I’m an orphan,” he cut me off. Orphan. I closed my eyes and dipped my chin to my chest. “Or at least that’s what I think.”

“What do you mean?” I opened my eyes and looked at the room in front of us.

“I was abandoned at a church off Santino Court and Samson avenue after I was born,” he quickly said. I processed his words.

His name.

Sam Santino. The corner of where he had been abandoned an eternal reminder for him to carry.

“Oh Sam—’ My voice cracked like a big cry baby’s, and he softly cupped my shoulder.

“Don’t, baby, it’s cool,” he said softly, “This is why I don’t talk about where I grew up. Not much to tell. I jumped from foster home to foster home, some good, some not that great. None of them terrible. No one wanted to adopt the kid they knew nothing about. Looking back, I know it made me flighty and an indifferent angry little asshole teen who thought he knew it all. I enlisted in the Marines the second I turned eighteen so I would have a roof over my head.”

“Sam.” I turned in his arms. His jaw clenched, muscles bunched up tight. He was going to try to push me away, but I cupped his face with my hands, standing on the tips of my toes, and his body substantially relaxed as he pulled me into him. “I’m sorry.”

“Life happens.”

“It sure does.” I moved my lips over his, and he kissed me back gently. “Thank you for sharing. I’m sorry I pushed.”

“You didn’t,” he bit, a storm brewing in his gaze. “You make me wanna share too. I’m not an easy man. But being with you… you make me want shit I never even let myself dream about.”

“Oh Sam,” I sighed, my fingers stroking his soft hair. This time I was the one who didn’t have words, so I kissed him.

What was supposed to be soft and sweet ignited, the flames of passion and desire burning bright. A flurry of hands fighting to rip the small amount of clothes we were wearing since we were still in our bathing suits from the pool. Nails scraped, hands roamed as the world around us stopped existing. In that moment, we lost our minds and hearts, forgetting about everything as we took our fill of one another.

After he took me over the highest peaks of pleasure, twice, he pulled out and came all over my stomach. His white release felt like a mark. Sam marking me only served to turn me on further, but I was exhausted. Quietly, he reached over for a tee on the floor and cleaned me up. He left one small drop and rubbed it into my skin. The gesture made the air between us thicker, warmer. I knew reading into it would be bad in the long run, but I couldn’t help it. I felt marked. Seared and branded.

Breathless and sated, I lay with his hard, strong chest under my ear. His heart beating was my favorite new song. A realization came at me so quickly, my breath hitched in my chest. It was crazy and fast, but I’d messed up.

Huge.

I had fallen completely and utterly in love with Sam Santino. Glancing up at him, I studied his handsome face relaxed with sleep, his hand cupping my ass, and I snuggled deeper into him, letting sleep lull me away slowly. My eyes grew heavy, and I sighed and kissed his chest. I fell asleep feeling safer and more cherished than I ever had. I was going to let the feelings ride. Love had always been a scary concept for me, but I was going to let myself live in the moment with him. Because minute after minute with him was worth Sam’s weight in gold.

I just prayed I wouldn’t regret it.