Sun-Kissed (Love In All Seasons Book 1)

by Frankie Love

  1 sugar cube –– an innocent virgin works best

  2 to 3 dashes bitters –– an untamed mountain man if you can find one

  2 ounces rye whiskey –– the stronger the better, just like our alphas

  1 cherry to garnish –– an unpopped one will taste the sweetest

  Chapter One

  Levi

  Sin City is hell on Earth. And it's the last place I fucking belong. Especially in the height of summer.

  I've only been here for an hour and already all I can think about is my cabin in Tahoe, tucked in the woods; the one I built with my own damn hands. I chopped down tree after tree, then put them in place, notching the logs one at a time.

  It's what I call my own paradise. I have no use for these high-rise casinos around me, hotel buildings that stretch to the sky. Give me a mountain view any day over the glittering lights of the city.

  It's late by the time I find myself standing at the front desk at the Millennium, waiting to check into my room. I know soon enough I'll see my brother, Luke, and his dumbass college friends, all of us here for Luke's bachelor party. I couldn't exactly say no to the guy, but right now I'm wondering how in the hell I ended up saying yes.

  I roll up my flannel shirt sleeves and then hand over my ID to the desk clerk.

  "All right, Levi Lockwood, your room on the 23rd floor is all ready for you. Here is your key card and we hope you have a great stay. As a guest at the Millennium, you have one complimentary drink at the Little Black Dress cocktail lounge on the casino floor."

  I raise my eyebrows. Little Black Dress? I'd rather lose a hundred bucks at a slot machine than walk into an establishment with a name like that.

  Throwing my duffel bag over my shoulder, I walk away, key card in hand. As I do, I see a woman that stops me in my tracks. Her waist-length blonde hair swishes down her back. She's wearing a pale pink skirt that hangs to her knees and a pair of kitten heels that make her legs look so damn good.

  She's stopped walking, texting someone on her phone, and even under her thick eyelashes, it's clear she has the bluest eyes I've ever seen.

  And a pair of tits that make me think maybe I was wrong.

  Maybe this place isn't hell.

  Because looking at her is like heaven.

  She slides her phone into a tote bag on her shoulder and begins walking away quickly. I'd be a fool to let a woman that beautiful walk away without even learning her name. But before I can reach her, she's already lost in the crowd.

  I hope she got out of this hotel. It's the last place a woman like her belongs. She looks so sweet, like an old-fashioned girl in a skirt and sweater, not at all the type to fit in under these bright lights, surrounded by all this metallic noise.

  As I take an elevator up to that twenty-third floor, my cock is getting nice and hard thinking about that woman. Her curvy body, narrow waist, a pair of hips that I could hold onto. And those tits. Damn, they were full and round and exactly the kind I like.

  Pushing open the door, I drop my bags. I know I'm supposed to meet up with my brother in the lobby, but first I'll take a quick shower.

  On second thought, I decide, as I strip from my clothes, my hand already pumping against my hard, thick cock, let's make it a long one.

  An hour later, I'm ready to deal with the douchebags I never liked in the first place.

  I meet them down on the casino floor and the moment I see my brother, I raise a hand in hello.

  "Levi, my man, my man," Luke yells, amped up. He gives me a hug, and it feels nice to see him again even if we're opposites. He may like his life in the city, and I might prefer my solitude, but in the end, we're brothers and we have one another's backs.

  "Hey, you made it," one of the guys calls. Another one says, "Now that's a motherfucking beard," before clapping me on the back.

  There are eight of us in all, and I don't bother learning their names. I'm only here for Luke. And with these buddies of his, he needs his brother around to keep him out of too much trouble.

  "Everybody ready to get wasted?" Luke asks, raising his eyebrows. "I know it's late and we all had long days’ flying, but we’ve still got to play a little bit, right?"

  Everyone nods in agreement and one of the guys adds, "Tomorrow we're gonna go hard. Strip clubs, nightclubs, it's gonna get nuts. But tonight, why don't we get a few drinks and catch up?"

  "Strip clubs?" Luke grimaces. "I don't know. Tammi will get mad if she--"

  One of the guys squeezes his shoulder. "You aren't tied to a ball and chain yet. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!"

  The guys all laugh but I just run a hand over my beard, thinking that these assholes have no idea what it means to be real men.

  "And hey, Luke," one of them shouts. "If by having a few drinks tonight you mean a few hookers, then awesome, we're on the same page." The guys all crack up, but I keep my mouth shut. The last thing I wanna do right now is cause a goddamn scene. But if anyone thinks I'm gonna go anywhere with a call girl, they're wrong.

  "Drinks first, though," Luke says, and everyone agrees we should fortify ourselves before we let loose.

  A few minutes later we're headed to the Little Black Dress.

  "Seriously? This is where we’re drinking?"

  "They have the hottest cocktail girls around," one of Luke's buddies says. "At least, the best in Vegas. The website said so."

  "And everything the Internet says is true," I add dryly.

  A hostess leads us to the table and tells us a waitress will be here any minute.

  "So, Luke," one of the guys says, "you ready to get hitched?"

  My brother's hand slaps the table. "If you ask Tammi, I am."

  All the guys bust up laughing.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

  "Oh, you know how Tammi is. She hates the idea of me being here. Messing around."

  I give him a look that tells him everything he needs to know. "You are not cheating on her here."

  "Ah, don't judge me, Levi. Just because you like to live like a Puritan up in the middle of nowhere, doesn't mean that the rest of us don't like to have fun. I'm not married yet, and until I am I don't care ––"

  I cut him off. "What? Care if you lose the respect of the woman you're engaged to be married to?"

  The guys all give Luke a hard time, slamming their fists on the table, chanting ‘Fight, fight, fight’.

  But Luke and I just shake our heads; we're brothers, and I know nothing is gonna change his ways.

  And nothing is gonna change mine.

  Still, I feel bad for Tammi.

  Just then a waitress comes around, asking for our drink order. I lift my eyebrows when I realize it's the woman from earlier. The woman I got off to in the shower. Two fucking times. The woman who walked through the casino looking like fresh air and sunshine. Here, though, she looks like the devil's playground in her tight dress. So much skin. Hair piled high on her head revealing a long neck and so much fucking cleavage I could get a hard-on just looking at her.

  She has no place being in a smoky bar like this.

  "What are you doing here?" I demand.

  The guys look at me like I'm crazy but I'm not. This woman should be outside, picking fucking sunflowers and catching goddamn butterflies.

  "Um, I work here?"

  I look her up and down, and her cute outfit from earlier is long gone. She's replaced it with a tight little black dress. Her tits look fucking amazing in it, but I don't want these other guys at the table looking at her.

  "You shouldn't be wearing that," I say firmly.

  She laughs, not taking my tone seriously. "Well, excuse me, mountain man, but it's the uniform." She rolls her eyes and begins going around the table, taking our drink orders.

  I run a hand over my beard, hating the way Luke and his buddies are looking this sweet thing over. She doesn't pay them any mind, though, and that makes me feel slightly better.

  "And for you," she asks. "What'll it be?"

  "I only like 'em
one way, darling."

  Her lip twitches. "Oh, yeah? And how’s that? On the rocks or--"

  I cut her off. "I'm not talking about drinks. I'm talking about women."

  She snorts. "Okay, wise guy, then how do you like your women? I'm guessing barefoot and pregnant?"

  I grin, aware of the other guys at the table shaking their heads at me, thinking I'm a damn hypocrite.

  But I see the hint of pink on her cheeks. The light in her eyes.

  The attraction.

  It's goddamn undeniable.

  "Pregnant works. But if your feet are bare, you'd better hope the rest of you is uncovered too."

  She drops her jaw, her hands on her hips. Playing mad.

  "You think those lines work on women working in Las Vegas?"

  I nod. "I think they work on you."

  She bites her bottom lip, and damn, when she does I can't help but think of teasing it between my teeth, kissing her until she whimpers, until she is melting in my arms.

  She taps her pen on her order pad. "Um. Okay, so I need to take your order... and um...." She uses the pad of paper to fan herself.

  "Getting hot in here?" I ask. At that, my brother seems to think I've gone too far.

  "Levi, leave the girl alone."

  I shake my head again. "Nah, she knows how to take care of herself." I grin, seeing the lift of her brows as she realizes what I'm implying. Oh yeah, this sweetheart knows all about taking care of herself. What I wouldn't give to take care of her too.

  "So, what'll it be?" she asks, her eyes on mine.

  "An old-fashioned please."

  She bites back a smile. "And that's your usual order?"

  I shake my head. "That's the only way I order."

  Our eyes meet and it's clear by the way she licks those pouty pink lips of hers that she knows exactly what I mean.

  Chapter Two

  Lucy

  Today has been a disaster from the get-go.

  After visiting Granny at her home, I was reminded, once again, that she needs better care than what she's getting.

  I spent hours on the phone with the insurance company, trying to talk to them about her moving into a new assisted living home, but they aren't willing to pay. And even though I'm working two jobs, there's no way I can take on any more outrageous bills.

  Part of me wanted to call in sick tonight -- I'm still running on fumes after my job last night; I didn't get home until 4 AM. But this is a Friday night shift and I cannot miss out on these tips.

  Maybe, if it was just me I was worried about, I'd say screw it. I'd draw a bubble bath, pour myself a glass of boxed white wine and download a new book onto my Kindle. Specifically, a book featuring some rugged mountain man who would walk into my life and sweep me off my feet.

  But of course, that is not my actual life. My actual life means two jobs, bills that have to be paid, and a granny who is counting on me to look after her.

  And truthfully, I would do anything to help Granny. After all, she's my only family. She raised me and has helped me every step of the way. Now it's my turn to do that for her.

  "Is that table ridiculously annoying or what?" Scarlett asks as she pushes into the backroom where I'm catching my breath on a five-minute break. She carries in a tray of empty glasses and drops them in the sink.

  "I know, right?" I smile at my co-worker. She is loud, wild, and a lot of fun. "It's a bachelor party, so hopefully they'll tip well. Most of the guys are very well-dressed."

  "Except for that one in the flannel shirt with the beard. He looks like he just rolled off a mountain."

  My heart beats faster. I try to steady my breath and not reveal the way my body is all tingly.

  "What?" Scarlett asks. "You look all... flustered." She puts her hands on her hips. "I never see you flustered. You're always... so... so–"

  I cut her off, "Do not say it." I point my finger at her, but there is a smile widening across her face.

  She was about to say perfect.

  Which every waitress at this bar seems to think I am. Only because they don't know me at all. Like, whatsoever. They think that, just because I'm a twenty-two-year-old virgin, we can’t be anything alike.

  But I am like them.

  I have desires... and needs... and wants.

  I'm just holding out for Mr. Right.

  Okay, so that does make us different. But not in a way that makes me perfect; just in a way that makes me patient.

  Because that is what I am, more than anything else. Patiently waiting for Mr. Right.

  "Okay, but God, Lucy. I've never seen you get so red in the face over a customer. He’s your type then?"

  I shrug. "I mean, if I had to choose? Like, from someone in this casino? I mean if I was pressed against..."

  "Against the wall?" Scarlett asks bursts out laughing. "If you were pressed against a wall, just what would you do, darling Lucy?"

  "I am so happy to be done with this conversation," I say, laughing and walking to the door, ignoring her question completely. "And I am also so ready for this shift to be over."

  "You're telling me," Scarlett groans as we push back into the bar. "I'm going dancing tonight. Hoping to get lucky."

  "Really?" I ask, knowing my voice is high-pitched and my eyes have shot up in a judgmental way.

  "What?" She rolls her eyes. "I like to have fun. And I love to dance. So, do you, considering your new job."

  "Can we not talk about that?" I printed off the bill for the table of bachelors and slip it into a folder.

  "Well, I know you're waiting until your wedding night to have S. E. X.," she says, "but, there's no rule that says you can't have a little bit of fun before then. The world is your oyster, Lucy."

  "Maybe," I say, flashing her a smile, knowing she may be right about needing to have some fun... But she's wrong about the world being my oyster.

  Life, at the moment, is not exactly all unicorns and rainbows. Life is hard. And complicated. Sometimes I wonder if I'm messing everything up. Maybe I should have gone to trade school when I turned eighteen. At this point, I could have been a dental hygienist or something with actual health insurance or a retirement plan. Some security.

  But deep down, I never wanted a job like that. What I want is to be outside, not in a cubicle and certainly not in a casino. I want to be somewhere where I can watch the sunrise or the sunset.

  I want to be somewhere that feels like home.

  Dropping the bill on the guys' table, I refuse to look into the mountain man's eyes. Honestly, after the day I've had, I don't trust myself or my resolve. And I certainly have no reason to trust him.

  He was so suggestive earlier. Demanding I not wear this outfit, that I not work here. The way he spoke was gruff and bossy and... I liked it.

  But I didn't let him know what he was doing to me. I just smirked and rolled my eyes, rested a hand on my hip, and tried to act tough.

  Instead of, you know, showing him how I was really feeling when his words rushed over my skin.

  Hot and bothered and... horny.

  "I got this," one of the guys says. Everyone at the table thanks him, calling him Luke, referring to him as the soon-to-be-married man.

  "Is that why you're here?" I ask him. "You're about to get hitched?

  "Sure am," he says with a low drawl that does literally nothing for me. "This is my bachelor party and my crew. Levi's my brother," he says, nodding to the mountain man. "The rest of these guys are just dumbasses I went to college with."

  "Lucky you," I say, taking the folder with the credit card in it.

  "Gonna get married in a week," he tells me. Then his eyes lower suggestively and he adds, "But until then... Lucy," he says, reading my name tag, "I can do what I like, with whomever I like."

  "Don't," Levi says. His voice is firm and hard. Impenetrable.

  Luke raises his hands, laughing. "Understood, bro. You claiming her as yours?"

  The other guys all crack up and I exhale, appreciating Levi's firm word, but not at all liki
ng his brother's insinuation that I belong to anyone.

  But also - as offended as I should be over the idea - I find that I'm not.

  It felt like Levi was protecting me from something, and right now I need someone to protect me from myself. I'm thinking things and wanting things and none of them match my personality.

  Knowing I need to get away from this table, and fast, I say, "I'll just go take care of this." I wave the bill in my hand and walk away, knowing guys are talking about me, watching me.

  I do my very best to keep my hips from swaying, to keep my shoulders back. To keep my eyes on the floor. I don't have this job to draw attention to myself. I have it because it pays well.

  A few minutes later I drop the check back on the table for them to sign as the guys are all getting up to leave.

  They say they're headed to the casino's nightclub, and I wonder if Scarlett is gonna find them there. I smile, thinking that they will have an amazing night if they are lucky enough to end up with her.

  I think they've all gone, and as I turned to clear their glasses, happy that all my tables are now empty, I feel someone behind me.

  I turn. My breath catches. Levi is so close; close enough to kiss.

  "I thought you were going clubbing?" I ask my words barely a whisper. What is he doing to me?

  He smiles, and his beard so tempting that I have to restrain myself from reaching out and touching it. Touching him.

  "You think I'd go clubbing?" he asks, his voice gravelly, as if he's a car rolling straight into my driveway. I want him to double-park right in front of me.

  "I hadn't really thought about what you would do," I say, though I know it's a lie.

  He knows it is, too.

  He curls a finger, lifting my chin so that our eyes meet.

  "Lucky for you," he says. "I spent some time thinking about what I would like to do."

  I inhale sharply, my heart practically pounding out of my chest.

  "Yeah?" I ask. "And what would you like to do?"

  He leans in, and I think this is it. He is going to kiss me. His lips will be on mine and then what will I do? Where will my resolve go?