Rescued by the Bad Boy (Bad Boys on Holiday Book 4) Read online

  It was the self-appointed family gossip, Aunt Bev.

  “Well, well, well,” the woman said. “Look what the tide dragged in.”

  Chapter Three

  Talk about shit timing.

  Max barely had a chance to react before the girl leapt out of his lap, nearly knocking them both over. There was a blur of yellow fabric as she snatched up her dress and yanked it on over her head.

  Her white lace bra was currently dangling off the edge of Max’s foot. He had no idea where the panties had ended up, but he had his own issues to worry about. Namely, the fact that his naked cock was out in full force, waving in the fucking breeze when it should’ve been buried in that tight, hot pussy.

  He dragged his gaze to the figure in the doorway.

  Fuck. Of course.

  Standing on the ladder, smiling at them like a cat that’d just caught the damn canary, was the smoker who’d been dogging his ass all night long.

  Cursing under his breath, Max tucked himself back into his shorts, but he didn’t bother with the shirt. Soon as he could get rid of this woman, he and his girl would pick up right where they left off—that was a fucking promise.

  “Aunt Bev!” The girl was breathless, a blush blooming across her neck and chest. “What are you… I thought you were at the party?”

  “I needed a change of scenery. Well, I certainly got it!” The woman let out a throaty laugh, her eyes lasering in on Max. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Haley?”

  Haley… Fuck. They hadn’t even exchanged names, Max realized now. They’d gone from zero to sixty so fast, neither of them had asked about names.

  Damn, this broad was seriously killing the vibe. She needed to be gone.

  Max waited to see how Haley wanted to play it, but the girl was utterly panicked, squirming under her aunt’s judgmental gaze. Who the fuck did this woman think she was? It was none of her damn business what they were up to. But it was clear from that smarmy smile that she wasn’t leaving without a satisfactory answer.

  Without another thought, Max grabbed Haley’s hand and pulled her into his lap. “Max Killian,” he said. “I’m Haley’s… boyfriend.”

  The woman scowled like she just caught a whiff of dead fish on the breeze. “Boyfriend?”

  “Yep.” Max looked at Haley. “Right, honey bunny?”

  Honey bunny? Jesus fuck, someone needed to shoot him on the spot. Thank God Luke wasn’t here to witness this. Max’d never hear the end of it.

  The woman narrowed her eyes at him, then turned to her niece. “Since when are you dating again? What about Brian?”

  Haley wriggled in his arms, and Max tried not to wince. His dick hadn’t gotten the cancellation notice; he was still rock-hard for her.

  “Well…” Haley stammered. “Since… I mean, we kind of just—”

  “Been dating awhile,” Max said. “Haley just wanted to keep it under wraps. She, uh…” Fuck, what’s her sister’s name? Amy? Abby? “She didn’t want to steal Anna’s thunder on the big day. Right, honey bunny?”

  It sounded crazy coming out of his mouth, but he didn’t care. At this point, he was just as concerned with saving his own ass as he was with saving hers. Haley’s aunt had been giving him a hard time all night—she could easily turn vindictive, report him to his supervisor for blowing off work or “sneaking off” with a guest. His only hope was that she still had some love in that shriveled up heart of hers, and that she cared enough about her niece not to report her “boyfriend” to the boss.

  If Haley thought he was nuts, she was doing a damn good job of playing it cool. She leaned against him, wrapping her fingers around his arm. The only indication that she was even remotely pissed was the fact that her nails were digging into his flesh in a way that would’ve been a total turn-on under other—that is, naked—circumstances.

  “That’s right, sweetness,” she said. “Guess that cat’s out of the bag now.” Her smile was tight and forced, but her aunt didn’t seem to notice. “I… I was going to introduce him at the rehearsal. I just figured we’d let everyone catch up tonight first. Keep the spotlight on Anna and Jake, not make a big deal out of things. You know Anna’s… sensitive about stuff like that.”

  Her aunt was clearly not buying it. “So you snuck off to have sex on the beach? Haley Marie, what’s gotten into you?”

  “It’s not… we just wanted some time alone.”

  After an eternity, the woman finally threw her hands up in the air. “Fine. I’ll leave you to it. You know I’m not one to pry. I just don’t think this is a good idea.”

  Haley stiffened in his arms, but kept her mouth shut.

  “Don’t be too long,” the woman said. “Your mother is looking for you, and I can’t promise she won’t wander down this way.” The woman shot Max another nasty glare. “And from now on, I’m smoking when I want, where I want.”

  Max nodded. He didn’t fucking care.

  She shot one more glare at Haley, shook her head, and then she was finally gone.

  Unlike Max’s erection, which had only gotten harder with Haley in his lap.

  Eager to erase the last five minutes from memory, Max slid his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. His hands were already working their way into her dress, ready to strip her bare once again.

  “Okay, Haley Marie,” he whispered. “Where were we again?”

  Chapter Four

  “Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you just did that.” Haley climbed out of Max’s lap and dropped to her knees, searching for her undergarments. It was bad enough Aunt Bev had seen her naked—asking for a condom, for God’s sake—but now she’d have to keep up appearances with Max for the whole weekend, or risk even more family gossip. And if word got back to Brian? Oh, God. What a freaking nightmare.

  “This was supposed to be a one-night stand,” she said, brushing past Max’s legs and feeling around the floor beneath the counter. Where the hell was her underwear? “Not a freaking relationship.”

  Even as the words left her mouth, she knew she was being ridiculous. Max wasn’t looking for a relationship any more than she was. The truth was, she’d wanted to keep him all to herself. A secret, just for her, not subject to her family’s scrutiny.

  Too late now. There was no way in hell Aunt Bev wouldn’t tell everyone what she’d seen.

  “What was I supposed to do?” Max asked. “That woman was out for blood, and you froze. You totally left me out to dry.”

  Haley stood up and dusted the sand from her hands, abandoning her search. “Sorry if I had other things on my mind. Like not wanting to get caught having sex in the lifeguard tower by a member of my own family.”

  “You think getting busted by Aunt Cougar was on my bucket list?”

  Haley narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you… did you seriously just call my aunt a cougar?”

  “Dude.” Max ran a hand through his hair, leaving it all sticking up. “She propositioned me three times tonight.”

  Haley wasn’t surprised, but she felt the need to defend her aunt anyway. “Maybe she was just being friendly?”

  “She grabbed my ass, flashed me her tits, and asked me to sneak off to an abandoned cottage for a quickie. Do you have friends like that? Because I sure as hell don’t.”

  Haley’s jaw was on the floor. Aunt Bev was insane. Her whole family was insane. Max had only seen the tip of the crazy iceberg.

  “Well I hope you like family functions,” she said, “because now you’re on the hook. And my family? We make the Kardashians look normal.”

  Max scrubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw, and Haley fought back a shiver. Five minutes ago, that stubble was scratching her belly, his hot breath like a promise of things to come…

  “It’s just a wedding,” Max said. “How bad could it be?’

  “Just a wedding? Try a rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, pre-wedding brunch, wedding, post-wedding brunch, and anything else my sister decides to throw our way this weekend. And by the way, my whole family is Team Br
ian, so that’s what you’re up against.”

  Haley leaned against the counter and looked out the big window at the ocean, shimmering in the moonlight. In the wake of Aunt Bev’s departure, everything outside was calm again; the only sounds were the shush of the waves and her own soft breath.

  It was almost romantic. No, not almost. It was totally romantic. Superhot guy, alone in the tower, the moonlight sparkling on the water…

  Why was she unloading on him like this? It wasn’t his fault her aunt was so damn nosy, or that her ex was so clingy, or that she could never seem to stand up to any of them.

  Max was only trying to help her save face.

  She turned to face him again. “I’m being melodramatic. It’s a thing with me. Three sisters, crazy mom, crazy aunts, estrogen overload… you can imagine.”

  Max gave her a crooked grin. God, he was sexy. “Melodramatic? Nah. I was gonna say impassioned.”

  He handed over her missing panties, still smiling at her.

  She snatched them away, but they were too sandy to put back on, so she tossed them onto the counter.

  Max noticed, raising an eyebrow. “This mean we’re back on?”

  “You’re relentless.”

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, sweetheart.”

  Haley straddled him again, sliding her hands over his smooth, muscular shoulders, back down his arms. He was all muscle and heat, hard where she was soft, commanding in every way.

  He had tattoos on both shoulders that disappeared behind him, running down the length of his back. Nautical, she noticed now—the top of a ship, a compass, a map. No color, no words. She wondered what the rest looked like.

  She hoped she’d have the chance to find out.

  Max shifted, sliding his hands under her dress, grabbing her thighs. Her frustration was melting away, along with her worries about her family. Would faking a relationship with Max really be that bad? It was only for the weekend. She’d have someone to dance with at all the events, someone to keep her warm. Their chemistry was off the charts, and they hadn’t even gotten started—not really. And he was basically built-in Brian repellant.

  “Don’t mind me,” she said, her fingers trailing down his chest to the hard ridges of his abs.

  “Oh, I’m minding you.” He kissed her temple. Her cheek. Her jaw. His hands slid higher up her thighs, his thumbs running along the inside. “I’m minding you very much.”

  Haley swallowed hard. She was minding him very much too, the warmth of his hands radiating to her core, making her wet with desire all over again. The ache between her thighs had only grown deeper, more desperate. His insistent kisses weren’t helping the matter, nor was the fact that she wasn’t wearing panties. It only meant that she was that much closer to him, that much more aware of his every move.

  Max kissed her bare shoulder, her collarbone, working his way lower, his fingers inching closer to that exact spot, right there, right where she needed him. She felt herself relaxing, opening her legs to give him access.

  His thumbs circled closer, closer, ghosting suddenly across her clit. The sensation sent a shockwave of pleasure up her spine that made her scalp tingle. He repeated the movement, increasing the pressure, his thumb sliding to her entrance.

  “You’re so wet for me,” he whispered. “So hot.”

  “Your fault.” She reached for his shorts, eager to free him again, to touch him. Sliding her hand inside his waistband, she gripped his smooth, hard cock, squeezing the base, stroking him.

  Max groaned, slowly sliding a finger inside her, then another. He stroked her with a masterful touch, slow at first, then faster, deeper, coating his fingers in her juices. He felt so amazing, so perfect, the friction driving her wild with lust.

  “I can’t wait to taste you,” he said. Haley stroked him faster, her thumb sliding over the head of his perfect cock.

  “God… so fucking good,” he groaned. “You’re the… the perfect fucking girlfriend.”

  “Max…” Haley was panting now, his touch quickly unraveling her thoughts. Soon she wouldn’t be able to speak, and she had to get this out—had to set her boundaries, right from the start. That way, there’d be no misunderstandings, no hurt feelings. No feelings at all. “Just for the weekend. Just for show. You know that, right?”

  “Absolutely.” He slid his hands out from under her dress, and Haley immediately regretted bringing it up. But then, in one swift move, he rose from the chair and lifted her onto the counter behind them. “But if we’re gonna pull this off, there’s something you need to know, too.”

  Haley raised her eyebrows, a thrill shooting right through her.

  Max grabbed her knees, pushing them up so her heels rested on the counter, exposing her fully. The look in his eyes was dangerous, full of desire. “Your fake boyfriend loves eating pussy.”

  Holy hell.

  Haley practically came undone from his words. No one had ever talked to her like that, especially not Brian.

  She liked it.

  A lot.

  She closed her eyes, her legs going boneless as Max kissed her knee, her inner thigh, his tongue swirling closer… closer… oh, God…

  “Haley Marie!” Her mother’s voice echoed down the beach like a bucket of ice water dumped into her lap.

  Nothing could have more effectively killed the mood.

  “What the hell?” Max pulled back, peering out the window over Haley’s head to investigate the noise. “I don’t know which one of your relatives is coming now, but whoever it is, she’s on a mission.”

  Haley twisted to see what he was looking at. Sure enough, her mother was bobbing down the beach, heading right for them.

  Aunt Bev worked fast.

  Max sighed. “Guess that means you gotta go.” His voice was gravelly, still filled with lust. He pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, then another, trailing away back toward her knee as he rolled the bottom of her dress back into place.

  Wrong way! she wanted to shout.

  “My mother’s loud, but she moves slow,” Haley said, hoping he’d come back. “We’ve probably got about five minutes.”

  That tongue could definitely do some damage in five minutes…

  “Five minutes?” Max backed off completely, standing up and holding out his hands to help her down off the counter. “There’s another thing you need to know about me, Haley Marie.”

  Her eyes widened, her pulse kicking up at the sound of her full name on his lips. She liked it more than she wanted to. “You don’t do mothers?”

  “I don’t do quickies.” He pulled her against his strong, firm body, lowering his mouth to hers. He was still hard, still ready, but the timing just wasn’t right.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  Max shook his head, sliding his hands into her hair, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered. “And trust me… this will be continued.”

  Chapter Five

  There weren’t any beach parties booked for Saturday, so Max had had no trouble getting the day off.

  All the trouble was coming from Haley.

  More specifically, that curve-hugging little black dress she wore.

  With any luck, it would be on his bedroom floor by ten—she’d promised to accompany him home after the event tonight—but that still left about five hours of playing the gentleman in front of her family. He’d already suffered through the beach rehearsal, nearly losing his shit every time the breeze blew that dress up to reveal her toned thighs—thighs he’d kissed last night, dreamed about until the sun rose—and now he had to attend the dinner as her doting boyfriend.

  Boyfriend? Shit. All he really wanted to do was peel that dress off, run his hands over her perfect ass, and slide his cock into her wet, willing flesh…

  An elbow to the ribs brought him back to the present. They were standing in the lobby of the Beachcomber, waiting for the hostess to finish setting up their tables.

  Haley brushed her bangs to the side and flashed him a saucy grin. �
��What are you thinking about, pervert?”

  Busted.

  He slid his arm around her waist and leaned in close to her ear, her soft hair tickling his cheek. “What your panties look like under that dress. How wet I can make them before the first course is served.”

  “Hmm.” Haley tapped her lips. “Care to put a wager on that?”

  “A hundred bucks. Black lace.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Extremely wet.”

  “Sorry. You already lost.” She stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his ear, her breath warm on his neck. “White satin with pink hearts,” she whispered. “And I’ve been extremely wet since I met you.”

  With a wicked glint in her eye, she smiled at him again, then turned to follow the hostess, that sweet little ass bobbing as she walked away, leaving him standing in the foyer to talk his dick back down.

  Game on, Haley Marie. Game on.

  “I’m gonna make you come twice before I even get your clothes off tonight,” Max whispered into her hair, then turned his attention back to her cousin across the table, sliding right back into polite dinner conversation as if he’d merely asked Haley to pass the salt.

  “Definitely hotter this season,” he said to the cousin, forking a piece of overcooked chicken cordon bleu. “Farmers are the ones taking the hit, though.”

  Normally Max hated small talk, but the guy was one of only a handful of Haley’s “Team Brian” relatives that hadn’t given him the cold shoulder. That, and talking climate change kept the conversation far away from his work, from too many unanswerable questions about why the head lifeguard was hanging out at a dinner party on a Saturday instead of patrolling the busy shore.

  Besides, the game he had going on with Haley was more than entertaining.

  “We were never meant to live in the desert,” the cousin said. “That’s the whole problem.” He launched into a monologue about the history of westward expansion and water diversion, oblivious to the spinach stuck between his teeth, and Max nodded and furrowed his brow at all the appropriate parts, even as Haley slid her sneaky little hand over his thigh, gunning for his dick.