3 Seconds (Time for Love Book 6)
Read 3 Seconds (Time for Love Book 6) Online
Authors: Bethany Lopez
3 Seconds
Time for Love
Series
Book 6
By
Bethany
Lopez
3 Seconds
Copyright 2015
Bethany Lopez
Published Aug
2015
ISBN:
978-1514887370
Smashwords
Edition
Cover Design by
B Design
Editing by
Red
Road Editing
/ Kristina Circelli
Ebook
Formatting by
White Hot Formatting
Smashwords
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This is a work
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Table of
Contents
Books by
Bethany Lopez
Young
Adult:
Stories about
Melissa – series
Ta Ta for
Now!
xoxoxo
Ciao
TTYL
With Love
Adios ~ Coming
in 2015
Nissa: a
contemporary fairy tale
New Adult:
Friends &
Lovers Trilogy
Make it
Last
I Choose
You
Trust in
Me
Indelible
A Time for
Love Series
8 Weeks
21 Days
42 Hours
15 Minutes
10 Years
3 Seconds
7 Months ~
Coming Soon
Christmas Come
Early
Contemporary
Romance
An
Inconvenient Dare (A Dare to Love Kindle World Novella)
Cookbook:
Love &
Recipes
Books by Katie
and Bethany Lopez
Katie and the
North Star
For Lori
Rattay, thanks for reading 3 Seconds early and giving me your
feedback. I’m so happy we met at Penned Con 2014, and have been
able to forge a friendship.
Chapter One ~
Brendan
One…
Two…
Three…
There was
nothing like those three seconds after Brock began strumming the
first cord. I always waited backstage while my brothers got
settled, waiting for Brock’s cue before strutting out into the
lights to take my place center stage. I’d close my eyes as the
lyrics erupted from my vocal cords.
Those moments
were true bliss.
Yes, I loved
the sounds of fans screaming my name, and the way it made me feel
to hear them sing along with me, but the rush of those three
seconds…
It was like a
drug, and I was addicted.
After taking a
break and heading to Europe, it felt amazing to be back on the
stage with my brothers. I opened my eyes and turned my head,
smiling when I saw Brock with his head down and eyes closed as he
played.
With my eldest
brother it was never about the spotlight, just the music. He would
have been just as happy playing in his backyard as he was on the
stage. Brock never wanted more than to share this experience with
Brady, our middle brother, and me.
Although I was
the youngest, I was the driving force behind Whiskey Heat. I knew
without a doubt that my brothers stayed in the band because they
knew how much I loved it. We were all getting older, and Brock was
a husband and father now, but he still showed up every time I
booked us a gig, and I loved him for it.
I swiveled my
head and scanned the decent-sized crowd that littered the dance
floor of
Jake’s
, the bar we often played. My eyes skidded to
a halt when I noticed a woman dancing with a group in the middle of
the floor.
She was average
height, with dark, possibly red, hair, which hung long and thick
over her creamy white skin. It was hard to tell when the lights on
the stage were so bright, and the dance floor so dark … Who the
fuck cared what color it was anyway. It was lush and beautiful, and
begged to be wrapped around my hands.
Her body was
thick … sexy thick … all ass, tits, and legs. The way she moved
screamed confidence. Even from my vantage point, I could tell she
wasn’t one of the normal girls that came to our shows – the
groupies, the young, hot chicks in short dresses, who were
perfectly made up. This chick was one hundred percent real, and
comfortable in her own skin. She was one fine, fucking package, and
my dick swelled in my jeans as my thoughts took a dirty turn.
I narrowed my
eyes on her as I sang, oblivious to the girls screaming and
reaching for me at the front of the stage, but she was just as
oblivious of me. The gorgeous stranger was laughing and having a
good time with her friends, dancing, drinking, and ignoring the
passes from each drunken moron that tried to infiltrate their
group.
After a couple
songs, I stepped back to grab a drink of water and give Brady shit
about the pair of white panties that were currently hanging from
the corner of his set. I laughed when he scowled and used one of
his sticks to fling it off.
Brady never
went for the groupies. I had no idea why. He wasn’t as awesome as I
was, but the ladies seemed eager to get in his pants. Rather than
take them up on the opportunities they offered, he always slipped
out the back after a show. I think his brooding silence made him
more of a challenge, because he had a couple girls who were rabidly
trying to get his attention … One of them being the owner of the
white panties.
I ambled back
to the mic, pulling my hair back and securing it behind my head so
it wouldn’t stick to my face, before addressing the crowd.
“How’s it
goin’?” I yelled with a grin. “You guys having a good time?”
The grin curved
higher as I looked them over, their affirmations fueling the fire
in my belly that craved their adoration.
“I’m gonna slow
it down for a bit … This one’s new.”
I nodded to
Brock, then turned my eyes and caught the red-haired woman from
earlier staring up at me. Her smile was a little loopy, hinting to
the fact that she’d had enough to drink to make her feel good, but
her movements were still controlled enough that I knew she wasn’t
wasted. She was close enough now that I could see the light
smattering of freckles that danced across her face.
Something about
the combination of her confidence, mixed with sexy adorableness,
really turned me on.
I kept my eyes
locked on her as I laid out the words to the song I’d written about
Brock and Victoria. It was slow, sexy, and guaranteed to turn these
girls into a puddle of wanton need at my feet. We played mostly
covers, but liked to slip an original in now and then.
I’d been
excited to debut my song tonight, but was even more so as I watched
the way Freckles responded to my lyrics.
She felt it, I
knew it … That unexplainable bond you’d sometimes have with a
stranger. A simple meeting of the eyes that sent a jolt through
your body, and you knew, even if you never saw them again, you had
a connection.
Chemistry.
It was a rare
and precious thing, and sometimes you never had a chance to act on
it, but we had it. I could feel it in my bones, and I’d swear she
could too.
As I finished
the song, my voice lowering as I uttered the last words, I broke
eye contact with Freckles and turned to Brock, eager to see his
reaction.
The women in
the audience were screaming, but all I was focused on was my
brother. His eyes were misty and his lips were only slightly
upturned, but his expression gave it all away. He was touched. I
felt immediate and immense pleasure, that feeling you can only get
when you’ve made someone you look up to … your hero, mentor,
father
… proud.
Brock may have
been my brother, but he’d raised me since I was fourteen, and was
the only father figure I had in my life. His opinion of me meant
everything, and I wasn’t afraid to show it.
I strode to him
and he lifted his free arm to pull me in for a side hug. I ignored
the “awes” from the girls in the crowd and basked in the moment,
then found my way back to center stage.
“Enough of that
shit, let’s kick it up a notch!” I yelled, smiling when the crowd
cheered, then signaled Brady to start his solo.
He might not
like the limelight, but my brother
killed
it on drums.
We finished up
the set with a couple of encore songs, then it was time to see the
fans and have a couple drinks. We had a few local guys that acted
as our “roadies,” tearing stuff down and putting it away until our
next gig. They wanted the experience and extra cash, and it was a
bonus that we didn’t have to do it ourselves.
I said goodbye
to Brady and gave another quick hug to Brock, who was going home to
his family.
“Don’t do
anything I wouldn’t do,” Brock said with a wink before he headed
out.
“Where’s the
fun in that?” I responded with a chuckle. I thrust my chin up at
the two most important people in my life, then turned to see what
kind of trouble I could get in to.
“Hey, Nat, can
I have an IPA?” I called out to one of the regular waitresses.
“Sure thing,”
Nat responded, her eyes as sad as always. I didn’t know what her
story was, she pretty much kept to herself, but I always felt a
stab of worry whenever the raven-haired beauty got up the courage
to look me in the face. “Here you go, Bren.”
“Thanks, babe,”
I said, then lowered my voice and asked, “Everything good?”
She brought her
large, startled eyes to mine, before shifting her gaze to the
right.
“Yeah, of
course.”
I knew she was
lying, but I also knew I couldn’t help her if she didn’t want me
to. Brock, Brady, and I were ready to tear apart her husband for
putting the fear of God in her, but she’d always tell us everything
was fine.
“Okay,” I
replied, letting her off the hook as I took the cold beer from her
hand. “But you know we’re here if you ever need anything …
yeah?”
Natalie nodded
sharply, then slipped away.
I sighed
loudly, then turned when I heard the twitter of giggles to my
right.
Suddenly
surrounded by women of every shape and size, I turned on the charm
and drawled, “Ladies, enjoy the show?”