Naughty Kisses

  NAUGHTY KISSES

  MARTINEZ BROTHERS BOOK 1

  MAYRA STATHAM

  CONTENTS

  Note to reader!

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Epilogue

  Enjoyed Naughty Kisses?

  Prologue

  In the mood for more heat with this chilly season?

  Books by Mayra Statham

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2020 by Mayra Statham

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design: Cormar Covers

  Cover Image: Deposit Photos

  Editing: Julia Goda of Diamond in the Rough Editing

  Formatting: Alluring Write Productions

  Created with Vellum

  NOTE TO READER!

  The Warming Up to Love authors have teamed up to bring you nine new romances guaranteed to chase away the winter chill. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, love, and hot book boyfriends & get ready to be warmed up to love!

  HUGS and KISSES,

  The Warming Up to Love Authors

  BLURB

  One-night stands and booty calls are as far as I commit.

  I’m not the guy you bring home to Mom. I’m the one you look for when you want naughty kisses and whispered sweet-nothings, and hell, baby, I deliver. Each and every time.

  Or at least I used to.

  Before my brother talked me into hiring a new waitress whose whiskey eyes have been driving me as crazy as the sight of her in those jeans.

  She’s everything I didn’t think I would want.

  There’s no warming up to love. It’s a freefall, and I’m taking her with me. I’ve always been a man who knows what he wants. And I want Leni Holden.

  To falling hard and fast despite the fear and trusting the journey!

  .

  CHAPTER 1

  EDISON “EDDIE” MARTINEZ

  “Ed!” my younger brother called out from the front of the bar. I frowned. I really didn’t need him yelling like we were kids living at our mom’s house. This was a fucking business, for goodness sakes. But do you expect when you work with family?

  Christmas had just passed, and I had a longer week of business to look forward to as we neared New Year’s. Not only did I have to deal with the craziness of owning my own bar, end-of-year shit to do business-wise, and the end of the year holiday, but I had lost my best waitress.

  Not that I blamed Rae.

  She’d left on a Christmas vacation and fallen in love on an island.

  Who would wanna come back to LA with its smog and busy life after that? I sure as fuck wouldn’t. But now I needed to fill her position, or these next couple of days were going to fucking suck even worse.

  “Jesus, what?” I loved my kid brother, but he was a pain in the ass. His head popped through the door to my office. He wore a cheesy-ass grin that showed off his dimple.

  “Your two-o’clock interview’s here,” he said as if he was proud of it.

  “What?” I looked at my cell and breathed in deep. Trying as hard as I could not to let my eye twitch.

  What the hell was the point of setting up a time if they just showed up whatever fucking time they wanted to? This was not a good sign at all. I didn’t know why Carlo was so happy. This was his referral.

  “It’s noon!” I complained as I stood up, about to say something really douchy, when I saw my brother moved to the side, unblocking my office door, and all the air from my lungs seemed to disappear.

  There she stood.

  Every thought faded from my mind as my world was shaken up like one of the snow globes I’d gifted my employees for Christmas. All with one look.

  She was tiny and completely feminine. I swallowed as I took in the sight of the tiny little sugar plum fairy. I knew my hands would fit perfectly over her rounded hips and her tits would overflow in my palms. My body was reacting to her on a purely sexual level as I soaked in her hourglass figure and smooth-looking tan, café-au-lait skin.

  I’d never felt this way. Overwhelming lust hitting me head on at a hundred miles per hour.

  But it was when my dark, almost black eyes caught her whiskey-colored ones that my world went completely still and time seemed to slow.

  My heart caught up, along with my body, and like some cheesy cartoon cupid shot his fucking arrow way too early and hit me dead on the chest, I knew I couldn’t let the girl in front of me get away.

  Shit! I didn’t even know her name or the sound of her voice or her favorite color, but I knew I would do anything and everything to keep her.

  “Hi.” She smiled, extending her hand, breaking the silence. “I’m Leni, I mean my name is Leonora Holden,” she said nervously. “I’m sorry for showing up so early.”

  Leni. Leonora Martinez had a great ring to it. What the hell are you doing? I yelled at myself and forced myself to focus.

  “Hey.” I moved closer to grab her hand and place it in mine.

  Sparks. Fucking sparks. Her eyes widened, and I knew she had most definitely felt it too. Her eyes met mine again with recognition, telling me she felt it. The gravitational pull towards one another.

  “I didn’t mean to shock you.” She laughed nervously, shaking my hand and quickly, too quickly, letting it go and covering it with the coat in her arms. “It’s the weather and probably this sweater,” she rambled. I cleared my throat.

  “No worries. Umm, how about you take a seat,” I offered, pointing at the chair in front of my desk before looking at my kid brother. “Carlo—”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Watch the front,” he smarted off and smiled at Leni. “Good luck with this asshole.”

  “Carlo—"

  “Relax,” he drawled, “Leni’s my buddy.” The familiarity in his voice had me scowling.

  “You are?” I scowled. My brother had a lot of buddies. Most of them were the kind that came with special benefits. The thought of Carlo anywhere near Leni like that had me wanting to pound his face into the ground.

  “I’m his neighbor,” she clued me in. “I…” she started to say then stopped, looking at Carlo. He nodded encouragingly. “Mr. Martinez—”

  “Call me Eddie,” I interrupted because I wanted her to feel comfortable with me. I also wanted to know what my name would sound like coming from an angel like her.

  “Eddie.” My cock started to fully wake up beneath the denim of my Levi’s at the sweet tone of her voice. “I need this job.” She winced. “I mean, I’m sure a lot of people say that, but I really do.” Her whiskey eyes turned glassy, and this overwhelming need to make everything right in her life washed over me. I wanted to swoop in and make it alright, like some kind of shining hero.

  “The restaurant I was working at closed right before Christmas.”

  “Remember I told you about that Mediterranean place off Sunset?” Carlo chimed in, reminding me he was still around.

  He had mentioned something on Christmas at our mom’s place, but he talked so much it would be impossible to remember everything.

  “Yeah.
” My voice sounded raspy.

  “I worked there for three years. No one had any idea, and they told us two days before Christmas,” she shared, and I breathed in deep. Big mistake, man, I scolded myself as the scent of her vanilla perfume lightly wafted into my nostrils. So light, just a hint of it left me salivating for more. For that reason alone, I should have said ‘Sorry, but no-go.’

  I didn’t date employees, not that what I did would count as dating. But I really shouldn’t have done what I did next. I sat in my desk chair and looked at her. Innocent and gorgeous. I realized there was no way at freaking all I could actually do what I should.

  “Can you start tonight?” I asked after a moment and watched as the worry in her expression cleared away, replaced by a smile that left me feeling like I had just won the lottery.

  “Y-yes.” She nodded her head, her bright smile warming me from the inside out.

  “Good. Carlo—" I called because I knew the asshole was still standing at the door. “Get her uniform shirts,” I ordered, standing up from my desk.

  “I’ll show her arou—"

  “Nope,” I cut him off quickly. “I got it.” I stood, my eyes unwavering from his. It had been at least three years since I had shown anyone around the bar. Carlo was basically the bar manager at this point, and I knew he didn’t miss my weird behavior. He knew it had everything to do with the woman whose eyes I could currently feel on me like a touch.

  “Okay,” he said slowly, his lips twitching and head shaking. “I’ll get you a couple shirts.” He left, leaving us alone in my office. She looked at me with so much joy and happiness I felt it in the pit of my stomach.

  “Thank you so much.” She stood. “You have no idea—"

  “Were you with my brother?” I asked. It was completely inappropriate, but there was an overwhelming need to know.

  “Excuse me?” she asked softly, like she couldn’t believe what I’d just asked.

  “Dated,” I clarified, my heart thundering in my chest. My brother would have been the only person to stop me from pursuing her. Maybe.

  “Carlo?” Her light eyes widened, and a look of disgust fell over it. “Eww, no.” Her answer left me fucking thrilled. Eww was right.

  “Do you have a man?” I couldn’t help asking. I needed to know if anyone would stand in my way when it came to her.

  “What?” She watched me like she was trying to figure me out. You and me both, sugar plum.

  “Are you seeing someone?” I pressed, moving closer with each question. I had no right to ask. Especially since I was her boss now, but fuck, I couldn’t help it. I was about ten inches away from her. It was as close as I was going to get.

  “No,” she whispered so softly I wasn’t sure I had imagined it.

  “Good,” I said, my eyes moving from hers down to her lips. Fuck! Her lips would be the death of me. Full and plump, begging to be kissed. I cleared my throat.

  “Okay, training. You worked at a restaurant?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Let’s get you trained for a bar.” I stepped away, letting go of the hand I hadn’t realized I had picked up, and moved to the side, watching as she stood and moved out of my office, waiting for me in the hall to follow my lead.

  Every single damn thought in my head was filthy.

  Naughty.

  But when she looked over her shoulder at me, there was something heated in her gaze. Something that had me thinking I wasn’t alone in feeling that way.

  Leonora “Leni” Holden

  I had been living next door to Carlo Martinez for the last four years. How the heck was it that I had never bumped paths with his older brother? I’d met his oldest one, Orlando. Quiet and stoic but friendly. The Martinez brothers were a sight to behold. All three tall dark and handsome with crazy-fit bodies. But Eddie was something else. From the moment Carlo moved out of the way and I looked at him, it was like my heart started to beat. Really beat.

  This giant beefy man in a skintight white tee, which did nothing to hide the fact the man took care of his body, was an incredible sight. His biceps were huge. My hands itched, itched, to touch them. To feel the strength and heat below them. My body almost ached to feel what it would be like to be held by arms like his.

  If that wasn’t enough, he had tattoos! Ink that teased my vision to try and get a better look. Some visible on his arms, some not so much because they were hidden by his shirt. I wanted him to tell me the meaning of each piece in his sexy rich voice and then trace every line of ink engraved on his skin. With my tongue.

  Behave, Leni! Comportate! I could almost hear my mother’s voice in my head.

  Eddie Martinez was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. Olive skin, dark hair, and a darker goatee that had me feeling a little dizzy. Which was weird, since facial hair had never been something that called my attention, yet with him…

  “Have you tended bar before?” he asked, snapping me out of my crazy, inappropriate thoughts. He was my boss now. I needed this job to survive. I couldn’t let my dirty mind run off with me, no matter how much I might want to.

  “Here and there. When they needed me to fill in for their regular.”

  “Okay, then.” His eyes went over my shoulder as Carlo walked towards me and handed me a couple of black tees with the bar’s logo on it. “Carlo, show her the lockers in the break room, grab a lock for her from my office,” he ordered his brother, his dark soulful eyes back on mine. “Why don’t you put your things away and come back. I’ll test your skills with a couple of drinks and show you some of the signature ones we offer year-round and seasonally. Especially for New Year’s.” I nodded. I was about to walk away when I turned to look at him and opened my mouth.

  “Thank you,” I said. His dark eyes watched me closely. “I just… seriously needed this job and…” I was at a loss for words. His kindness and the sexual attraction I felt towards him messed with my head. “I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem,” his deep voice timbered. I nodded once before I turned to follow Carlo to the back room. The moment he closed the door, I thanked him as well.

  “Don’t worry about it. I told you I could get you a gig.” He grinned, moving towards the wall of lockers.

  “I just… I’ve been stressing,” I admitted. He looked over his shoulder, understanding in his gaze.

  “I get it. But no more of that, alright? You got this. You will be back in school sooner than you know,” he encouraged, and I smiled. Carlo had been like an older brother since a first date had gone wrong. The asshole had been trying to get handsy and was upset I had the audacity to NOT want to invite him in. Thankfully, Carlo had come out and hauled the ass out. We’d been friends ever since.

  “I’ll try. I still owe ya though.”

  “Give me your bestie’s number and we could be even.” He grinned, a dimple popping out. I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh gosh.” I laughed, handing him my sweater and purse. “We both know Daphne would eat you alive.”

  “But what a way to go.” He winked, and I laughed harder.

  “You’re hopeless.” He sighed and put my things in a locker.

  “My mom would say I like the mala vida.”

  “Bad life,” I translated as I smiled. “Sounds like a mom thing to say.”

  “I forget you know Spanish,” he said, leaning into the locker. “That will definitely work in your advantage.”

  “My dad made my mom teach us.”

  “Yeah?” He almost looked surprised. I nodded.

  “He believed that a person could never learn too much. And learning a second or third language would only open doors. That was before he…”

  “Split,” he finished my sentence, and I nodded.

  “So, your brother—“ I started to ask, but the deep chuckles coming from Carlo had me pressing my lips together. “What? What’s so funny?”

  “Eddie is… a little intense,” he said, but he watched me for a moment. “Just be careful with him, yeah?”

  “Careful?
” I repeated. There was no mistaking the warning in Carlo’s voice.

  “He’s not exactly what you would call boyfriend material.” Now it was my turn to laugh.

  “Boyfriend material?”

  “He’s not like Orlando.” He shrugged, and my eyes went wide.

  “Who said I was looking for boyfriend material?” Carlo opened his mouth but closed it as I shook my head. “Never mind. I have so many questions, but I have to get ready, and you need to get me a lock.”

  “I just meant you’re my buddy. I don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

  “So, he’s like that with everyone?” I asked bluntly because there was no way he had missed the sparks between his brother and me. A sinking feeling started to settle in my stomach.

  Of course, Eddie Martinez was like that with everyone. I wasn’t anything special.

  I had the shittiest taste in men.

  But there had been something I’d never felt when our hands touched.

  Something too good to be true.

  “No,” he said, surprising me. “Actually he’s not. I mean, he flirts out in the bar, but that’s the atmosphere. It’s just… be careful,” he warned again, and with that, he left to get a lock for my locker. I moved to the small bathroom, closing the door behind me. I pulled my tank off and put the bar tee on. It was fitted, and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I smiled.

  Sexy boss aside, everything was going to be okay. I had only been unemployed for a less than a week. I hadn’t had to touch my very small savings. After my dad walked out on my mom, she had taught my sister and me that we had to work hard for ourselves. She taught us to be independent and resilient. By example. Putting herself through night school while juggling raising two daughters with two jobs.

  I had never been the type to need a man, and no matter how hot Eddie Martinez was, that wasn’t going to change. I had one more semester at U of D before I graduated, having been on what felt close to the ten-year plan to finish. But I would be debt free when I graduated.