Redeeming Justice (14 page)

Damn
. Meghan hadn’t seen that coming. Had Alex explained their history to Cameron and
Draegyn? She didn’t know for sure. Everything felt very complicated all of a sudden.
How much should she say?

“Um. I don’t know how to answer that ladies.”

“It’s a simple question, Meghan.”

She couldn’t help the exaggerated chuckle that rumbled from her chest. “Simple?
Shit.
Nothing’s simple with someone like Alex.”

“High five and an amen to that!” Tori giggled. “You should try being holed up with
him in his bat cave all day. He’s brilliant, in a scary,
are you fucking kidding
me way. You’d be amazed at the well known people and high powered organizations that
come around begging for his expertise.”

“But the man’s an island unto himself,” Lacey added. “It’s like he knows something
the rest of us mere mortals don’t. Everyone that is except our husbands.” Both women
nodded to each other in agreement. “Also, the fact that you’re staying in the main
house and not at the Casita is a huge tell on Alex’s part.”

“Casita?” Meghan asked.

“Yeah. There’s a sweet little guest cottage out behind the big house. It’s for the
brothers’ use only. It’s where Alex’s sisters and mom stay when they’re here. Drae’s
family too. I lived there when I first came to the Villa. Even my husband commented
on how out of character it was for Alex to keep you in the main house.”

That was a lot of information to take in. Meghan hesitated and then asked, “Is it
me or does the room really get silent when he walks in?”

Tori answered with wide eyes and an exaggerated nod. “No, you’re not imagining that.
He’s like power incarnate or something. People stop, get quiet, and look up because
he’s so …..
yikes
. I don’t even know what word fits.”

Lacey rubbed her tummy and smiled. “He’s Alex. ‘Nuff said. But that’s kind of why
we’re so curious. You appear out of nowhere and suddenly the absent-minded professor
is the one who’s silent and looks up when
you
walk in the room.”

“Really?” Meghan squeaked. Holy shit. Is that how people saw them after only a few
short hours in their company? She’d shared a meal with these people and that was it
but somehow they’d picked up on the heavy undercurrent. Hell, they didn’t even know
about the scene in the hot tub or how she’d almost gotten naked with him in the barn.
Damn. She could feel a telltale blush firing up across her pale Irish skin.

“Jeez Meghan,” Lacey chided. “Your face is almost the color of your hair! Got anything
to confess?”

“Oh my lord,” she answered shaking her head with embarrassment. “You ladies are just
bad!”

They both roared with laughter. “Bad boys. Bad girls.
Hmm
. Seems like the perfect match, don’t you think?” Tori chortled. “C’mon Irish. Out
with it. Can’t fool us. We know a sister bad girl when we meet her!”

“Oh shit! I surrender,” Meghan cried. “You’re clearly not going to give up so I’ll
just say this. I’ve known Alex since the end of his time in the service, and we’ll
have to leave it at that. The rest of the story is his to tell.”

“I knew it!” Tori chirped excitedly.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Lacey protested. “You said you’ve
known
him. Is that a cerebral knowing or a physical one?”

Tori giggled at her sister-in-law. “Using the big words, are we?”

Lacey shrugged. “She’s a teacher. I thought it appropriate to break out some of those
five dollar expressions for good measure.” She fixed Meghan with a look and added,
“Care to answer?”

“Wow. You’re good.”

Lacey snorted out a laugh. “We’ve both been through it. Once that lightening bolt
hits, the Justice men get serious and territorial fast. Alex’s sudden personality
change suggests that while you may know each other, this is the first time he’s had
to deal with you in person.”

Meghan considered what she said. Serious and territorial? Didn’t feel that way when
he was growling at her to
get out of here
or taunting her with cryptic remarks
maybe you’ll push me away
. She sighed. Tori and Lacey were staring at her waiting for a response so the sigh
changed to a smirk and she said, “Bulls eye.”

Tori clapped her hands together with glee. “Oooh, this is so cool. We’re getting a
new sister!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Meghan roared. “Don’t go jumping the gun. What’s going on is complicated.
Like more complicated than you could ever imagine.”

“Darlin’,” Lacey purred. “You are preaching to the choir.” She and Tori looked at
each other and smiled. “We know from complicated, believe me. Frankly, I don’t think
anything less than complicated would do for the Justice men.”

“Alright, alright. Enough of this,” Meghan chided. “Let’s focus on getting you two
mommies set up with a simple exercise program and leave the
complicated
stuff for another time.”

Later, as Meghan was gathering her stuff for the short ride back to the main house,
she pulled Tori aside and asked what she meant when she mentioned Alex’s bat cave.

“Oh, it’s just a term the guys use to yank Alex’s chain. It means the tech zone where
he works. Where we work together. It’s an enormous cavernous space, kind of dark and
always on the cold side because of the ton of electronics he’s got going on there.
Think of it like a home office only more like a science lab than a paper repository.”

“Do you think it would be alright if I stuck my head in and looked around?”

“Are you kidding? Alex loves talking tech. He’s amazing, actually. When I first started
working for him, he was involved in a hologram project that got a bunch of dark op
super spy shorts in a bunch. He’s a natural nerd. It’s organic with him. Want me to
take you in for a look?”

“Is that allowed? I mean will Alex be okay with that? I don’t want to nose around
if it’s none of my business.”

Tori seemed to consider that for a moment but quickly reassured her, “If you ask smart
questions, and I’m thinking with your education background that’s a given, he’ll be
beyond thrilled. Alex needs to be challenged. I don’t think he’d be satisfied with
just tits and ass.”

“Oh, I’ve got the T & A covered, that’s for sure,” Meghan said. “But I sure would
like to get a look inside the bat cave.”

Tori put her arm through Meghan’s and smiled. “Well, come on then. Let’s leave Lacey
to her afternoon siesta and go rattle a few chains in Alex’s face. Will be fun!”

Meghan wondered what she’d just got herself into.

Alex was up to his eyeballs in data and starting to feel the strain from too much
time staring at a monitor. After leaving Meghan so she could have her time with the
girls, he’d immersed himself in work to keep from replaying the way she’d melted underneath
him when he pressed her back into the hay bales or the way she’d whimpered and moaned
while he helped himself to her mouth. Oh yeah, and her ass and boobs too. Try as he
might, he just couldn’t stop himself. She called to him on some primal level. Got
his blood pumping and dick hard with only her presence.

He wondered if she was aware of the looming anniversary of the bombing. Each year
as the date rolled around it was hard to ignore. Referring to it as an anniversary
never sat well with him but what else could it be called?

That first year after his life had gone to hell, he’d been in rehab when the day came.
Drae and Cam had gone to the center outside Phoenix where he’d fought to put his life
back together and regain the use of his leg. Spiriting him away from the watchful
eyes of the therapists and doctors, they’d headed for an old time honky tonk bar where
they’d gotten shitfaced and nearly caused a scene when a drunken game of darts got
out of hand.

Each year since then they spent the day trying to forget what happened, mostly with
too much liquor. Instead of hurling dangerous objects through the air, they hunkered
down for a video game marathon that usually ended with a round of naked, inebriated
howling at the moon.

How would they handle it now that there were wives in the mix and the unexpected presence
of a woman who was, in many ways, collateral damage from the bombing? This was why
he needed to have a serious talk with Meghan. He couldn’t keep up the push me, pull
me scenes he was putting her through—not without her getting hurt even more. He’d
done enough to fuck up her life. She had a right to know the whole story, even if
it meant she hated him in the end.

He almost jumped out of his damn skin when he heard a softly voiced, “Hi,” right next
to his ear. What the fuck? Had he conjured her up from his thoughts?

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I startle you?” she asked. The uncertainty in her voice told him
he’d probably jumped half a mile.

“You scared the fucking shit out of me. What are you doing here?”

“Dammit, Alex. I’m sorry I disturbed you. Tori said it would be alright if I came
in and looked around, but I’ll leave you to it and catch you later.” She turned toward
the exit and took maybe half a step before Alex pulled her back.

He was perched on a high backed stool and when he yanked her into him, she fit neatly
into the V of his spread thighs coming to rest against his chest. Once again, his
blood started pumping and his cock twitched just from her close proximity.

There was nothing gentle about the way he gathered her close and pushed her head toward
his with the hand he immediately fisted into her hair. Kissing her like a madman he
laid waste to her mouth as if the power of her lips would banish his dark thoughts.

There was no hesitancy on her part; she softened against him opening her mouth to
his lusty assault, wrapping her arms about his neck as she hung on while he plundered
deep.

He heard an amused cough from the shadows that let him know they weren’t alone.
Fuck.
Pulling his tongue out of Meghan’s mouth and setting her off him was like Chinese
water torture. Right at that moment, Alex wished Tori would go the hell away.

While Meghan pulled herself together after their unexpected explosion of passion,
he glared at Drae’s wife. Tori got the message and high tailed it out of there with
a slight wave and an embarrassed expression. He was glad to see the back of her but
the moment with Meghan was lost.
Just as well
, he thought. Fucking her on his desk was not an option no matter how much his throbbing
cock tried to change that decision.

“You’re welcome here anytime. Sorry I barked at you. You took me by surprise is all.”
They might not be kissing anymore, but he refused to relinquish the tight hold he
had on her body. With her between his thighs, those spectacular tits of hers were
pressed against his chest. He’d be a damn fool to let her move away.

Making a snap decision he asked, “Want to go for a drive? There’s a really cool rock
formation not far from here. You can bring your camera and get a few good shots.”

She looked flustered, and he hoped it was from the kiss. There was something satisfying
and primitive about the way she responded to his possessive domination. He could tell
it wasn’t something she was used to. The thought was more than thrilling.

“I’d love that,” she murmured huskily. The rapid rise and fall of her chest told him
she had gone just as ballistic as he had. “I’ll just go grab my camera, and I want
to get changed too. These jeans are too much in this heat.”

Palming her backside he looked into her eyes. “Baby, it’s your ass that brings the
heat. You make a simple pair of jeans look good. Damn good.” He punctuated his words
with the squeeze of a big handful of her butt.

Meghan zipped through a quick change of clothes and a much needed freshening up after
a morning of riding and an hour spent demonstrating yoga stretches. Just the thought
of getting in a truck and being alone with Alex got her juices flowing. She was almost
embarrassed by how wet she got every time he touched her. It was really disconcerting
since nothing like that had ever happened before.