Redeeming Justice (15 page)

Oh sure. Sexy love scenes in a movie and the occasional racy passage in a book could
get her worked up, as could the little bullet vibrator she resorted to when her female
flesh begged for release. But never,
ever
had the touch or kisses of a guy ever done to her what Alex did. The man sent her
senses aflame with a look.

And that damn beard.
God.
She loved the way it felt when he kissed her. There was something so very male about
it. Same for his enormous hands and the broad solid chest she enjoyed being crushed
to. All of this was so unexpected. Him. Her primitive response to him. The way they
fell on each other every chance they got.

She chose a simple cotton sundress with thin straps and a smocked bodice that clung
to the outline of her breasts. On a whim she went braless because the straps on the
dress were too thin to hide an undergarment.
Yeah, right.
It was more like going sans bra meant if she got the chance to push his face into
her chest, maybe he’d do to her boobs what he’d been doing to her mouth; namely devour
them. The thought of his bearded face pressed against her pale flesh made her shiver.

Skipping down the stairs with camera in hand, she all but ran into the driveway when
she saw the big dark grey truck idling right outside the front door. He hadn’t mentioned
doing any walking and since she doubted in this heat that he wanted to go stomping
about, she wore simple flip flops but left her hair loose and flowing about her shoulders.
To say she was excited wasn’t doing justice to the occasion.

He was waiting for her by the side of the truck, clutching an iPhone in his hand as
he tapped the keyboard with an intense look of concentration on his face. He looked
hot. Sexy hot, not temperature hot. In a t-shirt and jeans that accentuated his rugged,
outdoorsy appeal, she slowed down to admire how the cotton tee stretched taut against
his chest and the way the faded jeans clung to his manhood in all the right places.

Looking up as she shut the wide front door, his face brightened when he saw her then
smoldered appreciation as he checked her out from toes to head.

“Your chariot awaits, my lady,” he murmured at her approach. Hauling open the passenger
door so he could help her step up into the cab, Meghan was stunned to find a big Labrador
sitting in the middle of the wide bench seat.

“I hope you like dogs, Meghan,” he laughed. “She runs to the truck whenever she hears
my keys rattling. Couldn’t tell her to stay unless I wanted a female with hurt feelings
on my hands.”

Meghan laughed and hopped gracefully into the truck as the big dog eyed her cautiously.

“Uh oh. Hope I don’t piss your girlfriend off! You better run around, get in quick
and introduce us before she takes a bite out of me.”

After getting her settled comfortably he did just that, swinging into the drivers
seat and patting the dog on the head.

“Zeus,” he chuckled, “meet Meghan.” The dog looked at her for a minute then leaned
over and licked Meghan’s face. She’d been accepted but that didn’t mean the Lab was
going to relinquish her position at Alex’s side. Hell, the damn animal was all but
in his lap as he put the truck in drive and pulled away from the house.

The humor in the situation got them both laughing. “Well, this is a first,” Meghan
joked. “Don’t think I’ve ever had to compete with a canine before.”

They drove along down a bumpy dirt road that stretched far behind where Drae and Cameron’s
houses were located until they were a long way from the main compound. Alex chatted
happily about the history of the area telling her the Villa and surrounding acres
had been in his family since the early 1800’s.

“You don’t exactly fit the Spanish mold Alex. Why is that?”

He smiled. “Easy. My grandfather was one hundred percent Spaniard. He married a sweet
English rose, my grandmother Annabella. They had two sons – my dad Cristian and my
uncle Eduardo. Eduardo was the eldest but he went into the priesthood so that left
all the hereditary holdings to my dad. Cristian in turn, married a true southern California
girl, my mother Ashleigh. They had the golden son – that would be me - and my two
sisters. We grew up in Sedona while my grandparents still lived here. When they passed
away, Dad inherited everything which is how I come to have the Arizona property.”

“Where are your parents and sisters now?”

“They’re in Spain actually and have been for the last decade. Our family runs a vineyard.
It’s a good life—everyone’s happy and healthy. But all that English and American DNA
means my sisters and I are pretty far removed from our Spanish bloodline.”

“How did the hereditary Don of a Spanish family end up in Special Forces? Seems like
an off segue.”

“I had just earned a degree in science and technology from NYU when the World Trade
Center was attacked. After living in New York City for four years I took the attack
personally. Like so many others, I put my personal life on hold to serve my country.
My rather unique skill sets back in the early days of the war came to the attention
of the Special Forces folks. You can fill in the blanks from there. It’s a fairly
straightforward story. Patriotism. Duty. Love of Country.”

“Nine eleven was a very big deal for my family too. With so many fireman and cops,
it hit home really hard. I admire your service, Alex.”

He didn’t say anything for a really long time. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

It took a minute for him to answer as the truck continued bouncing down the dusty
dirt road. “It all started out in such bright, shining terms. By the time it ended
there’d been too much harsh reality, too much death, too much sacrifice. And for what?
A war that never fucking ends in a country that doesn’t give a shit about our so-called
help.”

Zeus chose that moment to lick her master’s face. Meghan wondered if she picked up
on the bleak tone in his voice and wanted to comfort him. She reached out and ran
her hand up and down the beautiful dog’s neck in solidarity for the man they both
clearly cared about.

Meanwhile….back at the Villa

Tori was tittering on like a magpie, filling her sister-in-law in on all the juicy
deets of what she’d witnessed in the tech cave.

“Oh my God, Lacey! It was so adorable. She walked up behind him, said something and
BAM! Two seconds later he was all over her like a rash. Don’t mind telling you I got
a little hot and bothered watching them. I’ve never seen him like that but oh lord!
That man knows how to kiss a girl.”

“Are you serious? Just like that? Poor Alex. He’s got it bad, huh?”

Tori plunked down on the sofa and put her feet up on an ottoman while Lacey curled
up the best her pregnant tummy would allow on the neighboring loveseat.

“I like her, don’t you?” Lacey asked. “She’s almost like a female version of him if
you think about it. Smart. Well educated. In no way a wimp. And seriously, that body!
Holy cow, huh?”

“Well let me tell you something, if you’d seen the way he grabbed onto her it’d be
a safe bet to say he likes the curvy girl thing very much!”

The both laughed and sighed, the way girlfriends do when they’re talking about romance.
After a few minutes Lacey got serious.

“So. What do you think? How soon will it take Big Daddy to screw things up? After
all, we’ve both been there, done that with these Justice Brothers.”

“Hmmm. You have a good point,” Tori replied. “Draegyn was the Crown Prince of Denial
and like you’ve said, Cameron was a runner. I wonder what fuckery Alex has up his
sleeve.”

“Men!
Right
?” Lacey chuckled.

“Uh oh. What are you two ladies up to? It’s never good when I walk in a room and hear
my wife chastising the male sex in that tone.” Cameron smiled indulgently at his Ponytail
and leaned over to plant a quick kiss on her mouth.

“Your old lady and I were discussing Alex,” Tori told him.

“And Meghan,” Lacey added. “Tori says they got into a seriously hot clinch up in the
bat cave. Lots of touchy feely stuff and loads of tongue.”

Tori barked out a laugh bigger than her waif-like body. “Wait a minute! I don’t remember
saying anything about tongue.”

“It was implied,” Lacey shot back with a wink.

Cameron sat next to his wife and put an arm about her shoulders as he leaned in and
rubbed his face against her belly. “Mommy’s meddling!” he growled against the bump.

“Well someone has to. We were just trying to figure out how long it’ll take Alex to
put his foot in it.”

“It’s complicated,” Cameron replied growing suddenly serious.

“I’d say that’s interesting brother-in-law because Meghan used the exact same word
when we asked how she knew Alex.”

Cam shot Tori a surprised look. “Really?
Humph
.”

“Oh my God. You know something, don’t you honey?” Lacey asked.

He sighed and said, “I know plenty but I’m not going to discuss it in this ladies
sewing circle you’ve got going on. Besides, Alex is entitled to his privacy, as is
Meghan.”

Tori eased her feet off the ottoman and stood up. “I think that’s my cue to go find
my husband and use my powers of persuasion so he’ll tell me what’s going on.” Looking
at Lacey she added, “I take it you’ll be applying the same pressure to your other
half?” At Lacey’s jerky nod she smiled. “Then we can compare notes later.”

When they were alone, Lacey cuddled close to her hunky husband and nuzzled her face
into his neck. “I love the way you smell when you’re all hot and sweaty. Did you and
Draegyn get the visitors settled in the dorms? I saw Ria and Ben laying in a ton of
supplies yesterday getting ready for their arrival. Who is it this time?”

Absently stroking his big hand across his wife’s protruding belly he answered lazily,
clearly distracted by other things. “It’s a rental. Bunch of spooks. They’re using
the facilities for their own refresher training. Not much for Justice to do but provide
a place for them to hole up and plenty of conference space. Let’s not talk business,
baby. I’ve got other things on my mind.” His hand was slowly creeping under the flowing
maternity dress she had on.

“I’m glad you’re home,” she murmured. “Want your wife to scrub your back in the shower?”

He leered at her as his hand slid down between her thighs and rubbed against her mound.
“My wife can feel free to scrub way more than my back.”

“Mmm. I like the way that sounds. But first…”

Cameron laughed out loud and grinned at her. “I knew it! Just lulling me in with sexy
promises. Biding your time to ask a bunch of nosy female questions. Might as well
go for it woman so we can move on to much more pleasurable things.”

She smiled at the man she loved with all her heart and soul. “Is it so wrong to want
everyone to have the kind of happiness that we do?”

“No. But you’re asking me to talk about things that aren’t easy to discuss.”

“Understood. I’ll make this easy then. Just tell me how Alex knows Meghan. That’s
enough for now.”

Cameron sighed and put his head on the back of the loveseat. It was still damn hard
to share after a lifetime of brooding silence. But he was getting better at it. Lacey
had healed his broken soul in every way that mattered. He knew he could trust her
completely. It was a great feeling.

“She was engaged to one of the guys who died in the blast. He wrote to her, as the
Commanding Officer, and they became pen pals during his rehab. Lotsa years pass and
the kept in touch but not in a substantive way. She was here in Arizona and came by
to thank him for his words when her fiancé ate it. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

“Wow,” Lacey sighed. “Thanks my love. I think you’ve earned way more than some back
scrubbing.”

Cameron stood and easily pulled his wife to her feet. “Come on baby. Let’s go make
some magic in the shower.”

Alex parked the truck in a secluded spot that gave them a magnificent panoramic view
of the red sandstone rocks glowing in the late afternoon sun. It was one of his favorite
spots—where he came when he needed to breathe. It was quiet and beautiful. He supposed
his trips here were a personal meditation. He’d never brought anyone but Zeus so the
significance of showing his private power spot to Meghan wasn’t lost on him.

While she readied her camera he stepped from the truck, opened the back tailgate,
and called Zeus from the cab. The dog was used to the routine of this trip and immediately
hopped into the rear bed of the truck with ease. Ever the good dad, he flipped open
the storage box to retrieve her travel blanket and a bowl in which he emptied a bottle
of water.

Leaning against the tailgate, he tossed Zeus a morsel from a bag of dog treats and
watched as Meghan started snapping away with her camera. It really was a stunning
vista, worthy of being photographed but not nearly as enticing as what she was wearing.
Was she trying to make him crazy or was he doing it to himself?

After seriously appreciating the way she wore a pair of jeans, he was equally as admiring
of the summery dress she had on. He very much preferred a woman to look like a woman
and not a pant-suited approximation of a guy. Probably the result of too many years
in uniform where even the female soldiers wore the same dull serviceable gear—he was
finding her feminine style undeniably stimulating.