Redeeming Justice (3 page)

She’d intrigued him with her straightforward outlook, refusing to wallow in self-pity
for her loss. He liked that. She wasn’t a crybaby. For reasons he didn’t want to mull
over, he sent her a holiday card every year that she always reciprocated. It was an
unusual friendship without detail or substance.

And that was part of the problem. The idea of finally meeting her was rattling his
cage. What did you say to someone whose future was destroyed by his decisions and
actions?

Kicking his pants off and reefing his t-shirt over his head in one smooth motion,
Alex dropped it on the deck and dove smoothly into the deep end of an enormous lap
pool. A dozen slow, measured laps later he felt a little better.

Deciding it was no big deal to entertain someone from the past, he tried to calm his
nerves by concentrating on what the visit should entail. He’d talk to his housekeeper,
Carmen, and tell her to expect company. He wouldn’t have to do much more than that.
Carmen would take care of everything – it was what she did best.

Alex relaxed and let the water take him away. They agreed she’d text once in Sedona
so he could give her detailed directions to the Villa. There wasn’t anything else
to do now except wait for her to contact him. The slow burn of excitement in his groin
unsettled Alex more than it should. It was just a visit. This was a courtesy call,
nothing more. Why did he feel so anxious?

Meghan was practically jumping out of her skin she was so nervous. It was unlike her.
Nothing really rattled her cage. She had her brothers to thank for that. She couldn’t
even count the number of times she’d been a victim of one of their pranks until she
learned the fine art of sibling retribution. The three of them would think twice nowadays
about tangling with her. Paybacks were a bitch and something she was extremely good
at. She giggled at the thought.

This nervousness had everything to do with the man she was driving to meet. Major
Alex Marquez, age thirty-six, former Special Forces commander who now operated an
exclusive security agency based near Sedona. He had been her fiancé’s commanding officer.
When David had been killed in a bombing attack on his base in some God-forsaken corner
of Afghanistan, she’d received a beautiful letter from the Major.

Now, here it was five years later, an entire lifetime removed from those awful days,
and she was on her way to finally meet the man who touched her emotions during a confusing
time. She’d Googled him of course, hoping to find a picture but he seemed to be something
of a recluse. The only shot she found was one of him in full battle gear on a soldier’s
blog. She might not know what he actually looked like but she knew he had been deeply
respected by his men.

As she drove along following the detailed directions in her navigation system, a surge
of anxiety ripped through her. What the hell was she doing? Was she out of her friggin
mind? It suddenly seemed awfully pushy and forward to just announce she was showing
up on some strange man’s doorstep.

Okay. So he wasn’t some random stranger but that didn’t mean she knew him well enough
to sashay her ass into his home for God only knows what reason.
Oh shit
, she thought. What if he was married? Had a family?
Damn!
She hadn’t considered any of that before now. Meghan winced, the soft sound cutting
through the silence in the car. Was she about to make a huge fool of herself?

Well, it didn’t matter. This was about her putting the past to rest once and for all.
Somehow, meeting Major Marquez and personally thanking him for the thoughtful letters
he’d sent had come to symbolize the closure she needed. Losing David had been dreadful.
Many people had shared her pain. He was a beautiful human being who shouldn’t have
been blown to bits in some Afghani shithole. But there were other things, deeply personal
things that she, as his fiancée, needed to get over.

The universe had given her this amazing opportunity to redefine her life and she wasn’t
going to squander the gift. But before she could determine a direction, the past had
to be dealt with. She didn’t want to drag unnecessary emotional baggage along on her
journey.

Being from Boston, something she found thrillingly surreal during her time in the
southwest was how one moment she was driving along a highway with other cars and the
next she was on a long stretch of flatland with only the occasional vehicle going
by. She liked how it felt though, this driving along, the satellite radio thumping
out classic rock as she sang, sunroof open, speeding down a deserted highway—gave
new meaning to the expression Zen driving.

When she came to where the navigation system said she should turn, Meghan stopped
the car and turned the music off. It was absolutely open and desolate and so breathtakingly
evocative of the desert southwest that she had to snap a few pictures.

The road she was to take had a wide Spanish style arch and a length of fencing down
either side of the turn off. She saw an inconspicuous keypad at the entrance and wondered
whether she should announce her arrival until she caught sight of a small red light
indicating a sensor of some sort. Maybe a scanner. She was after all heading into
a security zone. They would know she was coming long before she got to the end of
the drive.

From the turn off it took several minutes to reach the main driveway to the Villa,
another long drive that stretched on for minutes.
Well, this is interesting
, she thought. Talk about being off the beaten path.

When the Villa de Valleja-Marquez came into view she was speechless. The main portion
of the house, an enormous Spanish influenced structure, looked like it had weathered
a century in the hot Arizona sun. It was every romantic thing you could envision of
a sprawling colonial hacienda, from its Moorish arches and distinctive Spanish tiled
roof to the vine covered trellises. She gasped in delight, pressing her hand above
the swell of her breasts at the charming beauty.

The wide driveway was littered with half a dozen vehicles. Trucks, golf carts, at
least one motorbike, a Lamborghini, and a sleek and sexy Mercedes that made Meghan
drool a little bit. Pulling into the middle of the jumbled parking, she marked the
tree-lined walkway that led to the front of the massive house and pulled herself together.
This was it. Once she crossed Major Marquez off her list, it would be smooth sailing
from here on out.

Alex heard the door chime as he made his way from the deep recesses of the main house
into the open living area, having perfectly gaged the length of time it would take
her to drive up to the house once the gate surveillance announced an approaching vehicle.

He thought of an old childhood poem from
Alice in Wonderland
.
'The time has come,'
the Walrus said,
'To talk of many things,”
and smirked. He was thinking what he really needed was an attitude adjustment as he
swung the massive wood door open to greet his visitor.

Attitude adjustment delivered with a vengeance he thought seconds later when his gaze
encountered the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on standing at his doorstep.
Meghan O’Brien was nothing short of breathtaking. Tall and curvy with long auburn
curls and a sweet as sin mouth, she had the body of a 1950’s Hollywood goddess with
bountiful breasts, a tiny waist, and provocative hips. There wasn’t anything about
that first impression which didn’t melt Alex’s brain into his socks or get his manhood
sitting up and taking notice.

“Major?” the red haired beauty asked. She had the same half-assed look of shock on
her face that matched his. Apparently he wasn’t what she was expecting either. Sporting
a beard in progress and a riot of messy, disheveled hair Alex belatedly realized he
probably looked like a bear just waking from his winter nap. So much for first impressions.

Quickly recovering his manners he offered her a warm smile, grabbing hold of the hand
she offered to pull her into the cool interior of the house.

“Miss O’Brien, welcome to my home.”

Alex was instantly captivated. She had beautifully arched eyebrows and sexy, cat-like
green eyes above a pert nose with a mouth that made him stop and look twice. Her full
bottom lip curved in a sexy pout with a well-defined cupid’s bow on top. He had to
stop from reaching out to touch her face to see if the pale skin felt as soft and
luscious as it looked. He couldn’t believe he was reacting like a hormonal teenage
boy meeting a beautiful girl for the first time but he couldn’t help it. She was that
drop dead fucking gorgeous.

“Please call me Alex,” he murmured at the same moment her delightful sexy scent reached
his nose. Inhaling sharply, he pictured open spaces with the fresh scent of vanilla
and blackberry in the air. He was sure her skin would taste sweet, maybe even melt
a little bit under his tongue.

Wait a minute,
his mind barked.
What the fuck are you doing
? The woman is here on a social call not a date.
Grow up and mind your manners son
, he could hear his father tell him with that sardonic inflection that made every
comment an inside joke between the two of them.
Don’t get caught drooling over a woman
, he told him once.
Gives her the upper hand
.

She smiled at him as he drew her into the large entryway with her cheeks flushing
a gorgeous pink. When her face lit up she looked like an angel.

“Alex.” She said his name with a soft purr. His dick instantly got hard. “No formalities!
Please call me Meghan.”

He was still holding her hand and since she wasn’t making any effort to disengage,
he hung on; covering their joined fingers with his other hand. The odd gesture was
bold and intimate.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, Meghan.” She grinned when he said her name.

“Welcome to the Villa,” he graciously declared. “It’s been in my family since the
eighteen hundreds, and I don’t mind telling you that keeping a historic building up
to date with modern features is a never ending challenge.”

Laughing, she shook her head in understanding. “Oh, believe me, I know what that’s
like. My folks live in a turn of the century building, and my dad is forever grumbling
about every little thing.”

She looked around and gasped when the full impact of the great entryway to the mansion
house opened to her view. Plaster columns supported the huge open space with a second
floor balcony running the entire length of the house. An exquisite wrought iron railing
framed the wide steps leading to the upper floors. A double row of windows on the
front wall suggested a second story but on the inside the entire entryway was open
to the height of the second floor ceiling. Moorish arches anchored either end of the
magnificent entryway; it was a breathtaking space. Alex was unapologetically proud
of the beautiful house. Seeing it through Meghan’s excited eyes was exhilarating.

“This house is so…” She was at a loss for words.

He shrugged like it was no big deal. “Hey, it’s home, y’know?”

She laughed and gave him an unexpected elbow to the ribs. “Don’t be so humble, Major.
Your home could easily be the feature spread in
House Beautiful
magazine.” She eyed him humorlessly. “And I suspect you know that.”

Alex couldn’t help the delighted laugh he barked.
Yeah
, he knew the Villa was impressive. But it was kind of cool to hear someone else say
so. What was also way cool was how readily his emotions responded to his unusual houseguest.

She caught sight of the vintage baby grand tucked in an alcove under the staircase
and quickly hurried over to it. Touching the wood she asked, “Do you play?”

Another shrug. “Sometimes.” He ran his hand along the curved edge of the mahogany
piece that had been in his family for a hundred years and told her, “Mostly it’s for
show.” Something about how her eyes shone and the way she caressed the instrument
made him pause. “What about you? Do you play the piano?”