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.
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.
He thought of his feisty Spanish grandmother who had been quite a beauty in her time. One day he overheard her passing on some grandmotherly wisdom to his sisters that had cracked him up. She’d told them that real men expected their women to be ladies in public and harlots in private. The sentiment proved to be more than true in Alex’s case.
Meghan eventually wandered over to him, scrolling through the pictures she’d taken and showed him one that really was spectacular.
“I can’t get over all the colors in the landscape. Anyone who thinks the desert is boring is either blind or dumb.”
He r
eplied, “I love it here. No matter how many times I come to this spot, I see something different.” Right then he was referring to how she looked against the desert backdrop – committing everything about it to memory. “Could you send me that jpeg, Meghan? I’d like to blow it up and hang it in my study.”
Looking surprised, she said, “Seriously?”
“Yeah. You have a photographer’s eye. It’s cool how you captured the saguaro cactus in the foreground against the afternoon sun lighting up the rock formations.”
“Thanks,” she said, clearly pleased with his comment. “I’ve got thousands of pictures from my adventures that I pick through and put in digital scrapbooking pages. I’m glad you like this one. It’s definitely a keeper.”
It startled him when she sat on the tailgate and in one fluid move, tucked her legs under her bottom and stood up. Shit. If he leaned a little to the left, he’d probably get a good view of what was under her dress. Moving back a few paces she started clicking away, and then guilelessly began snapping overhead shots that looked down at him where he leaned, feeding doggie treats to Zeus.
“What the hell are you doing woman?” he teased.
She grinned mischievously. “Couldn’t help it. You’ve got the look of a cowboy dressed in your jeans and boots with the desert in the background. Maybe I’ll Photoshop in a hat and a horse on a tether later!’ she joked.
He snorted with amusement and flashed her a wry grin. “I look like a king size dork in a Stetson, but I do have one if that’s what floats your boat.”
The image of him wearing nothing but a cowboy hat, slam fucking her from behind against the side of the truck flared in her mind, making her blush beet red.
She nearly died of embarrassment when he noticed and chuckled. “I know a dirty thought when I see one, Meghan. Care to share?”
“No, I do not!” She laughed primly as though naughty thoughts were something ladies did not speak of. She shot him a pout when he threw back his head and laughed.
Redeeming Justice Page 10
