Always (Family Justice Book 1)

by Halliday, Suzanne

  Drae dropped into the chair on the other side of his wife and spoke gently to her. “Honey, it’s just a quick assignment. I’ll be in and out as quickly as I can. You knew this shit was gonna happen from time to time.”

  “But Thanksgiving, Draegyn. And my mother’s here.” Turning accusing eyes on Alex, she growled, “I thought you said he could take time off till after the baby came.” Eyeing Calder with disgust, she added, “Isn’t he supposed to be picking up the slack?”

  Fuck, Alex thought. She was coming unglued, but there was nothing he could do.

  From out of nowhere, he saw Brody’s hand slide between them with an ice-filled tumbler topped with a lemon wedge. He put his hand on Tori’s shoulder and said, “Ice water. Drink.” Then looked pointedly at Drae before taking a step back.

  Alex looked around at all the concerned faces watching this scene play out. What was to have been a pleasant family barbecue to welcome Tori’s mom had turned into a full-blown crisis. He had to get control of the situation before it spiraled into a huge mess.

  Carmen, Ria, and Betty each looked crestfallen and after the plans they’d shared with him, he knew why. Thanksgiving. Double fuck. Even if Drae went wheels up in the morning, that’d only give him a couple of days to resolve the King of Dashur’s family problem.

  Ben, Gus, and Brody were shaking their heads, each knowing full well that Drae had his work cut out for him. Meghan was silent, but she and Lacey both looked like they were going to cry.

  Cam crouched down at Tori’s feet and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll go with him. I’m a better tracker than he is and with me along it’ll speed things up.”

  Stephanie wasn’t placated in the least with the offer and bit out, “Why the hell does he have to go at all?” Turning an accusing glare at Calder, she ripped into him. “If you’re here to take over, why in God’s name did you agree to send Draegyn? Why?”

  “Because the fucking King of Dashur asked for him, lady. That’s why. And frankly, this is none of your goddamn business.”

  Aw, shit, Alex thought. This was getting ugly fast.

  “None of my goddamn business?” she shrieked with outrage. “How exactly do you figure that, you pompous oaf.”

  Oh, my fucking God. Had the genteel Southern belle just called his uncle a pompous oaf?

  “Alright!” Alex barked. “Enough.” Putting on his most dignified Big Daddy expression, he eyed everyone present. That was all it took for the whole crew to shut the fuck up and give him a moment to catch his breath.

  “Tori,” he said gently. “This is important, sweetheart. A young man is in trouble and his father has asked for Drae’s help. He knows the family better than any of us. We can’t turn down this request nor should we. Bottom line, babe—there’s a nineteen-year-old kid out there who might be in harm’s way. Draegyn has to go.”

  She nodded slightly and clutched at her husband’s hand.

  Next, he looked directly at Cameron. “Good thinking, bro. Going with him will speed things up. Thanks.”

  To Calder he said, “Get all the profile details—as much as you can—before Drae leaves. Let’s do whatever we can to mitigate any extraneous information. Just the facts, okay?”

  Standing, Alex took Stephanie by the shoulder and gave her a side hug. “I’m sorry, Stephanie. This is what we do, but you have my word that Justice will pull together as a team and do whatever is necessary to help Draegyn and get him back here to Victoria as quickly as possible. Thank God you’re here so he can concentrate on the assignment and not worry about things at home. Okay?” he added with another slight hug.

  He saw her shoot a hard glance at Calder and searched for the right thing to say. As everyone else started talking amongst themselves, he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “This isn’t my uncle’s fault. If the decision was mine, and realistically it is since I get the final say in everything, I’d be asking the same of Drae.”

  Stephanie didn’t say anything. She simply walked from his side, went to the drink cart where he watched her pour a rather substantial amount of bourbon into a glass, and shoot it down like it was water. Damn. She was scarier than he ever imagined. The lady had brass balls and an iron stomach to do what she just did—but whatever it took for her to back the fuck down was okay with him. A tearful, burbling pregnant woman was one thing. An angry, pissed off mother-in-law, another.

  It was then he noticed that Calder was watching her, too, with a rather enigmatic expression on his face. Alex wondered what in the hell he was thinking but now wasn’t the time to ask.

  Good ol’ Ben chose that moment to suggest they all grab a seat while he and Ria brought out the food.

  There was a reason why Alex relied on the man for much more than just driving him around. Besides handling the enormous garden and greenhouse that supplied Ria with all sorts of produce and herbs, Ben was the calm one who always seemed to know when to change the subject or go in a different direction. Not only did he owe the man a serious bonus and something over-the-top for Christmas just for being so cool about the limo thing, he now needed to double down with thanks for having helped diffuse an unusually uncomfortable situation.

  LUCKILY, THINGS CALMED DOWN ENOUGH that everyone ended up having a pleasant evening. The food had been amazing, and once Tori relaxed and the storm passed, it was as if nothing untoward had happened. Thank God because Alex wasn’t sure he could take another outburst.

  It was almost midnight and he was sitting by himself in his favorite easy chair. Staring out at the dim outline of the surrounding mountains barely visible in the darkened sky, he waited for Meghan to join him.

  When she appeared, strolling toward him from the en suite with that naughty roll she did with her hips, he sat back and enjoyed the show she was putting on. Reaching into the hair piled haphazardly on her head; she pulled out a clip that let her beautiful auburn curls loose so they could cascade over her shoulders.

  Wearing a simple purple satin nightie that stopped well north of her knees, he admired her long legs and fleshy thighs. He gave a short thanks to whatever god was listening that she’d regained the weight she’d lost when they were apart. He liked her curves. No. Fuck that. He loved them. Loved her magnificent ass and the glorious mounds of her big breasts.

  He expected her to sit in the chair next to his but instead she swayed provocatively right up to him, took the tumbler of whiskey from his hand and took a good swallow, then set it on the table between the chairs. Without a word, she floated onto his lap, wiggled for good measure, then wrapped her arms about his neck and nuzzled her face into his neck.

  “Mmmmm. You smell good,” she purred.

  “That the whiskey talking?” he teased.

  “Maybe a little,” she giggled quietly.

  They sat there in silence for a long time. Alex ran a hand up and down the outside of a thigh while he kept his other arm banded about her torso. She was soft, fit him perfectly, and while she made him hard anytime she was within sight, she also brought peace to his soul.

  He wasn’t even a little surprised when she took the hand touching her leg and moved it onto her breast as she began nibbling on his neck. Through the slippery satin, he felt the distinctive hardness of a pebbled nipple and sighed.

  “Your little matchmaking plan almost went up in flames tonight, huh?” she murmured softly with a lilt of amusement.

  Alex shifted his head to give her better access to his neck, thoroughly enjoying the way she licked his skin then let her breath drift over the wet spot.

  “Don’t know what you mean,” he drawled, hoping she wouldn’t stop what she was doing.

  The licks turned to biting nips that made him shudder. She knew what turned him on so he wasn’t surprised when she opened her mouth and started sucking on his flesh where neck joined to shoulder. This was getting to be a habit of hers—she marked him so many times that it had become a joke between them. When she was satisfied, Meghan sat back and leered at him with one of those lusty grins that made his dick
twitch.

  “Oh baby,” she growled with a heavy dollop of laughter. “I can see right through you, Major Marquez. And don’t you forget it.”

  Alex tweaked her nipple, rolling it firmly between his fingers and grinned right back at her when she moaned.

  “Is that so?”

  “Mmmm hmmm.”

  Abandoning her breast, he changed tactic and snaked a hand under the satin nightie making slowly for the panties he knew she’d have on. Might have been simpler and easier to just be naked after her bath, but she knew how much he enjoyed undressing her. She didn’t disappoint, having chosen what he knew would be matching satin lingerie. His naughty Irish goddess shifted her legs to give better access, which he immediately took advantage of, running a finger across the satin covered mound radiating with heat. For him.

  Putting a hand upon his muscled chest, she ran her fingers back and forth in the hair, scraping her nails over his nipples.

  “You could have waited till January to bring Calder here but somehow he managed to appear at almost the exact same time that Stephanie did.”

  He laughed at her audacious assessment. Damn. She really had seen right through his devious plan to push Calder at the Southern beauty.

  “Fuck,” he groaned while she drove him crazy with her hands. “Was I that obvious?”

  Meghan bent and bit his earlobe then sucked it into her mouth. “No. Not obvious. Only to me.”

  Alex slid his hand inside her panties and rubbed her mound cupping her already dripping sex.

  Growling he told her, “He needs a woman. She needs a man. End of story.”

  His wanton fiancée shimmied on his lap making his hard-on pulse with need. Without hesitating, Alex parted the lips of her pussy and very, very slowly slid a finger in deep. She moaned, he grunted, and the conversation, if that was what you wanted to call it, was over.

  DRAEGYN RUBBED VICTORIA’S BACK AS she lay on her side, stark naked, purring like a contented cat. Now that he’d agreed to come back to their bed, it was impossible to keep his hands off her so he didn’t even try. He worshipped the little woman with the protruding belly so much he was unable to hold back his desire for her. She was the sun, the moon, the stars, and everything in between. Without Victoria and her fearless love for him, he’d be beyond lost.

  It almost killed him when she’d become upset at learning that he had to leave for a work assignment. He didn’t want to go, of course, but there really wasn’t any choice. If Majid really were in trouble, it would require the skills of a seasoned operative to handle the situation. If the little shit was just playing a game to get his royal father’s attention, Drae was just the person to intervene, considering what he knew from personal experience about father-son conflict.

  “Can you lay on your back, honey?” he asked softly.

  Victoria turned and smiled up at him with such love he wanted to weep from the beauty of her expression.

  “You aren’t going to stop, are you?”

  ‘Fuck, no,” he chuckled. “Was just getting started.”

  “Good,” she sniffed. “Put that small pillow under my back, okay?”

  He quickly pushed the soft and squishy bolster pillow into the small of her back and adjusted it till she was comfortable. My God, he thought. Even eight months pregnant, she was the sexiest fucking thing he’d ever seen. The pregnancy had made her breasts larger as they swelled in preparation for the moment when his son or daughter would need them for nourishment. Seeing them like this, swollen, with nipples puckered and pink was so beautiful he was speechless.

  Victoria’s enormous belly was taut and firm as their baby grew inside her. There hadn’t been a day that passed since the moment Drae realized she was pregnant that he hadn’t marveled at what her body was doing. Protecting and nurturing his child. That the woman he loved was having his baby humbled him. He knew people saw him as an arrogant fucker on his best days. But when it came to this woman, he was on his knees at her feet, thanking God every minute of every day for giving him this chance to be the man he always wanted to be and have the family he secretly longed for.

  Bending over, he nuzzled her face and pressed tiny kisses along her jawline stopping an inch from her sweet lips, asking, “Comfortable?”

  Her answer came in the form of a mesmerizing, drugging kiss with plenty of tongue that spoke to his heart and senses louder than any words ever could.

  “Close your eyes, my love,” Drae murmured.

  He spread her arms wide then carefully parted her legs so he could crouch between them. From this position, he had total access to every inch of her. He proceeded to run his fingers gently up and down the soft skin on the insides of her arms, bringing a stifled giggle from his adorable wife.

  She was ridiculously ticklish. He watched, fascinated as her nipples tightened while he continued caressing her arms. When her palms opened and flattened, he skimmed his fingers from her wrist to the ends of her fingers as she sighed contentedly.

  Drae loved touching Victoria. God almighty, but her skin was unbearably soft. Spread out and open to him as she was, he couldn’t help but compare her to a virgin sacrifice, offering herself up to his lustful pleasures. Only she wasn’t a virgin, not with that belly proving otherwise, and his lustful desires had to take a backseat to her needs.

  Placing his fingers together at her throat, he dragged them gently downward to the swell of her breasts. Then he separated his hands and ran them along the outside of her swollen mounds and down each side to her hips. She squirmed slightly, her nipples puckered even more, and he heard her moan softly. Perfection.

  After doing that a few more times, Drae concentrated on her belly. Carefully, he stroked the taut skin. He loved her belly. Adored seeing the bump that represented the child they’d made together in a burst of wild passion. His only regret was that she’d been having such a hard time of it. Being pregnant wasn’t always a walk in the park, and for Victoria, it had become quite a challenge. Not for the first time since they’d learned she was carrying a big baby, he let guilt wash through him. She wanted a large family, but he wasn’t convinced it was worth it to put her through this ordeal again.

  Overcome with emotion, Drae leaned over and kissed her tummy while his hands framed the rounded fullness. He whispered, “I love you,” to the baby then choked back a groan when he felt her small hand reach out and caress the back of his head. Kissing her belly again, he murmured, “And I love Mommy, too.”

  Sitting back on his haunches between her spread thighs, he surveyed the beauty before him. He’d kept his briefs on when they’d gone to bed, fearful that his desire for Victoria would get out of hand. And judging by how hard and throbbing his dick was at this moment, it had been a smart move. Making love to her that way just wasn’t going to happen, he reminded himself. Rubbing his hand across his bulge, he looked up at her face and saw she had her eyes open and was watching him intently.

  “I thought I told you to close your eyes,” he chastised gently.

  “You did,” she answered. “But I can feel your need.” She moved an arm until her fingers touched where his hand had just been. He let her run those elegant fingers up and down his hard shaft a few times, then grabbed for her hand.

  “Victoria,” he groaned. “Don’t. This is for you. Not me.”

  “Yes, well…we’ll see about that,” she answered with a salacious purr.

  Fuck. She was going to be the death of him, he was sure of it. Needing to distract her, he started tracing figure eights on the outside of her thighs down to her knees and then up again until her purr changed to a deep moan. Eventually, his fingers moved to the inside of her thighs where he did the same thing on the sensitive skin that quivered under his touch.

  Spread open as she was, he picked up her scent and had to close his eyes for a second to regain control. Dammit. She smelled so fucking good. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if he allowed himself a little taste. Since a hearty fucking was off the agenda, maybe he could satisfy them both another way.


  If there was one thing Drae craved, besides the thousand other things he loved about his wife, it was eating her pussy. Victoria had a sweetness that called to his tongue constantly. She was like an addiction. When he parted her swollen lips and licked her, it was like a taste of heaven.

  Decision made, he scooted back a bit to give him better access and started kissing her open thighs. The more he kissed, nipped, and licked her soft skin, the more her delicious smell teased his senses. Pressing his nose to her center, he inhaled deeply and groaned. Eau de Victoria—his favorite scent.

  His heart double thumped when he heard her whimper his name, “Draegyn.” Yeah. She understood what was coming.

  Drae knew that as pregnant as Victoria was, he’d need to consider the issue of angles. He swiftly repositioned her body with her feet on the edge of the bed so he could get on his knees. Shoving his hands under her ass, he lifted her slightly into his waiting mouth, which made her thighs fall open even further.

  At first, he was so lust-drunk with desire all he could do was lick from back to front, over and over. Fuck, she tasted so sweet and was absolutely dripping wet. From the corner of his eyes he saw her hands clutch at anything she could cling to, grabbing a fistful of linen while a deep, husky groan left her throat. Her toes curled too, her feet digging into the mattress. He knew she wanted to undulate her hips so he did the honors for her, using his hands to rock her up and down while he feasted on her flesh. It was fucking glorious.

  Tongue fucking her sweet pussy with abandon, Drae growled lustfully against her skin and lapped at her response. Before long, Victoria was panting heavily, and he knew she wasn’t going to last long. Flicking her clit and sucking on it between nibbles, he brought her rapidly to the edge.

  “Come for me, honey,” he demanded with his mouth buried in her pussy. “I need to taste you.” With carefully applied skill, he teased her a bit longer until she was shaking and whimpering, then feasted on her swollen clit, sucking it between his lips as his tongue lashed at the delicate nub.