“I won’t bore you with the gory details except to say that this so-called uncle was a Bible thumping jerk with a deep hatred of women. His wife had taken their son and fled to God knows where years before I arrived on the scene. He liked to use words like Jezebel and harlot. Mostly I tried to stay off his radar but that was hard to do when you live in a swamp. Oh, did I mention he ran gator tours for a living? Yeah, that’s right,” she bit out. “My darling daddy left me with a gator nut who spent his days taunting vicious reptiles for paying customers. At night, he drank and quoted the good Book. Being of the female persuasion meant I had to be cleansed of my inherently wicked ways. I guess Eve really was a naughty girl because in his mind, all women were dirty and suspect.”
Cam stayed silent as she clutched the pillow a bit tighter and her words became softer, like a whisper. He was imagining all sorts of disgusting scenarios and was having trouble remaining passive while she spoke. The idea of seriously harming the gator taunting dickhead was already forming in his mind.
“By the time I was sixteen, he was locking me in my room each month when I got my cycle because I was unclean and shouldn’t be around people.” She snorted in derision. “I was completely cut off from other people and totally at his mercy. I had no family and no friends. We were in the middle of a disgusting swamp and I was part of a home-school network so there were no teachers to see what was going on. Basically, my life was f-u-c-k-e-d.”
Cam grimaced at her spelling of the inelegant word and wished he could change her life so she never had to use that expression ever again. It didn’t take a surveillance expert to see that she avoided swearing and crude language when she spoke. He who had never given a shit about anybody was suddenly and without warning, wanting to be some kind of white knight swooping in to rescue this freckle-faced beauty.
Lacey sighed again and let the worst part of the tale tumble out without embellishment and with very little show of emotion. “He started abusing me then. Not in the classic way, but in a much more vicious way that spoke to how evil and twisted he truly was. His best friend was named Jack Daniels. Good ol’ Jack made his presence known almost every night. More often than not, he’d get snarling drunk and wind up in my room late in the evening. He liked to wrap his hands around my throat and whisper vile taunts while he threatened to choke the evil out of me. His favorite demand was that I touch him while he slowly cut off my air supply. If I made a move to comply, he would beat me senseless and scream about what a whore I was. Some nights he was buck-naked and would yell at me to get on my knees and pray to release him from my wanton spell. It went on like that for more than a year. Besides smacking me around and occasionally beating the snot out of me, he never touched me physically.”
She threw the pillow on the floor and abruptly straightened her shoulders. He suspected the worst was yet to come and he could not have been more right. “One night he forced me to drink a bottle of beer that appeared out of nowhere. He wasn’t a beer guy. When I hesitated, he pushed me down on the floor and held me there as he poured the entire bottle down my throat. I choked and gagged while he screeched insanely about damnation. Afterwards he paced the room like a crazy man peeling off his clothes while he preached about women’s subservience to man and my head got fuzzier and fuzzier. The evil jerk had put something in the beer and I was lucid enough to realize it was probably a rape drug. I went nuts and started screaming and hitting him. The last thing I remember was of him ripping my clothes as he punched me over and over until I lost consciousness.” The tight shrug she ended with made him sick to his stomach. The bastard had drugged his own niece and assaulted her while she was unconscious and all she could do was shrug.
“A couple of hours later I came to and found him naked, covered in blood and out cold on the bedroom floor. My clothes were destroyed and there wasn’t an inch of my body that didn’t hurt or have marks. Judging by how we both looked, one could presume I put up quite a fight. Something inside me snapped and less than an hour later, I had packed what I could and gone through all of his ridiculous hiding places until I’d cleaned him out of any money he had squirreled away. I was barely seventeen years old. Six weeks later, I was alone, trying to survive in a big city and pretending I was older and wiser. That was five years ago. Most of the time I’ve been in youth hostels, campgrounds during the summer, or living in rundown motels while I work odd jobs and get an education any way I can. Sooner or later I figured my luck would turn around and I’d have enough money to get an apartment someplace and a proper job so I could live like a real person.”
Her bright eyes and the determination in her voice confirmed how important it was for her to make it on her own after having lost her mother, been abandoned by her father, and abused by an uncle.
“So to answer your question, my only response can be that I don’t know. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.” She stood up, wiping imaginary dirt from her butt before forcefully pushing up the arms of her shirt. With her hand held up to say stop, a grim set to her mouth and a deep frown, her body language screamed her resilience. “You’re not allowed to feel sorry for me. I can’t have pity or sympathy. Other people have real problems. That’s who you can feel sorry for. Not me. I’m not a victim. Just because things have been tough does not mean I haven’t made loads of progress.” Her voice steadily rose while this emphatic declaration of independence burbled out.
“I didn’t need your help to figure it out. Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for your rescue during the mugging, but if you hadn’t happened along, if that situation hadn’t occurred, I would have found a way to move things along to a more positive place.”
“I don’t doubt it for a second, Ponytail. Those freckles don’t fool me. You kick ass just by being so determined.”
“Thanks, I think, and I’m sorry for getting carried away before. You’re good at that.” His quirked eyebrow asked the question that she answered, “The kissing I mean. Ummm, you’re quite, uh….,”
“Good at it, am I?” Sighing, he reached for her, running his hands up and down her arms once again, this time to warm her up and chase away the chill of her confession. “We both got carried away and for good reason. The chemistry between us is powerful and even without experience you sensed it. But I’m definitely the one in the older and wiser category and I shouldn’t have crossed the line just now. Men like me don’t have relationships, we get our needs met in other ways. Sweetness, you in no way come off as the type of woman who would settle for an arrangement like that. I can’t start something that would only end with you getting hurt.”
After that little speech, no one was more surprised than Cam when he gathered her in his arms for a tender hug. When she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned in to him, he felt a powerful sense of inevitability. His face buried in her hair and her head against his chest, they swayed back and forth in a tightening embrace that went beyond mere friendship.
Cam was having a hard time concentrating on the miles rushing by due to the presence of an overly excited passenger. She was having the time of her life as they made their way cross-country from the northern east coast to the southwestern desert in Arizona. Her enthusiasm and wonder at every little thing was refreshing albeit a bit exhausting.
During the long drive yesterday, she’d been keyed up – after all, she was on an unexpected journey that could possibly change her life. He’d managed to distract her with stories about the people who made up his real life family. This was new territory for him as he’d always been a man of very few words. To lighten the mood he simply started talking, something he never did, and they’d basically had an eight-hour conversation after that.
Stopping for the night at an old highway motel with a restaurant and bar attached, he’d practically forced a huge steak dinner on her. That she savored the cheap cut of meat with whipped potatoes and canned green beans like it was a gourmet meal made him feel a thousand feet tall.
He’d rented two rooms and after eating and getting their signals straight
for the next morning, they parted awkwardly from one another. He hadn’t wanted to leave and she didn’t seem too thrilled about being left alone.
All day long, tucked in the back of his mind, was a disturbing scene they’d shared in the early morning as they met up to get back on the road. When he tapped on her door to see if she was awake, he heard the distinct sounds of her scurrying about just on the other side of the door. When she let him in seconds later, his trained eyes noted a wadded up mound of pillows stuffed down next to the sofa and that the bed that had not been slept in. He also spied her backpack off to the side of the door along with a half drunk bottle of water. Her skittishness at his presence and the way she kept smoothing imaginary loose strands of hair from her face told a story. All signs pointed to Lacey having slept on the floor, right where his feet were now, just inside the door. Instant understanding flashed in his memory - nights spent up against a door as protection and immediate awareness against an intruder. It gutted him to see evidence of the fear she’d been going through staring him right in his face.
He wasn’t stupid and was well aware of the shift he was experiencing courtesy of his traveling companion. In just a few days he’d developed an interest in another human being, had allowed himself to become concerned about her well-being, and most surprisingly of all, was using the friendship word quite liberally. Drae and Alex were in for a surprise when he showed up with Lacey in tow. And not just because they’d be presented with a new employee but because they’d pick up immediately on his growing attachment to her.
Hell, he liked being around her. And not just because she smelled like a million bucks and acted like he was the most fascinating guy on the planet. He liked hearing her opinions; she had an interesting take on a variety of subjects and was well-read despite the challenges she’d struggled to overcome.
He also couldn’t lie to himself or deny that he wanted her, naked and in his bed, spread open for his pleasure until he pulled her underneath him as he sank into her heated depths. He conjured up a picture of those long, lean limbs of hers clutched high across his back as his hands held her incredible ass while he pounded away in a frenzied, intense fucking that would only end after he watched her come, maybe more than once, and then emptied his aching balls deep inside her. Knowing she was an innocent in the ways a man’s mind worked in no way diminished the endless erotic images that flashed in his thoughts. He simply wanted her.
Recalling her unease after their first day of driving and the way she reacted to being alone, on their second night he secured two adjoining rooms in a large chain hotel boasting an indoor pool. Dropping their bags and making quite a show of opening the door that made their rooms side-by-side, Cam suggested they go for a swim before dinner to get some exercise. He made it sound innocent, but he was man enough to admit that what was really spurring him on was the desire to see her in a bathing suit. He wanted to find out once and for all if the luscious breasts he felt when they embraced were as perfect as he imagined. The minute the words came out of his mouth she started clutching that damnable backpack she never let out of her sight. Time to find out what that was all about.
Raising an eyebrow at the worn bag he commented, “Any chance you have a bathing suit in that bag, Lacey?”
Setting the bag on a chair Lacey looked at Cameron in surprise. While she liked knowing that they were cautious friends, she was started to hope for something a bit more on the intimate side. Fact was, she found him terribly exciting and sexy as hell. Two days with him in a truck cab and her nerves were in tatters.
The idea of going swimming filled her with a pleasure so keen she almost embarrassed herself. She bet he looked damn good in bathing trunks but she was bummed she wouldn’t get a chance to see for herself since a bathing suit wasn’t included in her meager belongings. “No, sorry. Nothing quite as exotic as a bathing suit in here,” she joked as she patted the old bag. “All my clothes are now in a travel bag so this is just a few personal items,” she muttered at the end.
“What’s in the book you carry?” he asked. Cam liked that she didn’t play bullshit head games. With her shining baby blues staring him down, he watched her face as she decided what to do and waited patiently while she made up her mind without a lot of drama.
Reaching swiftly into the old worn bag, she hauled out the leather book she guarded with her life. “This is my grandmother’s diary,” she said simply and concisely. “It’s from when my mother was a young girl and it’s full of day-to-day details of their family life. I never really knew my mom so these words feel like the only connection I have left with her.”
Laying the old book on a table she handled it carefully as if it was a priceless manuscript, opening it to an old photograph tucked near the back. She held the picture in her hands, staring at it with an intensity that rippled through the space between them, hitting Cam forcefully in the middle of his chest.
Speaking so quietly he could barely make out her words she whispered, “This is me and my mom.”
Gazing at the picture she held up, Cam saw the happy face of an adoring mother holding a baby wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket. Lacey had her mother’s eyes. He wondered if she realized that. The loss of a mother’s love at such a young age must have been horrible. He was glad that she had this picture to connect her with a happier time. He had no such pictures and no happy childhood times to recall. It was no wonder she guarded the bag like her life depended on it.
He remained silent as she replaced the picture and gently closed the book before placing it into the backpack. When her hand stayed and caressed the bag he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “I envy you the surety of your mother’s love.” Lacey’s bright blue eyes snapped to his in question. He had no idea what made him say that since he never spoke of the woman who had given him life.
“You didn’t know your mother, Cameron?” she asked.
“Oh no. I knew the woman. That doesn’t mean she had the capacity to love anyone other than herself,” he bit out with disgust.
Moving to his side, Lacey reached out and touched his arm before sliding her hand gently into his. “I’m sorry to hear that, Cameron. Even though I lost my mother, I know she loved me.”
Cam stared at their joined hands and marveled at whatever had made him say that out loud about Lorraine. She’d been completely open with him about her darkest secrets so maybe he just felt he owed her one of his. Whatever it was, now that he’d shared a little he was anxious to move on to other things. Feelings weren’t where he was the most comfortable.
Stepping away from her, he pocketed the room keys and suggested, “There’s a gift shop in the front lobby. Let’s go check it out and see if they have something for you to wear in the pool.” Smooth move you asshole, he thought. Nothing like a clumsy two-step to keep things light and uncomplicated.
“We don’t have to do that. I won’t have much use for a bathing suit after this. You go ahead and catch a swim if that’s what you want to do. I’ll hang out here and watch some TV.”
“No way, Lacey. You’re coming swimming with me and FYI, you’ll have plenty of use for a bathing suit once we get to Arizona. You do realize it’s hotter than the lobby of hell there for part of the year don’t you?” he teased. “Come on. No argument. It’s down to the lobby we go and no pissing and moaning from you.”
Half an hour later they were back, carrying a plastic shopping bag stuffed with sweatshirts and t-shirts from the gift shop along with a rather demure one-piece suit. He insisted on matching t-shirts with a tacky state slogan across the front that got them both laughing and then tried to tease her into a hot pink two-piece suit that was little more than patches of fabric held together by string. Trotting along with her butt hanging out of a ruffled thong was more than Lacey could handle, hence the sedate one-piece alternative.
Taking the elevator to the indoor pool, they retreated to their respective changing rooms. Cam was already in the pool, enjoying the heated water, when she hesitantly approached with a big towel
wrapped around her like a shroud. He enjoyed her shyness and found it totally refreshing compared to the brazen show-offs he was used to. Most of the women of his acquaintance would have gleefully opted for the half-naked look of the hot pink thong and been more than willing to let most of their tits overflow the tiny fabric swatches. Not this one. Dolphining quickly to the side of the pool he popped up from the water, swiping his long hair back from his face.
Holding out his hand he said, “Come on, Lacey. I won’t bite. Lose the towel and get in here with me before I come up on deck and throw you in.”
His bark of surprised laughter bounced off the natatorium walls when she impishly stuck her tongue out and dropped her foot to the water to splash at him. When she released the towel, however, his laughing stopped because nothing could have been sexier or more alluring than her not-so-modest, one-piece suit. High cut sides showed off her fabulously long, toned limbs while the sweetheart neckline allowed for a more than generous glimpse of the curves it covered.
Lacey had meant to jump right in but after she tossed her towel on the nearby bench and turned around, Cameron had moved into the shallow end of the pool and was standing in waist deep water. The sight of his naked chest and impressively toned physique emptied her brain of all coherent thought. With his long wet hair and smoky green eyes moving hungrily over her exposed skin, she shivered with awareness as she took in his usual stubble and the line of dark hair that covered his chest and arrowed downward into his trunks. She was glad that what lay further was under the water because she doubted her ability to look away. She remembered the way she had inspected every visible inch of his incredible body when he had lain unconscious, fevered with illness, and blushed from the soles of her feet to the roots of her hair. Just friends, right?
Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) Page 9
