“I may have tried running babe, but nothing could keep you out of my thoughts. At first I figured I’d hunt down some cheesy northwest souvenir, but that thought was quickly dismissed and became an obsession to search for something special. Just like you. I may not have been ready to say the words, but the feelings were already there. I had the box with me last night and if we hadn’t ended up in bed so fast, I would have given them to you then.”
He wasn’t exactly prepared when she flung herself back into his arms and started dropping kisses all over his face and neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she whispered.
It would have been so easy to just let that moment unfold but there was one more subject they needed to talk about.
“Uh, sweetheart,” he murmured as she licked his neck with reckless abandon and kissed him everywhere her beautiful, sexy mouth could reach.
“Mmm hmmm.”
“Unless I’m mistaken, we didn’t use a condom last night, did we?”
Her head shot up so fast he almost dropped her off his lap from the reaction. “Oh my God!” she cried out in alarm. “I wasn’t thinking. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault!”
He had to bite the inside of his mouth to stop from laughing. Fuck, she was adorable, taking all the blame as if he’d been an unwilling participant. He could have stopped her seduction anytime he wanted, or that’s what he told himself anyway.
“Hey, hey, hey,” he muttered as he ran his hands up and down her arms. “There’s no fault here. I just wanted you to know that it didn’t escape my attention.”
She looked a bit frantic even as he tried to reassure her. “It was my responsibility last night, Cameron. I should have been …..”
“What? Prepared? C’mon sweetheart. It’s not like anything we did was planned. Besides, whatever happens, happens. We’ll deal with it together, alright?”
Something made him lay his hand against her tummy as his mind filled with visions of her swollen with his child. He couldn’t imagine anything more precious than a baby that they’d made together. She’d be a fantastic mother and while he had some serious doubts about his abilities as a father, he knew with her by his side he’d be willing to take the chance.
“C’mon,” he said, lifting her from his lap.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you home. We’ll pack up your stuff tomorrow. You’re moving in with me. I don’t want to wake up another morning without you in my bed.”
“Is that a request or a command?” she asked as she jammed a hand on her hip and tried to look stern.
“It’s both!” He laughed as he hefted her over his shoulder and smacked her backside. “This is me, dragging you off to my caveman retreat.”
Her laughter was still ringing in his ears minutes later after he’d gotten her safely to the ATV he’d driven to her house. “Your chariot awaits, m’lady.” She laughed all the way down the lane as he wore a shit-eating grin spread so wide he thought it’d split his face.
Coming Soon
Want a little more of Cameron and Lacey’s story?
Find out what happens next for the two lovers in FIXING JUSTICE sneak preview
Three extraordinary men and the women who love them…
THE JUSTICE BROTHERS
BROKEN JUSTICE
FIXING JUSTICE
REDEEMING JUSTICE
One Justice Brother down, two to go!
FIXING JUSTICE
The second book in the JUSTICE BROTHERS series
Draegyn and Victoria’ story…..
Sometimes the last thing you need is exactly what you get…
He’s the sexy 007 type complete with tuxedo and an icy blue stare. She’s a tom-boy waif who’s more nerd than goddess.
When Tori Bennett ends up at the Justice Brothers compound in the Arizona desert, she’s running away from an epic scandal with her in the starring role as whistleblower. Sometimes having a moral compass means you’re the one who gets shredded. She’d had enough of powerful, arrogant men, and just wanted to fly off the radar for a while and get her confidence back.
Draegyn St. John was all that and then some…and he knew it. As if being raised in society and having more money than god along with the blonde good looks of a Nordic god wasn’t enough, he was also a special forces vet with a serious attitude. Women fell at his feet. It wasn’t even a challenge. Until Victoria Bennett rocks his high and mighty world in a very big way.
Sparks fly each time they meet. When an agency crisis throws them together on an out-of-town trip, their business relationship becomes personal in a hurry. For Drae, it’s an itch he needs to scratch and for Tori, it’s a flat out case of lust. No harm, no foul, right?
What happened in Vegas, didn’t stay in Vegas! Find out what happens when her smart mouth and refusal to take anybody’s crap meets his powerful arrogance. Everyone is in for one shock after another!
Excerpt from FIXING JUSTICE © Suzanne Halliday
What a fucking mess. Standing in the aftermath of a celebration that had been more than memorable, Draegyn St. John surveyed the carnage left behind. Everywhere he looked was evidence of the Valentine’s Day nuptials that had taken place littered throughout the massive Spanish-styled courtyard at Villa Valleja-Marquez.
Taking a hearty slug from the champagne glass clutched in his hand, Drae contemplated the past few days while shaking his head in amazement. After jumping on a plane in Washington, D.C., he’d landed in the midst of an off the hook celebration. The compound where he lived, along with his two business partners and one-time military brothers, technically belonged to the oldest and most senior of their group, Alexander Valleja-Marquez. They called it the Villa, a sprawling complex spread out among hundreds of acres of breath-taking Arizona scenery, dominated by an enormous Spanish influenced hacienda.
The glorious southwestern weather he loved was a welcome respite from the bitter cold and the never-ending snowfall he’d dealt with in D.C. Not one to usually gripe about anything remotely connected to being out-of-doors, he’d come to despise the winter weather back east. Having to clear off his car every morning, from either a coating of ice or inches of snow, had seriously pissed him off.
After leaving the nation’s frigid capitol, he’d found himself immediately immersed in a thousand last-minute details for a wedding that had surprised them all. He still couldn’t fathom how the dark and brooding mass of contradictions that was Cameron Justice had ended up married. Married! Jesus H. Christ. Just the word brought shudders of distaste racing through his mind. Ugh, no thanks.
Marriage and its false promise of commitment were a social convention that he’d vowed never to allow in his life. His parents had taught him the hard way what a charade all that was when he’d been shocked out of his perfect family bubble as a hormonal fourteen-year-old. Having fallen hook, line and sinker for the faultless picture of social, marital, and domestic bliss that defined the St. John family, he’d been duly horrified after happening upon his, Do as you’re told! Father, diddling the giggly twit who worked for the family as a quasi kid minder for him and his younger sister.
Dear old Dad had been dismissive of Drae’s shock and cruelly arrogant when the time came to explain his actions to his only son. Hearing that his parent’s marriage had been an arranged affair between two old school, upper-class families had destroyed the image of who he’d thought they were. It had all been a lie.
His mother hadn’t made it any better. Not only did she not care about her husband’s wandering penis, she sarcastically informed him that ‘this was how things were done’ in their world. A cold, intolerant bitch on the best of days, Draegyn had tried more ways than his teenage brain to count to be the son she wanted, only to never feel any warmth or genuine approval from the woman. Now he knew why.
She’d married for social status and prestige and did what was expected of her in the deal, popping out the perfect set of perfect children for their perfect family. Even now, all these years later, the thought made h
im sick. She made it sound like she’d consented to be bred in order to live an affluent lifestyle. Who fucking did that? He’d never trusted any woman’s motives from that moment on.
Wandering to a bench swing beneath strands of tiny white lights strung around the decorated courtyard, Drae flung his half-inebriated ass onto the seat and forced his thoughts back to the present. All around him was evidence of the romantic, country chic wedding that had joined Cam to the blonde-haired lovely who had changed everything with her quiet smile. He liked his new sister-in-law very much. She was unique and absolutely perfect for his old friend and one of the few females Drae hadn’t immediately mistrusted.
Lacey Morrow had been quite the surprise when she’d turned up last autumn in Cam’s company. That the two ended up together hadn’t shocked anyone in the least, except perhaps Cam himself. Drae couldn’t help the half grin each time he thought about the unusual parade of events that had brought his old friend to his knees where Lacey was concerned.
Miraculously surviving the minefield of bullshit surrounding their relationship, once they became an official couple, his friend had become an A-1 besotted, romantic fool. Drae supposed it was probably just an over-reaction to the years of emotional isolation that defined Cam’s life. Once the floodgates of hearts and flowers had been breached, though, the man had gone ape-shit with one over-the-top romantic gesture after another, culminating in the red and white wedding he’d insisted take place on the one day every year when true love was supposed to be celebrated.
Ha! True love. What the fuck was that, anyway? Even so, he was happy for Cam. Truly. Knowing that one of them hadn’t been doomed to an eternity of solitude made the burdens each carried lighter. It sure as shit wasn’t easy dealing with what they’d done and witnessed during their time together in the puke-fest that was Afghanistan.
Swinging absently, Drae tilted his head back and watched a million twinkling stars shining overhead. Stretching his arms wide on the back of the swing, he sat there in his perfectly tailored Tom Ford tuxedo and let his champagne-fueled mind wander.
He’d gotten into Special Forces as an extra special fuck you to his parents. He could still remember the way his cold-hearted mother, with her tight-assed need to control him and his little sister, had gone ballistic at his announcement. She’d been apoplectic learning that he’d already enlisted by the time they found out what he’d done. Hidden in the dark memories that haunted him, he remembered the woman freaking out on her husband. “Fix this!” she had screamed. “Arthur, you fix this right away. He’s your son after all. Do something about his attitude before he ruins everything I’ve sacrificed for.”
Ah. Yes. He’d been Arthur St. John’s son. Not hers. She’d made that abundantly clear. Understanding that he and his sister held no emotional importance in her world-view beyond the parts they were expected to play had been the final straw. Of course her fix him attitude had landed on his psyche and stuck like fucking fly paper.
His parents tried to fix him to no avail. The military tried to fix his bad attitude too and while he’d certainly adjusted somewhat, he always managed to ride the outer edge of insubordination. He didn’t need fixing, thank you very much. He was just fine as he was, calling the shots, and answering to no one but himself.
He was also a card-carrying, male chauvinist pig with a scornful arrogance about the travesty of marriage. Staying well clear of powerful women, because they all but ate their young and generally came with a shit-ton of issues, hadn’t been all that difficult. He wasn’t the sort they’d be interested in anyway. That left the rest of the female population in the sex toy category. Except for the innocent of course – they were out-of-bounds. He wanted no responsibility, ever, and virgins came with a truckload.
Allowing that Cam was an exception to the rule, Drae wished his old friend nothing but happiness. Lacey was one in a million and if the emotional wedding they’d just pulled off was any indication, they’d be wallowing in contentment for all time. He’d been honored to serve as Best Man and Maid of Honor while Alex had done his Big Daddy duty by walking the beautiful bride down the flower-strewn aisle. Standing as a second to the bride and groom had touched his heart although he wasn’t going to admit that anytime soon. He played his role as the sarcastic, conceited brother to perfection and made sure to keep the ribald comments flowing.
He’d gotten a good laugh at the devious way Lacey’s mind had worked when she chose an outrageously elegant mermaid style gown that framed her ass because as she’d put it, ‘Cameron was a dog for her backside’. Drae fell over laughing at her admission and the two had giggled like conspiratorial girlfriends plotting his lovesick friend’s downfall. Serves Cam right, he chuckled, because there was nothing guys enjoyed more than laughing at their buddies when a woman turned the tables.
Well, the deed was done and the Justice Brothers had expanded to include a wife. Wonders never ceased. Now that the happy couple had flown off via private jet to an extended honeymoon in Hawaii, some semblance of order and calm would return to the Villa. He hoped.
During the month he’d been gone before the wedding, Alex had finally found an assistant to keep him organized, busy, and out of everyone else’s hair. Thank fucking god. Drae had been ready to strangle the man, even from a distance, because Alex without a rudder was like a never-ending shit-storm of angst. He’d gone for months without someone to trot along after him, cleaning up the crap he always seemed to leave in his wake. Luckily, Betty had finally returned too, so the office continued to run once Lacey relinquished her temp duties to focus on the wedding.
After deciding to stay put in Arizona while the newlyweds were gone, he’d been making secret plans to create an addition to the happy couple’s cabin as a wedding present. Taking advantage of Cam’s passion for black and white movies and old-time Hollywood gave Drae the idea to create a small home theater that he knew the couple would enjoy. Starting the very next morning, once his hangover eased, work would begin straight-away as the clock was officially ticking.
Enjoying the post-reception solitude and what was left of his Cristal buzz, Draegyn was startled when movement along the periphery of his vision had him shifting to high-alert. He wasn’t alone anymore although who or what was prowling in the shadows was a mystery since everyone else had long since staggered away to sleep off the over-partied aftermath of the day’s events.
Tori had been quickly scurrying along the outskirts of the courtyard where a family wedding had taken place, on her way from seeing off the caterers to her tiny, functional studio apartment above an old barn that served as meeting space and offices for the Justice Agency.
She was exhausted after a long day of holding down the fort so the entire kit and caboodle of interesting people who made up the Justice family of partners, workers, and friends could join in the wedding festivities.
Having only been at the Villa for little more than a month, she’d been happy to pitch in wherever she could while also managing to stay invisible. She liked these folks, especially Alex, who she’d been hired to assist. With her personal life in shambles, she’d jumped at the job opportunity hidden away in the middle of a desert. Preferring to stay clear of social situations, she’d insisted on taking over on the day of the event so everyone else could enjoy it. Ever since the scandal that rocked her word had exploded in the press, she’d been working overtime to stay off the radar.
She hated being the center of attention, for any reason. There was a reason her dad had lovingly referred to her as his little mouse. Lighting up around his only child, the two had shared a special father - daughter bond. Being something of a tomboy with a serious streak a mile-wide, the times they spent holed up at the library or exploring museums had helped her forget that she was a simple girl. No great beauty like her glamorous mother, as a child Tori had been every inch the quiet, bookish mouse her childhood nickname implied.
When her dear father had passed away, she’d been too young to understand at the time what having cancer meant. After th
e shock of his death receded, her day-to-day reality became even more introverted. With a mop of bushy brown hair that never, ever did what she wanted it to and a slight frame with little in the way of feminine curves to grab a guy’s interest, Tori was content to disappear behind ugly eyeglasses a shade too big for her face and basically hide from the world. That didn’t however make her a pushover by any means. Schoolyard bullies had been the scourges of her childhood and she’d learned early to stand up for herself. With a fierce determination to level the playing field by leaving her peers in the academic dust, she’d mastered the art of the scathing verbal put down and never looked back.
Possessing an astute mind and a brilliant reputation for anything having to do with numbers meant she’d been labeled a financial genius while still in grad school and ended up at a world-class investment firm based out of London. Europe had been an eye-opening experience for the plain twenty-four-year-old that included hob-nobbing with royalty, travel, and an inside view of sophistication and power fueled by the sort of wealth that boggles the mind. That new life had offered exciting challenges and the opportunity to shed some of her natural reserve.
When Tori and her remarkable skills had fallen under the attention of a senior partner who also happened to be an Earl, it seemed like angels had touched her as a new and fascinating world opened up. Before too long, she was working side by side with the Earl, Wallace Evingham, and enjoying one bold success after another.
At his insistence she’d undergone a complete makeover at an exclusive Hyde Park spa and revamped her wardrobe. In the end she got what she deserved for being so naïve, she mused. Wallace had been using her financial skills while distracting her with a rather public interest that led many, including herself, to believe he was grooming her to be his future Countess. God, she’d been such a twit.
It all blew apart in rather spectacular fashion. Just when speculation had peaked that an engagement was just days away, she’d stumbled upon evidence that Wallace was up to no good. He’d been raking in tons of cash in schemes that, while not necessarily illegal, were certainly unethical. And she’d been unwittingly helping him by being so trusting and free with her business acumen. Oh yeah, and he had a string of mistresses to boot. Asshole.
Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) Page 27
