Always (Family Justice Book 1) (40 page)

Wiping down the changing table, she grinned at her two boys. Except for the jagged stitched skin on her husband’s temple and the fact that Dylan had considerably less hair, the two were mirror images. Yes, you could see her contribution to the baby’s features, but as he grew and developed, he was taking on more and more of his father’s characteristics.

Like how serious he sometimes appeared. Not quite brooding but definitely an intensity that reminded her of those early days after she and Cameron had first met. When they were trying to figure each other out. Their son had that soulful intensity.
He was going to break quite a few hearts someday
. She sighed.

Dylan’s latest achievement had been discovering his hands, one of which he was avidly chewing now from his perch on Daddy’s shoulder. Cameron carried their beautiful son into their bedroom while he also kept a tight grip on Lacey’s hand. She loved that he was so obvious about his need for her nearness. It made her feel wanted and cherished in a way that healed her wounded heart. They’d been together for a year, and finally, she didn’t feel like an abandoned and lost little girl anymore. She had her husband and son. And this amazing family that she felt so secure as a part of.

They crawled into bed together and put the baby on his back between where they each lay on their sides. She loved this nighttime routine. It wouldn’t always be this way—simple, unhurried, new. Someday, probably soon, as Dylan grew, their lives would become even more busy and hectic, and less about quiet moments. She wanted to remember these early days when their family was in its infancy—forever.

Kissing the baby on his forehead, she rested her head in the palm of her hand and smiled. “Okay, Mr. Justice, sir. I’ve tried not to pry, but the curiosity is killing me. What secret does Captain Sawyer have and where is he off to?”

Cameron looked genuinely surprised at her question. Really? Were all men this thick? She’d resisted the temptation to cross-examine him when the subject first came up, but now she just had to know what was going on. It was one thing for Betty, Carmen, and Ria to keep her and Meghan in the dark so they didn’t accidentally spoil any of the many surprises they had planned for Tori and her mom. And another thing altogether to imagine either of them wouldn’t at some point try to get a peek at the plans.

Cameron chuckled and popped her on the nose with the end of a finger. “Curiosity, meet the cat,” he teased. “I thought you didn’t
want
to know.”

“Ha, ha, ha. That was then and this is now. It’s big, whatever it is, and I hate surprises…”

Barking a laugh that he quickly quieted because the baby was starting to drift, he quirked an expressive eyebrow at her. “Since when do you hate surprises? Who the fuck are you kidding? “

She had to laugh. He was right. Surprises were a special passion that she’d come to love. After struggling for so many years just to keep one foot in front of the other for survival, she’d been accustomed to planning out every moment of every day. Surprises were rarely a good thing and usually unwelcome during those bleak times. Now, she relished the way her heart leaped with joy each time something new and unexpected occurred.

“Alright, alright,” she muttered. “So you got me. I
looooove
surprises. But this one I need to know. Pretty, please. Cherry on top?”

“Nope,” he drawled. “For once, the guys have more information than you women and I kinda like those odds.

“Well my darling,” she taunted as she rose slowly, stretching like a cat, and slid off the bed. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

Swinging her hips like a burlesque queen as she exited the room. She looked back over her shoulder, knowing that he’d be staring at her ass before turning the corner to the en suite and said, “When he’s finally asleep, he can go in the crib. Make sure the baby monitor is on. I’m going to take a quick shower. Be out in a bit.”

“Mommy’s up to something,” Cam chuckled as he wrapped Dylan more securely in his blanket. Watching his son’s eyes slowly close and his body relax into sleep, he was struck yet again by how fucking perfect the last year had been. His Ponytail had changed everything. The baby was just the icing on the cake as far as he was concerned.

He heard the steady hiss of the shower pounding on the tile enclosure as Dylan fell into a deep sleep. A few minutes later, he lowered the growing boy into the magnificent wood crib that Draegyn had designed and built. Cam no longer tried to pretend that he wasn’t overcome with deep emotion each time he saw his beautiful son, healthy and safe, in the handmade treasure that would eventually transform from crib to junior bed.

His brother was going to be an incredible father and Drae’s mind-numbing devotion to Tori made the couple’s unconventional love story unforgettable. And Alex.
Jesus.
About to marry a truly remarkable woman. It was still the three of them. Team Justice. But things were changing every day. They were making families, chasing the future with different priorities than the ones that drove those first intense and hungry years after the Special Forces.

The time had come for them to have a team meeting. They’d accomplished most everything they set out to when the agency started. The three of them were older, wiser, and not so driven by demons, shadows, and ghosts. It was time they looked to the future—harnessed their unique energies and skills to create something even more phenomenal.
Families.

Back in their cozy bedroom, Cam cracked the French doors opening to a private deck and enjoyed the brisk feel of the late November nighttime air. There was a bite to it that filled him with resolve. Touching the jagged seam of stitches on his forehead, he felt something shift inside.

He was in his own home, one he helped build, with the woman who made him complete right there at his side, the whole way. She’d given him a son. They were making a family out here in the desert. His priorities had changed. It was time.

“Babe,” he called out to her. He could hear her moving about in the enormous wardrobe that lay between the bedroom and the bathroom suite. “I want to talk to you about something.”

The soft scent of her favorite perfume wafted into the bedroom. It hit him like a tsunami with wave after wave of increasing desire for he knew what the scent signaled. She was finished readying herself and as was her habit, would spray a cloud of the perfume into which she twirled and swirled just before she came to him. The thud of lust that dropped on him was staggering in its intensity.

Shutting the doors, Cam turned back into the dimly lit room and stopped cold. What in God’s name was she wearing? And holy hell, when had her tits gotten that voluptuous? Oh right.
Right.
The baby.
Yeah. The baby
. But seriously…was she trying to kill him?

“Now,” she purred. “Where were we? Hm
mmm
?” Lacey strutted from the back of the room heading straight for him. “You have a secret and didn’t you just say you had something you wanted to talk about? So, let’s talk,” she smirked with a sly lowering of her eyes.

Talk? Who was she kidding?

“What in the hell is that you’re wearing?” Cam wheezed breathlessly. Shit the closer she got to him, the more oxygen he needed to keep him upright as all the blood in his body raced into his cock.

“Oh. This little thing?” she said twinkling her fingers at the scrap of sheer black lace that was robbing him of his ability to think. “Um, it’s got a funny name actually.” Adjusting the edge of her practically see-thru black panties, she made a feminine little pout and giggled. “They call this a Merry Widow. What do you think?”

Again—
think
? Who was she kidding? Thinking was not an option. Not when she stood before him—blond hair tousled about her shoulders, the gold heart he’d given her dangling from her throat, wearing thigh-high black stockings held up by fancy garters that hung from the edge of a sheer black lace bustier with delicate floral inserts barely covering her tits. And for good measure, she added a perfect pair of kitten-heeled slippers with a poof of feathers.

No use in pretending. Cam immediately gave in. “What the fuck do you want to know?” he growled. He’d surrender top-secret info just then if it meant he got to peel those decadent stockings off her magnificent legs. She was dressed for bold, flat-out, in-your-face seduction. She had him in under thirty seconds.

Rocking those gorgeous hips, she swung away to bend a bit and shake her hair while she checked her reflection in a table mirror. Cam grunted when he saw her ass with the thinnest scrap of black material that made up the back of the tiny panties she wore.

Surely, Lacey’s backside qualified for wonders of the world status. She was damn lucky he didn’t shove her against the wall, tear off the flimsy silk and fuck her mercilessly from behind for provoking him with her beautiful ass.

“I want to know what Sawyer knows.”

Right. The secret. Decision time.

“You love Tori, right? Want her to have a special day that she’ll remember forever?”

“Wow,” she murmured. “You know a lot. Tori is my big sister. We all want to do this for her. She didn’t have a wedding, which sucks. But telling me whatever Sawyer knows won’t change anything about what’s planned. Soooo, plea
sssssse
.”

“I
will
tell you that this is a Big Daddy special. Alex is pulling out all the stops. For that reason, my beloved, and for that reason alone, I won’t tell you anything more. Dad is bringing something to the table, and I think what he’s planning is absolutely deserving of being a total surprise. Be happy for Tori, sweetheart. You’re doing something really sweet and special for her.”

“Oh. All right,” she pouted with an edge of brattiness. Everyone knew Alex being involved was the ultimate trump card.

“So, how did you see this playing out, princess? Is it to be heads or tails? And just so you know—in either case I will be removing the stockings with my teeth.”

Lacey did the best vampish swagger and come hither look she’d ever mustered, going to the bed and bending over with her hands slung low on the bedpost. Swinging her ass like a pro she coyly replied, “Well we have about ninety minutes by the Dylan clock so whatever it ends up being—time management, honey. It’ll all be about time management.”

ANOTHER BRIGHT, SUNNY DAY WAS upon them. Okay. Everything was good. Draegyn was still in bed fast asleep. He hadn’t disappeared in the night; he was in one piece. A battered and bruised one piece but still…

Why then did she still feel like something wasn’t quite as it should be? Everyone was acting strange and though her husband had come home, she remained unsettled.

Tori sighed heavily. Maybe she was just over being pregnant. The baby seemed to be riding lower which helped her breathe so that was a good thing. Her back, which always ached, was calm at the moment, so what she had to be unsettled about she wasn’t sure.

Wiggling around until she was reclining against the headboard with multiple pillows stuffed in strategic spots, she tried not to rouse Draegyn. But he was a light sleeper to begin with so that was probably a lost cause.

A minute later she heard, “Good morning, wife,” as he yawned. “Busy day ahead, hm
mmm
?”

“Good morning, husband. Busy is as busy does, right? There’s a ladies’ auxiliary meeting at ten. Last minute things on the TO DO list for tomorrow.”

Draegyn crept closer to her carefully arranged pillow fortress. His warm hand swept over a calf, up her thighs, both inner and outer, then disappeared into the shadow area between her legs kept from naked view by a pink cotton nightie that tied under her boobs.

“Look at me,” she demanded.

He did. Instantly. A frown on his face. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

Tori ran the fingers of one hand through his hair and peered closely at the bruising on his cheek and around his eye. “I’m fucking fine, it’s you who needs a damn doctor on call,” she bit out. “How’s your side? Does it hurt? Take a deep breath.”

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down, little lady, “ Draegyn begged. “Look, honey, I’m fine. Side is sore, but no problem breathing. Please relax, Victoria. We have a new deal, remember?”

Ballz. She did remember. He made her promise. Late last night in a moment of romantic desperation when she’d been overcome with anxiety about her husband’s well-being. Things were gonna change, he said. He didn’t want her to worry anymore. Nothing was more important right now than her and the baby. So he’d gotten her to swear she would let it all go and just calm the fuck down. Be chill. Relax and indulge. Sit back and let him and her mother spoil her rotten. His idea of a new deal.

Apparently, that new deal included pressing his palm against her mound and sliding his fingers under her ass so he could cup her flesh. Tori moaned quietly at the contact and felt the muscles in her thighs melt—opening her body up to a more deliberate erotic onslaught.

“You like that?” Draegyn murmured. He scooted closer to her side and began leaving quick, short kisses on her face. “Now see,” he muttered with a hoarse chuckle. “Isn’t this better? You just relax and let me take care of you.”

Oh
hhh.
Those wicked St. John fingers were starting to do naughty things to her flesh. She could get used to this kind of being taken care of. Gasping, she closed her eyes, arching off the pillow mound as she shimmied her ass.