Always (Family Justice Book 1) (44 page)

“Right,” Meghan muttered. “Have you heard from Cameron? Are they on their way home?”

Lacey snickered and rolled her eyes. “You mean return from whatever wild goose errand they got sent on? I’ve been trying to figure out all day why Alex would want them both off the property this afternoon. Care to tell me what y’all are up to? Hm
mmm
?”

Meghan chuckled as she leaned in to give Dylan a smooch good-bye on the head.

“Sorry, Ponytail. I only got let in on what was happening because I needed to know. Believe me,” she drawled satirically, “if Alex could have left me in the dark, he would have. The man’s got a mean streak when it comes to surprises.”

Hoisting Dylan’s car seat by the handle after slinging a diaper bag over her shoulder, Lacey made for the door. “I can’t wait for tomorrow,” she chirped. “You weren’t here last year and wouldn’t know this, but I almost killed Cameron with my first attempt at a Thanksgiving meal. I can read a recipe like anyone else but unfortunately, nowhere in the directions did it say not to fuss over the cooking process! I opened the oven so often that the turkey and stuffing were undercooked.”

“Between you and me, I’m damn glad that I’ve got Ria and Carmen as back-up. If the meal was all on me, we’d be eating hot dogs off the grill with a side of store-bought potato salad.”

Lacey ducked her head and kissed Meghan on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re part of the family. Now, excuse me while I toddle home. Have to feed the Little Prince so he’s all fat and happy when his daddy gets home.”

ALEX NOTED FROM THE SECURITY monitors in the tech cave when each of their guests departed. First, Calder loaded Tori and Stephanie into the big Mercedes for the short drive to the St. John property and took off. A short while later, Lacey could be seen meandering back to the cabin in one of the compound carts with Dylan strapped securely in the seat next to her.

With Carmen and Ria holed up at Betty’s apartment working on more surprises for tomorrow and Cam and Drae driving back from town, he saw his chance to claim all of Meghan’s attention for his own. She was fretting about the holiday and her first really big moment as his partner, although exactly why he just couldn’t fathom. The lady was incredible with anything she did, whether decorating for Halloween, planning a family barbecue, or seducing the pants off him.

He found her wandering aimlessly around the kitchen, mumbling out loud, iPad in hand, consulting lists for tomorrow’s festivities. She looked so cute in her plain denim skirt and white t-shirt. As usual, she was wearing a pair of cowboy boots that made her long legs look fantastic.

“Don’t frown so, baby,” Alex chided as he came upon her from behind and grabbed her around the waist. She whooped in surprise and almost dropped the iPad. “I saw that everyone finally left, which means you’re all mine now.”

Swiping her fingers across the surface of the tablet, she brought up the camera app, tapped on the front view option then held the pad up like she was going to take a selfie. He laughed when he realized the camera offered a bird’s eye view of him standing behind her.

Looking straight into the lens, he asked, “Ready to call it a night?”

She pouted like a champ and shook her head. “No. I still have to check and make sure we have enough linens for tomorrow.”

“What in the hell do we need linens for?”

Meghan relaxed against him and lay her head back on his shoulder. Talking into the iPad she muttered, “It’s how things are done.”

“Fuck that, Meghan. I mean, seriously,” he griped, “if some linens are going to stress you out, throw a bunch of grocery store napkins on the table, and be done with it.”

And he meant it, too. Remembering the countless occasions he’d been a part of in this old house and wherever his family called home, Alex easily recalled all that bullshit about using the good china and the polished silver. As far as he was concerned, though, if all that made his woman uptight, well…Family Justice could eat off paper plates and go fuck themselves if that wasn’t good enough.

He took the iPad from her hands and put it on a counter, turning her in his arms so they were standing chest to chest. He pushed her sexy auburn curls off one shoulder and ran his finger along the faint outline of her bra strap. Just as he hoped, a nipple pebbling into a tight little nub became visible through the thin white t-shirt. He knew just how to distract Meghan from her worries.

Keeping an arm loosely banded behind her back, he deftly pinched the hardening point of a breast, absorbing her soft whimper. Unfortunately, her overactive mind meant his diversionary tactics fell short.

“Is everything under control at Betty’s?” she asked. Then, before taking another full breath, she hurriedly rattled off a series of questions. “Should I go stick my head in? What about Brody? What’s he doing now that his canine team is gone for the season? You told him it was dress up tomorrow, right? And where are Cameron and Draegyn? Why aren’t they back yet? The coast is clear. They should be here.”

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down! Take it easy, sweetheart,” he admonished with a quick peck on the lips. “Betty has that whole situation under control, and
no
, you stay away. You need to be surprised, too. And as for Brody, yes—he’ll be appropriately suited up tomorrow. I think he’s catching up on some paperwork in the kennel. You know him. He wants to get everything squared away before he leaves next month.”

Alex couldn’t stand it when she was like this. Upset was too drastic a word. Maybe distracted, or better yet, brooding.
Women
, go figure. Whatever the case might be, he had to take control and repair her mood.

“Cam and Drae will be back any minute, and since it’s dinnertime, they won’t even bother to stop in. I saw that Ria sent the ladies home with enough of her special lasagna to feed a platoon—so stop worrying. It’s all good, my love.”

She wiggled free of his embrace and darted for the stove. “The lasagna, shit. I forgot,” she muttered.

Fuck.
She was quickly spiraling into manic mode.

Grabbing a potholder, she flung open the oven and directed him to set the table for the two of them while she plated their dinner. “I want some of that California Cabernet,” she added as a distracted afterthought.

Alex smirked silently. Wine with dinner.
Fantastic.
She rarely indulged in the grape, preferring to try to outdrink him in an on-going Glenfiddich vs Jameson match-up, but when she did, oh, my, my. His ball-busting Boston bitch turned into a giggly, soft, and squishy Venus. This could turn out to be fun if he played his hand right.

She calmed down during their meal, listening to his foolish stories about growing up nearby, and how he and Parker first butted heads on a football practice field. He was trying to loosen her up, get her to forget for a time what a big day tomorrow actually was. The entire bottle of wine they’d demolished was helping his cause.

As they cleaned up and stacked their dishes in the dishwasher, Alex contemplated for the thousandth time what a domesticated guy he’d become. Simple shit like dishes, grocery lists, and debating laundry detergent smells brought him a ridiculous sense of contentment.

“Hey, I have an idea,” he sweet-talked. When she met his gaze with a question in her eyes, a wicked scene lit up in his head. “How about we crack another bottle and head out to the Jacuzzi? It’s another beautiful night. Not too chilly. The warm water sounds tempting, hm
mm
?”

Just in case she wasn’t quite catching his drift, he deliberately lowered his eyes and studied her turgid nipples.

“You have a dirty mind, Major,” she teased quietly.

Yeah. He did. Thank fucking God.

“Baby,” he grinned with an unapologetic leer, “the sight of your tits bobbing in the bubbling water is the stuff wet dreams are made of.”

“Mmmm hmmm,” she chuckled. “So, what you’re actually saying is that you want to get me drunk and naked in the hot tub. Does that sound about right?”

“Damn straight,” he barked. “I’m no fool, woman! You plus wine plus warm water plus bare ass and tits—well, it just doesn’t get much better than that.”

She laughed and punched him good in the arm. “I’m freaking out about tomorrow, and all you can think about is fucking in the pool house.”

“Who said anything about the pool house? Too much effort. I plan to seduce your wine soaked ass until you make that little noise which lets me know you can’t wait any more. Then I’m going to fuck you so hard, right there on the damn deck, that you’ll feel me all day tomorrow. Screw those Pilgrims. I’m stuffing you—not some damn bird.”

Her expression of shock quickly morphed into desire. He knew her and the passions that drove his sexy-as-fuck Irish goddess so damn well.

Giggling, she started striding for the door that lead to the pool pathway and called back over her shoulder when she all but started sprinting for the hot tub, “If Draegyn interrupts again, it’ll be his own damn fault this time.”

Wench. They’d laughed themselves silly over the scene his brother had stumbled upon in the barn. Alex could only imagine what had gone through the other man’s mind when he came upon Meghan, blouse unbuttoned with her bra on display and her hands tied above her head and secured to a ceiling hook. That story would absolutely never
not
be funny as shit.

They were both more than a little tipsy by the time they’d uncorked another bottle of Cabernet, inhaled half of it as they flat-out messed around—teasing and undressing each other until buck ass naked, they tumbled into the hot, bubbling water.

At first, she sat across from him, playing footsie with his calves until she supposedly slipped and wound up using her toes to tempt his cock. The wickedly lascivious expression of faux innocence on her face had him laughing out loud. He doubted she gave two shits about tomorrow just then.

“Hand me my hair clip.” She was pointing behind his shoulder to a plastic thingamajig that she used to pin up her hair. He swiveled and reached for it, turning back to her with it outstretched in his hand. And then his mind went blank.

Unfolding right before his eye was his Venus fantasy when she stood up within easy reach, water sluicing down her voluptuous curves. With her arms raised as she gathered her hair into a messy pile and secured it with the clip, her bountiful breasts taunted him, jiggling and swaying with every movement. The droplets of water clinging to her rosy nipples caught his attention. So, too, did the thatch of wet of auburn curls at the juncture of her thighs glistening in the moonlight.

Alex sat back, put his arms out along the edge of the tub, and just stared at the vision before him. This gloriously sexy woman, who belonged only to him, had the sort of mind-melting womanly curves that robbed a man of his senses. A dim solar lamp, hidden in the landscaping, acted like backlighting as she proudly posed. She was watching him intently. He could see it from the periphery of his gaze but mostly he kept his eyes locked on her devastating body.

Her breasts were quivering, and it was one of the coolest things he’d ever seen. With calm ease, he lifted a hand to the closest trembling mound, casually tweaked the pouty nipple, and massaged and kneaded the plump mound.

He was a lucky man. His fiancée had the most exquisite breasts. Alex loved the heaviness in his hand when he cupped the beautiful spheres. Of course, it helped a shitload that Meghan fell apart almost immediately once he began caressing her flesh. It was a powerful aphrodisiac—knowing he could drive her insane with his hands and mouth.

Taking his good old time, Alex dragged out playing with her tits. Why in the hell not? She loved it. He enjoyed it. Eventually, though, it was time to up the ante.

“Come closer. Straddle my legs but don’t sit.”

Alex adjusted his position, sitting straighter with his legs extended, ankles crossed. Arms draped along the edge of the bubbling tub, he watched, while maintaining an impassive expression, as his sexy fiancée answered his command and moved into place.

He’d imagined her just like this, quaking slightly as she struck this rather indecent and shameless pose. Legs open to accommodate his thighs, standing less than arm’s length in front of his face, she was vulnerable to his desires, and they both knew it.

Some unconscious reflex made her shield the auburn-curled mound with her hands. Seeing her like that, legs spread, tits full and swollen, trembling hands covering her sex…well, it shifted Alex into a primitive state where his most basic yearnings lurked.
This.
This was his.

He considered moving her hands and putting them where he wanted them but stopped. No. He’d break her down before he started touching her. At least, not the touching he knew she craved.

“Hands behind your back,” he demanded with a brisk nod of his chin. “That pussy is
mine
baby and I want to see it.”

Yeah. Now that’s what I’m talking about
, he thought when she reluctantly moved the hands protecting her sexy mound from his view. Getting her to stand there with her legs spread so perfectly put her pretty femininity on glorious display. And the hands behind the back?
Fuck
. Genius move. With two simple commands, he’d made her helpless and exposed.