Always (Family Justice Book 1) (36 page)

All of a sudden, he whirled away so she was talking to his back. “Jesus Meghan,” he muttered. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

She giggled and said, “I don’t think we were expecting you back so early.”

“Look, tell Alex I’m, uh, home. I’ll talk to him later.” And with that he all but ran as Meghan struggled not to dissolve in a fit of laughter.

ALEX WAS HURRYING BACK TO the tack room, carrying two bottles of cold water and the riding crop. As he came around a corner at the end of the long passageway, he ran head first into a fast moving object.

What the fuck? Draegyn?

“It’s your own damned fault,” Drae yelled at him. “I do security for a living god dammit. Fuck Alex!”

“Whoa, whoa,” Alex drawled. “Slow the fuck down and hello to you, too.”

The dark, almost malevolent glare Drae threw at him got his eyebrows bumping together.

“When a door that is normally locked is left ajar, I’m going to check it out, you dumb motherfucker. Just be glad I didn’t do it with a gun drawn.” Drae was practically unglued and barking like a mad dog.

Alex shook his head. What the fuck was he bitching about? An unlocked door?
Ohhhhh. Shit!
Meghan. Glancing down the dark passage he suddenly understood why Drae was almost hyperventilating.

Thumping him on the chest, Drae snarled again, “Your own damn fault,” then stomped away with a deep growl.

Hurrying to the tack room, Alex pushed open the door and found his sexy fiancée dangling like she had a starring role in Fifty Shades of Barnyard Fuckery with a laugh evident on her face. Thank fucking God she was still dressed and all his brother really got an eyeful of was her bra, and of course, the way she was tied and hung from the ceiling.

“Honey, I think Drageyn’s home,” she giggled.

They both roared with laughter for a full two minutes until Alex closed the door and locked it, uncapped the water bottle, and held it to her mouth for a long sip.

“Now, where were we?” he asked silkily.

MOTHERFUCKER
, DRAE CHANTED OVER AND over as he made his way back to the driveway where Cam was deep in conversation with Ben. All he’d wanted to do was quickly bring Alex up to speed since he knew Sharif would be in touch with the agency. Then he figured he’d be in the clear to seek out his wife and forget all about the rest of the world for a while.

The last thing he expected was to stumble upon a half-dressed Meghan, trussed up and hanging like a….like he didn’t even know what. He wasn’t an idiot. None of them were. It wasn’t exactly a secret that the Major had a bad-boy streak a mile wide in the bedroom, but the last thing he ever expected was to see what that meant in the flesh.

If only that damn door hadn’t been open. I mean, what the fuck was he supposed to do? Everyone knew that was the tack room filled with a shit ton of Marquez family saddles. Expensive ones, too. He’d reacted on instinct and gone to check it out. Now he’d have the horrifying image of Meghan hanging from a damn hook in the ceiling, her shirt unbuttoned as she waited for Christ only knows what.
Motherfucker
, he chanted silently again and again.

“What’s crawled in your shorts?” Cam asked as he stomped up to him.

Drae frowned and let out a tortured groan. “Do not fucking laugh,” he barked.

Ben snickered and walked away, shaking his head as if he already knew. Since he was the driver of the Love Limo, he probably did, too.

“Just walked in on Mom and Dad,” he muttered.

Cam looked shocked and surprised then quickly had to hide his laughter.

“What the fuck did I tell you?” Drae barked. “It’s not fucking funny.”

Cam choked back a laugh and shrugged. “From where I’m standing it’s funny as shit.”

“Oh, my God,” Drae bawled. “Now I’ve got that image tattooed on my brain forever.”

Cam slung an arm around his shoulder and squeezed. “Dude, were they making babies or was it a practice session?”

“Well, thank fucking God he was still in the bullpen warming up ‘cause I’m sure my eyes would be bleeding if it were anything more.”

“If it was anything more and you’d actually laid eyes on a naked Meghan, he’d be beating your ass but good. Since I don’t see him bringing up the rear and chasing you down, I’m thinking you’re going to survive.”

“Dude,” Drae groaned. “He had her tied up.”

Cam burst out laughing and punched him in the shoulder for emphasis. “Don’t pretend you’ve never done the same or at least entertained the thought.”

“Oh God, too much information, man. Too goddamn much information.”

“C’mon, brother. Let’s go locate our wives. Can’t let Alex be the only one enjoying a morning wake-up session.”

“Fuck, man. If it weren't so early, I’d be making a martini. Seriously, Cam. I’m traumatized forever. Those two…
goddammit
.”

“Oh, come on, “ Cam teased. “You’re acting like it wasn’t you free-balling it in the Jacuzzi a couple of weeks back. And if I recall the scene correctly, when Lacey and I came upon you two, a certain pregnant someone’s bathing suit bottom was laying up on deck.”

“Yeah, well half naked in a hot tub is one thing but finding your brother’s fiancé tied to a fucking hook in the ceiling is another.”

“A hook in the ceiling, you say? Hm
mmmm
. Sounds convenient.”

Then the hilarity of the situation finally made its way into Drae’s head. It really
was
funny as shit. And the way Cameron was taking it all in his stride made it even funnier. Victoria was going to love this story.

Speaking of which. Where was his beautiful wife? He’d practically cattle prodded Sawyer to get them in the air and home at the first possible moment. He hadn’t been kidding last night when he’d admitted to Victoria that he was lost without her. Right now, he just wanted to feel her in his arms. And nothing, not Mom and Dad doing the hanky panky, or a couple of bruised ribs, was going to keep him from doing just that.

AFTER STRAIGHTENING UP FROM HER solitary dinner, Stephanie looked around the big, empty kitchen and sighed. She was going to have to find something to do now that her son-in-law had returned.

When Draegyn had come bursting into the house, she and Tori had been hunkered down at the dining room table mid-morning, addressing envelopes from a Christmas card list.

The joy that radiated off her daughter the second she heard her husband’s voice had tugged at Stephanie’s emotions. And Draegyn. Oh, my word. He looked like hell with a nasty dark bruise on his cheek and the remnants of a black eye, but the way he reacted when Victoria lumbered up from her seat had brought tears to her eyes. He’d hollered, “Where’s my wife?” as he exploded on the scene, tossing an overnight bag on the floor and rushing forward to scoop Tori into a bold embrace.

There hadn’t been a lot for her to do ever since. Without so much as a glance in her direction, the husband and wife had disappeared into their master suite with Tori berating Draegyn the whole way there for hiding his injuries from her. Stephanie had caught a glimpse of his face as her daughter rambled on and was surprised to see happiness in his expression. Bitching and sniping at each other was just what they did.

She didn’t realistically expect to see either of them again until the next day unless she stumbled upon Drae in the kitchen on a munchies run. Wanting to give them their privacy, she’d made use of the gym, visited with Carmen, and took Raven for a long walk. Dinner alone was no big deal, but she was starting to get restless. And bored.

Picking up her phone, she texted Meghan asking if she needed any help at the house—especially since Thanksgiving was the day after tomorrow. She got an answer right away with Meghan and Alex asking her to ride up to the Villa to share some chocolate chip cookies Ria had just baked. Seemed like an odd request but she wanted to get out of the house. So she slipped on a pair of boots, threw a shawl around her shoulders, whistled for the puppy to join her, and marched off into the driveway to board the Peach-Mobile for the short ride to the main house.

With her new best friend Raven by her side, they ambled along in the twilight, the silence of the desert at night broken only by the low whir of the cart.

Meghan met her at the door with a huge grin. She reached down and scratched Raven behind the ears as she took hold of Stephanie’s arm and led them into the house.

“Oh, my God, Stephanie. You’ll never guess! Carmen and Gus went to the movies in town. No, seriously!” she babbled on a high when Stephanie looked at her clearly doubtful. “He showed up right before dinner and mumbled something about superheroes. Next thing we know, he’s telling Carmen about some million-year-old comic book he has that’s a collector’s item. When she laughed and told him she liked the
Iron Man
movie, it was game on from there on out.”

“Well, it’s about damn time, don’t you think?” she remarked gleefully. “Did she make him squirm?”

“Fuck, no,” Meghan chuckled. “She practically tackled his ass the minute the offer was made—then whoosh—away they went.”

In the humongous kitchen, she found Alex puttering about looking every inch contented. He was becoming a walking advertisement for domesticated alpha. Just the right amount of swagger and a huge dollop of infatuation with the woman he so wisely convinced to marry him. The two were obnoxiously adorable.

“Alex, honey, tell Stephanie how funny Gus was.”

The Major shrugged off Meghan’s mirth with an eye roll as he leaned in to kiss Stephanie on the cheek. “Of course you women would find it funny that he’s been reduced to acting like a pussy.”

Stephanie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Honestly, Alex, tossing Carmen’s butt over his shoulder caveman style was only going to end with Gus’s balls in a brown paper bag. He had to make some sort of a move. Rather a pussy than a crotchety old lonely guy ‘cause he didn’t take a chance.”

“So, what’ll it be, Stephanie? Coffee, tea, hot cocoa, milk?” Meghan asked as she pointed to a large platter laden with super-sized chunky chocolate chip cookies. The damn things were so big they needed their own zip code.

“It’s such a beautiful night; we lit a fire outside on the terrace. Just tell me what your choice of beverage is and I’ll bring everything out when it’s ready. Darling,” she murmured to Alex, “get Stephanie settled.”

The terrace lit up with white twinkle lights along with thick candles in deep hurricane vases while a lovely fire roared to life in the massive outdoor fireplace. It was a perfect evening to enjoy being outside.

“Bet Tori’s glad that Drae is home, huh?” Alex commented as she settled comfortably onto a wide chaise.

“Thank you, Major,” Stephanie replied. When Alex glanced at her with a question in his eyes, she swiftly added, “For setting me straight about those two. You’re right. Draegyn loves Victoria and she’s so smitten with him, it’s hard to watch sometimes.”

“They’re good for each other. She’s the first woman to see past his nonsense, and he’s the only man I’ve ever seen come even slightly close to keeping that little virago daughter of yours in her place.”

“I’m glad I listened, Alex. I was so wrapped up in fearing that Draegyn couldn’t walk the walk that I completely missed the bigger picture.”

Alex reached out and grasped one of her hands. “Tori loves you so much, and since he’s never known what having a real mother feels like, he craves normalcy. He wants your approval, Mom.”