Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) (27 page)

After a long pause, Alex spoke. “Just be careful, Cam. You’re not…..well, what I mean is, you don’t have the best mindset when it comes to the ladies.”

“That’s just it, man. I know that leaving her alone would be what’s best. For her, anyway. I don’t do hearts and flowers and wouldn’t know where to start even if I wanted to. Believe me. I’m trying to do the right thing.”

Alex sighed. Cam felt a weight sink to the pit of his stomach.
What a fucking mess.

“Maybe you should consider going to Seattle next week instead of sending one of the juniors. It’s a straight-forward set-up, nothing very involved. All you’d have to do is a systems check and a final run through and then turn it over to the client. Would give Lacey some time to settle in and you a chance to step back. Gain some perspective.”

“I don’t know, Alex.”

“It’s cool, man. I’ll personally keep an eye on things. Make sure she’s okay. Think it over and get back to me.”

“Thanks. Will give it serious thought, I promise.”

Days later, Lacey was tapping away at a computer in the office while non-stop thoughts of Cameron invaded her mind. She’d seen very little of him since their frosty last words and figured he was avoiding her.
Just as well
, she supposed. While she ached to be near him and wanted nothing less than his complete attention, she knew he was giving her time to adjust to her new surroundings.

She’d been crazy busy and had loved every second of the past days. Managing to get things in some semblance of order, she went about familiarizing herself with the running of the agency every chance she got. She wandered around the stables, kennel, and motor pool; she introduced herself to Ben and the veterans he employed to help manage the impressive organic garden, met a dozen people, and been thrilled by how affable and helpful everyone was. She felt accepted.

It had been Alex who surprised her the most though. Every day he made it a point to show up in the business center, usually with Zeus trotting at his heels, to check on how she was doing. He was unfailingly polite and friendly and she suspected he was keeping tabs on her, maybe even reporting on her progress to the dark knight himself.

Luckily, she really did like Alex so it was easy to be around him. He was an unusual man, stoic in his demeanor, and quite brilliantly fascinating when the subject was anything related to technology. He’d patiently explained, in excruciating detail, how a hologram functioned, something he’d been working on perfecting. She hadn’t understood but every fifth word of what he was saying and struggled to keep up with the man’s obvious genius.

Each evening, the Valleja-Marquez Don himself came to the casita to fetch her for dinner at the main house. Cam was present sometimes, silently brooding as usual. More people from the inner circle gathered at night around the rough-hewn table in the massive dining room. There she’d met Ria, Ben’s wife and the ultimate drill sergeant when it came to feeding the giant household. Gustavo, or Gus as he asked to be called, came over from the stable most evenings. He managed the stuff that moved. Horses, trucks, ATVs, Hummers, electric golf carts, you name it and he had it. She’d met Brody Grayson, the dog guru with the magic talent, who trained their highly sought after guard dogs but kept mostly to himself when not in the kennel.

Everyone had made her feel welcome and been incredibly helpful. Everyone except the one person she wanted to show her some attention.
Damn that man.
His cool, detached, civility was getting to be like fingernails on a chalkboard. When he was around, his eyes followed her but he kept a polite distance, deferring interest in her well-being to Alex.

Tonight he was distracted and edgy. When Ben announced that Drae had surfaced and would be returning to the compound in a couple of days, she saw Cameron’s gaze snap to Alex’s. Some sort of unspoken communication passed between them. Every time Draegyn’s name was mentioned, he went on high-alert.
What in the world was that all about?

Ria was saying something sweet and supportive about the outfit Lacey was wearing. Ben had driven her into town right after her arrival and besides stocking her little pantry with necessities, she had splurged in a local department store with this particular impulse purchase. The denim pencil skirt and soft jersey top were the perfect accompaniment to her favorite strappy sandals. The ensemble was new, not something hastily grabbed in a second-hand store, and fit her perfectly. She liked the way it made her feel. Feminine but modest, she knew she carried off the look pretty damn well.

The way Cameron’s eyes burned when she sashayed with her sexy sandals into the large open dining room had been supremely satisfying. Now that the stress of the first days in an office going down for the third time had passed, she was back to thinking about the problem of
them
. Lacey wasn’t even going to try and pretend the warmth flooding her core and the way she nearly devoured his presence wasn’t happening. No, she wanted to be with him and while running seemed to be his only move at the moment, Lacey realized that she’d have to put on her big girl panties and grab the proverbial bull by the horns if she wanted to get a reaction out of him. The man was very, very good at appearing detached. Of course, the substantial bulge he was attempting to hide was telling her otherwise.

Halfway through their meal, she overhead Alex casually ask Cameron when he was leaving. Leaving?
No, no, no,
her mind cried!
What did that mean?
Panic slowly fed its way into her nervous system.

Overcome with anxiety at what she’d heard, Lacey tried to concentrate but all she could think about was Cameron going away from her. She fidgeted and worried the end of her cloth napkin into a twisted mess.
How could she find out what was going on?
They had barely spoken to each other in days. It took a tremendous effort to not burst into the conversation and demand answers.

Finishing her meal in silence, Lacey retreated inward as old concerns and fear of abandonment crowded her mind.
Wow.
It hadn’t taken much to stick a fork in her newfound confidence. He was ignoring her and it was all she could do to keep tears from welling in her eyes.
Damn.

Catching Alex’s observant gaze upon her, she coughed in embarrassment and sat up straighter. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was going back and forth, watching her reaction and then considering his friend. Intrigued, she glanced Cameron’s way and saw that his jaw was clenched tight, his mouth set in a firm, tense line. Didn’t seem as though her dark knight was much more of a happy camper at the moment.

After dinner everyone began drifting away while Carmen and Lacey stuck around to help Ria clear the table and straighten things up. When she went to say her good-byes for the evening, Alex surprised her by suggesting that Cameron walk her back to the casita, since he was busy. Turning unreadable eyes her way, “Are you set to go?” he asked with an abundance of politeness that brought a flashing smirk to Alex’s otherwise bland expression. He may have even laughed, but Cameron’s swift look of censure seemed to shut him up right quick.

They walked from the courtyard behind the big house that lead to the guest quarters, along a twisting path softly illuminated with solar lights. Lacey was acutely conscience of the sound their slow steps made on the crunchy gravel. With hands jammed in the pockets of his jeans, he stayed close but silent. When she nearly stumbled in her high sandals, he reached for her hand and threaded it through his arm for support.
How gallant
, she thought, a split second before a sly smile twisted her lips.

So, that’s how they were going to play this.
Okay then
.
He wanted to be all smooth and controlled?
She didn’t think so. Not if she had any say in the matter. Knowing that her attitude about Alex had no doubt sparked this gentlemanly behavior gave Lacey pause.
Well,
she thought,
let’s see how far he was willing to take it.

Hugging his arm close against the side of her breast, she sighed theatrically and gazed up at the night sky. “It’s so beautiful here at night, don’t you think?”

Yeah
, he thought. It
was
beautiful. Being with the Ponytail under a carpet of stars that stretched across the heavens was wonderful. In fact, in the perfect world that was his mind, he wanted to take her out into the desert and make love to her while thousands of twinkling stars stood watch over them. There was something wickedly sensual about the notion of being naked with her out in nature. He bet she’d be magnificent nude, with only the light from a half moon illuminating her sexy body.

“Do you like the desert?” he asked while glancing up just at the moment a meteor raced across the ink black sky. “Did you see that, Lacey? A meteor,” he cried as his arm squeezed her hand. “Quick Ponytail, make a wish,” he murmured while acknowledging a silent yearning of his own.

Her quick gasp of delight told him she had seen the sparkling trail as it arced across the sky. It seemed special to witness her sweet reaction while he let the warmth that her closeness brought him spread through his body.

“I love the desert,” she eventually answered. “It’s so calm, even though I know it can be dangerous.”
A little like you dark knight
, she added silently. Ice broken, silence forgotten for now, they walked on. “Are you going somewhere? I heard Alex say something about you leaving,” she boldly blurted out when she couldn’t keep the question in any longer.

“Uh, yeah. I am. Business in Seattle,” was all he said.

“When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

Her stomach sank at that.
Tomorrow
.

Cam felt her fingers tighten slightly on his arm and wondered about her reaction.
Why hadn’t they spoken in days?
He couldn’t remember. All he cared about was this moment and how he wanted to talk to her, be with her, and absorb the lightness that her presence brought to his somber world. He’d agreed to Alex’s suggestion that he step back from Lacey and get his shit together but in truth, he was reluctant to leave her, even if they weren’t exactly talking.

Knowing that Drae would be returning soon only ramped up his reluctance to be apart from her. The last thing he needed was the James Bond of their trio trying out his man-whore ways on the woman clutched at his side.
God. When had he become such a cynical bastard?

Arriving at the casita, his intent had been to escort her politely as far as the door, see her safely inside, and then bolt. When she turned toward him at the last second and whispered, “I’ll miss you while you’re gone,” he forgot that intention and swiftly replaced it with another.

He didn’t give her any warning, simply pulled her flush against the length of him and crushed her mouth under his. She hadn’t even flinched when he set about devouring her sweet, succulent lips, responding with a moaning enthusiasm that set him on fire.

They stood at her door, clinging to each other in the darkness, engaging in a kiss that quickly got out of control. He grunted with deep satisfaction when her mouth opened to his questing tongue, allowing him to delve deep. She answered by sliding her tongue around his while her hands clutched the front of his shirt.

She was so unbelievably delicious. He’d never tasted anything quite like this Ponytail with the cute freckles and sexy backside. Drowning in her response, Cam dueled greedily with her naughty tongue while the fire inside him shot flames out his pores.

He eased off before shit got crazy, vowing to go slow, and be the gentle lover she had deserved that first time. He was also well-aware that his thoughts had turned from screwing her brains out to indulging in a sensual mating that was more lovemaking than fucking.
She’d done that to him.
Made him think outside his narrow emotional box.

It took but a quick second to bundle her in his arms and push through the door into the privacy of her little home. While he would have been satisfied under normal circumstances to drop her to the floor where they stood and bury his hungry cock in her seething wetness, Cam was much more interested in the slowed down plan he had in mind.

Swinging her up into his arms, he never left her mouth, continuing to nibble at her sweet lips, and stroke his tongue against hers, letting her know what he wanted to do with her. Making it to the bedroom proved a challenge when the soft female in his arms turned hungry tigress, spearing fingers into his hair and rubbing her breasts against his chest. Every one of her movements caused her insanely sexy ass to wiggle and squirm in his arms, making Cam painfully aware of the erection that was pressing against his zipper in a most uncomfortable way.

When they arrived beside the bed, he let her body slide from his grip until her feet were once again on the floor. When he came up for air after tearing his mouth away from hers, she responded by all but ripping off his shirt as she clawed her way to his skin. He wasn’t the only one on fire.

Catching her hands in his, he laid them just above his thumping heart where his chest was heaving as though he’d just run a marathon. She stared straight ahead, at her hands and the skin she’d exposed, while he watched her lips pulse in the aftermath of their sultry kissing. Calmer now, with his mind firmly set on her total seduction; Cam released her hands and undid the remaining buttons on his shirt. Taking his time about it, he undid the buttons at the cuffs, then slid the shirt from his shoulders letting it drift to the floor. Her breathing was heavier now, unsteady.