Loving Justice (El Camino Real Book 2) (16 page)

“I won’t let that happen.” He assured her. “This is too important.” The path they were following began to narrow. Temperatures were even warmer today, the weather report he’d called up on his phone showed that it could climb into the sixties. Texas weather was all over the place, like the old timers said—if you don’t like the weather in Texas, just give it a minute, it’ll change.

On either side of the path, the land had begun to rise. They were riding downhill into Cave Canyon. “Look over there, Justice. Do you remember what we did on those rocks?” She pointed to several huge boulders resting against a limestone wall. “I bet if we were to look, it’d still be there.”

Justice laughed. “Let’s see.” He pulled Cochise to a halt and grabbed Shasta’s bridle, steadying her horse while Charlee dismounted. Justice dropped the reins, knowing both horses were trained to ground tie. “Wait up,” he called. She was already dashing over, anxious to see if the carving they’d made over a dozen years ago was still there.

“We used to play cowboys and Indians and pirates if the water was flowing. I can remember once you told me this was Jurassic Park and we hid behind these rocks and pretended to hear velociraptors coming through the brush.” She smiled as images from their past danced through her mind. There were so many nooks and crannies to hide in, shallow caves to explore. This was a magical place. 

Justice snorted. “And once you made me play Captain Hook to your Peter Pan.”

“We had fun.” She pulled him around to the backside of the rock and sure enough there it was.

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS, Justice had carved and underneath she’d added…

Go Ahead Make My Day, Sulphur Breath. Both of them laughed. “You’ve always had an attitude.”

All of a sudden, Justice felt like they were being watched. Wary since their encounter with the bear, he scanned the top of the canyon. What he saw made his blood pressure spike. “Look,” he whispered, touching Charlee’s arm. “Be slow and quiet, we have a visitor.”

Charlee leaned back against him and let her eyes follow his pointing finger. On the ridge above them and to the right stood a magnificent white horse. “Oh, my,” she whispered in awe. “He’s gorgeous. I want him!”

Justice chuckled. “I tell you what, if you say you’ll stay with me, he’s yours. You can spend the summer luring him with your considerable charms and when you do, we’ll gentle him and break him to saddle. How about that?”

“Some men tempt women with diamonds and gold.”

“Hey, I’m Justice King, I wasn’t born yesterday.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. “Besides, I know you as well as I know myself. Diamonds and gold don’t matter a whit to you. A horse on the other hand…”

“Makes my heart flutter, like you do.” She turned her head and kissed his lips. Almost. Almost she told him she loved him. She had to bite her tongue to keep from saying it. Knowing how near she was to confessing, she pulled from his embrace. “I guess we’d better go. I need to get this information so we can head back, check the report, and I can make my recommendation.”

“Okay, we’ll both do what we need to do. Just remember, you’re sleeping in my arms tonight.”

Charlee found she didn’t have any desire to argue with his logic. They finished riding through the canyon, and she took enough photos and videos to map it. It wasn’t the right time of year for anything to be nesting or hatching, no young in any dens, so she hoped that the flooding wouldn’t disrupt the ecological makeup of the canyon while they were diverting Lavaca Creek to fill the sinkhole. “This should work, Justice.”

As they neared the sinkhole, Justice was anxious to see if it had grown. “I hope so, Charlee.” To his dismay, it had, expanding another twenty feet or so and taking out about half of the other lane of highway. “This thing has got to be contained or it’ll swallow the county.”

There were only a few men working, prepping sandbags. All of the heavy equipment and concrete barriers were on the ground and waiting for placement. “Just as soon as we get the report, we’ll start. Depending on the engineer’s take on this, we may have to put up some barriers in the canyon to direct the flow and possibly dig some channels to insure the water goes right where we want it, but I promise you that in a few days the sinkhole will be filled and road construction can begin. Soon this will be just a bad memory.” She also hoped the report yielded the info that the sinkhole wasn’t due to fracking or injection drilling. But whatever would be, would be.

“Come on, sexy.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go home.”

*  *  *

Justice didn’t really want Charlee to leave, but she told him she needed to get back to her computer and finish mapping the canyon so that when the report came in, there would be no delay. He took the opportunity to connect with his folks, to make sure Shiloh had delivered the parents in one piece. He had and now his little brother was on his way to Wyoming to see some girl named Faith. Women sure can wreak havoc in a man’s life. Jase was on his way home. Justice talked to him, and he seemed to be in good spirits. The twins were also on their way back to El Camino. It seemed their apartment had suffered from an invasion of bed bugs and was in need of fumigation. Justice told them they were sleeping in the barn. Best of all, Cade and Abby were flying in. Soon, the house would be full again. There would be one extra, if he had his way.

Justice wanted Charlee in his bed.

Charlee was busy also. She couldn’t remember being this happy. She’d practically danced back in the hotel room and the first thing she’d done after completing her work was to call Hampton. Hampton and Weber had become essential to her. Ever since he’d helped her locate her mother and stood by her during her passing and the loss of the baby, he and his partner had become a part of her life. Charlee had visited them many times, celebrating birthdays, holidays, being there for one another when they were sick. She’d sat with Weber at his father’s funeral and visited Hampton’s mother in the nursing home. So, it made sense that she would want to tell these two men who’d always wanted what was best for her that she had reconnected with the man she loved.  

To her delight, Hampton surprised her a few minutes later with a call back. “Hello? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, it seems like everything’s right, and we want to see it with our own two eyes. Let your man know we’re coming down in a few days, and we want to take you two to dinner.”

“Great!” The idea thrilled her. “That’s amazing! We’ll drive over to Chris’s at Bryan-College Station, the best restaurant in the area.”

Now, if things with Curtiss Parker were only this easy. Charlee debated visiting him again, but when she called, he was in surgery. An emergency appendectomy. Oh well, if she was going to be staying, there’d always be another day.

Ring! Ring!

Glancing at the read-out, she saw it was Justice. Yay! “Hey, handsome.”

“Awww, thank you, gorgeous. The report’s here and it looks like Greek to me.”

“Good! I’ll be right over. Hang tight.” She was walking as she talked.

“Drive safely.”

The drive to the ranch took her by the water tower and today the words didn’t look like epitaph to a friendship—they looked like a promise. When she passed by the clinic her father was standing outside, and she couldn’t drive by without stopping. Her mood was just too good to spoil it by being negative, so she swung in. “Hey,” she said as she rolled down the window.

“Charlee, hello! Want a cup of coffee?” He looked hopeful.

“I don’t have time today, I’m working. Would you take a rain check?” She saw his face looked flushed. When she’d seen him the other day, Charlee had been sad by how much he’d aged.

“Certainly.” He patted the top of the car. “I’m just grateful you’re giving me another chance.”

As she waved and drove away, Charlee smiled, grateful for her own second chance with Justice.

When she arrived at El Camino, Justice was standing out by the gate. When she drew closer, he held out his thumb. She stepped on the break and stopped right by him. “Need a ride?”

“I was waiting on you,” he announced as he opened the door of her Jeep and crawled in. “Put it in park.” He indicated the gear shift.

When she followed his instructions, he leaned over, close enough to feel her breath. When she brought her tongue out to taste her lips, a low growl came deep from Justice’s throat, which made Charlee’s heart beat double time and the place between her thighs pulse with anticipation. “Wanna kiss?”

“I’d pretty well kill for one.” Just having him near burned her.

“No homicide necessary, I think I can give you what you need.”

Charlee marveled at what a turn her life had taken. If he only knew the elaborate scenes she’d made up in her mind, all revolving around Justice. When she would masturbate—and God knew she did—it would be Justice’s mouth she’d imagine on her breast while she toyed with her nipples. And when she put her fingers up inside of her, moving them in and out, it was Justice she imagined touching her, kissing her, making love with her. “Can you give it to me twice?”

“It’s a date.”

Charlee was so aware of him she was quivering, pure desire coursing through her veins. Needing to touch him, she let her palm smooth over his cheek, committing his dear face to memory. “A date?” She let the pad of her thumb slide over his lower lip, and he dipped his tongue out and touched it. Carlee felt her clit pulse in jealousy. How she would love to go on a real date with him, where he picked her up, took her somewhere in public—not as his best buddy but as the woman he couldn’t take his eyes off of, the woman he wanted more than his next breath. Ah, well, she’d certainly never ask. He would if he wanted to, and if he didn’t, she’d enjoy him any way she could get him.

“I promise to show you the time of your life.” With that promise, he sat back, and Charlee drove on to his office, eager to see the read-outs.

Once they were in his office, he handed her a folder, and she crawled into his big chair, sitting with one leg underneath her. Studying the report, she traced lines with her finger. Justice waited. Charlee spread it out and stood up, looking at the big picture.

“Good news.” She looked up, watching his face. “The sinkhole isn’t your fault. The water table has fallen due to the drought and the growing populations down south, most likely the Huntsville and Houston area. With the absence of underground flow, the honeycombed top strata couldn’t support itself, so it collapsed.”

Justice felt like a ton of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It wasn’t so much the money, it was knowing he’d done something to hurt his land, his environment. “So, what’s next?”

Charlee returned to the report and used his calculator for a few seconds. “I say we call Cyrus and have him and the crew finish up the prep work. When he finishes, we can place the barriers and turn Lavaca Creek toward the canyon. We’ll gauge the rate of flow and that way we’ll know when to remove them before we flood the pasture.”

“What about the road?” He wanted to get all of this done and off his mind. He had more important things to do—like woo this woman.

“Hold on, let me show you something.” She used her tablet to call up a map of the area. “I marked the known King’s Highway remnants. Now, let’s download this current report and overlay it.” She made a few adjustments. “You can see where the sinkhole extends underground and where the bedrock is the thickest. I’ll need to get Cyrus to review this, but I propose to leave the current roadbed here,” she pointed on the map, “and swing it over to this point over in the section of your land that is on the north side of the 21, and then curve it around this stock pond and meet the existing roadway here.”

Justice studied the map. “Do you know how many acres I’ll be losing?”

“Altogether,” she punched a few numbers in the calculator, “it looks like you’ll lose about twelve acres total counting right-of-way. Although, you will be reimbursed, not as much as you could get on the open market. But it won’t be a total loss.”

She waited for a few minutes while Justice digested the facts. “Let’s do it,” he said.

Charlee was relieved. “Let me give Cyrus a call. We’ll drive out there as soon as you’re ready.”

While she placed her phone call, Justice made one of his own to the Legend steakhouse on the square. It was the fanciest Bronco had to offer, but he wanted to show off his girl to the hometown folk.

Who knew she was such a ‘girl?’ Charlee had been looking through a surveyor’s transit toward Cave Canyon, helping Cyrus determine where to lay the trench when Justice had casually asked her a question. “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

Such a casual question and one most women hear many times, but coming from his lips it was magical. Not wanting him to know just how much his invitation meant, she tried to act causal. “Sure, I’d like that. Want me to pick up hamburgers on my way home? We can have a picnic on the bed.”

Justice considered her suggestion for a moment. “As intriguing as that sounds, and I am visualizing licking chocolate malt from your nipples…” The sensuality coating his words made Charlee shiver. “I thought we’d have a steak and a few drinks at Legends. Before I take you back to the motel and ravish you. Can I pick you up at seven?”

Charlee blushed and looked around to see who had heard. They were alone. She smiled. “Sounds perfect. I’ll be ready.” Thoughts were swirling through her head. What would she wear? The people of Bronco would see them, and she wanted to look perfect. No more tomboy Charlee Parker, she wanted everyone to see gorgeous Cha’risa Cortez—including Justice.

Now, if she could just pull it off.

After she’d finished tromping around in the mud, helping Cyrus engineer the project, Charlee had left Justice at his office and headed to College Station to find a dress. And shoes. Get her hair done. Her nails done. Buy makeup...girl stuff.

While she was there, she also visited a health food store. After hearing what Justice had said about why he’d lost the time at the diner, Charlee remembered the research she’d gathered on cluster headaches. Knowing how he suffered, she always kept her eyes open, reading any information she could get her hands on. A few years back, she’d run across an article written by a Yale professor named Sewell who purported the root of the Kudzu vine as a great relief for ‘suicide’ headaches, the same headaches that Justice suffered from. The pain from cluster headaches is known to be the worst pain a human can suffer. To think the lowly Kudzu, the imported Asian vine that supposedly ‘ate’ the Southern US, growing in many places ten feet a day and covering everything in its path, could be a source for good and healing boggled her mind. Thinking she would tell Justice and give him a box of the tea, Charlee bought it and slipped it into her purse.

Five hours later the knock on the motel door made Charlee jump about a foot and drove every coherent thought from her mind. He was here. She’d made a discovery. No matter how much curling to her hair and paint she’d applied to her face, she still looked like Charlee. Sighing, she gave herself one last cursory glance, then headed for the door.

Justice waited with his hat in one hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other and a bottle of chilled champagne at his feet. He hoped Ms. Horne’s ice buckets were big enough to accommodate his Riesling. Justice was a bit nervous. Why, he didn’t know. Looking down at his boots, he made sure they weren’t dusty. He’d dressed up for Charlee, which meant he’d added a black jacket to his black jeans and black shirt.

When the door flew open, he dropped his hat. “Mercy,” he whispered. She was a vision. His Charlee looked like an angel. “You look beautiful. Here.” He thrust the flowers out at her. Taking them from his hands, she backed into the room.

“Thank you, I never expected this.” She buried her face in the fragrant red roses. “And wine?” A tentative smile made her face even more kissable.

He couldn’t stop looking at her. She was dressed in a bronze sheathe which hugged her curves and it seemed to glint when the light hit it. He was mesmerized. Her hair hung in long ringlets. There was no way he could resist touching. “I am one lucky SOB. How am I going to eat knowing I get to come home with you?”

His heartfelt appreciation broke the ice. “I’d say we could skip dinner, but I’m starving.” She placed the vase of roses on the table, then iced the wine for later. “We’ll have to drink out of plastic cups.”

Not if he had his way. “We’ll manage,” he promised. As she flitted around the room, he catalogued every move. His cock was as interested as he was. “Patience. Patience.”

“What?” she asked, putting her new lipstick and the room key in her purse. She’d splurged on a new bag to match the four inch heels. These were her first real pair of fuck-me shoes, and she was anxious to see how they worked. But if the bulge in Justice’s jeans was any indication, they worked just fine.

“You can hear still like a bat.” He smirked. “I was giving a pep-talk to my cock. He’s a little over anxious. Doesn’t want to wait.”

“I know, I’m giving my girl parts the same lecture.”

She winked at him, and he busted out laughing. “Come on, they’re saving us their best table.”

Honestly, he made her feel like a princess. Charlee had to admit that going from best friend to love interest definitely made a difference in the gallantry department. He opened her door, fastened her seatbelt, kissed her with enough to make her weak in the knees, and held her hand while he drove. “What do you do for fun in Austin?” he asked.

Charlee thought for a minute. “I’m pretty much of a homebody. I watch Netflix and I take walks down by the river. Reading is still one of my escapes, but I try to branch out. A few weeks ago I did that indoor sky-diving thing.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes,” she admitted, “but I’m not interested in jumping out of a plane.”

He rubbed his thumb over the top of his hand. “I wouldn’t want you to. You were always too much of a daredevil for my peace of mind. If you weren’t swinging from a rope out of the top of the hayloft, you were trying to stand on the back of one of the horses. Do you remember the time you climbed to the top of the windmill to untangle my kite? I turned my back and you were dangling fifty feet in the air. I swear, I should be gray by now.”

“You were always a worrywart.” She raised his hand and kissed it. “Hampton is a lot like you.”

Justice cleared his throat. “He’s gay, you say?”

“Yes, don’t be jealous.” She could read him like a book. “He and Weber are coming down. They want to meet you, take us out to dinner in a couple of days. Would you go?”

Charlee didn’t know it, but she’d just set his mind to rest. He wanted to be the most important person in her life again. “Wouldn’t miss it. Just tell me when.”

Upon arriving at Legends, Justice escorted Charlee in on his arm and it was almost like a scene out of a movie. When they were escorted to their table, the whole room went quiet. Even the band stopped playing. It was a local group, the lead guitar player had gone to school with Charlee. Everyone was looking at them, and Charlee felt like a bug under a microscope. “Do you think people recognize me?”

“I think they’re staring because you’re a walking dream.”

Her next move dispelled any speculation that she and Justice were dating because she leaned across the table and kissed him square on the lips. A long kiss. A sensual kiss.

A kiss that made Justice thankful this was a nice restaurant with long white tablecloths he could hide his erection under. “Check please?” He teased out loud.

“No.” She pulled his hand down. “I’ll behave.”

“I don’t want you to ever behave.” He stared long and deep into her eyes while the waiter poured wine and at least a half dozen people took pictures of them with their cell phones. Speculation about their relationship would be all over town tomorrow. Justice was the most eligible bachelor in three counties and news he was seeing someone would not go unnoticed.

Their meal was delicious and soon Charlee forgot about anyone else who might be observing them. To say Justice was charming was an understatement. He was perfectly attentive and made her feel like a queen. When he asked her if she wanted dessert, she looked him straight in the eye and gave him her preference. “I’d rather have you.”

Justice swallowed hard, slapped two hundred dollar bills on the table and hurried her out. “You don’t want to wait for change?”

“Hell no, I think I tipped them a hundred dollars, but I didn’t want to wait for the bill.” All the way back to the motel, he kept her on the edge of her seat, running his hand from her knee to her thigh. “You’re so damn soft.” Grazing just an inch higher, he made another discovery. “You’re wet.” His truck swerved before he righted it.

“Always, when you’re near,” she confessed in a whisper.

“Damn.” Justice whipped into the motel parking lot, praying that Ms. Horne wouldn’t be where she could see them. When he came around to help her from the car, he didn’t wait for her to step out, Justice picked her up and strode to the door. “Put the key in.” He directed in a tight voice. When she did, he pushed in and placed Charlee on her feet.

“Thank you.” Smiling, she dropped her arms from around his neck and was about to step away. Only she didn’t get very far. Letting out a high squeal, Charlee’s head spun as Justice grabbed her, turned her around and pushed her up against the door.

“You have no idea how much I want you.” Biting his lower lip, he pushed his lower body against her. “Feel what you do to me.” Her eyes got big, and she shivered as he kissed her neck and ran his fingertips down her arms. When he reached her hands, he enclosed them in his big ones and raised her arms, pressing her hands against the wall above her head.

“You felt how much I want you, I’m starving for you.” Licking her lips, she stared at his mouth, willing him to kiss her.

“This is going to be fast. I’ll take my time later, I promise.” Shifting her hands to one of his, he held her in place and slid a hand up her thigh, wrapped the little scrap of lace across her pussy around his fingers and jerked.

Charlee gasped as he began to rub her slit. “This is right out of my fantasies, you know,” she whispered against his lips. 

“Mine too.”

She moved her feet wider apart to give him better access. A flash of white hot arousal rushed through her veins. Her nipples hardened, the folds of her pussy swelled. “God, I can’t breathe.”

“Let me help.” He sealed his lips to hers, and she yielded, opening her mouth and allowing him to sink deep inside. Justice moaned, her sweetness intoxicated him. He could spend all day just worshiping her mouth. As he kissed her, he continued to swirl his fingers around her clit. Justice could feel the heat pouring from between her legs. The scent of her arousal made his mouth water. “Fuck, you’re killing me.”

Charlee’s breath was hitching, catchy little gasps, sexy pants that let Justice know exactly how much she wanted him. He pushed his fingers up inside of her, making her go on tiptoe. “God, you’re gonna feel good around my cock.”

“Please, please, I want you so much. Don’t make me wait.”

“Fuck,” he growled, bending his mouth to her breast. Charlee thought she’d faint when he nipped her swollen nipple through the fabric of her dress and sucked hard.

Releasing her hands, he placed his palms on her hips and lifted. “Put your legs around me.” When she did, he unzipped his fly and guided his cock inside of her. This time there was no finesse. He rammed home and redefined the term wallbanger. All Charlee could do was hang on and revel in how good it felt to be nailed to the wall over and over again. Every jolt was ecstasy, her clit was pulsing as she rode his cock. Trying to keep from screaming, she bit the side of his neck, and he bellowed. “Cum for me, baby.” Justice cupped her ass, tilting her to an angle so her hips were fully seated against his, then he moved her up and down his cock, her clit rubbing against him with every thrust. She keened, writhing against him, crying out his name.

“Justice!”

Her pussy clamped down on him and the pleasure was out of this world, blistering, past anything he’d ever dreamed. The ecstasy surged through his cock, boiling up from his balls. And when the orgasm hit, it nearly bowled him over. Shit, she was going to take him to his knees. Annihilate him. The climax was huge, expanding, swelling, big as a tidal wave.

“Charlee, my Charlee.” He gasped, pushing his cock in as deep as he could get it. He wanted to be one with her—signed, sealed, delivered. Blindly he found her mouth, his lips slamming into hers, drinking from her sweetness.

She held on, her heartbeat thundering in her chest. There was nothing in the world to her but this man and the love she felt for him. Nothing.

*  *  *

He spent the night with her, loving her twice more. Once the occupant of her next room banged on the wall, and Charlee pulled a pillow over her head. “We’re too loud. They’re going to complain to Ms. Horne and the next thing we know this will be all over the sewing circle.”

Justice uncovered her. “Come home with me.”

“To El Camino?”

Moving over her, Justice kissed her mouth repeatedly. “Yes. Stay with me. I can promise our walls are better insulated.”

“But your family?”

“They all love you. The twins came back yesterday for a couple of days, and Jase should be getting in this morning. One of us is supposed to pick up Cade and Abby from the airport after lunch. Believe me, they’ll be glad to see you. You’ve always been part of the family.”

She searched his face, wanting what he suggested so much she was afraid to reach out and take it when it was offered.