Sanctuary (Family Justice Book 3)

by Halliday, Suzanne

  Before she could get her hands into his pants, he pulled the stretchy sports top down her arms and uncovered the delectable tits that made his mouth actually water. She’d nursed Daniel as long as she could and only recently switched to bottle feedings. The way her breasts bloomed and changed made him briefly wish she’d walk around naked all the time. They were that spectacular.

  Bare tits, peaked nipples, the red scratches her nails left on his chest, and the way she frantically worked on his belt and zipper meant shit was getting real. They were probably minutes away from getting naked and screwing on a wood slab when he came to his senses. Fuck, fuck, fuck. They barely managed to make love in the comfort of their bedroom, so there was no way some desperate coupling in the wood shop was going to end well. Candles, music, and a warm bath followed by a long, deliberate seduction wasn’t enough to ensure success, so he highly doubted this moment was magically going to reset their love life.

  “Honey,” he murmured. Drae heard the regret laced with frustration in his voice and winced. He had to watch that crap. Victoria was highly perceptive. She’d hear it too, and it would only make her feel worse. He could sense her desire and was sure she wanted him. But in the current state of things, she was just as likely to end up in tears, as she was to cry out in ecstasy.

  Gently as he could, he lifted her off and swung her to the side until she reclined next to him. Turning on his side, Drae pulled her trembling body close and tried to kiss away her confusion. Bad move.

  With hands that didn’t seem strong enough to fight off the Pillsbury Doughboy, she gave him a hearty shove that broke their embrace. Sitting up with a furious huff, she quickly adjusted the sports bra to cover herself again. He could feel the hurt and upset rolling off her, but what the fuck was he supposed to do? The last time he’d taken her, she’d been stiff as a board and not exactly in the moment. He hated himself afterward thinking she’d endured his lovemaking ‘cause that was what you did when you were married. For better or worse and all that. He couldn’t face that again.

  The hurt rapidly turned to anger. It was her way. He felt like a total dick when she lanced him with a deadly glare. “Sorry to bother you,” she snipped. “I’ll let you get back to …” She looked around at the various half-assed projects going on. Her dead-eyed look when her gaze returned to his said it all.

  And then she slid off the table, tapped her leg to call the dog, and marched away. The last thing he saw was her straight-backed and tight-assed angry retreat a second before she slammed the barn door as hard as she possibly could.

  Standing there, shirt open, zipper down, and a cock that wasn’t very happy with him, he wanted to yell. Or hit something.

  “WHAT DO YOU call this?” Cam fingered a length of leather overlaid with green lace that Lacey draped over the back of a chair. She was sitting at a sewing machine surrounded by who the hell knows what. Women and their crafts. This shit was a mystery to him.

  Pushing away from the machine, she rolled back on a wheeled chair and gathered her long blond hair into a tail that she deftly wound into a knot at the base of her neck. Cam recognized the quirk. She did it when concentration and focus overtook her.

  Looking at what appeared to be long straps, she sighed then rubbed her face. “Don’t know.” Peeking at him through fingers spread wide, she held her head and laughed. “Carmen gave me a set of instruction and a bag of supplies. That’s all I know.”

  Putting out his hand, he motioned for hers, and then pulled her out of the chair. With an arm banded around her waist, he walked them into the kitchen. “You don’t know? Really?”

  Lacey snickered and turned toward him. “Which means you do.”

  Cam shrugged. Somehow, he ended up knowing way more than anyone except maybe Angie about the Marquez-O’Brien wedding. He knew exactly what the straps were for.

  “It’s a harness for Zeus, isn’t it?”

  Man. She was smart. Nodding his head in a determined ‘yes,’ he grinned and said, “I have no idea.”

  “Smarty pants.”

  Swatting her on the behind, he growled, “Wench.”

  Lacey smiled broadly. “Wait. Smarty Pants and the Wench. Um, isn’t that one of those classic movies you love so much?”

  He wished. Their story would make a great old-school cinematic love story. One with loads of hot, raunchy sex and tons of sweet, old-fashioned innocence. How those two opposites came together was worthy of a movie.

  “I made you some of those protein bars you like so much. Wanna kill Ria, though. She insisted they were, and I quote … easy peasy. Pfft. Maybe in her kitchen.”

  “What a difference the passage of just a little bit of time makes, hmm?”’

  His wife gazed at him with eyes full of love. She knew what he meant. Her journey from a homeless girl to a married woman with a baby, a sewing machine, and a kitchen full of high-tech gadgets was short when weighed against a lifetime. But the real difference was that they found each other at all. It really was nothing short of a miracle.

  “I love you.”

  He kissed her softly. “Okay then, my little Martha Stewart. Bring on the snacks and I’ll taste test ‘em for you.”

  Lacey loved all this domestic shit. Taking care of him and Dylan was pure joy for her. He was one lucky motherfucker. Babbling about household stuff, she went to the pantry and pulled out a large container that she dropped on the counter with a thud. While she rambled on and went about taking one of the bars out of the container, he admired her sexy ass.

  Sidling quietly behind her as she worked at putting the bar on a plate, he put his hands on her waist and fit his big body to hers. Her startled squeal was all kinds of cute. Cute enough to warrant a rather earthy grunt and some very suggestive grinding.

  Cam’s heart thumped heavily when he felt her push back, just enough to wiggle her sweet butt into his growing erection.

  “That’s not how babies happen,” she purred.

  Growling, he wrapped her in a tight embrace and bit her earlobe. “It’s not always about next year’s crop. Sometimes, it’s as simple as just wanting to nail your ass.”

  Cam hit the fantasy jackpot of all time with Lacey. She was untouched when they met. He was her first, and if the gods played along, he’d be the only lover she’d ever have. Everything she knew, everything she did … to him and with him … he’d taught her. What could be better than that?

  Whipping around in his arms, she totally took him off guard when she stuffed a wedge of protein bar in his mouth. “Better load up, in that case, Mr. Cameron.” Her sultry teasing was going to lead to them being naked and on the kitchen floor if she kept it up. “Gotta keep your old guy butt fueled and in top shape if you plan to satisfy a young wife.”

  “Did you just call me old?” Crumbs were falling from his mouth as he hurriedly chewed the tasty treat. “What happens when you do that?”

  She was laughing with tremendous glee. “Why the old guy I’m married to tosses me over his knee and gives my bottom a hearty whacking.”

  “Don’t fucking tempt me, wife.”

  Lacey wound around him like a clinging vine and shimmied quite shamelessly. “Oh, my. Maybe you’re starting to lose it.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Say again?”

  “My darling husband. That wasn’t a taunt. It was a request.”

  Uh-huh. Wait. What? A request. A request for … oh, my fucking god. With a burst of laughter, he yanked her behind him over to the breakfast table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Assume the position, Mrs. Cameron.”

  She stood her ground, eyeballed every inch of him, and licked her lips in case he didn’t get the message. “I like it more when you take my panties off first.”

  “Fuck you, woman.” He was barely keeping from laughing like a crazy man.

  She crossed her arms and frowned down at him. “Cameron,” she cooed. God. He knew that tone. He was going to enjoy denying her this little pleasure.

  She tapped her foot and tried to glare at him w
ith a comically stern expression. They got into a crossed-arm staring contest, which he knew for sure he’d win.

  “Oh, fine!” she yelped with clear exasperation when he wouldn’t back down. Mumbling about old men and bad manners, she got into position across his knees. The petulant frown turned his dick hard as steel.

  When she finally stopped wiggling around, he slipped a hand between her legs and chuckled. “Goddamn, you’re hot.”

  “Not that it matters much,” she murmured.

  She couldn’t be more wrong. Carefully peeling her sweats and panties down, he bared her ass as she sighed with pleasure.

  “Now, that’s a beautiful picture. You across my knee, ass up and ready.”

  He warmed the flesh with slow, circling strokes on each beautiful globe. She moaned her consent, and he went for it. Starting off slow, he smacked each side, going back and forth until she was wriggling.

  “How old is too old for you, young lady?”

  “I like older men,” she offered on another sultry sigh. “They don’t mess around.”

  The spanking got intense; he wanted to finish her off right then and there, but another country was heard from when Dylan started yelling from his crib.

  “Naptime over?”

  “Shit,” she grumbled as she awkwardly struggled to stand. When she was upright, he pulled her panties into place, his eyes never leaving hers. Then the sweats.

  “Did you just use a swear word?” he teased. “Wow. So, then, my sexy Ponytail. Spank and stop makes you horny, does it?”

  Wrinkling her cute little nose, she stuck out her tongue at him and stomped away. “Next time, we better have a girl,” he heard her mutter. “This two against one crap is ruining all my fun.”

  His loud bellowing laughter echoed through the log cabin home as she went to fetch their precious son. A baby girl would be nice but so would another son. He didn’t care as long as Lacey stayed healthy.

  They didn’t have any trouble getting pregnant with Dylan, so he was a bit surprised that a couple of months passed with no success since they’d decided to try again. He hoped it happened soon. Seriously. Taking care of his pregnant wife was an unimaginable pleasure the first time around. Cam was definitely looking forward to expanding their family.

  At seven o’clock on the dot, Family Justice gathered at the Cameron household for a farewell movie night before Meghan and Angie headed off to Boston.

  Alex was quiet and so was his fiancée. Parker wasn’t exactly thrilled about putting his lover on a plane and then spending a week cooling his heels before he could join her either. He understood why Alex was being such a dick. The prospect of being apart from Angelina was a bite in the ass. And he didn’t care for the feeling. Unless, of course, it was his wicked Desert Angel doing the biting.

  The spacious home theater room that Draegyn built for Cam and Lacey as a wedding present was just as warm and welcoming as the rest of the unique cabin. Only something new was right smack dab in the center of the large open space at the back of the room. Unless he was mistaken, the shocking addition to the entertainment space was an honest-to-god stripper pole.

  Angie started to giggle and whispered, “Is that what I think it is?”

  God almighty. He certainly hoped so. Looking at the happily married couple through new eyes, he smirked at Cam but gave sweet Lacey a wide smile. “Something you want to tell us?” he asked. “You considering a new career choice, Cam?”

  “Fuck you, Sully.” Cam chortled.

  Tori and Drae were next with some droll, pithy commentary. “Uh, seriously Cameron.” Tori sounded like she was barely holding it together as laughter threatened to break wide. “There’s a Justice ass kicking coming your way if you’re thinking about pimping this sweet innocent out.” Lacey giggled when Tori put an arm through hers.

  Calder and Stephanie, who always managed to be in some form or fashion of an embrace, laughed as they walked by. “Now, shugah,” Stephanie cooed in that audacious Southern gal twang she did so well. “Be nice, honey. I took a pole dancing class last year at the Y. Great exercise.”

  Calder’s hilarious leer and the way his lip curled got groans from Alex and Drae. Parker absolutely fucking loved how weirded out both men were by Victoria’s mom shacking up with Alex’s uncle.

  “Too much information, Mom,” Tori groaned. Drae was looking everywhere except at the pole or his wife’s mom. Seeing the legendary ladies’ man grasp the reality of his mother-in-law and someone he’d known well and partied with over many years doing the horizontal hokey-pokey was hilariously fucking awesome..

  Meghan, of course, was the one who stepped in and took control. She was a lot like Alex. Somehow, the redhead always managed to make everyone okay with whatever was going on. He didn’t doubt that she could make a hurricane seem like just a bit of wind and rain.

  “Ah hahaha.” She chuckled quite merrily. “Actually, our resident beauty queen is correct.”

  All eyes turned to Stephanie, who took the opportunity to pirouette and pose like the pageant pro she was. God. Parker loved hanging out with this crew. What an amazing cast of characters.

  Meghan marched right up to the pole, grasping it with one hand and gave it a firm yank. “The pole is fantastic as exercise.” The men, of course, all snickered in unison while the women feigned outrage. “Don’t laugh,” Meghan declared excitedly, “but you’ll never guess who all uses these things for training.”

  Alex muttered, “Wait for it,” and rolled his eyes. Must be something he’d heard before judging by his comical reaction.

  The Irish beauty crazy enough to marry his fucked-up friend’s ass smacked him playfully. “Hush, you.” Turning back to their assembled group, she told them with great passion that many sports trainers were using the pole to teach centering and aid in building core strength.

  Cam stepped up and smiled appreciatively at Meghan before giving her a tender hug. He looked over at his wife and said, “Go ahead, honey. Show ‘em how it’s done.”

  A beaming Lacey walked confidently as she directed everyone to back up and give her room. With a hilariously ineffective frown that Parker supposed she intended to come off as badass, she demanded, “Leave your dirty thoughts at the door, please.”

  Angie’s hand slipped into his and squeezed. She loved these women. Lacey, Tori, and Meghan eagerly welcomed her with open hearts and arms. And Stephanie too, although they’d just recently met. His sweet angel got quite misty talking about how awesome they all were and the honor she felt at being so lovingly included in Family Justice.

  With amazing skill and grace, not to mention impressive strength, Lacey went through a series of moves that made Parker’s muscles ache from just watching. The control she exercised over how she moved was mind-boggling. He could pound the fuck out of a heavy bag in the gym and regarded running as a physical requirement critical to his life, but holy mother of god, he could never do one-tenth of the shit she did.

  When she hopped down and put her shoes back on, Cam stood by beaming like a well-satisfied man. “Any questions?” she asked.

  With a round of headshakes and a chorus of, “Nope,” the entire group broke into applause. Lacey laughed and took a bow.

  “New requirement for the house,” Angie mumbled next to him. Parker looked down at her and found nothing but amusement in her expression. They were building a running commentary as they mapped out their dream house. The one he was going to build them halfway between his office in Sedona and the Villa Marquez.

  He leered at her for good measure and whispered, “You want to add this, uh, equipment to the playroom?” He saw her eyes flare and schooled himself to remain calm. “Or does it go in the workout studio?” With all the shit they were trying to cram into a house, they were going to end up with a five thousand square foot mini-mansion, but every time he thought of scaling back, he gave in immediately. Whatever she wanted, she could have, and he didn’t care how outrageous, quirky, or extravagant. His Angel was worth every cent.

 
Being with Angie was still new enough that they quite literally couldn’t get enough of each other. Hell. They’d pulled over and done it on the way here so sometimes it was good to be around other people because they’d have to behave. Alex interrupted just in time.

  “Thank you all for being here tonight.” He watched as his best friend extended his beefy hand to the woman he loved. Parker couldn’t help it; he got choked up. They’d all come so perilously close to losing Alex—the experience affecting everyone in this room in different ways.

  Meghan moved to his side and took his hand with a big smile on her face. No one doubted that she was one hundred and ten percent in love with and fully committed to him.

  He felt Angie quiver. The adoration she felt for her older brother was something Parker witnessed her whole life. Finding her family’s hero so loved, happy, and fulfilled ensured that the entire Valleja-Marquez clan would hold Meghan in the highest regard for all time. In every way that counted, she single-handedly loved Alex enough to bring him back. As he said all the time, she was his redemption. Parker was honored to witness their love.

  Alex continued. “This is the last time we’ll all be together before Boston,” In a moment of rare disappointment, he added, “I really wish Brody was here for this.”

  Meghan grabbed onto her finace’s arm and squeezed. Calder said, “Hear, hear.” Cam nodded enthusiastically, and Drae snickered. And the women? Everyone except Angie was wearing this stupid girly swoonish expression that rubbed Parker the wrong way. Mental note to self … keep Angel away from the Dog Dude. He and Drae exchanged looks, and if he was correct, they were both thinking the same thing. That a certain scruffy blond biker was going to get his ass kicked if he looked sideways at their women. After all, Alex was carrying around a serious case of the green-eyed monster for the guy. He supposed it was all rather funny on some level.

  “Anyway, with my pain-in-the-ass little sister,” Alex snarled with a glance in Angie’s direction, “stealing my bride away early, we have to say our good-byes as a group.”