Sanctuary (Family Justice Book 3)

by Halliday, Suzanne

  Lacey instantly swatted him on the arm. “Hey,” she yelped. “Really?”

  “C’mon Ponytail,” he told her with what everyone knew was a suggestive leer. “I think school might be in session. Looks like a lesson in sex, drugs and rock and roll for you.”

  Parker laughed and reached for Angie's hand. “Plan B, I think since the pool is occupado. How about we get dressed and check out Brody’s new doggie zone? Gus told me before he headed out that the obstacle course and water feature were in place.”

  Angie felt a zing of sadness. Poor Gus. His hands were full with a widowed daughter-in-law and a bunch of grandkids that needed a firm hand. Alex was going to be way bummed that the man he’d relied on for so long to keep the horses and all their cars in tip top shape was forced to leave the compound for good.

  Drae grunted. “Gonna miss that old fart. Suppose that’s why Carmen’s been in such a funk. Bad timing. Just when Gus got his romantic act together, he left.”

  Tori’s pithy retort shut the conversation down. “Yeah, well, sometimes love blows. Y’know? Carmen’s probably better off anyway. She needs someone who’ll stick around when the going gets tough.”

  And with that, the wife of Draegyn St. John stomped away, leaving the three of them standing there gaping at her retreat. What the hell was that all about?

  Alex was relaxing on the patio after coming back from a long bike ride with his bride. The month since their Boston wedding was the most idyllic he’d ever known. The surprisingly modern and quaintly picturesque finca turned out to be the perfect honeymoon spot.

  Lazing around, they spent their days as all newlyweds do. Checking out nearby places of interest, eating every weird local delicacy they came across and drank way more wine than seemed humanly possible.

  Their primary source of activity? Making love. As his bride reminded him over dinner just last night, they fucked around-the-clock and were surely setting some sort of honeymoon sex record.

  Like he was complaining.

  When they opted for more traditional forms of healthy exercise, it was long walks, and bike rides through the countryside.

  And then there was the cooking. My god but his wife was a phenomenal cook. With their meals at home pretty much handled by Ria and Carmen, she’d had few opportunities to take charge of the kitchen. But here? Here he’d been treated to almost unimaginable meals she was whipping up from scratch. In fact, one of Meghan’s favorite strolls was down the lane into the nearby small town where she picked through produce and questioned everyone from the butcher to the old woman with the dairy cows, who ended up teaching her how to make yogurt. All with Alex playing translator.

  Right now, she was throwing together a tapas platter. Perfect timing too since his belly was beginning to wake up. While he waited, Alex reached into his pocket and took out his phone. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t on approach or could see from the window, he pressed the power button and waited for it to fire up.

  Meghan lost her shit when he impounded her phone while they were still in Madrid, but he didn’t feel like she left him much choice. The constant emails and picture sharing got out-of-hand right away, and he wasn’t just referring to his wife.

  Dylan out and about on horseback riding with his grandmother. Three separate messages were asking for her input with some color swatches. Something from the contractor working on the community center project. He just wasn’t having it so rather than growl and get pissy every time her attention diverted, he took the phone. Case closed.

  And so far his decision was a smart one. Without the distractions and noise of their normal day-to-day life, they were freed to focus entirely on each other. Taking care not to be too much of a hard-ass, he’d suggested weekly catch-up calls. Quick ones so she could stay up-to-date with the babies and keep in touch with the girls.

  That left him in stealth mode when it came to checking in with Drae. There was shit going on that his wife didn’t need to worry about, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t fully in the loop. Not at all.

  Pulling up Drae’s morning email, he re-read the amazing follow-up to hearing that Brody’s daughter was finally located. Alex never doubted Cam would find the kid. Not only was he hands down the most proficient and intuitive tracker he’d ever known, the heavy fact that Brody Jensen had a kid he hadn't seen since six months after she was born was also something the man took seriously. In Cam’s book, it was simply unacceptable that the guy was kept from his child. So … he went out and found her.

  It was everything that happened after which made him shake his head. The horrific story of the survivalist compound where the little girl lived and how the youngest kids were corralled in pens with little shelter from the elements made Alex want to fucking murder somebody. He could only imagine the hit to Jensen’s soul when he saw that.

  There was some happier news stuck together with the bad. The kid’s mother was deceased—not that Tracey being dead was a good thing. It simply was and crying over spilled milk was fruitless. With the lack of a living guardian, and following a DNA test, the authorities concurred that Brody was entitled to full legal custody as the child’s biological parent and closest relative.

  It would be great if the story ended happily there but according to Drae’s latest missive, the matter was yet to be fully resolved. Instead of taking the girl straight to Arizona, which is what Alex would have done, Brody returned to Maryland where he was attempting to get control of the situation. By himself. Two thousand miles from the built-in Justice support system.

  Luckily though, he wasn’t alone. Alex was delighted to learn Heather was stepping up big time with the girl. But Drae reports that he and Cam weren’t so sure that forcing her hand with a surprise kid was fair.

  He couldn’t disagree. And not only that, with Brody starting to make actual set-in-stone plans for relocating in June, he was going to have to let Meghan in on the news. The men agreed not to involve the women until absolutely necessary. Brody had enough shit on his plate without a passel of nesting females weighing in. He and Heather needed time and space to figure out what’s right for them.

  Still. Meghan was going to freak the fuck out when she learned that there’d be a kindergarten age kid in Family Justice when they got back to the States. And a girl too! That was a good thing though because so far they had a shortage of girls in the next generation.

  Which of course brought his thoughts round again to one that was rarely far from his mind. Making a baby with his Goddess-Wife. Suddenly, he started conjuring up what their future daughter would look like. Maybe she’d have her mother’s incredible head of hair. That would be way cool. He doubted though with their gene pool that Meghan’s green eyes would get passed on, but it was a splendid thought nonetheless.

  His musings were interrupted when his sexy wife hollered from the kitchen window. “Husband. Oh, lord and master,” she teasingly drawled. “Is it relax on the patio or naked tapas in the kitchen?”

  Naked tapas in the kitchen? Well fuck. He liked the sound of that. Taking his insatiable wife as he bent her over the rustic wood table they ate off of was practically his new favorite pastime. And he especially liked when she wore an apron. Just an apron that left her delicious ass bare. After all, the sexy ink on her bottom was like a sex mandala for him. Staring at the mythic Griffin as he pounded her from behind was a treat beyond compare.

  Time he reminded her of that.

  “Coming, wife,” he playfully growled. “Literally,” he added as he marched into the kitchen and found her in a stretch lace camisole and a frilly but seductively demure apron. And as he predicted a bare bottom.

  After a long, lustful once over, he began to unbuckle his belt and work on the zipper of his jeans. “Turn around Mrs. Marquez and assume the position.”

  Her grinning smirk set his senses on fire. “Look,” she said with a sexy drawl. Producing a small pillow from thin air, she shoved it beneath her stomach as she stretched out and grabbed both sides of the table. “The table
abrasions were becoming a bit much.”

  Alex chuckled. “Good thinking wife. So was finding a handy spot to grab on to.” His pants hit the floor, and he quickly shoved them away. Stepping up to her ass as she bent forward, he ran his fingers over the Griffin then used his foot to kick her legs wider. “Better hold on, baby. I sense a long, bumpy ride ahead.”

  She wiggled her ass. He swatted her for good measure.

  The tapas would have to wait. He had husbandly duties to perform and a wanton Irish fuck goddess to satisfy.

  Sucked to be him. Not!

  THE END… for now!

  Other Books by Suzanne Halliday

  The Justice Brothers

  Broken Justice

  Fixing Justice

  Redeeming Justice

  Family Justice

  Always

  Desert Angel

  Wilde Women

  Wilde Forever

  Wilde Heart

  The Gideon Affair

  None of these stories had any chance of seeing the light of day without one person,

  my daughter and the light of my life

  Ella Fox

  Thank you seems so inadequate

  A million butterscotch candies and many thanks to my team of peeps for all they do, including but not limited to putting up with my penchant for blowing through deadlines; laughing through every episode of writer’s block; ignoring the inappropriate content of my web searches; and understanding the difference between Coke and Pepsi.

  I also want to say thanks and give a shout out to some amazing people for their support, humor, Facebook posts, Fangirl memes and general foolishness…

  Cheryl Schraer Stork

  Desert Thunder thanks you!

  Jump to last chapter

  Alice Thornburg and Dee Shelburn

  You guys make me laugh.

  Seriously. Fall down, trying not to pee, laughter

  Thanks for … everything

  Jenn Wenstad

  You’ve got the toughest job of all – finding all those hot guys to post

  on my Facebook page!

  Do I thank you or just snicker and roll my eyes?

  Stacey Blake

  You’re the glam squad to my sloppy bun and t-shirts

  I still get weepy after every formatting makeover

  Love your face!

  The Ladies of Halliday Ever After

  Oh. My. Word!

  Thank you for the messages, comments, pics and general mayhem

  You guys make my day … every day!

  Suzanne Halliday writes what she knows and what she loves – sexy contemporary romance featuring strong men and spirited women. Her love of creating short stories for friends and family developed into a passion for writing romantic fiction with a sensual edge. She finds the world of digital, self-publishing to be the perfect platform for sharing her stories and also for what she enjoys most of all – reading. When she’s not on a deadline you’ll find her loading up on books to devour.

  No longer wandering because the desert southwest finally claimed her, these days instead of digging out from a snowstorm you can still find Suzanne with 80’s hair band music playing in the background, kids running in and out, laptop on with way too many screens open, something awesome in the oven, and a mug of hot tea clutched in one hand.

  Visit her at:

  Website: www.authorsuzannehalliday.com

  Facebook

  Twitter: @suzannehalliday

  Interested in a behind-the-scenes look into the visual storyboards for SANCTUARY?

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