Desert Angel (Family Justice Book 2)

by Suzanne Halliday

  The Sullivan and Marquez families had been closer than close for decades. All of Parker’s memories included Alex, who was one year behind him and very much his partner in crime. Alex Marquez was his right-hand, the second-in-command—his co-pilot and the friend he counted on to ride shotgun.

  Alex’s cool as shit parents, Uncle Cristián and Aunt Ashleigh, were his parents’ dearest friends. The two families had a bond that went back. Waaay back, meaning Parker’s memories also included Alex’s two sisters.

  Sophia, two years younger than Alex, was a straight-laced overachiever with high aspirations. He liked Soph—everyone did, but it was her baby sister, Angelina, who captured his attention from the start. Heart, mind and soul. In fact, Parker couldn’t recall a time when the girl hadn’t fascinated him.

  Boys being boys, it was hard to ignore the arrival of a pink bundle of chubby delight when Alex’s baby sister invaded their world. That was how he remembered her. Soft, wonderful Angelina. Alex adored his unexpected sibling, which made having her around easy. She was a mischievous imp as she grew and more likely to cause a ruckus than sweet, sedate Sophie. And he liked her. A lot.

  During his college years, as Angie went from little girl to breathtaking young woman, the fascination with the girl who was technically off-limits had messed with his head. Their family’s close-knit bond and the significant age difference between them confused Parker.

  He remembered how close they became once she was off the Marquez leash as a young, carefree college student. Those thoughts were always his undoing. Sweat was pouring off his neck into the collar of his shirt as the five-star meal he’d consumed churned in his gut. It took a damn lot of energy to compartmentalize and cut off an entire part of his life, but it wasn’t like he had much choice. His thoughtless transgression when they parted ways had been so monumental, he couldn’t see how they could ever get past it. He kept all those feelings locked down tight so he wouldn’t go mad.

  Lights drifted by in the darkness along the winding drive to his home on the outskirts of Sedona. He could do the drive on automatic, which was probably a good thing in his current preoccupied state.

  He knew that Uncle Cris and Aunt Ashleigh were staying at the Villa while Alex and Meghan honeymooned but he assumed Angie and Soph would return to Spain after the wedding to hadle the vineyard. Thoughts of the Marquez Winery reminded Parker that every summer, his folks traveled to Spain for an extended visit with Alex’s parents. Always full of news and gossip when they returned, he’d have to sit through the obligatory sharing of the vacation pictures and the enthusiastic re-telling of every moment spent at the opulent Valleja-Marquez hacienda enjoying the splendor of the massive casa grande and winery with its ancient cellars brimming with history.

  He’d had to endure watching the beautiful young girl he’d unintentionally betrayed change into a breathtaking, accomplished woman—one who he had no doubt hated his fucking guts. Knowing he deserved her hostility for having been a dick didn’t lessen how he felt.

  The moment Alex and Meghan got engaged, he knew his days of avoiding the biggest mistake he’d ever made were numbered. He’d been mentally preparing himself for having to see her at the wedding. Mostly, he’d hoped to stay out of the line of fire. Keep his damn head down and try not to be a complete ass. The very last thing he expected was an extended visit. Here, in Arizona, no less.

  Angie. Fuck. Even after all these years, he worried about facing her. As time went by, he’d grimly shut all his feelings and memories of her away. Pushed them deep where they hid in his soul. But there was also that other thing that wouldn’t go away or stay in the shadows. The wanting. The yearning for Angelina Marquez that lived in every atom and cell of his being

  Navigating through the dark streets, Parker also thought about Alex. When his friend had very nearly come home from the war in a goddamn body bag, he’d vowed to make their friendship a priority in his life. Closeness like the one they’d been blessed with didn’t come along every day.

  And now that Parker was back in Arizona for good, he made even more effort to stay close to his old friend while carrying this enormous secret inside him. That no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget the fresh-faced beauty who happened to be his best friend’s little sister or her profound effect on his psyche.

  “Hey, baby. Wake up.” Running a knuckle down the side of his fiancée’s face, Alex enjoyed the sight of the sleeping beauty before him.

  She was adorable—curled on her side in the corner of the big sectional sofa in the family room with her hands tucked beneath her chin as the TV flickered, his beautiful Meghan looked so peaceful.

  Stirring from his gentle touch, she blew out a sleepy puff of air. He knew when her eyes opened that first glance would be full of love and happiness. But it wouldn’t take long for the hint of shade to appear. He didn’t know what was going on with her, but he knew something was making her . . . well, shit. He didn’t know what it was making her. Sometimes she seemed sad. Or bummed out. And for no good reason. Mostly, he didn’t understand, and it was making him uneasy.

  “Mmmmm,” she moaned as her back arched and her legs straightened.

  He liked watching the riot of her auburn curls winding across the creamy skin of her neck and shoulders. She was wearing a flimsy nightshirt and a pair of baggy pajama pants covered with clouds, moons, and stars. The real celestial bodies though were her magnificent breasts. The thin t-shirt material of her sleepwear did little to conceal their ripe beauty. Alex could barely control the searing jolt of fierce desire that ripped through him, landing with a burst of heat in his groin. He gazed hungrily at the perfect nubs that tempted him through the semi-sheer fabric. If his dick got any harder, he was going to have trouble functioning.

  Meghan’s hands slid beneath her head as she turned fully and did one of those arching stretches that made his mind go kind of blank. Was there anything sexier than a beautiful woman slowly waking up? He didn’t think so. When he saw the necklace she wore, with the little hearts he’d given her the night they got engaged, he found the sense he needed to focus.

  His Irish goddess needed him to do what he did best. For all her ball-busting ways, she was her most grounded when he took control. When Meghan surrendered to him, let him be her Alpha, there was a simple perfection to their partnership. Something was troubling her. It was up to him to help her through whatever was going on. He stretched her. She smoothed his rough edges.

  “Hi,” she sighed, the sleep clearing from her gaze.

  Alex smiled. Reaching out he cupped one of her breasts and through the thin fabric, thumbed the hard nipple that peaked at his touch.

  “Hi yourself,” he drawled. Rolling the tight nub between his thumb and forefinger, he watched her face as she shuddered and murmured huskily.

  “I missed you.” Lifting her hands, she ran her fingers into his hair and rubbed his scalp.

  Reacting like a dog getting a complimentary ball scratch, he quivered when she clutched at his hair. Alex chuckled lightly, working the nipples on both breasts while she clung to his head and squirmed.

  “I was only gone a couple of hours,” he chided. “And unless I’m losing it, didn’t we make love before I left? That was you, wasn’t it, who rather sternly accosted me in the shower and demanded my cock.”

  The instant pout almost unraveled him. She honestly looked like a naughty child.

  “But you didn’t. . . . well, you know,” she whined.

  To his amazement, she looked genuinely distressed. It was impossible not to grin as he remembered their soapy coupling. Her need had been great, so he’d brought her quickly to a moaning climax with his tongue, and when she immediately demanded him inside her, he’d complied. After that, she pretty much went wild in his arms.

  For his part? Shit. It was all good. He thoroughly got off on satisfying her lusty demands. Ferociously responsive, he’d tried teaching her how to control the arousal, but there were times when he only had to nudge her inner primal goddess before
she’d lose control.

  Afterward, she’d been mad at him for not coming inside her. Alex liked Meghan’s greedy side. It turned him the fuck on. Stoking the fire, occasionally, like earlier—he withheld that final moment. When he’d pulled out of her, his cock had been hugely swollen with unfulfilled need. A little orgasm denial only made the anticipation for next time stronger.

  Alex was an intensely sexual being. It was just who he was. And Meghan was such an extraordinary woman that being with her unleashed his primitive side without fear or holding back.

  His woman was pissed off because he’d made her come. Twice. But he hadn’t satisfied his desire and her petulant frown told him she intended to even the score. It certainly did not suck to be him at this moment.

  Tugging at her breasts, he pinched both nipples until she moaned loudly, enjoying the way her fingers dug into his head.

  “Alex.”

  She arched her back some more. Pushing her breasts into his waiting hands.

  “What do you need, baby?” he asked.

  “Kiss me,” she begged while her hands tried to force his head to hers.

  Alpha front and center, his mind commanded. Remind her who she belonged to. Meghan’s need to please him was his ace in the hole. She had this way of letting her desires be guided by his. He was a lucky motherfucker.

  “No.” Abruptly standing, he began unbuckling his belt, enjoying the way her green eyes flared. She hadn’t expected him to deny her.

  “I have a much better use for those sweet lips,” he growled.

  As sleepy understanding lit up her face, he knew a primitive satisfaction that could not be contained.

  With a few unhurried movements, Alex yanked on his zipper and pushed his slacks and briefs down his thighs. Meghan’s rumbling sigh when his sex sprang free made him snicker.

  Helping her sit up, he put a finger beneath her chin to draw her gaze away from his swollen cock and slipped his thumb into her mouth as her eyes met his.

  “I couldn’t wait to come home to this mouth,” he told her boldly. “All through dinner, all I thought about was you sucking me. What it feels like when you moan as I slide across your tongue.”

  She moaned. He leered. Bull’s-eye. It was like hitting her sweet spot and watching her slowly unravel.

  Keeping his eyes locked on hers, a rush of staggering lustful need shook Alex when she treated his thumb to a naughty demonstration that held so much promise.

  “Do you know why I didn’t come earlier?” He asked the question quietly and saw the flash of uncertainty. Defined it instantly.

  Sitting back slightly with her hands in her lap, she became very still. He recognized the body language. The deeply erotic and sometimes kinky way their relationship developed had taken both of them by storm. But more so for Meghan who had never experienced such intense intimacies before him. There were still times when she was unsure. Hesitant. He had to help her step outside of her head, leave all the noise behind, and delve deep into her body.

  “Was it because I lost control?” she asked in a hushed voice that said a lot about her surprising insecurities.

  “No,” he answered with a slight frown.

  “Oh, well good,” she whimpered, sounding quite relieved. Shrugging, she lowered her eyes and admitted, “I don’t know what happened. It’s just that when I came into the shower and saw you, I couldn’t stop. I, um . . . you know. I needed you so bad.”

  “And I enjoyed every fucking second of that need, my love,” he assured her. Cupping her chin, he forced her to look at him. “Meghan. I will have you learn this lesson or I swear, we’ll do this over and over until you get it.”

  She was so still.

  “I didn’t come because watching you take your pleasure was about the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Enjoying your orgasm without expectation was . . . powerful. Feeling you squeeze my cock just blows my mind, baby. I love how responsive you are. Sometimes, I just want to get off on getting you off.”

  He saw the realization break across her features.

  “My pleasure is your pleasure,” she whispered.

  He reached out and touched the heart necklace. “Mine.”

  “Yours,” she replied.

  Each time they replayed this moment, he found new ways to love her. What they were saying had powerful implications. It was the moment when he controlled and she submitted, and when she commanded and he surrendered. It was perfection and completion all at the same time. It was what defined them.

  She ran her hands up the outside of his thighs and ended by firmly clutching his ass.

  Staring him down with a look that demanded satisfaction, his naughty-as-fuck goddess purred, “Mine.”

  Uh, fuck yeah. “Yours,” he growled. “Now suck me, woman. Show me how much you missed my cum.”

  Alex wasn’t disappointed when she took the slow route from his ass to his manhood, taking him in her hands and slowly caressing with a thrilling thoroughness that rocked his world.

  In a gruff voice, he commanded, “You will look at me when my dick is in your mouth. I want to see your eyes, Meghan.”

  A sly grin hovered at the corners of her twitching lips as she tried to bite back one of her mischievous giggles. Giving him a naughty wink, she subjected his throbbing staff to a thorough stroking and drawled huskily, “You do know how much I like doing this to you, right?”

  He wanted to laugh. This was one of their games. She was trying to assert her desires. Witch. The clever tactic was an endless source of humor for them and she did it, he knew, almost always just to get a response from him. Meghan liked it heavy-handed sometimes. He was happy to comply.

  Grabbing a generous handful of her sexy curls, he pulled her head back forcefully. The surprised squeak didn’t stop his naughty fiancée from biting back a smile.

  Snarling playfully, he held her eyes and said, “It’s damn good that you like it, baby because, once we’re married, I expect to fuck your mouth whenever I want.”

  Taunting him with those wicked green eyes, she purred, “You mean like in the limo? Or the barn? Or the tech cave? Or the truck? Or the . . .”

  He cut off her litany of the places where she’d taken him in her mouth by simply grabbing his cock and guiding it against her lips.

  “Shut the fuck up and suck me.”

  Her mouth opened on a gurgle of laughter that turned into a groan of desire as he used the hand fisted in her hair to move her head in position to accept the entire length of his throbbing erection.

  And then she looked at him and never looked away.

  “ARE YOU GOING TO TELL me what’s bothering you, or do I have to fuck it out of you?”

  Meghan stirred from where she lay sprawled across Alex’s big, wide chest but that was all she had. A weak stir. Boneless in the aftermath of a ravenous coupling that left her covered in sweat, her hair plastered against her head and neck as shuddering after-quakes continued to assail her body, she couldn’t move. Let alone think.

  He wanted to know what was wrong. She should have known he’d eventually demand that she talk to him, even though Meghan had no idea what to say. Or where to start.

  Seriously, she thought. What in the hell is wrong with me?

  They’d pretty much sucked, licked, and fingered their way from the family room where he’d found her when he came home, across the wide, open foyer, and up the majestic staircase. There was something especially salacious about the near savage way he’d taken her on the steps with her knees spread wide and ass up in the air as he pounded into her from behind. She thrilled to the sound of his primitive grunts bouncing off the old whitewashed walls. Meghan was sure she’d never walk up those steps again without remembering.

  Next came a ritual that made her feel so . . . cherished. The one where her demanding and controlling Major gently washed her body from top to bottom. It was all so solemn and reverent—the way he cared for her as he lavished attention on every inch of her body, swiping a damp cloth in sensuous arcs across her skin an
d murmuring words of love and praise for how well she pleased him.

  When he was finished, she was so turned on and aching that it was a wonder they made it to the bed. But they had and he’d given her a sort of carnal high with his exuberant lustiness. And now, when she was pretty much incoherent and exhausted, he wanted her to talk? And make sense? He was joking, surely.

  And then her conscience made an appearance. There was one thing she better tell him. Rolling off her fiancé’s muscular torso, she slid down his side and lay against him, held in place by his arm.

  In that deep, sexy teasing voice, Alex muttered, “You’re quite beautiful after I’ve had my wicked way with you.” It was all kinds of alpha sexy when he used his other hand to brush some sweaty tendrils of hair off her face. The things this man did to her . . . Meghan shivered on a choppy sigh.

  “Okay,” Alex grumbled. “Tell me what’s happening inside your head. I need you to let me in.”

  “I know,” she sighed. “I’m sorry. Please don’t think I’m trying to keep anything from you. It’s not like that.”

  She fidgeted a moment and hung her head then sucked in a deep breath and met his gaze.

  “You know how we talked about trying right away for a baby? After the wedding and all.”

  She felt him tense. His voice was hushed and heavy with emotion when he asked, “Have you changed your mind, Meghan? Is that what this is all about?”

  Shimmying closer, she flung a leg over one of his thighs and pressed against him.

  “Well, kinda . . .” she muttered.

  He sounded heartbroken when he murmured, “Can you tell me why? Do you not want my children?”

  Oh, my god. What? What had she said to make him think that?

  “Oh god no, Alex! That’s not what I meant at all! No, no, no, no.” She grabbed his face in her hands. “I can’t wait to be pregnant. It’s all I think about most of the time.”

  She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Well, that and the wedding.”