Desert Angel (Family Justice Book 2)

by Suzanne Halliday

  She had an arm about his shoulder as he leisurely ran his fingers up and down her leg. The higher he went near the fleshy part of her thigh, the more he could feel the heat coming from her center.

  Parker touched her face and smiled into her wide-eyed gaze.

  “You are so fucking beautiful.”

  He traced her delicately arched brows and skidded a finger down the center of her nose then slowly outlined her lips with his hands like a blind man memorizing a lover’s face.

  He took hold of her chin and stared at her mouth, which was open as she panted shallowly. When her tongue came out and swiped her lips leaving a sheen of moisture behind, he groaned.

  “Tell me now if sucking your nipples is possible with what you have on.”

  She blinked half a dozen times and he felt her head shake infinitesimally, confusion running riot on her face.

  “I thought you were going to kiss me,” she purred as her free hand started toying with a button on his shirt.

  Parker’s lip curled in a small lopsided grin. Kissing was his secret weapon with her. She surrendered so quickly once the kissing started that he knew withholding his mouth from hers, if only for moments, was driving her crazy.

  Tilting her face up with a finger beneath her chin, when she was looking into his eyes, he casually took the same finger that had been on her chin and fed it slowly into her mouth.

  She sucked on it and swirled her tongue all around as he lost himself in the image of her sultry lips closing around his sturdy finger.

  In a deep, gruff voice he told her, “That’s right baby. Suck it. And then get ready to have your mouth fucked.”

  Her eyes lit up. Shit. He said that wrong but knowing she took it like he intended to get off in her mouth and seeing her wanton reaction to the idea didn’t help him keep control.

  “All I want to know is, do I have a shot at those wicked tits or are your goodies locked up with no access ‘cause once we start, shit’s going to get fucking real and fucking fast.”

  “Oh, uh . . . it’s a corset. If you unlace it from behind it will be loose enough to fold over.”

  He rolled his eyes. No guy should need an engineering degree to undress his woman.

  “Sit up,” he grunted as he pushed her up and shoved her shoulders so he could eyeball these laces. T-shirt, no bra. That was what he wanted, not some Victorian bondage accessory.

  Making quick work of loosening the laces, he didn’t bother with any sort of romantic gesture, just tugged on the cups of the bustier and freed her breasts.

  Now, there was a sight to behold. The sweetly curved mounds were so damn perfect that he couldn’t look away. My god. He knew the pale, pink tipped heavy breasts would feel like heaven under his touch. So creamy and smooth, they looked full and soft with nipples that tightened into hard nubs before his eyes.

  He concentrated on the feel of her succulent body, groaning when his hand cupped a full globe and his thumb swept across a tender peak. Angie’s corresponding whimper almost did him in.

  Trapping her eyes with his, he squeezed her breast.

  “Now we kiss and I tongue fuck your sexy mouth in between biting those badass nipples.”

  And he did. With fervor. Until she was writhing on his lap and whimpering with need. When his mouth moved onto her tits, she gasped sharply as his tongue whisked the throbbing tips and he had to remind her to breathe.

  “Come on, baby,” he murmured close to her ear. “I’m not finished yet. Big deep breaths. Feel my mouth on your tits.”

  She groaned low and deep. “Ohhhhh.”

  He nipped at one of her delectable nubs. Her fingers immediately went into his hair and the arm around his shoulder tightened as fingernails, sharp and insistent, dug into the skin at the base of his neck.

  Aware that he was making greedy, sucking noises as he devoured her lush beauty, Parker made no effort to be someone or something he wasn’t. He wanted Angelina Marquez. In his bed. Underneath him so he could fuck her with all the fierceness running rampant through him. Fierceness she and only she inspired.

  Never had going commando been such a fucking nightmare as it was right now. Parker’s cock felt like it was fighting to break free, desperate for the sweet release he would find in her body. If he didn’t reel it in now, he’d have her clothes in tatters and his shaft buried inside her within moments.

  Fuck.

  Fuck.

  FUCK.

  With a dose of aching regret, he laved one last smoldering stroke of his tongue against a delicate tip and eased back.

  “When you are mine,” he growled lustfully, “you will bare your breasts to me whenever we are alone.”

  Her quivering, “Okay,” was adorably sweet. Just then, she would have agreed to walk naked through the center of town if he’d asked her to. Did she even know what she said okay to? Probably not. All her attention seemed to be focused on the longing looks she gave his mouth.

  She knew what she wanted. He had to give her that. “Kiss me again,” she begged.

  He put his forehead to hers briefly then kissed her nose. “Can’t,” he ground out. “Date night’s over, honey. Have to get you inside before Big Daddy marches out here with his night vision goggles on and makes a scene.”

  Parker had to cough back a chuckle when she began spouting nonsensical oaths of retribution and vengeance against her brother as she struggled awkwardly to untangle from their sprawling embrace

  The more difficult it was to sit up and get re-situated, the fiercer her petulance became. Some part of him dug the shit out of knowing that she was going to make his friend’s life a living hell for being the impediment to what she wanted.

  Not for the first and certainly not the last time, Parker considered what a relationship between him and Angie would do to the Sullivan-Marquez family dynamic. Alex would be forever able to bust his chops whenever he felt like it and would no doubt take enormous delight in fucking with him because he could. Asshole.

  But really. Wasn’t this the way it was always supposed to be? He had his years of lording it over his friend and now it would be Alex’s turn to be top dog. Somehow it seemed so perfectly . . . karmic.

  She was still grumbling as she pulled it together so when they walked inside it didn’t look like a bear had just mauled her. He let her have all the time she needed, not out of any inflated sense of chivalry but because he needed the opportunity to coax the out-of-control hard-on he was sporting back to a resting state. Wouldn’t be a good idea to find himself staring down the thundering anger of her brother should he catch a glimpse of the obvious.

  Good luck with that his head snickered. Especially now that you actually HAD mauled her to the extent that her taste is in your mouth and her scent invading your senses. Sucker!

  In time, he helped swing her down from the vehicle, not that she was incapable of doing so herself, and nodded approvingly when she hesitated and checked out the placement of her clothing one last time.

  “You look fine,” he assured her.

  Halfway down the walk to the house, she started laughing.

  “Oh, my god,” she wheezed in a building giggle. “This is worse than when Mom would threaten us, wait till your father gets home! I’ll take my father any day over Alex with his military bark and that disgusted scowl he does so well.”

  Parker laughed, too. It truly was funny because he also felt like a bad kid about to get an ass-whupping from an angry parent.

  Grinning broadly he scolded her. “Behave yourself.”

  She jerked to attention and said, “Yes, master,” then fell apart in an attack of squealing giggles.

  What the hell was he supposed to do with her? Heaven help them if Alex overheard her say that even as a joke. He’d rip his balls off first and ask questions later. Maybe.

  With a hearty thwack, he swatted her playfully on the butt before leaning in to nip her earlobe.

  “Now I understand why Alex keeps score . . .” he muttered which only made Angie’s hysterical laugh get bi
gger.

  “Seriously woman,” he drawled as they came to the door. “Pull it together before we go in or my balls may end up being on permanent display in the family archive.”

  “What is it with this fascination over your balls?” she hooted. “First Meghan threatened and I had to plead for ball-mercy. And now Alex, too? Sheesh. How ‘bout I get you a cup to wear?”

  The imp. She was openly taunting him.

  He grabbed her hand and pressed it firmly against his crotch. Finally, a reason to be glad he was free-ballin.’

  “Feel that?” he drawled with a leer. “Better make that a custom cup, baby girl. Don’t want to restrict the family equipment.”

  She was saved from coming up with an answer when the door was suddenly jerked open and a stone-faced Alex was standing on the other side.

  Quickly snatching her hand away, she flounced past her brother like he was the doorman at the Ritz and hip-swayed into the house.

  “Be nice, Alexander,” she scolded on her way in. “He told me all your filthy secrets so you better watch yourself, brother dear.”

  He caught Alex’s instant scowl at the same time she winked at Parker and turned away laughing. Score one for the baby sister.

  Ass. Blistered. Yep, yep. Looking like a definite possibility.

  Meghan appeared at the top of the stairs wearing an expression that told him she’d be in his face in a heartbeat if Angie were unhappy because of him.

  “Alex,” Meghan said softly. “Come to bed. Angie can lock up after Parker.”

  Again—the look she speared him with was full of heavy meaning. If it was anyone other than Irish, he might have smirked.

  “Where did you go?” Alex asked Angie, ignoring Parker completely. “What did you do? Was that asshole a gentleman?”

  Meghan shook her head and rolled her eyes. Parker hoped she was taking notes ‘cause this was exactly how Alex would be with a daughter or two to protect. Growl, bark questions, be a huge dick, and make dark looks.

  Angie smiled so sweetly it almost made his teeth ache.

  “Oh! We went to Jim’s and I had a steak the size of your face. Then Parker forced me to eat this death by chocolate dessert that I swear came with a health warning.” She rubbed her stomach and grinned. “And now I’m stuffed and need to get out of these clothes and put on some stretchy pants before I explode.”

  Meghan purred again, “Alex. Enough.”

  For a second, Alex looked back and forth between him and Angie then back at his love who smiled and put out her hand. “Come on, Major. Angie’s a big girl now. Let her handle this.”

  Angie went to her brother and threw her arms around him in a massive hug. His arms immediately came around her and he lifted her off the sexy heels for a brotherly squeeze. Parker saw her whisper into his ear a second before Alex looked him straight in the eye.

  He held his breath hoping she wasn’t saying anything stupid.

  Putting her down, she thumped him good-naturedly on the chest and said, “Run along now, Alexander. I’ve got this.”

  Alex walked to the stairs then turned around for one more meaningful look in Parker’s direction. When his best friend in the whole world used two fingers to indicate that he had his eyes on him, his balls shrank.

  He loved Alex Marquez like a brother. No. Fuck that. They were brothers. But he loved Angelina even more. Keeping the respect of her brother and all the members of her family was vitally important to all their futures.

  He politely took his leave of Angie not long after with a short, sweet kiss by the front door—just like they were kids at the end of a date.

  “Don’t forget,” he chuckled on exit, “dinner with Wendy and Matt tomorrow. My mom is really looking forward to it and, be prepared . . . my dad has some crazy PowerPoint he wants to show you. Something to do with your dad and that’s all I know.”

  Angie giggled. “I love Uncle Matt! And tell your mom that I pried two bottles of a rioja out of the Villa’s wine cellar that will knock her booties off.”

  “SO, WE’RE GOOD TO GO then for the seventeenth? I want this to be memorable, guys. The whole enchilada.”

  “Don’t you mean the whole corned beef?” Drae snickered.

  Cam crushed an empty soda can and tossed it through the air in a perfect arc that dropped dead center into the recycling bin, then swung his arms up and hooted, “Score!”

  Alex petted Zeus’s head when she looked up at him in that way that dogs had that felt conspiratorial. It was like she agreed with him that these two shmoes were an endless source of head shaking and eye rolls.

  He leaned down and let her lick his face. “I know, right?”

  “Did you give Sully his outfit? Motherfucker left me holding the phone on this one. Showed up for one fitting and then pulled a fuck-it.”

  “Hehehe. Not thinking straight, that one. He’s blue balling,” Cam sniggered.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Alex grunted. Goddammit. Why did his little sister have to be such a pain in his ass. The very last thing he wanted to think about was the state of Parker’s balls.

  “Hey man,” Cam quickly interjected. “It’s a fucking compliment. Show me a single time in that dude’s whole life when one woman, and a small one at that, stopped him in his tracks. We all know he’s got an ass-ton of available pussy waiting for his unique, uh . . . charms. My hat’s off to Angie. She’s one badass little lady for not taking his shit.”

  Drae chuckled. “It’s not like each of us hasn’t been exactly where he is right now. These women,” he smirked with mock scorn. “They’ll be our undoing.”

  “Hell, yeah,” Cam joined in.

  “Fuck that asshole. We have other things to handle, and no, I haven’t given him his outfit yet. I’ll take it tomorrow night when the girls do their thing. Pete wants the band to close out the night with a quick set so he has to be there.”

  Cam snickered mockingly. “Yeah—like he’d miss Angie’s moment in the spotlight. Get fucking real.”

  “What-fucking-ever,” he grumbled. “Back to the planning. Cam? You’ve got the playback thing figured out, right?”

  “On it, Major. And I’ve got the best digital version of that movie you asked for. Consider the entertainment covered and my wife, along with Tori, is busy making all sorts of decorating plans. They’re going to the party store warehouse in Sedona and I shudder to think what that means for Casa Cameron.”

  “Check this out,” Drae said. “It’s almost finished. It’s for you guys from the rest of Family Justice.

  Cam whistled approvingly while all he could do was mutter, “Holy shit,” when he saw what Drae was working on.

  Hanging out in the wood shop together was becoming a thing. With the compound shut down till after he returned from his honeymoon, Alex had less and less reason to putter in the tech cave . . . especially since Tori absolutely insisted she continue to work as his assistant three days a week. So most days he and Cam had taken to wandering to Drae’s place after breakfast. Shoot the shit. Hang out.

  Betty dealt with the office end of things and had the experience to handle the smaller Justice commitments that their B Team were working. Besides checking in on the construction and making sure things were moving ahead as swiftly as possible—something all three of them were anxious for—there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot for them to do. It was completely weird to have so much free time.

  Taking a long look at Drae’s project, he was momentarily stunned. “Fucking, eh, Draegyn,” Alex muttered. “I don’t know what to say. Does Meghan know about this? I mean, wow. It’s beautiful,” he murmured.

  Running his hand appreciatively over the heavy chest with the carved Celtic knots, he appreciated his friend’s amazing talents and craftsmanship.

  “I’m gonna make one for each of the girls,” Drae murmured. “My sister calls these things a hope chest. Someplace to keep memories. I figure they all need one.”

  “For the keepsake booties,” Cam quipped, nodding his approval.

  “Exa
ctly. Got a couple more coats of wax to apply but it’ll be ready for the get-together. We can either place it in your bedroom without Meghan knowing or just haul it to Cam’s and show it off that night then move it later.”

  “Drae, you have a gift, man. I want everyone to see this and know what you’re doing for the girls. It’s amazingly thoughtful.”

  “Did you just call me an insensitive jerk-off? Isn’t that what amazingly thoughtful really means?”

  They all cracked up laughing cause, yep. Pretty much what he said was absolutely true.

  “Oh and listen up, men. Got an undercover mission. Highly secret. For our eyes and ears only, okay?”

  “Jesus,” Cam drawled. “What the fuck? Secretive? Need to know? We guarding the Commander-in-Chief or something?”

  Alex half-smirked. “No, but once I explain, all will become clear.”

  “Oh, joy.” Ha! He could always count on Drae for the dry wit.

  “Team Justice to the rescue,” Alex quipped.

  He had to fill all this free time with something, so he’d been working overtime on a secret project of his own and it was time to execute.

  “Buckle up your ball sacks, gentlemen, ‘cause what we have to pull off will require skill and luck. And under no circumstances can your women know anything.”

  “Mom, seriously. Relax. It’s fine. Really. Please!”

  Ugh. Angie was beyond stressed. Pacing back and forth in the privacy of her room, she struggled to catch up with a conversation that had taken her by surprise. Knowing she had to tell her folks about her involvement with Parker before they heard it through the grapevine, she’d been gearing up to make the call when her mom rang her up. Before the hello was fully finished, she’d demanded that Angie explain herself.

  Fuck. My. Life.

  She wasn’t surprised that Aunt Wendy couldn’t wait to tell her BFF that Parker was bringing Angie home for dinner and how excited she was that at long last, her favorite niece, with apologies to Soph, was back home in Arizona.

  While she’d never know what the two truly talked about—and she had her suspicions—the way her mom was telling the story, Parker’s parents were treating her presence in the Southwest like the return of the baby Jesus and would be breaking out the good china for their dinner.