“AS MUCH AS I ENJOY lying around with you, my love, we better get moving soon if we’re going to make any effort to show up at the barbecue looking like a civilized couple. We need a shower and some damn clothes, don’t you agree?”
Meghan wiggled closer to her hunky fiancé’s body and groaned with her face in his shoulder. Yeah, they should get up and get dressed, but there was nothing quite like the aftermath of some hot and heavy lovemaking to render her boneless. Throwing a leg over one of Alex’s hairy thighs, she started thinking seriously about option number two, which was another round of him quite literally pounding the crap out of her.
“I can read your mind, Meghan, and as much as I’d be willing to let you have your wicked way with me, we’ve got the whole damn family coming tonight. Why don’t you hold that thought, maybe throw a few more logs on the fire.”
She snorted in amusement and rubbed her fingers through the hair on his chest. “Don’t really need to fuel that fire, Major. It’s burning hot enough as it is.”
Alex swatted her ass and sat up, drawing her with him. “Okay, okay. Message received. One more time—but this one in the shower. That way we can kill two birds with one stone.”
Leaping up with a grin, Meghan started skipping toward the shower, crooking her finger at her smirking lover. When he swung his legs off the bed and stood, something fell to the floor, drawing their attention. Swooping down to pick it up, Alex laughed when he grabbed hold of the long hair ribbon he’d taken from her earlier that had ended up wrapped around her wrists.
Dangling it from one of his fingers, he sighed and told her with a menacing leer, “We need some real restraints, not this last-minute shit.”
“Well, then you’ll be pleased to know that I just ordered some black satin cuffs. And no, I’m not kidding.”
“Black satin? Hmmmmm. They better be strong enough, baby, because you pretty much destroyed the lace pair.”
Meghan blushed and laughed. She had. He’d been teasing her until she’d become so frantic and out of control that she’d quite literally morphed into a female Hulk and torn the flimsy wrist restraints in her haste to get at him. He liked tying her hands just for that reason. Drove her mental. Her unquenchable desire for his body drove her passions, something for which she did not apologize.
“Well, I don’t care for all that leather and metal bondage stuff. Creeps me out. So I suggest you learn how to tie a better knot,” she growled playfully.
Pushing her toward the shower with his naked body and a wolfish leer, Alex grabbed a hold of her at last and pulled her wrists behind her back with his hands. Bending his knees, he lowered his head and licked a puckered nipple before drawing it firmly into his mouth. A lightning bolt of lustful desire shot straight to her core.
Releasing the nipple after suckling her flesh with a strength that made her weak-kneed, he chuckled when she squirmed against him.
“If I could, you’d be trussed up and helpless twenty-four seven. I enjoy seeing how much it turns you on.”
Keeping her wrists in the grip of one of his powerful hands, he used the other to trace small circles around both nipples until she was breathing heavily. All of a sudden, his eyes darkened and she saw his jaw clench. He leaned into her and Meghan groaned when she felt his heavy erection pressing against her skin.
“I fucking love you, Meghan,” he groaned a second before his lips captured hers.
With her hands behind her back, a breast cupped in one of his warm hands, and his tongue invading her mouth, she whimpered lustfully and answered the call. She was his—in whatever way he needed. Opening up to Alex’s thundering passions had changed her life, and she’d never been happier.
When he finally released her mouth and wrists, he pushed her into the shower, turned on the water and commanded that she spread her legs, bend over, and put her hands on the shower bench. No foreplay. No teasing. No working up to it. She did as he directed and gasped less than a few seconds later when he stepped behind her, grabbed her hips, and shoved his enormous cock into her with a mighty thrust.
Water cascaded over their bodies as Alex held her tight while occasionally smacking her quivering ass as he pounded into her. This was what Meghan loved; when he stopped being the gentlemanly, civilized man the world saw and released his inner beast. His passionate grunts ricocheted off the tile walls and danced with her desperate moans as all the while she pushed back into each savage thrust and tried to stay conscious. On more than just a few occasions, the ferocity of their lovemaking had sent Meghan spiraling so high, she should be rewarded with frequent flyer miles.
Alex growled and commanded her, “Fuck me, baby. Harder.”
She happily complied, arching lower so her ass canted at just the right angle until she felt his cock fill her so completely she wasn’t sure where he ended and she began. Putting her strong thigh muscles to good use, Meghan slid her feet wider apart and began thrusting her hips aggressively.
“Oh, dear God,” she whimpered as her mind started to blank. When Alex’s hand slid to where their bodies were joined, she cried out and shook all over. Responding with fervor to his deep strokes, he didn’t need his hands to hold her in place and instead used them to spread her flesh more as he sank inside her throbbing pussy.
“C’mon baby. Squeeze me tight,” he groaned. Her body instantly contracted around his heated flesh.
A long, drawn-out moan rumbled up from her core. She needed to come. Crying out his name, she begged, “Alex.”
“Fuck, Meghan. You make me so hard.” His words sounded hoarse and desperate as he continued stroking in and out. “I could fuck you all night, baby.”
Fireworks began erupting along her spine, shooting sparks to every nerve ending until Meghan felt the first shuddering contractions of an orgasm building where his cock was buried.
His fingers moved to her swollen clitoris and started flicking and rubbing the distended nub. A sound, maybe it was her moaning, dragged her senses into overdrive.
“Come for me, baby. Coat my dick with your sweet cream.”
Oh shit. There was no holding back after that. She felt his cock sink deep and stay buried as he ground his hips wildly against her ass. Between that and his ruthless manipulation of her clit, Meghan succumbed to the inevitable, shuddering head to toe while whimpering husky and low.
Stars burst, her body convulsed, a heated gush of wetness poured from her pussy. He let the climax rip her apart then pulled out and slammed home a dozen times until she felt his flesh swell, surge, then release wave after wave as his hot come bathed her insides. It was too much. She started to lose her ability to remain on her feet, but Alex deftly wrapped an arm about her waist and held her quivering body as he released deep inside her with a bellowing grunt of satisfaction.
Everything got kind of fuzzy after that. It usually did. He disengaged at some point, but Meghan was too spent to notice. When her senses started to return, she was aware that he held her against his huge body as the shower washed away all evidence of what had just transpired. With a gentle touch, Alex lathered her body shoulder to thighs with her favorite bodywash, carefully slipping his soapy hands between her legs. It just didn’t get any better than this.
Eventually, she regained control of her limbs and required less assistance to keep from slithering to the tile floor in a heap. Turning in his strong embrace, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his beautiful lips.
“I love you,” she murmured.
His response was to crush her to him and bury his face into her neck. “I love you, too.”
Several long, drawn-out sighs later, she heard him chuckle then nip her earlobe before growling, “Satisfied?”
“For now,” she purred—earning her a hearty laugh and a good hard smack on the ass.
THE GANG WAS ALL IN place by the time Alex and Meghan wandered, hand-in-hand, out to the enclosed patio where cocktails and trays of munchies had been laid out. Actually, Alex amended, not quite everyone. Calder was missing, as was Drae. He wondered briefly where the fuck those two were as shouts of greeting filled the air.
The minute his well-loved fiancée spied baby Dylan being passed around like a hot potato from female to female, she dropped his hand and got pulled in that direction like metal to a magnet. He couldn’t help the smirk or the way his eyes drank in the sight of his beautiful Meghan swooping in to get her share of baby-loving. Poor Dylan. He wondered what it was like for the infant who was being pressed to one set of boobs after another. No wonder men didn’t stand a chance when they got older where breasts were concerned.
Catching Cam’s eye, he crooked a half grin and ambled over to where the guys were standing. Grabbing an ice-cold beer along the way, he drank half of it in one slug then chuckled. Nodding toward the women he quipped, “Your son looks happy as a pig in shit.”
Cam laughed good-naturedly and smirked at him. “As do you, Major.”
Choosing to ignore the well-placed comment alluding to the obvious fact that he’d just made crazy passionate love to his fiancée, he went with, “Lacey’s a fabulous mother, dude.”
Hearing the deep rumbling chuckle from the man beside him, it still made Alex marvel whenever Cam smiled and laughed. Finding his true love, marrying her, and starting a family had certainly changed the former brooding loner’s life.
“Damn right, she is. The woman was made for the role, and let me tell you something, Dad—there’s nothing in the world that compares to having a happy, fulfilled woman in the house.”
“Or the bed,” Alex smirked.
“Something you’re obviously discovering all on your own, I should add. Meghan looks great. A far cry from the wasted, wretched, unhappy woman we found in Boston. Good job,” Cam added with a jovial elbow nudge.
“Hey, Boss,” Brody wisecracked when he ambled closer to him and Cam. “How’s it feel to be retired?”
“Shit, Jensen,” Alex barked. “I am not retired! Just taking a step back is all.”
The good-looking canine master sniggered at Alex’s reaction—not that he blamed him. Until Meghan had burst into his life, he’d been all about the agency, twenty-four seven. But now that he was settling down, things had changed. The agency was still important to him, but Cam had more or less hit the nail on the head when he mentioned how they’d found Meghan after invading Boston and worked diligently to bring her home where she belonged.
Alex knew he’d done a number on her when he’d pushed her away, but seeing how she’d suffered during the weeks they’d been apart had been a slap upside the head for him. Never again would he be foolish enough to not put his woman’s needs before his own tired crap. She was his everything.
When he’d made the decision to ask Calder to come to Arizona and handle the day-to-day agency stuff, it was the smartest thing he could have done. Freeing his time, he’d been able to focus on his fiancée and the life they were creating—even though he knew his actions had probably shaken up the troops under him.
“You’re due to head out of here soon, aren’t you?” Alex asked.
Brody took a slow pull on his beer and hesitated a good long time before he answered. What in the hell was that all about, Alex wondered.
“Yeah. Probably the first week of December. I’d like to wait until the St. John baby arrives. But if I do, I’ll have to fly home instead of ride the bike, and I’m not sure that’s what I wanna do.”
Alex nodded thoughtfully. “Cross-country trip clears the head, huh?”
“Humph. Something like that.”
Okay. Something was definitely up with the guy. “You do know we can have the bike shipped to you if that’s how things go down, right? You’re family, man,” Alex added with a hand on Brody’s shoulder. “I know Drae and Tori would like you to be here when the time comes.”
“Not only that,” Cam added, “but Dylan will miss you, too. Don’t mind telling you that it comes as something of a surprise to discover that of all the guys around here, you were the one with mad baby skills.”
Jensen laughed—a brief smile lighting up his face before a shadow obscured it. “Dogs, kids—pretty much the same thing.”
Turning to face Alex, he murmured, “Um, Major—maybe if you have some time we could talk soon.”
Alex knew his face registered surprise, so he quickly covered with a half shrug. He was picking up a strange vibe from the man that was curious to say the least. “Sure thing. Anytime, Brody. Just come on up to the house and I’ll make time, okay?”
“Thanks, Boss. Uh, I see Gus getting that frantic look on his face. Better go figure out what crawled up his shorts.” Chuckling, he told Alex and Cam with a conspiratorial grin, “I do believe Carmen has the old fucker dancing to her tune these days.”
The three of them bellowed some hearty laughs, smacked each other on the back then drifted apart—Alex in Meghan’s direction while Cam fake punched Ben in the gut and challenged him to a game of chess. Typical Justice Family banter.
On his way to Meghan’s side, Betty motioned him to where she and Ria were sitting. He seriously loved the older woman who so deftly handled all the business affairs for the agency. Betty was a gift from heaven and Alex wasn’t sure what he’d do without her. She was part grandmother to them all, part paper pushing drill sergeant.
Ria was scribbling something on a sheet of paper and grinning like a loon. Oh great. A list. Women and lists always meant a headache. She’d been working just part-time the last month after he, Cam, and Drae had given in and allowed her to hire full-time helpers in the cookhouse. With more and more groups using the agency compound for a training facility, it had gotten to be too much for her to handle feeding the army of folks, who were always on hand, by herself. She’d agreed, however, to keep on managing the cooking duties and kitchens for the Justice core group, but she’d had enough when it came to the crowds of others.
“What’s up, ladies?” he asked, pulling out a chair and plopping down. “You’re up to something—I can tell.”
“Of course, we are, big guy,” Betty chirped happily. “Two somethings as it happens!”
Groaning and shaking his head, Alex pretended to be long suffering. “Okay. Give it to me one at a time.”
Pushing the piece of paper at him, Ria pointed at what was most definitely a long list. “We want to have a bridal shower for Meghan and were wondering if you’d look over the plans we’ve already made. Carmen and Betty thought it’d be cute if we used a lottery theme considering that your fiancée made more money in one day than all you guys will make in a lifetime. It’ll be just ladies, of course, and we’re hoping to get Meghan’s mom and sister-in-law to come from Boston.”
A bridal shower? Sounded good to him. Bitches like romance. He’d come to love that off-color expression. Wasn’t an over-the-top bridal shower part of that?
Betty chimed in then. “We’ll wait till after the holidays so Tori has a chance to get back on her feet after the baby, but these things take time to plan so we’re getting started now. Any objections?”
“Fuck, no!” he chuckled. “Plan away, ladies, and whatever is on this list is fine with me. Do whatever you have to. Betty, you’ve got full authorization to spend whatever you need. I take it this will be a surprise?”
“We hope so and that’s where we need your help. I know it’s asking a lot but would it be possible to send the agency plane to Boston when the time comes? Will make getting her mom and sister-in-law here a lot easier. And if that’s okay, then we can ask Maggie O’Brien to bring along a couple of Meghan’s closest friends.”
As usual, Betty had all the bases covered.
“Instead of plane tickets, we’ll make mock lottery tickets for everyone. It’ll be awfully cute. I know you probably have no idea what we’re talking about, but at most bridal showers the ladies play games—we were thinking about having one of those big wheels you spin…” She chuckled and shook her head. “Your eyes are glazing over Major Marquez! Too much detail?”
“Huh? What? Were you still talking?” he joked.
“Okay, okay—I get the picture,” she smirked. “Do whatever we want, right?”
“Exactly. And yes, of course, to the plane. Now, I think you said there were two things. What’s the other?”
He watched while Ria and his intrepid office manager exchanged looks.
“Tori was robbed,” Ria drawled with a scowl.
“Excuse me?” he barked. “Robbed? What the fuck does that mean? This is a secure compound. I’ll murder anyone who…”
“Ria!” Betty snapped. “Jesus. Remember who you’re talking to.” Shaking her head and glaring at Ria with a stern expression, she put her hand on his arm to calm him down. “Bad choice of words, Alex. Sorry. She didn’t mean ‘robbed’ in the usual sense. What we mean to say,” she quietly said, “is that Victoria never got any of the fuss and bother that Meghan will. No bridal shower—hell, she didn’t even have an actual wedding. So, yeah—in a sense she was robbed.”
“Oh,” he growled suddenly remembering Stephanie’s jibe about her daughter’s lack of a wedding ring. Shit. They were right. He hadn’t seen it that way until just now. Meghan was planning a goddamn cathedral wedding with all the bells and whistles. Even sweet, unassuming Lacey had been fêted with a beautiful wedding celebration—something Tori would remember.
In lieu of the baby shower, since Lacey didn’t have any relatives, nor did Cam—the indulgent husband he had sent the ladies into Sedona for an all-expenses paid weekend at a spa. Only Meghan had missed out on the occasion since it occurred during the time she and Alex had been separated. Little Tori hadn’t had any of the usual fuss a bride or mommy-to-be enjoyed. Damn.
“I’m listening,” he told them with a slight frown. Fuck, man. He hoped they had a good plan because he was suddenly feeling guilty as shit that his trusted assistant and wife of his brother had missed out on so much.
Betty nodded, seemingly satisfied with his reaction. “Draegyn St. John is a horse’s ass,” she mumbled. “That little lady has had a helluva time being pregnant. He should be down on his knees every minute of the day thanking his lucky stars that Victoria is willing to put up with his clueless bullshit.”
He couldn’t agree more, but his sense of absolute loyalty to the man being subjected to the harsh assessment of a pissed off brigade of women compelled Alex to support his friend and brother.
“Now, now ladies. A horse’s ass he may be, but he fucking adores Tori. Just because Drae has zero experience when it comes to all this female shit doesn’t mean he’s a dick. Obviously, you think we need to do something, and I quite agree. It’s gotta be hard watching Meghan plan the wedding of the year during what’s been a tough time for Tori physically.”
“Glad you’re on board,” Ria answered.
“Always,” he quickly assured them. “So give me the four-one-one.”