Desert Angel (Family Justice Book 2) (14 page)

He was in the shower. The spicy scent of his bodywash wafted from the steamy enclosure and acted on her like a hypnotic suggestion. Hurriedly removing her clothes, which she added to his piled clump, Meghan grabbed a hair clip and used it to secure the thick, long curls she piled into a messy bun on the crown of her head.

Plodding on silent feet, she entered the shower room and approached the large glass enclosure, admiring the sexy silhouette her handsome Major created. He was so damn gorgeous it never failed to take her breath away. Even the scars that marked one whole side of his magnificent body were beautiful to her. They were the marks of a warrior. Reminders of another time.

It was a struggle not to flatten him to the wall and climb on board. Impale her body on the proud cock she saw bobbing under the streams of water running off his massive torso. “May I join you?” she asked in a small voice.

He turned slowly under the wide shower stream and looked at her. By the time he finished his leisurely inspection of her naked body, she was trembling and very aware of another kind of wet at the juncture of her thighs.

Without saying a word, he just nodded and opened his arms. Meghan didn’t hesitate to walk into his embrace. When Alex touched her, she felt all her worries melt away. Nothing else mattered but this. She adored him with all her heart and soul.

“I’m sorry for running away,” she murmured as water rained down on them.

He didn’t say anything, which threw her off. She expected him to use the advantage of her apology to demand that she tell him why.

Instead, he casually turned her so she was facing away from him and reached for her shower pouf. Holding it out, she picked up her wash and responded to the silent command, dribbling some onto the scrubby.

He stroked it across her shoulders and up and down her spine as rivers of fragrant bubbles caressed her wet skin. Washing her with ritualistic thoroughness, he murmured quietly the entire time, telling her of his unconditional love. How he’d protect her and that she was never alone. He would always be there. Always love her. Always take care of her.

She’d come prepared to apologize and beg for his forgiveness. But Alex had a different agenda. He made her sit on the tile bench and put her foot in the middle of his chest so he could stroke the wash up and down her leg. By the time he massaged her foot with the sudsy pouf, whatever he was saying got lost in the steam. Meghan was seriously turned on and struggling to stay ahead.

After he finished with the other leg, she wasn’t entirely sure she could stand again. But he made her, so she trembled and leaned with her back sliding against his wet chest. And then he started on her front and
oh, my fucking god.

Each of her breasts was lovingly washed, massaged, and kneaded. His husky groans and her hushed whimpers mixed in the steam. Meghan’s stomach rippled when the sudsy pouf teased her belly button and when he knelt in front of her, the way he stroked her hips and thighs, and the way his eyes burned with lusty appreciation, took her to cloud nine.

When he ran the pouf up the inside of her thighs and teased her mound, she arched into his touch and let her head fall back on a groan. That was pretty much the end of bath time.

Quickly rinsing them, Alex turned off the shower and wrapped her in a big fluffy towel. His tender care didn’t end there. Wearing an expression of intense concentration, he proceeded to dry her from head to toe, gently removing every last droplet of water from her skin. When finished, he stepped back and admired her naked flesh. Instinctively, she straightened and thrust her chest out, knowing how pleasing he found her breasts.

Twining his fingers through hers, he took her to their bed. Meghan couldn’t help but thrill at the sight of his proud cock jutting away from his body as he walked, knowing she was the reason for his excitement.

Laying her down gently, as though she was a frightened virgin and this was her first time, he stretched out on his side beside her and stroked the tips of his fingers against her skin.

She had to say something. Her conscience was killing her. “Do you forgive me?” she asked quietly.

Gently rolling a puckered nipple between his fingers, he tugged until she groaned and looked at him.

“What do you think?” he asked.

An unexpected sob tore out of her throat and a single hot tear leaked from the corner of one eye. “Alex,” she cried as all the emotions she was carefully guarding burst free. “Please tell me you still love me.”

“How ‘bout I show you?” he asked in a husky voice.

Several orgasms later, she lay quietly in his arms and enjoyed the sweet aftermath of an erotic high.

He’d once again orchestrated the perfect way to deal with what was right in front of them. By not overreacting and giving her some time and space to figure things out, he’d shown her by his actions that she truly was safe in his care. When she was ready, she’d talk to him, and though he hadn’t said those exact words, she knew that was what this tender, exquisite loving had been about.

“New rule,” he drawled as she snuggled deeper into his side.

“Mmm hmmm,” she sighed.

“If we’re making babies, there can’t be any secrets between us.”

I wonder how long it took him to come up with that angle,
she thought,
because it was a damn good one.

“I’m not keeping secrets from you,” she assured him as her hand moved across his muscular chest.

“Call it what you want,” he complained, “but however you put it, something’s making you unhappy and you know I can’t have that shit, Meghan.”

“I’m sorry.” Her lips pressed to his skin. M
mmm.
Even his sweat tasted wonderful.

“Have I done something? Don’t
not
tell me if I’ve been a dick because you want to protect my feelings. Just tell me, honey.”

Shit. He wasn’t going to let it go this time. She groaned and sat up, pulling the sheet across her chest. She didn’t think having him distracted by her tits in his face would be helpful.

He lay on his back and watched her intently. She wondered if he knew how reassuring she found his attention. Whenever he focused solely on her, her heart nearly burst with love.

“Marriage is something sacred.” She sounded a tiny bit like her old teacher self, addressing a room full of distracted teenagers.

“If you’re backing out of marrying me, I’ll tranq-dart your sexy ass and make Uncle Eduardo do the deed while you’re unconscious.”

Meghan laughed at the absurdity of the scene he just described but knew deep in her heart that he was completely fucking serious.

“I’m standing my ground, buddy.” She giggled, stretching her leg out to kick him playfully with her foot. “And besides, you told my brothers and my dad that you’d make an honest woman of me now that I’ve been defiled by your wicked ways. So, unless you want a Boston beat down, I expect you to show up on the appointed day and time and swear before God and our families to love, honor, and obey.”

“Who the hell said anything about obey?”

“What?” she snickered. “There was a meeting of the Alpha Bad Boys Club and they decided to strike the word obey from the vocabulary?”

She loved that he smirked right back at her. “Fuck no! There’s going to be plenty of behaving and submitting going on, but it’s kind of one-sided, don’t you think? That obey thing is all you, my gorgeous Irish fuck goddess.”

“What am I going to do with you?” she teased. “You better watch that kind of language around my mother. She’s got quite an opinion these days about the whole dominant and submissive thing, and you know I hate those labels. And I told you. Ever since she read that damn book, she thinks she knows fifty fucking shades of everything. The last thing I need is her commenting on our bedroom activities.”

He chuckled. “Understood. Now . . . please continue.”

And so they’d arrived at that moment when she had to try and explain something that kind of defied any sort of rationale. A paradox. An absurd contradiction, a little like Sammy Hagar.

“Marriage to me is more than an excuse to throw a big party. When I said yes to being your wife, I was making an inviolate promise to put you before everything, even myself if need be.”

Alex reached and brought the hand wearing his ring to his mouth for a soft kiss that made Meghan tremble.

“I make that same promise to you as well, my love.”

Unf.
She loved him so damn much. “I know. And all of this,” she said moving her hand between them, “everything that goes on between us in private, it’s all part of that sacred promise.”

A
T FIRST, HE WASN’T SURE
where she was going and was a bit stunned by how serious his fiancée was being, but as her thought process unfolded, he was starting to understand.

This thing between them was strong. Powerful and intense. What they’d been through to reach this moment could not be understated. She fought for him when he was at his lowest, even after he pushed her away. Alex wasn’t whole without her and together they generated enough heat to power half the state.

The passion fueling their relationship was part of this sacrament they were entering into. Meghan was so different in her outlook on just about everything. He enjoyed that about her. She wasn’t stuck in her ways and had an almost empathic connection to every living being she came in contact with.

For her,
of course
getting married would actually be the solemn occasion it was meant to be rather than the sideshow to a lavish party. He should have seen this coming.

“What can I do?” he asked softly. He felt her body language ease slightly but she kept chewing on her lip—a sure sign of hesitation.

“I know this sounds crazy,” she began. “But I’ve been thinking a lot about energy. The kind we create with our actions.”

She was absently twisting a corner of the sheet in her hands, and Alex wondered if she could look any more adorable.

“The energy you and I create is . . .
powerful.
”

He liked that she smiled shyly and lowered her eyes when she said it. Powerful, indeed.

“Anyway, when we make those vows, our energies will be joined forever.”

“I love the way you put that.” And he did. She was just so . . . perfect.

“But, you know,” she said—only now the sheet twisting was getting more aggressive. “Other people’s energy will be there, too.”

Ding, ding, ding!
And there we have it,
he chuckled silently. His Feng-Shui believing, yoga doing, meditating, nature loving bride was having none of anybody else’s shit on her big day.

Was he thrilled that she took their marriage so seriously?
Hell, yeah.
Was he fucking ecstatic that she pretty much just told him that she regarded submitting to him in their relationship as a sacred vow?
Oh, fuck.
Knowing she gave him her total trust and faith to always put her first and see to her well-being struck a chord deep inside him. They were made for each other.

“I hate the idea that half of the people in the church will be judging everything we do. My dress. Your hair. The flowers. The babies will cry. Maybe it’ll rain and be a shitty day. Who knows? My point is . . .” She drifted off for a second like she wasn’t sure where her thoughts were leading.

“Well, I don’t know what my point is.” She half-shrugged. “I just don’t want any negativity, you know? I hate that shit. Negativity, I mean. I don’t want to be standing there, having this huge moment, but feeling like flypaper for everyone else’s twaddle. Does that sound crazy? It does! Doesn’t it? Oh, my god, I’m losing it,” she groaned as her head dropped into her hands.

After a minute, she looked at him with wide eyes. “I mean, some part of me thinks we should elope. Have it be just the two of us. And then I think about our families. They’d be crushed if we did that.”

“Okay. So let’s review here for a minute. Make sure I understand,” he told her as he playfully tapped the end of her nose.

“So all this hemming and hawing—the heavy sighs—the worried frowns—the sleepless nights and the running away . . . all that is because you think other people’s energy is going to pollute our vows? I got that right, yes?” He recalled an earlier conversation when she’d spoken wistfully of energy.

She nodded, and unless his eyes were betraying him, she actually blushed.

Alex reached, took her face in his hands, and drew it toward him.

“I fucking love you, lady. Fucking love that you see things that way.”

And then he kissed her. Meghan’s lips were the sweetest, most seductive treasure. When he finished devouring her mouth, she sat back and did this cute little smirk-pouty thing that made his dick turn to stone.

“I know there’s nothing we can do about it,” she said, but he cut her off.

“Well, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Let me think about it, okay?”

“Thank you for not over-reacting.”

He speared her with a no-nonsense look. “You talk to me in the future and don’t worry about me freaking out. You are my one and only priority, Meghan. Nothing else even comes close. I’d walk away from Justice tomorrow if a choice had to be made.”

Nodding, she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, laughing. “You’ve got after-sex hair.”