Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) (16 page)

Pulling herself up to sit cross-legged in the middle of the king-size bed, Lacey yawned a few times, pushing the wild hair from around her face and looking more closely at her beautiful sexy knight. Gone was the three-day stubble, worn t-shirt, and old jeans. Today’s Cameron was clean-shaven, his hair groomed, wearing business attire and looking quite serious. In a word he looked,
yummy
. And very, very hot.

“Hey! Do I know you, sir?” she squeaked dramatically, clutching a tiny corner of the sheet to her throat. “What did you do with cowboy Cameron?” she teased. “Seriously, what’s the deal? Is it formal Thursday and I didn’t know?”

He liked the way her voice sounded kind of rocky and even sexier, if that was possible, first thing in the morning. She was priceless and he snorted at her wiseass remarks.
Cowboy Cameron?
Hey, he liked that.

Groaning in mock frustration, he gestured at his dress for the day. “Ah, yes. Well, business is on the schedule. We’ll be stopping at a military base in Oklahoma for a scheduled meeting. Boring round-table, lots of talking. Sorry but duty calls.”

Something flashed across her face but it was gone so quick he didn’t have a chance to register what it was. But Ponytail was suddenly tense and looking a bit stern.

“Hey, hey,” he murmured, stepping into her personal space. “What’s the frowny face for? It’s really NBD. You’ll hang out in the family area because of security, but you’ll be fine. There are always loads of people and liaison volunteers there. Guaranteed you’ll have a better time than I will.”

At the mention of Oklahoma, Lacey had fallen silent. Oklahoma.
Wow
. There was a place she never thought she’d be ever again. She’d lived in Oklahoma before her dad did his flit and abandoned her. Memories from the past came flooding in. What she remembered of her father was muddied by age. She’d been so young when they’d lived together. He was never around and she practically raised herself. She remembered that he smelled of cigarettes and Lava soap, had a moustache and a beer gut. He watched Mickey Mouse cartoons and made gallons of sweet iced tea that he kept in big jugs in the refrigerator. That was basically the sum total of what she could recall of her time with him.

There were snippets of being in grade school and riding in his work truck crammed full of tools and empty fast food drink cups. And shadowy memories of a time when he laughed and seemed happy, impressions from before they lost her mother. Beyond that her mind was blank where he was concerned. She hadn’t blamed him for not visiting, after all Alaska wasn’t exactly around the corner from south Florida but she did feel a bitterness deep in her heart that he’d just walked away without a second’s glance.

Seeing Cameron looking so hot and drop dead sexy in the stark white shirt and dark slacks staggered her with self-doubt. She was little more than a kid and here she was with this serious-looking businessman.

Cam was surprised when she tried suggesting that she wait for him in the truck, out of the way, while he went about his business. But he would have none of that.

“No. You’re not hiding - you’re with me. Don’t get all worked up.” A light bulb went off in his head that he thanked his lucky stars for when he told her, “Wear that pretty little sundress you picked up. Give you a chance to show off those strappy sandals I know you’ve been dying to wear.”

The clouds in her demeanor seemed to lift and vanish after that, as they got busy with morning tasks before heading down to the breakfast buffet. Cam wasn’t sure what that had been all about but he knew keeping things light and her moving forward was the easiest way to overcome whatever had appeared to dim her outlook.

By the time they got on the road about an hour later, Lacey was still quiet but not nearly as tense as she had been. Cameron tried filling in the silence with idle chit-chat about current events but she didn’t want to talk. Finally, he found a classic rock station on the satellite radio and they listened to that as the scenery sped by.

Fact was, the mere mention of Oklahoma had triggered a tidal wave of emotional baggage to crash down upon her. The only thing keeping her calmly in the seat was the solid presence of the guy sitting beside her. He made her feel safe. When he looked at her with those hypnotic green eyes, she felt bravery and courage feed into her system, drip by drip, as his gaze bored into her soul. It was unnerving and exciting at the same time.

With her breath caught in her throat and the thump, thump, thumping of her heart, Lacey was reminded that her thoughts were wandering. Glancing his way, she got lost in his masculine profile, feeling small and fragile next to his large frame. From her side of the front seat it seemed he took up much of the space in the truck’s cab with his impressive height, impossibly broad shoulders, and muscled thighs. The dark shaggy hair she was used to seeing was styled away from his face giving her a clear view of Cameron’s sculpted cheekbones and perfect nose atop a pair of lips that should be declared illegal. It never failed to astonish her how readily she quickened whenever he was near.

Unable to look away, she noticed his hands where they gripped the steering wheel. Just like the rest of him, they were huge. His fingers were long and tapered, strong and sturdy, but not clumsy. Physically, he was controlled and showed an economy of movement. He wasn’t all over the place, restless and edgy. That rock steadiness showed in his grasp and made her think about what it would feel like to have those big hands touch her. Explore her intimate places, learn her female secrets. The thought made heat rush up her back while a fine shudder shook her body.

Lacey was developing powerful feelings for him. What started off as a wayward thought about his presence making her feel safe hadn’t taken long to detour into much more intimate territory
. Yeah, he made her feel safe. And he made her feel all flushed and sparkly inside.
She quickly bit off the gurgle of laughter that nearly burst from her throat at the notion. She added a silent snort of disbelief at her own naïveté. The sparkly feeling was commonly referred to as sexual arousal.
Lord, but she was out of her depth with him.
He was, after all, trying to play nice and while she should be grateful for that, she didn’t feel like being sensible.

A water tower in the distance caught her attention as it grew larger as they zoomed down the highway. Getting closer Lacey spied some sort of military insignia and the name of a base on the tower and realized they must be approaching their mid-day destination. Shutting down brooding memories and an inconvenient attraction to her travelling companion, she pulled it together and turned her attention toward the nerve-wracking thought of going out in public with Cameron. She hoped that she didn’t do or say anything to embarrass him. He appeared so mature and serious in his business attire and it sort of freaked her out.

Checking out for the hundredth time what she was wearing, she tried seeing herself through a stranger’s eyes. With her hair in a loose ponytail, she’d added two simple white enamel clips above each ear that lent a bit of shine since she didn’t have any jewelry to accessorize with. Her simple summery dress had short sleeves, a scoop neckline and a fluttery hem that stopped well north of her knees. With its breezy fabric of tiny pink flowers, the dress felt deliciously feminine. As Cameron suggested, she added the strappy sandals that made her walk with a suggestive sway that caught Lacey off-guard. In fact, she was pretty sure those swinging hips caught her dark knight by surprise too, if the way his eyes had burned off the top of layer of her skin when she walked to the truck had been any indication.

Hours later, Lacey was enjoying some small talk with a group of military spouses gathered for a day of recreation. She’d been left to her own devices shortly after arriving, having gone through some heavy formalities and a sobering security check. Cameron had quickly been drawn away through the security zone while she had been warmly welcomed at the base community center bustling with families and volunteers.

It hadn’t taken long to overcome her initial shyness, and she found the time spent over lunch and relaxing in the outdoor courtyard with the military families heart-warming and informative. Hearing their stories helped Lacey create quite a vivid picture in her mind of what life on deployment was really like.

Tales of intense heat-waves, bugs, poor food, and a lack of simple comforts as well as the constant danger and never-ending high-alert moved her beyond words. Knowing Cameron had experienced these things squeezed at her heart. He hadn’t said much about the military but she’d known from his fevered delirium that he’d been in the special forces.

Even when he was actively seducing the breath from her body he’d been sure to remind her that he was, as he put it, no gentleman. Even referring to himself as a complete bastard several times. Hearing what the spouses told her today, she understood that the emotional burden of war sometimes made those who’d served think they were not very nice people. Cameron clearly thought of himself as somewhat broken. She couldn’t disagree more.

Escaping the heat of the late afternoon, everyone had gone back inside the center where she was standing by a vending machine chatting with two women when Cameron appeared at the end of a long hallway. He was deep in conversation, hands jammed in his pockets and walking alongside someone in an officer’s uniform. The way he moved and held himself showed a strength she was starting to see through different eyes.

Keeping her eyes on him as he made his way down the length of the narrow hall, Lacey enjoyed the warmth creeping along her nerve-endings. Seeing him as he was, tie loosened and the top button of the white shirt that stretched tight across his solid chest, he looked so gorgeous that she lost her thoughts and nearly forgot to breathe.
Damn.

“Is that your man, honey?” the woman at her side asked. “Oh my! Girlfriend, that man is H-O-T!”

Lacey blushed and looked away, making the two women hoot in delight at her obvious embarrassment. “Don’t be shy, Lacey!” The one teased, “I wouldn’t mind if he put his shoes under my bed, if you know what I mean!”

She couldn’t help but giggle at their easy banter, eventually making quiet, shooing gestures with her hands to halt the chatter before the advancing men came into their space.

On their approach the older woman called out to the officer. “Colonel Davis. You know Lieutenant Turner’s wife, Sarah, don’t you?” she asked as the two men came to a halt.

The Colonel acknowledged both women before turning to Cameron and performing the basic introductions. It didn’t take long after that for the women to wander discreetly away. When the Colonel turned to Lacey, Cameron quickly staked his claim with a hand at the small of her back, drawing her close to him.

“Who is this lovely young lady?” the Colonel asked with a twinkle in his eye. “Don’t tell me she’s with your sorry butt, Justice,” he added with a smile. “Ah, the injustice!”

Both men chuckled at the funny twist on his name. When Cameron answered, he did so with a half-assed salute and a smirk. “Just because you outrank me now Frank doesn’t mean you get to flirt with my companion.”

Cameron waved dismissively in the other man’s direction. “Lacey, this cigar-chomping reprobate with the ugly buzz cut is Colonel Frank Davis. We had the misfortune of being deployed together a long time ago. Don’t believe anything he says. As an officer, he is no gentleman and lies like a rug.”

While she laughed and smiled, Cameron fixed his old friend with a searing look. “Frank, this is my friend, Lacey Morrow.” Nobody missed the slight emphasis he’d placed on the word,
friend.

Reaching out politely to shake her hand, the Colonel nodded his head, acknowledging Cameron’s’ introduction. “It’s a pleasure to meet any
friend
of a Justice Brother,” he said.

Lacey twitched in surprise when Cameron added hastily, “She’s traveling with me to Arizona.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You’re taking someone this pretty into the Justice compound? Cam! You old dog, you!” chortled the obviously amused officer.

Turning mischievous eyes her way, the Colonel mock-whispered to her, “Watch out for that piece of work, Draegyn St. John. He’s a devil with the ladies.”