Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) (13 page)

Cam was having a hard time concentrating on the miles rushing by due to the presence of an overly excited passenger. She was having the time of her life as they made their way cross-country from the northern east coast to the southwestern desert in Arizona. Her enthusiasm and wonder at every little thing was refreshing albeit a bit exhausting.

During the long drive yesterday, she’d been keyed up – after all, she was on an unexpected journey that could possibly change her life. He’d managed to distract her with stories about the people who made up his real life family. This was new territory for him as he’d always been a man of very few words. To lighten the mood he simply started talking, something he never did, and they’d basically had an eight-hour conversation after that.

Stopping for the night at an old highway motel with a restaurant and bar attached, he’d practically forced a huge steak dinner on her. That she savored the cheap cut of meat with whipped potatoes and canned green beans like it was a gourmet meal made him feel a thousand feet tall.

He’d rented two rooms and after eating and getting their signals straight for the next morning, they parted awkwardly from one another. He hadn’t wanted to leave and she didn’t seem too thrilled about being left alone.

All day long, tucked in the back of his mind, was a disturbing scene they’d shared in the early morning as they met up to get back on the road. When he tapped on her door to see if she was awake, he heard the distinct sounds of her scurrying about just on the other side of the door. When she let him in seconds later, his trained eyes noted a wadded up mound of pillows stuffed down next to the sofa and that the bed that had not been slept in. He also spied her backpack off to the side of the door along with a half drunk bottle of water. Her skittishness at his presence and the way she kept smoothing imaginary loose strands of hair from her face told a story. All signs pointed to Lacey having slept on the floor, right where his feet were now, just inside the door. Instant understanding flashed in his memory - nights spent up against a door as protection and immediate awareness against an intruder. It gutted him to see evidence of the fear she’d been going through staring him right in his face.

He wasn’t stupid and was well aware of the shift he was experiencing courtesy of his traveling companion. In just a few days he’d developed an interest in another human being, had allowed himself to become concerned about her well-being, and most surprisingly of all, was using the friendship word quite liberally. Drae and Alex were in for a surprise when he showed up with Lacey in tow. And not just because they’d be presented with a new employee but because they’d pick up immediately on his growing attachment to her.

Hell, he liked being around her. And not just because she smelled like a million bucks and acted like he was the most fascinating guy on the planet. He liked hearing her opinions; she had an interesting take on a variety of subjects and was well-read despite the challenges she’d struggled to overcome.

He also couldn’t lie to himself or deny that he wanted her, naked and in his bed, spread open for his pleasure until he pulled her underneath him as he sank into her heated depths. He conjured up a picture of those long, lean limbs of hers clutched high across his back as his hands held her incredible ass while he pounded away in a frenzied, intense fucking that would only end after he watched her come, maybe more than once, and then emptied his aching balls deep inside her. Knowing she was an innocent in the ways a man’s mind worked in no way diminished the endless erotic images that flashed in his thoughts. He simply wanted her.

Recalling her unease after their first day of driving and the way she reacted to being alone, on their second night he secured two adjoining rooms in a large chain hotel boasting an indoor pool. Dropping their bags and making quite a show of opening the door that made their rooms side-by-side, Cam suggested they go for a swim before dinner to get some exercise. He made it sound innocent, but he was man enough to admit that what was really spurring him on was the desire to see her in a bathing suit. He wanted to find out once and for all if the luscious breasts he felt when they embraced were as perfect as he imagined. The minute the words came out of his mouth she started clutching that damnable backpack she never let out of her sight.
Time to find out what that was all about.

Raising an eyebrow at the worn bag he commented, “Any chance you have a bathing suit in that bag, Lacey?”

Setting the bag on a chair Lacey looked at Cameron in surprise. While she liked knowing that they were cautious friends, she was started to hope for something a bit more on the intimate side. Fact was, she found him terribly exciting and sexy as hell. Two days with him in a truck cab and her nerves were in tatters.

The idea of going swimming filled her with a pleasure so keen she almost embarrassed herself. She bet he looked damn good in bathing trunks but she was bummed she wouldn’t get a chance to see for herself since a bathing suit wasn’t included in her meager belongings. “No, sorry. Nothing quite as exotic as a bathing suit in here,” she joked as she patted the old bag. “All my clothes are now in a travel bag so this is just a few personal items,” she muttered at the end.

“What’s in the book you carry?” he asked. Cam liked that she didn’t play bullshit head games. With her shining baby blues staring him down, he watched her face as she decided what to do and waited patiently while she made up her mind without a lot of drama.

Reaching swiftly into the old worn bag, she hauled out the leather book she guarded with her life. “This is my grandmother’s diary,” she said simply and concisely. “It’s from when my mother was a young girl and it’s full of day-to-day details of their family life. I never really knew my mom so these words feel like the only connection I have left with her.”

Laying the old book on a table she handled it carefully as if it was a priceless manuscript, opening it to an old photograph tucked near the back. She held the picture in her hands, staring at it with an intensity that rippled through the space between them, hitting Cam forcefully in the middle of his chest.

Speaking so quietly he could barely make out her words she whispered, “This is me and my mom.”

Gazing at the picture she held up, Cam saw the happy face of an adoring mother holding a baby wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket. Lacey had her mother’s eyes. He wondered if she realized that. The loss of a mother’s love at such a young age must have been horrible. He was glad that she had this picture to connect her with a happier time. He had no such pictures and no happy childhood times to recall. It was no wonder she guarded the bag like her life depended on it.

He remained silent as she replaced the picture and gently closed the book before placing it into the backpack. When her hand stayed and caressed the bag he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “I envy you the surety of your mother’s love.” Lacey’s bright blue eyes snapped to his in question. He had no idea what made him say that since he never spoke of the woman who had given him life.

“You didn’t know your mother, Cameron?” she asked.

“Oh no. I knew the woman. That doesn’t mean she had the capacity to love anyone other than herself,” he bit out with disgust.

Moving to his side, Lacey reached out and touched his arm before sliding her hand gently into his. “I’m sorry to hear that, Cameron. Even though I lost my mother, I know she loved me.”

Cam stared at their joined hands and marveled at whatever had made him say that out loud about Lorraine. She’d been completely open with him about her darkest secrets so maybe he just felt he owed her one of his. Whatever it was, now that he’d shared a little he was anxious to move on to other things. Feelings weren’t where he was the most comfortable.

Stepping away from her, he pocketed the room keys and suggested, “There’s a gift shop in the front lobby. Let’s go check it out and see if they have something for you to wear in the pool.”
Smooth move you asshole
, he thought. Nothing like a clumsy two-step to keep things light and uncomplicated.

“We don’t have to do that. I won’t have much use for a bathing suit after this. You go ahead and catch a swim if that’s what you want to do. I’ll hang out here and watch some TV.”

“No way, Lacey. You’re coming swimming with me and FYI, you’ll have
plenty
of use for a bathing suit once we get to Arizona. You do realize it’s hotter than the lobby of hell there for part of the year don’t you?” he teased. “Come on. No argument. It’s down to the lobby we go and no pissing and moaning from you.”

Half an hour later they were back, carrying a plastic shopping bag stuffed with sweatshirts and t-shirts from the gift shop along with a rather demure one-piece suit. He insisted on matching t-shirts with a tacky state slogan across the front that got them both laughing and then tried to tease her into a hot pink two-piece suit that was little more than patches of fabric held together by string. Trotting along with her butt hanging out of a ruffled thong was more than Lacey could handle, hence the sedate one-piece alternative.

Taking the elevator to the indoor pool, they retreated to their respective changing rooms. Cam was already in the pool, enjoying the heated water, when she hesitantly approached with a big towel wrapped around her like a shroud. He enjoyed her shyness and found it totally refreshing compared to the brazen show-offs he was used to. Most of the women of his acquaintance would have gleefully opted for the half-naked look of the hot pink thong and been more than willing to let most of their tits overflow the tiny fabric swatches. Not this one. Dolphining quickly to the side of the pool he popped up from the water, swiping his long hair back from his face.

Holding out his hand he said, “Come on, Lacey. I won’t bite. Lose the towel and get in here with me before I come up on deck and throw you in.”

His bark of surprised laughter bounced off the natatorium walls when she impishly stuck her tongue out and dropped her foot to the water to splash at him. When she released the towel, however, his laughing stopped because nothing could have been sexier or more alluring than her not-so-modest, one-piece suit. High cut sides showed off her fabulously long, toned limbs while the sweetheart neckline allowed for a more than generous glimpse of the curves it covered.

Lacey had meant to jump right in but after she tossed her towel on the nearby bench and turned around, Cameron had moved into the shallow end of the pool and was standing in waist deep water. The sight of his naked chest and impressively toned physique emptied her brain of all coherent thought. With his long wet hair and smoky green eyes moving hungrily over her exposed skin, she shivered with awareness as she took in his usual stubble and the line of dark hair that covered his chest and arrowed downward into his trunks. She was glad that what lay further was under the water because she doubted her ability to look away. She remembered the way she had inspected every visible inch of his incredible body when he had lain unconscious, fevered with illness, and blushed from the soles of her feet to the roots of her hair.
Just friends, right?

Cam backed off a few feet to give her room to ease into the water but his eyes never left the tempting vision she created.
Maybe insisting on a swim wasn’t such a good idea.
Especially if the hard-on he was sporting was any indication of where his thoughts lay. When she dropped into the pool and gracefully sank beneath the water, the last thing he saw was her rounded bottom before it disappeared beneath the surface. That ass should be declared a health hazard.
Holy fucking shit
, was the only thought Cam could form as vibrant images of her naked body, writhing underneath him as he thrust relentlessly into her body tattooed themselves on his eyeballs.
Just friends, my ass.

She was a very good swimmer and seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself splashing around in the heated pool that had emptied of the other hotel guests until only the two of them remained. Cam had the time of his life challenging her to lap sprints and engaging in some flirtatious water play.
Yep
, he mused. Getting her in a pool had actually been a very good idea. Cavorting around in the water loosened both of them up and by the time they were ready to get out, they’d been hanging, side-by-side, on a floating lane divider talking about everything and nothing for the better part of half an hour.

When Lacey paddled to the ladder of the pool, Cam followed close behind enjoying the sight of her spectacular ass when she pulled herself dripping wet from the water. Reaching quickly for a towel she began swiping rivulets dripping down her legs while Cam got lost in some undeniably hot and lascivious thoughts. The notion of licking the water from those long, incredible legs renewed the surge of arousal in his groin that had dogged him most of the day.

Lacey concentrated on drying off rather than on the sight of the water dripping from Cameron’s hair after he pushed his long dark locks back from his face with an impatient swipe. Not following the path of those droplets as they dripped across his shoulders and down the sexy dark hair framing his chest was an excruciatingly difficult task. There simply was no two ways about it; he was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and after their round of wild kisses two nights ago, she’d been unable to think of anything else but him. Even the excitement of the first days of their journey dimmed under the magnificence that was his body.