Justice (12 page)

“Prince Eric,” Chuck announced, and Macey glanced at the door expecting one of the kids.

What she saw instead was Dallas decked out in full Prince Eric regalia. She let out a quiet gasp and started toward him. He met her half way and took her hand, leaning down in a bow to kiss her fingers. “M’lady.”

Macey giggled. “What are you doing here?”

He straightened and smiled. “Can a prince not join his princess for a ball?”

“I apologize, your majesty… or sire? I have no idea what to call you.”

“Sexiest man alive will work.” He glanced around the room and then pulled her past Chuck and into one of the bedrooms down the hall. Closing the door, he pushed her against it and slid his hand to her neck, leaning down to kiss her.

Macey gripped his waist and sighed against his lips. “Best kisser ever.”

“We’ve done that one before,” he pointed out.

She giggled. “And we’ll probably do it a lot more.”

“Fair enough. Of course, the sentiment’s the same on my side.”

“And it should be.” She raised her hands to her head. “Dang it. Now I’m going to have to fix my hair again.”

He grinned, pulling a fork from his pocket. “Perhaps your comb will help.”

Macey laughed. “I won’t ask how you know about that part of the movie.”

“Elizabeth used to make Brock and me watch it with her whenever we’d showed up. Brock probably had to watch it more than me, and I don’t know that I've ever actually watched it all the way through, but I’ve seen enough of it to pick up a few things.”

“What happened with your overnight?”

“There was no overnight,” he said with a smile.

“Ooh, you sneaky, sneaky man.”

“Gotta keep you guessing, baby, or I will begin to bore you.”

“That could
never
happen.” She slid her arms around his neck. “So, my door.”

He sighed. “Needs to be replaced.”

“But you had all those really efficient looking tools,” she said. “And the tiny screw in your pocket.”

Dallas laughed. “I also have a great deal of strength, which I underestimated when I kicked it in. Don’t worry, babe. I ordered a new one. It’ll be here next week. I’ll take care of it then.”

She bit her lip.

“What?” he asked.

“I’ve been sleeping in Payton’s room.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t lock my door,” she said, trying not to sound irritated.

“Oh, right. Sorry, babe. I didn’t think.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered.

Dallas stroked her cheek. “I’ll come and stay with you until it’s delivered.”

“Sounds like a pain in the butt.”

“To hold my girl through the night?” he asked with a frown. “Are you kidding me? That’s a dream come true. I should have broken down your door months ago.”

She snorted, unable to stop a grin. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Which is why you love me.” He kissed her again and then stroked her cheek. “Would you join me for a dance, m’lady?”

“Yes, kind sir, I would love to.”

Dallas pulled the door open and let her precede him out and back into the “ballroom.” Macey reveled in his doting for the rest of the evening, joining in the fun when Payton arrived, her Pocahontas costume too adorable for words, even though her face seemed to have a permanent scowl directed at Anna.

Once the children had all gone home and the Williams’ grandkids were put to bed, the party really got started while the adults danced, drank, and ate until well into the next morning. By the time Dallas took Macey home, she could barely function, but lucky for her, Dallas helped her out of her costume and even though she fell asleep almost as soon as she fell into bed, she awoke the next morning in his arms and all was right with her world.

CHAPTER TEN

A
FEW DAYS later, Macey followed Dallas into the downtown precinct where self-defense classes were beginning. He and Jaxon were on the training schedule tonight, while Brock and another agent would be teaching tomorrow.

Even though he wasn’t instructing, Brock stood beside the wall, watching as she joined Bailey and Payton at the edge of the room. Other ladies filed into the room, breaking off into their own groups.

“Hey,” Payton said as she hugged Macey. “Ready for this?”

“I have no idea,” Macey admitted.

Bailey smiled. “It’ll be great. Especially if I can use these moves on Brock. He seems to like to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder, despite the fact I have never known myself to resemble potatoes.”

Macey giggled. “Caveman tendencies, obviously.”

“Definitely,” Bailey agreed.

“Ladies, if I could get your attention.”

Macey turned toward the voice and recognized Jaxon’s brother, Matthew Quinn. Tall and muscular, the FBI assistant director commanded attention even without using his booming voice. Both the Quinn brothers were ridiculously sexy, although, she kept that opinion to herself.

“I really appreciate y’all being here. Your instructors tonight are Dallas Stone and Jaxon Quinn, and they have assured me they won’t go easy on you, so please don’t go easy on them.” Matt turned to a man dressed in a padded suit and carrying a helmet. “This is Jon and he’s going to be acting as your punching bag. As you can see, he’s well protected, so don’t go easy on him either. Dallas and Jaxon, grab your groups and we’ll begin.”

Dallas smiled at Macey. “You’re with me.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” she countered.

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll want to go easy on me. I think I should go with Jax.”

He frowned. “No.”

“Yes.”

Dallas took her hand. “I want you with me.”

“I’m fine, honey,” she said. “I trust Jax and you do too.”

He frowned again.

“I’m going,” she said, and squeezed his hand. “I’ll be fine.”

Macey grinned at him as she walked to where Jaxon stood in the middle of a group of ogling women. As he spoke, they leaned in, gobbling his words up before he even spoke them. Macey rolled her eyes and stepped into the fray.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked.

Jaxon glanced over at Dallas and then back to Macey. “Not at all,” he said.

She took a minute to introduce herself to the other women—who didn’t even bother to feign interest in meeting her—and then Jaxon led them to their side of the mat and started explaining stances, center of gravity, and how to use your attacker’s weight against him. Then he called for a volunteer to demonstrate. As Jaxon walked the first participant through the moves, Macey was surprised at how much she remembered from the class she took right after the attack. There were a few step changes, and a couple of the terms were different, but Jaxon’s instructions were easy to follow. Macey hung back as he cycled through the group, and when it was her turn to practice so she followed Jaxon and the padded Jon onto the mat.

“Ready?” Jaxon asked.

Macey grinned. “Bring it.”

He lunged at her. She knew she needed to step to the left and defend with her arms, but she froze. The next thing she knew, she hit the mat, lying flat on her back, her heart racing as tears streamed down her face. Her hands were pushed above her head and she panicked. “Get off,” she rasped.

“Mase?” Jaxon said.

Heart in her throat, she squeezed her eyes shut and screamed. Jaxon was suddenly not on her anymore and she took several deep breaths in an effort not to hyperventilate.

“Macey, Mase. It’s me, honey. It’s Payton. You’re okay.” Payton’s voice sounded on Macey’s right.

Macey’s heart raced as she struggled to remember where she was and what she’d been doing. She opened her eyes. Everyone was staring at her. She sat up and pulled her knees in.

“Deep breaths, Mase. It’s okay. You’re okay. Nobody’s gonna hurt you.” Payton knelt beside her and rubbed her back as Brock and Matt struggled to pull Dallas off of Jaxon.

Macey shrugged Payton’s hand away.

“You fucking touch her again, I will kill you,” Dallas bellowed.

Jaxon, still on the ground, raised his hands in surrender.

“Dal, calm down,” Brock said, and stepped between them.

Dallas crossed his arms and took a deep breath. “You know what happened to her, Jax. You can’t be on top of her like that,” he said, now a little calmer.

“Sorry, brother,” Jaxon said, and lifted himself off the mat.

Dallas made his way to Macey and hunkered down beside her. He didn’t touch her, just looked at her. “You okay?”

Macey shook her head.

“Say something, Mase.”

She shook her head again. She couldn’t respond just yet, but she did grab for his arm and drop her forehead on his shoulder.

He cupped the back of her neck and gave her a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”

Bailey joined the small group and handed Macey a bottled water. “Thought this might help.”

Macey took it and gave her a small smile.

“Can you get up?” Dallas asked.

She nodded and Dallas helped her to her feet. Her legs shook and she was grateful when Dallas wrapped an arm around her waist and walked her toward the chairs. Everyone was still standing around staring at her.

“Can we go somewhere else?” she whispered.

Dallas nodded and walked her into the privacy of one of the back offices. As soon as they were alone, she burst into tears and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He stroked her back. “It’s okay, baby. It was too much too soon. We’ll go home and you never have to come back.”

“No, it’s not that,” she argued. “It’s good that I’m here. I just have to work through this crap and I’d rather do it without an audience.”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“No, you’re not.” She frowned up at him. “Jaxon didn’t do anything wrong, honey. He was doing his job.”

“He was an asshole. He should know better after everything you went through. After…" He shook his head.

“Dallas, do you think that if by some ungodly chance this were to happen to me again, the rapist is going to stop and say, ‘oh, if this scares you, I can adjust the position’? I have to deal with this and I have to learn to defend myself even if it wrecks me for a few minutes. Better it wreck me now. I totally froze out there. I don’t want to be the dumb girl who loses it in a real life situation.”

Dallas held her face between his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “You’re amazing, Macey. Truly. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I’m so brave, I’m in here sobbing into your sweaty chest, after I just made a fool of myself in front of a dozen strangers.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t minimize what you’re doing. I’m humbled by you, honey. Let me be.”

Macey nodded and settled her cheek back against his chest. “I love you.”

He kissed the crown of her head. “Love you too.”

She allowed herself a few extra minutes of comfort before insisting they return to the group. As she walked back into the training area, everyone turned and clapped and Macey felt even more embarrassed.

Jaxon broke the tension by rushing towards them. “I’m so sorry, Macey.”

“Don’t be,” she said. “You were doing what you were supposed to do.”

“Yeah, but I should have gone easy.”

“No again,” she countered. “Can we try that move again?”

“No,” Dallas said.

“Yes,” Macey argued.

Dallas frowned. “I’ll work with you on it.”

“It’s fine, honey. You can watch if you’re concerned, but I
have
to do this. For myself.”

“How about we do it after class,” Jaxon suggested. “That way, if it freaks you out, we can stop and reevaluate.”

Macey nodded. “Thanks, Jax. That would be great.”

Jaxon smiled and headed back to his group

“I don’t like this,” Dallas said.

“I know you don’t.” She squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to. Now, kiss me and go do your thing.”

He frowned, pausing for a few seconds, before leaning down and kissing her quickly. “You want to stop, we stop.”

“Got it,” she said.

Dallas stepped away, giving Bailey and Payton the opening to descend upon her.

“Are you okay?” Payton asked.

“I’m fine, Pay. Thanks for the water, Bailey.”

“No problem,” she said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I will be.”

Payton gave her a quick hug and Macey headed back to her group.

Macey stood back and watched during the rest of the class, making mental notes of the moves she wanted to work on when the room cleared out.

After the class dismissed, Brock, Bailey, and Payton stayed behind, and Macey wasn’t sure how she felt about their presence. Although she was thankful for their support, she wasn’t thrilled about having an audience.

“Ready, Mase?” Dallas asked.

“Jaxon has to do this, honey,” she argued.

“No.”

She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of earshot of their friends. “I want someone other than you to do this.”

“And I’m not comfortable with that,” he said.

“I don’t want my brain to associate you with being flat on the floor, Dallas.”

A hiss escaped through his teeth. “Damn it,” he whispered, and dragged his hands through his hair.

“Please, baby. Let me do this with Jaxon. I trust him. I really do.”

He stared down at her for a few, very tense seconds, before he slipped his hand to the back of her neck and lowered his forehead to hers. “You’re killing me.”

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you too.” Dallas kissed her forehead before releasing her.

The rest of the night went without incident and Dallas seemed a little less like he wanted to kill one of his closest friends. Macey felt exceedingly more relaxed, especially since she’d managed to defend herself after a few tough starts and stops with Jaxon over her.

In the end, despite Dallas’s efforts to stop everything, Macey kicked, hit, and twisted her way out of the attack, using her fear as the catalyst to do so. She forced herself to calm her emotions, and her friends hooted and hollered and celebrated the hard-won success with her, forcing Dallas to grudgingly acknowledge that this might have been a good idea.

“My place tonight?” he asked as they headed to his car.

“I have to shower first.”