Redeeming Justice (51 page)

Eyes locked, they made their way to the other. Meghan thought her big, hunky lover
was amazing with his scraggly beard and mussed hair, when he dressed in jeans molded
to his hard body that made her brain melt. But the sight of him in a tailored business
suit that fit him like a second skin, clean-shaven and groomed like a damn movie star,
her heart started thumping wildly again. The man was magnificent, and it was all she
could do not to climb on him like a tree.

Before the titillating thought faded, she was caught completely off-guard when Alex
dropped to his knee at her
feet. Blinking in confusion, she searched his face and then stopped breathing when
he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black velvet jewelry box.

In the silence of the room she actually heard the box creak open as he lifted the
lid to reveal a dazzling ring with a large Asher cut diamond in a raised antique setting
surrounded by emeralds.

“Meghan Elizabeth O’Brien. You are the love of my life. You’ve saved me in every way
a man who was lost and alone could be saved. You are more precious to me than you
could possibly understand, and I will cherish and adore you every moment of our lives.”

He took the ring from its cushion and gestured to her. Without hesitation, Meghan
gave him her hand as a single tear made its way from the corner of her eye and drifted
slowly down her cheek.

Sliding the beautiful ring onto her finger, he asked in a voice choked heavy with
emotion, “Will you stand by my side from this second forward and do me the honor of
being my wife?”

There were no words she could say, so she dropped to her knees and fell into his waiting
arms, the warmth and promise of his embrace meaning as much as the words he’d just
spoken.

With her tear-soaked face pressed into his neck, Meghan felt all the pain and confusion
of the last weeks evaporate. She was back where she belonged and that was all that
mattered.

“I love you, baby,” she groaned in a voice that offered an eloquent glimpse into how
badly she’d been hurting without him.

“Is that a yes?” he murmured. She heard the hopefulness in his voice along with a
rare flash of nervousness that made her tighten her arms around him.

Pulling back to look into his eyes when she gave her answer, Meghan lost control when
she saw that his cheeks were also covered in tears. With profound reverence, she placed
her hands on either side of his handsome face and kissed them away.

“Of course it’s a yes. How could it be any answer other than yes? Don’t cry baby.
I
love
you, and everything’s going to be alright.” She put her lips on his with all the
love and promise she could gather in a kiss meant to heal.

“Oh my God, Meghan,” he groaned. “I love you so much. You’ll never know how sorry
I am for what I put you through.”

He was pressing gentle kisses all over her face and neck while she clung to him, her
body pressed tight against his, just like the two hearts dangling on the bracelet.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered.

Alex looked at her, a little shell-shocked and a lot confused. “I haven’t done anything
to be proud of,” he grumbled, his beautiful eyes expressing soulful regret. “Especially
not where you’re concerned.”

She poured her heart into the gaze she fixed on his face. “Oh, but you have. Finding
your way through the dark is no easy thing, my love. It takes great courage to let
go of the past, and I’m going to make sure you never regret it.”

They kissed then, still on their knees, wrapped in one another’s embrace. It was the
sort of kiss that hopeless romantics dream of and write about.

Alex was at peace for the first time in his adult life that he could recall. Hearing
Meghan express her love had moved him beyond words. He meant it when he told her she’d
saved him. The redemption he’d been seeking all these years was right there in her
arms. Just like Cameron and Draegyn before him, finding his soul through the love
of another had finally sent the demons packing and laid the past to rest.

When he’d burst into the suite it had upset him greatly to see evidence of how his
woman had been suffering these last weeks making him wish Drae had punched his lights
out when he came back from visiting her instead of glaring at him with reproach blazing
in his eyes. He’d given Alex the dressing down of his life, shaming him with angry
caustic words as he laid in to him, describing in horrifying detail Meghan’s loss
of vibrancy and the telltale evidence of illness visible on her face. Seeing her in
the flesh again, he made a silent vow to put her needs, her safety, and her wellbeing
above his own from this day forward. Never again would he be selfish enough to subject
her to such pain and confusion. She was far too precious, the gift she was giving
by trusting him with her heart and soul marked him forever after.

Somehow they made it from the their knees into the bedroom but it wasn’t Alex who
had gotten them there. He knew that because their progress wasn’t stopped until it
was his legs connecting with the bed as Meghan feverishly writhed against him. Overcome
with emotion, he held her in his arms and crushed her magnificent body to his.

Taking her hand, he lifted it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles above where his
ring now sat. The symbol of his possession twinkled in the sunlight filtering through
the sheer panels covering the windows. Still holding her hand, which he was thrilled
to feel was trembling slightly, he twirled her around so her back was facing him.

Sweeping aside her hair, he undid the button of her dress; kissed the tiny swath of
skin he’d exposed, and then slowly pulled the zipper down. He made a silent vow then
and there to
always
be there to unzip her so she would know, not just who she belonged to but, who worshiped
her beyond measure.

When the dress was undone, he spread apart the sides and ran his fingers down the
skin of her back right to the place where her ass started to flare. Pushing the sexy
two-toned dress that showcased her gorgeous curves off her shoulders, Alex had to
quickly swallow when it wafted to the floor and he saw sheer white panties that left
little to his imagination. There was nothing about her fucking ass that he didn’t
adore and seeing it displayed in all its glory in the see-through silk got him hard
as stone in seconds.

The plump curve of her backside was begging for his touch. Sighing with a mixture
of lust and appreciation, he caressed her through the delicate silk as she stepped
out of the dress and kicked it aside. She didn’t waste any time spinning around on
her sexy high heels with a wicked expression on her face that let him know they were
totally in sync. Of course the equally sheer and just as sexy bra that made her already
delicious breasts look like a dream come true only added to her naughty appeal.

Reaching for his tie she deftly loosened it before sliding the jacket off his shoulders
where it joined her dress on the floor. Alex’s lips curled into a half-smile when
she all but shredded his shirt in her haste to undress him.

He hated taking her outrageous shoes off but he didn’t have much choice if he didn’t
want to end up with the heels digging in to his flesh. Before long they were on the
bed, half-naked, limbs entwined, whispering words of love in between deep, wet kisses.
Entangled as they were, first with him crushing her body into the mattress and then
with her sprawled on top of him, his hands made quick work of her lingerie. When he’d
bared her to his touch he rolled her beneath him and removed his briefs, caressing
her magnificent breasts with his eyes.

Wearing nothing but his ring and the delicate gold bracelet with the two hearts, Alex
made love to her with a passion that made her cry out in ecstasy. As she moaned and
whimpered underneath his powerful frame, he flexed his hips and ground against her
deep and slow until neither of them could take it anymore. With her legs wrapped around
his waist as she clung with trembling arms to his neck, and he kissed her with all
the love he had in his heart and soul, propelling them both to a staggering climax.
In the aftermath, his beautiful Meghan sobbed softly in his arms, telling him with
her tears and quivering body how much she adored him. After the erotic storm had passed,
he cradled her on his chest and let the moment speak for itself.

Eventually, she raised her head and smiled with those sexy green eyes that didn’t
hide anything from him.

“I asked your father for permission to marry you,” he told her. He thoroughly enjoyed
the look of total shock that spread across her face. She hadn’t expected that.

Alex was an old-fashioned guy at heart. Having fallen in love for the first and last
time in his life, he intended to experience every facet of the journey. Manning up
and asking for her hand hadn’t been easy or comfortable. Patrick O’Brien had not made
the request an easy one. Especially not after he threatened Alex with deadly consequences
if he, God forbid, hurt his precious daughter as he had ever again. He’d felt like
a gladiator fighting for his life when her brothers appeared on the scene and breathed
fire in his direction while her quiet mother blew her disapproving wrath at him.

“What?” she squeaked. “When?”

He smiled and cuddled her close. “Yesterday.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,” she burst out bewilderedly. “You talked to my dad?
Yesterday?” She made the
yesterday
sound like someone was in danger of getting his or her ass kicked.

“Yes. And your mother and brothers too. They’re a scary bunch. Deval threatened to
castrate me and your mom, who I might add is in no way a lady when she’s pissed, told
me rather bluntly what she planned on doing with my balls if I didn’t make things
right with you.”

“Oh my God! You’re serious, I can tell. That explains why my parents acted so strange
last night.” Alex felt her smile when she pressed her face into his chest and giggled.

“Damn right I’m serious. I had to show your mom the ring and all but agreed to a fucking
cathedral wedding, which by the way will be officiated by my Uncle Eduardo. I’ve already
checked with him to make sure it was possible.”

Meghan chuckled and snuggled against him. “Holy shit. My parents will be parish royalty
once it gets out that there’s a priest in the family.”

“And my family, by the way, is equal parts stunned and thrilled that an Irish goddess
was foolish enough to fall for my sorry ass shit. That’s a direct quote from my sisters.”

Her head flew up, and she looked him in the eye. “You told them even before I said
yes? What if I’d walked out of here and left the bracelet and you behind?”

“Sweetheart, I loved you enough to lay it all on the line. Asking your parents and
telling my family meant that no matter what happened, I was owning both my feelings
and whatever your decision would be,” he told her solemnly.

She trailed her fingers softly across his lips and leaned in for a quick kiss. “Then
you’re lucky I’m so in love with you.”

He laughed and hugged her tight. “And to be clear, if you
had
walked out of here, I would have stalked that sexy ass of yours for an eternity until
you eventually caved and forgave me.”

“What happens now?” she purred. He loved the sound of his woman when she was contented.

“Well, there’s an easy answer to that my beautiful and amazing love. I believe your
mother is packing your bags as we lay here – which means had you said no she would
have had to knock some sense into that head of yours – and then we are boarding the
agency jet as soon as we can.”

“Why?” she groaned. “Can’t we just enjoy the moment?”

“No can do, mi precioso mujer,” he informed her in perfectly accented Spanish. “That
means my beautiful wife which is exactly what you will be in as quick a way as possible.
First, you have to say yes to a dress and secondly, your sister-in-law-to-be is about
to give birth any day. She has specifically asked for you to be present when the baby
arrives, and I’m to tell you to bring the camera.”

Alex was startled when his naked fiancée leapt off his chest and landed beside the
bed in a move that would make the most graceful of jungle cats jealous. “Get your
ass in gear. Major. All you needed to say was
the baby’s coming
. That’s something I don’t intend to miss!”

He sighed dramatically and sat up, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Giving orders already,
are we? Don’t you have to wait for the vows first?”

She grinned at him and palmed her luscious tits. When his eyes flared with appreciation
she pouted prettily and teased, “You can tie me to the bed when we get home.
If you hurry
.”

Hearing her refer to the Villa as
home
melted his heart as his barking laughter met her naughty suggestion. Sitting up he
swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled her to stand between his thighs.

“Whatever your heart desires my sexy fuck goddess. I am yours to command,” he told
her touching the two hearts dangling from the bracelet.

“Mine,” he growled a second before his lips latched on to a pouting nipple.

“Yours,” she sighed. Moments later she speared her fingers into his hair and yanked
his head back. “Mine,” she growled at him.

“Completely yours,” he agreed.

It would be a long time after that before they actually got around to checking out
of the hotel.