Desert Angel (Family Justice Book 2) (75 page)

M
EGHAN’S HEART WAS OVERFLOWING WITH
love and happiness. At the stroke of eleven, she left their bedroom and made her way through the hacienda, with a wink to Abuela’s portrait as she passed by and stumbled to an astonished halt when Alex came into view. Having never seen him in a formal dress uniform, she was completely unprepared for the emotional wallop that struck her and built with each step she took down the long staircase.

When her dashing Major came to the foot of the stairs, offered his arm, and looked into her eyes, her soul took flight. The love shining back at her was big enough to get lost in. It was a moment to be frozen in time that she could replay in her heart, over and over.

They didn’t say anything. No words were necessary. Plenty of time for that later. Right now, she just wanted to take in how handsome he looked and how damn lucky she was that he looked at her the way he did.

As they bounced along in the truck, she smiled so big that her jaw ached. Zeus, her faithful companion and ally, sat proudly between them, just like she had the first time Meghan had ridden out into the desert with Alex in this very vehicle. A rapid, heated rush crept up her neck remembering what else happened that day in the front seat, and she found herself biting back a giggle.

Beaming at her hunky fiancé, she almost lost the battle of staying still and if not for the dog blocking her way, would have been all over Alex like a rash.

Oh, my lord, he looked so fucking hot and sexy in his uniform. She truly had no idea how turned on seeing him like this would get her. There was something hugely impressive about the dress uniform and the colorful bars, medals, and insignias. Of course, the really impressive thing was the brawny, solid body beneath the immaculate military costume.
Have his thighs always been that muscular,
she wondered.

Alex glanced her way and smirked, almost like he was picking up on her private thoughts. Laughing, she did absolutely nothing to disguise the look of hungry desire she was sure was shining in her eyes.

“You look ravishing,” he murmured with an appraising drift of his gaze to her outfit. She’d thought of everything, right down to the beautiful western boots that she jokingly said came from the Cowgirl Bridal Collection.

The simple white dress was dignified but sexy with a flared skirt and lace draping around her bared shoulders. She’d piled her hair on top of her head and let auburn tendrils fall all around, adding tiny crystal studded pins for some bling. She wore no jewelry except the magnificent diamond and emerald ring that marked her as his.

And she also wore no panties—but he didn’t know that. Not yet. The sheer white scrap intended for her special attire was pretty. But let’s face it, sometimes it was smarter to go au naturel. He wouldn’t be able to remain still or concentrate if he knew she was naked beneath her dress, so she said nothing. Just sat there with a sly smile, totally aware of her bare bottom in the fancy dress.

Ahead in the distance, Drae’s beautiful pergola came into view. The closer she got, the more excited she became because, even at a distance, she could see that the tall wooden structure had sheaths of white draped all around.

Amor Vórtice.
Awww,
Alex had really gone all out. How sweet was he? Then she noticed a big SUV was parked nearby.

That was Calder’s car. Oh, my god. Wait a minute! Calder? Meghan had assumed they were headed into the desert for a private moment, just between her and Alex. The scenario she pictured in her mind seemed so romantic. Alone, surrounded by nature’s simple solitude—saying vows and making promises. The ones that would count. That was all she ever really wanted. The privacy to make their sacred commitments to each other in a meaningful way minus everyone else’s potential bullshit clouding her joy.

Why was Calder here? She honestly had no idea. Besides, wasn’t he supposed to be in Atlanta begging Tori’s mom to take him on?

“What’s going on, Major?” she asked breathlessly as they drew closer.

Zeus noticed something was up because she started fidgeting and making little doggie noises.

They were on the final approach to their special spot when Alex slowed to a crawl.

“There was no way I was letting you fly out of here—away from me—even though it’s only for a few weeks, without us being truly married first. You belong to me, Meghan. I want the words said before you leave.”

“Oh, Alex,” she murmured softly.

“My uncle is here because he loves you almost as much as I do. I asked for his help and you won’t believe he did this, but Calder’s solution was fucking epic. He got ordained as a minister and can legally perform weddings. What we start here today, Uncle Eduardo and the church can sanctify later.”

Meghan almost shot from her seat and jumped in his lap. If the dog hadn’t been in the way, that was exactly what would have happened. “For real? Calder can marry us?”

“Yep, yep,” he drawled. “And to save my eardrums from the excited squeal I know is coming, I’ll tell you now that Stephanie is with him. She’s agreed to be our witness, and like my uncle, has sworn a vow of secrecy. No use in hurting anyone’s feelings. Your family’s or mine.”

“Stephanie?” Meghan screamed as Alex laughed at her reaction. “Does Tori know she’s here?”

“No. Not yet. Cam and Drae are in on what we’re doing, which is why the Camerons and the St. Johns chose today to take the boys on an outing. The ladies have been distracted and no one knows a thing. This is about us, Meghan. You and me. It’s what you wanted, right?”

Tears stung at her nose and swam in her eyes. They were getting married. Him in his magnificent dress uniform and her in some sexy cowgirl boots and no undies. Could anything be more perfect? She didn’t think so and giggled at the thought.

“Did I do okay, baby?” he asked. The uncertainty she heard in his voice was so fucking cute.

“Did you do okay?” she barked happily. “Did you do okay? Oh, my fucking god, Alex.”

Meghan searched for the right thing to say. Something profound and eloquent so he’d know how much his efforts touched her. In every way. A naughty grin lit up her face when just the right thing came to mind.

Shimmying around the damn dog who she made switch places with her, Meghan leaned into Alex’s solid body and sent a hand onto his thigh where sliding it toward the bulge in his slacks was an easy move.

“You are too good to me, Major,” she purred close to his ear.

With only a minute or so before they’d be at their spot, she palmed the hardness and smiled with satisfaction when she felt his flesh surge against her questing fingers.

“If we didn’t have an audience, I’d be sucking your cock right fucking now to let you know just how good you did!” Her laughter was naughty and joyous because, as vulgar as that sounded, it was the damn truth.

His sharp hiss sent molten desire flooding into her core.

“But since that’s not possible, I’ll leave you with this . . .” Sucking his earlobe into her mouth, she nipped it hard and whispered, “I don’t have any panties on.”

The truck slowed to a halt. As he put it into park, Alex turned her way and husked, “You always know the right thing to say, and since you just pleased me very, very much, in honor of your bare ass and the vows we’re about to say, I’m going to wipe out what’s left of your naughty points. Think of it as a bridal gift.”

Forgive the points? Was he insane? Those damn points were sexy as shit and no way did she want to give them up.

“What? Shut up!” she drawled dramatically as she slapped him on the shoulder.

Alex threw back his head and barked a tremendous laugh. “Insatiable wench,” he teased. “Okay, wife.” His eyes blazed as he said the word. “Five points on your side of the leaderboard and we’ll negotiate terms later.”

She high-fived him with glee.

“Let’s get married, baby,” he exclaimed with a face-splitting grin. She’d never seen him look happier.

THE END

Other Books by
Suzanne Halliday

The Justice Brothers

Broken Justice

Fixing Justice

Redeeming Justice

Family Justice

Always

Wilde Women

Wilde Forever

Wilde Heart

Ella Fox

I know it’s getting old for me to keep saying this but you really are my sunshine!

Jenny Sims

Thanks for explaining the difference between crumble and crumple.

Next we’ll work on grey and gray.

Author K Webster

What you did with the book teasers completely rocked my world.

Thank you seems like so little. . . .

Stacey Blake

Champagne for everyone!

These stories aren’t complete until you make everything look so nice.

Ashley Bauman

Once again—you bring my Justice visions to life

Jennifer G. Wenstad

Thank you for handling the social media while I’m writing!

Carpe Diem

Cheryl Stork

Desert Thunder thanks you

Suzanne Halliday
writes what she knows and what she loves—sexy adult contemporary romance with strong men and spirited women. Her love of creating short stories for friends and family has developed into a passion for writing romantic fiction with a sensual edge. She finds the world of digital, self-publishing to be the perfect platform for sharing her stories and also for what she enjoys most of all—reading. When she’s not on a deadline you’ll find her loading up on books to devour.

Currently a wanderer, she and her family divide their time between the east and west coast, somehow always managing to get the seasons mixed up. When not digging out from snow or trying to stay cool in the desert, you can find her in the kitchen, 80’s hair band music playing in the background, kids running in and out, laptop on with way too many screens open, something awesome in the oven, and a mug of hot tea clutched in one hand.

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authorsuzannehalliday.com

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