Justice Is Always Ready (A Graham Family Story, 1) (16 page)

“
Give me the address,
beautiful, I’ll be there.”

“
Wonderful.”

He memorized the address and with a
quick check to his watch, he headed to the store to grab some
things he needed. Then he turned his Vette to the destination of
the day. He pulled up to a large white house, the driveway lined
with cars. Parking, he got out and stutter stepped at the amount of
sound coming from the backyard.

Suddenly I’m doubting my
decision.

The gate opened and he found himself
without breath. Kassidy stepped through, she wore hip hugger jeans
that had been decorated with a bedazzler and hot pink paint. A pink
and white checkered button-down emphasized her lovely upper body.
She had white canvas slip-ons over her feet, her hair tied up with
a gold ribbon.

“
Justice,” she said with a
smile. “You made it.”

He hurried to her side and gave her a
kiss. “I did. Although,” he paused.

She laughed. “You heard the screeching
and wondered if you’d made the right decision.”

“
I think I’m scared,” he
teased.

“
Come on, let’s go get you
knee deep in pink party favors.”

He groaned but followed her to the
tall gate. The moment they stepped through the fear he’d teased her
about broadsided him. About twenty girls and a few boys ran around
screaming their heads off. There was a piñata hanging and a few
kids were reaching up to it as if it would magically open and dump
candy into their hands.

“
Scared now aren’t ya?”
she asked him.

“
I think so.”

He followed Kassidy around as she
introduced him to some parents. When he heard Sari scream his name
and come running toward him, he smiled and reached out to hug
her.

“
Are you Jenni’s friend?”
she questioned. “Or are you my friend?”

“
I don’t know Jenni. How
are you doing? I am your friend, Sari.”

“
Good. Come on. You need
some paint.”

He flashed his gaze to Kassidy. There
was this impish gleam in her eye and she waved at him. With a wink
to Sari, he allowed her to tug him along. He ran his tongue along
his teeth when she directed him to a chair, then sat near him,
picked up a paintbrush and headed toward his cheek. Before long
another girl was painting the nails on his hand while a third stood
behind him attaching streamers to his ball cap.

* * * *

Kassidy glanced in her rearview mirror
and felt the familiar shiver of desire and awareness when she
spotted Justice’s car following hers. He’d been so much fun to
watch as he interacted with the children. He’d allowed the girls to
paint him, as well as played with both the boys and girls. He kept
a smile on her face the entire time. It didn’t matter how much
sugar the children ingested, for he had enough energy to keep up
with them.

Once at her house, she let Libby out
then directed him to sit outside as well. He sat on the bench out
in the sun and she joined him once she’d collected what she
needed.

“
I had a blast today,
Kassidy. Thank you for allowing me to tag along.”

She reached for one of his hands and
began to clean off the bright pink polish that adorned his square
nails. Cotton square in hand, she kept her gaze on the job before
her.

“
You’re welcome. I’m glad
you had fun. I know the kids were glad to have you
there.”

“
What about you?” he
asked, his tone low and husky.

She swirled the remover over the paint
on his thumb, watching as the newly clear nail became exposed
again. Then she moved on to his index finger and began the same
regiment over.

“
Kassidy?”

“
I was glad
too.”

“
Look at me.”

She finished his index finger first.
Then lifted her gaze to meet his. “What?”

“
Nothing, I just wanted to
see those beautiful gray eyes.”

With a flush, she dropped her head and
got back to work. He didn’t say another word, just let her remove
the polish. While she worked on his other hand, he trailed abstract
patterns along the back of her neck, which sent unending and
delightful shivers throughout her. When she finished, he capped the
bottle and helped her gather up the used cotton.

“
You know, you can go wash
off the paint if you wish.”

He touched his heart and opened his
mouth. “What? You don’t like my pink fire-breathing dragon? It’s
ferocious and all the rage in Paris,” he stated with a
grin.

She lifted a brow and peered closer,
his masculine scent overriding the alcohol smell of the remover.
Ignoring the urge to nuzzle his neck she bit her lower lip. “Is
that what it is?”

“
So Sari told me when she
painted it.”

“
I see.” It looked like a
blob to her, but he seemed proud to wear it. “I’m going to fix
myself a salad, would you like to join me?”

He kissed her quick and trailed his
hand familiarly over her butt. “I would love to, but first I’m
going to go take off my makeup.”

She chuckled as he led the way to her
door and held it for her. He took the objects from her and she
washed her hands in the kitchen while he got cleaned up. It was so
nice having him around for dinner. Kassidy had forgotten how much
she missed spending time with him. Just being with Justice was fun.
They laughed and joked through the meal and as they cleaned up. She
offered up no rejection when he kissed her and carried her back to
the bedroom.

It was a few minutes past midnight
when the thunder woke her. Sliding out of bed, she grabbed a sheet
off the floor and wrapped it around herself before she headed to
the window. She stood there and stared out at the night that shook
and rattled with the force of the storm rolling through. Every so
often a brilliant lightning flash would illuminate the
darkness.

“
Kassidy?”

The warmth from his chest pressed
against her back and she sank into him with a sigh. “Did I wake
you?”

“
No. Are you
okay?”

“
I don’t know. I feel
restless. Like something bad is going to happen.”

His strong arms wound around her
middle and his lips nibbled upon her bared shoulder. “Are you sure
it’s not the storm?”

Was she sure? No. She always felt
anxious during them. Without a word, she shook her head.

“
Come back to
bed.”

“
I think I need to get a
drink or something.”

Kassidy freed herself from his touch
and headed for the kitchen. She wasn’t thirsty but she did need a
few moments to think and that was extremely difficult when Justice
touched her. After a brief drink, she padded back to the bedroom
where a light had now been turned on.

Justice sat on the bed dressed in a
pair of pants only. His dark gaze met hers the second she stepped
into the room. She lowered her stare and took him in. The light
gleamed off his dark chocolate skin and created a delectable
temptation she wasn’t sure she had the willpower to ignore. The way
he sat, with his arms behind him, drew her attention to his defined
abdominals.

“
What’s going on,
Kassidy?”

She licked her lips. “What are you
talking about?” One hand tightened in the sheet draped precariously
around her body.

His silence spoke volumes. All he did
was tilt his head to the side and lift one black eyebrow. She
swallowed hard and did her best to remain as impassive as him. It
didn’t work. Not at all. A shudder coursed through her. Justice sat
there and watched her, allowing the decision to be totally
hers.

There was no way to explain what made
her do what she did. It just… felt right. She walked slowly to
stand before him, his head tipped back to allow him to continue to
watch her the entire way. One hand bunched up the sheet, lifting
it, and she straddled his waist, her knees and shins rested along
the rumpled bedding.

“
Justice,” she whispered
on a half sigh, half question.

“
I’m right here,
beautiful.”

“
I’m scared.” The look in
his eyes told her he had already figured that part out. He waited
in quietness. “Scared and I don’t know what to do.”

“
Talk to me.” His voice,
low and rough trailed along her skin. It made her feel safe and
protected.

Dropping her head, she lifted a hand
to touch his bared chest. She stared at her fingers while they drew
circles on his skin, his nipple beaded and taut. Still he never
moved other than the rise and fall of his chest with each breath he
took.

“
When I was fifteen I
overheard my dad talking to one of his close friends.” Her belly
clenched and a wave of nausea hit her. She dug deep for the courage
she needed and continued. “He was telling him how badly he’d wished
he had a son.”

Justice visibly tensed at that. His
jaw tightened but he didn’t speak.

“
I know daddy loves me. I
know that, deep down in my heart and in my mind I know he does.
With all his heart. But, I always wonder if he wouldn’t be happier
if there was a male to carry on the Barrow line and name. A son he
could have gone to little league with, or peewee football. A son
who would have trophies up from sports and stuff like that. One who
would make his chest puff out with pride.” She dropped her hand
from his body and wound it back into the sheet. “I am scared he’s
disappointed in me. That no matter how much I accomplish he’ll
still wish he had a son.”

Justice sat up and rubbed her
shoulders through the cotton sheet. “Kassidy, I wish I could take
your fear away. Your father loves you for you, and you need to
believe that. He does not want you to be anyone else.”

Blinking back the tears she nodded. “I
know that and I feel bad for feeling this way, but I haven’t been
able to get the thought out of my head. Ever since the day I heard
it. I was crushed.”

He slid his hands up under her hair
and cupped the back of her head, fingers lightly massaging her.
With gentle pressure he guided her closer and covered her mouth
with his own. She sighed in pleasure when his tongue traced along
her lips before they sought entrance. The kiss was tender and made
her sorrow take a backseat. When it ended she saw his eyes closed
and reached up with one hand and touched the exposed lids. He
opened them slow when her caress ended and she squirmed closer to
him and tucked her head into his neck.

“
Does it make me childish
to feel that way?” she asked.

“
I don’t think so,
Kassidy. But what do you think your dad would do if you talked to
him about this?”

“
He’d be embarrassed and
do his best to convince me I was wrong.”

“
I told you this the day I
met them. I think that man loves you more than his next breath. I
don’t believe he meant what he said at all.”

Kassidy felt immeasurably better.
Having actually talked about the fear that had been growing in her
since the age of fifteen, she could honestly say she felt no longer
under its shadow. That wasn’t to say the pain caused hearing those
words had vanished, not at all, but it had become considerably
less.

Curled up against him as she was,
Kassidy thought over the idea of talking through the issue with her
mom. At the last moment she decided not to. A particularly close
clap of thunder made her jump. His deep chuckle reverberated
through her and his hold turned more protective.

“
Are you scared of
storms?”

“
I wouldn’t say scared,
more like healthily appreciative.”

Justice laughed. “Well, let’s get you
tucked back into bed.”

Soon, they lay curled under the
blankets, light off, and his arms held her close. His lips were on
her forehead and she drifted back to sleep as his fingers lightly
stroked her bare shoulder, in a soothing motion.

She woke to a light rain falling
outside and a man missing from her bed. A quick glance at her clock
told her it was a few minutes to six. Sleepy, she climbed out and
drew on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt. The moment she stepped
out of her bedroom the smell of coffee reached her.

Justice leaned against the counter in
the lit kitchen, cup in hand. He wore his pants from yesterday, top
button undone and nothing else. Desire hit her like a freight
train.

“
Good morning,
beautiful.”

“
Hi. You’re up early. Are
you going in to work?”

“
No. I’m off today.” He
walked toward her and kissed her. She could taste the coffee
combined with his own unique taste. “Do you have plans?”

She leaned into him and wrapped her
arms around his middle. “I was thinking maybe going to Pea Island
LSS Memorial up on Roanoke.”

“
Would you like some
company?”

With a nod against his chest she
squeezed him tight. “I would love for you to come with
me.”

He kissed the top of her head and
rubbed his free hand up and down her back. “Want to go now and stop
for breakfast on the way?”