Hard Justice(43)

"I've already gotten it done," Rebecca assured her. "You go and have fun." She flashed a conspiratorial glance at Justice. "Stay out as late as you'd like. In fact, we can make this our goodbye right now."

Justice drew Fallon to his side, then said to Rebecca, "Call if you need anything."

"Thank you, I will. And you have my cell number, as well."

It got more awkward by the second, so Justice urged Fallon from the house. Wasting no time at all, the second they pulled out of the drive, he asked, "Why don't you stay with me while your folks are out of town?" He bobbed his eyebrows. "We can play house."

Her smile twitched. "And how, exactly, do we play that?"

"It could start with us getting naked."

She laughed. "And getting into bed?"

"Or the shower or the couch or, hell, the dining table works for me." Once he thought it, he pictured it, and he started to get hard. "I'd love to see you laid out there on the table, like my own private dessert."

"Justice."

"Well, I would."

After a steadying breath, Fallon nodded. "Okay, I like those ideas, too."

His cock jumped up in joy.         

     



 

"But first..."

First? He glanced over and saw her withdrawing a list from her purse. Time to rein it in.

He cleared his throat. "Got something else you wanted to do?" Fallon had lived such an inhibited life that now he wanted her to see and do and experience everything that interested her. If that meant putting his own wants on hold for a while, he didn't mind at all.

"These are listings for apartments that interested me."

Apartments? Whoa. He squeezed the steering wheel and hoped he misunderstood. "Apartments for who?"

"Me." She laughed. "I've enjoyed myself so much lately, I've decided it's time for the next step."

"Your own place?"

"Exactly."

God, he hated that idea. "Why? I mean, we've been getting out a lot, right? Having fun?"

"So much fun," she whispered. "But at twenty-four I'm old enough that I shouldn't have to explain to my parents anytime I'm out all night."

So it was her nights with him that had put the idea in her head? Well, hell.

True, there hadn't been any recent threats. That didn't mean he was convinced that her fall down the stairs was an accident. Someone had tromped his flowers and painted her driveway.

Also, he couldn't forget that anonymous call claiming Tomahawk had pushed her...

Both Miles and Leese were helping to keep an eye on Tom. If he was anywhere around, one of them knew it. Yet they hadn't seen anything suspicious. Other than being a major pain in his ass, Tom hadn't made any untoward moves.

Justice decided he needed to reason with Fallon, and what better way to do that than to point out her close relationship with her parents. "You know, I think Rebecca might be more understanding than you think. She knows you'll be staying with me while she's away, and she didn't mind at all."

Fallon's head snapped up from her perusal of her list. "What do you mean, she knows?"

Uh-oh. "She, ah..." How to word it? "She would assume we'll be spending more time together while she's away. You know, because the opportunity is there and everything."

Fallon seemed to accept that but shrugged it off. "I'm not spending two weeks with you."

Wow. Okay, that hurt. He didn't bother hiding his scowl. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to intrude on you like that." Before he could set her straight, she added, "And you've known from the jump that I wanted to get out on my own."

But...yeah. He had known. Fallon deserved to be "free"-her word, not his. If living on her own would do that for her, how could he selfishly ask her to move in with him instead?

Was moving in together even the right move? They'd known each other close to a month. Sure, they'd packed a lot of together time in there, being nearly inseparable for most of those days.

He'd loved every second of it-but had she?

Was he being too clingy? Grabbing for more than she wanted to give?

Could be.

After all, when it all boiled down, he was still her bodyguard. Her best interests had to be his priority.

Hating it, Justice nonetheless agreed with her. At a stoplight, he said, "Let me see the list."

She handed it over without argument. The first two places he automatically discounted. They weren't in the best parts of town and they were too damned far away from him.

The third...yeah, the third was maybe doable. He did a quick calculation in his head and figured it was no more than ten minutes from his house.

Aware of Fallon watching him closely, he folded the list to the third address and handed it back to her. "We can check out that one."

"Justice," she said calmly. "I wasn't asking."

"I know." The light changed and he pulled away. "But I'm your protection and my recommendation-" a better word choice than what he wanted to use "-is that the first two are in dangerous areas. Your folks would worry endlessly." Hoping that'd seal the deal for her, he glanced her way. "You don't want that, right?"

"No, I don't."         

     



 

Stalling for time, he said, "You know we can't go today, right? I'll have to scope it out first."

"Now you're just being silly."

As he started to deny that, he got a call on his cell. He glanced at the Bluetooth screen in the car, saw it was his mom and answered with a push of a button.

"Hey, Mom. I've got you on speaker, okay? There's a girl with me-"

"There's a skunk in the shed! A raccoon I could deal with, but not a skunk. Mom's here and she's insisting she can handle it, but, Eugene, you know the woman can barely walk after her accident!"

He winced at the name, avoided eye contact with Fallon, and said, "Is she at least wearing her glasses? Maybe she doesn't know it's a skunk."

"Oh, she knows because I told her. She said I was being a wimp and that she'd handle it."

Justice bit back his grin. "I'll be right over, okay? Tell Granny I'll wash her in the creek if she gets sprayed by that skunk."

In the background, he and Fallon both heard her yell, "He's going to drop you in the creek, Mom! You know he will, too."

His granny's voice came through loud and clear when she barked, "I'd like to see him try!"

Oh, man.

"I'll be right there, Mom. Sit on her if you have to." He disconnected, wondering what to say.

Fallon snickered.

Taking that as a good sign, he asked, "Mind if we make a detour?"

"Of course not. I'm sort of anxious to meet your family."

He reached for her hand. "The other women in my life, you mean?" Being honest with her, he said, "They're nothing like your folks, but they're great. I think you'll like them."

"They raised you, so I already do."

Nice. Justice knew his mom would go nuts over Fallon. He only hoped she didn't chase her away with her enthusiasm.



ALONE IN THE living room with the two women, Fallon tried not to blush. The way they both stared at her, fixed smiles on their faces, didn't make it easy.

"You have a lovely home." Avoiding their piercing gazes, Fallon glanced around at the cozy home done in a traditional style with upholstered furniture, an enormous television, and plenty of colorful throw pillows. Homemade curtains covered the windows and a variety of braided rugs covered the hardwood floors. It was clean but a little cluttered; photos of Justice at various ages filled the mantel, the walls and the side tables, with photos of his father beside them.

"Thank you." Iris, his mother, never looked away. "I like the privacy here."

"I would, too. It's beautiful." Large shade trees filled the spacious lot, which was bisected by a long gravel drive that led to the house set a good distance from the main road. Woods on one side and to the back probably caused the problems with skunks and other critters. To the other side was the long creek separating the property from a farmer's field.

As Justice had said, both women were very petite, but that was where the similarities ended.

Iris, his mother, had the same flair for "style" as her son. Her shoulder-length hair had turned to silver, but she'd enhanced it with a wide purple streak off to one side. Bold makeup played up her dark eyes, and close-fitting jeans with a tank top emphasized her trim, toned figure. She didn't look trashy in any way, but she would most definitely turn heads.

His granny was the opposite. She wore her silvery white hair in a long loose braid with little soft wisps framing her tanned, weathered face. She didn't wear a speck of makeup, but wore a loosely fitted, tea-length cotton dress made for comfort, not style. Regardless, Fallon could see that she, too, had maintained her figure.

"How long have you and Eugene been dating?"

"A few weeks." Fallon didn't mention that he'd been-still was-her bodyguard.

"He never mentioned you," Mona grumbled. "I'm going to kick his butt for that."

Both women were a delight, and very openly nosy. "He's been sweet, and I'm afraid I've kept him quite busy."

Dark eyes brightening, Mona said, "Do tell," with a lot of suggestion.