Lori Foster - Hard Justice

It was ridiculous, but his vehemence warmed Fallon’s heart. She touched his rigid shoulder and said, “I’d prefer that you didn’t.”

“Okay, so help me out here—what’s his crime? If I know, then maybe, maybe, I won’t feel the need to stomp on him.”

For the first time since the breakup, Fallon felt like talking about it. Oh, she wouldn’t give him every detail. She’d learned her lesson on sharing too much. But given Justice’s defense, and the fact he didn’t know all her secrets, he might be the perfect person to listen.

“I’m on the edge of my seat here,” he said. “Imagining all kinds of crazy stuff.”

Belatedly, she withdrew her hand, but her palm continued to tingle. She curled her fingers into a fist, holding on to the sensation.

Justice’s shoulder was boulder hard and so warm that she couldn’t help but think about touching him again, wrong as she knew it would be.

“Honestly, it wasn’t all that much.” The hazy setting sun glared through the windshield, giving her a good excuse to hide behind her own sunglasses. Now where to begin? “Marcus and I started out as just friends. I...haven’t done much dating.”

What an understatement.

Not wanting him to ask about that, she quickly continued. “There are some occasions where you’d really like a date. Weddings, company parties, things like that,” she explained. “I knew Marcus through the company, he was nice, others admired him...”

“And you bought into that shit?”

She bit back a smile. “My dad was really pleased when Marcus asked me to a company gathering.”

“So what? Your dad didn’t have to date him.”

That time the laugh broke free. “For some reason you’re biased.”

“I told you, I’m a good judge of character.”

Curiosity got the best of her. “So what do you think of me?”

Becoming uneasy again, Justice said, “Finish your story first.”

Fallon thought about it, then decided he was right. Better to get it over with. “We did the whole friend thing for a while until finally, maybe a month later, Marcus wanted more than that, but my parents have been really overprotective.”

“Noticed.”

Of course he had. Not like he could have missed that. “I didn’t have much experience with guys, and Marcus was...patient.”

Interest sharpening, Justice growled, “You’re talking about sex?”

She wished she could be as plainspoken as him. But his question alone made her face hot. Lifting a hand in a lame gesture, she said, “Stuff that comes before that.”

“What stuff?”

Fallon shifted. “You know what I’m saying.”

He chewed his lip again. “Okay, so we’re talking foreplay, right? Making out, groping a little, testing the water so to speak.”

“Yes, exactly.” And all that had gone well enough as long as she left on her clothes. “We seemed to suit...until it came time for the deed.”

He snorted a laugh. “The deed?” he mimicked. With a teasing glance, he asked, “We’re still talking sex, right?”

“Yes,” she growled, her eyes narrowed as Justice made her feel foolish.

“Let me tell you, if Marcus screwed that up, then good riddance.”

Yes, he’d definitely screwed it up. The same strangling humiliation swamped her. “We found we didn’t suit and that there could be no future between us. Not in any intimate way.”

“Holy shit,” Justice breathed. “He did screw it up. Jesus, what a putz.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

He snorted another laugh. “If you say so. But now I just feel sorry for him.” This time Justice reached out and patted her knee. “The idiot will be regretting that the rest of his life.”

It blew her away that Justice seemed to consider her such a prize. “Why would he regret it? Because he works for my father? I don’t think Dad would—”

“Yeah, your dad definitely would. But what I meant was that he’d lost out with you.” Justice got back on the expressway before saying, “You know you’re a catch, right?”

He didn’t know her well enough to make that judgment, but she enjoyed hearing it anyway. “You think so?”

“Know so. I mean, what’s not to like, right?”

She half turned to face him. “So tell me, what do you consider my sterling qualities?”

He glanced in the rearview mirror again. “Would that be crossing a line? I mean, I don’t look forward to your dad unloading on me again.”

“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

He grinned wide enough to put dimples in his whiskery cheeks. “Alrighty, then. For one thing, you’re cute as hell. Big bedroom eyes, soft sexy mouth, and you have such a sweet little body.”

Fallon ducked her head as guilt swamped her. “I don’t.”

“See, this is why I should pound on Marcus. Did that prick say or do something to make you—”

“No.” Caught between wanting to laugh and dying of embarrassment, Fallon said, “And your language is deteriorating by the second.”

“Let’s blame Marcus,” Justice grumbled. “He brings out the worst in me.”

Shaking her head, Fallon said, “You’re incorrigible.”

“Just speaking the truth.” He grew more serious. “You’re also really nice. And smart. You have a good sense of humor. You’re daring. And... I dunno. You’re genuine.” With a fast shrug, he added, “I didn’t expect that. I thought with you being rich and all, you’d maybe be snooty or bitchy, but you’re not. You’re real down-to-earth.”

Never in her life had she been so flattered. “Thank you, Justice.” For obvious reasons, compliments to her character were far nicer than commenting on her physical appearance.

He gave a nod, then said, “You also look really great dancing. Too good, maybe.”

Having no idea what he meant by that, Fallon said again, “Thank you. I haven’t had much practice dancing either, but I enjoy it.”

“I could tell that you did,” he murmured. “Hell, every guy there could tell.” Then he asked, “Marcus never took you dancing?”

“A few times. Not often.” She didn’t want to detail everything she hadn’t done, so she switched gears. “While we’re discussing Marcus, I should probably explain that none of this was his fault.”

Justice snorted. “I saw him, remember? He was all butt-hurt and bossy, probably because he knew he’d screwed up.”

Fallon choked. “Butt-hurt?”

He grinned again. “Yeah, you know. All pouty and belligerent.”

“I’ve, ah, never heard the term.”

He dismissed that with a shrug. “Take my word for it—men don’t act that way unless they’re butt-hurt. Not real men, anyway.”

With Justice having been a fighter, his ideas of how real men should behave might differ from many others. “Could I ask you something now?”

“Shoot.”

“Why did you give up fighting when you’re so obviously good?”

“Ouch.” He gave a theatrical wince. “Tough question. See, I’m not that good. Not good enough to win a title and that’s what it’s all about.”

“But you’re fast, and strong and—”

He grinned at her. “Keep going.”

“Admittedly, I don’t know that much about fighting, but I was certainly impressed.”

“Because,” he repeated, “you don’t know that much about fighting. The dudes you’ll meet tonight at Rowdy’s? Some of them are top-notch. Championship quality. Without sounding too cocky, I am good, but only against untrained idiots. You could throw street thugs at me all day long and I wouldn’t break a sweat. But in the cage...” He gave a small shake of his head. “Whole different ballgame.”

Fascinated, Fallon thought about the men she’d meet, even while wanting to know more about Justice. “How so?”