Free Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) by Suzanne Halliday

claim her for his own. Clearly, she had no idea what was going on in his head or with his body.
    “You’re finally getting some color back. Can I get you anything?” Lacey asked, laying her palm against his forehead. Though he was no longer hot, she had difficulty pulling her fingers away. She liked touching him; she felt little sparks of delicious awareness shooting through her each time they made contact. Before she knew what was happening she ran her fingers through the tumble of hair falling toward his eyes and pushed it back so she could see him better. Self-conscious at the tactile liberties she was taking, Lacey tried to yank her hand away. But to her surprise he reached for her at the same moment and actually threaded his fingers through hers, bringing their joined hands against his chest.
    “Thank you Lacey. Thank you for staying with me. Couldn’t have been pleasant,” he murmured as his eyes bored into hers. There was something about the way he looked at her; being so close to him was scattering her thoughts, making her want to melt against him. She stared in silence, fixated on his mouth, while answering words fled her mind. She wondered what it would feel like to have those lips pressed against her own and whether he would taste as wonderful as he looked.
    Cam knew he was flying without a net, acting on impulses he’d long ago decided could have no place in his life. He didn’t want to examine the rush of need that was pushing back against years spent in a carefully constructed emotional wasteland. Suddenly, he wanted more than polite conversation from the freckle-faced girl that was looking at him with big eyes filled with questions. Maybe it was the aftermath of the fever that had taken him down or maybe it was that crossroads where he’d been stalled at for some time. Whatever . All he knew for sure in that moment was that he wanted, no hungered for, a simple human connection with this woman. His heart skipped a beat when his mind, or maybe it was his heart, screamed that he needed her.
    Watching her while keeping their fingers entwined, he realized that she was fixated on his mouth. Completely caught up in his own inner turmoil, he hadn’t immediately picked up on the signals she was sending. As his tongue slid along his lips trying to bring moisture from an otherwise dry mouth, he felt a surge of satisfaction so deep it wrecked his composure when he saw her cheeks flush and nostrils flare at his provocative move. So, he wasn’t the only one feeling the attraction arcing between them.
    “Is there any water around here I could drink? My throat feels kinda raw from the fever.”
    His question dragged Lacey from her thoughts, making her jump into action. And in doing so she removed her hand from the warmth of his chest, bringing an unexpected rush of regret. She grabbed a bottled water, tore off the cap, and handed it to him. “You should drink as much of that as you can. You had a prolonged fever and are probably dehydrated.”
    Her concern for his well-being was as charming as her encouragement to drink more fluids. Cameron was suddenly never so happy to have been sick as he was at this moment. They were strangers and yet this girl-woman cared for him. He felt light-headed from the upwelling of unfamiliar joy powering through him. Even though his conscience told him he shouldn’t, more than anything he wanted her to keep talking to him and touching him with those delicate, expressive fingers.
    Accepting the bottle from her outstretched hand, Lacey felt fireworks tingle on her skin where his fingers touched hers. With widened eyes, she stared as he tipped his head back and drank deeply from the container of chilled water. The way he wrapped his lips around the bottle had her thinking about that beautiful mouth on her sensitive skin. When he swallowed, she marked the path of the water as it moved down his throat and almost groaned aloud when he finished with a low grunt of satisfaction.
    Needing to