“It sounds like escalation to me. What else?”
“Woman was approximately in her mid-twenties and small. At first they believed her to be an adolescent child, but their expert checked the dentals. She already had her wisdom teeth were fully descended.”
Elizabeth leaned on the counter and thought it through. It was like they had a few killers or one very deranged one. “Accelerant?”
“After number three just gasoline. It wouldn’t take much. Look at the burn marks under the bodies.”
Tori slid the pictures across the counter.
The blackened grass beneath the victims in the fields wasn’t a large burn pattern. It was to the minimal. The woman in the car had big burn patterns, but they suspected it was when the gas tank blew. As for the hotel, the entire place went up before the fire department finally arrived. “Well hell. We pretty much are starting at zero tomorrow.”
“I love a mystery.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Good thing, because we have one here. I can only hope we can get it solved before Christmas.”
Tori stood from the counter. “I think I may head home. I’m tired and need to get some sleep.”
“Thank you for coming here after work. I know you weren’t obligated,” said Elizabeth. This had been the perfect way to get to know her agent, and she was glad she had thought to invite her over.
Tori wished that she wasn’t surprised but she was. Working alongside Elizabeth was a great time. “I really don’t mind. Thank you for the Christmas invite. I’ll see you tomorrow morning early, Bob, for our second date.”
Elizabeth snickered. “Absolutely. What’s one more rumor at work?”
Tori waved as she hopped into her SUV. Backing out, she headed home to either get some sleep, or be haunted by horrible nightmares.
Looked like it was going to be a craps shoot on which it would be. In the rearview mirror, she glanced back at the big house and had to wonder if one day she’d ever be happy like her boss.
Then she shook her head. Tori already knew the answer.
Not likely.
Elizabeth watched her drive away and already the fine details of the woman behind the agent were beginning to become apparent. Tori was an enigma, and Elizabeth was going to solve that mystery too.
Locking the door, she set the alarm and turned everything off in the house. Climbing the stairs, Elizabeth opened her son’s bedroom door and peeked inside. CJ was asleep in his crib and sucking on his thumb. Everything welled up inside of her, as she laid her hand over her stomach and thought about the new miracle she was growing. Due to the little surprise they’d been handed, there were some last minute gifts to find for the men in her life.
Walking back to her bedroom, she stripped and took a hot shower. Once in bed, Elizabeth picked up her tablet and messaged her husband. Immediately, he logged into the call, his handsome face popping up on the screen.
“Hey baby, I miss you,” he said, leaning back against his hotel room headboard.
“I miss you too, Cowboy.”
Ethan looked at his wife and she looked off. “Are you okay?” he inquired, worried about her.
“I may have done something before asking, and I need to just tell you about it and hope you’re okay with it, honey.”
Now he was concerned. Whenever she started throwing around the ‘honey’ word, bad things were about to happen. “Okay, I’m sitting down. Hit me with it.”
“I called in Julian to help out on this assignment. I may need his very fine tracking skills.”
Blackhawk shrugged. “That’s fine with me, is that it?”
Elizabeth grinned. “I also didn’t want him spending Christmas alone, and invited him to spend Christmas day with us for dinner.”
“Again, I’m okay with that.”
“And Agent Christensen.”
Now Blackhawk understood. “Are you trying to play matchmaker?”
She snorted. “No, but maybe yes. When I asked her if she was going to be okay with working with Julian, it was easy to read her eyes. Tori may be excellent at keeping a straight face, but she’s not good at the eyes. That takes years of practice.”
“If this turns into a brawl, I’ll blame you. Other than that baby, I don’t mind company. Maybe we can get in a game of tag football in the yard.”
“Please, I will hand you your very fine ass, Mr. Blackhawk,” Elizabeth stated with absolute certainty.
“If you don’t?”
She thought about it. “What do you want to wager?”
Blackhawk rubbed his hands together. “I want you, me, and a private night alone. Since Callen will want in on this, you better plan for him too.”
Elizabeth didn’t mind two separate nights of debauchery. “Okay, two date nights, but if I win I want you and Callen to switch clothes for an entire week. You are required to dress down, and he needs to dress up. I want him in a full suit and you in beat-up jeans.”
“You are an evil genius, Elizabeth; you absolutely like to torture us as much as humanly possible.”
She snickered. “What are you worried about, Cowboy. You think you can’t take out my team? I’ll take Wyler and Julian, you get Callen and Tori.”
“Deal, baby.” As far as he was concerned, he wasn’t going to lose, and she was going to be spending a night alone with him doing incredibly wicked things. There might possibly even be a hotel room far from home and copious amounts of champagne and debauchery.
“I love you, Mr. Blackhawk,” she whispered, tears welling up.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” He was worried again.
“I just miss you and Callen. I hate sleeping alone.” It was the truth, that and she was dying to tell him about being pregnant. It just didn’t seem fair to not have them both there physically, when she did it. “I went from one man, to two men and now back to zero. It’s shitty math that’s all, Ethan.”
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
“Yeah handsome. I promise that’s all.” Elizabeth wiped her eyes. “I’m going to call Callen and then head to bed.”
“I love you, Lyzee baby.”
She smiled. “I love you too,” and she blew him a kiss and then disconnected the video conference. Next she pinged Callen on the table and waited. When he didn’t answer, she figured he was busy working. Logging online, she ordered three more special presents for the men in her life to ship overnight. After finishing that, she slid deep into the monster sized bed, closing her eyes.
And finally falling into sleep.
* * *
Sitting in the strip club, he admired the woman dancing around the pole. Her legs were incredibly long, and her hair hung all the way down her back in silky waves. Just seeing her gyrate and lure the men in made him hard and heavy with need.
She would be the next one. His mind was made up.
There was something about her that called to him. Maybe it was the wanton look on her face, or the way she took all her clothing off shamelessly. The plan was set into motion, as he began picking a location and outlining the entire arrangement. It was all about the flames licking at her body.
Then it came to him.
He had an idea of how he wanted to watch her be consumed. Tomorrow he’d forage around and find the items he needed.
As she hung upside down topless, the men surrounding the stage began tossing money to her.
Yeah, she was a whore and would be his perfect victim. With the offer of some cash, she’d do whatever he wanted. Then he’d take her to the trees and watch her hopes and dreams go up in flames.
Along with all that beautiful hair.
* * *
Sneaking into the house was a very dangerous thing. He was pretty sure she was sleeping with her gun beside the bed, and that could mean getting shot. Chances were he’d get to her first, climb into bed and have his way with her, but there was always that risk.
Dropping his gear in the living room on the couch, he toed off his boots and started stripping on his way to their room. All he hoped at that
moment was his father didn’t wander out of his room, catching him buck naked wandering the hallway.
The naked he could probably overlook. But the fully aroused state might be the part that embarrassed them both. Before entering, he pulled his hair free of the ponytail just for her. He heard a noise and again thought about his father catching him.
Then again, who cared? He was about to wake his sleeping beauty, and with much more than a kiss. Already thinking about her, he was ready and desperate to touch and taste her again. The entire plane ride back had been torture, as he planned to creep into their bed, taking her.
It was always this way with Elizabeth. There’d never be enough. When he was old and on his deathbed, his last thought would be her and the body he loved.
Opening the door, it didn’t make a sound and for that he was completely grateful. Placing his clothes on the floor beside the bed, he stared down at her as his eyes adjusted to the almost complete darkness. Hitting the light on his phone, he saw the position she was resting in, and made his move. Just as the light extinguished, he rested his body over hers, pinning her arms and hands beneath his.
For now he was going to enjoy her pulling from sleep, and taking her until his body couldn’t handle anymore.
Elizabeth was startled awake and found someone pressed against her and couldn’t move. She went to struggle and scream when a mouth came down roughly over hers, but as the kiss began she relaxed. The scent gave him away, and her heart started to pound in her chest. She let him control the mating of mouths and take whatever he needed. It only mattered that he was home, and she could be with him. It felt like forever since she had his lips tasting her and devouring her.
The kiss broke, and she arched up into him as he moved to her throat.
“Callen,” Elizabeth whispered, as he ran his teeth over her earlobe and gave her chills. “God, I missed you.”
Whitefox still didn’t speak; he was too absorbed in the scent of her skin and shampoo. Leaning off her body, he pulled the nightshirt from her, hands wandering only to find her completely naked beneath it. Just the feel and contrast of his rougher hands gliding over silky flesh aroused him even more.
When he slid down her body, his hair skimmed across her flesh and pulled a moan from her lips. Working his way lower, he continued a trail of wet, hot kisses until he found her ready for him. Tasting Elizabeth had to be the most amazing experience of all times. When he used tongue and teeth, she always accepted it, allowing him to fulfill his need anyway he wanted. In bed with her, he was free to be himself. Not once had she complained the sex was too rough, too hard, or far from what she wanted. Always Elizabeth accepted him, making the entire experience wilder with her begging and pleading. There was always pleasure between them.
When he began the torture, she gasped at the urgency. Callen was planning on a very wild ride. Elizabeth could tell by his mood. The first orgasm ripped through her, bowing her body and his name escaping her lips. Her world shattered around her as he continued, only harder this time, demanding far more from her quaking body.
When Elizabeth slid her hands into his hair and pulled, it made him wild and crazy. With other women, he didn’t enjoy it being touched or yanked but with her, he loved it. With the quickening of her breath, he knew she was close and he prepared to invade as soon as she broke apart.
Elizabeth moaned his name again, and the colors fragmented around her, as her entire body fractured. It wasn’t until she felt him slide roughly into her that Elizabeth was able to focus again.
“Give me more, angel. I want you,” he whispered, driving into her with such force she gasped. Her tightness and still quivering muscles lured him to release, but he fought hard to stay in control. What he wanted was to hear her whispering his name over and over, until he was satiated. When Elizabeth dug her nails into his shoulders and bowed into him, he furiously took her, driving into her trying to find release.
“Callen,” she begged, loving how her body felt beneath his.
“You feel amazing, Lyzee,” he whispered back, visualizing the sublime look of passion on her face. In the darkness they had to rely on all their senses.
“Can’t last much longer, my love,” she whispered.
The words tripped his heart and Callen faltered. Then she undid him, speaking to him in French. It made him wild and crazy to hear the words, so breathily whispered, and not know what they meant. “Oh God,” he moaned, as he teetered precariously on the edge.
Yet still she whispered more words, and it broke his concentration and control to pieces.
Elizabeth erupted, his name on her lips, and knew he was close. Pulling him down by his hair, her mouth took his, and roughly kissed him.
Callen was done, and with the wicked use of teeth and tongue, he flung himself over the edge, dragging them both into total bliss. He followed the woman that owned his heart and soul.
Slowly regaining feeling in her body, Elizabeth ran her hands up and down his back, as he lay above her. His weight pressed her to the bed, and she felt protected and safe below him. “I love you, Callen.”
He rolled off her body, dragging her with him and laying her across him. “I love you, Lyzee.”
“I didn’t expect you to come home tonight,” she said yawning.
“I can leave if you want,” he teased.
Elizabeth was so tired she couldn’t even hit him. “Never. I’m glad you're home.”
Callen pulled the blankets up around them and grinned as she cuddled against him. Not long ago he’d always wondered what it would feel like to be part of her life like this, and now it was reality. “Sweet dreams, angel,” he whispered as her breathing slowed.
Whitefox laid there for a while, until he followed her into sleep. He simply enjoyed the lingering scent of her perfume and allowed it to lull him into the darkness, finally.
His life couldn’t get any better.
~ Chapter Four ~
Thursday Morning
The alarm pulled them both from sleep. Only she was smiling, and he was trying to pull her back into bed to catch more down time. Certainly one morning run could be skipped.
“Elizabeth, what do I have to do to get you to skip the run this morning and stay in bed with me?” asked Callen, ready to offer up a kidney if that was the cost. “Name your price.”
She laughed. “How bad do you want it?”
Now he moved fast, grabbing her and pulling her back under the blankets until she was trapped against him.
“Really bad. I have wicked jet lag.”
Now she was giggling. “You were in the same time zone working. You don’t have jet lag, darlin’,” she said, running her hands across his abs and the fox tattooed there. As teenagers, he and Ethan had rebelled and gotten their animal spirit guides tattooed on their bodies. His was across his stomach, and Ethan’s his chest. “You’re probably tired because you assaulted me more than once last night.”
Callen thought back to it. It was so worth it. “Okay, I’m Lyzee lagged. I’ll do anything you want if you just let us lay here another hour.”
“Okay,” she answered, and when he opened one eye suspiciously, there was more laughter.
“Seriously?”
She cuddled closer and took in the masculine scent that she’d missed the last ten days. Honestly, her stomach wasn’t feeling so wonderful. Morning sickness was on its way. Her only hope was to hide it for two more days. Just until Christmas Eve.
Now he was suspicious and opened both eyes. “Spill it.”
She started laughing again. “Cal, really. I just missed you and I’ll give up a run to lie in bed in your arms. I think you’ve been hanging around your brother too much. Paranoia is contagious and you seem to have a really bad case of it.”
He relaxed. “How about you tell me what plans we have for work today?”
“You have to file your reports, and I have to work this assignment.”
“My reports were filed last night. Ethan has them, and by now they’re sent to Ginny for f
iling.” Now he was grinning wickedly. “I wanted to surprise you by sneaking home.”
“You certainly did.” And she wasn’t just talking the really amazing sex.
“So, I’m your partner today,” he whispered, kissing her neck and then shoulders. Suddenly, he wasn’t in the mood to sleep anymore. There was other exercise he had in mind.
“I have a partner.” When his lips stopped suddenly, Elizabeth worried that she’d hurt him. The man in bed with her had abandonment issues, all courtesy of his trash bag mother, “Agent Christensen.”
“Oh, okay.”
Yeah, for some reason his feelings were hurt. “But, I’ll toss her over to Julian if you promise to make me breakfast.” Elizabeth could feel the tension ebb away and knew it was all going to be fine.
“I’ll try and make you breakfast.”
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, rolling to face him. “It’s not like you to get this sensitive. Talk to me, Cal.”
“I feel out of place in our threesome.”
Okay, now she was starting to feel sick. If Callen was doubting what they had, she was going to start vomiting right then. Her eyes filled with tears at his words.
Now he saw her emotions and it worried him. “Hey, why are you going to cry, angel?” he asked, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.
“Are you unhappy with us? Are you going to tell me we were a mistake?” she inquired. “Are you trying to tell me you want out?”
Callen finally got it, and it was his fault. He should have phrased that differently. “No, Lyzee. I meant when we’re in the field. You are great and finding the killer and solving it. Ethan is the leading profiler for the FBI. I feel out of place, because I don’t know what I bring to the team. I just figured I’m not really useful as a partner, and that’s why you didn’t want my help.”
Elizabeth was able to breathe again now that her heart was beating once more. “You're the most important part, Callen. I may take what Ethan says and find the common thread, but you’re the calm one, and the mediator. You keep us focused on the assignment. Generally you have a calm head and aren’t over the edge with emotion.”
Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) Page 8