Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5)))

by Kelley, Morgan

  Sitting on her bed and slipping into the erotic heels, Elizabeth thought about her husband. She’d sent him three text messages and didn’t get a reply. That meant he was probably locked in a meeting. Who in Quantico thought to schedule these meetings before Christmas? Were they out of their damn minds? When Elizabeth got her hands on Gabe, she was going to ass kick him big time.

  Standing, she moved to her dresser, searching for a silver chain that Ethan gave her for Mother’s Day. At the end, there was a key with diamonds on the heart shaped handle. Ethan informed her that she was the key to his heart. It was her way of having him with her there tonight.

  When he came home, she was going to give him the biggest kiss in the world, even if it was smack-ass-dab in the middle of FBI West.

  Elizabeth applied some lipstick and checked her hair. It was time to see Callen and head to the party. Part of her was super curious as to what he was planning on wearing. She knew he wasn’t going to dress down, and that made her curious. That part of the evening alone made it all worthwhile.

  Walking down to Wyler’s room, she knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” he said, continuing his work. When she opened the door, he started laughing. “Callen may just fall over.”

  Now Elizabeth grinned. “I wish Ethan was here too. I get great satisfaction in out dressing him. It wipes the smug look right off his handsome face,” she answered as she dropped to her knees and kissed her son. He reached for the necklace.

  “Oh no, munchkin! Daddy bought me that when you were in my belly, and I happen to love it,” she said, pulling it from his reach. Then she kissed him silly and giggled when he laughed like a maniac. “I love you, CJ,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

  “You okay sweetheart?” asked Wyler, concerned.

  “I just miss Ethan, and when I look at CJ, I see his daddy. Then I look at you and see him too. Once he’s home tomorrow I’ll feel better.”

  Wyler grinned, knowing the truth. “Have a good night with Callen tonight,” he stood, helping her up.

  “Sorry this skirt isn't conducive to playing with a baby.”

  He laughed. “As long as you can breathe in it,” Wyler added. “I love you, sweetheart,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

  Again her eyes filled. “I love you too, Dad.”

  “I miss him too,” he answered already knowing what she was thinking about.

  Elizabeth stayed against his chest and hugged him tightly.

  “Every damn day it still hurts. I can’t imagine how hard it is for you, Ethan and Callen. I only had him a year, you three had him your entire lives.”

  “Time heals, and besides I see him in CJ too. One more Blackhawk blessed with the grin.”

  Elizabeth patted his cheek. “Night Dad,” she said walking out. “Goodnight momma’s little boyfriend! Both of you hold down the fort.”

  CJ screeched and Wyler laughed.

  “Yeah, you do have a beautiful mommy,” he replied, going back to his carving. “Daddy and Uncle Callen are very lucky to have found love and were smart enough to hold onto it.”

  With that, Wyler tried not to think about the love he casually threw away in his youth. Thirty eight years later and his own stupidity still left an ache.

  Maybe one day he’d get a second chance.

  If he was lucky.

  Elizabeth stood at the top of the stairs and silently watched Callen leaning against the wall, checking his work phone and scanning something. He had a big grin on his face, but that wasn’t the amazing part. He was in a suit and tie. It was a really well fitted one with a red silk tie that matched her shirt.

  No wonder he kept asking her if she was still wearing red.

  “Hey, sexy. You ready for this shindig?” she called from the stairs.

  Callen stared up at the woman at the top of the stairs, and his entire body went completely taut and hard. Well hell, she managed to outdo them again. Elizabeth was wearing simple, but it was the impact of her body in combination with the fit of the garments. Then there was the low cut to the blouse and the cleavage it showed. Right then he wanted to run his hands down the silky skin peeking through the material. He wondered if she’s stop him.

  Elizabeth laughed.

  “Christ angel! You look amazing,” he said, crossing the room to stand at the bottom of the stairs. “I almost want to skip tonight and stay home and get naked.”

  Elizabeth carefully navigated the stairs in her heels. When she reached him, she took Callen’s outstretched hand. “No way, look at you. You look absolutely amazing!”

  “Do I look like Ethan?”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “No, you look like Callen, just in a spiffy suit. I think you’re incredibly sexy,” she said, leaning against his body, his arms wrapping around his waist. “And you smell really good,” she whispered, before bringing her lips to his.

  Kissing Elizabeth was the most amazing feeling in the world. Her lips took his and just controlled the entire kiss. There was tongue and teeth, as she bit his lower lip. He held back the moan, only because she’d break away, and Callen was enjoying it too much. Right now he wanted to be immersed in the feeling of his woman lost in him as much as he was in her.

  Finally, the moan escaped against his will. “God, Lyzee! You look and smell so damn good.”

  She giggled. “Okay, so if Ethan was here, would he approve?” Elizabeth asked, stepping out of his arms and turning in a circle.

  Whitefox took in the whole package, from the erotic heels, and form fitting clothes. “Yeah, he’d most definitely approve. Can I send him a picture to torture him unmercifully?”

  “Callen!”

  He whipped out the grin. “Too bad.”

  “Well, I wish he was here to see it, but I’ll just try it on for him another day,” she tried to cheer herself up. After all, she still had another sexy man at her side. “Ginny told me that attendance is going to be up for this party,” she stated, linking her fingers with his.

  “Really? That’s great.”

  “It seems we’re the floor show.” Elizabeth wanted to warn him before they got there that everyone would be staring.

  “Oh,” Callen got it. “Want me to keep my distance?” he offered. Again, they were a couple, but they tried to keep it out of the workplace. Even though Ethan and Elizabeth’s rings matched, as did hers and his, Callen still wanted her to have the option.

  “Hell no,” she stated, and then elbowed him in the ribs for even suggesting it. “I don’t care if they all talk about me kissing on the sexiest man in the room. It just makes me look good.”

  Callen was relieved and laughed. Never once had she denied him in public, and it endeared her to his heart. “I feel so cheap and used.”

  “Then I won’t tell you how Lulu was undressing you with her eyes as you walked out of the strip club earlier.”

  “Elizabeth!” Callen was disturbed by that. “Please!”

  “I guess you don’t want to know that Christina admitted to wanting to commit felonious acts with you to be scandalous tonight then either.”

  Whitefox looked horrified. “Come on!”

  She giggled, and then released his hand, taking his face in her hands. “You’re half of me, and tonight I plan on dancing with you and holding your hand. Let them deal with it. I’m not embarrassed to be shacking up with you both,” she winked.

  Everything in him was completely overwhelmed by pure, unadulterated love. “You’re my heart, Lyzee.”

  She melted. “I love you, Callen. Now let’s get to this party. I have sexy Native arm candy to show off and especially in that suit. You look amazing,” she led him to the door, and paused as he helped her into her coat.

  “I have the most beautiful woman in the world. I have to look good,” he said, accepting another kiss as she rubbed across the front of his body

  “The woman you’re discussing is a very lucky one. She gets to spend the evening with a very sexy man.”

  Callen swallowed as she led him toward
s the door by his red silk tie.

  Yeah, it was going to be a long night.

  * * *

  Julian Littlemoon had Tori navigate to the hotel where the party was being held. As they pulled up, he smiled. It was festively decorated with white lights and looked absolutely gorgeous.

  “This place is beautiful,” he stated.

  “Elizabeth and Ethan always throw an amazing party at the end of the year. I hear they cover out of their own money what the budget doesn’t.” Tori couldn’t help but smile at the prettiness of the building. All the windows twinkled with light wrapped wreaths. The trees all sparkled and screamed festive.

  “That sounds like them,” he replied, stopping his car and stepping out. Once he handed the valet his keys and took the tag, he was at Tori’s side, escorting her into the building. Checking their coats, they entered the hotel ballroom that said ‘FBI- Winter Wonderland’.

  Inside the room, both looked around. The room was beyond amazing. There were white twinkle lights and gorgeously set tables. In the center were candles flickering and adding to the ambiance. “Yeah, this is well above the FBI budget,” said Julian.

  “This is damn impressive.”

  Ginny saw the agent and her date and promptly rushed over to greet them. “Welcome to the winter wonderland!” She gave the woman a hug and then followed suit with Julian. “How does it look?” she inquired.

  “Ginny, you outdid yourself,” stated Tori.

  “It wasn’t me. I just executed. This was all Mrs. B’s grand plan. We visited the site once and this is what she decided on for the party.”

  Tori looked around. Who knew that the woman had her hands all over this too? “She did a great job. Is she here yet?”

  “Not yet. Why don’t you get a drink and start to celebrate? The tables don’t have assignment, so you can sit anywhere you want,” she stated, rushing past them to greet more people.

  “Want something to drink?” asked Julian, taking her hand in his, and waiting for her to relax.

  “I really detest wine, but I think I may be forced to suck it up,” she stated, quietly. “I’m pretty laid back and prefer beer.”

  Julian grinned. “Be right back,” he said, walking off and leaving her alone. Right then her whole body felt bereft. When Julian wasn’t around, she missed him.

  Damn it!

  Looking around, Tori filled her time alone with taking in all the surroundings. Before he spoke or touched her, she just knew he was there behind her again. Turning, he held a beer bottle and a glass of amber liquid. “Thank you, Julian,” she said, taking the glass and tentatively sipping it. “It’s beer!”

  He laughed. “Yeah, and it looks like wine, so you don’t have to stress it now,” he clinked his bottle against her glass and grinned. “It was an easy problem to solve.”

  Tori could feel her heart flip and slip. The man was insistent of making her fall for him. “Pretty clever, Julian.”

  “I try,” he said, watching her.

  “Thank you for making this easier for me,” she whispered and stepped closer to his body.

  Julian swallowed the beer and prayed for control. “Anything for you, Victoria.”

  She believed him, and leaned against him, kissing him softly on the lips. It had to be the stupidest thing she’d done in a long time, and Tori blamed it on the atmosphere, the dreams, and the man standing in front of her. It couldn’t possibly be her fault, or her feelings. Could it?

  Tori knew better.

  “I told you, Callen. White twinkle lights make all the difference,” said Elizabeth, as they stood behind Tori and Julian.

  Tori froze and turned slowly.

  Julian began laughing, and took the woman’s hand in his protectively. “It looks amazing, Elizabeth. Who knew feisty could do festive.”

  Elizabeth smirked at him. “Merry Christmas, Tori,” she said, hugging the woman. “Merry Christmas, Julian,” Elizabeth then embraced him too. “Come sit with us,” she said, leading them to a table off to the side.

  “Are you sure?” asked Tori. “You’re the boss; don’t you want to sit with other bosses?”

  Callen took Elizabeth’s hand in his, trusting this was what she wanted, and wasn’t afraid of the blowback of them being a couple in public.

  “Tonight I’m simply Elizabeth and this is my date, Callen,” she said, leaning against his body. “There are no bosses here, only people celebrating the holidays.”

  Julian really liked Elizabeth. He may have given her a hard time the first time they met, but she was a genuinely good person inside. Now, he understood why both Native men were attracted to her. Elizabeth Blackhawk had a giant heart of pure gold. Any other boss might not care about the people under her like she did.

  “Can I get you a drink?” asked Callen.

  “You know what, I need to say hello to some people. How about I get you a drink, my love?” she offered.

  Even though his heart flipped in his chest, he covered it with trying to be funny. “Yay, my own personal beer wench.”

  Julian snickered as Callen took a rib shot. “You’d think you’d learn by now.”

  Elizabeth turned, placing a kiss on his lips. “I’ll be right back,” she said, clicking away in her heels.

  Callen watched her walk away, his eyes never leaving her ass the entire time. When he let out a sigh, again the other man at their table laughed. This time Julian took the elbow to the ribs from Tori.

  “Hey! I didn’t look!”

  Tori admonished him. “Consider that gentle. If Elizabeth caught you checking out her ass, you’d be hanging up there with the twinkle lights.”

  Julian grinned. “Yeah, I know,” and he did. He loved torturing Elizabeth.

  “Julian, I need to save another seat,” Whitefox stated. “Ethan is arriving, but she doesn’t know. Can you help me pull this off without it being obvious?” he whispered, in case she was coming back.

  “Can do,” he slipped out of his jacket and placed it on the chair beside him. “She’s going to be excited.”

  “That word doesn’t even come close to describing it. Elizabeth is going to lose it,” he laughed. “Shhhh here she comes.”

  Walking up to the table, she handed Callen his beer, still in a bottle and sipped sparkling water. As long as he didn’t drink from her glass, they’d never be the wiser. Sometimes it was tough trying to keep a secret. This one was no less difficult.

  “Thank you, angel,” he said, taking her hand in hers. “Shall we make the rounds before your speech?” he asked, bringing her knuckles to his lips to kiss the ring on her finger.

  “Yeah, let’s get this part done, and then we can start the fun.” She winked at Tori. “Relax, have beer and tonight, kissy-face is most certainly allowed and expected, or I didn’t do the ambiance the right way.”

  Tori watched her boss walk away. “She is nothing like you think she is. I remember thinking Elizabeth was tough and hard to deal with. Now I see it’s all a front.”

  “Elizabeth is tough, but only at work.”

  “Yeah, I see that now. I was so wrong about her,” Tori leaned against Julian and grinned. “I really like her.”

  Now he laughed. “I completely understand. I feel pretty much the same.”

  “Later I need to give her a fist bump,” she said, sipping her beer.

  “Oh what for?” he inquired, curiously.

  Tori laughed. “She’s sleeping with both of those men, manages her life, FBI West and has a kid too. I want to be Elizabeth when I grow up.”

  Julian growled low in her ear. “Yeah, don’t bet on shacking up with two Native men, but the rest have at.”

  She turned and looked at him surprised, only to have him kiss her possessively. When kissing Julian, Tori tended to forgot everything around her and just went with the ease of the moment. It was nice to feel normal for a change.

  Julian broke the kiss and stared into her eyes. “More beer?” he asked, planning on getting his sexy agent tipsy for the evening.

&n
bsp; Then his heart flipped at the idea of her being his. Quickly he escaped, in case his face gave him away.

  “Julian!” she tried to protest, but he was already gone to get her another. Honestly, Tori didn’t mind, because suddenly she was thinking about her own very sexy Native man, and what the hell to do with him.

  * * *

  He tried to focus, but all he was consumed with was the events the previous night. The woman was still in his thoughts and making him crazy. All he wanted to do was head back out and find another whore.

  No! He needed to force himself to have some control. There needed to be days between them. He couldn’t let himself lose his mind and go on a killing spree.

  That would be wrong. When you didn’t plan, you were careless and made mistakes.

  Just the women he picked selectively were to die. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and he’d go back to the strip club and find the girl he wanted next.

  It was like mail order catalogs. Pick the size, shape and hair color and then make her yours; whether she liked it or not.

  The excitement flowed through him, and he laid back on his bed, mentally reviewing the whore inventory at the club. One of them may tickle his fancy.

  Then he laughed out loud. Did it really matter? All he wanted was to watch the woman burn.

  * * *

  Making all the rounds took time, and at each table they stopped and greeted the employees at FBI West. Callen stood by Elizabeth’s side, smiling easily at everyone. He tried to not think about the speculative glares, but he knew they were still getting quite a few of them. First at how close they stood, and then at their joined hands. Whenever Elizabeth leaned into him, the looks were to the other people sitting around them, wondering if they saw it too.

  He tried to not let it bother him, but he was more concerned for Elizabeth and her career. His own didn’t matter. He wasn’t an ambitious man wanting to move up the ladder. That was more his brother, but just being a threesome could hurt them both in the workplace. At the squeeze of her hand, he looked down into her eyes.