Act of Blood (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 16)

by Kelley, Morgan

  Chris couldn’t lose Elizabeth.

  It would kill what was left of his soul.

  “Help me get her to see that I’m Ethan—not Deputy Director Blackhawk. I don’t want arm candy. I want my wife, and she deserves to be happy. Loving me isn’t easy. I know it. I don’t know how to show her. I’m not good with things like this. I’m all about this job, but that’s the last thing she needs right now.”

  Chris sympathized. He knew from his talks with Elizabeth, that since Ethan’s abduction, he was a different person than the man she’d first met. While he’d been all about the job then, now he was using it as a way to stay focused. Ethan hadn’t fully recovered from what had happened to him.

  They all knew he was a ticking time bomb.

  “I can help you.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  “Elizabeth is struggling even though this was what she wanted. She came here and feels like the city is focused on her as nothing more than your wife. People come right out and tell her she married you for the job and prestige.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “You know that, and I know that, but when you hear shitty things enough, you start to wonder. While you’re the big hero, the big man on campus, she has to fight for her street cred. She has to prove that she’s just as smart, just as tough, and able to do the job. You don’t have to do that.”

  “I understand, since I had to do that my entire life. I was only some drunken Indian from a reservation. I lived that every day of my life.”

  “It had to suck.”

  “It did.”

  “Deep down, she knows it’s not true, but the reporters hitting her with it day in and day out are on her last nerve.”

  Ethan couldn’t control the media.

  “She’s smarter than I am and probably a better agent too,” he admitted. “I’m simply a profiler. She’s a solver.”

  “Again, we know that.”

  “How do I make her see that I understand what she’s going through and I am here for her?”

  “Just talk to her. When is the last time you spent any time alone doing things you used to do?”

  “Solving crimes?”

  “Uh, not working.”

  “The President’s dinner two weeks ago.”

  “Again, not working. I’m talking about you two being together and a couple.”

  Ethan was at a loss. “I’ve been really busy since coming here.”

  Chris took it from a different angle. “How does Gabe have a life outside the FBI?”

  “He doesn’t bring it home with him. Once the car pulls into his driveway, he’s a husband and father.”

  “Start there.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Or you won’t?”

  He didn’t know.

  Ethan was struggling, and this was his point. His job was so ingrained in him, he couldn’t divide the two. It was his weakness, and she was paying for it.

  Chris could see he was genuinely struggling with this. “How about an Ethan and Lyzee date where there’s no tie, suit, or chauffeured driver?”

  “It’s hard to ditch security. I’m actually geo tagged,” he said, pointing at his watch. “They monitor me all day long. I can’t just sneak away.”

  Chris sat back. “You’re such a pussy. Here, I heard all these badass stories about you in your youth from your father, and they were all bullshit. You probably were born wearing a tie and rules.”

  “Hey!”

  “It’s true. Ethan Jackson Blackhawk couldn’t have had an ounce of larceny in him. There is no freaking way. You can’t even figure out how to woo the girl with some badassery. I’m disappointed in you.”

  “Those stories aren’t made up.”

  Chris shook his head. “I call bullshit, Director Suit and Tie. There’s no way.”

  Ethan opened his mouth and then closed it. “I get your point.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes.”

  “She misses that man. I’m sure you’ve done crazy things with her before, and you can’t give that to a woman and then take it away.”

  He had a very valid point. They’d gotten married spontaneously. He’d tattooed her name across his body to show his love and dedication, and she’d done the same.

  They’d made love in the treehouse.

  They let fate decide how many kids they had and when. All of these things had been the impulsive side of him.

  At one time, he’d been spontaneous. Yeah, he’d had his moments.

  “Ditch the security, lose the bug, and do something crazy and wild. She’ll gratuitously thank you for it in the long run.”

  He liked the idea of that.

  “I can make this work.”

  Chris leaned forward. “Then do it every month when she least expects it. She needs to see that the old you is still in there and he values who she is. Really…lose the monkey suit. It’s overkill.”

  Ethan stared down at his attire. Reverently, he ran his fingers down the silk tie. To him, it was a sign of how far he’d come. As a youth, he’d never been able to afford anything nice, and that was why he dressed up all the time.

  It made him feel better.

  Honestly, part of it was for her. Ethan never wanted his wife to think he wasn’t…important.

  “You can lose the suit on the weekends, and you know it. You’re technically off duty, and that would show her that you’re still in there.”

  He had a point.

  It had become second nature.

  “Thank you, Chris.”

  “Plan something spectacular. If you need an accomplice or alibi, I’m your guy.”

  He went to leave, but Ethan stopped him. He hugged Chris tightly to his body. Chris reciprocated the hug.

  You could never have enough people in your life who loved you, and Chris was grateful to have fallen into Elizabeth’s family.

  They were special.

  “Thank you for helping me out.”

  “Anything, Ethan. I love the three of you. I’d do anything for her, and because she loves you both, the same goes.”

  It was reciprocal.

  “You are truly our brother.”

  Chris’s heart skipped.

  They were the most amazing words he never thought he’d hear. It was his dream to have people like this in his corner.

  “It is my pleasure.”

  And honestly, it was.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Hoover Building

  Cafeteria

  Boone was having a hard time focusing. While he knew he should be thinking about what was coming with Derek, it wasn’t easy to focus on that.

  Merry was sitting across from him at the table, and every few minutes, her foot would rub his leg. It kept sending little shocks of electricity up his body to his gut.

  It reminded him of their morning before discovering the mess outside their home.

  God!

  He wanted her.

  “How’s your lunch, cher?” he asked, when he noticed she wasn’t even eating. She was spreading the leafy greens all over her plate.

  “I’m not really hungry,” she stated, pushing the salad away. “I can’t stop thinking.”

  Yeah, him either. He was thinking about her breasts, her tiny waist, and the way he slid…

  “How about you?” she asked.

  He fought the flush.

  “Boone? Why are you getting red?”

  She’d caught him mid-fantasy.

  Immediately, he started laughing. “I was thinking about you and this morning while we were kneeling in front of our altar.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh. It sucks that we started something, and we weren’t able to finish it. I hate leaving things undone.”

  His meaning was clear.

  She licked her lips. “I’m sorry we were interrupted. It would have been really amazing.”

  How did she know?

  It always was.

  Now he laughed
even more. “Not as sorry as I am, cher. I’m having a hard day.”

  He emphasized that one word because it was true. What he wanted was to pull her chair close and…

  “I have a secret.”

  That intrigued him. He lifted an eyebrow. “Yes? Would you care to share?”

  She leaned forward to whisper.

  “I may know of a place where we could go for a brief moment to…uh…handle your situation.”

  She had his attention.

  He’d follow Merry into a jungle full of cannibals if she promised to touch him. He was a man, and clearly, it didn’t take much to make his lower brain do all the thinking.

  “Are you willing to take me there and we can make it our secret?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Absolutely. We’re going to be staying at my bosses. I don’t know if I can have sex with you there. It’s like doing it with your parents in the next room.”

  He grinned. “Well, news flash. Your ‘parents’ have a threesome. They’re having more fun than anyone I know.”

  She smiled.

  It stole his breath.

  “Want to take a little trip with me?” she offered. “There’s a room off the morgue, at the other end where the old files are kept. I happen to know the code because I had to go in there once. No one ever heads there.”

  Boone grabbed both of their trays. “You don’t have to ask twice.”

  Merry found him sweet, amusing, and always willing to live on the edge.

  “Isn’t it a coincidence that you’re wearing a dress?” he teased, when he got back to the table.

  “Not really. The coincidence is that I don’t have any panties on.”

  He nearly tripped trying to navigate them around the chairs. Then he began cursing in Creole.

  That turned her right on.

  If anything, her detective was incredibly sexy. Merry wanted him. As they walked down the hall to the staircase, and then further into the bowels of the building, she couldn’t help herself.

  She grabbed his ass.

  Boone moaned. “Cher, I’m already horny as hell. I will jump you right here.”

  She giggled. “Cameras.”

  He cursed some more.

  “Boone, do you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?” she teased.

  “When you get us into that room, I’m going to do a hell of a lot more than ‘kiss’ you with it.”

  That made her want to do cartwheels and cheer. There was nothing like his mouth on her body.

  “We’re here,” she said, entering the code to the unused storage room. Once inside, she led him to the furthest part of the room—just in case.

  Merry barely had time to turn around, when Boone spun he was on her.

  True to his promise, his mouth found hers, and he attacked. There was no gentleness, but instead, raw need.

  Once upon a time, she would have been scared.

  Now she was simply wet.

  Boone Savage turned her insides to liquid heat. The more he touched her, the more she wanted. He was like an addiction that she couldn’t get enough of in her life.

  “Heaven help me, cher, but I can’t keep my hands off you,” Boone whispered as his teeth moved down her neck.

  “Then don’t do it,” she whispered back.

  When he pulled away, his face was full of expression. Most of it was proof of his need.

  Merry wanted to make him beg.

  She loved how Boone wanted her more than anything in the world. The way he craved her drove Merry wild. It was as if she mattered.

  No man ever gave her that.

  From day one, the Native man had always proved that he would love her like no one else ever could, and she was grateful for that.

  She was blessed.

  Now it was time to pay him back.

  Dropping to her knees, she stared up at him as her hands went to his belt buckle. It caused a quick intake of breath as he waited for her mouth to find its way to his body.

  Well, he wouldn’t have to wait.

  She took him between her lips as her hand also began stroking him. Boone actually had to lean against the wall, as the feelings and visual nearly took him to his knees.

  It was the most amazing feeling as she worked him in and out of her mouth.

  Boone wanted to beg.

  Hell!

  He wanted to offer this woman his heart, soul, and life—all on a silver platter.

  No.

  He wanted to offer her a future.

  As he stared down at her, Boone couldn’t even focus. The pleasure was all too much. If Merry didn’t ease up, he was going to cum, and in her mouth.

  “Cher, please,” he begged.

  That was exactly what she wanted to hear. Setting him free, Merry got to her feet.

  Boone was breathing hard, as if he’d run one hell of a marathon.

  “I love you,” he said, right before he roughly yanked her against his body.

  She didn’t fight.

  She didn’t struggle.

  In fact, she did the opposite.

  She urged him on.

  Boone had to have her. Glancing around, there was a dusty old chair not far away. Picking her up, so her legs were around his hips, he could feel the wetness against his erection. Yeah, she wasn’t kidding.

  There were no panties.

  He fell in love even more with her.

  “God! I need you.”

  Merry understood.

  “I want you in me, Boone. I want you so bad it’s making me crazy.”

  He sat in the chair, and Merry was standing above his body. There was never a more erotic visual. She was holding her skirt up, and he had a clear view of her body.

  He wasn’t going to survive this. Boone was sure that one day, the pleasure would kill him.

  “Take a ride,” he urged, watching her shake from his words. His voice didn’t sound like his own. Instead, he sounded raw, desperate, and full of lust.

  That about summed it up.

  Merry wanted so much more than a ride. She wanted to rock his world like he did with hers. Slowly, she slid him into her body, watching his face the entire time. His normally serene expression was filled with so much.

  He was wild.

  He was needy.

  He was ready to break apart from the lust.

  Boone was fighting for control, and by the time she buried him to the base, his eyes were closed, his head tipped back, and he was shaking.

  This was amazing.

  Merry began moving.

  At first, it was slow.

  Then it picked up.

  When she came, riding his dick, Boone was pretty sure he was going to lose it. He actually had to grab her hips to stop her from moving.

  “I need a second. Christ! I need a couple of them.” Who knew that a clandestine meeting in an FBI building would move up the ranks on his sexual ‘to do’ list?

  Well, it had.

  Her hands found his sexy hair, and they slid through the long silky strands. She found it incredibly erotic. It was one of the hottest things about her detective.

  Well, that and the ginormous back tattoo.

  “Merry,” he muttered as she kissed him as if they were sharing their last moments on Earth.

  She didn’t stop.

  She couldn’t.

  Boone made her crazy.

  When he released her hips, she began rocking back and forth, getting them both hot and bothered.

  “I love you, Boone. I’ll always love you,” she promised. If there was one thing Merry knew for sure, it was that this man was the one she was meant to be with for the rest of her life.

  It had been in the smoke.

  She believed.

  “God! Cher, I can’t breathe without you.”

  She took his face in between her hands and their gazes locked together.

  Neither spoke.

  Their breathing matched.

  As she rode, every emotion he felt was alive in his eyes. Boone prayed that she saw and und
erstood. His Merry was skittish, but they couldn’t remain like this forever.

  She was carrying his child.

  She was going to have to realize that they were going to take the next step. As soon as Derek was handled—dead—he was going to make her his wife.

  There was no way he could continue calling her his girlfriend when his heart knew the truth.

  She was his.

  This woman was born to be his wife.

  As she moved, sliding him in and out of her body, he brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.

  She shook.

  “You are my all,” he whispered, as his own body threatened to betray him. Boone couldn’t hold on any longer. His body was reacting to the wet slide of Merry’s caressing his.

  This was Heaven and Hell.

  Her breath hitched, as his words pushed her over the edge.

  She shook.

  She broke.

  Merry made the tumble into the pleasure, calling his name for him to follow.

  Boone didn’t stay behind. He took that leap into the ecstasy with her, and together, they tumbled over the edge.

  Merry’s scent called to him, as she rested against him while she rode out the pleasure.

  He came so hard he couldn’t think.

  Then there was peace.

  Silence.

  Just them.

  When Boone opened his eyes, he realized something important.

  He couldn’t wait for Derek to be dead. He couldn’t wait that long. He was going to have to make his move, and soon. Merry was there for the taking, and there was no way in hell he’d risk losing her to another man.

  Screw that.

  He needed her in his life.

  Forever.

  “Merry.”

  She lifted her head and there were tears in her eyes.

  “Cher? Are you okay?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist. Those tears made him forget everything he’d been thinking. Instead, he felt the need to protect her.

  Cherish her.

  Wipe them away.

  “I’m afraid I’m going to die.”

  His heart ached.

  There was no way he’d let that happen.

  If Merry went, he’d go with her.

  That was his vow.

  That was his promise to the mother of his child. He couldn’t live without her, and he wouldn’t.

  There was no way.

  That would be hell.