Elizabeth gasped as he pulled her down harder. The bouncing in his lap was driving her insane, as was the feeling of him so deep in her body.
“Just about there,” he warned, as she continued to grind down on him. “Wait for me,” he muttered.
She was shaking and trying to not fall over without him. “Callen, I can’t,” then he pulled her down roughly and she shattered apart in an amazing explosion.
As her body tightened down on his, he erupted and fell into the absolute bliss.
Neither spoke for a few seconds, the only sound in the room was the heavy breathing after a really wild ride.
She finally began laughing, as he was still buried in her. “That was something else, Mr. Whitefox.”
“You were right.”
She stared down at him. “About?”
“You do curse too much,” he said, with a straight face. Then he started laughing as he caught her off guard. “Our daughter is going to be just like you.”
Her heart skipped at the word daughter. Nothing in her said pink dresses and bows, and yet now she wanted to dress the little girl in frilly things and do crazy things like paint her little baby toes. “We better get down there. Poor Ethan is all by himself with a pack and play, a newborn and pink clothing.”
They both dressed quickly, and Callen even grabbed her again and gave her another kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you too, handsome.”
Together they walked downstairs together. To their surprise, Ethan was sitting on the couch, baby was cuddled up in the pack and play, and he was having coffee.”
“That didn’t take too long,” he said, laughing.
Callen lifted an eyebrow. “I can take her back up and go slow this time.”
Blackhawk grinned, glad to see the storm had passed.
Elizabeth went to him and kissed him. “How’s our little Cat?” she paused, looking over at Callen. “Is that nickname acceptable?”
He refused to let her back slide into the worry. “You tell me, she’s your daughter.”
The smile on her face said it all. “It’s perfect for her.”
“I agree,” replied Whitefox, staring down at his little girl and feeling a sense of peace.
Blackhawk sipped his coffee. “She’s cute. I have to admit; I once wished for a girl, but now I want quite a few thrown into the mix too.”
Callen agreed. “We can’t just have one girl and all boys. She’ll be tortured unmercifully.”
Elizabeth began laughing. “Boys, look around.” She began pointing and counting. “One boy, two boys, and then we have ONE girl,” she added pointing at herself. “I don’t feel tortured at all. I shall give her the secrets and teach her to sucker punch with the best of them.”
“We’ve created a monster.” Callen said, grinning.
His brother shook his head. “You just figured that out now? Wait until we go outside and our sons are getting their asses handed to them by some dress wearing princess.”
She laughed. “I have to get her cowboy boots.”
Callen grinned, completely at ease. “I bet they have pink ones, and you can get a pair and match.”
Elizabeth looked horrified. “Uh, no. It’s okay to put her in pink, it’s not okay to picture me in it.”
Ethan snickered. “Do you both realize we have three kids and they’re going to all be one and under?”
She was borderline hysterical. “We are so screwed.” Then she thought about it and began laughing more.
Blackhawk held his wife in his lap and watched her find something amusing. “Care to share?”
“Remember Christmas when Wyler gave me that bird in the nest with three eggs?” she grinned. “We all sat there thinking…why three eggs? Well here we go. We have our three baby birds and after EJ’s born, I need a year off from babies. We can’t have four children under two. That’s chaos and only some nutjob would try and pull that off.”
Both men agreed, and they knew how hard this pregnancy was on her. “I think we can take a year off.”
“I just thought about something.” Callen said, smiling.
Both of them looked over. “What?”
“Wait until we go back to FBI West. We thought the staff was confused before; this one’s going to throw them for a loop. We just came out and now a baby magically appeared.”
Elizabeth started laughing. “Oh yeah it will. I can’t wait to screw with all of them.”
Blackhawk grinned. “What are you going to tell them?” he inquired, staring at his brother.
“The truth. That she’s our daughter.”
* * *
The sun was streaming through the curtains on the cabin window, and Tori could feel the warmth on her face as she lay in bed. Rolling over, she reached for the man she loved, only to find him already gone. That was a very bad sign. Generally, Julian enjoyed waking up to a slow bout of morning sex.
It looked like she was going to have to chase him down.
Tori jumped from bed, dressing hurriedly. If he wasn’t in the cabin, he’d be out trying to find comfort with his girls. She stared out the kitchen window at the paddock. There was only one horse and one saddle on the fence. It meant only one thing.
Julian went to the lake to think. Tori tried to not let it bother her that he went alone, not waiting for her. She swallowed it, grabbing the thermos and filling it with coffee. Racing out the door, she saddled up Weeko and hopped onto her back. “Come on beautiful girl. Find me Wakanda.” She kicked and the horse took off down the trail, taking her to his side.
Whenever Julian wanted to be alone, he’d retreat here for the solitude. The lake was his thinking spot, and Tori hoped showing up wouldn’t make him angrier, as he worked through his father’s murder. There was only one way to find out.
It was time to slap some sense into her man.
Julian sat on the rock that overlooked the water, staring out at the mist that was slowly lifting from the glassy surface. When he came out here, he believed the silence would help, but it was only making it worse. Right now all he wanted was Tori in his arms. As of late, she was the only thing that offered him any sort of comfort.
His heart was still wounded over discovering his father was killed purposely, not by a hunting accident. In the grand scheme it wouldn’t bring the man back, but it made him doubt a family that would preach honesty and then live with a horrific lie. Never had he expected this from his mother.
Never!
Whipping another rock into the still water, he watched the ripples and thought about the man that had given him life. Blake Littlemoon wasn’t an easy man to love. Even as a young child he remembered his father’s epic temper when he was disobeyed. Yet Julian also remembered the smile, the way he would run in the yard with his kids and how he loved his wife.
It all crushed down on him.
Julian heard the hooves as did Wakanda. The horse perked up her ears and stared down the trail as her mare sister charged towards them. The woman on her back, racing her as fast as she possibly could. It gave him so much peace as the red hair whipped around her and the smile on her face offered him calm. When she pulled the horse to a halt beside the other he stared up at her, grateful for the company.
“If you don’t want me here, let me know now,” she said simply. “I’ll head back to the cabin.”
He stared at her. Was that the impression he was giving her? That she wasn’t wanted by his side? Yeah, if that was the mood he was projecting, he needed to snap out of it, before he ruined the relationship again with his stupidity.
“I was just wishing you were here,” he said, honestly.
Tori grinned. “Did you wish for coffee? Because I just happened to bring that with me too.”
He stood and went to the horse’s side to help his girl down. “I didn’t, but coffee at sunrise with the sexiest woman in the world is a dream come true.” Julian lowered her to the ground and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry I’m in a foul mood, Honey. I’m trying to not be an ass a
bout it.”
Tori ran her hands up and down his back. “You’re entitled to feel, Jules. I’m here for you to lean on me if you need me.”
He lowered his lips to hers. “I always need you, Victoria.” The kiss was slow and warm. He took his time with it, getting everything he could from her inner warmth to his cold heart. When he finally broke away, the pain in his heart was lessening.
Tori stared into his eyes. “Let’s sit and talk.”
Julian nodded and knew what the topic was going to be about. It looked like his mood was going to get worse before it got better.
Sitting on the rock, she poured them a cup of coffee. They shared the thermos lid between them.
He figured he’d start it off. “What do you want to discuss?”
Tori didn't miss a beat. “I’d like to talk about getting married. I think weddings take a lot of work, and we need to start planning it.”
It caught him off guard and wasn’t what he expected.
“Do you think it’s possible to get a wedding planned by the summer?” She knew he was expecting her to discuss his mood, and that was the last thing he needed. It was time to distract him. “Unless you changed your mind and want to put it off for a while.”
He quickly looked up from the coffee. “Why would I want to do that?” Julian’s heart began pounding at the thought she was backing out of their relationship.
“I don’t know. I’m simply asking.”
It had his attention. “I want to get married soon. I’ll elope tomorrow if you’d consider it.”
She started laughing. “Your mother would kill us both and you know it. Besides I plan on making Elizabeth my matron of honor. I wonder how she feels about a really pink dress?”
It was what he needed. Julian began relaxing. “She’ll hunt you down, drag you down the street and kick the crap out of you on your wedding day. She doesn’t seem like a pink kind of girl.”
“Yeah, I know,” Tori giggled. “Ok, so we wait until after she gives birth, and I let her pick the color.”
“Probably a good idea,” he answered. “Where do you want to have the ceremony? Is there a church or location you have in mind?” Julian figured since it was the woman’s big day and every girl dreamed about it, he’d do just about anything Tori wanted.
“I think here.”
He looked over even more surprised at the turn of the conversation. “Here on the Rez?”
“Yes. Do you think we can get an entire wedding party out here and guests? Right here beside the lake?”
That appealed to him a great deal. “There’s an access road not far away. It would mean a small walk through the trees over there,” he answered, pointing.
“What about at dusk? The sun will be gorgeous over the lake. We can ask Elizabeth to work her decorating magic and make it look like something out of a fairytale.”
Julian was so much in love at that moment. “I think I’d like that a lot.” His body began coming to life as she ran her fingers over his thigh.
“Will you wear a tux for me, Mr. Littlemoon?” she whispered softly into his ear.
Her breath on his neck gave him goose bumps. “I’ll wear anything you want, Victoria.”
Tori began teasing his earlobe with her teeth. “Want to get naked and roll around in the dewy grass at sunrise, Julian?” she offered.
Everything in him went tight at the idea that his woman would so willingly offer him anything she had to bring him an iota of peace during the storm. “You wouldn’t mind?” he answered back, picturing them in the soft chilly grass as they made love in the morning light.
“I wouldn’t mind at all,” she purred, placing the coffee down and going into his lap. “Make love to me, Jules.”
He took her mouth with his and complied. Who was he to argue? Gratefully, his day was looking better already.
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
Saturday Morning
After riding home and showering, Tori received a message from her boss instructing them to head to the rental house prior to the police station. Apparently, Elizabeth was planning on working there for at least part of the day.
Knocking on the door, they were escorted in by Ethan and he was grinning. In the background there was the sound of a baby crying.
Tori and Julian walked in, only to find Elizabeth feeding a tiny infant. “Holy crap, did you give birth to a baby?” inquired Tori, walking toward her friend.
Elizabeth began laughing at the question.
Tori saw the baby bump and shook her head. “You found one?” Now she was confused as hell.
Callen dropped his arm around Elizabeth. “This is my daughter, Catherine.”
Julian and Tori simply stared at him like they didn’t understand the language he was speaking or that he had three eyes and antennas.
Tori obviously had to ask. “Maybe I’m just really oblivious to everything around me, but who had your daughter.”
Julian figured it out. “Desdemona.”
Elizabeth stroked the infant’s cheek. “She gave birth last night and didn’t survive.”
Tori actually gasped and covered her mouth. “Callen, I’m really sorry,” she said, unsure what to say to the man. “If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”
He nodded. “Thank you.” Deep down he knew he should feel horrible the woman lost her life, but honestly he was still pretty numb over finding out he had a child.
Julian stared down at the girl. “When we were in Cypress Grove, she was pretty sick. Desdemona kept saying it was because of the stress. It never occurred to me.”
Callen shrugged. Again, his well of compassion had gone dry when it came to Doctor Adare.
“She wasn’t going to tell you, was she?” Julian inquired, feeling outrage himself for the man.
Elizabeth patted his cheek, gazing into his eyes. “No, she wasn’t, but it all worked out. Didn’t it, Cal?”
He smiled, kissing Elizabeth. “Yeah, it did. We have our daughter and that’s all that matters.” The hurt was still there, but he refused to let anyone outside their unit see it. Callen wouldn’t allow a dead woman the victory over his heart.
Blackhawk stood behind them protectively. He dropped a hand on each of their shoulders, connecting the three of them together.
“Wow, you’re going to make the staff absolutely nuts over this one. Just when I think you couldn’t mess with them more, you pull something new out of your bag of tricks,” stated Tori, laughing. I so can’t wait to get into this baby pool.”
Elizabeth winked. “You have to split the winnings if you use anything you learn here.”
“Oh, I’m so in. You can have the winnings for the baby. I just want to screw with them all.”
Julian shook his head. “Are we working out of here today or are we heading into the office?”
Blackhawk looked down at his wife. “What’s the plan, Tex?”
Elizabeth cuddled with the little girl. She missed her son and he’d be arriving soon. “I think you should head into the office with Tori and Julian. You need to ride the techs on the samples we dropped off yesterday. Callen isn’t leaving until dad gets here.”
“Crap, I have to tell him?” he said, laughing.
“Hell yeah you do! I’m not covering for you. You knocked a woman up that wasn’t me, and you have to break the news. Oh, and Bly. You know she’s going to have some ‘mother’ comment.”
Blackhawk started laughing. “Welcome to fatherhood and responsibility.”
Whitefox grinned because he didn’t mind it one bit. The fatherhood thing seemed pretty awesome. “I’ll head in later.”
“Send me copies of the tech reports. I’ll work out of here for a while, depending on if Dad can handle a newborn on top of CJ.” Then she dropped the bomb. “I think I’ll take a leave of absence when this assignment is over.”
Callen and Ethan stared over at her. “What?” they both said at the same time.
Julian grinned. “Come on, Tori. Let’s head over to the
office and let them get over the shock in private.” They escaped out the door as quickly as possible to her SUV. It was quite possibly the apocalypse, and they needed to get to cover before it all hit the fan.
“Why are you taking a leave of absence?” questioned Blackhawk, when they were alone. “Are you feeling alright?”
“I want to stay home with Catherine and give her the attention a newborn needs. When CJ was born I was home for twelve weeks with him and when EJ is born he’ll get the same thing. Why shouldn’t our little Cat get my attention?”
Callen still couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Seriously? You’re going to stay home?” It warmed him that she was completely into mothering the baby. Obviously, when she said it was her daughter, Elizabeth wasn’t kidding.
“I think I can work half days. It’ll give Dad a break. In four months we’re going to have three kids at ‘Fort Blackhawk-Whitefox’. That’s daunting for anyone.”
Ethan considered it. “If you work from noon until six, I can work from eight until two.”
Callen started laughing. “What do I get to work?”
Elizabeth grinned. “Out of the three of us, you travel the most. You’re gone a week a month easily.”
That made his heart hurt. Callen didn’t want to be away from his child for a moment.
“On the weeks you’re home, you can work from the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Monday and Fridays you can work out of the home office. I’ll work later those days to get the conference calls done. With three of us, we should have enough coverage.”
Whitefox nodded. “That’s doable. I appreciate that you both are being really awesome about this.”
“It’s what family does, Cal. We take care of our own,” his brother reassured. “She’s our child and Catherine needs us.”
“We’ll work it out,” Elizabeth stated. “You better head in, Cowboy. God forbid we leave the techs alone. They’ll start some revolution on the reservation.”
Blackhawk kissed her on the head and then leaned down to drop a kiss on Catherine’s nose. “Bye baby Cat. I’ll see you later,” he said, grabbing his keys and heading to the door.
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 34