Dead Shall Speak (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 10) Page 20

  She laughed. “Saddle up, my sexy Native. I want to take a ride.”

  His heart flipped as he awkwardly crawled into the back seat. All the while, there was a boyish grin on his face. “Use me, cowgirl.”

  Elizabeth dove in, kissing him like he deserved. Here was a good man who would give her anything she ever desired. Maybe it was the genes, or the other jeans which made her heart skip like this. When she couldn’t kiss him any deeper, Elizabeth pulled away. “Give me a second.”

  Slipping out of her clothes, she got ready to give Callen something to ease his heart. Flicking open the button on the top of his jeans, she enjoyed the way the breath hissed from between his lips.

  It wasn’t lost on her that he tracked each and every motion with a lustful stare.

  “Angel,” he murmured as her hand stroked him once, twice, and then was replaced with her mouth.

  This was pure heaven. There was the fear of getting caught, the need to let go, and the wild woman tormenting him.

  It all added up to one hell of a fantasy for Callen.

  When she was done with her mouth, she glanced up into his eyes. “I just wanted to make sure you were slickery enough.”

  The sound that emanated from his mouth was somewhere between a laugh and snort. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”

  Straddling his thighs, she got ready. “I want you every second of the day, Callen James. Your strength astounds me. It catches me when I stumble, and it makes me happier than I’ve ever thought possible.”

  With that, she sunk down his erection.

  “Oh, God!” he muttered when her body gripped him like a satin lined glove. It was absolutely perfect.

  This was exactly what he needed to reconfirm what his heart already knew.

  Callen was in heaven.

  “Let me give you a gift,” she purred in his ear, even as she began riding.

  His large hands went to her hips, helping with the glide up and down his erection. “Angel, you are my gift,” he replied, trying to focus on the pleasure coursing through his body.

  “Oh, Callen!” she nearly shouted, as he began pulling her down harder and harder. While she tried to worry that they’d get caught, there was something about the look on Callen’s face that pushed that all from her mind.

  There was peace there.

  It was something that she knew he’d been lacking for a while, since running into his mother’s boyfriend.

  While she bounced in his lap, Callen stared deep into her eyes. On the spur of the moment, he couldn’t help himself.

  ‘How could I live without you? You’re the air I breathe, the soul that nourishes me, the heart that beats in my chest. My woman, my wife, my other half—I wake to you, sleep with you, and grow old in your arms. Love hath no end when it defines what we have. You’ve given me hope. You’ve given me peace. You are my only salvation in the coldness of life.’

  Elizabeth’s heart skipped in her chest, even as tears filled her eyes. Whenever Callen would whisper a poem he’d written for her, it captivated and threw her world upside down.

  From battered and bruised, to healed and whole, he was so very important in her life. “Oh, Callen,” she murmured, a tear slipping down her cheek.

  Releasing her hips with one hand, he wiped it away. “I love you, Elizabeth. Forever and a day.”

  With that, she leaned into him, brought her mouth to his, and pushed them both from the precipice into the freefall of orgasm.

  Callen fell with her, arms wrapped around her body, protectively housing the child he would love despite Charlie not being his. This was his family, and he would forever cling to it, because they would offer him solace in a turbulent life.

  When the afterglow faded and sanity returned, Elizabeth lifted her head from his shoulder. “Mmmmm. I love having moments like this with you,” she offered.

  Callen grinned smugly. “Not as much as I do,” he teased, running his hand down her back. “We better get moving, angel. The last thing I need is my brother doing paperwork on a report where I’m caught having sex with you in a company vehicle.”

  She snorted. “He’s just as guilty.”

  That made Callen grin. “Good to know. I’ll use that as leverage if this gets out.”

  She paused, resting her hand over his cheek. “I’d tell the world how much you mean to me.”

  For some reason, Callen didn't doubt that in the least. In that moment, the pain was gone. There was nothing like the love of a good woman.

  And he had one.

  “Let me help you get you dressed,” he offered.

  “Always the gentleman,” she stated.

  “If I play my cards right, you’ll do this more often.”

  “Always the scheming hornball,” Elizabeth corrected.

  He laughed, because she wasn’t far off. “I hope I don’t smell too much like your perfume,” he stated, sniffing her neck right before he nipped her flesh. When his rough cheek nuzzled hers, Elizabeth shivered.

  “I hope you do smell like me,” Elizabeth stated. If Callen actually thought that she had forgotten about the woman grabbing his ass, he was mistaken.

  She was pregnant, not brain dead.

  Oh, she’d wanted to heal his heart, but a part of her wanted to mark her territory as well. If the woman didn't get the hint, there were other ways to make her understand.

  She could beat the hell out of her, all while manically laughing.

  When she actually snorted, Callen glanced over. “What?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  He didn't look like he believed her.

  It was best he didn't know. Why stress him out even more? This time, she’d carry the weight of this one on her shoulders.

  With pleasure…

  As expected, when they arrived on the dig site, the team was bored out of their minds. They weren’t allowed to root around in the dirt, since the FBI had cordoned it off. So, instead they were all hanging out in Tony Magnus’s office tent, bitching and moaning.

  Well, here was a little newsflash for them. Elizabeth was accustomed to whining and moaning. Unhappy people were right up her alley. When she headed in, Elizabeth found a man sitting behind the makeshift desk.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, standing.

  “Yes, you can. I’m Director Elizabeth Whitefox-Blackhawk. I'm here to give you all your assignments.”

  They didn't look pleased.

  Oh, she knew why. The two most irritated people, were obviously the ones who thought she was the least qualified to do just that. She loved when people underestimated her.

  “Where’s Doctor Magnus? Surely, he should be the one doing that. You’re really not up to speed to run a dig site.”

  Callen saw this one coming a mile away. The pompous bald man was about to get his ass handed to him.

  He couldn’t wait.

  “I tend to agree,” stated Doctor Bridget Seston. “We’re doctors, and you can’t just wing it on a site like this. It takes years of studying and methodical skills to do what we do.”

  She crossed her arms. What she wanted to do was point out that in the last years, she’d taught Doctor Magnus how to do everything. “Yeah, well, I run FBI West, which has almost six hundred agents, doctors, and other staff. I also work intricate cases to find serial killers who elude other investigators. Let me assure you that I’m well qualified to handle this. In fact, this is like running a preschool compared to what I do every day. I have children, so I speak from experience on that.”

  He stared down his nose at her.

  Literally.

  It made her want to break it off his face and tap dance around it on the ground.

  “I don’t think…”

  She cut him off. “You obviously don’t. Since this is an FBI site, I’m going to take charge. If you’d like to quit, I’ll make sure that I make note of that in my report. So, when the FBI needs more anthropologists, for more official digs, Doctor Armstrong will be first on the list, since she didn't pu
t up a fight.”

  That seemed to work.

  Neither doctor liked that idea at all.

  Oh yeah, she knew how to manipulate a few brainiacs. Elizabeth could do it in her sleep.

  It wasn’t hard to notice that the female doctor looked more irritated by her suggestion. She obviously didn't like coming in second to Jaxon Armstrong. Well, whatever it took to push their buttons, she’d do it.

  “What would you like us to do?” asked Doctor Hertz.

  “I need you to go back over the photographs of the older victims and use those bone lovin’ brains of yours to group them in categories of like characteristics. Do you think you can handle that? If they had kids, put them in one. If they were of different ethnicities, group them that way. I’m sure people of your fine educations can handle something as simple as that.”

  Elizabeth was praying that the female doctor in front of her was the one who hit on Callen. It would give her more reason to ride the woman’s ass.

  Who was she kidding? Elizabeth wanted to beat her ass into the ground for touching her man.

  “Doctor Magnus will be back tomorrow. At which time, you can bitch, moan, and complain to him all you want. Tell him that his boss was mean and unfair. See how far that gets you. He is already well aware.”

  This time, the two doctors said nothing.

  At least they learned fast.

  Elizabeth faced down the last three people there. They had to be the college students. They looked less worried about being bored, and more than happy to lounge around doing nothing.

  Yeah, that screamed professional students.

  “Director Whitefox and I would like to have you three assist.”

  “I’d be more than happy to assist him,” stated the woman. “What can I do for you, Director?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at Callen.

  He looked mortified.

  That cued Elizabeth in, along with the way Callen was keeping his distance from the woman. This had to be the handsy one from the other day.

  “Oh, I bet you’d love to help him out. I’ve heard about you, Miss…”

  “Valerie Joseph. I don’t believe in titles. We’re all the same once you get past the flesh and blood.”

  Yeah, she was an idiot. Youth was wasted on the stupid. Elizabeth was convinced of that. In twenty years, she’d learned a great deal, like don’t hit on another woman’s man. It’ll get you hurt, and fast.

  “Well, here’s a title you may want to take notice of, Valerie. My last name is hyphenated and contains his last name. So, the next time you play grab ass with a Whitefox, or a Blackhawk, you’re going to be getting a little visit from ‘she who has a title’ and bad attitude. Are we clear?”

  At least she had the dignity to blush as Callen moved closer to Elizabeth. When he dropped his arm possessively around her waist, the woman’s eyes went big.

  Callen grinned. “You made a comment about my wife not being here to find out, well, she’s here.”

  “And I most definitely found out,” she stated. “Now, once again, are we clear what you’re to do and NOT to do?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Ma’am.”

  She shook her head. “Yeah, that’s not good enough. How about we try Director Whitefox-Blackhawk? Say it, memorize it, and keep your damn hands to yourself or I’ll be the one harassing you, and trust me. It won’t be sexual. You’re not my type, but he is.”

  Valerie didn't say a word.

  Elizabeth shifted her focus to the men beside the lecherous student. “You two…who are you?”

  The one man was obviously amused at what had just happened. “I’m Jeffery Whilton.”

  “I’m Donald Hopper.”

  “Help the doctors out, stay out of trouble, and be ready for Doctor Magnus to return tomorrow. Okay?”

  They both nodded.

  Elizabeth and Callen headed out. They could feel eyes watching them, and that was more reason than ever to do what he planned on doing.

  When his hand made contact with her ass, she struggled to not laugh. “Callen James, you’re dangerously close to crossing that line. I may have been MIA the last month, but I didn't get an attitude adjustment while I was away.”

  It was funny that she was protesting, especially since the scent of passion and sex still lingered on both of them. They’d just broken some rules themselves.

  “It’s well worth the beat down.”

  “I hope it’s well worth the paperwork,” she stated.

  He was confused. “What?”

  “That ass pat of yours just got you homework. I want you to run that entire team. I want to know everything about each one of them.”

  “You think one of them is the killer?”

  She wasn’t sure. “They dug up the bodies. Who better to contaminate the scene on purpose? You know what they say in FBI one-oh-one. He who finds the body could have likely hidden it.”

  Elizabeth had a point.

  “Where to now?”

  “I want you to contact Ethan. Sex in the company car made me hungry, and now you’re going to buy me lunch,” she stated.

  “Do you want me to lead in with that when I talk to him?” he teased.

  “Callen James. You’re pushing your luck today.”

  He was well aware.

  Then again, he was okay with that.

  Somehow, he suspected she was too.

  * * *

  Getting out of the morgue made him happy. It wasn’t that he didn't like being near his team, Ethan just didn't like being away from his wife and brother. Callen could keep her safe, there was no doubt, but Ethan was always worried about the baby she carried.

  While CJ was treasured, as were all their kids, Charlie was a gift. She was almost never conceived, due to a maniac who tried to kill him. The little girl growing in his wife’s body was his second chance in life, and he hated being away from her.

  Blackhawk wanted to hover over her twenty-four-seven.

  While Elizabeth had been away for that month, there’d been many a sleepless night. When Ethan did sleep, he woke to vivid dreams of his wife calling for him, needing his help.

  It rocked him to his core, especially since the reason he found her, years ago, was through those same dreams.

  What if they were right and she was in danger?

  It shook him up, making him a mess.

  Pulling into the parking lot of the diner, Ethan saw the other Denali already there. Rushing in, he ignored the stares when he headed straight toward the two people who owned his heart. As he leaned down, there was peace the second her lips touched his.

  “I missed you,” he said, sliding into the booth to sit beside her.

  “The feeling is mutual,” she stated, taking Ethan’s hand in hers before placing it in her lap. “We already ordered you something for lunch,” Elizabeth offered.

  Ethan ran his fingers of his free hand over her cheek. “How did you get whisker burn?” he asked, taking the soda from the table to quench his thirst. “I’m going to bet the usual suspect.”

  Callen grinned smugly. “You better believe it.”

  It was all Ethan needed to see. “I have to protest that now you owe me some clandestine quickie somewhere. It should be my choice too.”

  “What can I say? Your brother is out of control. I warned him not to take advantage of me, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  That made Callen laugh. “Yeah, it was all me. I held you down and had my wicked way with you.”

  “Well, you did proclaim earlier that you had aspirations to be a serial rapist,” Elizabeth admitted. “So, it could have happened that way.”

  “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Callen inquired.

  “Hell no!” they said together.

  It made Callen laugh. It had been a while since he felt back in sync with his life.

  It was about damn time.

  Elizabeth focused on their day, getting down to business. “How’s th
e team doing?” she asked. “Are they playing nice? Or do I have to go back there and kick some ass?”

  Blackhawk didn't doubt she would. “It’s like they never had a fight at all. I can’t believe I missed the tension.” Generally, Ethan was aware of his surroundings and could handle anything that popped up. Unfortunately, as of late, he was off step with everything, including work.

  Now, he was better.

  She was his cure.

  Elizabeth wasn’t surprised that they were doing better. Family always rallied when they needed to, and her team was a tight unit.

  “Well, I gave the dig team their jobs, and they should be good until Tony is back on site. In fact, I want the tech team there tomorrow to wander around the area. We might get lucky and find something.”

  They could do that.

  Ethan relaxed as food was placed in front of him. He noticed that Elizabeth didn't have a big burger like he and Callen had. Instead, she had something grilled.

  “What is that?” he asked.

  Callen shook his head in warning. “Shit! Don’t ask,” he mouthed over her head.

  “Seriously, what is it? It looks like grilled cheese, but if we’re not having it, then it has to be pregnified.”

  Then it hit him.

  Oh hell!

  This was going to be one of her incredibly gross concoctions, and he’d walked right into it.

  Maybe he wasn’t back on his game one hundred percent.

  Elizabeth loved how sweet and silly her men were. Normally, they would all eat the same thing. It was their way of showing unity during the pregnancies, but whenever she went off the cuff with food, they refused to go there.

  This was one of those times.

  “It’s a grilled peanut butter and bacon sandwich,” she offered.

  Callen took a bite of his burger. “Wait for it.”

  “With jalapenos and pickles.”

  “And there you go,” Callen added. “We’ve reached a new low in the culinary department.”

  Ethan looked appalled as he placed his hand on her baby bump. “I’m sorry, Charlie, but your momma is a little crazy.”