Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) (20 page)

                          
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Elizabeth swore there was nothing better than a steamy hot shower. This was especially true if her husband was helping her wash her hair. The man just had magic fingers. He joined her in the spirit of saving time, and she knew now they were going to be even later. When he made his move in the warm water, being slick and soapy worked to her advantage, and she kept slipping away. Still it was only a matter of time until he caught her. When she found herself on his lap, sitting on the bench in the shower, she was overwhelmed with his kisses. This time there was no escaping.

“We can’t do this now,” she mumbled against his mouth
, as his hands got very busy and explored her body.

“Sure we can.” There was something driving him
to take his wife. Maybe it was the fact she was pregnant with their child, or maybe it was the fact that he was trying to lose himself in her, forgetting the ugliness of the day. Either way, he was going to find comfort in the storm with her.

“Ethan, your brother will be here soon,
and we really can’t be having sex while he’s on the front porch,” she answered, biting his earlobe in protest, but didn’t show any sign of stopping. “What will he think?”

“Callen is going to think that I’m the luckiest man alive, and that my wife is an animal
. I plan to blame it all on you,” he slid his fingers into her warm center, and when she tightened around him, he nearly lost it right there.  He pulled her hard against his mouth, holding her there with his hand buried in her hair until she was breathless.

“Oh, Ethan,” she whispered against his mouth
, as he lifted her to straddle him. When she felt him pressed against her and ready, she slid down, taking him all in and fitting him perfectly.

“Lyzee, so damn good every time,” he said,
as he rested his head back against the tile as his wife rode him. First slowly, and then growing in urgency. “There will never be enough of this,” he whispered, as her mouth moved against his throat and ear, whispering things that made his body tense even more.

Elizabeth felt herself tighten, as her control was slipping
. “Not going to make it much longer, Ethan!” she declared, pulling his mouth back against hers, as she kissed him deep, showing him how much she wanted him and always would.

“Oh God, baby,” he said, breaking the kiss. Elizabeth was quaking around his body, threatening to force him out of control. He struggled to hold on just a little longer, but her quick intake of breath and the
bite of her nails into his shoulders stole his remaining control. He was lost to it all, and Blackhawk stopped fighting it and let her body lure him into bliss. 

The
y shuddered together in blissful release.

Elizabeth jus
t let her body rest against his unable to move.

“One of us should get up,” he finally said, laughing hoarsely.

“I suppose you think because I’m on top it should be me.”

He slapped her on the ass. “That was the general consensus, Mrs. Blackhawk.”

“Then Mr. Blackhawk would be wrong in his assessment. I don’t think I can feel anything from my neck down, and since you caused it...”

Lifting her in his arms
, he carried her to their bed and dropped her on it, laughing. “There you go, and if you think I’m carrying you and a baby around the entire time, think again,” he snickered, as he toweled off.

Elizabeth didn’t even move, she was too worn out. “Yeah yeah, I hear you. It doesn’t seem right. You knock me up and then refuse to carry me around.
Talk about unfair.”

Blackhawk leaned down over his wife, kissing her slowly. “I’ll carry you anytime. I love you, Lyzee.” Brushing a hair away from her cheek, he couldn’t help but feel panic over the women they’d found today. Once they had been alive, lying on someone’s bed, possibly loved just like she was loved by him.

“Don’t think about it, Ethan. It’s going to just mess with you and screw you up. I’m not them, and I won’t ever be those women.”

“Promise me, Elizabeth.”

“I promise you that you’ll never live that discovery. No worries Mr. Blackhawk. Now let’s get dressed, your brother will be arriving soon, and I’m suddenly starving. Correction, we are starving,” she said, pointing at her midsection. “Great, two Blackhawks that I have to answer to now,” she winked at her husband, as he began laughing. 

Callen Whitefox drove into the neighborhood and parked outside the house that matched the address on the paper. He was happy that his brother had escaped the reservation life and made something of himself. From the look of the size of his house, he had a damn good life.
The giant stone sanctuary was something of childhood dreams.

After
the betrayal he always wondered what had happened to him, and if he recovered and bounced back. The past didn’t defeat his brother at all. Now he had a gorgeous home, nice cars, and a beautiful wife that you could tell loved him more than anything. It gave him reassurance that he hadn’t destroyed both of their lives and his only. No one deserved it all more than his brother. 

Ethan Blackhawk watched his brother pull in and park behind his car, and
he couldn’t help but feel wary. It just kept plaguing him, if letting this part of his past back into his life was a good idea or a bad one.  His brother had hurt him once, and he hoped that he wouldn’t fall into that trap again. Now there was more to lose, and he wasn’t willing to risk it.

There was something in him that made him look over at his wife. She was walking around their kitchen, barefoot, in jeans
, and a tank top, and he had to wonder if his brother would ever try to take her away. Just then she looked up at him, giving him a reassuring smile, as if she just knew he was worried.

“You're doing the right thing, Ethan.
He just needs a second chance like we did.”

He nodded, needing to believe she would see what he didn’t and give him good advice. There was no doubt he was too emotionally tied to the decision. As he stood on his porch he welcomed his brother into his home, and back into his life. This
felt like a big moment for him. Since forcing his family out years ago, swearing they would never be part of him again, he was filled with nervous anticipation. Now both his brother and grandfather were back, and everything was off-balance.

“Welcome, Callen,” he said, holding the door open to his brother.

“Nice house, Ethan. I never expected you to live in the suburbs,” he said grinning. It was the same grin his brother had inherited at birth too, both gifts from their father and grandfather.

“Me either,” he laughed, following his brother, carrying the beer he had handed him. “I used to live in Georgetown in a brownstone
. That was more FBI until our boss showed me the error of my way.”

Elizabeth watched both men and now saw more of a family resemblance. At first they looked completely different, but it was the subtle things
. It wasn’t their physical characteristics, but their actions and mannerisms. They both were very much alike. “Welcome to our home, Callen,” she said, walking around the counter and hugging her husband’s brother warmly. “Sometimes it’s nice to be able to get to know people outside of standing over dead bodies.”

Whitefox
nodded; He was surprised his sister-in-law had hugged him. Callen Whitefox was pretty sure his brother was going to make sure they stayed far apart. He knew if the tables were turned there would be no way his woman would be anywhere near the man who betrayed him. Not that he’d ever cross that line again, but still, it was just unexpected. His brother had become a different man, and he suspected Elizabeth had a great deal to do with it.

“Thank you for inviting me. I’m assuming you are the reason I’m here. Ethan used to hold a wicked grudge
. Not that I can blame him, but now he’s mellowed.”

Elizabeth pulled down plates and grabbed silverware, staring over at her husband as if considering his brother’s words. “Nope, he’s the same as he was, and this was all his idea. Too many people assume they know Ethan, but he’s very different than they expect once you get past the tough exterior and through the multi-faceted layers.”

Blackhawk handed his brother a beer. “I’m standing right here. You both know that right?” he laughed as he twisted off the top. “I know I’m the oldest one in the room, but my hearing is still pretty good.”

Elizabeth
snorted, opening a bottle of water and taping it against her husband’s beer, in salute. “Truth old man.”

Blackhawk tried to grab her, but she managed to elude him.

“Elizabeth, don’t you like beer? I could have brought you wine instead,” Whitefox said, feeling like he failed as a guest.

Elizabeth looked over at her husband
ready to make an excuse. She waited for a sign from her husband, since she wasn’t sure how he wanted her to answer that question.

“We’re having a baby
.” Blackhawk answered for her, softly. “Elizabeth is pregnant with our first child.”

Callen
Whitefox stood and went to his brother first. “I’m incredibly happy for you,” he grinned and took the chance, hugging him. “Congrats Ethan!” He stepped back unsure if the contact would be welcomed. When it was reciprocated, he smiled in relief.

“Thank you,” he
replied, warily. “But please we want to keep it quiet, especially in light of the assignment. I’m still a nervous wreck. You and granddad are the only ones that know.”

Elizabeth smiled at her husband and his brother. “Hey, I don’t get
congratulations? I’m the one doing all the work and growing the next Blackhawk child. Really, he had the easy job!”

Whitefox laughed and hugged her. “You certainly do, and since I know what he was like as a kid, you also get my condolences.”
Whitefox tried to not breathe in the scent of her hair, but it was so damn hard. His heart thundered in his chest.

Elizabeth laughed at that, suspecting as much. “Well, I don’t mind a little chaos now and then,” she answered, trying to picture her husband as a child, and it warmed her heart.

Whitefox got serious after he thought about it. “Today had to be pretty rough on you, Elizabeth.”

Blackhawk
felt the same as he watched her work earlier, knowing it was hard, and believing she was the strongest woman in the world.

“It was a lot harder for the victims. I got through it, and I’ll get them justice,” she smiled at both men
, changing the subject. “Ethan, how about you and your brother go out to the patio and start a fire in the bowl outside? I feel like eating in the fresh air tonight. Then we can work inside for a while. For now I just want to pretend it’s just a normal night, and we’re boring, normal people.”

“Yes baby,” he said, kissing his wife on the top of her head as he walked past. “So damn bossy,” he laughed, slapping her on her ass on his way past.

She just shook her head as she watched them leave; Elizabeth knew they needed a few minutes alone to get readjusted to being a family and put it all out there in the open.

Outside, Whitefox watched his brother light the fire in the copper fire bowl. He was completely different than he used to be.

“Something you want to say, Callen?” He could feel his brother staring at the back of him, as if nervous.

It caught him off guard
. His big brother always had that ability. “You’re just a different man than when you left.”

“Yeah I am
, and I think that’s best for everyone involved.”

“I’m glad you are, Ethan. I’m
pleased you found happiness.”

“Were you worried that you and Kaya destroyed me?” he asked, grinning up at his brother. “Were you afraid that I had become a shell of a man, because I lost the only woman that I would ever love in the entire world?”

“In a way, I think I was.”

“You can thank, Lyzee. I was all about the job. For a long time I didn’t have a personal life, and then she came stomping into mine and rearranged everything. It’s hard to stop her once she plows into you. I told you that I had dreams about her,
and then there she was knocking me over. After four days I proposed to her and asked her to marry me. I couldn’t imagine my life without her at that point. She was the center and it all revolved around her and still does.”

“She’s tough,” he said laughing.

Something inside of him clenched. Blackhawk remembered having the same conversation with his boss at one time, and now he was living the life he thought just out of his reach.

“We had a bad end to the assignment in Salem. We both almost didn’t make it out that day. Elizabeth was in worse shape, and that changed my perspective a great deal. As we both healed from our injuries
. We both had to decide what to do professionally. Elizabeth was offered the position of mayor in her town, and she offered me the job as sheriff. In the end we just didn’t think we could make small town work. Gabe called and offered us the joint job of director for the new FBI West office. It would mean we both got to work together and be safe. Granted, we shouldn’t be out in the field,” he paused. “This will be our last assignment, if I have anything to say about it. Her last one anyway.”