Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four) (38 page)

“Ethan.”

“Then, there’s the bucket list. I’m being perfectly honest; something in me goes crazy at the idea. I’m willing to see what happens and go from there.”

“I just don’t want to hurt you, and make you think that you’re not everything to me, because,” she paused and her eyes filled with tears. “You're all, Ethan. From day one, you're my center. I’d die without you. But Callen, he’s so broken.
I care about him, and I’d do anything to heal the pain he’s feeling so one day he can find love.”

His heart filled with love at her words
, but he knew the truth. Elizabeth loved his brother a great deal and Callen wouldn’t ever walk away from her. The man was here to stay, so why not accept it and move forward.

His brother already found that love.

“You're my all too, Elizabeth. I love you more than life, and I’d die for you right now. You had my son, and I won’t love anyone but you.
Ever
. But when granddad was dying he whispered in my ear, that I was left to heal Callen. He wanted me to share my life with him and make him whole. I’m willing to do that, because I believe that you’ll always be mine and you're the cure for all the scars in his heart.”

Elizabeth went into his arms and kissed him. “
I adore you, Ethan.”

“I want to fix him, and
I’m fairly certain you're the only way for that to happen. All of me wants Callen to feel alive inside, and you’re what he loves and needs.”

“
Are you sure you’ll be okay with it?” she asked, touching his cheek.

He laughed. “Oddly, yes. Just thinking about it makes me crazy, so
doing it should be earth-shattering. Plus, I love my brother and need to help him through life, because I know he’d be there for me if I was the broken one.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, and then if it’s a disaster we can all go home and pretend it never happened,” he laughed, kissing his wife. As he continued to think about it his entire body tightened. Ethan wanted to take her right there. “See?” he said, breaking away. 

Elizabeth
was leaning against his body and could tell. “Tonight it is, Mr. Blackhawk.”

He started nibbling on her throat and
her ear, and his body was alive with a mind of its own.

Whitefox came out of the bathroom in the other room and saw his brother and Elizabeth in an embrace. His heart skipped a beat
at what they shared and ached at the same time.

Both
glanced over at him.

“Want me to close the door?” he offered, understanding. The cold shower he just took didn’t help, and watching
them was worse.

Elizabeth whispered in
her husband’s ear and he nodded. “Callen, come here,” she said, moving towards him when he stood frozen. “I owe you a kiss.”

Callen
still didn’t move. All that he could think of was that the most the beautiful woman in the world was wrapped in a towel in front of him.

Elizabeth went up against his body,
pulling his mouth down to hers and kissed him. Long, slow and with teeth and tongue. When his arms came around her body and held her to him, she offered more of the kiss until he moaned, as his whole body went tight.

She slowly broke the kiss and
stared up into his eyes. “If you want more, come to bed with us tonight. If you aren’t interested in pursuing more of a physical relationship, then let me know. I won’t ever bring it up again.”

“I don’t understand.” What she was saying wasn’t registering with him. It just seemed too
inconceivable to him.

“
I plan on having sex with Ethan tonight, and I’m inviting you to join us. I want you, Callen. I need you and would like to take our relationship further.”

Holy shit
!

Callen had to be
dead.

Maybe he
fell and hit his head in the shower. The only other explanation was he was now the luckiest man on the face of the planet. A beautiful woman was offering him his wildest fantasy, and his possessive, over protective brother wasn’t saying a word.

Elizabeth went up on her toes and whispered in his ear and she could feel him shake
at her words. Gently, she leaned into his body.

Callen stared at his brother who was standing in the doorway. There was no anger or animosity.

“Are you sure, Ethan?” he asked, not wanting to risk losing his brother.

“
Like I told Elizabeth, if it is a disaster, we all go home and never speak a word of it again,” he said, grinning. “Now, can we have dinner? I’m starving and would like to commence date night.”

He pulled out his smartphone and started checking emails
, as his brother stared at him. Elizabeth walked to the suitcase and pulled out some erotic looking under garments, and then proceeded to dig for a dress at the bottom of her luggage.

“Cal, get dressed.” She started laughing.

“I think I forgot how,” he said, honestly. None of this could possibly be happening. Not only did his brother just offer to share Elizabeth, but they were going to do it together. This was his entire bucket list all at once. Right then he was on possibility overload.

Blackhawk laughed from the other room. “Wait until after sex.
When you need help tying your shoes, you’ll understand why I sometimes wear loafers.”

Elizabeth handed him boxers from his suitcase and walked back to the other bathroom so the man could concentrate.

This had to be the most amazing day of his life. Whitefox stared after Elizabeth, wondering how the hell he was going to get through dinner knowing who was for dessert.

                                *   *   *

Desdemona sat in the pizza place with Julian Littlemoon and was having a pretty decent time. The man was easy to relate to, funny, and didn’t make her nervous at all. He teased her about her hair, and then became serious.

“So, what happened?” he asked, knowing she knew what he meant.

“We rushed into things and someone else owns his heart.” Desdemona shrugged. “I guess it happens.”

Julian knew who
the ‘someone’ was in the conversation. Elizabeth and Callen had something between them. Even a stranger could see it. When they were together, they were the same as when Elizabeth and Ethan Blackhawk were together.

“
It’s weird, right? I’m not just crazy to think that they have some secret fling going, and it’s behind Ethan’s back.”

“Ethan Blackhawk is a pretty smart man. I doubt he became
director by chance, and I doubt he’d miss his wife having an affair. If there’s something going on, I don’t think it’s behind his back.” Julian shrugged. “In some indigenous Amazonian tribes they have multiple men for each woman.”

“That’s the
Amazon!” She snapped, sighing. “I’m sorry.”

Julian understood.
“Look at some religions here in the United States. Polygamy is practiced here. I think polyandry happens too. There’s a Native American mythology of twins. They are usually partners in a job or task. Some warrior braves hunt in pairs and often would marry the same woman.”

“So basically I’m being over the top by thinking
it’s weird?” she asked, leaning forward. “It’s simply a Native thing?”

“
I think you’re hurt, and that’s why you’re upset. If you didn’t have a relationship with Callen previously, would you care?”

Desdemona thought about it. “
No, I wouldn’t. You’re probably right. But I loved him, and he just couldn’t love me back the way he needed to.”

Julian understood. “I’ve only worked with the Blackhawks a few times, but from what I’ve seen they are a pretty tight family. You can’t help who you love in life
, and you can’t force others to feel what they don’t.”

It still hurt, and she was still angry
about the entire damn thing. It just wasn’t fair that Elizabeth had scored both men.

“Want another drink?” he asked, smiling at her.

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“Way to let down your hair and have a good time, Doc!” he said, signaling to the waiter for another round.

                                *   *   *

Elizabeth
strolled between the two men, her arms through theirs as they walked through the little town after dinner. The men had bought her dinner, and now they were going to get ice cream. It was a pleasant night all around, but then any night without the prospect of a dead body was a damn good night.

“Did you call dad?” Elizabeth
inquired.

“Yes I did
, baby. CJ was good today, and dad was thrilled to have him.”

“I’m just glad he’s distracted with my little man,” she said, sitting on the bench outside the ice cream place.

“The usual Elizabeth?” asked her husband, kissing her on the cheek.

“Yes Mr. Blackhawk.” Elizabeth watched her husband
appreciatively as he wandered off to get her ice cream. She leaned against Callen and laid her head on his shoulder.

“You're tense
, Cal, are you okay?” She asked knowing what had him all stirred up. “You know you don’t have to go through with it. Everything will stay the same.”

“What if I do go through
with it and everything changes?” Callen finally said, watching his brother.

“I won’t think any less of you and neither will
Ethan. He’s not worried about this, and you shouldn’t be either. If we get into bed and you can’t do it, then we turn the lights off, cuddle, and go to sleep.”

“I want you more than anything in the world. You make me a mess
, and when I think about it my heart skips a beat. Right now I’m so hard I could shatter.”

Elizabeth pulled his lips down to hers and gave
him a gentle kiss. “I want you, Callen.”

“Hey, someone told me dessert and then DESSERT.” Ethan Blackhawk sat beside her, handing her a scoop of chocolate, Callen
mint chip and vanilla for himself.

“Callen’s nervous.”

“Then don’t do it until you're ready,” Ethan said, licking his cone. “No one’s pressuring you. I’m just enjoying a date night with the people I love. It’s no different than us on the couch watching a game and drinking beer. If you over think it, you’ll screw yourself up.”

Whitefox tried to relax
and take his advice.

“I love
you, Ethan,” she said, leaning over and kissing him. “Yummy, chocolate and vanilla go great together,” she said, winking.

Then
, she leaned over to kiss Whitefox. “Oh, and look chocolate and mint chip go together too. Funny how that works. All different but work together in their own way.”

“Cornell
, huh?” said Whitefox, laughing at her ice cream analogy.

“Son, don’t piss the woman off before sex, because now we bo
th have the potential to suffer. After tonight, you’ll walk a mile barefoot over nails to do whatever she asks.”

Elizabeth
snickered.

All three sat in silence, watching the other people in the town wander past them. Her head would go from Callen’s shoulder to her husband’s. When all three were finished with their cones, Elizabeth held both of their hands. Her fingers held protectively in Ethan’s and twined lovingly with Callen’s.

“Shall we go back to the bed and breakfast?” suggested Blackhawk.

“Can we mess with the woman at the front desk? I like just to see the look on her face. I’ll kiss you first, then you, and then back to you, and then...”

Whitefox laughed, helping Elizabeth into the Escalade. “She already thinks you’re having an illicit affair behind your husband’s back. As does Julian Littlemoon, our tech team, Desdemona and soon the rest of FBI West.”

“I’m such a hussy.
It’s the price I have to pay to be a flagrant, wild, out of control woman with two hot men at her side.”

Blackhawk shrugged
, winking at his wife as they drove back to the bed and breakfast. “Let them talk all they want. Private life is private, and if we don’t answer to any of the innuendos, rumors or comments then it won’t matter.”

Callen needed to know.
“It won’t bother you both?”

Elizabeth grinned. “I have news for you both. If all the women in the lab find out I’m sleeping with the two sexiest men in the u
niverse, I get revered status as goddess.”

Now
, both men laughed.

“Plus
, this will fry Christina’s ass, and I didn’t even plan it. See there is justice in the world to those that have exceptionally good Karma. Mine’s coming in the way of sexy men.”

Blackhawk found his wife entertaining. “I’m not bothered, Callen. Let them talk about me. I’m the boss
, and I’ll ship them all to new offices.”