Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) (21 page)

“Harder, Cal,” she whispered, staring back over her shoulder.
“I want more!”

At her words,
the last tenuous strings of control were ripped to pieces, as his need stopped obeying anything but the desire to conquer and own. Callen slammed into Elizabeth, just as she fragmented, pulling him over into the explosion. He thought he shouted her name, or something came from his lips. The bliss surrounded him and sucked him under, as all sound disappeared and was replaced with the pounding of his heart.

Elizabeth
was falling backwards, and landed protectively against his body. When his arms came around her, cradling her possessively to his chest, she cuddled into him.

Whitefox left kisses across her shoulder and neck. “I love making out on the couch.”

She snickered. “You may change your mind when Julian gets back or dad comes downstairs at the sound of you mauling me.”

Callen laughed. “Julian is staying with Tori. He’s not giving her the option, and dad knows that I like mauling you on the couch
.” He referred to the first time his father caught them together making out. He tried to pull him off Elizabeth, thinking he was attacking his brother’s wife. Ethan explained later, and today they all laughed about it.

“We should get to bed,” Elizabeth yawned. “I’m tired.”

Callen slid her off his body and pulled on his jeans and shirt. Gathering her things, he scooped her up into his arms, and carried her towards the stairs. “Fall asleep, angel. I’ll tuck you in,” he whispered, kissing her on the top of the head.

Elizabeth obeyed
him, too exhausted to keep her eyes open any longer. “I love you, Cal,” she mumbled incoherently, as he carried her into their room, placing her into their bed.

“I love you too,
angel. I’ll be back,” he whispered, dropping a kiss on her lips. Rushing downstairs, he turned off the lights, rechecked the alarm, and then straightened the pillows on the couch. Now no one would be any the wiser to their making out in the living room.

Back in the room he stripped down too, sliding under the blankets on their bed and pulling his woman against his body protectively. The scent of her hair lulled him into sleep quickly. It always did when she was near him.

Sleep came, and peace overwhelmed.

                                 *    *     *

Dinner proved to be very interesting for Julian. Where he expected Tori to be chilly, she was friendly and trying to be as open as possible. When she told him they should leave and both of them go home, he dropped the big bomb. He was staying with her.

Tori’s mood changed drastically, and Julian needed to
figure out what the issues she was hiding. If it was nightmares, then that was one thing, but the walls were back up, and he could feel her pushing him away- much like before.

Back at the house, Tori led him i
nto a spare room, informing him that they wouldn’t be sleeping together, ever again. Her heart pounded in her chest. He could tell by the artery in her neck. When he agreed and didn’t put up a fight, there was obvious relief.

All through dinner,
there were signals of a woman happy with his company. They teased, joked and it was the old Tori he met in Cypress Grove. Now, she looked like a scared animal, ready to bolt as far from him as possible.

Ly
ing on the spare bed, he couldn’t sleep. Too much was racing through his mind and plaguing his thoughts to get any rest.

Opening the door to his room,
Julian noticed her bedroom door was also closed. It was just one more way the woman had shut him out of her life.

Wandering out into the main part of the house,
Julian wanted to get a sense of the woman that lived there. The first stop was definitely the mantle with the three flags resting there. It wasn’t lost on Julian the significance. His brother and sister were military, and he prayed that he never had their flags in his possession.

Beside flag one was a picture of her with a young man. Jealousy swelled, until he noticed the man looked like her. Looking closely at the army fatigues, he noticed they both had the same last name. This had to be
her brother.

Funny, he never knew she had one. Then again, he’d never asked. On the man’s sleeve, he wore a patch that said ‘Ranger’, and it became clear who taught Tori to dive into darkened swamps.
The young man in the picture had been as tough and bad ass as Tori. The way their arms were around each other, it was evident that they were very close.

That was something he understood.
Julian, his sisters and brothers were all close. The importance of a strong family was something that he got completely.

Inspecting the flag case, he ran his fingers over the
engraving; barely visible in the shadow was the name.

                  
Trey Christensen

T
hen there was a date of birth and death. The picture made his heart clench. The peace and love clearly visible in the picture, no longer lived in Tori’s eyes. Now he understood part of the reason. The loss of her brother had a great deal to do with it.

Moving on to the next picture,
Julian inspected the people forever locked in that moment of time. It was an older man and like the younger family members, Tori and her brother, he too wore fatigues and an army beret. They looked happy together. This had to be her father. Julian checked the name engraved on the flag case. Once he saw the dates he flinched for her.

              
Lawrence Christensen
.

It wasn’t lost on him that the date
s of death were two days apart. That kind of pain had to be crushing, and he could sympathize to an extent. Tori lost her brother and father within hours. Now his heart ached for her. There was no way he could even put himself in that kind of situation. He’d lost his father as a boy in a hunting accident, but he still had a slew of siblings and his mother.

Lastly, there was one final picture
and Julian fully expected it to be her mother. When he discovered that not to be true, it caught him off guard. There stood in the photo, a man with his arms around Tori, smiling and holding her close. Again, the jealousy rose in his body and took over. Seeing her so happy in another man’s arms crushed his heart. Not once had she ever smiled like that near him. Reading the name on his fatigues, he checked with the name on the flag case.
Quinn Laramie.
They both matched, and then he felt guilty for feeling animosity to a man that gave his life, probably for his country.

Beside it was a ring box, and he debated on whether he should look or not. Flipping it open, inside sat an engagement ring, sparkling in the low light. Tori had been in love with another man and
planned to marry him. The dates on the flag case told the tale. Quinn Laramie died less than a year after her brother and father. He looked healthy, and that meant his suspicion was true. He died overseas. The dates also told another story. It had been four years ago, and Tori was still suffering immensely over a dead man.

Again that feeling of pain struck
from nowhere and Julian knew it was insanity to even feel it. Here she was suffering, and he was racked with jealousy, like a high school boy.

A few times in bed,
didn’t guarantee him a commitment. Tori wasn’t his property or his anything. She’d made that perfectly clear.

Yet, the woman pulled at him. Leaning against the fireplace he thought about her, and how wounded she had to be inside over losing everyone.
Forcing himself to close the ring box, he wandered around the room taking in the other photographs. Not one had a mother in them. It appeared Tori and her brother had been raised by her dad, or she never knew the woman that gave her life.

Which explained why sh
e was tough and very much an army girl. Tori was bad ass like Elizabeth.

There was a sound from the hallway, drawing his attention. Moving silently towards it,
there was the need to investigate. It sounded like sobs. Carefully leaning against the wall, Julian listened, and it was coming from Tori’s bedroom.

Now came the tricky part. She was an armed woman, in the throes of a nightmare. Going into that room could mean getting shot or killed. The sobs intensified and Julian knew he was an idiot, but he was opening the door regardless.

Creeping in, Julian found Tori twisted in her bed linens, hands tightened in the sheets and a fine sheen of perspiration covering her body. Whatever the dream was about, it was a brutal one. Slipping onto the bed, he touched her arm, trying to soothe her. Julian only hoped it would be enough.

Tori fought hard to survive in the alley. She’d lived it practically every night in her worst nightmares. Calling to Quinn, she tried to talk him out of the path they were taking. Maybe she could change everything if she kept them away from the shadows.

Once in the alley, she heard the ‘popping’ of gunfire, her own gun returning rounds, and there it was again. Quinn hit
once again and falling to the ground.

Julian pulled her close against his body, trying to keep her from harming herself in the violent movements. “Tori, come on honey, wake up for me. It’s all a dream.”

The dream played out again. It was
same as always, except this time at the end, it wasn’t Quinn’s voice, it was Julian’s calling for her. Immediately, she sat up in bed, shaking and alarmed at the feeling of someone holding her down.

Julian didn’t expect the motion, and took the hit of her head against his face, splitting his lip. “Tori, are you okay?” he muttered, touching his lip, his fingers coming away with blood.

“Julian, what are you doing in here?” she asked, out of breath and feeling much like she ran a marathon.

“I heard you crying in your sleep,” he
answered honestly, staring at her with unblinking eyes. Julian wasn’t going to tell her that he was prowling her house.

“I’m fine,” she lied, hoping he’d buy it. Tori was beginning to shake. Then she noticed his lip. “
I’m sorry I hurt you,” she said softly. It was all too much to handle and the fear, tears and sorrow overwhelmed her. Tori Christensen began to break down.

Julian pulled her against his body,
lying back on the bed, letting her purge all the pain. While she shook, Julian held on, offering her anything he could to get her through it all. “It’s okay Tori. I’m here.”

It made her sob harder, because those were the words Quinn would tell her when she was afraid and feeling alone. Tori
emptied out all of her soul while lying in Julian’s arms. He didn’t deserve this, and being here wasn’t fair to him.

Littlemoon dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. “You're safe now. I promise,” he stated with certainty. It looked like he’d just signed up for the long haul on this one. Yet, he didn’t seem to mind the baggage. Julian would carry it where ever Tori needed him to at this point.

Her sobs subsided, and unwillingly she slipped into sleep. The exhaustion was taking over and laying claim to her body. It looked like she was going to go back into the dreams again for round two. Part of her hoped Julian would stay, and part prayed he’d run for his life.

Julian held on, and knew when she slept. Only then did he close his eyes and try not to focus on the woman beside him. He was
pretty sure he was falling for her. Then again, he fell for her three months ago as they walked through a vile swamp.

Now it was a matter of time to see if she pushed him away or trusted him enough to let him into her life and heart. Julian refused to think about the ring and photo sitting on her mantle. If he focused on that he’d just become jealous, and right now what this woman needed was someone to hold onto her. Someone who was willing to make sure that the dreams didn’t hurt her
anymore.

“Sign me up,” he whispered, just before he too slipped into sleep.

                               *    *     *

The killer had just finished using the woman that lay beneath him. He had to give her credit, Sparkles fought hard and valiantly, but ultimately he took what he wanted and won.

Now he dressed, watching her dead vacant eyes. He wanted her alive while he lit her on fire, but she wouldn’t give up and just remain still. He was forced to place his hands around her throat and take that little flicker of life away.

It disappointed him, but there’d be more. It only took that reassurance to brighten his mood. As he went back to the trunk of his car, the killer pulled out the kit he’d brought with him.

Now it was time.

Sparkles was going to burn eternally in his mind and in the minds of all who found her.

Getting to work, he didn’t worry about the DNA evidence he was leaving. After the fire, she’d be charred and nothing would be found. Just like with the other five women, he was completely safe.

Pulling out the chain, he looked for the best tree to use, and set the scene. Sparkles was a
lousy lay, but she was going to light up the damn night in all her dead whore glory!