Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) (51 page)

“So then he’ll help her?” Callen liked the woman, and even more so, he liked Julian occupied with another woman and not hitting on Elizabeth.

“I promised her she could finish the assignment, and then she promised me she’d go wherever for treatment. When we contact Gabe, we’ll try and avoid telling him the agent is active in the field, he’ll shit himself,” she warned.

“Is she a danger to herself, Elizabeth,” questioned Blackhawk.
If Agent Christensen was going to get herself killed, they had to pull her from the team immediately. There was only so much leeway they had to keep her active.

Neither man wanted her watching Elizabeth’s back, if there was the slightest chance she’d get her hurt.

“No, but she’s a danger to her heart and his.”

Tori stood under the hot water and washed the mud from her hair. It
was caked in there pretty good. In her mind she kept replaying over and over what just happened during their game of football. Julian’s simple comment shouldn’t have upset her so much, but it did. When this was over, she’d love to run away with him and never look back, but she had obligations. A home here, a career and then there was the dream. Tori didn’t want to be the reason Julian was hurt or died.

As she rinsed her hair, she just knew he was there watching her. Whenever he was near,
her heart would pound in her chest. Julian made Tori’s blood race and go completely crazy. When his hands circled her waist, she relaxed into it.

“Can I shower with you,” he whispered, running his lips over her ear. “Or are you mad at me?”

Tori turned fast, staring up at him. “It’s not you, Julian. It’s me. I told you, I’m damaged and I never know when I’m going to lose control over it. I don’t want to drag you down with me.”

He laid kiss
es across her face, trying to heal her. “It’s okay, honey. I understand,” he continued to slowly find a way to offer her comfort. It was damn difficult to keep himself in check; naked woman in the shower was a really alluring thing to the male body.

Tori just let him heal her. Slowly she began feeling mor
e calm and relaxed.

“Julian, this isn’t my place
,” she muttered against his mouth. The kiss was so warm and full of love that it sucked her in completely.

“
Trust me honey, there’s plenty of sex going on in this house,” he whispered back. “Let me show you how I feel for you.”

Tori just went with it, allowing Julian to take her where ever he wanted. All she wanted was to feel
, and this man was the only chance at that. That was the irony. She would only be happy with him, and yet she couldn’t be with him.

Damn you fate!

His hands slid across her soapy skin, and she offered no resistance. Julian took it as a sign to continue forwards. Dropping kisses across her flesh, he wanted to just taste every inch of her. Turning off the water, he dropped to his knees and left a trail of kisses to part of her he longed for most. Gently he progressed with the utmost tenderness, offering everything he could to just give her a glimpse of what was inside him for her. All he wanted was for her to feel and know the truth. Tori was his path to happiness, and he’d stay on it, as long as she’d let him.

As her body shook, he kept probing and searching for the right spot to push her over the edge. When he found it, her b
ody vibrated from the explosion. Her hands slid into his hair and she struggled to stay upright.

The calm overwhelmed her as did the pleasure. “I want to feel you in me, Julian,” she whispered, pulling him to his feet, and directed him to the seat in the shower.

“Take whatever you need from me, Tori. I’ll give you everything I have,” he answered, watching her eyes start to fill with tears.

There was no doubt in her heart that he meant every word that he spoke.
Tori slid him deep into her body and began the slow ride, staring into his handsome face the entire time. She refused to look away, and it only filled her with more and more emotion. Where she couldn’t say the words to him, she prayed he’d feel and see it. Until she was fixed, he deserved better. Yes, she loved him, but Tori wouldn’t give him half a person. What Julian deserved was all of her, and then some.

He deserved life not death.

Julian’s hands went to her hips, as he helped her get the rhythm down to bring them both pleasure. It was achingly sweet and gentle. When he saw the first tears fill her eyes and spill over, he didn’t try to stop them. He let her purge all the pain that was buried so deep inside her. All he could do was hold her, enjoy their coming together and pray that in the end, she’d find her way back to him.

“I love you, Tori,” he whispered again, leaning his head back against the tile to watch her bring them both pleasure.

His words both healed and hurt her. Here she found an amazing man, and she didn’t know how to keep him because she was damaged.

How did she save them both, when she couldn’t save herself?

As they slid together, joined, and mated, Julian felt peace. He was a firm believer in love and fate. When her body began to shake around his, he let himself be free to fall with her. Julian swallowed his name from her lips, and leapt off the edge into the bliss, riding out the pleasure and love that swamped him.

Tori recovered from the overwhelming desire and stared down into his face. “You mean a great deal to me, Julian. Please don’t doubt it.”

He was already aware of that. She’d let him into parts of her life he doubt others ever saw. “I know, honey. I’ve got you,” he whispered, kissing her again.

Julian made her forget, and the
n reality came back. “Holy shit!” Tori started snickering. “I can’t believe we just made love here!” Next came the uncontrollable giggles.

He grinned because Tori called it making love
and not just sex, and that was exactly what it was. “Yes we did, but I think your secret’s safe with me.”

She looked at him confused? “My secret?”
Tori had no clue what he was talking about.

“The one where you’re wildly obsessed with me and my body, and can’t keep your hands off me,” he answered with a straight face.

Tori just laughed, because he was very right.

Elizabeth stood at the kitchen stove top stirring the homemade hot chocolate for her guests. The turkey was in the oven, along with the other fixings that they were going to be having. The table had been set since last night, and everything was just waiting for the guest of honor to cook
to a golden brown.

Callen was second downstairs, and immediately went to her side, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Hey beautiful, what can I help you with?” he inquired.

She kissed him softly. “How about you pull down the mugs for me, and I’ll get ready to serve our hot chocolate once everyone is down here.

“I think Wyler is lying down for a little while,” stated Callen. “He’s
been busy all week with CJ and needs a nap.”

Elizabeth looked concerned. “Maybe watching two kids will be too much for him. I don’t want him to drop because he’s exhausted.”

Thinking about it, he kissed her cheek. “What if we got someone to help him,” he offered, looking up as Ethan came down the stairs with CJ in his arms.

Elizabeth kissed both of them when they entered the kitchen. “Maybe that’s a really good idea, Callen,” she said, tickling CJ’s feet.

“What’s a good idea?” he asked, looking from his brother to his wife.

“Dad’s taking a nap. I think we’re wearing him down,” stated Elizabeth. “Callen s
uggested getting him some help.”

Blackhawk considered it. “If we hire someone for the kids, he’ll be hurt. Dad will think we don’t think he can manage on his own.”

Whitefox spoke up. “How about a housekeeper. He’s always cooking dinner or tossing in laundry. What if we found someone to just help him out around the house with the things he’s taken on, and if he needs help with the kids, we have backup here.”

Elizabeth kissed him. “Great idea. I think we should, Ethan?”
He would be the deciding factor. 

“I’ll work on finding someone. I want to make sure we find a reputable individual that isn't going to harm our kids,” he added, laying his hand over Elizabeth’s flat stomach. “That’s my first concern.”

Elizabeth went up on her toes and kissed him. “The job is perfect for you. I have no doubt you’ll find Mary ‘freaking’ Poppins.”

Callen snickered. “What she means to say is you’
re going to spend so much time micromanaging it to death you’ll be leaving her alone,” he said grinning.

They all laughed, because they knew he was right.

“Company boys,” Elizabeth warned, as their guests came downstairs holding hands. She began ladling out steaming mugs of hot chocolate and covering them with mountains of whipped cream. “Hi guys, dinner will be ready in about an hour, so we can have a drink and sit on the couch.”

Tori nodded, accepting her drink. “Can I ta
lk to you, Elizabeth?” she said softly. When the woman nodded, the men all moved from the kitchen. With one last look over her shoulder, she didn’t know where to start.

“Are you okay, Tori? I’m getting increasingly worried about you,” Elizabeth
began for her. “What can I do to help you?”

“I’m okay, Elizabeth. I just had a rough night last night with a dream. I really just wanted to say I’m sorry for ruining your holiday.”

It caught her off guard. “Tori,” she placed her mug on the counter and the woman’s with it. “My holiday is far from ruined,” she stated adamantly, hugging the woman. “Friends don’t ruin holidays because they’re hurting inside.”

Tori was shocked.
Her bad ass boss, Elizabeth Blackhawk, was hugging her. It took her a few seconds to respond, as she weighted her options. Tori reciprocated the hug, and even more tension drained from her. Now she could genuinely enjoy the day.

“When this is over, Ethan’s going to get you into the best facility to work on your PTSD. Before you know it, the dreams will fade and the stress will be gone. If you want to go in now, we’ll find a place for tomorrow.”

Tori stepped back and shook her head. “No, I want to stay and complete this, find justice for these women, and then I can go in. I don’t like to leave things unfinished.”

“Does that include with Julian
too?” she asked, hoping she didn’t make the woman close up and bolt.

This wasn’t a conversation she expected to be having with her boss, but she owed her. The woman could yank her out of the field so fast. She lowered her voice and to
ld her the dream.

Elizabeth sipped her hot chocolate and listened. Now it was
clear why the woman was skittish. The poor girl was afraid and on edge all the time.

When Tori finished, she waited for Elizabeth to pull her off the assignment.

“Here’s the only thing I’m going to say to you, Tori. When I was having nightmares about my dead partner who died right in front of me, I trusted someone enough to lean on him. Ethan got me through it, because he listened to me when I’d wake up scared shitless. Whenever I have to go into an autopsy and see dead eyes, one of them hugs me and reminds me I’m here and not there. Maybe you should trust Julian and lean on him. He’s a really good guy.”

Everything she said made sense, but there was just that little disconnect that
wouldn’t allowed her to do it. “Please don’t tell him what I told you. I didn’t tell him about the skeleton and him dying. I don’t want him to think I’m more screwed up than I am.”

“You’re not screwed up, Tori. You're a soldier that risked your life for our freedom. You just need a little help readjusting to being back home. I’ll do whatever I can to help you, as will Ethan and Callen. If you need anything please come to us. I’m not just your boss. I’d like to be your friend.” Elizabeth had been burned before on the friendship front, but she knew this woman really needed someone to trust. Putting it out there, she
opened up her heart to get attached, and then possibly broken once more. Then again, Tori wasn’t Desdemona and the woman deserved a chance.

Tori was touched. “Thank you, Elizabeth,” she said softly. “You’re a really big surprise once you
get past the scary boss persona. Oh, and don’t forget the rumors of how you kill people easily.”

She laughed. “Well, hate to burst your bubble on that one, Tori, but I do kill easily
, and I’m a really tough boss for a reason. But I also know what it’s like to be a woman in the workforce with men all over the place,” she dropped her voice even lower. “They can drive you to madness.”

Her agent laughed. “Yeah, the
y absolutely can.”

“Now, how about we go have our hot chocolate on the couch and talk about death for a while. I’m missing work,” Elizabeth said, taking the woman’s hand in hers and offering her some of her strength.

“Hey by all means! Don’t let the crazy, strung out soldier hold you back from talking about dead hookers in your house on the most sacred day of the year for Christians,” she said laughing.

Elizabeth led her into the room, knowing all three men would be waiting, and Juli
an looked nervous. “Oddly, Tori, this isn't the weirdest conversation I’ve had here. So I just might be the crazy one, not you.”