Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (22 page)

Maybe this wedding thing needed to be rethought out. There seemed to be too much conflict swirling around them. When she saw him, they really needed to talk.

Just as she was clipping her firearm to her hip, her partner, Special Agent Harper Stanton, bounded over and was all excited.

“I just heard from Ginny. We’re heading out on an assignment!”

Shit! There went Valentine’s Day.

“Where to?” she asked.
It was official. The marriage Gods did not want this happy day to occur. Instead of making her want to bolt, the stubborn streak was kicking in, and Cyra wanted it that much more.

“I don’t know, but she told us to pack for a week. It’s going to be out of the area. We’re to head home,
grab gear, and then head right to the jet.”

This was one hell of a day, and Cyra was ready to weep
. Well, so much for talking about their problem when she saw Chris.

Damn it!

“Okay, I have to head down to tell Chris that I’m going out of town,” she said, trying to move past her happy partner. It was obvious that the brunette had nothing better to do with her time then to do back to back assignments far from home. Cyra now had a fiancé, and that wasn’t the case for her.

“Okay, partner! See you in an hour!”

Cyra kept walking. She genuinely liked Harper, but she was overeager and wound up like a teen on a sugar kick. Then again, she was young and weren’t they all eager like that at one time? Maybe if she didn't have this wedding weighing over her head, she would be happy too.

As she took the elevator downstairs, she hoped to grab f
ive minutes worth of her fiancé’s time. They really needed to have a talk.

As she entered the morgue, there was nothing but mass chaos. People were packing up equipment, supplies and anything else that they would need out in the field. In the center of it all, was a happily smiling Chris Leonard.

When he glanced over, the smile got even bigger, and he rushed towards her. “Cyra, sweetheart! I was just going to call you. We’re going out in the field together!”

Some of the pressure alleviated.

“Lyzee pulled some strings, and we still get to spend our first Valentine’s Day together, after all.”

Okay, well that took care of one problem. Now, maybe Elizabeth could pull a rabbit out of he
r hat and plan the wedding too, or at least keep Cannon from going after Chris.

She would take anything at this point.

“We leave as soon as I get everything here handled, and then back to the house to pack.” He dropped his voice. “I really miss Christina. Her replacement isn’t up to speed as of yet.”

Cyra felt for him. “I’m heading home to
grab my gear, how about I take care of it for you?”

He kissed her hard and fast on the mouth. “Oh, God! I would be in your debt.”

The gentleness in his eyes filled her with warmth. This was why she fell for the man. He was sweet and very kind. It helped to remind her that they needed to be together. Already, it began coming together in her head.

Cyra had a contingency plan.

It might save them a whole lot of stress in the long run.

“I’ll see you at the airport, Christopher,” she said, kissing him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I love you, sweetheart,” he murmured.

Pulling away, she blew him a kiss. Suddenly, the stress was gone. Now
, she could focus on the more important things in her life, Christopher and her job. They had an assignment together and that was an added bonus.

Chris watched her walk away and his heart skipped in his chest. This was the woman
who he loved more than anything in the world, and he had to find a way to solve their problems.

He wanted these moments to replace all the angst.
At this point, he’d give away his fortune to just have peace and harmony between them once more.

“Doctor Leonard!” someone called, grabbing his attention.

Pushing everything else to the back of his mind, he focused on work.

They had a job to do.

Because duty called.

                        *     *     *

At the house, she found him sequestered in her old office. Elizabeth knew that he was handling most of the paperwork required to mobilize a full FBI team.

Yet, somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still concerned. As they left the river, her husband had been quiet. Even when Callen was teasing, he didn't jump in to save her or join him. Maybe, when she punched him, she had physically hurt him.

“Ethan, can we talk?” she asked, closing the door behind her.

He glanced up and could tell by the tone in her voice that this was going to be a very serious conversation.

“Sure thing, Lyzee
. What’s on your mind?”

Where he expected her to sit on the corner of the desk or
a chair, she took a seat right in his lap. Yeah, the second there was contact, his body heated up. In fact, she was making it hard to concentrate.

“What were you thinking about in the Navigator?
Did I upset you somehow?” she asked, as he rubbed his hand up and down her belly. Elizabeth noticed that Ethan was focused on her belt buckle. It was the one that he had bought her when he found out that she was pregnant for the first time.

“Do you want me to be honest?” he asked. Yeah, he was thinking all the way back to their summer home. He was concerned and worried too.

“Yes, please.”

“What if that’s
, Doc?” he asked, referring to the remains they just found. “When our team gets here, and they find the identity, are you going to be okay if it turns out to be him? I worry about you, and the child that you’re trying to grow. I know that the last pregnancy nearly beat you into the ground, so I’m a little freaked out by all the potential obstacles.”

It touched her heart that he was focused on her and the baby. It wasn’t surprising since Ethan Blackhawk was just that kind of man.

“If it is him, I’ll be sad and hurt, but then I’ll know that I need to find him justice. No one else here will be able to do that but us. We would be his best shot.”

Blackhawk
stared into her eyes. “If at any time you need to walk away from this, come to me, and I’ll make it happen.”

Already
, the strong man was back, and it made her love him even more. “I appreciate that so much, Ethan. I love you for how committed you are to this, when you don’t have to be. By every right, you could be upset with me for jumping into this and putting our relationship on the back burner, once more.”

“I absolutely have to be
committed, Lyzee. The missing man was like a father to you. If I didn't want to invest my whole heart into this, what kind of partner would I be?”

She couldn’t speak,
since the emotion was welling up inside of her.

“If that is Doc, he deserves the best
, and he has it with you on the case.”

She ran her fingers down his cheek, as if memorizing the lines. “Yes, he does, and I don’t just mean me. I’m a very lucky woman, Ethan. I get a second chance with an amazing man.
I would be lost without you, and I can attest to that for the last four months.”

Slowly, she brought her mouth to his in a searing kiss. It shared every bit of emotion that was in her body. Beneath her, Elizabeth could feel him coming alive. It always made her crazy when he reacted to
a simple touch or caress of fingers.

“God, I want you more and more each and every day,” he whispered
, as her mouth shifted to his neck and did truly wicked things to his earlobe.

When she whispered what she wanted to do, he tightened even more.
“Alone?”

Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically. What they both needed was some
private time. “We can go in the closet.”

Who was he to argue?

Who knew when they would get to spend any time alone in the next few days?

Letting her pull him up, he followed her to the closet. She
had been using it as a storage area, but now it was going to be a place for a little secret rendezvous.

Pulling him inside and locking the door, her hand
s went to work on his clothes. The urgency crashing through them both was making her wilder and wilder with need. There was only one priority at that moment, and it was to feel Ethan buried in her body.

Like any good woman, she was going to go with it.

He gasped as she yanked his dress pants down and pushed him back onto the bench in the corner. Apparently, his wife was in the mood for a very rough ride.

Who was he to complain?

He watched his wife strip down fast and move towards him. All the nerves in his body fired and his brain began celebrating prematurely. She wasn’t even touching him and he was going crazy.

Hopping onto his lap, she straddled his body. She wanted to give her Cowboy one more memory that they could share
for the rest of their lives together.

As her body sheathed his, he moaned in sheer ecstasy. There was nothing like a little Lyzee break in the middle of the day.

Or the morning.

Possibly before bed too.

As she began a punishing ride, and her nails dug into his shoulders, he was lost in the sensation of it all. Here was his woman, giving him so much pleasure. Now, he just needed to feel all of her.

Running his hands up her torso, he was enthralled by the naked treasure bouncing in his lap.

“I love you, baby,” he muttered, trying to hold on a little longer. When he focused on her and found her biting her bottom lip, it made him wild.

Ethan wanted to wrap her around his body and never let her go.

Elizabeth gasped as he pulled her mouth down to his in a steamy kiss. That alone was enough to move her closer to the edge and the upcoming tumble. When she slipped, and began the fall, she could hear him shout her name in release.

Apparently, the quickie in the closet did it for both of them.
This was something to keep in the back of her mind for future reference.

As reality came crashing back, there was a knock on the closet door. “You both realize we’re in the house alone
, and you didn't have to hide in here,” Callen said, laughing. “There is a perfectly good bedroom upstairs.”

“Maybe I always wanted to accost a man in
a closet,” she quipped back. “It could be on my bucket list, so don’t judge me.”

Ethan just snickered as he left more kisse
s across her shoulder. “I was definitely accosted. I don’t have words for what just happened in here.”

She whispered in his ear. “I
do. It’s called love.”

He stared into her eyes and ran his thumb down her cheek. “Yes, it certainly is
unbreakable, endless, bottomless love.”

“We need to talk game plan,” Callen yelled through the door. “Sex fest is over
, kids.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “We created a monster. All those weeks of being in charge
, and he actually thinks that he’s the boss.”

“I heard that.”

She found that entertaining. “Please, can I be the one that breaks the news to him that the real control freak is back in the building and now on duty?”

“After that display of manhandling, hell yeah you can,” he replied.

Elizabeth slid off his lap and began getting dressed. “Thank you for that little interlude, love bug. I feel much better now,” she stated, winking at him.

Fixing himself, he did too.

“Just for future reference, does this mean that the baby hormones are kicking up the sex hormones? I just need to know so I can plan out the next seven months.”

She stared at him and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Seriously. We can move your desk into my office, just in case you need me,” Ethan teased.

“I thought you weren’t ever having sex in the workplace again,” she replied, grinning wickedly as that little memory flooded back.

Blackhawk thought about it. “When he took me, I swore if I ever got back to you, I wouldn’t worry about the little things.”

Her heart skipped in her chest
and she couldn’t speak. He had caught her off guard with his admission.

“It’s back on my bucket list, as is anything else that involves you.”

“I love you, Cowboy.”

Ethan ran his fingers down her hair, enjoying the sexiness of it. “Back at you, my little closet nymph.”

When they were both put back together again, Ethan and Elizabeth walked out hand in hand. They found Callen sitting in the spare chair watching them. There was nothing but amusement in his eyes.

Elizabeth crossed to him and dropped down into his lap.
When he wrapped his arms around her body, she got comfortable. “Sorry we took so long, Director,” she stated, teasing him.