Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) (30 page)

“I worked out,” he lied, hoping she’d let it go. It was his turn to surprise her.

“I’m going to get dressed, or we’ll be late,” she exited the bath, deciding on a baby blue dress that matched her eyes. When she wandered out of their closet, her husband was leaving the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Yeah, she was staring again and honestly she didn’t care. He had that effect on her. It was all those tribal warrior tattoos. When he walked by her she snagged the towel from his waist and ran as he tried to chase her and retrieve it.

“Elizabeth, you
’re lucky we have to leave soon, or you’d be the one running around our room naked,” he warned, laughing.

She stuck out her tongue and hopped up on the bed, waiting for him to finish getting ready for dinner. When he
exited their closet, he was wearing jeans and a black polo shirt. “Black, Ethan?”

“Habit,” he
answered grinning, as he offered her a hand. “You look beautiful, Mrs. Blackhawk,” he said, leaning down to kiss her neck right below the ear, as he held her to his body.

“Well, you
’re as sexy as ever, Mr. Blackhawk, and you smell really good,” she purred into his ear, before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him slow. When she pulled away they both were breathless. “We shouldn’t be doing this. We’re going to miss dinner again,” she said, nipping his lower lip. When he moaned and kissed her again, she just relaxed into it and forgot about eating. Ethan Blackhawk had that effect on her.

“You taste great
.” He broke the kiss, holding her tightly against his frame. Already his body was waking up for his wife.

“We’re going to end up naked on the bed of you don’t stop,” she warned.

“Yeah, then stop kissing me, baby,” he laughed, “and I’ll try and find some control.”

Elizabeth let go, backing away as she tried to catch her breath. “We better go.”

Ethan Blackhawk held out his hand and grinned wickedly.

It was nice to have a night off where they could just relax together. In the kitchen she grabbed her purse and dropped her gun and badge
, inside just in case. “Which wine should we bring, Ethan?” she asked, holding them up.

“Red,” he answered, waiting for her at the door. “Are you ready?”

Elizabeth nodded and smiled at her husband. Just knowing he was hers forever was breathtaking and caught her off guard at the oddest times.

Once in the car, Blackhawk buckled his seatbelt and reached behind her seat for the flowers. “These are for you,” he said, kissing her neck.

Holding the flowers to her nose she inhaled. “They’re gorgeous, Ethan. What’s the occasion?”

“Just wanted to get my wife some flowers,” he said, backing out of the driveway and shifting. “Can’t a man romance his wife just because?”

Elizabeth laughed. “Absolutely, feel free to romance me anytime. Next time you say you were working out though, I’m not going to buy it, Ethan.”

“
Probably,” he laughed. “Besides, this is the first time I’ve ever gotten you flowers, and I shouldn’t have waited so long.” He brought her knuckles to his lips.

Elizabeth pulled out her wallet and clicked it open. Inside
, where the pictures would be kept, was a pressed daisy. “That’s not true, Cowboy. Here’s the first flower you ever gave me,” she said, showing him. “I kept it.”

His heart clenched deep in his chest
, as he stared down at the flower he had given her the first day she made him breakfast. It was a simple daisy. She had tucked it behind her ear and forgotten about it, wearing it to work. He assumed she had just tossed it when it wilted, but apparently he was very wrong.

“You kept it, Lyzee?” H
e couldn’t believe it. Blackhawk knew he was sentimental, because he kept the two notes she’s written him tucked away. It just never occurred she was too.

“Of course I did!
Why wouldn’t I? I knew that day when I ran up the driveway and there you were, sitting on my porch waiting for me. Do you really believe I’d make breakfast for any man that showed up at my house at six a.m.?”

Ethan Blackhawk felt like the luckiest man in the world. A part of him always wondered if she toss
ed that flower, and now he knew. It was a treasure for her. “I love you, Elizabeth.” He continued driving, holding her hand as emotion threatened to overwhelm him.

“I love you too,” she
answered, touching his cheek. There was never a doubt in her mind she always would.

There was no Lyzee without Ethan Blackhawk.

When they parked in front of his grandfather’s he had
enough time to composed himself and kiss her. It was a long, slow, deep kiss that spoke volumes of the love he had deep inside him for her. Kissing his wife was a luxury, especially on a bad day, and he couldn’t resist. Controlling the kiss as he held her mouth locked to his, her hair trapped in his hand only made him want her that much more. As his body threatened to spring awake, he slowly broke away, knowing it wasn’t the time or the place. “Wait until later, Mrs. Blackhawk. We are far from finished with this yet.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Need I remind you of our wedding night?” she asked
, stepping from his car.

“Oh, I won’t ever forget it,” and he wouldn’t. His wild hellion of a wife n
early drove him wild that night as he drove his car back to the brownstone. A few times, they almost didn’t make it. Now, he was thinking about it, and his body was tight with pure unadulterated lust. “Right before we go into my grandfather’s house? Really Elizabeth?” He was having a hard enough time keeping his body in control around her as it was, and he didn’t need to be reminiscing about that insane night.

Elizabeth giggled at the look on his face, and it made her body flush with her own want
, just bringing it up. That night was one of her fondest memories.

Blackhawk met her in front of their Mustang, and
he took her hand and pulled her into his arms, kissing her again. If he was going to suffer, so was she. There would be no mercy to his bewitching wife.

“Boy, do you realize you’re in front of my house and practically mauling the girl alive
?” came his grandfather’s voice, breaking the mood. “Let the girl catch her breath before you suffocate her.”

He pulled away slowly, grinning. “Yes
Granddad, but I married her so I could maul her where ever I want,” he started laughing and still didn’t let her go. “In fact, I have a license to maul her all day, any day.”

“I can’t take you anywhere, Ethan Blackhawk,” she slipped out of his arms and went to the older man.

“Granddad, how are you tonight?” She kissed his cheek and took his offered arm. “Thank you for inviting us.”

“It’s my pleasure, Elizabeth. I do enjoy watching my grandson be this
happy. It does my old heart good even if he’s pawing at you in my front yard, so all the neighbors can see it,” he grinned at her.

Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat. There was the same grin that her husband gave her all the time. It was a definite Blackhawk trademark.

“I hope you’re hungry this evening.”

Blackhawk followed his wife in
and closed the door. This time, he was completely relaxed. The two most important people in his life were comfortable with each other, and he could settle into an easy evening with just his loved ones.

“I also invited your brother, Ethan. He should be here shortly. I’m getting to be an old man
, and I don’t know how many more times I’ll have this opportunity to have all of you here at once.”

Elizabeth kissed his cheek again. “I’m sure many more. Besides you have a great-grandchild coming. I’m afraid you have no choice but to stick around,” she said, watching her husband smile. The love in the room for the eldest Blackhawk was shared between herself and her husband equally. The older man was completely endearing.

“So, my dream was right? Your brother called and told me to say nothing.”

“Granddad, I’m
concerned for her safety.” He was indeed worried. “I just need to keep this quiet until we catch the killer.”

Timothy Blackhawk nodded.
“I understand my boy.” Gently he touched Elizabeth’s stomach. “I could venture my guess if you want to know.”

“Elizabeth, he’s always right,” he interjected
, before his grandfather could speak. “So, if you don’t want to know, don’t let him tell you. I can’t remember him ever being wrong.”

She grinned at her husband
, leaning over and whispering in Timothy’s ear. “Am I right, Granddad?” she asked.

Blackhawk couldn’t help but feel so much love, as the old man grinned and patted her cheek
and placing a kiss on her forehead. “I believe you are, Elizabeth. Are you sure you don’t have some Indian blood in you?”

Elizabeth winked at her husband, knowing he was dying to know what they had shared. “
No Native blood, so it must be Baby Blackhawk.”

“Well? I think I should get a clue, I am the one who helped create the baby,” Blackhawk reminded them, smiling.

“You will have a strong fine warrior.”

She thought back to the time she realized she wanted kids with him, and saw a yard full of boys. They would all have black hair like their mother and father, tan skin and bright eyes.

“I concur. I believe we’re going to have the opposite problem that Gabe has,” she paused. “And I find that I don’t mind one bit.”

His heart pounded in his chest at the idea of lots of boys in their house.
Sons
. Right then he made the promise to not be like his own father. Never would he leave their sides or abandon them. “I hope you’re both right. I’d love a house full of boys!” He couldn’t help but feel excited at the idea.

“You will bring him here after he is born and allow us to have a ceremony?” asked Timothy, looking at Elizabeth. She would be the one that would decide. He knew his grandson would defer to his wife, since she wasn’t
Native, and it was her choice as mother. Just as Ethan’s mother had to decide.

Blackhawk didn’t want to hurt his grandfather, but he wasn’t going to make his wife deal with the ceremony. After all, she wasn’t part of this world
, even though it gave him a tiny twinge of sadness. The ceremonies were a rite of passage, and they still were part of his memories today, despite how much he tried to distance himself from his heritage.

“Absolutely,” she said, and put
her arm through the arm of the old man. “I think it would be a wonderful thing for our children to know their legacy and participate in it. I think since I’m having a Blackhawk we should do it right.”

Blackhawk just kept getting swept away
in her compassion and her love for him and his life. She didn’t hesitate and welcomed his culture, even if he wasn’t sure if he did. Her easy acceptance was making it easier for him to come home.

“I told you
Ethan. You picked a good wife,” he said, pleasantly surprised at the woman. Maybe outsiders weren’t all that bad after all.

Elizabeth just smiled
, knowing he was old school, and she was appreciative of that. “Would you like me to help you with dinner, Granddad?”

“I have everything under control. I hope you don’t mind roast pork, Elizabeth. I never asked if you were a vegetarian,” he waited, looking at his grandson who started laughing as if there was some secret joke.

“Ignore him, Granddad. Ethan’s laughing because if it once walked, flew, or swam I’ll eat it,” she said grinning. “If you wrap it in bacon, I’ll eat twice as much of it. I think I’d die as a vegetarian.”

The old man laughed and kissed her on her cheek. “Go sit. Your husband will help me, or feel free to explore.”

Elizabeth walked over to a book shelf and looked at the pictures that sat there. One was of her husband as a child. She could tell it was him. He had the same grin. “You were adorable, Ethan,” she said over her shoulder. It gave her insight to what her own children would one day resemble.

“Ethan was a bright child, but he enjoyed raising hell as often as possible,” added his grandfather.
“Authority and Ethan Blackhawk weren’t synonymous.”

“He’s calmed down
considerably. I think I’m wilder,” she replied.

“I’m in the room,” he said, laughing and joining her at the pictures. “Here I was eight and
Timothy was trying to teach me to build my own boat.”

“He did a fine job too. I
t’s still out back.”

Elizabeth didn’t know that her husband liked to build things. There was still so much she didn’t know about him.

“Here I’m twelve and I believe right before my mother died. I was helping granddad build a tree house. That was a nightmare project,” he reminisced, laughing. The memories came crashing back, and he couldn’t help but feel the joy he felt back then.

“It’s still
back there too,” Timothy said grinning. “It was, and still is, quality craftsman ship from my boy. Possibly, one day you will allow my great-grandson to play in it.”

Ethan leaned into his wife’s ear and whispered, “It’s the tree house I mentioned to you back in Salem,” and then he winked. “I know what our son will want to do up there if he takes after me or my brother.”