He took the dressing down.
“Your job was more important than anyone’s. It’s more important than Wilcox’s or Johnny’s. If I go down, so be it, but your job, Mr. Bennet, was to protect the mother of my children. It was to make sure she comes home each night. She chases serial killers, some who have wanted to end her. She relied on you to be focused when she’s not. Today, she was NOT. They got her gun from her. Know how rare that is?”
He pushed a button, and the footage was on the screen so the man could see what they’d been forced to watch too.
It had been a wakeup call.
One they all needed.
Ivan watched the screen, again, and tears filled his eyes. He fought them. He was a Marine, and he couldn’t let it break him—even if it did.
He’d let her down.
He’d let Ethan down.
He’d let himself down.
A Marine didn’t fail. When they did, people died, and there had to be repercussions for that.
Today, that was his fate.
Ivan watched as she fought for her life, Chris’s, and he didn’t doubt his too. He watched as she took shot after shot and still, she got back up. Each time she did, it was slower. With each kick, punch, and strike to protect herself, she struggled to fight them off.
It was clear, from the footage, that she was fighting with all she had. Ivan knew why he wanted him to watch it again. Not because he’d failed, but so he could see why he was so angry.
Elizabeth was struggling.
Then Chris went down, and it only got worse. She became desperate to get to him as they tried to haul him away. Elizabeth fought with all she had.
Then, it went to shit. Ivan recognized the moment. It was when she took out the one guy and gave him her back. It was a mistake he’d never seen her make before.
She was distracted, hurting, and exhausted.
He’d been there.
The second she turned, that’s when they made their move, and took her down. Ivan was forced to watch as the Taser hit her body, the sickening jolt as the electricity filled her, and then the way she hit the concrete, face first.
He swallowed his tears.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes, we all are.”
Ivan stood there.
“Is there anything else?” Ethan asked. “Is there anything you’d like to add to this?”
There were a million things he wanted to add, but he wouldn’t. He’d screwed-up, he’d offered up his resignation as his penance, and the man before him accepted it.
It hurt, but he’d handle it.
“Yes, sir. It has been an honor to protect her. I understand that with this mistake, I’ve lost it all. I can’t lead a team knowing that I dropped the ball. Like Rory, it’s my time to go back to the pool and do another protection duty.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You’re right. If you’re willing to walk now, then you can’t watch her. She didn’t mean enough to you. While I would have overlooked your ‘mistake’, I can’t overlook you bailing on her. That to me is far worse.”
Ivan didn’t know what to think. In that moment, the stark reality hit him. This had been a test to see if he could bounce back from what happened, and he’d failed.
“I’ll make sure your superiors know that your tenure here as security is no longer needed.”
That was it.
Ethan was done.
There was no way in hell he’d let a man protect his wife if he was going to run because shit happened. With Elizabeth, shit was an everyday occurrence. When wasn’t she in danger?
Was he pissed?
Yeah, and disappointed in someone they’d called their family. You didn’t abandon ship. You fought until the bloody end with all you had.
That was the most disappointing part.
“You’re dismissed, Mr. Bennet. Good luck, and Godspeed.”
Ivan turned, and as he prepared to leave, his shoulders slumped, and his heart hurt.
He’d really screwed this up. He’d nearly cost Elizabeth her life, and he’d run.
Again.
“Have a good night, sir,” he said, not even fighting. He knew he was done. Ivan had lost something, too, when she was taken. Elizabeth was his friend.
God knew, he didn’t have many.
“Please tell your wife that the request that we discussed before she was taken is rescinded. There’s no need. I’m good to go.”
Ethan had no freaking clue what the man was talking about, but at this point, he didn’t care. Now he had to find someone else to ride security detail on the conductor of the crazy train.
Great.
Freaking great.
His day was going steadily downhill…
Again.
When Ivan left, he closed his eyes.
There were days he hated his job.
Today?
Yeah, today was one of them.
Chapter Five
Monday Night
Bed
B efore she even opened her eyes, there was the familiar scent all around her. She could smell him, and Elizabeth knew he was going to be near. There was no doubt in her mind that her other sexy husband had come home.
When her lashes fluttered open, she saw him staring at her in the darkened room.
“Callen James.”
He smiled at her.
“Hey, sexy lady. Come here often?” he asked, running his thumb over the split in her lip. It was puffy, and it enraged him, but Callen kept it in. This wasn’t about him. This was about making sure she knew he’d come home for her.
And he always would.
“All of the time. I like to sleep here. I’ve worn a spot right here in this big love nest.”
Well, at least she had her sense of humor. Callen figured that was a good sign.
“Mind if I cuddle up in the love nest?” he asked.
Did she?
Hell, no.
“Not at all, my love.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, sharing his love. When he pulled away, there were tears in her eyes, and it made him all kinds of emotional. Callen hated seeing her like this.
“Beautiful, they hurt you.”
She nodded.
“God! My body hurts so much. I just want to crawl into a hole and die.”
That broke his heart. It wasn’t often they saw her this battered, bruised, and emotionally beatdown. To soothe her, Callen left kisses all over her face. He even kissed away the few tears that slipped.
“I was so scared,” she whispered. “I didn’t know who they were at first. Then I didn’t know if I could beat them.”
“Oh, my poor angel.”
She wiped her eyes with busted up knuckles.
Callen had two choices. He could rage around, making it worse, or he could do what he knew was right. He could offer her all of the gentleness to counteract what she’d lived through.
Smiling, he picked up the huge bunch of roses that were sitting on the nightstand and handed them to her.
“For my sweet rose. I missed you,” he said, handing them to her.
Elizabeth sniffed them, and then had to know. She knew Callen, and he was way too calm.
“How freaked-out are you?” she asked. “Did you flip your shit, already, or is that yet to come?”
He laughed.
She knew him so damn well.
“Oh, you could say I was going to lose it. Then I saw you were okay. Chris protected you, and I’m good now.” It was all lies. He was anything but good, but he’d swallow it for her. Callen made the conscious choice to leave so he had to make the choice to stay calm.
She glanced over at the mention of his name, just realizing he was missing.
“Where is he?” she asked, sitting up. “Is he okay?” she asked, not recalling if he even joined her in a nap.
Callen placed the roses on the nightstand and held her battered hand in his big one.
“You don’t have to worry. Right now, he’s downstairs getting us
something to eat. Wyler made soup.”
She relaxed.
It was one thing off of her shoulders.
“Now, enough about him. What can I do for you, my angel? What do you need?” Callen asked.
There was only one thing she wanted.
Him.
Callen would chase away the terror and fear, and he’d make her body feel better. With her hand, she pulled him down into bed with her. The familiar weight of his body over hers helped soothe her. It gave her so much peace.
Her mouth found his, and she kissed him. When she broke the kiss, his lower lip was between her teeth.
“Welcome home.”
Oh, he was so glad to be back. The time away sucked, and the fear was a million times worse. There was no way he could do that again.
Ever.
“For the record, Lyzee, my love, I’ll never leave you again,” he said.
“I’m good,” she promised, knowing that wasn’t going to cut it. She knew him.
Callen was freaked-out. This was him trying to be calm for her. Beneath it, he was likely a turbulent sea.
He laughed.
“Yeah, you look good—as in beat-up, beatdown, and barely holding it together.”
That was one hundred percent true.
“Know what would make me feel better?” she asked as his thumb stroked her cheek.
“What? A trip to the ER?” he asked, knowing she was damn close to needing one.
“I need you. Make me feel better.”
And there it was. Elizabeth had caught him off guard with that request. Here, he’d been planning to just wrap her up and keep her safe.
“Oh, Ellie,” he whispered. “You undo me.”
Callen did the same for her. When he was around, she could just let him take over and she could be safe. In that moment, she was protected.
Maybe it was the way he watched her, touched her, or his bulk, but Elizabeth, in that moment, felt protected. After today, that was what she craved.
“Heal me, Jackson James. Make that pain disappear. I’ve missed you.”
Oh, he could do that.
What his wife needed was tenderness. Her body had been battered and he would be so very gentle with her.
His mouth found hers, and he kissed her so softly—so filled with love—that it brought tears to both of their eyes.
“Even beat-up, you’ll still be the most beautiful woman in the world,” he admitted. “Know what I love most?” he asked.
“What?” she whispered as he left kisses across her bare shoulders.
He lifted her wrist, and there, on the inside was an anchor with ‘My Captain’ beneath it. She had it put there a couple weeks ago after their honeymoon. It reminded him of their time there.
“My sweet Ellie,” he said, kissing it softly.
She picked up his wrist and did the same. He’d had ‘My Ellie’ tattooed there to remind them of their adventure, and what they’d created in that week.
It had been beautiful.
“When I see that tattoo, I get the chills,” he admitted. “I am reminded of our love story.”
Her too.
Pulling his mouth down, again, as she craved that tenderness, he tasted like whiskey.
“Were you drinking?” she asked.
He laughed.
“Oh, you had better believe it.”
He didn’t have to tell her why. She already knew. He’d been worried about her, and she didn’t blame him. It had to have been a rough day for everyone—not just her and Chris.
When he tugged the blankets back to get to her naked body, her heart skipped in her chest.
“Are you sure?” he whispered. “I don’t want to jostle you and make it worse.”
She knew him. Callen could be so tender and gentle that she’d feel nothing but love. That was what she needed. That was what she craved. He could take away the fear, the pain, and the terror with just a touch.
“I need my husband right now. I was so afraid.”
He smiled at her when he wanted to rage that someone put that fear in a strong woman.
“Your wish is my command, m’lady.”
So, he began.
Callen held her to her, and his mouth moved softly across hers with such tenderness. He craved every inch of her battered and bruised body. He wanted to reclaim his wife as his own to remind her that while the world was hard, he could be nothing but soft. Someone had put their hands on her, and not in love.
Well, that had to end.
She deserved nothing but that adoration that he felt deep inside him for her, and Callen would share it.
Besides, he wanted her.
The days away from her had been so hard. She was his all, and the scent and feel of her woke him.
His wife.
His heart.
She moaned, and so did he as they each gave everything they had to the mating of mouths. The feel of his big, rough hands sliding across her body called to her. There was no longer pain or hurt.
There was only perfection.
Her Callen.
When he rolled, he managed to untangle them from the bed linens. She was beside him as he gazed into her ice blue eyes.
“I love you so much, and I want to make love to you. I want you to wake every day and reach for me.”
Oh, so did she.
“Make love to me, Callen James.”
Again, her wish was his command.
His mouth found hers, and they connected on some deep level. She was like that morning glory, opening when the sun beat down on her. That sun was him.
Callen knew he’d keep her safe and warm.
When her hands slid beneath the black, long sleeve shirt that he was wearing, she released his mouth.
“Someone is overdressed.”
Oh, he was aware.
With gentle fingers, she undid the buttons of his shirt, so she could run her hands down the smooth plane of his chest and abs.
“My fox.”
“My woman.”
When she stroked him through his pants, his body reacted. It always would. No matter what, Elizabeth would always pull that response from him.
From them.
The brothers were the sailors, and she was that gorgeous sea witch, playing her siren’s song.
“Please keep touching me,” he whispered as his hair fell and covered them in a dark brown curtain of silk.
“I don’t think I can stop.”
She flicked open the button on his pants, and he held his breath. Her hand slipped into the pricey material and sought her prize.
He moaned as she stroked him.
Callen would always need this intimate contact with his wife. It fed his poet’s soul and fueled him for when he was away from her.
She lowered his zipper after flicking open the button on his pants. Only, she didn’t have the strength to do more. For the first time, in ever, she couldn’t muster the energy to strip her husband.
“Help a girl out. Get naked.”
Oh, he could do that.
Callen was up, and he noticed she watched him with such heat. Her eyes went from icy to fluid. That need was there, and it always was when she watched him.
It made him harder.
“I love when you watch me,” he said. “I feel special.”
“You are. You’re my warrior brave. You’re my poet. You’re the reason I smile.”
Her words touched him. Here, he wanted to soothe her, and, instead, she was soothing him.
“There will never be another poet in my life. It’s you. It’s always been you.”
That touched his heart.
Then she touched him. When his wife stroked his erection, Callen moaned. The feel of her warm palm and the breeze in the air-conditioned room gave him the chills.
God!
How he’d missed her hands on his body.
“I really love what only you can do to me.”
It made her laugh.
Already, she was feeling better.
&
nbsp; “I love you,” she said.
Callen pushed her back against the bed, wanting to soothe her. She shouldn’t be doing the work. Elizabeth should be lying back and letting him kiss her until she was better.
So, he did.
His mouth moved all over her body, touching, tasting, and sharing the love he felt for her.
It was endless.
It was bottomless.
She moaned in so much pleasure as his mouth drove her wild. Each bump, bruise, and scratch were tenderly catered to with his mouth and hands.
Before long, that pain was replaced with nothing but need. He erased it all with pleasure and love.
She was wet.
She was heated up.
Elizabeth needed her husband in the worst way. She wanted to make him feel everything she was feeling and more. As his body was braced above hers, pressed to the long, lean length of her, she wanted him to feel that need rush through him. While she was exhausted, she wanted to reconnect with him.
Pushing Callen to his knees, Elizabeth followed him and sat up. In that moment, there was no doubt of her intent.
Someone was getting a welcome home blowjob.
“God! Yes!” he whispered, the second he knew what she was planning.
Callen, desperately, needed her mouth on him. That way, he could be reassured she was fine. They were good, and life would carry on.
His need was desperate.
It was dire.
That fear was rising up at what could have happened. With each bruise and wound, he knew that he might not have gotten so lucky.
She stroked him with her bare hand.
“Elizabeth, my only. I’ll love you until the day I die. You’re my sweet woman and wife.”
His head dropped back as she took him in her mouth.
The pleasure was amazing.
There was the sound of his quick intake of breath as she slowly worked him into a heated frenzy. Normally, there would be wild, crazed, and heated strokes.
This time, she took her time, making sure that each inch of his erection was catered to with her mouth.
It was maddening.
Callen’s hands found her still damp hair. Slowly, he took her deeper and deeper until his body shook in pleasure.
As she worked him hard, he was close to exploding, and yet, he didn’t want her to stop.
He never wanted this to end.
All the King's Henchmen Page 20
