She leaned over when he got to the stoplight and she kissed him.
Her mouth destroyed his.
“Holy shit,” he muttered when she set him free. “What was that?”
“My mom said seize the moment. Carpe diem. I feel like seizing the moment with you.”
“I really like your mom. I can’t say that enough,” Callen admitted.
She laughed. This was a good man, and for four weeks, he’d proved it. He’d let her mope, have a pity party, and he’d stayed patient.
“I really like you,” she admitted.
“As in really, really like?” he asked, afraid to get his hopes up.
Elizabeth snorted. “Yeah, you might say that.”
Callen pulled into the inn parking lot and got out. He rounded the vehicle, and helped his wife out. When she jumped out, her hand went into his back pocket.
She grabbed a handful of ass.
“Please tell me you’re not going to tease me. I haven’t had sex in over a month. I’m not good with subtle clues. Right now, I only have two speeds—on and off, and the later isn’t easy to go to.”
She stopped in the middle of the parking lot and stared up into his chocolate-y brown eyes.
“Kiss me.”
Who was he to argue?
He planted one right on her mouth.
Immediately, the heat welled up, washed over him, and he kept going. The kiss left NOTHING to the imagination.
When she rubbed him through the front of his jeans, he moaned.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “I’m a freaking saint.”
Elizabeth smiled as she led him into the inn. When they reached the stairs, she winked at him.
“Want to be a sinner?”
“What?”
“Are you this out of practice?” she asked. “A few weeks and you forgot how to have sex?”
At the word, he wanted to weep in joy.
“No, I’ve had plenty of time to plan this out.”
“I can’t wait to see what you’ve planned,” Elizabeth admitted.
That’s all it took. Callen was on her. He pressed her into the wall of the stairwell as his mouth did truly wicked things to hers.
There was heat.
Lust.
Need.
When he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his hips.
“God!” he muttered into the kiss. “I’ve really missed this,” he admitted. “I don’t know how I survived without you touching me.”
She felt the same. This part of her was waking up, and she needed to feel. No matter what happened with Ethan, she couldn’t make Callen pay for his brother’s sins. She wouldn’t give up any time with him because she was mourning Ethan.
“I want you,” she admitted. “I really need to be with you tonight.”
“To forget?” he asked.
“No, to remember.”
He laughed manically.
“Thank God. I was going to start marathon masturbation sessions any day now.”
That amused her.
As he carried her up the stairs, two people were coming down, and the looks on their faces said it all.
Callen didn’t care.
This was what he’d been waiting and praying for all twenty-eight days of his wife-imposed abstinence.
“Excuse me. I’m going to go molest my wife.”
Elizabeth laughed as they raced past them.
“Callen James.”
“Shhhh! I’m plotting it out in my head. It’s going to be so filthy, we’re both going to need to hose down with antiseptic and take four rounds of antibiotics.”
She snorted.
This was what she loved about him.
Callen was a good man.
Here was the proof.
At their hotel door, he struggled to get the key in the lock. “Please tell me you didn’t invite Chris to stay in our room,” he muttered, as he chewed on her neck.
“Nope.”
“Thank you blessed baby Jesus. This horny man needs a manger in which to lay his babe.”
That made her giggle.
Callen could always make her laugh.
As she kissed him with all she had, he carried her into their bedroom.
She smelled something out of place and then stopped the raging lip lock.
“Wait,” she said.
Callen stopped mid-molest. “What?”
She looked around.
There were roses everywhere.
“Callen, where did the flowers come from?” she asked.
He almost told her him, but he took one for the team. “I believe they are from Ethan.”
She glanced over at him. “Liar, liar, your pants are on fire, and without boxers, you’re going to get burned.”
“Okay, me, but he would have sent them had you not been a flower killer. Remember the last few weeks? I do believe he’s sent double this.”
She did, and he had. Each time, she threw them away, and that was wrong. She thought back to what her mother had told her.
Forgive.
Forget.
Love while you can.
“Can we call him?”
“NOW?” Callen asked. “As in while I have a rock-hard erection and plans to break my sexual fast?”
She snorted. “Yes, now. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
That was all he had to hear.
“Okay.”
One of the other good things about Callen was he was sweet.
Dialing Ethan’s cell, using Callen’s phone, she heard him answer and it sounded like he was chewing.
“Yeah, bro?”
“It’s me, Ethan.”
There was a pause.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Jesus! Who got hurt?” he asked, fearing the worst. “Are you bleeding? How bad is it?”
“I got hurt, and it’s bad. You broke my heart, Ethan.”
There was silence.
“But I forgive you. I love you, and when you’re done there, we’ll be okay. I know we will. What we have…it matters. Everything happens for a reason, and we’re having this bump to get to something new.”
“Elizabeth.”
She could hear the emotion.
“When you come home, we’ll start new, we’ll fix this, and I’ll never bring this up again. The past, sometimes, should stay there, and I’d like my husband back.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“You can apologize in three weeks. Until then, I need something.”
“Anything. Ask.”
“Go home, don’t eat at your desk while you work, and maybe get a good night’s sleep. We’re good. We are as right as rain.”
He looked around.
He was at his desk, he was eating, and he’d planned on sleeping there. At home, there was nothing for him. His heart had left.
“I love you so much,” he said. “I don’t have words.”
She understood.
“I’ll call you tomorrow night and maybe in the morning.”
“Are we a couple again?”
She paused.
“We’re working on it. You keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. In the end, those two paths will meet—in Salem.”
“Can I send you something?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Watch for it. I love you both. I’m not that man anymore, Elizabeth. I’m the old me.”
She hoped so.
“I believe you.”
“Salem? Three weeks?”
Her heart felt less heavy. “It’s a date. I’ll see you there.”
She blew him a kiss.
“Thank you,” he said, sending one back.
When she hung up the cell, Callen kissed her. “That was sweet of you. You could have made him suffer all three weeks.”
“That’s not love. Love protects, it comforts, and it cherishes. Of all the screw ups I’ve made, neither of you ever hurt me.”
“We love you.”
“And I love you. We should wait on sex.”
His mouth actually dropped open.
“Kidding,” she teased. “Make love to me, Callen James. Heal me and make me whole.”
That he could do.
Gently, he carried her to the bed. When she was placed in the middle, he slowly tugged off her boots, then her belt, and finally her jeans. When she sat up, Callen removed her clothing, and let his mouth trace the swell of her breasts.
She was lovely.
She was delicious.
She was his.
“I’ve missed this,” he muttered, working his way lower down her body.
When he came to her panties, he ran his finger over the indentation there.
She was wet.
Hallelujah.
His wife was wet.
Tugging them down her legs, he licked his way up her thigh. When he got to the part he craved the most, he teased her with the tip of his tongue.
“I’ve missed this the most.”
Her too.
Callen was a god among men when it came to oral sex. She couldn’t wait until he dove in.
“Please, Callen,” she begged. “Make me beg and cum.”
Oh, that he could do.
With his whole mouth, he dove in, breaking his wife fast. She tasted sweet like honey and a summer day. He never wanted to forget this moment, as she coated his tongue with the wetness.
It made him want more.
And more.
He couldn’t stop.
Elizabeth fell with her first orgasm, and it was a big one. Her body bowed, she arched into his mouth, and her hand found his hair. She held him to the vee of her legs as he devoured.
“More,” she begged. “I need more.”
He didn’t stop.
Callen wanted his wife to understand what they both felt for her.
It was boundless.
It was all encompassing.
It was true love.
He teased, nipped, and loved her with all he had. When she fell again, Callen finally set her free.
“You should get naked, Callen James. My sexy Native hero is too overdressed.”
Oh, he really should.
Without taking his eyes off his wife, Callen stripped down. When he dropped his zipper, his rock-hard erection popped out for her to see.
“I’ve missed that.”
He laughed. “Not as much as I missed you missing it,” he admitted.
“Let’s get reacquainted.”
He could do that.
Callen grabbed a few roses and ripped their heads off. Then he tossed the red petals into the air over the bed. They landed on her body, the comforter, and even the floor.
“Romance. You gotta have romance,” he muttered.
She snorted. “Come here, Callen.”
He didn’t hesitate.
He was on her, and their mouths were fused together as one.
Callen teased.
Tormented.
Kissed.
Devoured.
Then she did the same, driving him wild.
As she tugged his hair free, it cascaded down around them in a brown silk waterfall.
“That’s my favorite thing,” she admitted.
He ran his finger over the wetness.
“Second favorite.”
Callen grinned. “Can I come home, Lyzee, angel? I’ve missed this.”
She wrapped her legs around his hips, and Callen found his way deep within her body.
Then he began moving.
Long.
Slow.
Strokes.
They were meant to please and drive them both insane. As he took her hips in his hands, Callen made sure to take his time. He wanted this precious treasure.
“Oh, Callen,” she moaned, trying to hold on.
He couldn’t believe how amazing it felt. It was like the first time they’d made love. There was that feeling of safety, love, and being home.
God!
He loved his wife.
“I don’t think I can stop,” he said, teasing her ear with his teeth.
She didn’t want him to stop.
Ever.
When she exploded in orgasm again, her whole world tilted and rolled. When she opened her eyes, Elizabeth was on top, and Callen was holding her.
“Want to take your Indian for a ride?” he asked.
Oh, yeah, she did.
Grabbing the headboard, she began bouncing in his lap. Callen’s hands were on her hips, as his focus was on her breasts.
“Jesus, I’ve died and gone to sexy wife Heaven.”
Her body had changed a lot in the last three weeks. She was sleeker, more streamlined, and he ached to lick up and down her torso just to feel her against his mouth.
She rode him hard.
Callen held on.
As her eyes met his, she knew what he was thinking. She knew him like the back of her hand.
“Go ahead.”
The crack of his hand against her ass rang out in the room. It sent shivers down her body and up his.
“Lyzee,” he moaned, as he did it again.
He began throbbing deep within her body. Callen knew he was close. “Harder.”
She gave him that and everything else she had.
Elizabeth rode her husband to the edge and kept them balanced there on the precipice. She knew what they both needed.
Her nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders, and Callen whimpered in pain.
Then he came.
It was volcanic.
It was filled with heat.
It pushed her off the edge to fall with him.
The entire time they both tumbled, their names were on each other’s lips.
It was damn near perfect.
When she collapsed to the bed, Callen rolled with her. Without any hesitation, Elizabeth cuddled into his body to stay warm. There were red rose petals stuck to both of them, and it gave her a sense of love.
This was their romance, and it worked.
She felt so much better.
“Thank you for loving me,” she whispered. “Through it all, you stayed by my side, even though I know it was hard for you to leave Ethan.”
It was hard, but he’d had that dream.
“I love you, angel. You’re my wife, and I’ll love you forever, I promise.”
She needed those words.
“Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow is a busy day for all of us.”
Yeah, he was aware.
But he didn’t mind.
After all, Callen had his wife, and their family was coming back together again.
They would be fine.
He could feel it.
More importantly, his grandfather had told him so.
And Timothy Blackhawk didn’t lie.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Friday Morning
Littlemoon Investigations
They all looked tired.
There was no doubt that this case was running them ragged.
When Elizabeth and Callen got to the office, the detective was also walking toward the door.
“You look angry.” And he did. He also clearly didn’t care if the media caught him going in there. He was wearing his badge and gun, and sporting a fuck you smile.
Something had gone down.
“Yeah, I am.”
“The partner?” she asked, taking a stab at it.
“Yep. You were right.”
“I’m sorry,” she offered. “I hate when I’m right and it causes someone hurt.”
He didn’t blame anyone but the commissioner, his partner, and himself.
“I think my days as a cop are just about over.”
Elizabeth knew she’d been feeling that as of late, too, but it wasn’t true. She was coming back.
With time, she’d be okay, and so would he.
Since Bonnie was coming, she needed to be ready to do battle. Once She and Ethan were healed, Elizabeth would be as good as new.
<
br /> She hoped.
Inside, the office, the team was camped out in the conference room.
Roman waved as he sat with the tablet.
“You realize that has to come back to DC with me,” Callen stated.
“What if I bought it from you?”
“Nope.”
“Stole it?”
“You’re a horrible criminal,” Elizabeth teased. “You don’t admit the crime before you do it. You’d be our first suspect.”
He sighed. “Sorry, I was a reporter.”
“Ugh, I knew there was something about you,” she teased.
“Come on! I’m reformed.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Always good to know.”
As the team settled in, alongside Callen and Elizabeth, Tori and Julian made an appearance, and Chris was right behind them.
“Did you stay here?” Elizabeth asked, as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Yeah, I drank too much, so I crashed on their couch. I would have called, but I figured you were busy,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
He gave Callen a fist bump when he passed him.
It made her laugh. “Pervs.”
It appeared that Chris was beginning to feel himself again as he relaxed around Callen.
Her family was healing.
As everyone sat, it was time to get started. “What do we have on those three individuals?” Tori asked, pointing to the list that Elizabeth had made on the board.
Alberta Nicholson
Clarence Reynolds
Roger Adams
Their team got ready to work. There was a shuffling of paper and the beeping of the FBI tablet.
“I’ll go first,” Mattie offered. “I took the florist’s boyfriend. We ran him deep,” she said, giggling. “I always wanted to say that. It sounds spy-like.”
Elizabeth was in a damn good mood. She let her have her fun.
“What did you find, Agent Remington?” she teased.
“Clarence came up clean. While you may think that he was shady, he’s a straight arrow. He pays his taxes, he follows the rules, and he’s likely in the clear.”
“Likely?”
“We’re still running him,” Mattie admitted.
She figured as much.
“Next?” she asked. “How about Roger Adams?” Elizabeth asked. “I know if my significant other was banging another man, I’d be pissed.”
Beckett handled that research. “I gotta say, he’s pretty clean,” he admitted. “If anything, if his wife was cheating, maybe she was connected to the two dead victims.”
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