Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) (29 page)

Deep down, she knew she shouldn’t feel nervous, they’d already had sex on assignment, but honestly this felt different. Then there were Elizabeth’s words in her mind to test the theory again. What if he was the solution to all that haunted her?

Crap!

Julian stood on the porch freezing his ass off in his new suit. He would have preferred to drive home for his, but he knew there wasn’t any time. Taking Tori to the Christmas party became paramount for his day’s focus. When he heard her approach the door, he wasn’t expecting what he found when it opened.

Tori Christensen was stunning in work attire, but dressed up she was absolutely gorgeous. “Well holy shit,” he said, before he could stop himself.

“Is it horrible? Because I really suck at this girly dress up thing,” she asked panicking.

“Can I come in
, Tori?” he inquired first. “It’s bitching cold out here.”

“Oh, sorry!” Tori stepped back and noticed the man was in a really great suit, his hair pulled back and everything looked perfect.

“You look amazing,” he said, just taking it all in. The black dress hugged her body in all its femininity. If Tori doubted herself after what the bartender in the strip club said, he should see her now. Special Agent Christensen definitely had curves. With her red hair free, it made him want to run his hands through it. When his eyes found his necklace at the junction of her breasts, his heart skipped in his chest. The simple charm made him feel proprietary and very male.

“You look very handsome, Julian,”
Tori stated nervously, as she noticed him staring at her. “Are you okay?” she inquired, stepping towards him.

“No,” he answered, taking in her scent and wanting to taste her. It had been so long since he could feel her against his body, and he missed it. He moved closer, hoping she wouldn’t push him away.

Tori’s heart began to pound.

Julian placed
his hand on her lower back, pulling her against his body. In her heels, they were eye to eye, and that meant lip to lip too. “I missed you, Tori,” he whispered, then closed the distance with a heated kiss. It spoke volumes of what he’d thought of her dress, her scent and the three months she hid from him.

It was heat and fire
, Tori could feel herself melting the second their mouths met. Three months of putting up a fight and here he was, back again and destroying the protection she built up against him. Julian Littlemoon was trouble the day she fell into bed with him. Tori knew it then, and she was fervently aware of it now.

Julian didn’t want to break the kiss. He wanted to keep going and then drag her into her bedroom, remove the dress and make love to her the rest of the night. Yet, he knew it wouldn’t be welcomed. Tori Christensen was skittish
, and he had to let her make the first move. The choice had to be hers, or this was going nowhere fast.

Slowly the kiss came to an end, and both were breathing heavy and staring into each other’s eyes.

Neither spoke for what seemed like hours.

Finally Julian found his control and voice. “Ready to go,
Victoria?”

“I need my jacket and to fix my lipstick.” She lifted her fingers and wiped a smudge
from his skin from the kiss. At that moment, Tori did something very un-like her. She escaped like a big chicken to fix lipstick. This time she went with one that wouldn’t smudge, because she had a feeling Julian was far from done.

Grabbing her coat,
he helped her into it, saying nothing. It made her incredibly nervous. Taking her hand in his, he led her to the door. “All set?” he inquired.

“Yes, I t
hink so,” she lied her ass off. Tori was far from ready to face all her co-workers with the very sexy man she wanted to spend hours kissing. She was sure her face conveyed the thoughts racing through her mind.

              
‘I want to jump Julian Littlemoon.’

This was going to be the longest, most tension filled few hours of her life.

As he
led the way to his car, opening the door for her, Julian was having a hard time concentrating himself. When her coat fell away and showed long legs, he closed his eyes and said a prayer for patience. It was funny, how the idea of allowing her to make the next move had sounded like a good idea a while ago, but now… not so much.

“I can’t wait to get there,” he said, feeling his body overheating.

“Yeah me too,” she replied, softly.

“Let the holidays begin!” stated Julian, smiling.

“Jingle Bells,” muttered Tori, scared out of her mind.

                                 *    *     *

Callen dressed in his room. Granted, he never used it anymore, but it was still his. He’d snuck his garment bag from the closet the three shared and escaped to the privacy down the hall. Here he could get dressed and not be distracted by an incredibly sexy woman in girly lingerie. Just the thought made his body go hard. If he had to watch her get dressed, he was going to try and climb all over her, and then they’d be really late.

Oh, and he’d be tortured all night knowing what was under her clothes.

Refocusing on the evening, he unzipped the bag and pulled out his impeccably tailored suit. Ethan was the clothing horse, always wearing suits that were ridiculously priced. Somehow he managed to talk Callen into buying one and trying out the world of stuffy apparel. He was more comfortable in jeans and a simple shirt, but for the company Christmas party as one of the
directors, he needed to up his game.

Then there was the fact that
he’d never been in a suit and tie for his girl, and that gave him a little thrill. Elizabeth had seen him in dress shirts and dress pants, but never the entire thing. For her wedding to Ethan, they didn’t wear tuxes, and for granddad’s funeral the old man wanted family colors and regalia. This would be her first sight of him dressed like his brother.

Callen sprayed on his cologne and began
nervously preening. He prayed Ethan had been right, and the suit was going to make him look terrific and not like an idiot playing dress up. Callen was pretty sure Elizabeth was going to pull out all the stops. Every now and then she liked to catch them both off guard. When she dressed up, she was breathtaking.

He buttoned the dress shirt and tucked it into his pants. Buckling the black leather belt, he stared into his mirror. In his hand was the red silk tie that he somehow needed to figure out how
to get it knotted. Well hell! Callen never thought to have Ethan teach him. He assumed they would get dressed together, and his brother would do what he always did. Ethan was notoriously known to handle the small details.

Then again,
Wyler might have a clue. Silently, Callen slipped out of his room and to his dad’s temporary bedroom beside his. He knocked lightly, and at his father’s voice Callen entered. His father was carving something out of wood, and CJ was sitting on the carpet playing with brightly colored plastic rings.

“Dad, do you know how to do this?” He held up the tie.

Wyler laughed. “Yeah I do son. Come here,” he said standing. “You look really good, Callen.”

He moved towards his father and handed him the tie. “I have competition. Ethan’s going to be there tonight. He’s surprising Elizabeth.”

“I'm glad he’s returning,” he replied, looping the tie and pulling it through.

“I am too. I miss him and so does Lyzee.”

Wyler looked at his handy work. “I’m proud of you, Callen,” he said softly. “I just wanted you to know that, in case I don’t say it enough.”

It caught him off guard. They didn’t have the best relationship with their father growing up, and when Elizabeth came into their lives she pat
ched them all up. “I love you, Dad,” he answered, hugging his father.

“I love you too.” Wyler watched his son leave the room
. When he first discovered that he was having sex with his other son’s wife, he was worried. Would they all be able to hold it together, keep their family intact and manage to navigate through it all? Now he saw that love held them together. What all three shared was amazing, and he was proud of his boys, even if it was an unconventional union. Callen and Ethan never followed the rules growing up, why would they start now?

“CJ, daddy’s coming home tonight,” he
whispered to his grandson, not wanting to risk Elizabeth hearing him. “Are you excited?”

CJ squealed with peals of laughter, as he reached for one of his granddad’s braids.

“Let’s get our work done, and then we’ll have a cookie.”

At the word, he had the boy
’s complete attention.

Wyler laughed
at his little man.

Life was definitely good.

                                 *    *     *

Elizabeth slipped into the lacy panties and bra and stared at her semi naked body in the mirror. Running her hand over her belly, she couldn’t see the difference. Yeah, there was a little life growing in there, and she was excited, but from the outside, she looked normal.

“I love you already,” she whispered to her growing child. “There was only one more day, until she could drop the bomb on the men. Now she needed to navigate tonight, and not let Callen catch onto her deception. That was going to be a feat, since the booze was going to be flowing plenty.

Pulling on the very fitted pencil skirt, she tucked the red silk shirt in and took in the end results. The very low vee made the simple choice in clothing looked incredibly suggestive. It showed off much more cleavage than
she’d ever dare, but tonight was about celebrating.

Sitting on her bed and slipping into the erotic heels,
Elizabeth thought about her husband. She’d sent him three text messages and didn’t get a reply. That meant he was probably locked in a meeting. Who in Quantico thought to schedule these meetings before Christmas? Were they out of their damn minds? When Elizabeth got her hands on Gabe, she was going to ass kick him big time.

Stan
ding, she moved to her dresser, searching for a silver chain that Ethan gave her for Mother’s Day. At the end, there was a key with diamonds on the heart shaped handle. Ethan informed her that she was the key to his heart. It was her way of having him with her there tonight.

When he came home, she was going to give him the bigge
st kiss in the world, even if it was smack-ass-dab in the middle of FBI West.

Elizabeth applied some lipstick and checked her hair. It was time to see Callen and head to the party. Part of her was super curious as to what he was planning on wearing. She knew he wasn’t going to dress down, and that made her curious. That part of the evening alone made it all worthwhile.

Walking down to Wyler’s room, she knocked on the door.

“Come in,” he said, continuing his work. When she opened the door, he started laughing. “
Callen may just fall over.”

Now Elizabeth grinned. “I wish Ethan was here too. I get great satisfaction in out dressing him. It wipes the smug
look right off his handsome face,” she answered as she dropped to her knees and kissed her son. He reached for the necklace.

“Oh no, munchkin! Daddy bought me that when you were in my belly
, and I happen to love it,” she said, pulling it from his reach. Then she kissed him silly and giggled when he laughed like a maniac. “I love you, CJ,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

“You okay sweetheart?” asked Wyler, concerned.

“I just miss Ethan, and when I look at CJ, I see his daddy. Then I look at you and see him too. Once he’s home tomorrow I’ll feel better.”

Wyler grinned, knowing the truth. “Have a good night with Callen tonight,” he stood, helping her up.

“Sorry this skirt isn't conducive to playing with a baby.”

He laughed. “As long as you can breathe in it,” Wyler added. “I love you, sweetheart,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

Again her eyes filled. “I love you too, Dad.”

“I miss him too,” he answered already knowing what she was thinking about.

Elizabeth stayed against his chest and hugged him tightly. 

“Every damn day
it still hurts. I can’t imagine how hard it is for you, Ethan and Callen. I only had him a year, you three had him your entire lives.”

“Time heals, and besides I see him in CJ too. One more Blackhawk blessed with the grin.”

Elizabeth patted his cheek. “Night Dad,” she said walking out. “Goodnight momma’s little boyfriend! Both of you hold down the fort.”

CJ screeched and Wyler laughed.

“Yeah, you do have a beautiful mommy,” he replied, going back to his carving. “Daddy and Uncle Callen are very lucky to have found love and were smart enough to hold onto it.”

With that, Wyler tried not to think about the love he casually threw away in his youth.
Thirty eight years later and his own stupidity still left an ache.