The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (44 page)

Elizabeth bit him on the ear lobe and whispered. “I
’m already madly in love with you.”

“Oh well, then I guess we can get fast food
and just have sex.”

She laughed and accepted his kiss. It was deep and full of passion. When
Blackhawk finally broke away, they were both flushed and breathless. “And this is how we get into trouble. One kiss and we end up naked and no one gets dinner.”

Blackhawk slid off her and grinned. “You
’re right. This part of the plan can wait until after we eat. I’m going to start making you Italian for dinner. Are you interested in helping or are you going to be a lump?” Ethan walked from the room towards the kitchen, whistling. His carefully orchestrated plan to seduce Elizabeth into marrying him was about to begin.

She followed, pulling her hair up on top of her head
. Some of the curls escaped and hung around her neck and face. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, giggling as he put on an apron. “You’re dead serious about this dinner thing, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he smiled. “Now, do you know what Basil looks like?”

“Yes I do, thank you very much. I’m familiar with a kitchen, and could out cook you any day, Ethan.”

Blackhawk loved a challenge.
“Out on the porch is a large pot. Clip some Basil and bring it back, without getting abducted. That is you first assignment.”

She slapped him on the ass as she walked past him. “That’s for being sarcastic.”

He laughed as he watched her walk away. Ethan promptly went back to his cabinet and pulled down two mason jars of the crushed tomatoes Mrs. Feinstein had given him from their shared garden. He began chopping garlic and boiling water. He was going to make her the best pasta she had ever had, and then he was going to ask her to marry him. It was time and he was ready.

Now he was letting the old
Ethan Blackhawk lead the way. The reserved man was gone and impulsiveness was back once more.

Eli
zabeth returned with the basil and watched him pop the seal on the crushed tomatoes. “Oh man, you’re going hardcore, you're making homemade sauce, no less.”

“So you recognize greatness in the kitchen.”

“Do you cook for all the women, Mr. Blackhawk?” she teased. “Because I have to tell you, it’s very sexy.”

He looked o
ver at her, a dead serious expression on his face. “I never have.”

Elizabeth felt her heart pound in her chest.

“I’ll let you in on another not so well known fact about me, Elizabeth. I’ve only said ‘
I love you’
to one other woman in my lifetime. My mother, and that’s it. In thirty seven years, I have never spoken that sentence to another person other than her and now you. I happen to take it very serious. To me, it’s not just words I toss around. You’re the only woman alive that’s ever heard them from me and when I say only, I mean only.”

Now her heart was going super-fast.

“I never cooked for anyone I dated or slept with, and I never let them drive my car. I kept them all out because in my heart I was waiting for you.”

Elizabeth didn’t know what to say
. What he just said was huge and she felt this incredible hope beginning to unfurl in her heart. Maybe, just maybe he would stick around after the assignment.

“Do you like Italian
?” Blackhawk changed the subject fast, after he saw the look on her face. He wasn’t sure what he expected back, but she just stood there, no response. It didn’t matter to him. Everything was going on as planned. He was going to ask her to marry him, and it was already in his strategy for the night.

“I happen to love Italian, and have some Italian in me, thus the dark hair,” she stated, moving to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.
She hoped she didn’t hurt his feelings by not replying. Nothing she could come up with could top what he had said to her.

“Your hair happens to be one of my favorite things about yo
u. I love it, especially this curl,” he said, running his finger down her neck, making her shiver. Satisfactorily he grinned, leaning over to kiss her. “Now, you're on garlic bread.”

“Wow, Garlic on our…
second date,” Elizabeth laughed, cutting the bread into pieces and slathering it with butter and minced garlic. Being in the kitchen with him was very relaxing. She tried not to think about what he just said, instead focusing on just being near him.

“We’ll both be eating it, so no worries,” he started tearing the basil. “So, I’m going to ask you some questions, but you can’t freak out,”
Ethan said, opening the bottle of red wine. He added some to the crushed tomatoes and then filled their two glasses.

“Ethan, I generally don’t freak out
. For the record, that would be your area,” she answered grinning. “I’m more the ‘
punch someone out
’ kind of person. So go ahead and ask your questions, just duck if I start swinging,” Elizabeth laughed.

He agreed
to that, and he wouldn’t change a thing about her. “Do you ever see yourself having kids?” These were important questions to know the answer to when you planned on asking a woman to marry you. He’d never had this conversation before with anyone. This was new territory for him. Ethan watched to see if she would hesitate, and when she didn’t he relaxed.

“Yes,” she
replied, watching him roll up the cuffs on his sleeves. Elizabeth couldn’t help but find it sexy, but then again everything about him was alluring. “You?”

“Until recently
, I didn’t think I wanted kids, but the last few days, I suddenly do.” He waited to see if she panicked, and true to her word, Elizabeth looked calm as she sipped her wine. “How many?” he asked, stirring the sauce, studying her.

“
I don’t know. I would like maybe three or four, but definitely more than one. I was an only child for many years, and it wasn’t fun.” Elizabeth thought back to the yard full of boys running wild. A bunch of little Blackhawk men seemed very appealing. “If you were going to have kids, how many would you want, Ethan?” she asked.

“I
’d like a brood,” he said, adding some dry herbs to the sauce.

“A brood? How many
would that be?” she laughed.

“
I don’t have a number in my head. But, let’s just say I want to give Gabe Rothschild a run for his money in the children department,” he winked, and then went serious. The tension started building in his body.

Elizabeth saw the change, and
understood. “I think you’ll make a great dad.” Watching his face, she suspected one reason he didn’t have a personal life was his fear he’d end up like his father, deserting his wife and kids.

“You
think so?” Hope sprung to life that she believed in him, and would see no validity in his secret fear.

“I know so.
I can tell just by watching you, Ethan. You’re sweet, gentle, and very protective,” she smiled. “God help the boys that try to date your daughters though. I’d pay money to watch that go down.”

He grinned wickedly. “If I
ever have daughters, they’re going to the convent at sixteen. Boys are bad. I was one of those teens once, and I know exactly what they think about all day long.” Part of him wondered if they had girls if they’d be just like Elizabeth.

“You do, huh?”

“Yeah, the same thing I think about now,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “except I have more toys, and a lot more practice getting what I want. One day remind me to tell you about the tree house I had growing up.”

“A tree
house?”

“Yes. It was the best
damn thing ever,” Ethan joked, laughing and winking salaciously at her.

Elizabeth laughed
, offering up a kiss. She had no doubt that he was coming out of that professional life cocoon, and before long would be ready to commit.

She just hoped it was to her.

Blackhawk dropped the pasta in the water and watched it sink. Ethan couldn’t wait any longer. Them being there together just felt right. “Can you watch the pasta and stir it occasionally? I need to grab something,” he stated, walking away.

Elizabeth got nervous as
she thought she upset him. He wasn’t really big on talking about his memories. There was this wall built around him when it came to his past. She hoped he didn’t start to hide behind it again.

Stirring
the pasta, she took a sip of wine and waited for him to come back. It was hard to not think about everything he had just said to her and wonder where it was heading.

In his room
, Blackhawk opened his safe and took a box out of the back. Inside he pulled out a little velvet bag, and a simple gold ring slid out. It had some pretty stones on the top and it made him remember the woman who wore it previously. He slid it into his pocket and walked back out to find her. It was now or never, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer. 

When he found her on her tip toes, in the tiny little shorts and tank top, trying to get down the dishes
from the top shelf, his heart skipped a beat. He wanted to come home to this every night until he was old. It was the last thing he wanted to remember before he died, too.

“Oh, you
’re back!” Elizabeth couldn’t help but notice that from the look on his face, a freak out was coming. He looked like a nervous wreck. “What’s wrong?” she asked, going over to him, full of concern. “Why are you so nervous all the sudden, Ethan? Did I do something?”

“Yes, you did.”

Elizabeth felt sick. “What did I do?”

“
You made me fall in love with you.”

She just stared at him, unsure where he was going with it.

“Elizabeth,” he paused and prepared for the biggest moment of his life. “I know we’ve only been together for a few days, but I’ve known you're the one since I saw you in my dreams. I knew for sure when you punched my partner for slapping me. I had no doubt when you bought the neighbor cupcakes. I knew when you made me french toast in your kitchen on day two.” He took a deep breath.

“
I wanted to be with you forever when I found you in my kitchen wearing my t-shirt and making me breakfast. Nothing has ever been clearer to me. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you see it now. I want to marry you, have a family with you, and spend the rest of my life loving you.” Ethan dropped to his knee, pulling out the ring. “It’s my mom’s. It means a lot to me, because I don’t have anything else of hers left in my life. I can’t help but want you to have it, wear it, and marry me with it.”

Elizabeth LaRue had never been more surprised in
all her life. She was shocked and she was speechless. “Ethan, I…” she didn’t know what to say. Her heart pounded at his words. 

“I love you. Say yes to
me and a future together. Marry me, Elizabeth LaRue and give me a chance. Help me prove that the past doesn’t matter.” He honestly believed he’d die if she said no. His whole body tensed, waiting for the most important answer to the most important question of his life.

She took the pretty ring and slid it on her finger
. It fit perfectly. “I absolutely will marry you, Ethan Blackhawk. I love you.”

He wasn’t quite sure
what to say, he was so ecstatic he wanted to run around like a maniac and tell everyone that he finally got the girl! In fact, he still might.

“I want to spend my life with you,” she whispered, going into his arms and kissing him. The kiss was full of love and passion
. It screamed of their future together.

He paused from the kiss
as he had an idea. “Marry me tonight.” The impulsive Ethan took a chance and came to the surface, wondering if he’d be welcomed or pushed away.

“What?” she
broke free eyes filled with laughter. “Tonight?”

“Yes
, tonight. I know some people that could pull some strings.” He watched her face, and he thought he pushed his luck for sure. Maybe this was a bad time for his wild side to make an appearance.

“Ethan, if you can get the license, a judge, and me a dress, I
’ll marry you tonight. I don’t know why you look so surprised. I told you I’d run off and marry you in a heartbeat. Twice and I believe, and I was serious. I would have married you a couple days ago.”

It was like winning the lottery, he didn’t know what he did to deserve it, but he wasn’t letting her change her mind. “Done,” he said, taking his phone out of his pocket, and dialing the private number to
Gabe. When he came on the phone he sounded worried.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need a huge favor.”

“Okay, shoot
.” Somehow he didn’t think it was work related, Blackhawk sounded too excited.

“I just asked Lyzee to marry me and she said yes.”

“Congrats!” and then Gabe paused. “What do you need a favor for?”

“She said she
’d marry me tonight if I got us a license, a judge and a dress.”

“She doesn’t think it can be done, huh?” Gabe got excited
. He loved a challenge.