The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (63 page)

“Ethan, are you okay?” she asked softly
, watching him from the doorway.

“Are you still in love with me,
Elizabeth?”

She was shocked that he even asked her that, but before she could speak, he continued.

“Are you upset I dragged you back into the FBI? We can always call Salem home. I can be the sheriff, and you can be the mayor. I just want to be together with you. I didn’t think I could leave the FBI, but I can’t let it come between us.” Blackhawk looked at his wife, willing to make the sacrifice. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Ethan Blackhawk
! Am I still in love with you? I’m crazy, stupid in love with you and always will be.”

“Don’t leave me, Elizabeth. Not over
this job.” The fear coated his words and made his stomach roll with the possibility of a life without the only woman who ever held his heart. His wife was the only person who ever saw them real man beneath the facade.

“Ethan, I want to work with you every day, and I want to come home with you every night. I’m not leaving you. I promise.”  Elizabeth took the FBI job because of one big reason, it pulled him out of the field, and like Gabe, she knew they’d both come home safe at night. As sheriff,
the possibility was still there that he could be hurt, and she couldn’t bear it. She loved him too much to lose him in the line of duty.

“
You aren’t acting like yourself, and I don’t know what’s wrong and it’s scaring me shitless. For a few days now you’ve been secretive, and then today you disappeared.”

Crap! He was on the trail of her secret.

“Is there another man?”

“What?” Elizabeth almost got sick over just the possibility that he believed anyone could compare to him. Ethan Blackhawk was her other half.

“I need to know.”

“Ethan, you are the killer of all surprises
.” Elizabeth held out her hand. “Dinner can wait. I have something to show you.”

Just the contact with her hand lifted the dread and doom in his heart.
She was the light to the dark that sometimes wanted to swallow him whole.

Elizabeth led him to the living room. “
Stand right here,” she directed and walked away from him. “I know you’ve been worried, but today I wanted to give you something you’d have forever. I know I’ve been acting suspicious, and I couldn’t tell you or it would ruin the surprise. I’ve been working on it a few days now.”

Blackhawk
felt minutely better. “Okay, Lyzee.” He watched her start to unbutton her shirt and laughed. “We’re going to have sex in the living room? I think I’ve been given that gift a few times.” Ethan moved towards her. “Not that I mind, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. In fact, I think it may be one of my most treasured presents you’ve given me. Well, second to the cheerleading outfit.” His body stirred at the possibilities and the memories they’d made while she wore her high school outfit.

“Stop right there, C
owboy! No, it’s bigger than sex. I think so anyway.” She dropped her shirt, facing him.

“Really, this is pretty much how sex starts
. You begin stripping, and I get incredibly turned on, and then...” he wiggled his eyebrows and pointed at the couch and coffee table.

Elizabeth ignored him.
She was completely giddy. She pulled her hair up, on top of her head. “Are you ready, Ethan?”

“Yes, but I’m really confused.”

Elizabeth turned around. Across her back, was black plastic, taped to her skin, the kind tattoo places put over finished tattoos to protect them. “Well Ethan, unwrap me,” she directed, grinning over her shoulder at her husband. The look on his face was priceless.

It was
a mix between horror and awe.

Perfect.

“You got a tattoo?” he looked amazed and worried at the same time. “Baby, they’re forever and shouldn’t be picked lightly. I know that for a fact. I have a few I can’t forget, like a big black raven on my chest.”

“I love that raven
and always will. Now shut up and peel it off.” She wanted to see his face when he saw it.

He walked to
ward her, unsure how he felt about her pale, gorgeous flesh, marred by ink. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. It was done. As he peeled off the plastic, he didn’t know what to say. “Elizabeth,” he stared open mouthed, taking in the entire tattoo. On her back in large beautiful script was his full name.

First, Middle and last
names.

“Well?” she asked anxiously. Maybe he didn’t like it
after all.

“Lyzee?” He just stared at it, almost wanting to run his fingers over it, but knowing it would be sore and raw. “You put my name on your back?”

Elizabeth turned and saw the look on his face. “You once said that you’d never put another person’s name on your body, because it was crazy and out of control.”

“I know I did
!” Blackhawk didn’t know what to say, this was completely crazy and the most amazing thing ever. “Because it’s forever and you just can’t erase it.”

“
I know and that’s the point. I wanted to prove how much I love you, and how important you are to me. So, to show you how I feel about you, I went and did it. Now, you literally have my back. This is all you, Ethan Jackson Blackhawk.”

There would never be enough words to tell her what she meant to him.
Elizabeth undid him every second of the day, with a smile, a laugh and with his name on her body.

“Well? Do you like it? Now you're stuck with me, because it’s not coming off.
I don’t know how many Ethan Jackson Blackhawks are out there, if I have to find a new one,” she teased.

He pulled her into his arms
, carefully avoiding the tattoo. “No one has ever given me such a gift, and nothing will ever beat it. I love it more than words, Elizabeth.”

She kissed her husband
and broke away breathlessly. “The office opens in a couple weeks, and we a great deal of work to get it up and running. Before we know it, we’ll be on our adventure together. I plan on keeping my vows, Ethan. I plan on keeping you guessing and filling your life with joy.”

“How did I ever live without you, Elizabeth Blackhawk?”

“Got me, but now you don’t ever have to worry about it,” she kissed him deep and hard.

“Mmmmm… Lyzee baby,” he moaned into her mouth as she undid him
with her lips and wandering hands.

“Do you think we can put off dinner a little longer?” she asked,
moving to his ear and whispering what she wanted to do, instead of eating.

When his body tightened
at her words, he felt a rush of want and need wash over him. His wild hellion was back, and he couldn’t be more overjoyed. “Baby, as far as I’m concerned we don’t ever have to eat again.” Ethan let her lead him into their bedroom.

“Oh and Cowboy?”

“Hmmmm?” he couldn’t stop staring at the tattoo. He loved it and he loved how it made him feel like she was his forever. Marked and possessed and never belonging to anyone but him. Ethan Blackhawk had finally found the one woman who saw through it all and understood the real him.

She was his miracle.

“It’s a back tattoo, and I have to be on top the next couple of days.”

“
Oh hell yeah baby, this surprise just keeps getting better and better!” Ethan Blackhawk chased his woman into their bedroom to begin his favorite adventure of all times.

Loving his wife.

Meanwhile…

He watched the woman with her swollen belly waddle to her car. She had no idea that he was waiting for her in the shadows.   It had been a long seven months of preparation
, and it all came down to this moment.

First he’d grab her.

Then hunt her.

Proving what he already knew in life. He was one of them. His family may have scorned him, and his own father may have walked away, but he would find a way back into their hearts and lives
, as the only son who mattered.

It was time to take her and bring her to his hunting grounds, letting the sport begin.

As she dropped her keys, he popped up at her side. The syringe was hidden in his hand and ready to go.

She turned at the sound. “Gez! You scared me,” she muttered, letting him
help her retrieve her keys.

“Here you go,” he answered, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and take her and the unborn child.

When she turned to put her purse on the front seat, he made his move, slamming the needle into her side, and filling her with the drug.

The interior of the car wavered. “What have you done?” she slurred, before everything went dark.

“I’m just taking back what’s mine,” he answered, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her to the trunk of his car.

This was his favorite part of the game.

It was time to take her to
the hunting lands and then her final resting place, the
Sacred Burial Grounds.

Letter from the author;
Dear reader,
This is book one in an UNCONVENTIONAL series. It's about love, life and a path that isn't always taken.
As the author, I’m going to warn you now. There's a twist in book four of the series that bends the conventional relationship and gives us a new perspective on love. Can a woman love more than one person?
Can it work?
Let me warn you, that if you're looking for a cookie cutter romance novel where girl meets boy, girl marries boy, and boy and girl live happily ever after, you won't find it here.
Yes, there will be happy ever after. The girl will be falling in love, but it's going to bend some of the norms of society. Why? Because I want to give you the reader a look into what isn't done all the time. I want to show you that love can flourish where it's expected to fail.
If you trust me, please read the series. If you get easily upset with sexual situations, this series isn't for you. (There will be
threesome
in their future)
In the first book of the series, we meet Elizabeth and Ethan, and by book four their relationship has expanded, morphed and changed. It works for them, or at least I hope I convey that. I don't often take the road most travelled, and there is a reason.
Adventure follows the less traversed path.
I hope that you love my series.
I hope it evokes an emotional response from you. (I know it won't always be good and I accept that as an author.)
I want you to see that there isn't just black and white, but a plethora of colors and shades in between.
Remember, this is fiction and not meant to do anything but entertain you along the way. I’m not making a political statement, or trying to force beliefs on you along the way. My only intent is to entertain and give you a different perspective on something that may pique your interest.
Thank you for joining me on the journey. I hope when we reach the end, you're with me by my side.
Much Love, Mayhem and Murder,
Morgan
 

Coming Next in the series: 

Sacred Burial Ground
(book 2)

Other books by Morgan Kelley:

Stand Alone Romance/FBI thrillers

The Junction

Serial Sins

Romance/FBI Thriller Series

The Killing Times (book 1)

Sacred Burial Grounds (book 2)

True Love Lost (book 3)

Deep Dark Mire (book 4)

Fire Burns Hot (book 5)

Darkness of Truth (book 6)

Devil Hath Come (book 7)

Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Series