Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (15 page)

“
I agree.” He stood first, and grabbed her
hands to pull her up. She winced as she was brought to her feet, and
he knew she was in pain that had nothing to do with the floor. Her
smile came back quickly, but Tanner had noticed, and again, his heart
ached for what she had gone through. Her body was nearly healed
completely, but sometimes after waking up, her ribs would ache. It
wasn't anything she couldn't handle. “Go shower, Stinky. I'll
start breakfast.”

“
I do not stink! But I will go shower.”
Morgan turned to walk away, but looked over her shoulder only to
stick her tongue out at the handsome man, and to get another view of
the shirtless Tan Man. “I want coffee!” Her words were
barely heard as the bathroom door shut behind her, but Tanner knew it
without her saying it. After twenty minutes, breakfast was done, and
Morgan was meeting Tanner in the kitchen.

“
Stop that!” Morgan stole a piece of bacon
from the plate and Tanner reached for her, but his words were lost
when he turned to look. She was wearing a yellow sun dress, one he'd
actually seen on her in the past, but it fit differently. She'd lost
weight, enough to make the dress look nearly too big. It had only
been six pounds, but on a woman who was already thin to begin with,
it looked like fifteen. “Fine, one more.” He held the
plate out and allowed her to
steal
another piece, then flipped
the eggs.

“Oh my god, I love you!” Morgan spotted her
favorite treats and passed behind Tanner and grabbed a miniature
blueberry muffin out of a plastic container. She immediately picked
out one of the little blue nuggets and popped it in her mouth. “Thank
you!”
“Hey, no! No, no!” Tanner grabbed for the
muffin and she shoved the whole thing in her mouth. “Really?”

“
M'hmm.” Morgan nodded, proud of herself.

“
Thanks for waiting for me to eat.” He
grabbed one of the little muffins as well, and just as it almost
reached his lips, Morgan took that one too and ran into the other
room. Before he could reach her, she ate it. “Morgan Holland!”

“
Tanner Collins!” She giggled and ran away
as he was about to grab her. Her legs carried her back to the
kitchen, where she stole one last piece of bacon, but that one wasn't
for her. She stood with her hand on her hip, and held the piece out
and he cautiously took it from her fingers, then took a bite.

“
Are you done?” Morgan nodded slowly, and a
smile crept across her lips. She stole the piece of bacon from his
fingers, and that time, she ran all the way to the bedroom.

“Your food is going to burn,” Morgan warned
through teary eyes. It felt good to laugh like that again. Tanner had
already finished breakfast, but right then, he didn't care if he did
burn it.

“That little ass of yours is about to burn in a
second,” Tanner teased and ran to the bed and flipped Morgan to
her back. He had every intention of giving her a playful swat to her
ass, but his heart carried him somewhere else. “You're so
goddamn, beautiful.” His thumb gently traced her brow, and down
the side of her face, stopping on her full lips.

“Not as beautiful as you.” Morgan smiled up
at him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him
closer. Their lips met with a kiss that brought them back to their
favorite times with one another.

“Never gets old.” He lifted his head to
meet her eyes, and Morgan could
see
the love. She felt his
heart race, as well as her own. Morgan shook her head and kissed him
again as she teasingly bit down on his lower lip. Her teeth held him
for several seconds before releasing to speak. Her breath tickled his
wet lips as she told him what would never get old for her.

“I want to see you. Naked.” Her eyes bore
into his and he nearly smiled at the perfect mix of passion and humor
that he saw. With no reluctance, Tanner stood from the bed and moved
to the center of the room. Morgan smiled and nodded, letting him know
that he was doing exactly what she wanted. Tanner's leg were spread
wide as he stood before her, and his smirk was enough to light a fire
within Morgan that his kiss had already sparked. She watched as his
hands went to his waist, and missed nothing when he removed his
jeans. Slowly.

“Your chest.” Morgan answered his unspoken
question as their gaze met after his jeans were removed. His hand
obediently went to his stomach, then up to his chest. His large cock
danced at his own touch, and Morgan needed more. “Down your
sides.” She watched his large hand move to his rib cage, then
slowly down to his thigh. Her mouth was dry, and Tanner watched her
tongue glide across her bottom lip.

“Is this what you want, Morgan?” Tanner's
hand inched from his thigh, moving slowly to his manhood that longed
for the simple touch. Morgan nodded and sat up enough to shove a
large pillow under her head. “Are you sure?” His hand
cupped underneath, feeling the warmth and softness of his own body,
and his eyes closed briefly before running his fingers along his
entire length. Morgan's hands moved to her own thighs and she pulled
the bottom of the yellow dress up to her waist. “Open up,
Love.” She quickly removed her panties and her knees fell apart
to give him a perfect view of her feminine beauty.

“Keep going, Tanner.” Her voice held a
husky tone that pushed his hand more than the words themselves. She
watched him bring pleasure to himself and was even more aroused at
knowing it was her body that he was staring at as he continued. “Do
you like this?” Her hand moved slowly to her pink folds and he
groaned loudly as she pushed one finger inside. Morgan's back arched
to take more and he stepped forward without thought. “Stay
there.” He stopped moving, only when his knees were touching
the end of the bed, and only inches from Morgan's foot.

“Fuck... I've missed you.” Tanner's hand
moved more quickly, Morgan's hand matched his pace. “Keep
going, Love.” The strain in his voice was intoxicating. The
control that Morgan had a few moments prior was fading as the back of
her head dug deep into the pillow. The image of Tanner before her,
stroking his hard body, was enough to bring her to the very brink of
ecstasy. Tanner groaned again as he watched her hand move and her
entire body tighten. “Open your legs.” Morgan had brought
her knees together as she anticipated the rush of her own release.
“Open, Morgan.” Her finger moved quickly against her hard
clit and Tanner's head shook quickly.

Morgan barely felt his body on the bed. He grabbed her
knees and opened them enough to insert his body between them. “That's
mine, Morgan. All. Mine.” He moved her hand and pushed inside
her. Tanner buried his face against her neck as Morgan's fingers
moved to his hair, entangling in the beautiful blonde mass.

“Fuck, Tanner! Harder!” Tanner pushed deep
inside of her as she bucked against his body for more. The first wave
of passion consumed Morgan. Her long legs wrapped tightly around his
ass as she moaned loudly against the side of his head. Instantly, she
felt him grip the blanket beside her head as his own passion exploded
deep inside her.

Chapter Four

Tanner gave Morgan a kiss to the top of her head and
rolled to the side of the bed. “You go eat, it's my turn to
shower.” Morgan nodded and smiled as he stood. His cock was
still hard, reeling from their joining, and she smiled to herself at
how amazing he always made her feel.

“
Has anyone told you how nice your ass is?”
Morgan giggled and rolled to her back, pulling the sheet to her chin.
Tanner didn't offer anything in return, but she could almost
hear
his eyes roll. Tanner didn't usually take well to compliments,
but Morgan supposed it was better than being overly cocky.

“Just so we're clear, ya little tease... I'll
have a longer love making session with you later.” He grinned
widely as he spoke, and she smiled before watching his ass all the
way to the bathroom.

After a few minutes of stretching and allowing her heart
rate to return to near normal, she climbed out of the bed and
straightened her dress. The food was probably cold, but it sounded
good anyway. It had been a while since she'd had a homemade
breakfast, and it wasn't going to go to waste. “Better hurry,
or there won't be muffins or bacon!” Morgan yelled toward the
bathroom before leaving the room, and made her way to the kitchen.
“Oh, my sweet little bacon.” She reached toward one of
the little crisp pieces, but nearly knocked over the whole plate with
a knock at the door. “Coming!”

She ran a hand through her hair, making sure it didn't
look like sex, and opened the door slowly. “Mister Collins?”

“
Uh, he's...in the shower.” Morgan stared at
the mail in the man's hands. It wasn't the large package that got her
attention, but the bright yellow envelope he was holding. The name on
the front got her heart racing and as she slowly took it from the
man's hands, her mind raced as well. “Thanks.” No other
words were spoken as Morgan closed the door with her foot, and
carried the box and the rest of the mail to the other side of the
room. She sat down on the couch, and ran her fingers across the
return address on the envelope.

“
Who was at the door?” Tanner came around
the corner, wearing nothing but a smile and a towel.

Morgan held up the yellow envelope, and cocked her head
to the side. “How do you know Anthony?” Tanner stepped
back, moving several feet from Morgan and the envelope that he didn't
want to explain. “Tanner?” She moved forward and held it
higher, showing him that there was no way he could ignore the
question. Quickly, he turned and left the room.

“I have to get dressed.” Morgan was left
standing, alone, in the living room. Her eyes went back to the mail
and to the empty hallway where Tanner disappeared.

Obviously, Tanner and Anthony had met. Most likely, she
thought, it was when she had been in the hospital. “But, Tanner
wasn't at the hospital.” She spoke to the envelope as she
dropped to the couch. Her fingers itched to open it, so she took a
deep breath and placed it on the coffee table in front of her. “And
he never mentioned meeting him.” She forced herself to remember
her conversation with Tanner after the incident. He had been grief
stricken, and listened to her explain the ordeal in detail. “He
didn't know.”
Or did he?

Tanner pulled his jeans on and sat on the edge of the
bed. He hated himself for carrying secrets from Morgan, but some
things needed to stay buried. He had no idea how he would get himself
out of the situation. One thing he knew, however, was that he had to
stay as close to the truth as possible. That way, it would be easier
to keep the lie going with less possibility of slipping. With that
thought, he stood and found a black tee and pulled it over his head.

Tanner bypassed the living room and went directly back
to the kitchen. There was no way he could work out a partial truth
without more time. Morgan heard him leave the bedroom, and felt her
blood begin to heat at the realization that she had just been
intentionally avoided. Her legs moved without thought, and she was in
the kitchen within seconds. Tanner spun around at hearing her stomp
into the room, and the look of worry on his face told her that she
was right to be concerned.

“Tanner?” She took the final steps to stand
directly in front of him. He didn't answer. “How do you know
him?” Morgan pointed behind her, to the envelope in the other
room, and demanded an answer. Silence. “I'm not going to ask
again. Tell me, or I leave.” Morgan meant her words, her mind
raced with horrible memories and the secrets that the men in her life
were obviously keeping from her. Memories of that night spilled from
her eyes in tears that she couldn't stop. Tanner took a deep breath
and tried to bring her close to him. At record speed, Morgan was
realizing that there was much more to the story than she knew.

“
Angel called me, and told me you were in Ohio.”
That much was true. It was a good start. Morgan took a step back.
Angel told him?
“He said you forgot a bag in Costa Rica,
so he asked me to send it to you.”

Morgan took another step backwards and sat down on one
of tall chairs surrounding the island. She nodded slowly, but her
brows came together, trying to process everything. She had been
through so much, but she vaguely remembered Julianne saying something
about her bag being delivered. “So, you went to Anthony's
house.....from here to Costa Rica, and got my bag.” It was what
he had already told her, but speaking it out loud helped. “You
already knew...before I told you.” Tanner nodded, and she wiped
another wave of tears from her cheeks. She had felt terrible for
making him the last to know. It hadn't been intentional, but guilt
had still lived in her heart.
And you already knew.
He hadn't
come to see her, he hadn't asked if she was alright, he hadn't even
sent a text. “Who told you, Angel or Anthony?”

Neither.
Tanner took a long breath and ran a hand
through his hair. He couldn't tell her it was Finlay. As far as the
big Scot knew, Mendez had taken care of Carlos, not Tanner. “It
doesn't matter. I met Anthony when I went to get your bag, and...”
He looked down at the tray of muffins, suddenly feeling no appetite
for anything. He just wanted to start the day over, and he wished he
answered the door. “We're friends.” He didn't know what
else to say.
We went into the woods and...