For the Love of the Game (3 page)

* * *

Morgan was so serenely watching the sun set that she dozed off in the lounge chair. She woke a few hours later to find a blanket over her and Seth sitting in the opposite chair with his eyes closed. When she tried to get up as quietly as she could and return the favor with the blanket it only stirred him out of his sleep.

“Feeling any better?” he asked in a lazy drawl.

“A little.”

He looked so innocent she didn’t have it in her to trade barbs.

“You look well rested.”

“I realized I was sitting in the middle of the pages of a book. Thank you for sharing your bungalow with me.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

“I’m turning in. It’s been a long day.” Morgan smiled. That Southern charm of his was growing on her.

Seth got out of his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I should too. Do you need any help getting ready for bed?”

“No. I can get ready for bed on my own. Good night.”

* * *

Seth truly had good intentions when he’d offered to help her get ready for bed. But even as the words left his lips, images of Morgan naked began to float around in his head. When he came back to the bungalow and saw her sleeping so peacefully, he wanted to scoop her up in his arms and take her to his bed. But he did the gentlemanly thing and covered her with a blanket. He loved watching her sleep. Part of the reason he stayed so long in the infirmary with her was that he was captivated by the rhythms of her breathing. A slow inhale that made her breasts rise a little, followed by an exhale that seemed to cleanse her body. She looked so soft and sweet while she slept. But when she was awake she was a sarcastic spitfire. It seemed like she found peace when she slept.

He knew she would like the view from the bungalow. For the past few days, whenever he saw her on the island she was always gazing out at the water, watching wave after beautiful wave coming closer to shore. But not once did he see her actually getting in the water, or even in a bikini, for that matter. Maybe she was one of those intellectual women who thought it was offensive to put on a bikini and prance around the beach. She was short and petite and had curvy hips—baby-making hips, as his grandmother would say. She was soft and fragile, yet at the same time strong and powerful.

He hadn’t planned past getting her to come to his bungalow. Now that she seemed resigned to the idea, he would have to strategize his next move. It would be much simpler if he was in the middle of a game; he fed off the raw energy of playing football. But he was in a bungalow with a woman he’d damn near crippled on the beach and was growing more attracted to as each hour passed. Holding her captive surely wouldn’t turn out well; she’d demonstrated that afternoon she was willing to defend herself. He needed an incentive for her to want to stay with him. He could try to charm her, but she was leery of it. She seemed more open when he eased back and let the chemistry flow between them without him herding her in his direction. Slowly she seemed to be making her way there all on her own.

He headed off to bed too but didn’t know how much sleep he was going to get with her in such proximity. He strained to hear through the wall as Morgan bustled around her room. He imagined her getting undressed and getting ready for a shower. The thought of soapy water cascading down her body made him hard. But this time he didn’t have Morgan inadvertently stroking him. Yeah, he wasn’t getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

Morgan woke with a new attitude the next morning. She mulled over her options: she could either complain about her injury to the guilt-ridden Seth, or she could enjoy herself and accept the situation as it was. She ordered breakfast and had it waiting for him when he came out of his room.

“I hope you don’t mind.” She removed the metal covers from the plates. “I ordered a little bit of everything to cover all the bases.”

Seth picked up a piece of bacon and shoved it in his mouth. “Not at all. Thank you.”

“So how long are you here on vacation?”

“Hadn’t really thought about. As long as it takes to unwind.” He winked at her.

“Must be nice.” She sighed and played with her linen napkin.

“I don’t vacation a lot. But when I do, I like to get my money’s worth.”

“This is my first vacation in seven years.”

“Seven years.” He raised an eyebrow. “Where were you? In prison?”

“Worse. Running a bookstore.”

“I knew you were the reading type.”

“The book in my hand was a dead giveaway?”

“No.” Seth studied her face for a moment. “You look like a librarian.”

“I’ve heard that one before.”

“You know,” he said with a slight gleam in his eye, “I’ve had librarian fantasies.”

“You and every man on the planet.” She giggled. “Let me guess. You’re envisioning me with my hair in a tight bun, some nerdy glasses on the edge of my nose, and a tweed skirt with a long slit up the front?”

Seth had been eating a piece of toast. He took his time, finishing the toast, and took a sip of orange juice. “No. Just you. No bun, no glasses, and definitely no tweed skirt.”

The temperature on the wall read sixty-nine degrees but to Morgan it was closer to a hundred and two. Those minty eyes of Seth’s seemed more like an emerald green this morning. He looked quite refreshed while she’d tossed and turned all night. She had wondered if he would try to knock on her door but was disappointed that he had been a perfect gentleman all evening. But his comment made her believe he’d at least thought about it.

* * *

Seth took her parasailing. It took some coaxing and a trip to the boutique to buy a bathing suit, but she did it. Morgan was proud of herself. She was actually doing something instead of reading about it in the pages of a book. And having a handsome man to show her the way to pleasure and fun wasn’t so bad either.

After the parasailing they decided to grab some lunch and wandered into a limbo contest. The bar manager asked them to be judges; they happily agreed.

As the contest was about to begin Seth whispered in her ear, “I bet you twenty bucks that the chubby guy in the Hawaiian shirt wins.”

“I’ll take that bet.” She giggled.

And he was right. Louis Parsons, from Catontown, Oklahoma was indeed the winner. Morgan gave him his prize, a gift certificate to the spa and free surfing lessons. She couldn’t help but ask Seth how he picked his winner.

Seth said, “Louis had something to prove because he was the most overweight and people snickered when he entered the contest. He wanted that victory more than everyone else; that’s why he won.”

Morgan smiled at his insightfulness. “Good call.”

For the fourth time in an hour, a woman wearing a slinky red dress cruised their table. This time she pretended to drop something so she could conveniently bend down and give Seth a bird’s-eye view.

“Can I help you?” Morgan said through her teeth.

“Excuse me?” the woman snapped.

“Can I help you? You keep coming over here.” Morgan repeated, a little bit louder.

“Who do you think you’re talking to, half-pint?”

“I’m talking to the piece of trash in a dress so short your vagina is going to catch a cold from the ocean breeze.”

The sound of Seth’s laughter made her turn her head in his direction. The woman gazed at Seth as if he was supposed to put Morgan in her place. “Sorry, sweetheart, but she’s right on all accounts.”

The vamp looked from Seth to Morgan and then back to Seth. After a moment she realized that almost every table had turned their attention on them, so she composed herself and mumbled, “Whatever.”

“What did you say?” Morgan said, still fired up.

Seth jumped up in time to catch Morgan from leaving her seat. He kneeled next to her chair and rubbed her forearm. “You won, champ. By a knockout.”

She exhaled and rubbed her temples. “This has to be the most stressful vacation I’ve ever had.”

“But you haven’t had a dull moment since you stepped off the plane.”

“You got that right.” She laughed.

The simple motion of running his fingers up and down her arm seemed to calm her. Seth’s touch warmed her skin. She glanced up to see the other patrons looking at them. “I take it that happens to you a lot?”

“Yeah. It does.”

“I can’t believe how she tried to dismiss me like that. I’m not chopped liver. There was a time when people had respect; now it’s like the laws of the jungle to get a man. I’d like to leave now.” Morgan stood.

“Okay.”

“No, you stay. I’d like to be alone.”

“I’m supposed to be looking after you,” he murmured “How about a walk on the beach?”

They walked the beach until the sun set and when she said she was tired, Seth had her climb on his back, and he carried her to the bungalow. She was amazed that he seemed to do it with ease and never slowed his pace. He stopped once to pick up a beautiful seashell. He cleaned it off and handed it to her, and they were on their way again. When they returned to the bungalow, they sat on the deck again gazing at the moonlit sky while listening to sounds of the ocean. Morgan was fighting to keep her eyes open.

She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but when she opened her eyes, Seth was placing her gently in her bed. She looked up and smiled at him. He simply kissed her on the forehead and shut her door.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days Morgan told him about her life and her bookstore, which was near ruins. The pipes leaked, the plaster was crumbling, and the place needed rewiring, but she loved her store. She told him about her wacky assistant manager, Michelle, who thought of promotions to bring customers into the shop. Morgan didn’t have the stomach for it, but it seemed to give Michelle a sense of purpose. She admitted to him that, before Jason, she really hadn’t dated that much. She and Jason had grown up together and ran into each other one day at the grocery store. After hanging out a lot it had only seemed natural that they make it official and call it a relationship. He was a nice guy who had a life plan that he was adamant about following.

“I think he thinks we look good on paper anyway,” she quipped.

“How so?”

“I’m a small-business owner, and he’s a marketing executive. We both have similar family backgrounds. He’s knows I’m not the kind of woman who is a shopaholic or constantly craves attention. We’ve actually gone two weeks without seeing each other, and I didn’t bother to ask where he’d been or what he’d been up to. And he didn’t ask me either. I suppose it could be a comfortable arrangement.”

“So what about love?” Seth smiled at her.

“I guess Jason thinks love is a sidebar to pursuing his life goals.”

“And what do you think about love?” Seth asked as he tugged on the sleeve of her blouse.

Morgan really had to think about that one. “When it comes, you don’t have to think about it. It’s there and you embrace it.”

Seth leaned in and kissed her. Morgan reached up and stroked his jawline.

“Is that what you’re going to settle for? Jason’s business proposal—I mean, marriage proposal?”

“I always thought I’d be a confirmed bachelorette.” She laughed. “And have a ton of cats and chase the neighborhood kids down the street when they get too close to my house.”

Seth took a deep breath. “Then marry me.”

“What?”

“Well, let’s get married. That way, when you go home, you can tell Jason you don’t need his half-assed proposal because you eloped with a handsome stranger on the island.”

She laughed at his lack of modesty, finding it comforting that the bravado wasn’t really him. Her heart fluttered a little bit, suddenly feeling as if somewhere between all these lines it was real. In such a short time she had come to care for him, and she could feel the same energy from him. She looked into Seth’s beautiful eyes, searching for…some semblance that his proposal might be for real. What would life be like with a man like that? She knew, without a doubt, that life with him would be sublime. “You are insane.”

“Well, it would be a mock marriage. See that guy up on the pier?” He motioned ahead of them. “That’s Alvin. He’s a self-proclaimed minister. He’s a nice guy, but a bit off his rocker. He’s not really a minister, but he thinks he is.”

Morgan smiled at him. “Let’s do it!”

* * *

Alvin married them on the beach as the sun was setting. There were tiki torches placed sporadically in the sand for moonlight strolls. After they signed his register, Alvin began the ceremony in his native tongue. Seth and Morgan held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes. When Alvin finally began speaking English, Seth reached into his pocket and pulled out the biggest rock she’d ever seen. She knew he’d snuck off to the hotel shop, but she didn’t think he’d bought her a ring. Clearly it was a fake because she’d never seen a real ring that size. Seth placed the ring on her finger, and Morgan was amazed at how heavy costume jewelry could be. Alvin pronounced them man and wife, and Seth kissed his bride.

When they returned to the bungalow they both gave up the pretense that the attraction that had been mounting since the day they met didn’t exist. As soon as he opened the door, Seth scooped her up and carried her over the threshold. What Morgan intended as a sweet, tender kiss between an imaginary husband and wife turned into a firestorm of pent-up lust. Seth laid her down gently on the couch, and then looked into her eyes for a while before he lay down on top of her. She finally realized how heavy he really was. His body was massive compared to her petite frame. While she briefly pondered how this all would work physically, she reminded herself that she read enough romance novels to know there was a certain finesse involved with two bodies connected. Seth had most of his weight on his elbows and his knees, clearly trying not to crush her.

He parted her lips and swirled his tongue inside her mouth, reminding her of licking an ice-cream cone. He then trailed his mouth softly down her neck as she tried in vain to unbutton his shirt. As she suspected, the man’s body was worthy of a sculpture class. What she was surprised to find was there was more muscle tone and smooth skin than the bulging, raging muscles she’d anticipated. By the time Seth had made his way down to her navel, it hazily occurred to her to ask him if he had protection; he magically produced a box of condoms.