Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (110 page)

From
the back, before they got too far out of the city, Finlay had one
request for Burke. “Will ye make a quick stop, I need
blueberries.” Burke nodded into the rear view, and in a few
minutes, he was pulling into a small grocery store. He didn't ask
questions, he knew why the Campbell wanted blueberries and it wasn't
to make Erika a homemade pie.

In
a half an hour of Burke returning with Finlay's request, they were
pulling into Fin's long driveway and the large fountain came into
view. “I'll take the lass upstairs, will ye see that Erika is
busy? Ye can leave the bags in the car for no'.” Again, Burke
nodded, then climbed out of the driver's seat and made his way to
the front door. Finlay watched the old man disappear inside, then
climbed out of the back of the car, still holding Morgan in his arms.
Once again, she buried her face into his neck and her arms wrapped
more tightly around his shoulders, then she fell back asleep.

Fin
pulled his jacket around her, protecting her bare arms from the wind
and carried her to the front door. While he carried her up the
stairs, Burke was indeed keeping the wretched woman busy in the
kitchen.

“You
didn't get any food?” Erika snapped, seeing that Burke was only
carrying one small container in his hands, which held the leftovers
from his own dinner and the bag of blueberries from the store.

“Aye,
ye are welcome ta the rest of the burger,” he set the bag of
berries on the counter, then held out the box and Erika knocked it
out of his hands, right onto the kitchen floor. “Well, that
wasn't very nice 'o ye.” He propped his arm on the island,
blocking her only path of storming out of the kitchen.

“Make
me something now, old man! Those....filthy....
dogs
...get
treated better than me!” She said dogs in a way that made it
sound like a curse word and pointed toward the back door where
William and Wallace were begging to get in. Burke knew they'd been
inside when he left and nearly laughed when he imagined her trying to
get them outside on her own.

“I
doona begin ta wonder why...” Burke spoke under his breath.

“What
did you say?” Erika took a step closer, hoping to intimidate
the shorter man, but Burke knew she wasn't welcome, so he had no
reservations about not being kind to the woman any longer.

“Aye,
the stove is right there and there is plenty in the fridge. I have
faith ye can work somethin' oot for yeself.” With that, Burke
started to walk out of the kitchen, then turned back around to face
the woman. “And ye can clean that up,” he pointed to the
half-burger and french fries on the ground.

“I
will not!” She protested, then continued yelling about things
she wouldn't do, even as Burke had made it all the way to the
staircase. “Where do you think you're going? Where is Finlay?”
She stormed after Burke and was right behind him when she pulled on
his shoulder to get his attention.

Burke
was in mid-step and paused. He thought for a moment. Surely, Finlay
wouldn't kick anyone out of his home at night, lest not a woman. A
smile formed on the ever-lasting grumpy mans face as he turned around
to face her again. “The Campbell has company. Ye will find that
the sofa is rather comfortable.”

“You
want...sofa!?” Erika wasn't happy about receiving the news.
Company? This is bullshit. I'm sure it's just someone from work,
that's all.
She didn't want to sleep downstairs, but if Finlay
was going to ignore her, it must be for a good reason. “Like a
dog? On the couch?” she asked again, hoping there was another
option, but Burke shook his head, then began going up the stairs
again.

Without
looking at her, he called out, “stay doonstairs, the Campbell
shall not be bothered.” An audible groan came from the
red-haired woman, then he heard her clicking quickly across the tiled
floor. Whether she was going to the kitchen to make herself dinner or
she was retiring to the couch for the night, he didn't know, but
either way, she didn't know who Finlay really had upstairs and that's
all that mattered.

Burke
knocked quietly on Finlay's bedroom door and Finlay let him know it
was alright to enter. “Thanks, mate. Appreciate all ye do,”
the big Scot told his butler.

“Aye,
no' a bother. 'Ave told her that ye have company and she's not ta
bother ye. Otherwise, ye kin she'd be up here and see who ye've got
in yer bed.” Both men laughed at the true statement. Erika
seeing Morgan in his bed would be the start of a temper tantrum of a
lifetime. Finlay thanked him again, then asked that William and
Wallace to be let in and brought upstairs. He certainly didn't want
to leave them unattended downstairs. Burke nodded, then left the
room. Less than five minutes later, the bedroom door opened again and
two large dogs came trotting in, then the door shut again without a
word spoken. Fin told the dogs to stay 'doon', meaning they weren't
allowed on the bed and they curled up into not-so-small balls on the
fluffy carpets around on the floor.

He
removed the rest of his suit that he'd worn since his meeting that
morning, and smiled at Morgan who had his three thousand dollar
jacket smashed against her like a worn teddy bear. Then, in only his
briefs, he crawled into bed with Morgan and pulled the blanket over
both of them. After a few kisses to her shoulder, he wrapped his arm
around her and pulled her close. Morgan wiggled into the perfect spot
and in minutes, Finlay was asleep.

*****

The
next morning, the pounding in Morgan's head took over and she was
awoken by the pain. Not only that, she had no recollection of being
carried out of the hotel, so she was incredibly confused as to why
she wasn't in her Saint something bed. She rolled over quickly to
search the bed, it was empty. Her eyes scanned the room and she
realized exactly where she was. Finlay's bedroom. “What the
hell?” Morgan sat up and looked around, still squinty-eyed from
the light coming in from the window and the pain in her head. “Fin?”
she called out, but there was no answer.

From
the front of the bed, there was a ruckus that caught her attention.
“Oh, it's you!” Wallace poked his large head up and when
he saw who it was, he jumped up to all fours, then easily hopped onto
the bed to give Morgan her morning kisses. “Hi baby! Where's
your daddy? We have to talk about this.” He tilted his head for
more ear scratches, not giving her the answer to her question. “Guess
I better go find out, huh?”

She
gave the big baby another kiss to his large cheek, then climbed out
of bed and walked to the door, He was happy to follow behind as she
opened it and made her way to the stairs. Morgan could smell the
coffee, even from the second floor, and she was pretty sure what the
other sweet scent was. “Muffins. Wallace, you better tell him
he's going to have to do better than that,” she giggled and
gave his rear a gentle swat as he ran ahead of her and trotted down
the steps.

She
had no idea what she looked like, nor did she care, she just wanted
to get to the kitchen and get to the bottom of things.

Her
head pounded, but she knew that she deserved every bit of what she
was going through. She silently cursed Angel for suggesting a night
of drunkenness to forget about Fin's lies, but it was hard to blame
the guy since she was the one that actually did it. It was at that
moment she remembered her last drunken encounter in Scotland, and
vowed to stay away from alcohol at all costs during the rest of her
stay. By the time she was in the foyer on the main floor, she had
talked herself into attempting a reasonable conversation with Finlay,
but it was only to tell him that she didn't want a personal
relationship with him any longer.

Erika
was still in the bathroom, finishing the final touches to her face,
when she almost laughed in the mirror at how her outfit would make
the handsome Scot fall to his knees. It was a low cut red dress that
ended a good eight inches above the knee, which absolutely ridiculous
for morning wear, but she didn't know that.

She still had no idea why he didn't
enjoy
her company when she
had selected him a few weeks prior, that had never happened to her
before, so she took a few weeks off to visit the only man that had
ever turned her down, work related or not. “He won't resist me
again.” She doused herself with a liberal amount of expensive
perfume, and ran her finger under her bottom lip one last time to
catch any color that might have missed her thin mouth. Erika knew
that the old caretaker had told Finlay that she was there, and he
certainly must be finished with his late night business meeting.
Yes, she thought, the smell of coffee and something sweet baking in
the oven was definitely meant for her. With a quick intake of air,
she raised her head and opened the bathroom door.

Morgan
had just walked into the kitchen, and saw the man bent over, taking
muffins from the oven. She tried not to stare at his perfect ass, it
would be too difficult to break off their personal arrangement if she
were lusting after the man.
Be strong, you got this.
She
cleared her throat softly, and Finlay turned around suddenly.

He
looked her over, and a large smile took hold that almost turned to
laughter. He had never seen the girl look so wild, so disheveled,
and so beautiful. Morgan's hair was still in a spiral mess, but it
gained at least double the volume overnight, and she reminded him of
an eighties rocker. Her white tee, with no bra, was skin tight, not
to mention what was written on the front. She had on the pink sweats
that he'd chosen for her, and they barely came to her hips, which
exposed at least three inches of her lower belly, and he had to force
his eyes to decide where they would rest. Ultimately, they decided
on her breasts, and that's where they were when she cleared her
throat again. He looked up, but didn't seem bothered about being
caught openly staring.

“I'm
sure you didn't kidnap me to stare at my boobs... so spit it out.”
She ran her hand through her wild locks, and took a seat at the
small table near the back doors. William and Wallace took their place
at either side of her again, but that time, they were hoping for a
bite of whatever she planned to eat. Finlay slid a coffee to her,
and also a steaming homemade blueberry muffin. “Nice touch,
and I appreciate breakfast, but you really didn't have to do all of
this. I get it.” Finlay smiled at her impatience as he
started to explain the situation. He was interrupted when the dogs
both stood, and started to growl in the direction of the hallway off
the kitchen. Morgan knew instantly that the wicked hag was still
there. “Seriously? You have both of us here?! That is so
fuc...”

“Morgan!
It's not what ye think... please.. trust me.” His voice held
an urgency that she wasn't used to hearing in the man, and it
actually made her sit back in the chair, and put her hands on the
dogs to attempt in getting them quiet. She nodded, but gave him a
look that suggested she would pour the freshly brewed pot of coffee
down the front of his sweatpants if he didn't get to it quick.

Right
on cue, with the big boys still growling, Erika clicked her way into
the kitchen and put her hand on the area that should have been a hip.
“I actually agree with the little tramp, why do you have both
of us here?” The red head hadn't, up to that point, used that
tone with the big Scot, but she felt it was necessary considering the
circumstances. Burke, however, had heard plenty of her
tone
when the Campbell wasn't there. Finlay stood, and walked halfway
across the kitchen and stopped.

“Actually,
Erika, my girlfriend and I were both wondering why yer here. Go
ahead, explain it to us.” He opened his stance slightly, and
crossed his large arms over his chest. Morgan's jaw dropped, but she
recovered quickly and raised her cup to her mouth to hide her shock.
Erika, however, didn't cover her shock quite as well.

“What?
That... that...,” she waved frantically in Morgan's
direction, “thing... is your girlfriend? Look at her!”
Her words hit Morgan hard, and she looked down at what Erika was
waving at.

What
the hell am I wearing?
The joke tee, no bra, her sleep sweats...
she had no idea until that moment that Finlay must have dressed her
the night before. She also remembered the spiral curls, and could
only imagine how big and out of control her hair must have looked.
Oh shit, this is too good!
She took another sip of coffee,
and looked to Finlay to continue with his questioning. She knew the
girlfriend part was just an added touch to drive the point home to
Erika, and she found that it didn't sound as terrible as she'd
thought it would, especially coming from him.