Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (59 page)

“The
wine, Miss. You'll need to pay for that,” he told her, not
amused by Miss Holland, who was becoming more high by the second.

“Do...you...know
what was in those....pil..wait a second! Usually people pay me,
that's funny. You're funny. What's your name? Oh, I know! I bet it's
Hagar! Wait..no. That's a viking name, isn't it?” Morgan gasped
loudly and clasped her hand over her mouth quickly, then brought it
down, slapping her thigh harder than she'd intended. “Are you a
viking? You so could be one!”

“No,
I'm not a viking, but I still need to be paid.”

“Okay,
Mister Rude Pants. Fine.” She closed the door in the man's
face, but quickly returned with a hundred. “I will give you all
of this if you stop talking to me.” She snapped the bill,
making a loud
pop,
by pulling the sides out quickly, less than
an inch from his face.

He
leaned his head back, away from the money and started to protest,
“but I haven't...”

“Shh....go
now,” Morgan placed a finger on his lips, then tucked the money
into the front of his pants before backing away slowly. “Don't
tell anyone we spoke. This will be our little secret.” She shut
the door again, leaving the poor man on the other side with a slack
jaw and memories he would surely never forget.

Morgan
had no idea, at least at that moment, that the pills Haghen had given
her were stronger than any pills she'd ever received. Half of one
pill would have eased the pain and given Morgan a state of calm. Two
pills, they'd make a person higher than the Eiffel Tower. It would be
something that the young woman would learn later, but at that moment,
she was having fun trying to figure out how to open her bottles of
wine.

“If
I took a bath in wine, would that be like drinking it? I need to ask
Angel!” Morgan popped the cork, right as she said her friend's
name and forgot about her question just as quickly. She grabbed a
coffee cup from the cabinet and poured the light pink liquid to the
brim, then carried it over to the bed. Half of it spilled along the
way, and the other half had been consumed by Morgan, but she couldn't
understand why her cup was empty by the time she sat down.

She
stood again and started walking toward the kitchen, but along the
way, her heel slid along the wine spill on the floor, and she fell to
the ground in one swift movement. Her head didn't hurt anymore, in
fact, nothing hurt. She'd pay for that fall, in the morning, but
right then, Morgan cared about nothing.

“
Fuck,
how do they get those circles on the ceiling?” She tucked her
hands under her head, as she laid on the floor and gazed at the
ceiling as if it were a starry sky. “Oh! They have stars in
Australia!” Morgan didn't think twice, she lifted her hips and
pulled her phone, which luckily hadn't been crushed by her ass, out
of her back pocket and held it up in front of her. After another two
minutes of trying to get into her contacts, she found Tanner and
pressed the call button.

“Morgan!
I'm glad ya called. I'm sorry for what I said.. I didn't mean it
and...,”

“Stars.
What are the stars like in Australia right now? Oh! Is it dark
there?” She brought her brows together as she realized that
she had also lost track of time in Holland as well.

“Stars?
It's early morning, Love, there are no stars. Where are ya? What
are ya doing?” He had already been awake for an hour since his
body was still used to very little sleep out on Lady Godiva. Knowing
the time where he was, however, wasn't helping with knowing where
Morgan was, or why she was asking strange questions.

“Holland.
Rotterdam, to be precise. Now.. what were we talking about? Oh! I
remember!” Morgan stood with the help of grabbing the side of
the dresser, then poured herself another cup of wine. “We were
talking about what a dick you were to me! Dickety Dick Dick! That's
what you were! And you want to know something else? Do You?
Because I'm going to tell you!” She took her full cup and
walked as carefully as she could to the bed, and sat on the side as
she took a deep drink. “I'm not going to... carry my
problems... I mean.. your problems on your shoulders. Wait.. I'm not
going to...”

Tanner
started to laugh and he moved the phone away from his mouth. She was,
at the very least, drunk, and it was his turn to hear the rantings of
someone who shouldn't be allowed near a phone. “I was wrong.
I won't do it again. I love you, Morgan Holland and it makes me
fuckin' crazy that I can't be with you. Now, work that out in your
drunken state and tell me what ya think.” He too sat down, and
looked out over the trees in his back yard as he enjoyed his morning
coffee. The smile on his face couldn't be seen through the phone,
nor in his voice, but a smile never left his lips as he waited.

Morgan
took a deep breath as her eyes widened, then shook her head. “You're
trying to distract me. Why am I mad at you? Oh! Because.. wait? I
thought we weren't going to talk about love anymore.” She felt
her heart begin to race as his words sunk even deeper into her mind.

“I.Love.You.
There.. and I'll say it again if I have to.” He laughed that
time, and it made her smile for a split second.

“I
don't love you. Never have, never will. But you do have a great
ass.” He laughed even louder as she replied.

“Thanks,
Love. But say it. Just this once, say it. I won't hold it against
ya, I promise.” Morgan shook her head and fell back on the
bed, spilling what was left of her wine once again. “Please,
Morgan. Tell me. Just say it.” She closed her eyes and put
her hand over her chest. It wasn't right to have feelings for him,
and for a very large Scot that she refused to deal with. It was
wrong, and it was against everything that she'd ever thought love
was. It was..

“I
love you, Tanner.” She spoke the words softly as her eyes
closed, and his reply was never heard as she drifted directly to
sleep.

“I
know ya do, and you'll be mine soon.”

Chapter
Seven

“Ow!!”
Morgan rolled to her side the following morning and the pain from
her backside from falling was sore enough to bring her from a dead
sleep. It was when she brought her arm to her head to ward off the
sunlight that she was reminded of her other injury. “Damn it!”
She pulled her hand away and sat up, then stabilized herself on the
side of the bed as the room seemed to spin around her. “I got
this shit. This is my fun week.” She stood slowly and felt her
way to the small table that held her coffee pot, “yep, I can do
this.” She cracked one eye open as she started her first cup,
and gently touched the swollen and fresh gash on the side of her head
as she waited. “Looks like I'm staying in today too.”

*****

Finlay
had just left an early morning meeting and was on his way to look at
a building in Burntisland, when a young woman crossed the street in
front of his truck. She looked so much like Morgan that he had to
stare at the girl until he could finally see her turn in his
direction. “Bloody hell.” His nerves were raw, and
thinking that Morgan was actually in Scotland had made his heart feel
as if it would push its way right from his thick chest.

He
started on his way again, and felt inside of his jacket for his
phone. He had to call her, but knowing what to say was something
else entirely. “Hi, Love. I'm a dad. But I gave 'im away so
ye don't have te worry. How about ye come here and spend some time
with me?” His words were ridiculous, and he knew it, and he
let out a long sigh as his fingers loosened around his phone, and
came out of his jacket empty. “I can't lose ye, Morgan. I
fookin' can't lose ye!” He gripped the steering wheel tightly
and did his best to block the pain of what was to come.. when and if
he brought himself to actually call her.

*****

Morgan
did spend the day inside as planned, and the following day, due to
cramps. However, her head injury, the nice bruise to her tailbone
and the curse of Mother Nature didn't keep her in for the rest of the
week. The final three days of her time off were spent cramming in
every single thing she could think to do in the shortest time
possible. Her camera was put to its ultimate test as well, as she had
gone through three different museums and had eaten at nearly as many
places. Even if it had just been a hot pretzel from a stand, Morgan
made sure not to miss taking a picture of it, and even sometimes, the
food.

Haghen
had even joined her for two of her lunches. He truly was a kind man,
as Morgan suspected. An old soul, as she called it. His wife had
passed only the summer before, making him a new widower, which Morgan
assumed was the reason for the sadness she sometimes saw in his eyes.
She really liked her new friend though and it was nice talking to a
person without mentioning one thing about her profession or the
people in her life. They spoke of the weather, food, architecture and
where Morgan had been for 'business', but never what that business
was. She figured that he knew the truth, but he never brought it up,
nor asked, and Morgan appreciated his discretion. When Thursday came
around and she explained that she may not see him again, there was a
smile on his face, but still, he simply told her that it was a
pleasure meeting her and that he hoped to see her around town.

Morgan
was thinking of the old man during lunch on Friday. She was
downstairs, in the hotel restaurant. It was the big day,
meet-the-client-day, and even then, the young woman still had no idea
what Vaughn looked like. “Thanks, Julianne!” She held her
glass of wine up for an invisible toast, then took a sip. After she
set her empty glass down, she picked her phone back up and sent
Julianne the third message that day.
It would be super if you told
me where I
was meeting this dude. At least I could go there
and...I don't know...yell his name.
Morgan dropped her phone back
on the table and leaned back in her chair. It wasn't like Julianne to
ignore her. “She's up to something.” Her arms crossed
over her chest, but no sooner had she spoken the words, her phone
vibrated in front of her on the table. “About damn ti....what
the....?”

Morgan
read the message again.
Stay right where you are.
The hair on
the back of her neck stood on end and slowly, she looked up, to the
left, then to the right.
How does she know where I....

“
What
room are you staying in?” The voice came from behind her, but
it was clear the voice had been directed towards her.

“
Excuse
me?” Morgan turned in her chair, but there was no one there.
When she faced the front again, there he was. Palms on the table,
bent forward, less than two feet from her face. His pale blue eyes
were nearly hypnotizing, but not as much as the tiny smile she saw on
his full lips. His hair was as blonde as the ultra light streaks
she'd just had put into her own hair. It was longer on top than on
the sides, but perfectly gelled into place. Just the scent of him
made her heart race and suddenly, she could think of nothing other
than burying her face in his neck. It was impossible to tell how tall
he was from the angle, but she could hardly pull her eyes from his to
even try.

“
What.
Room. Are. You. In?” He spoke slowly, enunciating each word
clearly and precisely. His accent wasn't nearly as thick as Haghen's
but it was still so very sexy and so very indicative of what his
intentions were.

“
I...uh...you're
Vau...”

“
Room?”

“
Three-sixteen,”
she blurted quickly, then brought her eyebrows together, narrowing
her bright green eyes onto his. “How did y...”

“
Don't
speak.” He pushed off from the table and was at her side
quickly, taking her hand in his.

“
Are
you...” Morgan had no choice but to stand.

“
Don't.
Speak.” She grunted loudly and thought of standing her ground,
but to the man who had her by the wrist, pulling her towards the
elevator, she would have appeared like a puppy who didn't want to
walk on a leash.

“
Just..”

“
No.”
He pressed his finger to her lips, then backed her against the wall
of the elevator with his own body.

“
But...”

“
Shh.”
The man held her there, her hands above her head, until the large
metal doors opened again. Before she knew it, she was being pulled
through the hallway once again. “Open it.” He nodded
towards the door, numbered as her own, and placed his hand on the
wall as if he were showing his impatience. Morgan nodded and dug her
hand into her back pocket, then produced the card to open the
electronic lock, and slid it through the slot. After the soft click,
Mister Tall, Blonde and Horny twisted the knob and kicked it open.
“Go inside.”