Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (88 page)

“Pasta
sounds good.”

Chapter
Eight

Morgan
lifted a fork full of angel hair, covered in a spicy red sauce, to
her lips as she stared at the man across the table from her. She
couldn't figure him out.
Class one,
that much she knew. In the
short time she had already spent with him, she'd figured out that he
was very easy going, but there was much more to him, and she was
going to figure it out. The thing that intrigued her at the moment,
was the way he spoke.

“
Your
accent,” Morgan spoke between bites. “You..well, I'm not
sure how to say it...”

“
Go
ahead,” he pressed with a smile.

“
Well,
I don't know what accent you have. You sound like a Brit and an
Aussie had a baby. You say some words like you're from London, and
then other times you sound like you're from Sydney...but you
certainly don't sound Polish. ”
Sydney. Tanner. Shit. I need
to stop this.

The
handsome smile grew. “A Brit and an Aussie
did
have
a baby.” The wink.
Damn,
he did it again. Stop this, Morgan. You just stop it right now.
“My
mum is from London, England and she and my dad live in...”
Don't
say Australia, for the love of....
“Melbourne, Australia.”

Morgan
felt her heart begin to race as she thought of Angel's words that
morning, Tanner has a brother, and...
there
is no way this guy is Tanner's brother. Besides, Tanner doesn't sound
anything like Eryk.
She
had to ask anyway. “Do..uhm...do you have any...brothers in
Australia?”

“
I've
got one, he lives on the outskirts of Sydney now. I build boats and
he is a captain, we kind of work as a team, ya know? It's really
great.” He took a large bite of his own dish and continued to
smile, not knowing the inner panic that he was creating in Morgan's
mind.

“
Captain?”
she asked, and he nodded, taking another bite. Morgan swallowed hard
and took a deep breath. The only way she was going to find out for
sure was to ask. “I know some captains in Sydney, what's his
name?

“
Matthew,
do you know any of those?” he asked, pointing his fork in
question. Morgan released the breath she'd been holding and quickly
shook her head back and forth.
Nope,
no Matthews. Whew.
It
was a relief to Morgan, and she felt silly for even thinking about
it, but she had to admit, it was quite a remarkable coincidence,
either way.

The
two finished their dinner with more small talk, including a few more
details about his job, and some about Morgan's as well. Not too much
about her, but safe questions, such as where in the world she had
traveled and where the best pizza and burgers were. It was nice,
seeing how open and easy to talk to he was, and the more they talked,
the more she couldn't get her mind off of another Aussie. It wasn't
until they got to his home that it really, really hit Morgan how
similar the men really were.

He
lived on the outskirts of Warsaw, and his home was a ranch home, but
a very nice one. It was an off-yellow color, with bright white
shutters and the same paint on the wrap around porch. The two chairs
that sat near the front door were worn and old, but Morgan thought
the antique look brought something out in the porch. It was inviting.
Although she was sure there would be no kangaroos approaching her,
the home was yet another thing that reminded her of her 'down-under'
love.

“
This
is nice, Eryk.” Morgan stepped to his side as he unlocked the
front door. He nodded and thanked her, but his next words nearly
took her breath away.

“If
you like the front of the house, then this is where we'll enjoy one
another first.” The damn wink, and the gorgeous smile that
followed brought a deep blush to Morgan's cheeks. “Don't tell
me you're shy, little one.” His finger lifted her face to meet
his gaze, and Morgan shook her head.

“No,
not shy. Exactly. It's just...”

“What?
Men usually don't talk about sex? How is that possible, considering
what you do?” Morgan giggled as she stepped a little closer to
his chest.

“Yes,
some talk about it. But,” her hand went to the opening in his
shirt and she ran one finger from the middle of his chest to his
collar bone, “most just pick their time, and go from there.”
She had no idea what came over her, but the truth was, her job was
getting much easier. She was there to please him, there to offer
company, there...for him. She didn't need dinner, drinks,
conversation, nor even a day or two of warming-up, she was ready, and
it felt empowering.

“Don't
tempt me, Morgan.” His eyes had taken on a certain heat that
was unmistakeable. His arousal was instant, and Morgan loved his
response to her. They stood silent, staring at one another. The
attraction was enough for Morgan to throw caution to the wind and
just enjoy the man in front of her, and the new feelings of self
awareness were intoxicating.

“Consider
yourself,” her head moved slightly as she positioned her face
close to his chest, her tongue gently pressed against his skin and
ran the length that her finger had just taken, “tempted.”
A low growl from his chest told Morgan that he was beyond...
tempted
.

Morgan's
fingertips ran down the sides of his body until they met the leather
belt around Eryk's waist. She lifted her gaze and saw the growing
desire in his eyes and felt the subtle shift of his hips as he
adjusted himself closer to her grasp. Her fingers traced the
intricate design of his belt, until they met on either side of the
large buckle in the middle. As she released the buckle, a deep exhale
of air was heard over the jingle of his belt releasing and the husky
growl was enough to give Morgan goosebumps.

Her
eyes still bore into his as she carefully undid his jeans, and once
again, she felt his body tense under her touch. It was more than
intoxicating, she was truly drunk off of her new feelings, knowing
she was controlling the man with the smallest touch. A smile grew
across her lips as her hand moved into the waistband of his briefs.
He shivered as her fingers moved lower, but before Morgan could reach
the hard evidence of arousal, an unexpected guest made his presence
known.

Followed
by a loud throat-clearing that jolted Morgan and Eryk from the trance
of one another, the man announced himself as Bohden, but as he was
speaking in Polish, Morgan couldn't tell why he was there.

Eryk
smiled down at Morgan and placed a finger under her chin, then
brought his lips to hers for a deep kiss. He didn't care if Bohden
was watching, in fact, Morgan was sure he wouldn't care who was
watching. His hands went to her back and Morgan's body fused to his
as their kiss went on for what seemed like minutes. Finally, leaving
Morgan breathless, he released the kiss and pushed a lock of hair
behind her ear. Another smile to Morgan and Eryk walked over to the
man on the steps.

Boldly,
Eryk held his hand out for the stranger, belt undone, pants undone
and his cock pushing all limits of the zipper. To no surprise, the
man did not shake his hand. It took all Morgan had not to giggle, as
it was made more than clear that her client did not give a damn about
judgment of any kind. She thought about the embarrassment many of her
past clients would have felt, or how quickly they would have tried to
hide her or their erection. But Eryk? He went out of his way to make
sure the man knew what he had just interrupted.

Calmly,
he pulled his hand back down, then crossed one leg over another and
leaned against the banister. Since he was so tall, the man on the
steps had absolutely no choice but to be at direct eye level with the
undone jeans and the bulge below it.

Morgan
watched as a few words were exchanged between the two men, and even
though she couldn't understand, it was entertaining to watch.
Oh,
yes, this is going to be a good week.

After
a couple more minutes, the conversation ended and the shorter man was
walking back to his car. “So, what did he want?” she
asked when the man was pulling away.

“
To
ask if I was going to the neighborhood party this week.”

Morgan
giggled and shook her head, “Are you still invited after that?
You'd give an elderly woman a heart attack!”

“
After
what?” he asked innocently.

“
After
showing him...” Morgan looked down at the space between his
legs and laughed again.

“
You
haven't seen anything yet.” Eryk took a step closer to Morgan.
Her mouth curved even more and her smile made his heart race. Their
eyes remained fixed on one another, even as more cars passed on the
small dirt road that ran in front of his vast property. It was only
when another car stopped that Morgan finally looked back in the
direction of the road. A long sigh from a frustrated client
followed. “Seems I'm popular today, huh?” Morgan
nodded, but kept her eyes on the middle aged couple that stepped out
of the car. “I'll be right back, you go inside and make
yourself comfortable.” Eryk gave her another squeeze then
opened the door for Morgan. She kissed his cheek, then left him on
the porch to deal with his company.

“Oh
shit!” Morgan's hand went to her mouth to keep Eryk from
hearing her small outburst, but her gaze was fixed on the scene in
front of the fireplace. “Are you....nice?” She moved
her hand down and clasped her fingers together in front of her waist.
“You're.....beautiful. Yes you are.” Her voice went up
and into a playful tone as she stepped closer. “Oh....okay...you're
getting up. Uhm.....hi there pretty....oh....you're a boy.
Definitely a boy.” Eryk's two hundred and fifty pound English
Mastiff got to his feet and slowly walked toward Morgan. No tail
wag, no excitement, just a steady look as he approached her. “I'm
nice.....see?” She put her hand out and he stopped just close
enough to put his big mouth against her hand. He took in her scent
and she watched his large tail begin to sway. “Yeah...I'm
nice. You're beautiful, ya know that? Can I pet you?” Her
hand slowly moved to the top of his head, and she lightly scratched
behind one ear.

“Careful,
he'll fall in love.” Eryk's voice startled her, and when she
jumped, Boomer stepped between. “See, he's already protecting
you.” They both laughed, but Morgan was still apprehensive
about the mammoth dog being so close. She didn't fear large dogs,
but being so close to one that she didn't know wasn't exactly
comfortable. “Boomer, Morgan. Morgan.....this big lug...is
Boomer. He's my main man, aren't ya boy?” Eryk's hand ran the
length of the large dog's body, then he swatted his beefy hind end.
Boomer's entire body shook with excitement. The love between the two
was a beautiful thing to see, and Morgan stepped back to watch the
love fest continue. “I got him when he was about two weeks
old. Someone dumped the whole litter of eight pups on my property,
but...,” his eyes moved to the floor, then back to Boomer, “I
could only save one. This guy. He's a fighter, that's for sure.”
The way Eryk looked at the dog when he spoke was something that
Morgan couldn't help but notice as well. It was as if he wanted the
dog to catch every word.

“It's
sweet, the way you talk to him. I can't say I've even seen a dog
with such great eye contact.” It was true, Boomer stared at
Eryk with eyes of wonder, and never looked away. Eryk smiled, but a
touch of sadness was also there.

“He's
deaf. Always has been. So..... I just try to make sure he can see
my face...you know....to know what my mood is at least.”
Morgan stepped forward without even thinking, and dropped to the
ground beside Boomer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and
pulled him in for a hug that the dog fell right into.