Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (25 page)

“
Everything alright?”

“
Yep!” Morgan nodded quickly. Gabe took a
bite of a muffin, and Morgan made her next move. “I'll take
this.” She stole the chocolate chip treat from his hands and
nearly ran to the front door so he couldn't take it back. Before he
was at her side, she'd already plucked two chips out of it, and Gabe
just shook his head. He assumed that she was always so playful, no
matter who she was with, and he found that he liked that very much.

“
You're adorable.”

Morgan pulled out another chip and narrowed her eyes at
him. “Girls don't want to be
adorable.
” She set
the muffin down on a napkin on the closest table, then sat down on a
tall bar stool. Morgan began unzipping her jacket again, but Gabe
stopped her.

“
Stop it.”

“
Remember a few months ago, you were taking me out
for lobster? We got home and you slowly unzipped that red dress
and...” Morgan unzipped her jacket even more. She was facing
the wall, so only Gabe could see her, but it was too much for him to
deal with. “Underneath the dress, you said that was your
favorite thong. It was black. Lace, I believe.”

Gabriel stepped between her legs and put his hands over
hers to stop any further exposure of her
lace.
His lips came
down hard on hers and one hand moved to her neck, pulling her closer
to him.

“
Get a room!” Ida came around the corner,
and yelled loud enough for everyone in the bakery to turn and stare
at the couple.

“I think we will,” Gabe announced before
kissing Morgan again, right on her giggling lips. Against his will,
he pulled the zipper back up on Morgan's jacket, and pulled her to
her feet. “Are you ready to go back?” She nodded and
Gabriel said goodbye to Ida. “Get back to work.” He
winked at the beautiful woman, and Ida playfully returned a middle
finger, when no customers were looking.

Gabriel had let his guard down, and Morgan could almost
physically feel the difference in the man. She hadn't
forced
him
to do anything he hadn't wanted, but only helped him realize he
could. The smile never left his face as they walked back to the
hotel, and his hand never left hers. It wasn't until they walked
inside the lobby that he finally spoke again.

“
Morgan?” Gabriel let go of her hand and
pushed the button on the elevator.

“
Yes?”

“
Thank you.” He didn't have to do that, nor
explain why, but Morgan simply nodded silently.

“
I know the sex was good, but you don't have to
thank me.” Morgan pushed him gently as they climbed into the
elevator. Their giggles were heard in the lobby until the elevator
doors shut behind them.

“
How about a real dinner and we can figure out who
is thanking who?”

“
Oh, getting cocky are we?” Morgan raised a
brow in question.

“
Morgan, I hadn't had sex in a year. Do you really
think five minutes is all I can offer?” He walked out of the
elevator first and teasingly pressed the close door button to leave
her behind and she jumped out in time and pushed him again.

“
In that case, yes. But we definitely need food
first.” On cue, Morgan's stomach growled loudly and both of
them laughed as they made their way to the hotel room.

“
Deal. I'll call room service.” Gabe opened
the door and ushered her inside the room.

“
Did I ever tell you when I was seven, I got a
marble stuck in my nose?”

“
I'll make sure they don't deliver our food in a
box.”

*****

Several
days passed, and each day was just as wonderful as the last with the
handsome Guinea pig. They traveled anywhere Morgan wanted to go,
including several parks, rivers, museums and frequent trips to the
beach. One of Morgan's favorite places was Rouna Falls, where she
took several dozen more photos of the beautiful waterfalls. She also
loved the National Orchid Garden, and that also warranted so many
pictures, Gabe had taken her camera away.
You're
taking so many pictures, you're missing what's actually in front of
you.
He'd
made a good point, but she insured him she wasn't
missing
anything and
fought
for her camera back, even though he easily let her win. The two had
also enjoyed play time with Cleopatra and lunch with Ida, who of
course, had Morgan and Gabriel in tears of laughter within a few
minutes.

Their last day together arrived more quickly than either
had realized, and it wasn't until Gabriel pointed it out that it sunk
in for Morgan. “Is it already?”

“
Yeah.”
Gabriel stretched his arms and legs out like a starfish, draping his
arm and leg over Morgan's body as he did so. “If you want to
stay longer, I won't complain.”

“
Oh,
you won't?” Morgan pushed his limbs off her body and rolled to
her stomach to get a better look at Gabriel. She envied a man's
natural ability to wake up looking exactly the same as when they went
to bed. He was gorgeous, even the second he opened his eyes. She ran
a hand over her hair and quickly discovered a nest of knots at the
nape of her neck and smiled to herself.
Natural
beauty, at it's finest.

“
Will you?” Gabriel wedged a muscular arm
under hers and pulled her on top of him. Morgan looked at him with
wonder. “Stay a little longer?”

“
You know I can't.” Morgan frowned and
quickly diverted awkward eye contact.

“
Where to next?” He grabbed her bracelet and
spun it around her wrist, absentmindedly admiring the beautiful
memories adorned on the silver chain.

Morgan rolled off of Gabe and sat up, pulling the sheet
with her to cover her body. Not because of modesty, but it was a
chilly morning. She tried to run her hand through her hair as a
distraction, but found the knot again and sighed quietly. “Scotland.”

“
Well, that sounds nice.” He sounded
sincere, but also sad. “I'm sure it's beautiful this time of
year.”

Morgan nodded and chewed the inside of her cheek for
another distraction and nodded. She hadn't given much thought to the
fact she would be seeing Finlay the next day, and being forced to
think about it would surely put a damper on her last day with
Gabriel. “But I'm here with you, right now.” She quickly
lunged forward and gave him a kiss, then climbed over him once more
and off the bed. Before she got out of reach, she got a firm slap on
her behind and in turn, Gabriel was stripped of all of his comfort.
Morgan pulled every blanket and sheet off the bed, and ran into the
bathroom with it, leaving a naked and cold Gabriel in her wake.

“
You're cruel!”

“
At least I'm not cold!” Morgan's giggling
could still be heard and it made him laugh as well.

“
True.” It was more of a whisper than
anything. He was doing his best to keep his composure, but it was
hard. Morgan had helped him, saved him. Saying goodbye was not
something he was good at, and as the minutes passed, he dreaded the
time that moment would come.

He climbed out of the bed and donned a blue and white
plaid shirt and a pair of jeans, then started a pot of coffee.
Halfway through brewing, Morgan came out of the bathroom...dressed,
but hardly. Her tiny shorts and sheer tank top was enough to make his
heart race. She'd also managed to get the knot out of her hair, and
put it in a high ponytail, just like he'd requested on their first
day together.

“
Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
Gabriel watched in awe as she walked into the kitchen, and stared at
her backside when she stood on her toes to reach a cup in the
cabinet.

Morgan giggled and nodded. “As are you.” She
reached across him to reach the coffee pot and poured both of them a
full cup of java. After preparing the drink to her liking, Morgan
turned to take her coffee to the couch.

“
Where do you think you're going?” Gabe
tried to grab Morgan, but she spun out of his reach just in time.

Morgan looked over her shoulder just in time to watch
Gabe spill coffee down the front of his shirt and giggled at the
glare he gave her in return. “That was so not my fault! Just
what you get!”

Gabe shook his head, and turned away from Morgan, unable
to hide the smile that easily spread across his lips. He took a long
stride to reach the paper towels, and his heel hit a wet spot on the
tiled floor. As if in slow motion, Morgan watched as Gabe fell to
his back in a loud thud that shook the entire kitchen. He'd already
managed a nice swat to her ass twice that morning, and she laughed
harder as karma was delivered once again.

“
Glad you think this is so funny.” Gabriel
was pushing himself up on his elbow as he spoke through grunts of
exaggerated pain. “I liked this shirt.” He rolled to his
stomach and tried to push himself up, but his palm landed in the same
wet spot and he fell again, face down.

Morgan tried to control her laughter and show concern.
She was even planning on walking over to the man to help him off the
ground, but that thought only lasted for a brief moment. When Gabriel
lifted his head again, he had an empty packet of sugar, stuck to his
forehead. She stood there in silence for a few seconds, staring at
him as the small white square plastered to his face stared back at
her. It was then, that Morgan lost control.

She didn't even notice when Gabriel finally got to his
feet, nor did she notice when he flicked the sugar packet off his
face. She didn't see him take his shirt off, and she never saw him
disappear into the bathroom to wash the sticky coffee off of his
chest. She was wiping the tears from her eyes when she felt his arms
around her waist from behind and she squealed with demands as he
carried her across the room.

“
Seriously. Gabriel, put me down right now!”
Morgan had nowhere to go, his hands wrapped tightly around her body,
under her breasts.

“
Nope.” He continued walking through the
living area, and then the bedroom. He walked to the balcony door, and
still holding her tightly with one arm, he gripped the handle and
opened the sliding glass door. Finally, once outside, he set Morgan
down, then quickly ran back inside the room.

Morgan immediately turned around and tried to slide the
door open, but it was already locked. “Gabe! I swear, when I
get my hands on you!” She tried at the handle again, but of
course, it hadn't magically unlocked. She crossed her arms tightly
around her chest, hiding the obvious proof of the chilly wind that
swept across her skin.

“
What was that?” Gabe put a hand up to his
ear. “I can't hear you.” He tapped on the glass, and
shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry.” Morgan saw the wicked
smirk and shook her head.

You
wanna play, Big Boy?

It was still quite early, and the sun was just breaking
the horizon. A few locals walked the street below, buying their
morning baked goods, or headed to the market to buy dinner groceries.
There weren't many people out yet, so she could follow through with
her plan.

Morgan took a step back from the door and grabbed a long
wooden plank, and stuck it in the door, between the wall and where
the door would slide open, locking him inside the room. She took
another step back and slowly pulled the cotton shorts down her legs,
and kicked them to the side of the balcony. Gabe took a step closer
to the door, his smirk of amusement, replaced by a look of curiosity.
“Don't. You. Dare.” He took another step closer and put
his hand on the glass as he watched Morgan's hands move to the bottom
of her tank top. She heard him unlock the door and as she lifted the
shirt above her head, she heard the struggle, and failure, of Gabe
trying to open the door.

“
Oh? This?” Morgan stood before him, wearing
only a maroon lace thong and matching bra. Her hands disappeared
behind her and up her back, toward her bra clasp. Gabriel nodded
slowly and swallowed hard. “I can't hear you.” Morgan
smiled as she undid her bra and let it slide down her arms and to the
ground in front of her.

“
Morgan!” He was worried that someone was
going to see her, but more distracted by the about the amount of
blood flowing below the waist. He tried at the door again with no
avail, and watched Morgan walk to the railing along the front of the
balcony, then turned around to face him. He shook his head once more
as Morgan's thumbs slipped into the sides of her thong. “Come
in here.” His eyes pleaded with her, and she moved her panties
down her hips an inch. “Unlock the door!”

“
Still can't hear you.” Her hands moved
further, dragging the thin material down her tan legs. The tiny
garment landed on her bra, and even though the glass door, she
did
hear Gabriel's frustration, in the form of a deep groan. Morgan's
bare ass brushed against the steel railing, and sent shivers up her
spine. She wouldn't keep him waiting too long, but not for his sake.

Gabriel pressed his forehead to the glass, and created a
tunnel with his hands to block out the glare of the rising sun. “You
have got to be kidding me.” Morgan lifted one bare foot to the
top edge of the railing, revealing warm wet center to the man who
could not access it. “Fucking stop! Just stop!”