Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (75 page)

He knew how to make her feel
better, and she brought down the menu that she'd been hiding behind.
“What are you going to write about me?”

“So, you did read it?”
Morgan narrowed her eyes as she pointed her fork at him.

“No. I mean, I saw there
were a bunch of pictures of dudes with words written under them. Just
figured you write about your clients.” He lowered her fork with
his hand as if it were a loaded gun and they both laughed quietly as
a server approached their table. Once their orders were placed,
Morgan carried on the conversation.

“I'm not sure yet. I
usually make my final decisions when I leave. You know...just in
case...” Morgan didn't need to finish her sentence.

In case you get sent away,
he thought.

“But if I had to write
something now, I'd say, Coal-ton,” she exaggerated his name as
he'd done, “the most charming southern gentleman with a Texas
sized heart and cock.”

Colton choked on his soda,
spraying droplets all over the table. “You're not much for
subtle, are ya?” He didn't look at her as he cleaned up the
mess with his napkin.

“I don't remember you
being subtle last night.”

“Is there a way to subtly
go about it?” He finally looked up, his face full of amusement
and pride of his physical attributes.

“With that thing? No...”
She nodded toward his
thing
and he nodded toward her breasts.

“With those, you belong
in Texas. Not exactly subtle either. I see what you've done
there...with that sweater and all.” They both continued their
joking up until their food came, then they talked more about Colton's
ranch and his way of life, then some about Morgan's. He'd even asked
about her charms, but with her usual reply, she told him they were
from friends.

When their meal was finished,
they spent another few hours touring the city and stopping in a few
shops. Morgan found a tiny snow globe that had a Blue and Gold Macaw
on a perch that she had to buy for Angel, and a little key chain that
said her name on a plastic shape of the Lone Star state. Since she no
longer had an apartment or a car, the only key she had was Tanner's
and it deserved to be put on a key ring.

They left the city with enough
time to get back to the house before it was dark, which made Morgan
happy because she was able to take more pictures of the scenery and
animals.

As soon as they pulled up to
the ranch, he told Morgan to go ahead inside and he'd be there in a
minute. “My brother was supposed to get in some new horses
today, so I'm going to drive over and see how it went.” She
wondered for a second why he wouldn't just call, but then she
remembered.
No service. Right.

She gave him a kiss,
then jumped out of the truck. Morgan watched him pull out of the long
driveway, then she helped herself into the house. “Guess I'll
start sorting my clothes.”

Morgan was more than proud at
how quickly she had sorted all of her dirty laundry.

Properly sorted, perhaps not,
but sorted nonetheless. Four loads should do it, possibly three if
she threw her tee shirts in with her underclothes. Then again, she
should be hand washing some of the more delicate items, but since she
couldn't sprout extra days in the week, the quick wash would have to
do. She was carrying her first load of jeans down the hall when
Colton came back to the house. “Why did you change? I was
picturing how I was going to rip your red tee shirt off your
body..... with my teeth.” Morgan wiggled her brows, but all
she managed to do was make the man laugh. He had returned in the
black Blair Ranch shirt that he had been wearing when they first met.

“The barn's not exactly
clean, that's why I keep fresh clothes out there.” He looked
down at her hands filled with her jeans, and looked genuinely
confused. Morgan, in turn, became confused by his... confusion.

“Did... you want me to
wait... on laundry?” She raised her full hands slightly as she
spoke. His eyes darted between her clothes and face, then he smiled.

“Nope, let's do laundry.”
The smile was back, and the awkward moment was laid to rest. “Wanna
drink?” His southern drawl made her smile and she told him
that she'd love a glass of wine.

When he returned, she had just
started the washer and was walking back toward the kitchen. “What's
that?” She pointed to the glass in his hand, and knew that it
wasn't the Shiner beer that he always drank.

“Oh, it's called, Texas
Tea. It's like a Long Island, but it's made with sweet tea instead
'a soda.” He put it toward her face and the smell of the
multitude of alcohols in the tall glass made her flinch back. He
laughed, then took a long drink of the light brown concoction. “It's
my favorite drink, ya should try it.”

His favorite? Shiner beer
is your favorite. Which one of us is losing it?
Morgan had been
the fool one too many times in her life, and she refused to point out
her own confusion.
I'm seriously over thinking this whole thing.
“Well, you enjoy that... stuff...and thanks for the wine.”
Morgan raised her glass to offer a toast, and he smiled as he
followed suit. “To tonight.” He didn't meet her glass.

“What's going on tonight
again?” Morgan laughed, and was all too happy to answer.

“Nothing specific, but
I'm holding you to your promise that you made on the way home.”
He was still not meeting her glass, so Morgan was forced to spell it
out for him. “The scary movie marathon.... making out... and
uh, the rest.” It was a conversation that they had not an hour
earlier in the truck. Colton had asked her what she wanted to do
while they waited for her clothes to get done, and she suggested a
movie night. The conversation quickly turned into an agreement that
it would be like a date, complete with hand holding, making out, and
a hope that it led to much more. “Seriously? You forgot about
our laundry date already?” Colton quickly clinked her glass
with his and smiled.

“No, I just wanted to
make sure you were still up for it. To tonight..with scary movies..
and... the other stuff.” It was a horrible toast, but she took
it anyway.

“You're weird, you know
that?” He laughed and nodded as he took another sip of his
Texas Tea.

“Yeah, I know it. Come
on, let's find a movie.” She wasn't going to mention that he
had already told her that they would watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
since she was in Texas. Yes, he was an odd one, but oh so cute.

Chapter Eight

Halfway into the movie, the
washer went off with its dinging melody, informing Morgan that her
second load of laundry was finished. “I'll go put those in the
dryer. Can I get another glass of wine?” At least the wine
would warm her up, since he hadn't offered her a cozy spot against
him. The whole laundry date hadn't gone quite as planned. No hand
holding, no making out. They actually watched the movie. She loved
movies, especially scary ones, but the way he'd made it sound
earlier, she hadn't planned on seeing much of the show. At least not
a show on television.

“Yeah, no problem,”
he told her, then grabbed her glass from the table and started to get
up, but she placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back down to
the couch. In a quick movement, she was across his lap with her hands
on his shoulders.

“Remember how you were
telling me about the horses? How some of them can't be tamed?”
Morgan brushed her fingers against his cheek, then closed the
distance between them until her cheek was against his. He nodded
softly and she continued. “I can't to be tamed either.”

Colton wrapped his large hands
around her small waist and lifted her off his lap and set her beside
him. The look on Morgan's face would have been comparable to someone
who'd just discovered they'd won the lottery, but had misplaced the
ticket. It was a look that made him laugh. “Do you always get
what you want?” His smile spread across his face, full of the
same amusement she'd seen at the restaurant earlier.

“Oh, I get it. You want
to hold out, build up the tension? Okay, that's fine. There's always
tomorrow,” Morgan smiled back, then got up from the couch and
walked like she was on a runway, all the way to the room where her
laundry was still alarming her it was finished.

“You have no idea,”
Colton shook his head, then got up to get her a second glass of
Moscato. Morgan took her time, folding her jeans neatly and stacked
them on top of dryer, then threw another load in. When she came back
into the living room, Morgan sat on the far side of the couch, away
from Colton. He brought his eyebrows together in confusion and Morgan
stuck her tongue out at him. “Yeah?”

“Yep. This tongue could
have been all over you right now, but we'll just watch the
movie...it's cool. Go ahead,” she nodded toward the TV so he
could resume the show, and he sighed loudly in response. “What
was that for?”

“You're killing me.”

“I'm killing you?”
Morgan got up slowly, realizing her wine was on the other side of the
coffee table between them. “You're the one who just threw me
off of your lap.”

“I didn't throw you...”

“You hurled me. I was
there. I almost landed on the floor too. Do you realize I could have
broken my head or something...” She couldn't hide the smile as
she went through her theatrics. She also couldn't resist tempting him
a bit more. Morgan grabbed her glass of wine and sat beside him
again.

“Now, if you go telling
people that I threw you to the floor, what will they think?” He
smiled back and she knew she was making progress.

“Well, you could make it
better.” She twirled a lock of hair between her fingers as she
spoke. “And I won't have to tell anyone, anything.” She
set her wine back on the table, then placed her hand on his muscular
leg.
He flinched again!

“Did you hear that?”
Colton gently pushed her hand from his leg and stood.

“No, what was it?”
She looked around the room, expecting to see a masked burglar come
through any second.

“It was one of the
horses, I think one's gotten out.” If his voice hadn't sounded
genuinely concerned, Morgan would have called his bluff completely.
He was pulling on his boots when she met him in the doorway and
grabbed the spare pair to put on her own.

“I'll go out with you,”
she told him. He looked down as she pulled on the second boot and
placed his hand on her shoulder, then shook his head.

“These horses
aren't...well...the nicest. I better go at it alone. They might be
even more spooked if they see ya. I'll be right back. Oh, and there's
a few chicken legs in the fridge, can you get those, the
strawberries, and a handful of batteries from the drawer beside the
fridge? Just put 'em on the table? I'll tell ya what we're doing
when I get back.” He flashed his gorgeous smile, then walked
out the front door with no further instructions.

“What the hell?”
Morgan pulled the drawer open and grabbed three batteries of various
sizes, then nearly slammed it shut. The strawberries and chicken
were already on the table and she put the arrangement of batteries
beside the food. “You are a weird one, Coal-ton!” She
shouted toward the window, knowing that the man would never hear her.
She laughed at the items in front of her as she sat at the table,
and snagged a strawberry for herself.

Morgan was just taking her
third load from the dryer when Colton returned from his horse chasing
ordeal. “So, did he get out?” She was still folding and
didn't see the look on his face. His silence, however, brought her
head around to look at him. “So..... your red shirt is clean
again?” Colton looked down, then smiled when he met her gaze
again.

“Yep.” She had no
idea if the 'yep' was for the horse, the shirt, or both. “Ready
to watch our movie?” He turned quickly and went back to the
living room, and Morgan shook her head as she tried to figure the man
out.

“I'm just going to put
these away, be right back.” She walked past him with a handful
of clothes on her way to the bedroom. He smiled and nodded as he
picked up the remote from the table. “Oh!” Morgan
turned around quickly and nearly dropped her clean clothes. “The
chicken, strawberries, and batteries are on the table... I'm dying to
know what the hell you wanted them for.” Her laughter could be
heard all the way to the bedroom, and Colton's confusion had made him
laugh even louder than she did.

She wasn't going to ask.
“Whatever... weirdo.” Morgan giggled quietly as she
dropped to the floor with her jeans. She was trying to figure out
what to keep out and what to put in her bag when she accidentally
bumped the dresser beside her. “Shit.” A small figurine
of a long horn steer fell to the floor, but thankfully it wasn't
broken. It did, however, roll under the dresser beside her knee.
Morgan lowered her head as she reached under the dresser, but it
wasn't the steer that she stumbled upon. “What is...this?”
She pulled it out and stared at the object in front of her.

The small picture frame, shaped
like the state of Texas, held something that she wasn't ready for..
at all. “Oh... my....god.” Her voice was barely above a
whisper as she stared at the identical
Coltons
in the photo.
One Colton held a Shiner in his hand as he stood in the doorway,
showing the hot tub in the background. The other Colton was sitting
in a chair on the back patio just a few feet in front of the first
man. “They wouldn't....” she held her bottom lip between
her teeth as the reality of what the men had been doing came crashing
down around her.