Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (107 page)

I
hope that you'll allow me a visit, or many, when I move to your
country. I can only hope that our paths will cross again.

You're
nothing like what I had expected, and that was a lesson well learned.
I expect too much, and you reminded me that the unexpected things in
life are usually the best things that can happen.

Please
send me photos of our time together, I'd love to have those memories
in my album as well.

Love,
Fane.

Morgan
wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned her head back, thinking of
his words and trying not to miss him as much as she did.
No one
has ever asked for photos of me... us... ever.
The idea of her
large Romanian friend requesting pictures of the two of them had
meant so much to her. The thought that no other man had ever asked
for photos, nor taken any of her with the exception of Angel and
Tanner, was like an unwelcome lightening bolt to the heart. Even
Tanner, who had taken a few photos to have blown up in her room, had
a specific reason for taking them. Albeit, a very nice reason, but
they weren't for personal use in an album of memories.

She
let out a long sigh at the sweetness of the large man, and almost
wanted to return and spend the week off with him. Morgan knew,
however, that time was a precious gift that would allow them to see
each other again, and she would accept that gift when the time was
right.
You're a tough act to follow, Fane.
The sweet
memories of the man filled her mind, and she enjoyed the smile that
couldn't be stopped if she had wanted it to.

Fane
was a wonderful man, a new friend, and one hell of a lover. She was
grateful to have met him, and she also knew that she was lucky in
that he wanted to see her again. Her heart nearly spilled over with
gratitude for all that she had in her life, and the realization that
she wasn't feeling guilt for enjoying her time with the Romanian,
then going straight to Finlay, was also a great feeling.

“You're
right Angel, I should never have felt guilt for living my life... and
I don't expect the men to either.” She whispered to herself as
her eyes closed in the hopes of enjoying a quick nap on her way to
Scotland.

*****

Morgan
left the airport in Edinburgh, riding in the back of a cab that
smelled like vinegar. She almost laughed at the little lunch that
she noticed on the seat beside the driver, because he would reach in
when he thought she wasn't looking, and grab a bite of fries. He
thought he was sneaky, and that amused her even more.

She
was on her way to Finlay, and she too was being sneaky. Morgan
smiled out the window, wondering if the man would be home or not. It
didn't matter, Burke would be there and she could wait with him until
Fin got home. She had to smile again as she thought of the old
caretaker, and how she was sneaky with him as well. The money for a
nice Christmas had helped him tremendously, but he'd never had the
chance to thank her for it.

Morgan
had no idea just how much she did help, but she had hoped that his
family had enjoyed the extra funds at the time.

Sneaky
seemed to be the theme of the day, and she even looked forward to
surprising William and Wallace. “Can we stop here? I'll just
be two minutes.” Morgan saw a small pet shop across the street
from where they were, and she ran in quickly to buy a box of beef
treats for the two werewolves. She was back in the cab, and on her
way to Fin's within moments.

The
car pulled up outside of Finlay's property, and Morgan paid the
driver after he unloaded her bags. It was a bit of a challenge
getting all of her luggage to the front door by herself, and she was
out of breath by the time she worked it out.

She
laughed out loud when she heard the dogs running through the foyer,
even before she had even knocked. Burke was right behind them, she
could see his gray hair from one of the windows in the huge front
door. “Saves me from knocking.” Morgan was still trying
to catch her breath when Burke pulled the door open.

“Morgan?!”
The older man didn't look happy to see her, but he didn't look angry
either. Had it been so long that she'd forgotten his usual reaction
to her? Weren't they past the awkward greeting?

“Hi,
Burkey Burke!” She laughed at the silly nickname, and started
to walk into the foyer. “Is Fin here? He's not expecting me,
but he said that I had an open invitation.” She stopped
walking, and talking, when the old man put his arm out for her to
stop.

“I'm
afraid he isn't here. If ye could come back... or I could ring ye
when he gets in... I think..,”

“You
want me to leave? Come on, Burke, I just got here! I won't be a
bother, I promise.” She circled an invisible halo above her
head, and smiled at the man again. It was a shame, she thought, that
the man still hadn't warmed up to her, and she was already thinking
of what more she could do to get him to like her.

“It's
not that I... ye see... it would be better if...,”

“Burke?
Is something wrong?” She finally saw that he wasn't being
rude. He was.... nervous.

The
dogs, who had been ramming their noses against the bag in Morgan's
hand, and had taken their places at either side of her until they
knew where they would follow her, had suddenly stood and leaned
against her legs. She looked down and saw their lips raise, and a
growl come from them that she'd never heard out of either of them
before. Just as she was about to tell them that everything was
alright, she heard a distinct clicking sound, that gradually grew
louder, then a voice that was unmistakable.

“What
he's trying to say is... you need to leave. Finlay already has
company, little girl.” The woman made her way down the rest of
the stairs, and stood at the bottom, glaring at Morgan. “Besides,”
she said, placing one skeletal hand on her hip. “There isn't
enough room for the three of us in his bed.”

Morgan's
eyes widened, and she took in a quick involuntary breath. “Erika?”

Belgium

Book
Twenty

Chapter
One

“Aw,
the little girl remembered my name.” Erika smiled, then slowly
slid her tongue across her bottom like, reminding Morgan of a snake.
Her smile was sickening, condescending. The bitch took a step
forward, then another. Morgan felt the two dogs closing in on either
side of her and their growls began to grow deeper, a dangerous kind
of growl. “Finlay's going to return soon, you might want to
leave. Unless...you want to watch me replace you again.” Her
words stirred the dogs more, pushing even harder against Morgan's
legs, making her take a step forward so they didn't knock her over.
Another step from Erika though and the dogs turned into real life
werewolves. The sound coming from them was even more fierce than
Sofia's and nothing shy of intimidating.

Morgan
was at a loss of words. On one hand, she wanted to tell Erika what a
nasty bitch she was, but Morgan knew it wouldn't accomplish anything
but a slew of caddy jabs back and forth. On the other hand, a part
of her wanted to sit back on the couch with William and Wallace and
wait for Finlay to return so she could hear his explanation, but that
wasn't worth it either. She didn't need an explanation, it was all
right in front of her. Morgan and Erika were there for the same
reason, to see Finlay, and that was enough for her to understand.
Yeah, sure looks like you hate her.

Instead
of either option, Morgan simply smiled, the biggest smile she could
conjure and crouched down to her knees, so she was parallel to the
dogs. She wrapped her arms around their necks, feeling the vibrations
from their deep, rumbling, growls. Erika cocked her head to the side
in confusion.

“What
are you doing? You need to leave,” Erika pointed a long finger
toward the front door, then stomped one of her expensive heels
against the tiled floor.

Quietly,
but firmly, Morgan gave her command to the Irish Wolfhounds. “Get
her.” It was so quiet, neither Erika nor Burke had heard it,
but Morgan's true audience had. In a flash, the two dogs went forward
at full speed toward Erika. By the time they reached her, Morgan was
back up to her feet and she watched the look of horror spread across
the bitch's face. William and Wallace jumped on her, the force of two
dogs, each weighing nearly double either of the women, knocked Erika
to the ground. Her body fell hard against the floor and she yelled
out in pain.

Burke
was calling them off of her before Morgan made it to the door with
her bags. She quickly looked back to the woman on the ground, her
perfect bob spreading out in every direction but down and her
lipstick had smeared across her face as she had tried to shield
herself with her hands.

Morgan
laughed quietly to herself, then opened the front door and lugged her
bags over the threshold, then slammed the door shut behind her. It
was freezing outside, but she'd rather wait for a cab in the cold
than to be in the house one moment longer with that woman. She pulled
out her phone, already shivering, and dialed for a cab, then began
walking toward the end of the long driveway. “I'm done. I'm
done, Finlay!”

Her
eyes burned with tears, but she wasn't going to cry. No, she wasn't
going to spill one more tear for the big Scot. “I won't do it!
You lying piece of...” She was no longer jealous of Erika or
Finlay spending time with her, she was upset that he'd lied to her.
If he had told her that he sees Erika all the time, because the women
kept choosing him, that would have been better than saying he hated
having her there and having a laugh fest about her, making Morgan
really believe he had no feelings about the woman.

The
cab pulled up in front of the driveway when she was about twenty feet
away, so she did an awkward run-walk with her bags until she reached
the back of the car. The driver, an older man with gray hair, slowly
made his way to the back of the cab, then popped open the drunk and
helped her get the bags inside. “Where ye headed, lass?”

“Uhm...it's
near the airport..Saint... something. It's a hotel and there's an
Indian place across the street.” Morgan didn't want to think.
She just wanted to get to a familiar spot and away from Finlay's
home.

“Right.
In ye go then.” He opened the door for the near-frantic girl,
and she gladly dropped into the back seat and turned her head away
from the massive home.

“Get these fucking dogs out of here! Are you stupid, or just
incompetent? I don't know why Finlay keeps you around..,” the
witch straightened her black skirt as she yelled at Burke, “he
must feel sorry for you. But I, old man, do not!” She started
to walk back up the stairs, and turned to see Burke pulling the
growling dogs toward the kitchen so that he could put them in the
back yard again. “Bring me a drink when you're done, and don't
make me wait.” She turned before she finished her sentence,
and missed it when Burke let go of William's collar long enough to
offer a one finger salute.

*****

“I'm
in a hotel... I feel so stupid!” Morgan had checked into the
Saint something, and was currently pacing in front of her bags as she
spoke to her best friend.

“Ya
could have told me you were going there, I wouldn't have called the
big bitch.” Angel tried to defend himself as he scolded Morgan
for not telling him her plans to visit Scotland, but deep inside, he
knew that he probably would have gotten involved more than he should.
“So the heifer chose him again? Why didn't he tell the boss
lady that he didn't want that boney piece of crazy?” Morgan
was still fighting the battle with her tears as she listened to
Angel's voice.

“I
don't know! The men can't choose the women, but I don't know if they
can tell Julianne which women they
don't
want. Damn him!”
Morgan tried to calm down, it wasn't as if he was with Erika to hurt
her, but she couldn't let go of the fact that he claimed to have
nothing to do with the red haired devil. “But Angel, if you
care about me at all, you will NOT call him. I mean it, I love
you... but this isn't the time to get involved. I just.. I wanted...
I...,”

`”You
need a friend, your best friend. Baby girl, I want to call him, you
know I do, but I'll leave it... for now. You just need a few bottles
of that shit you drink, and calm it the fuck down.” Morgan
nodded, and felt the first of her tears finally fall down her cheek.