Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (32 page)

She
wouldn't find out her answer that night though. When dinner was
finished, the man showed her his bedroom where her bags had already
been emptied and organized into her own closet, then showed her the
adjoining bathroom. Just as she expected, it was beautiful. It
reminded her a lot of Jake's bathroom, with a very large tub and a
fireplace that welcomed her with a roaring fire already in place. She
took her bath, and in minutes of getting into her night tank and
shorts, she was in bed and fast asleep. The tired girl had tried to
wait for the man, but her heavy lids were too hard to fight.

When
Lucas came into the room, he slid his own body in behind her,
covering them both up with the thick quilt. Morgan awoke for a
moment, taking in the fresh scent of the man who had also just gotten
out of a shower, a man that was nesting in place. Morgan made her
move, wiggling her ass into place against his hips, meeting his body
like a puzzle piece. If she hadn't been so tired, she would have
sworn she heard a low moan from the man when her body met his, but
she couldn't be sure. Her eyes closed again and with his long arm
around her small waist, she fell back asleep.

The
next morning, Morgan was brought back to the living by the smell of
coffee that her client had brought to her in bed. It was an
incredibly sweet thing for the man to do, but it wasn't helping her
wake up in the way that her first morning cup usually did. She
yawned loudly and Lucas asked if she would like to go back to sleep.
“Oh, no. I'm just still tired from the flight, I'll wake up
here in a minute.” When her cup was empty, he called Will for
a refill, but Morgan decided that a hot shower was probably what she
needed to get her eyes to stay open, and she walked slowly to the
bathroom and started the water.

She
leaned her head back in the hot forceful stream and let out a long
sigh at the pleasure that only a hot shower could bring. That sigh
caused a small tickle in her throat, and was followed by a cough to
clear it. Then another cough, then...
shit! I'm sick.
She almost laughed at the irony
of it all. The week before she lied and said that she didn't feel
well, now, she would have to lie and say that she felt fine.
Fucking
karma.

Chapter
Seven

Morgan's
hand shook as she tried to apply the last of her makeup, she had
never felt so cold in her life, even with the bathroom still warm
from her shower. She had a fever, probably pretty high, and until
she found her arsenal of medication that she still had from Jake, her
misery would just have to be dealt with as quietly as possible. It
wasn't easy to hide her coughing behind a bath towel, while still
keeping her lipstick intact.

When
she was done, she stood by the door to listen for Lucas, and she
found that all was quiet in his room. She cracked the door, then
peeked around, and ran across the room to her carry on bag that was
tucked in beside the long antique oak dresser. She was coughing into
her hand, trying to control it as much as she could, when Lucas came
back.

“Are
you alright?” He walked to her side and put his hand on her
back, and was relieved when Morgan told him that she was fine and
just needed something to help the
tickle
in her throat. She also wanted to tell him how handsome he looked in
jeans and the thick black sweater that hugged his arms just as much
as his dress shirt the day before. But all she could do was bend
down and dig through her bag, looking for anything to help with the
fever that her client knew nothing about. She was nearly holding her
breath to ward off another coughing fit when he told her that he
would see her in the kitchen when she was done. A simple nod and a
smile was enough to send him back on his way.

The
second he shut the door, Morgan snatched the pink hoodie from her bag
and smashed it against her face, and nearly fell to her side at the
force of the coughing attack. Water poured from her eyes and her
nose started to run, something that she knew was bound to happen.
After what seemed like an eternity, Morgan moved the sweatshirt from
her face and took a slow breath, mentally cursing her dumb luck. She
did find some cough medicine through it all, and took a big swig
before burying it back inside her bag. Just as she was finishing a
well deserved
yuck face
from the putrid tasting liquid, the door opened quickly and a happy
fluff ball bounced in to say good morning.

“Hi
ya big cutie bug! Did you come to see me? Did you? Yes you di...,”
Morgan's medicine clearly wasn't kicking in yet, and the big dog
leaned forward and let her use him for leverage as she coughed into
his side and then stood up. “Thanks, handsome... I needed
that.” She smoothed the shaggy white hair from his face and
gave him a quick kiss to the cheek before making her way to the
kitchen.

Lucas
and Will were already setting the table with a breakfast fit for
royalty.
I can't even smell the sausage.
How was she going to eat when she had no appetite? Morgan put her
head down as she muttered a quick good morning to Will, then took her
place at the small table, her new fluffy friend took his seat on the
floor right beside her.

“I
hope you're hungry!” Lucas was clearly excited about having
company, especially since he obviously enjoyed cooking so much, and
Morgan tried with all she had to act casual and smile at the handsome
man. “If you'd like, we can tour the city this morning, then
go for a lovely lunch after.”

Morgan
ran from the room before offering a word in response, and made it to
the bathroom in time to smother another fit from her aching lungs and
throat. The cough medicine had to kick in soon, and she waited a few
moments after she had herself under control before going back to the
kitchen. “Sorry, I thought I heard my phone.” Lame, she
knew it was a weak excuse for the Carl Lewis leap across the kitchen,
but it was the best she could come up with at the time.

The
girl forced herself, out of politeness to down a few bites of the
breakfast her client had prepared. On any other day, it would have
looked like a meal fit for the Queen herself, but on that day, Morgan
couldn't even stand the sight of the fluffy yellow eggs on her plate.
Most of the meal was spent spreading the food around her plate, as a
child would do to make it look like they had eaten more than they
had. She thought her plan worked pretty well when the man asked her
if she was full. “Yes, I am, thank you,” she pushed her
plate closer to his offering hand and took a drink of her coffee.

Bad
idea. The hot liquid irritated her throat even further and another
coughing fit was headed her way. She swallowed hard, urging the
sensation to go away, but instead, she was forced to stifle a
cheek-puffed cough against the palm of her hand when Lucas turned his
back. The sound her cough made caught his attention, but lucky for
her, he blamed it on the dog, telling him to take his noises to the
other room.

Sorry,
Max.
She looked at the dog and shrugged her shoulders slightly
and he listened to his owner when he pointed at the living room. The
dog laid down on a thick white rug, in which he would have blended in
perfectly if not for the gray splotches throughout his fur.
That
looks comfy.
Morgan sighed, wishing she could go back to bed. Her
fever was getting worse, and she shook at her chair, wrapping her
long sweater more tightly around her shoulders.

“You
don't mind if I head out for a minute?” Lucas came back to the
table, drying his hands off with a small towel.

“No,
not at all,” she smiled weakly.
Maybe the medicine will kick
in before he gets back.

“Alright,
I just have to pick up a parcel and I'll be back,” he told her.
Before he left, he returned to the shivering girl and gave her a soft
kiss to the top of her head and told her to get warm in front of the
fire. She nodded and was already walking that way before he was out
the front door.

The
second the door shut, Morgan doubled over in a coughing frenzy, one
that was enhanced from holding it back for so long. When she was
under control again, she scanned the room, hoping Will hadn't
noticed. The coast was clear. Morgan climbed onto the couch and the
big dog climbed in beside her. She knew Lucas didn't like him on the
furniture, but who would Morgan be if she didn't break a few rules?
She let Max cuddle in beside her, then plop half his body across her
lap. She didn't mind though, he was warm. The fire was warm, and the
thick blanket she draped over the two of them was warm as well. Warm
enough to help with the shivering, and warm enough to help put her
right to sleep.

“Morgan?
Hey, sleeping beauty...” Lucas pushed gently on her shoulder
and spoke softly to get the girl to wake up. As soon as her eyes
opened and she took a deep breath, that brought on an uncontrollable
fit of coughing. She covered her mouth to stifle it, but it was too
late.

“I...I'm
sorry. I...I know...” More coughing. “You didn't sign up
to have a sick girl keep you company. I...” She paused to cough
again. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but it was
apparent the medicine either hadn't kicked in fully, or had already
worn off. “I'll call Julianne and get you another girl if you'd
like.” She looked up to him, trying to read his face.

He
held his hand out to her. Morgan didn't know what his plan was, but
she had no other option. Either he was going to tell her to pack her
bags, or he wasn't. She reached her hand out and he took it in his
own, then he helped her off the couch. Morgan didn't know what the
plan was until he guided her to the bedroom and saw what he had done.

“You
knew?” Morgan's eyes scanned the room in disbelief. The bed was
turned down, and an even thicker blanket replacing the one from the
night before and candles were in place on both nightstands,
illuminating the room in a soft orange glow. He had drawn the
curtains shut and a fire was in full bloom in the fireplace across
from the bed. On one side of the bed, there were extra pillows and on
the other, there was a tray that held a bowl of soup and medicine.

“You're
pretty good at faking, but I knew at breakfast. Nobody can resist my
eggs,” he smiled with his words. If she hadn't been sick, she
would have been tempted to find out the answer to her 'what else is
big' question right then and there.

Morgan
giggled, which made her cough. “You know, I've broken out in a
sweat, and I don't know if my fever is breaking or it's just because
you look so damn sexy right now...if I wasn't sick!” She let
out a growl of frustration, then climbed into the bed when he lifted
the covers for her.

“Don't
worry, love. If I must say, I've never seen anyone with a cold look
so sexy either. I'd be willing to take the risk of getting sick
myself, if I'm being honest.” He laughed, but tucked her into
the bed, wrapping the blanket around her tightly. “But I'll
take the risk tomorrow. You need your rest.”

Morgan
thanked him for everything he had done for her, and of course, he
told her is wasn't a problem. He had known she was sick from the
coughing he had heard from the bathroom, then again when she excused
herself from the table to 'check her phone'. He had also heard her
tiny sniffles and the redness in her nose and eyes. So he hadn't gone
out to pick up a package, he had gone out to pick up medicine, not
knowing that she had already had some. When he got home and saw she
was asleep on the couch, he decided not to wake her because she
needed the rest, but after three hours, she had began coughing in her
sleep. He got the room set up for her and cooked homemade chicken
noodle soup for the girl and only a minute before he woke her, it was
finished.

She
looked at the clock as she reached for the hot bowl of soup and
noticed the time, then apologized again for sleeping the day away.
“Nonsense. You can't apologize for being sick, beautiful. I
don't know what kind of men you're used to that would send you away
for being sick, but this man wouldn't dream of sending you away.”

She
thanked him for his kindness again, then took in a spoon of the
steaming food. It was delightfully soothing and absolutely delicious.
Never had she had such good soup in her life. His words also got her
thinking.
None of them would have sent me away.
She thought of
Finlay. He would have probably run her a bath and sat with her at the
side of the tub, washing her fevered body. Sean probably would have
set up camp in the living room and cuddled with her the whole night,
watching movies. Tanner would have done the same thing. Then again,
Sean and Tanner probably wouldn't have waited until the next day to
take the risk.
She felt lucky to have them in her life, and
again, she felt as if she didn't deserve the wonderful treatment she
got from any of them.
Except Kole. I deserved that.