Chapter 25

CHAPTER25

“Just tell me what you’re planning,” came the sadly mumbled demand that had Eric smiling as he shifted to get comfortable.

After spending two nights on the small couch in South Carolina and the last two nights on this sleeping bag, his back was killing him. He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t really fucking tempted to join Morgan on that mattress, but…

She wanted to take this slow, which meant that he was going stay right where he was and enjoy tormenting the small woman driving him out of his mind with the hopes that it would help get his mind off just how fucking badly he wanted to hold her. He had a plan, Eric reminded himself as he gave up trying to get comfortable and shoved the sleeping bag off as he stared up at the ceiling. He-

“I know you’re awake,” Morgan said from the other side of the dark room.

“I’m not going to tell you anything, baby girl,” Eric said as he lay there, thinking of all the possibilities.

For years, he’d imagined all the ways that he would sweep Morgan off her feet, and now that he was finally getting the chance to do it, he couldn’t decide where to start. He wanted to do everything with her, romantic dates, long walks on the beach, picnics, all the things that he’d always thought were bullshit, but he wanted to do with her.

“But I hate surprises,” came the sad mumble that had him chuckling.

“I know you do, baby girl,” Eric said, shifting to get comfortable. God, it was getting fucking hot in here, he thought as he heard Morgan grumble, shift, and grumble again.

“Then, tell me,” she said with another grumble, a groan, and then finally, “I think the air conditioner stopped working.”

“I think you’re right,” Eric said, biting back a sigh as he got to his feet and made his way into the hallway, flicking the light on as he went and made his way to the thermostat that he planned on replacing tomorrow and…fuck.

For a moment, Eric wondered if staying here while they were renovating the house was really a good idea. He could find a hotel with room service nearby, but he knew that Morgan wouldn’t be happy. She loved this house and would pout her adorable little ass off if she had to leave, even if it was just to sleep.

Besides, this was working for them, Eric thought as he stood there, running all the possibilities through his head. He could open the windows, but the asshole that flipped this house never bothered to put screens in. They could move to a room on the first floor and hope for the best, he thought as his gaze found its way to the closed bedroom door down the hallway and-

“Fuck it,” Eric said as he made his way down the hallway to the master bedroom that he’d started tearing apart earlier.

For the next five minutes, he laid cloth tarps down on the master bedroom floor, creating a path to the large hole in the wall where the window used to be and shoved the plastic tarp covering it out of the way and took in the incredible view of the backyard below illuminated in moonlight. This could work, Eric thought with an approving nod as he laid several cloth tarps down to cover the balcony floor.

That was followed by making his way back to the room that they relocated to earlier, grabbing his sleeping bag, the pillows, and the covers that Morgan shoved onto the floor and carrying them back to the balcony, where he spent the next five minutes creating what he’d hoped would be a comfortable bed for the night before turning around and-

“So, you were telling me about your devious plans?” Morgan said with a hopeful smile as she pressed an ice-cold bottle of water in his hand before dropping her bag in the corner as she took in the pallet he’d made with a satisfied sigh.

“And ruin the surprise?” Eric asked, watching as Morgan took a tentative peek over the banister before settling on the blankets.

“Did I mention that I hate surprises?” Morgan asked as she took her glasses off and placed them next to her bag.

“I think you might have mentioned it,” Eric murmured as he waited for her to settle in for the night before he laid down on the pallet next to her and closed his eyes as he waited for Morgan to figure out her next move.

When she didn’t say anything for a few minutes, he opened his eyes, wondering if she’d fallen asleep, only to find the little pain in the ass watching him through narrowed eyes. “Please don’t make me hurt you.”

“Did I mention that I’m not really into that?” Eric asked, watching as she struggled to bite back a smile.

Clearing her throat, Morgan turned over onto her side so that she was facing him. “I believe you might have mentioned that.”

“What if we made a deal?” Eric suggested as he watched her gaze turn calculating.

“What kind of deal?”

“I’ll tell you how I figured out how to open the secret compartment if you let me surprise you with our first date,” he said, watching as she lost that calculating glimmer in her eye as she swallowed hard.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Morgan asked, looking so fucking adorable that he couldn’t resist leaning over so that he could brush his lips against hers.

“Which one, Morgan? The key to every secret compartment in this house or my devious plans for our first date?” he whispered softly against her lips.

“Is there a way that I can have both?” Morgan asked, sounding really fucking hopeful.

“I’ll even throw in the tin if you let me surprise you,” Eric said with one last brush of his lips before he moved to break off the kiss, only to smile when Morgan cupped the back of his neck to stop him.

“That was already part of the deal.”

* * *

“What else do you want?”Eric asked as Morgan wondered if he had any idea just how much she liked it when he touched her.

“Besides finding out what these devious plans of yours are?” Morgan whispered as she slowly rolled onto her back, leaving him with no choice but to follow her.

“Besides that,” Eric said as he leaned over her, careful not to break the slow kiss that was making it really difficult to think straight.

“This,” Morgan whispered as she slid her fingers through his hair as his hand settled on her stomach.

“That’s all?” Eric asked, breaking off the kiss and leaned back so that he could watch her as he waited for an answer.

“That’s all,” she promised him as she leaned up and kissed his neck, his chin, and finally, her mouth found his again.

Morgan took her time deepening the kiss, savoring every brush of his lips against hers, the feel of his tongue moving against hers, and the soft groans he made when she reached up and cupped his jaw in her hand. For so many years, she’d kept her distance from him, afraid that all it would take was one touch and he would know just how much he meant to her and-

They had less than a month left before they had to return to reality and find out if she was just one more mistake in a long line of mistakes. There was no doubt in her mind that Eric cared about her and even loved her, but she wasn’t sure that it was in the same way that she loved him. She was familiar, his best friend, and the perfect solution for a man that was trying to forget just how badly he kept screwing up his life.

She didn’t want to be a solution.

She wanted-

To stop thinking about this.

Right now, he was hers and that’s all that mattered. For the next thirty days, she was going to pretend that they had a lifetime together. She was going to kiss him, touch him, and do all of those things that she’d never thought that she would have with him and if it turned out that she was just one more mistake…

She would make sure that she didn’t have any regrets when she forced herself to walk away, and then…

She would do whatever it took to get over him.

Until then…

She didn’t want to hold back anymore.

“Eric,”Morgan moaned softly as she reached for the hand resting on her stomach and after telling herself that she could handle this, she gave it a gentle tug that had Eric placing his hand on the floor next to her as he slowly moved over her.

Breaking off the kiss, Eric pressed his forehead against hers as he settled between her legs and made it difficult to remember how to breathe when she felt him press against her. This morning, he’d felt good when she’d felt him through his jeans, but now…

She was doing her best not to panic as she thought about the other thing that she’d been hiding from him.

She’d never done anything like this before, which was something that she probably should have taken into consideration when she decided to agree to do this. She wanted to do all of those things that she’d never thought that she would have with him, but now that she could feel him, thick and incredibly hard against her, Morgan was absolutely terrified that she was going to disappoint him.

She-

“Five,” Eric said, making her frown in confusion.

“What?” Morgan asked in a daze.

“Robert had five children by the time they built this house,” Eric said as his lips brushed against hers again. “That’s the key to his designs,” making her smile, only to make her breath catch when she felt him move.

The first roll of his hips left her struggling to remember how to breathe.

The second had her grabbing onto his shoulders with trembling hands and the third…the third roll of his hips had her licking her lips when the move had her spreading her legs for more, hoping that he would do it again.