Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (18 page)

Clay
put her back to the wall, and put his hands at either side of her
shoulders. He was still nearly a foot from her, and his fingers
splayed as far as they could to hold the weight of his upper body
while he leaned forward. Morgan smiled up at the man who's face was
closing in on hers, and she started to wrap her arms around his neck.
“No. Just stand there.” His face was no longer amused,
and she saw the look that she planned to grow accustomed to over the
next few days. A look of arousal, one that was dangerously serious,
and was strong enough to wipe the smile from Morgan's lips, and
create a stir within that she was more than willing to leave and
satisfy at that very moment.

He
brushed his cheek against hers softly, and she heard him breathe in
deeply, taking in her sweet scent that had been driving him wild
since they'd left his house. Morgan raised her head slightly,
inviting him to her neck that suddenly became sensitive to the feel
of each breath he took. “Don't tempt me.” His lips
brushed against her skin, causing her flesh to rise in tiny bumps
across her arms and shoulders. She moaned quietly, and Clay's hands
moved closer to her body, yet stayed on the wall. She heard a deep
moan within his chest and she pushed herself forward to make contact
with his body. “If you do that, we'll have to leave.”
She could see the battle that he was fighting between leaving his
business on a busy night, and taking her back to the house right
then. Morgan understood, and she dropped back against the wall once
again and smiled. She wouldn't take him from his work, but she would
certainly have fun with the gorgeous man while they were there.

“Fair
enough. But if you keep smelling me like I'm a fresh kill on the
Serengeti, then I may have to change my mind.” She looked up
at the tortured man and giggled as he pushed himself away from the
wall, and her.

“Killing
me. You're absolutely fucking killing me.” He took her hand
again, and they finally made their way to the center of the high
roller action inside one special room for the elite. He called a
young man to his side and ordered Morgan a glass of wine, then they
slowly walked through the crowd as both of them made polite small
talk with the gamblers.

When
there was a break in the conversation, Morgan leaned in toward Clay's
ear and whispered that she'd be back in a few minutes. He nodded
slightly, hearing her, but continued the conversation with an older
couple without skipping a beat. Moran smiled as she walked away. He
was charming and could see why he made it a personal mission to do
the meet and greet every night. The guests loved him and he seemed to
really care about each of them.

As
she walked back through the maze of flashy machines, Morgan was once
again overwhelmed with the urge to throw a dollar in and try her
luck, but remembered to stay on track.
I'll be in Vegas for two
weeks,
she reminded herself as she pulled her phone out of her
purse. Her eyes scanned the room for a quiet spot, at least a place
where she could hear Sean over the bells and whistles of the slot
machines. “Guess the bar will have to do.” She set her
wine down on the counter and sat down, then hit the button that would
call her Irish friend.

“Morgan,
hello. How ye doin, love?” She slid her hand under her hair and
stuck a finger in her ear. Even at the bar, it was still difficult to
hear.

“I'm
great, thank you! Tell me, how's your mom? And you?” She took a
sip of her wine and turned to her side so she could cross one knee
over the other.

“Mum
is doing well, but Morgan, this sheep shit is getting ridiculous!”
He explained that nearly every person his mother knew had given her a
'get well sheep', which expanded her collection by at least twenty
more. “I've got them in ma own room now!” Morgan doubled
over in giggles with the vision of hundreds of sheep storming the
halls of Sean's home. “Aye, it's funny is it?”

“Hilarious,
actually!” Morgan corrected him, still in a fit of laughter.

“Ye
know, I think Finlay and I should just build her another hoose and
drag her ta it. Just think, we could build her a whole extension just
fae the stupid sheep!”

“Oh,
I can't breathe!” Morgan grasped her side and dropped her head
to the cool bar counter.

“C'mon,
let's make it another mission. Ye distract ma mum and Campbell and I
will fix something up!” Sean was laughing too.

“Sounds
like a plan! Oh, but speaking of plan, the client I'm with, Clay...I
told him about Angel. He wants in.”

“
In,
in? Aye, that's great. Have 'im give me a ring and we'll all work
something out. Ye said Angel will be there on Friday?” Morgan
confirmed his question with a yes, even though she still hadn't
confirmed a time in order to buy the plane tickets. “We'll have
a plan by then. If yer wee client likes ta joke, I think he'll like
what...”

“Oh,
hold on, Sean...” Morgan caught a blur of dark blue that was
Clay out of the corner of her eye. “Clayton is here,” she
smiled as the words came out of her mouth and her client's brows came
together in confusion. “It's Sean,” she whispered. He
smiled too and nodded, then held his hand out for the phone and she
handed it over.

For
nearly ten minutes the two men talked while she sat off to the side
in her beautiful red dress and giggled. It should have been weird,
two clients talking on the phone together, but it wasn't. Not even in
the slightest bit. They had common ground and Morgan knew both were
getting enjoyment out of discussing their plan. From Clay's side of
the conversation, Morgan gathered enough to get the general idea of
the joke and she loved it.
I couldn't have thought of anything
better.
It was sure to send Angel into a frothing frenzy and he'd
have no choice but to admit his wrong doing...even if she didn't say
a word about it.

Chapter
Six

“
Angel!”
Morgan had held the phone in her hand for several moments, waiting
until she had the nerve to talk to the man without actually
talking
to him as she usually did.

It
was four in the afternoon, and she'd been awake for nearly an hour.
The night before, after staying awake as long as she could, which
turned out to be three in the morning, Clay had insisted that he have
someone drive her home. She reluctantly agreed, but had fallen
asleep within minutes after removing her gown, and slipping into bed.
The memory of her small wins at the slot machines made her smile,
even after she had fallen into a deep sleep.

She
sat in the closest chair to her, at the small breakfast table on the
glass-enclosed patio, and absently stroked Abby's head as she waited
for her best friend to reply.

“Sticky
Bitch! I tried calling your ass like a bazillion times! Are you
kidnapped again? Held for ransom? I have like forty bucks, put the
man on the phone and let me work a muthafuckin' deal.” Morgan
laughed, and felt a wave of relief wash over her as she realized that
she still loved the man as much as she did before the incident. Not
that she thought she didn't, but she had been unsure of how she'd
feel when they finally spoke again.

“Save
your forty bucks, you'll need it for the slots. I'm good, just....
you know.... hanging out in Vegas with my freakin' hot client.”
She started to bring her legs up to the chair and relax when Angel
yelled one word.

“Picture!”
Then, he hung up. She giggled at the dead silent phone as she
brought up Clay's photo, and sent it to Angel.

Exactly
forty-seven seconds later, her phone sounded loudly in her hand.
“Well? What do you think of Clayton?” She held the
phone away from her ear, and watched as Abby ran to the other side of
the room in fear of the sounds that came from the little device in
her hand.

“Oh!
You tell Nebraska that I can put a dolla' in his slot if he'll let me
see those golden nuggets!” Morgan dropped her phone, scared
the dog out of the room completely, and fell to the floor in a heap
of hysterics. It had been too long since she'd laughed at her Angel,
and it all caught up to her just like that. She was almost on her
side, still on the floor, when she picked her phone back up and put
it close to her ear.

“Angel....
shit!” She laughed again, and the man was laughing as she
tried to speak. “It's Nev... it's …. Nevada! Not
Nebraska!” She didn't have enough self control to address
Clay's
golden nuggets
, but she didn't have to because Angel
gave his typical response to the whole thing.

“Whatever.”

She
wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and stood enough to get
back into her chair, but the dog remained safely in the other room.
“Oh, we're going to have so much fun!” Angel agreed, and
they allowed one another time to get themselves together. For
Morgan, the following thoughts of what she was about to do had helped
in doing so.

“You
best be catching up on your sleep, cuz you're going to need that shit
for when we get there.” She nodded, as if to pacify the man
until she told him what she had called to say. Then, with another
deep breath, she let it out.

Sound
excited! You got this!
“Guess what?! Guess who I decided
to call? I'll give you a hint.... the ring mystery has been solved.”
Her hand started to shake as she held the phone, so she put it on
speaker and placed it on the table in front of her. The silence that
followed made it even worse. “Angel? Go on! Guess!”
She put her hand to her lips, a small smile starting to form, and
held back any wrong words that may escape. Finally, he spoke.

“The
ring?
The
ring? Someone said they sent it? How can... wait?
What?” His stumbling was even more funny, and Morgan's nerves
were finally settled as she took control of the conversation.

“Yes,
goof!
The
ring! I called Fin! And guess what? You'll never
guess! He told me... that it was him! He sent me the ring and he
wants to marry me!” She waited for a few seconds, then, “can
you believe it? I'm.... getting married!” She shouted the
last of her words and heard Abby run up the stairs to outrun the
crazy that had unfolded in her kitchen. “Angel?” His
silence, again, was hilarious for the girl.

“Yeah,
I'm... I'm here. Uh.. married? But you said that you didn't want to
get married. How can he...? Why did he....? I just need... a
minute.” She got up and poured another cup of coffee as she
waited, and turned around to stare at the phone on the table. Her
Angel was there, on the other end, flipping out as silently as he
could. She could picture him, pacing inside his spectacular bedroom,
swearing to himself, and trying to get a grasp on why Finlay had lied
to her. Morgan took a few steps forward, and leaned with one arm
next to the phone.

“I
guess it's a good thing that I didn't send the ring to you, huh? I
totally forgot... but then I saw it again and decided to go ahead and
call my gorgeous fiance! Isn't it wonderful? Oh! And I want you in
it... I just can't wait the plan the wedding of a lifetime without my
best friend! I'm so happy, Angel! So.. so... so happy!” She
cringed at her own words, but still tried to hide her laughter. It
was a little over the top, but then again, Morgan really had no idea
how a happy soon-to-be bride would react.

“I
have to go.. G needs... some shit or something. I'll call you..
later.” The man hung up, and Morgan's hysterics broke all over
again. It was with great effort that she sent Angel a text after the
conversation, reminding him that she still needed a time of when he
and Cedric would be flying in so that she could purchase the tickets.
The text was sent, but the giggling still didn't stop. She was
finally interrupted by her shorts wearing client who had joined her
in the kitchen. She took a quick intake of a breath when the
shirtless man strolled into the room, oblivious to the fact that he
looked like a smiling sex toy, and she tried to act casual at the
beautiful sight of him.

“I
see what scared my dog.” He laughed as he poured himself a
coffee, and joined her at the table. “Actually, I heard
everything. It was perfect.” She nodded and took his hand
across the table. There was no turning back, that she knew, but the
plan was perfect and she owed it all to Clayton and Sean.

Clayton
had watched her move around the kitchen when she was on the phone,
but he remained silent and out of view to let her continue the
perfect charade. His body grew had grown hard when she leaned across
his table with her ass in the air. He wanted her, and he knew he
would have her that day. Hopefully, he thought as he adjusted his
shorts under the table, he would have her soon.