by TN King
His smile grew, hand lifting hers up to his face and pressing his lips softly into her knuckles. “I do,” he said with a nod. “Look, how about we use it for one of the auctions?” he asked, looking up with furrowed brows as if he were searching for the right details. “That way it isn’t used only for you to ‘wear the once’ as you said. They auction things off at the ball, dresses, homes, antiques, whatever those of my stature chose to bring,” he said with a short laugh. “The dress could start the bid at 200k and then perhaps we could get back as much as 500k? And then we could donate it to the charity that feeds the hungry,” he said with an ironic sort of smile, obviously drawing off of her feeding a small country comment. “Then it would go to the homeless. You’d get to wear the stunning dress and be a humanitarian by doing so.”
Ellie was startled, he had wrapped it all up so easily, found the perfect path down which she couldn’t bear refusing. And in doing so, he allowed her to still wear the dress. She couldn’t help grinning at him. “That would be perfect!” she exclaimed happily, feeling her face pull from the size of her grin.
He returned her grin easily, obviously pleased with himself as he patted her hand again, as if still soothing her. “Now, it is almost two and I need to take care of a few things for my job.” he informed her, looking slightly regretful.
She might have been able to be the same about the prospect of him leaving, but his words caught up with her, standing out boldly in her mind and forcing her to gasp. “Did you just say two o’clock in the afternoon!” she squealed, her face contorting in disbelief. “Two o’clock? It’s two o’clock?” She frantically sat up further in bed, shoving the covers down around her in her attempt to escape the tangle of sheets and blanket that she had woken up in. “Are you telling me I slept all day? Oh my god.” she lamented with a disappointed groan. Here she was in New York and the first thing she did was sleep the day away. Who even did that?
He laughed at her flustered confusion, lifting a hand to steady her, pushing down on her shoulder to keep her from trying to still frantically climb out of bed to rectify what she saw as a mistake. “You needed it,” he said seriously, his grey eyes still twinkling in amusement. “Now you’ll be fresh and ready for the ball tonight.” He grinned, unfolding himself from how he’d been crouched and standing from the floor, brushing his suit off as he stood. “I leave you in the capable hands of Miss Petra. She really is a nice lady, you just have to remember this is about you and your comfort.” He leveled her with another serious look, as if trying to impart this as fact on her.
Something she was trying hard to grasp. She’d never been waited on before, the lady giving her coffee this morning had been disconcerting enough. She did honestly, feel bad about their misunderstanding, and Miss Petra had been so nice to her in her apology. She squirmed, nodding at Morgan’s words to show that she was trying. Even if that nod was followed by a large sigh. “Okay…”
He smiled, lifting his brows, but otherwise leaving her reactions unchallenged. “So, I will call for you to join me in the lobby at six, okay?” he checked, stepping closer to the bed.
“Yes,” she agreed, just realizing it meant she was going to be spending four hours getting ready. Four hours! She’d never taken longer than an hour in her entire life, not even for prom!
He bent over, to kiss her forehead sweetly. “Good,” he muttered, hot breath fanning out along her skin before he stood back up again, smiling at her and turning to head on his way out.
She tried to suppress her disappointment at the lack of kissing since the trip had started, but she understood it. The few times they had tried the both of them had been too tempted. If they just gave in and kissed one another like before they would be in the bed instantly. A small voice interrupted her understanding though, cajoling and sarcastic… and so what? You want him and he wants you? What’s the problem with that? He could push you back over that precipice again, give you a new definition for orgasm… she gulped, fighting that voice down and sternly reminding herself of their agreement. I need to not just jump or leap in again.
She needed to allow herself time to really know him, and for him to really know her. They would know when the time was right, she was sure. She just wished that it would hurry up and come already.
She watched him leave the room, walking confidently across her room and out- out of her suite to handle whatever business he had been referencing when he spoke to her.
Just look at that ass. The naughty voice in her head added, watching it fill out those well-fitted slacks on his way out. Like some kind of sex deprived fiend. She couldn’t even keep her hormones, mentally or otherwise, in check when he looked the way he did.
Her head fell back, hitting against the headboard as the hilarity hit her, escaping her lips in a rush of laughter that she couldn’t stem. That ass. Oh, it was going to be a trying evening indeed. But she still had four hours before she had to worry about it. Four hours devoted to Miss Petra and readying herself for the evening… four hours she might as well get started with, she thought resolutely, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and preparing to face it head on.
Morgan
He entered his office at Hunt Towers belatedly, shaking off his guilt from the morning already. He should have just told her about the cost of the dress in the first place, when she had asked after finding out about the diamonds. Only it was rude to tell a person the cost of their gift. He snorted, no, that was an excuse, and a flimsy one at that. He’d known that her reaction to finding out would fall somewhere in the category that it had, which was why he’d hidden it from her in the first place, distracting and trying to dismiss the question from her mind entirely. He sighed, a long lengthy thing. Honesty. He liked to think that he was an honest person, generally. However, in his line of work, it tended to get blurred or gray areas abounded. Because of the line of work and the necessity for sometimes distracting the way things would proceed, maybe veer away from the blaring truth in front of the client. He tried to be an honest person at least. He sighed again, scrubbing his palm down his face in an attempt to dismiss those feelings of inadequacy.
He’d never been so out of his element before. This woman had him turned inside out, making him look at himself in a whole new, not so flattering light. But not because she meant to do it. Not on purpose. It was far from a calculated endeavor on her part. She wasn’t some high maintenance manipulator, not even kind of. If she had been, she wouldn’t have given him a second chance. Or reacted the way she did to the amount of money that he spent on her, when he himself never even gave it a second thought.
She was just good. Wholly and guilelessly. The kind of warmth that a person couldn’t fabricate. The kind of sweet that no artificial sweetener could contend with.
“There you are!” a voice intruded, cutting through his internal monologue.
Morgan’s gaze lifted, blinking in recognition. Chance. Like he had been called to him, striding towards him with the same confident swagger he had possessed his whole life. The suit he wore was pressed, those eyes intense and searching. Like a bloodhound, he always knew when something was afoot, always knew when to press and when to let it go.
“I was wondering when you would show up.” His best friend smiled, and easy, flippant sort of gesture as he stopped in front of Morgan. “So, ready to go and be bored with the filthy rich?” he asked. One hand moved into his pants pocket, surveying Morgan carefully, his head slightly tilted.
It took Morgan a moment, catching up to what he could be referring to. They didn’t have any board meetings today, or any other sort of meetings that he could think of. Oh. “You mean the charity ball?” Morgan asked, comprehension dawning. He’d just thought about Chance and the problem him being there with Ellie at the ball was going to pose not even a few hours past. He grabbed the file that he had come for off of his desk, putting it under one arm and looking back to Chance with a carefully blank expression.
“Of course that’s…” Chance trailed off, worry entering his tone as he stepped c
loser to Morgan. Really looking all of a sudden, his eyes searching every line and crevice of Morgan’s face as if he could ferret the secret out of him by that alone. Neither of them said anything for a long moment, Chance’s brows furrowing slightly. “What is going on with you?” he finally asked, his tone absolutely serious.
Morgan glanced down at the desk, acting like he was rummaging along it to buy for time. Damnit. How was he supposed to play this off? What did Chance suspect? “Nothing,” he said easily, looking up at Chance with raised brows, “Why? Do I look sick?” he questioned, running his free hand over his chin as if checking.
Chance laughed, not nearly as much amusement in it as could have been. “Hardly,” he scoffed, still staring at Morgan as if he was going to yank the truth right out of him. “But something is off here,” he continued with a slight frown.
Leave it to Chance to figure out something was different, he’d known Morgan longer than any living person, other than Morgan’s own parents. Morgan chuckled, trying to play it off as if he were amused rather than just being cagey. “Oh, really?” he questioned affably, eyebrows lifting as if he found it hard to believe, or like he didn’t at all see what Chance was referring to.
Chance nodded, refusing to allow Morgan’s diversion tactics to work. His gaze was penetrating, irises tracking even Morgan’s most minute movements, and cataloguing all of them. “You’re always busy,” he said dismissively. “Always,” repeated for extra measure. “But the last time I saw you, I felt like you were more than usually distracted,” he explained, making his statement somehow also a question, eyebrows lifting as if to encourage Morgan to just spill it.
Morgan shrugged as if dismissing that claim as well. “Work. Work. Work. You know what they say—”
“No,” Chance cut him off, shortly, wearing the same expression that he always did just before calling Morgan out over the course of their lives.
Morgan sighed, lifting his gaze more fully to his friend...and waited.
“Like you have some new project,” Chance finally said, eying Morgan shrewdly.
Oh, shit. No. That was the phrase they used when they met some woman they wanted. A joke between the two of them, and the exact reason he had worried bringing Ellie to the ball with Chance there. The competition, their games. He shook his head immediately. “No, not like that,” he said firmly, steeling himself in preparation for the conversation that he’d known he was going to have to have. Half of the reason he had honestly, come in to the office today.
“She’s not like that you mean?” Chance asked, hitting right on, quite literally, the heart of the matter.
Morgan sighed again, adjusting the file under his arm and lifting his gaze even more squarely to his best friend’s. “No.” She certainly wasn’t. “She isn’t and I am bringing her to the ball tonight. As my date,” he further continued, his voice brooking no nonsense. He took a step closer to Chance, his body tensing. “She is also off limits. Entirely. To you and anyone else,” he warned, staring into Chance’s piercing green gaze adamantly.
The man pulled his head back, eying Morgan seriously before his lips twitched. “Whoa, whoa, down there boy!” He laughed finally, his green eyes sparking with amusement. “You act like you’re…” His voice faded away, shrewd gaze moving back to him again and staring for a fraction of a moment before comprehension completely dawned. “You fell for someone?” he asked, eyebrows climbing his forehead in shock.
Morgan’s instant reaction was to dismiss such a claim, laughing long and sarcastically as if the very idea was ridiculous. “Fell?” he almost choked out, but the word fell half-flat. Yes, he had, long and hard, plummeting countless floors down to the earth. But in between, there had been a night of heaven. One that he was working back to his rights to have again. She was his, and she would remain so, he remembered.
“Holy Fuck!” Chance exclaimed, his voice low and disbelieving, almost awed. “Look at you! You were thinking of her just now, right?” He shook his head looking totally stunned, his eyes wider than Morgan thought he had ever seen them. “Morgan Hunt…caught,” he muttered, awe evident in his every syllable.
Morgan winced instantly at the expression he was using. ‘Caught’ wasn’t how he wanted to describe it, but he couldn’t deny it either. Not without risking Chance going after her. He sighed, shaking his head and narrowly eying his best friend, waiting for more of the ribbing to come.
“Well, damn,” Chance whistled, low and long after his words, still staring avidly at Morgan. “This won’t be the boring ball I thought it would be then.” Chance laughed, shaking his own head as if still coming to grips with the information he had ferreted out.
“Just do not get too excited when you meet her,” Morgan warned as he leaned in close once more, eyes narrowing further. Don’t flirt, the warning lay between them. Not a project, his gray eyes warned dangerously. “And be nice,” he added, “Not too nice though,” a kind of afterthought as he walked past him, brushing his shoulder to Chance’s as he did so. A juvenile shoulder check, he knew, but he couldn’t stop from doing so either. Chance may have been his best friend...but sometimes he brought out the worst in Morgan.
“Well, shit! The moon just turned purple and fucking Unicorns must be running down Fifth Avenue!” Chance called after him, his laughter following Morgan the whole way down the hallway and after. Ringing in the elevator as Morgan went down. Following him into the limo waiting outside…
He felt as if he were in a daze suddenly, sitting in the back of his limo and asking his driver to rush back to the hotel, pleased when they nearly flew down the toll road to get back. It took him nearly that whole drive to recognize it as anticipation mixed with nerves. He wanted to beat Ellie to the lobby- to get the chance to see her walking towards him as he waited to take her arm and show her into his world. He wanted to show her off, he realized. Despite what she may think. She didn’t see herself very clearly, thinking that she would look out of place among his social circle. She didn’t see herself clearly at all, certainly not like others did. And definitely, not as he did.
He’d mechanically got dressed, going through the motions by memory alone before finishing the last of his routine. Cologne, hair, teeth. Walking down the stairs, he would be waiting to see Ellie descend and back to the lobby a good ten minutes ahead of schedule. Ten minutes to think about her and that dress. To think about Chance and his meeting her. To think about all of the things that he wanted to do to her in and out of that dress both. His mind spun, sigh working its way out of his lips until he was pulled forcefully from such meditation.
“Sir?” his driver called to him, his tone dropping in a way that Morgan didn’t quite recognize.
He glanced over at Frank, wondering what he seemed excited about.
Frank’s eyes sparkled, his face shifting into a broad smile that looked somehow out of place on his craggy face.
Why did he look so excited? What could he possibly be wanting right now? In the midst of Morgan’s anxiety and worry. Huh, I’ve never seen my driver look… Morgan followed his gaze, turning around and stopping short.
Standing on the top of the stairs was Ellie. Only it wasn’t just Ellie. Or it was. He couldn’t think clearly enough to know.
Maybe it was a vision from some heaven where only angels existed. Morgan felt like someone just punched him in the chest, his breath leaving him in one large whoosh.
The cobalt silk hugged her every curve, a tan flash of thigh flashing with every step she took down the stairs. Even her heels seemed to be lit from within, the diamonds shining from the light above. The diamonds around her bodice sparkled under the light of the chandelier, lighting her face up and highlighting her every attractive feature.
Morgan couldn’t breathe or think even. He’d never had this sort of reaction to anyone or anything before in his life. She was stunning on the regular, but here and now, she was something else entirely.
Her chocolate hair was coiffed elegantly atop her head, chocolate ringlets bouncing along
her shoulders even with her head held as high as it was. She looked confidently radiant, in every step. What stood out the most though were her eyes, those same eyes that had captivated him so from the start. The blue of her dress was reflected near perfectly within their depths, staring straight back at him as she moved. Even her teardrop, bluish diamond earrings seemed to sparkle, the bareness of her neck the perfect offset. Jesus Christ.
The lobby grew quiet as all the heretofore activity came grinding to a halt, every set of eyes focused squarely on Ellie as she swayed her way down the stairs. Mesmerized just as much as Morgan.
“Sir?” Frank asked from beside him, cutting into his inner monologue again.
Morgan stood transfixed, barely processing the word. “Huh?” he asked distractedly, eyes not leaving her for even a moment.
“You need to greet her—” Frank urged, all but physically pushing him towards Ellie.
It was only then when he realized he wasn’t close enough to grab her hand when she descended on the last step. Like a jolt just shot through him, he jumped, striding forward quickly. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath, ignoring his driver’s chuckle behind him as he rushed towards her, taking long strides to catch up with where he should have already been standing.
Ellie’s lips twitched, a soft, nervous smile overtaking them as he neared.
Why did she look nervous?
She shouldn’t have looked nervous, she should have looked confident, dressed and looking like she did… well, no, that wasn’t true. She looked like Ellie, sweet and unassuming. She didn’t understand just how beautiful she was, and that was part of her charm. God dammit. He shifted, adjusting his trousers without being obvious about it as best he could. He had never been as hard as he was in this moment, looking over her beautiful form as he stopped at the bottom step, reaching for her hand to help her down.
She placed her hand in his, only just revealing the tremble under the action when she did so. Her nerves were right there, bleeding under the surface, fingers wrapping hard around his as if to steady herself.
