WindSwept Narrows: #10 Eloise Paddington

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  Jack wrapped Emily close as the couple left the costume shop.

  “That’ll be an interesting ride home.”

  Chapter Nine

  Morgan slammed the car door and turned the key, listening to the engine roar but seeing red velvet and white fur edging.

  Eloise carefully locked the door after she climbed into the SUV, fastening her seat belt and waiting. When the car didn’t move, she chanced a look over at the unmoving profile.

  “Morgan?”

  “Any other errands tonight?” He asked tersely, easing them onto the streets.

  “No…nothing else, thank you. Why are you angry with me?”

  “When I have an answer I can comprehend myself, I’ll share it,” Morgan said quietly, taking a U-turn and heading back toward the house. “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes…but I have food at home…unless you’d rather something else. It might be best if I went home,” Eloise said quietly, her cloak gathered around her.

  “It might be best,” Morgan agreed tonelessly. Why did he care what she wore at Paddington’s during Christmas? Because too damn much of her was exposed, was the immediate answer. No wonder the woman was confused, he chided. You critique her dresses then you don’t like the costume. You want her to be typical yet you revel in the fact that she’s delightful and unique. He still wasn’t sure which of them was more confused when he parked behind her quarters and turned the car off.

  Eloise was out of the SUV and inside the house quickly, laying her pack on the chair of her desk and moving into the kitchen after tossing her cloak on the back of the sofa. She was staring into the freezer and seeing nothing appetizing. She heard Morgan come in behind her and go directly to the room he was using. She quietly went to her bedroom and curled up in the window seat in the dark. She knew her instincts should be trusted. Her instincts told her over and over that Morgan was right for her. She wasn’t happy with herself at the moment, staring into the falling rain outside her window.

  She was angry that she allowed the people watching her to frighten her. She was also angry at Morgan’s behavior over her costume. And she was not about to cower in her own home.

  Eloise shoved against the cushion and headed down the stairs at the same time Morgan reached the middle of the staircase. They stared at one another for a long minute.

  “It probably should be ladies first, but you’re not looking real pleased at the moment,” Morgan commented carefully.

  “Oh? And you’re astute enough to notice that, are you?” Eloise held her ground as he took another step higher. “Must be all that principal training…”

  “Eloise…I’m new to the couple thing…”

  “Couple?” She repeated quietly. “We are not a couple, Morgan. We are people thrown together through some really weird circumstance. I am thirty-three years old. I am not a student with a strict dress code from one of your schools…”

  “I realize that…” he began, noticing the feathery haircut for the first time.

  “What do you think makes a couple, Morgan?” She demanded, on a roll and not backing down. She poked at him, ignoring his scowl. “A couple is a partnership. A friendship. Companions. I like my dresses…”

  “I like your dresses, too,” he said quickly, taking a step higher and noting that she moved into the dimly lit bedroom to pace. “I like your haircut…”

  “Why did you come up here?” She asked suddenly, arms crossed over her chest and boot tapping on the floor.

  “To talk.”

  “About what?”

  “Elle…give me a break here…”

  “You are a well educated, intelligent individual who can’t come up with the words, I’m sorry I behaved like a possessive idiot at the costume shop?”

  “Because I’m not sorry and I still think that costume is too damn revealing,” he growled back.

  “I think you’re embarrassed,” she whispered with a satisfied smirk.

  “Embarrassed about what?”

  “I turned you on,” she declared. “You thought it was sexy and it turned you on and that embarrassed you.”

  “The hell I…”

  “I think if that elf had gone and sat on your lap she would have got a big, hard surprise,” she whispered and backed up a step out of his grasp. “And that embarrasses you! You’ve been a principal for so long you don’t know how to relax and let go…”

  “Lady…”

  Eloise was laughing now, backing away agilely. “Admit it, Morgan…” She moved to the other side of the bed, keeping it between them. “Why is it so difficult for you to admit you were turned on? What are you afraid of?”

  “I am not…it was a kid’s…”

  Eloise laughed gaily. “It was not and we both know it! That costume was designed to inject a little fun…role playing…fantasy…I bet you wouldn’t have a problem admitting that silk stockings held up by satin garters turned you on…corsets with lace and satin and feathery ribbons…” she saw the spark of interest in his eyes.

  “What are you trying to accomplish, Eloise?” Morgan pushed the words between his teeth, standing at the corner of the bed and watching her in the far corner of the room, carefully keeping out of his reach.

  “I think I’m trying to believe we’re compatible, Morgan…and communication is the biggest part of that…intimacy is vital…but a lot more complex than just having sex,” Eloise slowly began opening the buttons down the front of her dress, revealing the simple lacy camisole she wore beneath it. She had vaguely heard crunching cardboard when his hand tightened on something he held and she looked casually to see he held the box of condoms he’d bought.

  “Being compatible worries you…”

  “Are you after a one night stand, Morgan?” She immediately saw the answer in his eyes. “Then how can it not be important to us?” Eloise gently pushed the dress to the edges of her shoulders, letting it fall in a graceful flutter to her feet. She leaned back on the cushion that lined the window seat and untied her boots, letting them sit on the floor. Wearing a crème colored camisole and panties, she slid one knee onto the bed, perching in the corner watching him.

  “I keep thinking I have you figured out…” Morgan moved to the bed and sat facing her on the opposite end. “I’m not sure it’s even possible…” He tossed the slightly crunched box onto the nightstand when she smiled at him.

  “Would you want to? Totally? That would mean no surprises. Predictability can be bad for a relationship…you injected yourself in my life, Morgan. Is it me you want…or someone you create to fit you?”

  “Maybe we need to meet in the middle,” he answered slowly, amber eyes on hers. “I don’t want you to change, Eloise…that is never my intent…that outfit…” he swore softly, frustrated that he couldn’t find the right words.

  “No one…no dad…no single guy,” she said very slowly as she crawled toward him, stopping behind his shoulders. “Is going to do more than look…I’ve never wanted a man with the…the emotions or passion…that I feel when we kiss, Morgan,” she leaned over, nibbling along his throat. “And anyone who attempts to behave in a manner unbecoming a gentleman, will be escorted from the property. My father and Uncles are very strict about that sort of thing.”

  “So no touching the elf,” he said while his mind was still his own. “But this is acceptable to them?”

  “This…is you and me, Morgan. Does my family like you…yes, I think they do…would they be upset if you weren’t in my life,” she let him turn, his arm snaking out and pressing her back onto the bed so he could lean over her. “They would be confused…to them, our behaviors indicate something stronger than here today, gone tomorrow…”

  Morgan stared down at the feathered red hair spread across the white sheets and rumpled blankets and quilts. His hand was at her waist on the surface of the bed, his other palm up and stroking the new fringe of bangs from her forehead, his fingers brushing of her cheek. Such a long way to fall and less than a week, the analytical side of him whispered.

&n
bsp; “They aren’t privy to our behaviors…”

  “Silly Morgan…” She whispered with a light laugh, her palms circling his neck and pulling gently until their lips were barely touching. “You don’t believe in auras….or in the fields of positive energy the right couple share with those around them….you can feel it around Jack and Emily…and around Ethan and Gwen…you’ll feel it, the more you’re exposed,” she promised with a husky sigh, closing the distance to his mouth with a long, sensuous kiss.

  Eloise relaxed, his body warm and firm above hers. Slowly he let himself stretch out beside her, one leg trapping one of hers in place but only briefly. His palms wanted free reign, he needed to feel each one of those sexy curves betrayed by the costume he’d seen. The long, muscled legs, narrow waist and high, firm breasts. Morgan rolled to his back, pulling her over him with a low, husky groan when her hips pressed hotly along his.

  “Aside from the obvious…” Eloise whispered, bracing herself on her elbows and peering into the smoldering amber fire. “What do you feel when we’re together…not like this…tree hunting or shopping at the grocery…you relaxed a little and laughed and played…”

  “My sweet little elf…you honestly expect my brain to analyze that now?” His laugh was warm and deep, his hands going to her waist and lifting her body a little higher to capture one of her nipples through the delicate lace covering. “All I know is that I like it…the feelings…I need it…I need you, Elle…I need the peace and ease I feel when we talk about…everything…anything…”

  “We share that need, Morgan,” she assured him, her palms on his shoulders as a shudder raced through her. Warmth began spreading, her hips moving with an innate need to find that special stroke that sent surges of electricity through her.

  Talking left his mind, his palms moving to the hem of the thin lace and pulled it over her head, dropping it over the side of the bed.

  “Beautiful…” he whispered, his tongue sweeping over the pert tip once and then once more, swirling around the puckered edge in a slow, teasing circle.

  “Unfair…” Eloise protested through the soft shiver of pleasure. “I like what you’re doing…but you need to shed some clothes, Morgan…I want to feel you against me…”

  “Demanding little elf,” he murmured, sliding her to the side and quickly removing his shirt. He felt her hands on his belt and felt his body harden a little more, her palm grazing heavily over his erection as she pulled the zipper open. His eyes never left her face, the innocent fascination that gradually meshed with feminine pride.

  He leaned on the bed on his elbows, aware that he had stopped breathing, his hips lifting just enough for the material to slide past. He felt that moment of trepidation when she moved stealthily back along his legs. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her so revealed, but it was the first time he realized how small she was compared to him.

  “Now we’re even,” her whisper came out in a low, husky voice that sent pulses of electricity through him.

  “And that’s important?” Morgan wasn’t sure where he managed to find his voice, his eyes drinking in the slender form stretching out at his side and opening her arms to him.

  “You have beautiful muscles…strong…” Eloise met his gaze, her breath catching in her lungs when he lowered his head and tasted one nipple and then the other. “Oh…”

  “Nice and sweet,” he whispered, settling down to tease and arouse. He placed one palm on her stomach, sliding over the flatness, inside the elastic of her panties to feel the softness below. He gently cupped her, feeling the shape and moisture gathering between the swollen petals before sliding his fingers between them to draw the hot flow higher.

  Eloise enjoyed the give and take; the pleasure she felt coiling tightly inside her as well as the gasp she heard from him when her hands caressed and stroked the hardness of him. Wild tremors were fading when he pushed inside her, easing himself deeper until he felt surrounded by the molten core that rippled and gripped him tightly.

  He felt her body tighten again, his final thrust sending a euphoria through him that he’d never known before. For that moment there was no one in the world but them, clinging to one another in the steamy aftermath, floating down together from the ultimate couple high.

  Eloise was pulling some tangled blankets over her when he left the bed for a few minutes, snuggled down contentedly when the bed moved. She went into the arms when he settled down, her head listening to the fading pounding of his heart.

  “I’m glad we don’t have any neighbors,” she murmured, his husky laugh making her cheeks redden. “I had no idea…”

  “You make a man feel wanted, Elle…”

  “Those are amazing feelings…they make your whole body tingle…” she told him with a slight shiver.

  “We’re good together,” he said simply, his lips brushing her head. “I knew we would be…and more than just in bed, Eloise.”

  Eloise just smiled, her eyes closed and fingers twined with his beneath the quilts. She thought she was dreaming several hours later when he whispered in her ear, his teeth biting along the back of her neck and palm roving possessively. Her body arched, responding to his touch as she rolled to her back, one palm up and caressing over his face.

  Morgan had stopped trying to figure out the passion that grew within him when she turned eagerly at his touch. Warm and soft beneath his hands, her kiss and touch evoked a raw powerful passion that demanded satisfaction. He woke thinking about her, needing her and she didn’t shy from his needs.

  Chapter Ten

  A long, soft groan broke through the cloud of sleep when the music played softly shortly before six in the morning. How had the night disappeared so quickly, her tired brain mumbled. Then she felt the warmth surrounding her, one leg twined with hers while a heavy arm circled her waist. She lay on her stomach, the solid feel of his head next to her shoulder.

  “Morgan…” She said softly, not expecting a response and surprised when he stirred.

  “Hmm…”

  “This is a king sized bed…” she said, a hint of humor in her tone.

  “I noticed…”

  “So how is it…every single time we’ve slept together…you end up wrapped around me…”

  “Wiggle that behind again and I’ll explain in very slow detail how it happens,” he murmured, kissing her shoulder before rolling to his back and stretching.

  “Somehow I knew it would be my fault,” but she turned toward him, leaning on her elbows and just staring. “Do principals ever grow beards?”

  “Not this one,” he answered without opening his eyes.

  “How about…no shaving weekends?” She asked hopefully, smiling when he opened one eye to peer at her. “I just want to see what it feels like…”

  “Remind me not to shave on Saturday morning,” he offered with a sigh, accepting when she happily hopped out of bed and ran for the bathroom. He sat up slowly, noticing his clothing all around the room and gathering it before heading to the second bathroom on the first floor.

  “Morgan…” Eloise looked over the rim of the glass of juice she was sipping.

  “I’m not going to like this,” he said, hands busy knotting his tie.

  “I just feel a little silly being driven to work,” she told him honestly.

  “You’ll get over it.”

  “This autocratic personality disorder thing could be a problem,” she said with a scowl.

  “Do you want me to spend my whole day worrying about you?”

  “Oh…no...that is…that is just wrong…” Eloise slumped back on the stool, glaring at him.

  “Elle…” Morgan moved to stand in front of her, two hands surrounding her face and forcing her eyes to his. “This is not forever. I don’t want your freedom. I want your safety…and my sanity. Please?”

  “I have to go to the costume shop tomorrow, don’t forget,” she said after a long sigh and nodding.

  “Believe me, forgetting that costume isn’t something I’m likely to do,” Morga
n returned flatly.

  Eloise was still smiling when she kissed him and hopped out at the door to the employee entrance, humming to herself all the way to her office.

  Morgan was still grumbling when they left the costume shop early Thursday afternoon, the hanger dangling from her fingers. He stood with Ethan near the carousel an hour later, watching the two cousins help with the little kids clustered around Santa as he sat in the large, ornate sleigh.

  “So according to Jack…” Ethan began, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the far wall watching the women with the little kids. “We’re supposed to just be glad they go home with us, do I have that right?”

  “That’s what he said. Along with a veiled suggestion that we adapt before September costume season arrives,” Morgan said grimly, too aware of the males watching the red satin and crinoline lined skirts. “Eloise swears security is very strict about the behavior expected of the dads.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Kris is Santa,” Morgan sighed in resignation. “Albert is over there watching…evidently this is a tradition that goes on every year for the last six or seven.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard all about it…Geneviève even showed me photos from the last couple years,” Ethan shook his head, watching the red and white stockings and red boots helping the kids with the toys being handed out.

  “I had no idea her legs were that damn long,” Morgan mumbled, ignoring the chuckle from his side.

  “It’s those dresses,” Ethan commented absently. “Let’s go get some food. This’ll make us both nuts and it goes on for another two hours.”

  “Good idea. She’s safe enough here,” Morgan wandered off with Ethan, their topics drifting to the people filling the Emporium. Neither of them saw Eloise nod to Gwen and run to the store room on the lower level for more of the candy canes and small chocolate gift boxes.

  One red glove was left lying on the concrete when Thomas went to look for her ten minutes later.