by TN King
He’d had women before, but none fit him so well, in so many ways. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said that they complimented one another so perfectly, only the truth was that they did complement one another exactly as he’s said before… perfectly. He’d tried to conceal this fact from himself, tried to hide from it because it was so new. He’d tried, really tried, to get back on the path of, well… I’ve had her, now I’m done with her.
No, his emotions had gotten caught up in it all. He realized now that when he’d plucked her from that fire… was the moment that the fire had almost caught up with him. It, even now, licked at him like a teasing flame as he stared at the petite Ellie, even when her stare was as cold as ice. He’d only just stepped into the diner at all when her narrowed eyes turned on him. Those bright, powder blue eyes, so round in her sweet, porcelain face. Even with her chocolate hair pulled back like it was he could still see it spread over his pillow as he fucked her.
He also could see, though, that if he stepped closer he’d be able to smell her sweet scent… and very likely the anger emanating off of her as well. Oh, the sweet smell may have been shampoo or body wash, but he knew better, when he’d tasted her close up he’d found that her scent entirely enticed him, made him rock hard as if he’d had no control at all over his bodily response to her. When had that ever happened in his life? Simply put—it never had. He loved women for a night and left them. As simple as that.
Now, some of them became repeats over time. Some were even sporadic conquests throughout the years, though those he tended to view more as a kind of business arrangement than anything else. Even that was still simple though.
This? This wasn’t simple at all…whatever this was.
When he came in through the diner door, she’d been standing behind the counter brewing a fresh pot of coffee. When she looked up and their eyes clashed though it had taken only a second to feel the animosity bleeding out of her…even when she quickly turned her gaze away from him, as if planning to totally ignore him.
Which, he had to admit, would serve him right. He just wasn’t keen on that being the outcome, or about to let it happen without a fight. He didn’t bother beating around the bush, didn’t go sit himself at a table or try and make small talk elsewhere. Just like a difficult business deal, it was best to meet confrontation head on, which is exactly why he wasted no time in going straight to her. “Ellie,” he broached upon reaching her, “please, we need to talk.”
Her glacial gaze lifted, narrowed eyes freezing him right through. He’d know that he had hurt her, but he hadn’t realized just how much until he saw her now, all tense lines and contorted features. All of that hurt channeled into her anger.
“Oh,” she bit out, her eyes narrowing further. “I think we spoke enough already Mr. Hunt,” she nearly hissed. “I don’t have anything more to say to you at all.” She seemed willing to leave it at that, her body going to spin like she was planning on waltzing off on him.
Determined not to allow it to deter him, Morgan insisted. “Look, I want to apologize for this morning,” he began, his gaze and tone both as sincere as he could manage to make them. “I was an idiot,” he admitted, trying not to focus too much on her beyond that which was necessary to submit his apology. Dammit, how was she even cuter when mad? It turned him on more than even he cared to admit. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and show her who was in control. God! She managed to bring the beast out in him. The Dom that he always knew he was. He’d messed with other Subs before, those who knew what they were even. He’d just never met anyone so attuned and in sync with him.
He also knew he might just be insane to be standing here in a diner in downtown Philly trying to get his girl back, when all she’d done was mess with his life and his mind. Especially, with how callously he had treated her this morning. No matter what she was going to say, it was deserved, and he needed to take it like a man.
Ellie dropped her hands to her side exasperatedly and glared at him. “No argument there,” she shot, obviously referring to him acting like an idiot.
Even in her anger, she didn’t go off, as he would have expected though. He offered her a brilliant, but solemn smile, one shoulder lifting up in agreement and chagrin both. “I miss you,” he admitted softly, his face pulling in an unfamiliar expression, even to him. “Can we please just talk about it?” He pressed, equal parts genuine and apologetic.
Ellie looked lost for second, eyes searching his features as if trying to decipher his sincerity. As if she didn’t understand, or as if she wasn’t sure how to understand. As if suddenly realizing that she had been devoting her time solely to him she guiltily gazed around, catching Joanna and the other two waitresses staring. Shame-faced she backed away. “Fine,” she reluctantly agreed. “I get out at eight,” she stiffly informed him. “You can come back then.”
Morgan let out a sigh of relief, trying to keep it from being too obvious and scaring her away again. He, himself, glanced around the diner. He had no intentions of going anywhere, especially if it meant that she got the chance to sneak away. “Actually, I have some things that I need to finish up online,” he said, indicating his briefcase with a nod of his head. “I’ll just wait, if that’s okay with you?” he asked, carefully dropping his voice to make it seem like a request.
“Suit yourself,” Ellie said feigning nonchalance, and giving Morgan the impression that she wouldn’t be so easy to charm this time around. She looked his way one last time, her expression warring with her voice, and twirled off…her body even more tense than he’d seen it before.
That was okay, he assured himself. Because he had a backup plan, one that he’d been orchestrating all day. He could close this deal too, just like he had every other one in his entire life. He’d just never thought it would be a deal involving his emotions like this. How could he have fooled himself like that? It didn’t matter, not any more. He was done with that, and he was done questioning himself over all of it too. He had business to get to, both his own and the kind involving Ms. White.
He found an empty table in Ellie’s section by the window, seating himself and setting his laptop up before him before he even so much as glanced her way.
He was way too involved with this, and way too invested in the turn out.
Ellie
She tried to focus back on her other tables, but found it impossible with Morgan watching her every move. She knew he was there, and was too aware of that fact to distract herself with work alone. To make matters worse, Joanna had informed Sue about Morgan being the anonymous donor who’d got the diner back in working order so fast. This information only made Sue want to know why he was here now, and why Ellie looked so upset about it.
“It’s a long story,” Ellie tried to tell Sue in the hopes that she would get the hint and drop it. But it was a pretty slow night after the dinner rush, so there was plenty of time to kill. Realizing it would be best if she got her version of the story, first, she caught Sue up to speed with only the pertinent parts. Leaving out all of the gritty details and the parts that made her want to tear her own hair out at least.
At the very least, it distracted her from the fact that Morgan was here... or rather occupied her mind enough, so she could ignore it. While it would have been a nice surprise to see him, she was still mad at him for the way he just thought he could dispose of her. Especially with the way, he had done it. But she’d known he might, right? Still, he could have handled it a lot better. She tried not to cut him any slack just because he was here. She’d already given him far too much and now that she had, it had somehow made her feel more confident. How odd was that? He’d given her new strength while at the same time insulting her? Regardless, he was here now and it had to mean something. Ellie fought hard to try and ignore this fact. She remembered her promise to herself from earlier. She wouldn’t fall for his sweet talk again. She needed to realize he had just walked away after that amazing night they both had. After saying they were so perfect together?
He
was confusing her head, forcing her thoughts at war once more and making her feel generally all kinds of insane. She wasn’t her usual self while working and she knew it with one too many table’s getting their orders later than she would have usually had them, a drink forgotten occasionally. Morgan was occupying her headspace in exactly the way she had been so determined for him not to.
The rush wound down sooner than she had expected, though she couldn’t tell if that was her distraction talking or an actual measurement of time. Nor did she try too hard. Joanna approached her bouncily near the end of her shift, glancing at Morgan and then offering Ellie to cash in on a few extra hours. “You can close up tonight,” she said with a sly smile stretching her coral-colored lips. “Maybe have a cup of coffee with your admirer over there?” She further advised, pointing one pudgy finger not-so-conspicuously over towards Morgan and smiling.
At least, Ellie knew she meant it good naturedly, so she kept her initial response to herself. She couldn’t stop the roll of her eyes though, fingers clenching as she surveyed him for a moment. She definitely did need the money, especially after her ‘vacation’. So she agreed. Morgan could wait if he were truly as sincere as he said, but she figured she would be nice and at least let him know that it would be a while. Just because she was hurt did not mean that she had to resort to lowering herself to his level. She expected he might just take the easy way out and leave, it would certainly be true to form. Maybe he just felt guilty, after all he was a nice guy, right? At least she’d thought he was.
A very good looking nice guy as well.
Ugh, she definitely didn’t need to be reminded of that. That little voice nudged her. Like she needed reminding. Ellie rolled her eyes again, making her way carefully to his table and stopping just short of him. “I have to close,” she informed him unceremoniously from where she stood at the edge the table, not bothering with any of her usual niceties. “It’ll be a few more hours,” she told him tonelessly.
“I’ll wait,” he said in his usual calm demeanor, looking up at her with a warm smile.
Damn him.
She hated that even now his attractiveness could still tie her stomach up in knots of longing. It was too easy for her to remember that same sexy voice from last night… only last night it hadn’t been calm. It’d been growling, groaning, and demanding while it worked her up into peaks of unrestrained pleasure. STOP! She chastised herself, fingers tightening again. You need to try and forget all of that sexiness. It had just been sex to him. That’s all. And she needed to remember this before she found herself back in the same situation from before. She shrugged nonchalantly again, trying to dismiss all of those thoughts from her head. He could suit himself though, so she turned to leave. At least she thought she was, until he spoke.
He had an unnerving way of doing that.
“You can get me a coffee, though. Black, no sugar,” Morgan called out from behind her, the smile evident in his voice.
Ellie turned slightly and nodded without lingering, or answering him at all. She would get his coffee, he was a paying customer after all. She hoped that he was squirming after the hell he had put her through this morning. But then she had to ask herself, hadn’t she realized that before the dinner, before the sex? She had known hadn’t she? She felt so confused. Torn back and forth with her mind flipping every few minutes. Did she really have any right to say anything at all? He hadn’t committed anything to her after all. He’d just given her a night of hot, fiery, amazing sex.
She needed to remember that and shut her emotions off. At least long enough to make a rational, smart decision. She had work to do, she reminded herself with a sigh. She knew the facts weren’t penetrating her heart even if her brain was well aware of them, even with her constant mental reminders. She could give him the benefit of the doubt, she knew that she eventually would, but she didn’t have to let him know that just yet. If she were being really honest with herself, she had already started to.
Ellie took her time to take his coffee, not enough that it was outright ignoring him as a paying customer, but enough that Sue noticed. She gave him his coffee silently, without any interaction at all- although she noticed that he tried to touch his hand to hers when she sat the cup down. She didn’t let on to noticing though, immediately turning away and going to check on her other tables- despite how few of them there actually were. She didn’t need to cave so easily this time. Last time, she had jumped in bed with him as soon as the opportunity presented itself, given herself over to him in so many different ways, immediately— and look what had happened upon her doing so.
He had better be worried, she damn well hoped he would be. Him showing up may have sent her mind in a whirl, but… that was because she wanted to know what it meant by him doing so. Was it because he wanted to apologize? That was it? Had he just realized how shitty his behavior had been that morning? Even if it had it didn’t meant a permanent relationship. Or any kind of relationship at all. She knew she was a fool- giving him a chance would be yet another bad idea. Yet she was already caving. Even when going out with him before had done what it had, when the whole time she’d been thinking she would be fine if he walked away. It definitely hadn’t been, and she needed to acknowledge that as well, even if she didn’t want to.
When there was only a half hour left before midnight she paused, looking around and realizing finally that it was just Morgan and she left in the diner. She figured he’d waited patiently long enough, without so much as once disturbing her to ask for more than coffee. She had to give it to him, either he had the patience of an angel or the persistence of a saint. She shook her head, trying to shake away those thoughts. He was more than just his calm exterior. He’d had plenty of power over her in bed… power that had somehow also empowered her.
Damn. Why did he have to be the perfect guy? He wasn’t. That little voice reminded her, seemingly on her side for once. Look at what he’d done this morning, the mistake he had made. It was part of what was confusing her so greatly. She didn’t know which was the real Morgan and which was the face he put on for show, and she was already eaten up with enough curiosity concerning everything else. Why was he even here?
Now is the time to find out Ellie.
She braced herself, taking a large, deep breath before pouring both herself, and him, another cup of coffee to take over with her. There was no way she was doing this without some sort of distraction. She sat his cup in front of him when she reached the table and nimbly slid into her own seat silently. Okay, this is just a conversation. She reminded herself, lifting her gaze and meeting his head on and reserved. “Alright,” she started her voice calm and even. “I’m listening Mr. Hunt.”
Morgan closed his laptop to give her his full attention, sitting back in his seat and wrapping both hands around his mug of coffee as he met her gaze back equally strong.
Ellie stared at him icily- prepared to sit on her icy perch, even if it were one that sat on top of fire, she admitted to herself.
Morgan cleared his throat after realizing she wasn’t going to say any further, his body shifting in the seat he was in uncomfortably. “Last night was wonderful,” he began carefully. “I just—I’d had it in my mind that you were no more than a distraction for me. Since meeting you, I’ve been messing things up at work and canceling meetings just to come down here and see you.” He reached out, his coffee warmed fingers pushing atop hers.
Her first instinct was to pull away from him, jerk her hand back and glare at him- but she thought better of it and allowed his fingers to stay, her own tensing beneath them. She wanted to hurt him how he had hurt her, and the vindictive thought surprised her. She’d never so much as felt the need to be vindictive before, yet now, she was ever so tempted to allow him to think he would be getting his way only for her to be the one to walk away this time.
Morgan waited for a moment, looking at her and then clearing his throat again. “I wanted to return to my former self,” he continued, looking a bit ashamed. “The suave, cold busin
essman.” He coughed after the words, obviously realizing how ridiculous they could come across as. “But I needed to get you out of my system first. At least that was my plan… You have to understand Ellie, I didn’t count on it being so hard to leave you like it was this morning.”
Ellie almost laughed. Hard? He’d just walked out of the room, cold and impersonal without so much as a backwards glance. Her heart lurched.
“I genuinely have feelings for you Ellie,” he admitted, his fingers trying to curl around hers.
But she held hers ramrod straight, staring at him. There it was that smooth, charming talk again. It all sounded wonderful- but she knew she needed to be more skeptical this time. She did pull her hand away from his then, looking at him in question. “So if you hadn’t developed these feelings for me then that was your plan all along?” she asked, obviously upset by the idea. “And anyways…” She could feel herself getting carried away, her voice lifting some and her words coming out all the more quickly. “How do I know that you’re not just trying have sex with me again?” she asked.
Morgan laughed, a quick, obviously unexpected bark that he quickly brought back under control. “I absolutely do want to have sex with you again,” he admitted with a chuckle. “But, you see, that’s what I wanted to hear. You at least thinking before you leap. Ellie, do you know that since the moment I saw you run back into a burning building, I’ve felt like your protector? You’re a smart woman, I can tell, but you’re impulsive. That’s not always such a good thing.”
Ellie raised a brow, indignation spreading through her like wildfire. “It was for you last night,” she retorted, disdain carrying through her words. Think before she leaps… the audacity.
“It was,” he agreed with a nod. “I was counting on that, though.”
Ellie tightened her lips and broke his gaze, looking away in irritation. This wasn’t showing her in a good light at all. While she disagreed with part of what he said though, and didn’t necessarily appreciate the way that he phrased all of it, he was right in the one aspect. She did tend to just throw caution to the wind and jump right in. It wasn’t like she was a slut, she’d never done so in that sort of instance before him. She could count, on one hand, the three men that she had sex with previous to last night. And none of them had gotten past her panties until she’d been dating them for at least a month.
