Around the World in 80 Men Series Boxed Set 1-10

by Brandi Ratliff

  “Hello, bitch.” Veta pushed Morgan out of the way, and stormed into the room. Veta walked right into the tray of food, and all of it landed on the floor in a loud crash.

  “What do you think you're doing?!” Morgan grabbed her arm to turn her around.

  “I told you, he's mine! Get out of here!” Veta demanded that Morgan leave right then.

  After several moments of shouting, Tanner opened his eyes and tried to sit up. Veta ran to his side, and asked if he needed anything. Tanner's face should have been enough of an answer, but he offered words as well.

  With slurred speech, and eyes that barely stayed open, he told her, “there's nothing between us, now go.” His head rolled to the side, but he brought it back up and tried to focus on her.

  “Who is she? I have the right to know who you've thrown me away for.” The angry red head crossed her arms over her chest, and waited. And waited some more. After just being glared at by the man, she demanded, “tell me who she is!”

  Tanner sat up, his eyes wide with anger, “she's a whore! I'm paying her to be with me, and I'd rather be with her any day over you. Now get out!” His words were loud, and certainly not misunderstood.

  Whore? He just freaking told her that I'm a whore! Morgan put her head down, and walked back to the bathroom. She heard Veta laughing, a very loud, angry, sarcastic laugh.

  “Whore is it? You would rather have a whore than me?” She laughed again, then Morgan heard her stomp through the room, and the door shut behind her.

  When she was finally dressed and dry again, Morgan left the bathroom and went to Tanner's bed. He was still partially awake, and he reached out without looking at her and put his hand over hers. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blurt it out like that. She's a gold digger, and hasn't left me alone for months. I shouldn't have used you to make a point.” Then his eyes closed, and his head turned in the opposite direction. Morgan leaned down, and kissed his nose lightly.

  She refused to think about the scene as she went though Tanner's medication, and wrote down a time schedule that she would give him each pill. Then she propped his foot up on a few pillows, and spent the next hour sorting her clean clothes from her dirty. The only thoughts she allowed to enter her mind were that of getting her clothes laundered and finding something to eat.

  Morgan grabbed a notepad from the desk below the window, and a pen from the drawer. After a quick note to let Tanner know that she had a few things to do, she left the room and headed for the lounge.

  Chapter Six

  “Whew!” Morgan huffed as she sat herself at the bar. “Beer please.” She placed her elbows on the bar and rested her head on her hands, with her fingers tangled around her hair. She caught the odd expression from the young woman, “oh, uhm, any kind is good,” Morgan finished, realizing she hadn't specified. It didn't matter anyway.

  “Dear, it's only 8:30, we're not serving alcohol yet. We still have breakfast available though,” the girl informed her with a nervous smile.

  “Oh.” Morgan was embarrassed. It had already felt like mid-afternoon with all that had happened and the dark clouds outside had given her the subconscious impression it was later as well. “Right, I'm sorry,” she shook her head, “yeah, I'll just have the eggs then.”

  “Rough morning?” the curious girl tried to comfort her and satisfy her need for gossip at the same time.

  Morgan shook her head again, biting her bottom lip. She's a whore, I'm paying her to be with me. The words rang out in her head again, and they finally hit her. “No, I'm fine, thanks,” she lied to the, now leaning over the bar, girl.

  Five minutes later, the bartender brought out a large helping of eggs, toast, sausage and potatoes and Morgan asked her if she could get another plate together so she could take it up to her room when she was finished. Their other breakfast was still scattered about the floor. Morgan hoped he wouldn't get up before she got back and slip on the scrambled eggs.

  She hadn't realized how hungry she really was until she took her first bite, and by the time she finished the meal, she had become much more calm. She pushed her plate away from her and found her way to the big windows surrounding the lobby. It was still raining and the few brave pedestrians who were outside in the downpour were caught trying to dodge the waves of water being splashed up from people's vehicles.

  She had the urge to go and stand out there, let the rain wash away everything. Wash away Veta, Tanner's sentiments, stupid Jack....but it hit her...

  “I am a whore!” she whispered with a sense of excitement. “I am!” And what's fucking funny? The damn truth! He is paying me and doesn't want to be with her!This is perfect! You suck it too, Veta. She almost laughed as she pictured herself in Veta's shoes and imagined how it had felt for her; she was looking for his money and he didn't want her, Morgan was being paid to be there, and did her job well.

  “Yeah, that had to have sucked.” Morgan grabbed Tanner's breakfast and bid the bartender a good day. She picked up her laundry, gathered her warm, dry, clothes and smiled all the way back up to the room. She was good at what she did, and she was happy with that.

  When she walked back into the room, she saw Tanner was still knocked out. The mess from that morning had been cleaned, and it was clear that room service taken care of it quietly. She put the bag of food down in the kitchenette and sat down next to him on the bed with her back against the headboard and pushed the blonde hair from his face. He felt hot to the touch, Morgan assumed it was just the meds, so she removed his shirt gently, and got up to crack the large window. The waves outside caught her eye as she pulled the curtain closed and she almost lost her breath. The sky was black and white, and the water no longer looked electric blue, it looked metallic gray underneath the clouds and the waves crashed against the shore in furious explosions.

  It was an amazing sight, but she was thankful the rain had come that day and not when they had been out on Lady Godiva. Morgan went back to the bag of food and put it in the fridge.

  Her phone vibrated in her pocket as she made her way back to the bed and her thoughts immediately went to Finlay...she wasn't disappointed. There were five more text messages waiting for her, but only only had been from the handsome Scot. The other four were from Jack. He had sent long text messages telling her how worthless she was and that he didn't want to fuck her anyway.

  Morgan laughed hard, is that the best he's got??? Then she checked to make sure Tanner hadn't been disturbed. When she saw that he hadn't been, she opened the fifth message: Did you break his other ankle yet? :-)

  She laughed again, “a smiley face?” She thought of the six-foot-four beast of a man. The one who had beat the hell out a guy for hitting on her. The one who pounded her in his fountain. The one who had the most gentle hands and most sincere smile. Her laughter continued as she pictured his big hands around his little phone, pecking away at the little buttons, then finishing it with a smiley face. Oh, Fin....

  She deleted all of Jack's messages and informed Finlay that she had, in fact, not broken Tanner's other ankle, but she may have to break Veta's. She also explained briefly who Veta is and how amusing she had found the situation to be.

  Then, she decided to call Julianne, it was time for some good advice from the one who could give it best. The older woman always had a way of making Morgan feel better about any situation. She went out into the hallway, and pressed the green button, then Julianne's name.

  “Hello dear,” Julianne answered.

  “Hi, Julianne!” Morgan was genuinely happy to talk to her.

  “I was right, huh?”

  “Yes, Tanner is a lot of fun,” Morgan admitted. “But there is a little problem, Julianne.”

  “What's wrong?”

  “Well, there's this girl, I think she was his girlfriend and she keeps coming around. I don't think he really likes her, but he told her that I was just a whore.”

  “I see,” Julianne began. “I'm sure you know what I'm going to say...”

&nb
sp; “You've had it happen to you?” Morgan asked.

  “Yes, dear. I've gone through more than you can imagine. And, I imagine you'll go through a lot of the same things. The client I had at the time thought it was too much to handle, and he asked me to leave. I don't see this happening with you, as you said he doesn't seem interested in her?”

  “No, he said she's a gold digger,” Morgan explained.

  “Well, if he, or anyone for that matter, ever asks you to leave for any reason, you know that you can call me, and we'll have you sent somewhere else.” Morgan could hear her knowing smile.

  “Thanks, Julianne.”

  Morgan told her about the boat trip, minus certain details, and how incredibly beautiful she thought Australia was and Julianne agreed that it had always been one of her favorite places. The two said their goodbyes after fifteen minutes of catching up and she set her phone on the dresser. She decided since there was nothing else she could do with afternoon, with her client drugged out on pain killers and the torrential downpour outside, that it would be well spent with a short nap A nap next to a gorgeous Aussie.

  *****

  “Ow! Tanner! Tanner! Get! Off!!” Morgan tried pushing the lifeless mass of muscle off of her hair. He was still sound asleep, but she had been awoken to a sharp pain on the side of her head. When she tried to pull her head up, the pain intensified and she turned her eyes enough to realize he had completely flipped over and his shoulder's were pinning her down by her golden locks.

  “TANNER! Wake up!” Nothing. She awkwardly got her left arm turned enough to get to his left shoulder then put her right hand on his right shoulder and pushed with all of her might. He groaned, but didn't budge.

  “Dammit!” Time for drastic measures. She turned on her side and pushed her ass out toward the end of the bed, opposite of Tanner, then walked her feet up his legs until they met with his lower back. She held onto her hair with one hand so it wouldn't pull anymore, then pushed him with her legs. His lower half slid across the bed with relative ease, but his upper half remained solidly in place.

  “Jesus Christ, dude! Wake up!” She didn't want to have to push him further, his knees were already hanging off the edge, any more and he'd be on the floor. Just then, Tanner rolled from his side to his back, capturing another six inches of hair under his body. His shoulder was up against her ear, and Morgan turned red with fury.

  In a pain induced frenzy, she pushed his hips with her legs, giving everything she had and Tanner's legs fell off the side of the bed to the ground. Before he could register the pain from his ankle thumping against the floor, his body began following suit, sliding toward the edge. With a final push, he rolled off onto the floor with a loud thud.

  “What the hell!” a groggy and confused Tanner spoke up, finally awake. Morgan sat up quickly, rubbing the pain from her head and crawled over to the side of the bed. What she saw before her nearly sent her over the edge. She wanted to ask if he was okay...she wanted to apologize...she wanted to help him up...but, all she could do was laugh.

  Tanner's shoulder length blonde hair was standing straight up, at least six inches off of his head. She had ran her hands through the top of his hair so many times, that it had stuck that way through sweat and sleep. His face looked young, and in shock, his eyes widened on a crimson face.

  He had gabbed his cast, and threw his head back in pain. His moans of pain brought Morgan back to trying to help him. She still smiled a little at his hair, but she helped him back to the bed quickly.

  “Why did ya throw me from the bed?” He was still trying to hold his leg to keep the pain in check.

  Trying not to laugh, and keeping most of it behind her hand, she told him, “I didn't, you were trying to pull all of my hair out and I couldn't get you to wake up. Sorry, I didn't mean for you to fall off.” She closed her eyes, and put both hands over her mouth, the giggles were close to busting free.

  When he finally stopped nursing the pain, he looked up at her. The girl's face, what he could see of it behind her hands, was bright red. Tears were falling from her squeezed shut eyes, and her body jerked with silent laughter. His smile, that he wasn't ready to have, twitched at the side of his lips, and he told her, “it's not funny, Morgan.” When the girl started shaking harder, his laughter too was released. “Ah, so it's funny to throw me around the room, is it?” He reached out for her, and pulled her on top of him.

  Bad move; when Morgan's body was pulled over him, her foot crashed into his, and he kept rolling her to his side to get her off of him. More pain, more laughter, and both of them ended up in hysterics over their ridiculous mishap.

  She got herself under control, and got up from the bed. “I would ask you how you're feeling, but I think I know the answer to that. But, are you hungry? I brought you up some food.” She pointed to the small refrigerator. Tanner told her that he was starving, so she warmed up his breakfast, and served the man in bed.

  Morgan laughed while he ate, all two minutes worth, because she had never seen a man fit so much food into one bite. When he was done, he drank his coffee with as much gusto, and returned the cup to the bedside table.

  Before she said anything, she realized that he probably hadn't eaten much in two days. They didn't have breakfast before horse back riding, then he was in the hospital all day having his ankle set. After that, meals were no longer being served and he was released the next day. Guilt crashed down on her shoulders as she blamed herself for not feeding him sooner. “I'm so sorry!” She put a hand to her mouth, and reached out to touch his shoulder.

  “Tanner, I should have fed you sooner, I didn't think..”

  He cut her off with coffee-laced kiss. Then, when he had her attention, he told her, “Morgan, you've done more for me than you even realize. I can't imagine what you've been through because of me, and I thank you for all of it.” He kissed her again, then brought her head to his chest.

  She really had done quite a bit for the man, but she wouldn’t have done anything differently. Except maybe feed him. But her guilt was put to rest, and she vowed to add another thing to the list in taking care of him; food.

  Tanner was also building a list of things to do; Morgan was at the top of that list.

  Chapter Seven

  Tanner ran his hand down the back of Morgan's hair, and continued down her back until he reached the waist to her jeans. “I'm still hungry.” His voice made her heart skip a beat, because she knew exactly what he meant.

  Morgan sat up and smiled, “you can't be serious. I mean...I'm here to be with you...like that...and I'm always more than willing...but you can't really be in the mood, can you?” She watched the mix of amusement and passion dance in his eyes as he nodded his head slowly.

  She smiled in return, as she put her knees on the bed and straddled his lap. “What if I hurt you?” Her wicked smile made his body tense, and he grabbed her arms to bring her closer to his face.

  Before he kissed her, “that's a chance, beautiful lady, that I'm willing to take.” His mouth closed over hers quickly, and she submitted to the kiss with a soft moan. He loved the sounds that she made, and that morning was no exception. His body reacted in a way that made Morgan grind against the reaction that was placed perfectly where she sat.

  He removed her shirt, breaking the kiss only long enough to pull it from her head. As his hands went to her pants, she closed her fingers around his, and shook her head. “No, I want to undress you first.” With only shorts on, since Morgan had removed his shirt earlier, the task was complete in seconds. She stood above him and admired his naked body thoroughly.

  “I like when you look at me.” His voice was low, and he spoke slowly. She met his eyes, and her core clenched at the burning desire she saw in them.

  When she finally brought her eyes back on the prize, she reached down with one hand and grabbed his hardened part. She wrapped her fingers around him, and squeezed enough to bring a quick intake of breath from Tanner. He put his head back on the pillow, and
closed his eyes as she brought her hand up slowly to the top. With as much leisure as the first time, she continued to stroke him until he finally grabbed her hand.

  “Stop.” He was getting close, too close. He kept his eyes closed, and waited to feel what the woman would do next. She knew that she couldn't use her mouth much, unless she planned to finish right then, but a little taste shouldn't send him over the edge. She knelt on the floor beside the bed, and leaned forward. She put her hand on him again, but she kept a light hold and only moved him enough to position his large cock in front of her mouth. Her tongue started at the base, and she slowly licked her way to the top, feeling him throb against her lips. His skin was like silk and she pressed her lips against him, then ran her tongue over the swollen head repeatedly.

  “Morgan!” He gently and quickly pushed her away. She smiled to herself, hoping that it was her that had him that aroused, but wondered if he was always like that when he woke up. She planned to find out of the next few days.

  Knowing that he needed to be inside of her, she stood up and put her knees on the bed beside him. As she straddled him again, she told him, “look at me.” His eyes opened, and he looked directly at her. “I want you to watch.” She put her hands between her legs, and took hold of him again. He watched her raise her body slightly as she positioned herself over him, then slowly push herself down as he entered her. His breathy moan that he couldn't stop as he watched her made Morgan move faster.

  He put his hands on her legs, and his fingers pressed into her soft flesh as she arched her body to take him inside of her. She put her hands on his flat muscular stomach, and used his body to help her move faster. When his fingers cut into her harder, she knew that he would release with just a few more movements. Instead of allowing him right then, she sat still with him all the way inside of her, and moved her hips forward and back slowly. She squeezed him hard with her hot wet center, and his head fell back again.