Secret Crush (The House of Morgan Book 1)

by Victoria Pinder

  The shower didn't turn off, so Alice must not have heard his knock. He walked down the hall.

  Today had been surreal. John put his clothes in the room he'd chosen across the hall, then went to the kitchen and put the two-month supply of groceries away.

  They didn't have to go anywhere for a while, though she'd insist on going to her parents. He had to convince her to stay. How? The thought of going into her room to seduce her set his body on fire.

  He wouldn't follow that thought, so he popped open a beer and took a sip. The brew did little to appease his mood so he picked up his phone, wondering if Vicki had one. He'd been so busy he hadn't asked. He swallowed and then called the Castle.

  On the second ring, his brother answered, "Where did you disappear?"

  No amount of beer would lessen the pain of this conversation. John drank, but the ale had a bitterness to it. "I went to the house dad gave me."

  "With Alice?"

  His grip on the bottle tightened. There had been no reason for Peter to cancel Alice's contract at the funeral. "Don't mention her name."

  "I'm surprised. I never would have guessed she was your type."

  Peter had the worst taste in women. John's spine straightened. Peter's disapproval could rot right next to their father's grave. Alice wasn't the topic of this conversation. He directed the dialogue. "Do you have Victoria with you?"

  "Of course. She's my responsibility."

  John pressed his lips together. That comment reeked of power, control, and all things taught in the House of Morgan. He found his FBI voice and regained his composure. "Put her on the phone."

  "Yeah. Hold on."

  Perhaps his brother's imitation of their father's voice was breeding, but the tone made John's entire body clench. His demeanor relaxed the moment Victoria uttered her first syllable. "Hey, you."

  He placed his bottle on the table and flexed his fingers. "Can you talk?"

  "I'm going to a guest room right now." Vicki sounded bubbly, calm, and alive. "Peter turned my bedroom into a gym."

  John rubbed the back of his neck. "We thought you had died."

  She clicked her tongue, and he smiled. "Don't defend him. I expected a shrine with a plaque on the door."

  At least he wasn't alone anymore. The only person in the Morgan household who ever had a heart was his sister. In the distance he heard Alice's bedroom door open. He stood up and leaned against the window that overlooked the bay. "Why didn't you call and tell me you were alive?"

  Outside the ocean waves could be heard, but night made the view of the water so black that the moon reflected in the ripples. He traced the moon with his fingers in the glass as she explained. "I needed to disappear."

  "Where were you?"

  "Europe."

  She sounded evasive. He stared down the hall. Alice's suitcase had disappeared. He couldn't see her, but his sister's words played in his ear. "Care to be more specific?"

  "Not over the phone. I'm happy I'm home. When did you start dating Alice?"

  He tugged his collar. Alice's kiss played in his memory. He'd kiss her again, but keep that under wraps until he knew she was safe. His gut churned knowing that the danger was because of him.

  "I asked you a question, bro."

  Bro was so Miami. He smiled and realized his sister was still the same. "You can ask her, later. She's sleeping."

  "She was always a sweetie who did the right thing. I missed Alice and you. I'm glad you had each other."

  He wouldn't disillusion Vicki yet, and the image of Alice in his arms again burned in his skull. The hallway stayed silent. "I spent the past few years blaming Dad and wanting to avenge you."

  "I love you, John."

  He blinked. Vicki was another reason to stay in Miami and she'd answer all his questions once they were alone. He dropped his arm to his side. "I love you too."

  A door clicked closed in the distance. Alice must have retrieved her suitcase and gone back in her room. He turned on his heel and walked into the living room. His sister said, "I should have called you sooner."

  He nodded though she couldn't see him. "You should have."

  "I want to see you and Alice tomorrow."

  "Maybe. Let's play it by ear. I might have to take her to her parents' place."

  His sister sighed. "I'm sure with Dad's funeral and the shot into the glass door, they'd want to check every inch of her body to make sure she's okay. I'd do that if my… I always wished our dad was like either of her parents."

  His sister took the words right out of his mouth. "You're here now and with the family you have. Don't run away on us again."

  "I won't. And I'll text you the second I get my own phone."

  A knock sounded at the door and Peter's voice echoed through the phone. "In two days we're reading Dad's will. Tell John he should be here."

  Their sister shouldn't be reduced to the buffer zone, but he couldn't have a conversation with Peter yet. Peter would want answers on what he'd do with his life. John sucked in his breath. "Tell Peter I might."

  She astutely added, "John, you're both my brothers. We're all that's left, and I don't want to live with everyone throwing daggers at each other anymore."

  John's neck heated. "No one's sharpened any blades, Vicki."

  "Then let's start acting like a family who loves each other."

  He could see in his mind's eye his sister with her arms crossed. He smiled but then stopped himself. "Whatever Dad did to you, Peter must have known about it."

  "No. I don't believe that. So I'll see you for sure in two days. Tell Alice's parents hello for me, and I'm calling tomorrow to get her number from you."

  She evaded too many questions. Something wasn't right with why she left and never came back. He'd get the truth out of her, but for now he stared down the hall. "Night."

  Vicki hung up.

  Just knowing that Alice was here in the house brought warmth to his chilled heart.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Alice opened the suitcase as John's "I love you" replayed in her ears. He was probably talking to Vicki, but her mind had flashed to the question of a girlfriend. As far as she recalled back in high school and college, he had never cheated on his girlfriends.

  She unzipped all the containers that contained her overnight necessities as she decided that it definitely had been Victoria. Her mind still reeled on how someone dead just walked through the door without an explanation. Okay, they'd run off fast after the shooting incident, but like John, Alice wanted to know how Vicki had come back to life.

  She flipped through the clothes and realized everything was both designer and in her size. The House of Morgan knew how to provide for their guests. The last designer dress Alice owned was something bought for her to be Victoria's escort to a Hollywood premiere. She found a light t-shirt and a pair of jeans, threw them on, and turned on her bare heel to go speak to John.

  The hall was quiet as she approached.

  He was in the dark living room staring out at the night. His muscular frame sat straight in the chair as he sipped a beer. Her heart did a pitter-patter in her chest as she took the seat next to him. "Do you have something to drink? I'm thirsty."

  He turned and stared hard at her. He must have heard her coming. Alice expected his tone to be harsh and guarded, but then he took a swallow from his bottle of beer. "Are you still upset at me?"

  She studied the tile to get her bearings, determined to be honest. In high school, she'd envisioned a fairy-tale life that money like her friend's might create and how miserable her friend was. "I don't want to be here and live in some bubble as if the real world doesn't exist."

  His bare feet came into view as he stood. She lifted her face to him as he smiled. "I'll get you a drink. Are you hungry?"

  Her stomach growled and her hands clutched her stomach to somehow muffle the sound. "A little. We never had the chance to eat at the funeral."

  Death was a strange way to start a conversation. She gulped. He walked toward the kitchen. She st
ared at his strong backside and then jumped to follow him. She leaned against the doorway as he fixed her a plate of fully cooked chicken marsala and linguini. "When did you have time to cook?"

  He shrugged as he placed the plates on the table. "I had security drop off supplies and that included a hot meal for tonight."

  She stepped closer and turned around in the kitchen. Once again the Morgan family took care of details that took time out of the day for mere mortals like her. She sighed. "Add a glass of white wine and I promise I'll be nice."

  He winked. "Deal."

  John opened a drawer, revealing a full wine rack with a large selection of white to red. "Any particular kind?"

  A genuine smile broke free as she brushed her hip against his leg. "Moscato. I've been feeling sweet lately."

  "It's because you are sweet."

  She shook her head, but said with a smile, "No flirting."

  His gaze went up and down her body as he took stock of her figure in the designer jeans and cotton tee. "Why not?"

  She picked up the wineglass and stepped back. "'Cause you confuse me. My real life is much different than your reality."

  "I've been shot at a few times in the past few years."

  She winced. "I was trying not to think about that."

  He poured a glass for himself and then added a cork to the bottle. He clinked glasses with her. "It's why I'm keeping you here."

  She sipped her wine and her face heated. She licked her lips to get the taste off. "Let's not talk about it."

  He leaned one hand against the kitchen counter. "Okay. So how is my life different from yours?"

  Sipping from the glass she cupped in her hands, Alice said, "I expect to work. I don't choose a career as payback to my father. I have to look after myself."

  John tilted his head. "You work for your parents."

  She lowered the glass to the counter, her hands resting on the granite. "They need me. My dad's heart condition changed everything. When Colt comes home, he's going to manage the farm and land. I studied business in college so I could ensure our farm stayed profitable even if we lost your family's accounts. Somehow we have to make this work."

  He licked a drop of wine from his lower lip and her body tingled. "If you didn't need to do that anymore for them, what would you do?"

  He'd turned the tables on her. She shrugged and relaxed as she stepped back. "Get a job. Part of me wishes I worked in my own store, perhaps doing something crafty to sell online, but I don't know what I'd do."

  He picked up their wineglasses and walked past her, gesturing for her to go into the living area. She passed him and he followed. "Don't be like my family."

  She gazed over her shoulder. "We never could be."

  He seemed to dissect every word, listening intently as he joined her on the couch. "I don't understand. So why would you go into business if not to make serious money?"

  He'd probably had at-home lessons from his father on how to succeed no matter what, even if that meant destroying everyone else who got his way. Alice touched his hand and tried to make him understand her family's philosophy. "Business is to help us have a happy family life and give back to the community where we live. Plus everyone needs to work and then retire. We all grow old, John. We don't all want to be your dad."

  He leaned his arms on his knees and stared out the dark windows toward the moon. "I quit the FBI."

  She licked her lips. Part of her hoped to beg for a kiss, but he didn't even glance her way. "You said that. Why?"

  He turned and his blue eyes had a fire inside them that burned. "I can't arrest a ghost."

  She nodded and rubbed his knee. "What will you do then?"

  He stared at her hand so she stopped. "I have some ideas, but I could use someone good with numbers on my team."

  Her skin heated from his gaze. "Is that a job offer?"

  His hand brushed against her leg, and she blushed. She knew what she must look like as he said, "Would you want that to be?"

  She took his hand in hers. "You like pulling the rug out from underneath my feet, John."

  His lips were so close to hers. She closed her eyes as he said, "I like to see you happy."

  She'd be his if he took her. She had no control and wished he'd take everything she had. His lips came closer as she said, "You don't know me."

  He took the glass from her hand. She opened her eyes as he placed both wineglasses on the coffee table. Then his lips came back to hers. "I know plenty."

  The brush of his lips on hers sent a spark down her spine and into her soul. Her fingers curled around his coarse light brown hair as she turned her face to accept a deeper kiss.

  John didn't disappoint. His tenderness was her undoing and she sighed his name.

  She had a strong sense of her own heartbeat as he sat back.

  Every nerve tingled as he handed her back the glass of wine. She lifted her chin and took another sip.

  He stared hard at her but she couldn't read him. All around her was the smell of cedar and pine. The waves of the ocean lapped in the distance beyond the window, and she turned her gaze away. "How will you protect me if you quit your job and someone is after you?"

  His dimples appeared as he scratched the back of his head. "You'll let me?"

  If she stayed here, she'd be mush. Without her spine, she wouldn't last long against John's charm. She sipped the last bit of her wine. "I'm here for the night. This can't be long-term."

  His hand went to her arm, but she brushed him off. He stayed still. "I have security here, but I don't want to let you go."

  If that were true, she'd have no clothes on right now. Perhaps she wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. "Why?"

  "You bring color into my life and I like it."

  That was like a movie line where she'd moan over true love with her friends. Her body craved him. "So everything was black and white before now?"

  "More like gray. I'd like to discover what makes you happy."

  Alice swallowed hard. She ached with need for him, but she knew she'd never survive being one night's worth of fun with John, not if she had to see him day after day. "Tomorrow."

  He stayed seated as she stood and smoothed her jeans. "Is that a promise?"

  John got to his feet but kept his distance. Perhaps she shouldn't play with this much fire. "It's just a date, nothing more."

  A date would play in her fantasies for years to come. His blue eyes seemed to swim with desire, but she dared not. She hugged her waist as he called for her to come back. "Alice…."

  She jumped backwards. No. She wouldn't do anything else. She'd survive her crush and then move on with her life. She ran down the hall away from him as she called behind her, "Night, John."

  Alice stopped at her bedroom door and watched him take the dishes into the kitchen. She closed it behind her and tried to breathe.

  John Morgan was everything she'd never have.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Alice awoke from a dream. She'd been at an office desk, wearing a pencil skirt, hair up, black high heels and a white button-down blouse. She sat across from John Morgan, in a pin-striped navy business suit that clung to his muscles as he winked at her. She swallowed back the visual and wiped the sleep from her eyes. That was a dream she'd never experience. She stretched and then went to the suitcase of clothes.

  She chose a sleeveless black cotton dress and crossed her fingers that her mother believed this was in her bag already. Ellie Collins wouldn't know Versace from Walmart, and the knee length was typical.

  Today she would go back to the farm, with or without John Morgan at her side. No one uninvited had come to this house last night, so the threat must have been against the President and not John or her as he'd supposed.

  It was time to reclaim her life and identity.

  She slipped out of the bedroom and made her way to the kitchen.

  John's broad shoulders and muscular frame sent a fire through her as he called out from the open refrigerator door, "Morning. I'm getting b
reakfast."

  She went on her tiptoes and then fell on her heels as if movement might stop her lust. She turned toward the kitchen table. "Okay. Did my SUV get transferred here from the parking lot?"

  He closed the refrigerator and had a bowl of fruit in his hand. She tried hard not to stare at him until he shrugged. "No."

  She wouldn't get stuck with him another day. She couldn't handle it. "Can you drive me to get it?"

  "No."

  He seemed to be the "king of no" this morning. She took a seat at the round glass-topped table as he brought over the fruit. His clear blue eyes made her tingle. "The threat must not have been against you," she said. "I agreed to one night, not a lifetime."

  He walked away, brought over toast, and returned to the table. John slid a plate in front of her as her stomach tied in knots. Even-toned, he said, "You don't know if it was against me or not."

  "I didn't hear any disturbances last night. No one came here."

  He sat to her right, acting like everything was perfectly normal. "That's because this house is secure."

  She squirmed in her seat. She couldn't stay this close to him and not desire more. "Why, because it's yours?"

  He poured himself a glass of milk as his shoulders relaxed. "Yeah."

  Her spine stiffened. "I'm going home. I'll take a taxi."

  He picked up his coffee cup as if it might shield him. "You'd be in danger."

  She affected him, too. "It's my life."

  He rubbed his eyes. "What's so important at the farm? You said you could work from anywhere. I can have a new laptop here in less than an hour."

  The image of her mother's permanent scowl appeared in Alice's mind. "My family. They will want to see me and my dad won't rest easy if he's worried about me after what he saw on the news."

  "You said you were moving out and that next week you would have your own condo."

  Her body softened. Her stomach wasn't so bad now. She nodded. "I did. Families care about each other, John. I don't want to put them in danger…."

  He scooted his seat closer and placed his hand on hers. Her heartbeat became the only sound she heard until he said, "So stay here."