Cabin fever, p.25
Cabin Fever, page 25
“Every night,” Morgan said.
“Glad to hear it.” Then she finally leaned in. She caught Morgan’s lips with hers and slipped her tongue into Morgan’s mouth. That kiss that had haunted her dreams was nothing compared to this one. She knew for certain this kiss wasn’t born of boredom or lack of options. This was a kiss they had both craved for weeks and they wouldn’t be denied.
Morgan had no fears about appearing desperate. She was desperate and she was fine with it. She threw her arms around Shelby. Shelby’s arms tightened around her, fingers clawing into Morgan’s back and making her mind go blissfully blank.
Morgan was fully prepared to throw Shelby back on the counter or, even better, on the kitchen floor, but Shelby pulled back far enough to pant until she caught her breath.
“Where is your bedroom?” Shelby asked.
Chapter Twenty-three
Shelby walked into every room like she owned it, and that included Morgan’s bedroom. She didn’t turn on the light or wait for Morgan to invite her in. She just marched to the foot of the bed, turned to sit on the edge of the mattress, then crooked her finger in Morgan’s direction with a smoldering look that could have melted the paint off the walls.
Morgan forgot about the way her button up had twisted in the waistband of her khakis while they were making out. She forgot how she smelled like garlic and wine. She forgot that Shelby had only ever seen her naked body broken and bruised. When a woman like Shelby looked at you the way she was looking at Morgan right now, there was no room to be self-conscious. When a woman like Shelby looked at you like that, you were bulletproof.
Shelby spread her legs and Morgan knelt between them like a supplicant. She didn’t wait to be invited or ask what Shelby wanted. She ran her hands greedily through that goldenrod hair and dragged those ruby lips to meet hers. Morgan bathed in her. Devoured her. Worshiped her. When Shelby’s legs wrapped around her back and the heel of her pumps scraped against Morgan’s back, she lost herself in the sensation of their joining.
As they kissed hungrily, Shelby crawled toward the pillows, dragging Morgan on top of her. Morgan pushed the thick, cabled sweater up to expose Shelby’s stomach. She slid her tongue up and down that pale skin she’d barely tasted before. A glimmer of doubt flashed in the back of her mind, waiting for the angry bumblebee buzz of snow mobiles to interrupt them again. But they were hundreds of miles from that snowbound cabin and she had Shelby all to herself. She could spend all night right here on top of her, exhaustion the only barrier to an endless sea of shared ecstasy.
“Please, God, Morgan. I need you. Please don’t make me wait.”
In that moment, Morgan discovered her two new favorite sounds in the world. Shelby breathing her name like that and Shelby begging. She would do just about anything to hear them again, over and over, all night long.
Fortunately for Shelby, Morgan was just as desperate. She slid her hands up Shelby’s side until they encountered thick lace and ample breasts. She made quick work of the sweater, but she left the lace bra in place a while longer. Shelby made the most incredible noises as Morgan teased her through the lingerie, but it was nothing to the sound she made when Morgan’s lips wrapped around the already rock-hard bud of her nipple. Shelby arched up into her, searching for contact, and her thigh slipped between Morgan’s.
The pressure where Morgan needed it most nearly got the best of her, but she recovered quickly. Holding Shelby’s body down against the mattress with her own, Morgan lavished attention on first one nipple, then the other with tongue and teeth, but there were places far more tempting for her mouth to venture.
Shelby’s eyes flashed dangerously in the moonlight when Morgan slipped off her trousers and panties but left the heels in place. Morgan hadn’t been aware of how sensual it could be to feel the scrape of patent leather against her back until that night, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t get over the fetish any time soon. She made sure to strip naked so she could feel them against her skin before she lowered herself between Shelby’s legs.
Morgan started with a teasing flick of her tongue. She caught just the barest taste of Shelby, but it was enough to drive her wild with craving. She wanted to linger. She wanted to tease out tiny exclamations and build Shelby slowly to release, but her impatience got the better of her. She swiped the flat of her tongue hard against Shelby’s clit over and over. Soon Shelby was swearing and repeating her name in sharply increasing octaves. Within moments, Shelby’s back arched off the bed and she screamed her pleasure into the night air. But Morgan hadn’t had enough of either her pleasure or her taste, so she didn’t slacken her pace through Shelby’s first orgasm or her second. By the third, Shelby was begging for a break and Morgan reluctantly agreed.
She slid along the sweat-sheened length of Shelby’s panting form, caressing every inch of flesh she encountered on the way up. The moment she was within reach, Shelby grabbed her and buried her face in her neck, a quiet sob stifled against Morgan’s skin. The emotion shocked her at first, but it felt so good to hold Shelby close—to comfort her as she processed the sensations that overwhelmed her—that she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything but gratitude.
Even before Shelby’s breathing calmed, her body was moving. She pressed up into Morgan, her nipples tight and hard against her overheated skin. Morgan’s body quivered with anticipation and she couldn’t stop her hips from bucking forward. Shelby slid a thigh between hers and the pressure was deliciously perfect.
“Will you stay on top of me?” Shelby asked against her ear. “I need your weight holding me down.”
Morgan’s voice was lost as Shelby rocked her hips up and all she could do was nod. In truth, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. She’d dreamed of this so many times. Shelby’s body beneath her just like this. Her nails scratching into her back as she pressed her thigh against Morgan’s clit. Burying her face in the pillow next to Shelby’s neck as her orgasm ripped through her, throwing her rhythm into a frantic staccato. But her dreams had not prepared her for the glory of collapsing, spent and overwhelmed, into Shelby’s welcoming arms. Nothing could have prepared her for how right that moment felt. How they melted into one.
They spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, giving and receiving pleasure over and over, and each time they shared the same overwhelming emotion at having found their way into this moment together.
* * *
Shelby had never really appreciated the benefits of a padded fabric headboard. Her own bed had a nice wooden headboard that was pretty, but not nearly as comfortable as Morgan’s to lean against while working in bed. Of course, she never lingered in her own bed to work. Normally she got right up, made a pot of coffee, and got straight to work either in her home office or by hitting the road. Even on the weekends, she didn’t linger. As she snuggled a little deeper into the firm but cushioned headboard, she decided this would be another thing she would change.
It didn’t hurt, of course, that she had slipped into one of Morgan’s old T-shirts that was butter soft and carried the lingering scent of the woman herself mixed with lavender laundry detergent. Added to that were the adorable little cooing noises Morgan made in her sleep every so often, and Shelby had never had a better Saturday morning. Even as she thought about it, Morgan made another little contented sigh and snuggled deeper into her pillow. It was so cute Shelby fully turned her attention away from her laptop.
While she watched Morgan, she wondered if she’d ever had a morning like this. She couldn’t think of a time. Certainly not recently. It had been many years, possibly over a decade, since she’d had a girlfriend for longer than twenty-four hours. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried at all, it was just that she’d hadn’t felt like this with anyone in recent memory. Like she was completely relaxed and content with a woman but also kind of wanted to jump her bones constantly. Maybe this is what it was supposed to feel like? She wasn’t sure, but she hoped Morgan would be interested in figuring that out together.
A little while later, Morgan began to stir. She was slow to come awake, rolling over and grumbling and then slowly blinking her eyes open. She had such an open face. Shelby could see everything she was thinking as she worked herself into consciousness. Her eyes searched around, then landed on Shelby. A slow smile spread on her face as she looked up.
“Hey, you.” Morgan’s voice was gravelly with sleep and did a number on Shelby’s hormones.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“Not my fault. Someone kept me up past my bedtime.”
“Oh, babe, I had you in bed pretty early in the evening if I recall correctly,” Shelby said.
“Yeah, you did.” Morgan’s eyes sparkled and Shelby could tell she was replaying some of their greatest hits in her mind’s eye. She even looked like she might request a reenactment until her gaze landed on Shelby’s laptop. She sounded much more awake when she asked, “Are you working?”
“I sure am. I’m a morning person and I felt like a creep just sitting here watching you sleep.”
“Sorry, I’m not a morning person.”
Shelby closed her laptop and set it on the nightstand before sliding down into the sheets and pressing her whole body against Morgan’s. The shiver she felt run through Morgan was incredibly satisfying.
“I remember.” Shelby nibbled on Morgan’s ear. “I was always up before you in the cabin. Remember that first day when you caught me coming out of the shower?”
Morgan answered with a lingering, searing kiss and wandering hands. She seemed to appreciate Shelby’s decision to wear a T-shirt and nothing else, but when the hem of the shirt got pinched between their bodies, Morgan growled in frustration.
“Are you wearing my shirt?” Morgan asked.
Shelby leaned up and plucked at the fabric. It was a bright, sunshine yellow and had the words “Heroes Among Us, Lab Week 2019” emblazoned across it. She’d found it in the first drawer she’d checked in Morgan’s dresser and didn’t want to keep searching and possibly wake Morgan.
“I like it. It smells like you,” Shelby said.
Morgan stuck out her bottom lip in an adorable little pout. Shelby dropped a kiss on her extended bottom lip, but Morgan kept up her pout.
“Oh no, am I wearing your favorite shirt?” Shelby asked in mock horror.
“It’s not the specific shirt, it’s more that you’re wearing a shirt at all when you could be naked. Like me. We could be naked together.”
“But you have to tell me what this heroes thing means.”
Shelby pulled the shirt tight, trying to read the words, but noticing that her nipples showed rather prominently through the thin fabric. She liked the way Morgan’s eyes went all hungry and hazy and the way she couldn’t seem to make herself look away. She bent and slowly, sensually kissed Morgan, making sure to show in no uncertain terms how much she appreciated that desire.
“As much as I want to give you everything your little heart desires, I’m going to need at least one meal and three cups of coffee before you can seduce me again. Last night wore me out.” Shelby rolled back to her side of the bed.
“I’d love to argue, but I feel the same way.” Morgan laughed and flopped back onto her pillow. “Did you borrow anything else of mine while I was asleep?”
“Yes, actually. The coffeemaker.”
Shelby nodded across at the other nightstand where Morgan’s laptop sat next to a mug that had just about stopped steaming. Morgan did a double take, then sat up abruptly in bed.
Her reaction made Shelby worry. “Did I overstep? I’m sorry, I am a bit of a caffeine addict.”
“Wait.” Morgan stared incredulously at Shelby. “Do you expect us to spend our entire Saturday working?”
Shelby’s stomach dropped and the lingering taste of Morgan’s kiss soured on her tongue. “No, not exactly. I just…it was a dumb idea. Sorry.”
Morgan reached out and tilted her chin up to meet her eye. Shelby’s stomach still squirmed uncomfortably, but there was something unreadable and almost sweet in Morgan’s expression. Not to mention, her voice was gentle and kind. “Tell me. Please?”
“Like I said, it’s dumb.” Morgan didn’t release her chin, so Shelby took a deep breath and took the plunge. “It’s just that I’ve always wanted one of those relationships you see in sitcoms and rom-coms. With lazy weekend mornings in bed with coffee and a newspaper. But we spend our weekends working, so I thought, well, no one reads a newspaper anymore anyway. I thought we could have some coffee and work in bed for a little while.”
Morgan laughed quietly and dropped Shelby’s chin. “How domestic.”
Shelby’s chest tightened and she realized it was now or never. Morgan was the brave one to reach out for a date. This was Shelby’s time to be brave. Shelby’s time to ask for what she wanted even with the threat she may never get it.
“Is that something you might be interested in?” Shelby asked. “Being domestic? With, um, me?”
Morgan studied her for a long moment. Her expression changed to thoughtful, almost frightened. It was something Shelby had come to call her “scientist face.” Where her brain worked through all the possible outcomes of the experiment to determine a risk versus reward calculation. It was the same one she had when Shelby first pointed out the cabin porch light in the distance after the crash and when she realized one of them would have to go back to the road to clear the snow off the car.
She wasn’t exactly excited to see the calculations happening. Shelby knew she was a risk for Morgan and she had no idea if she represented enough of a reward. She never really had been for anyone in the past. Of course, that had never bothered her before. Maybe she had done her own calculations in those past relationships and she had never closed the deal long-term with girlfriends before. But she hadn’t wanted them like she wanted Morgan. Not just the sex, but she really, really wanted to have coffee in bed with her on the weekends.
“I’m willing to take a look at your offer.” Morgan rubbed her chin. “How soon can you work up a quote for me on this whole being domestic with you thing?”
A string that had been pulled too tight for too long in Shelby’s chest snapped. A gurgle of laughter bubbled up in her throat, and it was half humor, half disbelief.
“Did you just make a sales joke about dating me?” Shelby asked.
“I sure did.” Morgan laughed and pulled Shelby into her lap, silencing her laughter with a sweet, hungry kiss. “I’d love to drink coffee and catch up on work in bed with you, but, sweetheart? Not right now.”
Morgan surged forward, knocking Shelby onto her back and slipping between her legs. Shelby’s heart rate tripled at the feel of their naked skin pressed together. Maybe she didn’t need a meal or coffee after all.
“Right now,” Morgan said. “I’m going to have to take my shirt back.”
Epilogue
“Take it all in, kids. You’ve arrived.”
Morgan still didn’t think she qualified as a kid and she still didn’t think anyone had ever truly “arrived” by walking into the Joseph A. Floreano Riverside Conference Center in Rochester, New York, but she would never take this moment away from Chad. She also held a special place in her heart for Rochester and for this conference center in particular, so she wouldn’t besmirch its name. Most importantly, however, was the fact that she would never embarrass Chad in front of his new protege.
“Wow, this place is huge,” Mateo said in an awed murmur.
“Don’t be intimidated. Morgan and I will show you the ropes. Maybe even introduce you to some of the rock star sales types from other companies.”
Chad shot Morgan a conspiratorial grin, but Mateo looked aghast at the very thought of meeting competitors. In fact, Mateo looked aghast a lot. And scared. And nervous. And pretty much every other emotion. Maybe it was because he was so young, maybe it was just his personality, but every single emotion he felt was splashed like a neon billboard across his face. It was endearing in a way, but it didn’t do him any favors to look like a frightened rabbit when a customer asked a question he didn’t expect.
Still, Mateo was a sweet kid and he had a lot of potential. All he needed was a little confidence, and Morgan knew a thing or two about that. After all, last year at this time she had been exactly in Mateo’s spot—the invitee of a benevolent mentor to an event that could be her big break. This year, she’d made the trip on her own merit, having landed a massive contract with a chain of doctor’s offices that stamped her ticket.
“There’s always something to learn from our competitors,” Morgan said. “And these shows are all about networking.”
“Is that what these shows are all about?”
The silky purr of Shelby’s voice against her earlobe made a burst of goose pimples flash across Morgan’s neck. Fortunately, Chad had dragged Mateo off to a nearby booth for the latest model of refrigerated centrifuges, so they didn’t hear her stifled groan.
“You love sneaking up on me, don’t you?” Morgan said over her shoulder.
“Sometimes I’m lucky and it makes you squeak like you’ve seen a mouse.”
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Morgan couldn’t wait any longer, so she turned to take in Shelby’s dazzling eyes and smug grin.
“It was just so cute.”
“It wasn’t cute. It was embarrassing.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Shelby wrapped her arms around Morgan’s neck, flagrantly violating the no-touching-while-working policy they’d had to enact after an illicit meeting in a client’s bathroom. “Nothing you could ever do is embarrassing. You’re endlessly sexy and charming.”
“Don’t try to flatter me. You’re the charming one and you know it.”
“Baby, you could charm the skin off a snake,” Shelby drawled.
Over the last year, Morgan had discovered a weakness for North Carolina accents and strange, undecipherable Southern aphorisms. Whenever Shelby was feeling particularly amorous, she pulled out one or the other, but to pull out both at once was overkill.
“Glad to hear it.” Then she finally leaned in. She caught Morgan’s lips with hers and slipped her tongue into Morgan’s mouth. That kiss that had haunted her dreams was nothing compared to this one. She knew for certain this kiss wasn’t born of boredom or lack of options. This was a kiss they had both craved for weeks and they wouldn’t be denied.
Morgan had no fears about appearing desperate. She was desperate and she was fine with it. She threw her arms around Shelby. Shelby’s arms tightened around her, fingers clawing into Morgan’s back and making her mind go blissfully blank.
Morgan was fully prepared to throw Shelby back on the counter or, even better, on the kitchen floor, but Shelby pulled back far enough to pant until she caught her breath.
“Where is your bedroom?” Shelby asked.
Chapter Twenty-three
Shelby walked into every room like she owned it, and that included Morgan’s bedroom. She didn’t turn on the light or wait for Morgan to invite her in. She just marched to the foot of the bed, turned to sit on the edge of the mattress, then crooked her finger in Morgan’s direction with a smoldering look that could have melted the paint off the walls.
Morgan forgot about the way her button up had twisted in the waistband of her khakis while they were making out. She forgot how she smelled like garlic and wine. She forgot that Shelby had only ever seen her naked body broken and bruised. When a woman like Shelby looked at you the way she was looking at Morgan right now, there was no room to be self-conscious. When a woman like Shelby looked at you like that, you were bulletproof.
Shelby spread her legs and Morgan knelt between them like a supplicant. She didn’t wait to be invited or ask what Shelby wanted. She ran her hands greedily through that goldenrod hair and dragged those ruby lips to meet hers. Morgan bathed in her. Devoured her. Worshiped her. When Shelby’s legs wrapped around her back and the heel of her pumps scraped against Morgan’s back, she lost herself in the sensation of their joining.
As they kissed hungrily, Shelby crawled toward the pillows, dragging Morgan on top of her. Morgan pushed the thick, cabled sweater up to expose Shelby’s stomach. She slid her tongue up and down that pale skin she’d barely tasted before. A glimmer of doubt flashed in the back of her mind, waiting for the angry bumblebee buzz of snow mobiles to interrupt them again. But they were hundreds of miles from that snowbound cabin and she had Shelby all to herself. She could spend all night right here on top of her, exhaustion the only barrier to an endless sea of shared ecstasy.
“Please, God, Morgan. I need you. Please don’t make me wait.”
In that moment, Morgan discovered her two new favorite sounds in the world. Shelby breathing her name like that and Shelby begging. She would do just about anything to hear them again, over and over, all night long.
Fortunately for Shelby, Morgan was just as desperate. She slid her hands up Shelby’s side until they encountered thick lace and ample breasts. She made quick work of the sweater, but she left the lace bra in place a while longer. Shelby made the most incredible noises as Morgan teased her through the lingerie, but it was nothing to the sound she made when Morgan’s lips wrapped around the already rock-hard bud of her nipple. Shelby arched up into her, searching for contact, and her thigh slipped between Morgan’s.
The pressure where Morgan needed it most nearly got the best of her, but she recovered quickly. Holding Shelby’s body down against the mattress with her own, Morgan lavished attention on first one nipple, then the other with tongue and teeth, but there were places far more tempting for her mouth to venture.
Shelby’s eyes flashed dangerously in the moonlight when Morgan slipped off her trousers and panties but left the heels in place. Morgan hadn’t been aware of how sensual it could be to feel the scrape of patent leather against her back until that night, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t get over the fetish any time soon. She made sure to strip naked so she could feel them against her skin before she lowered herself between Shelby’s legs.
Morgan started with a teasing flick of her tongue. She caught just the barest taste of Shelby, but it was enough to drive her wild with craving. She wanted to linger. She wanted to tease out tiny exclamations and build Shelby slowly to release, but her impatience got the better of her. She swiped the flat of her tongue hard against Shelby’s clit over and over. Soon Shelby was swearing and repeating her name in sharply increasing octaves. Within moments, Shelby’s back arched off the bed and she screamed her pleasure into the night air. But Morgan hadn’t had enough of either her pleasure or her taste, so she didn’t slacken her pace through Shelby’s first orgasm or her second. By the third, Shelby was begging for a break and Morgan reluctantly agreed.
She slid along the sweat-sheened length of Shelby’s panting form, caressing every inch of flesh she encountered on the way up. The moment she was within reach, Shelby grabbed her and buried her face in her neck, a quiet sob stifled against Morgan’s skin. The emotion shocked her at first, but it felt so good to hold Shelby close—to comfort her as she processed the sensations that overwhelmed her—that she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything but gratitude.
Even before Shelby’s breathing calmed, her body was moving. She pressed up into Morgan, her nipples tight and hard against her overheated skin. Morgan’s body quivered with anticipation and she couldn’t stop her hips from bucking forward. Shelby slid a thigh between hers and the pressure was deliciously perfect.
“Will you stay on top of me?” Shelby asked against her ear. “I need your weight holding me down.”
Morgan’s voice was lost as Shelby rocked her hips up and all she could do was nod. In truth, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. She’d dreamed of this so many times. Shelby’s body beneath her just like this. Her nails scratching into her back as she pressed her thigh against Morgan’s clit. Burying her face in the pillow next to Shelby’s neck as her orgasm ripped through her, throwing her rhythm into a frantic staccato. But her dreams had not prepared her for the glory of collapsing, spent and overwhelmed, into Shelby’s welcoming arms. Nothing could have prepared her for how right that moment felt. How they melted into one.
They spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, giving and receiving pleasure over and over, and each time they shared the same overwhelming emotion at having found their way into this moment together.
* * *
Shelby had never really appreciated the benefits of a padded fabric headboard. Her own bed had a nice wooden headboard that was pretty, but not nearly as comfortable as Morgan’s to lean against while working in bed. Of course, she never lingered in her own bed to work. Normally she got right up, made a pot of coffee, and got straight to work either in her home office or by hitting the road. Even on the weekends, she didn’t linger. As she snuggled a little deeper into the firm but cushioned headboard, she decided this would be another thing she would change.
It didn’t hurt, of course, that she had slipped into one of Morgan’s old T-shirts that was butter soft and carried the lingering scent of the woman herself mixed with lavender laundry detergent. Added to that were the adorable little cooing noises Morgan made in her sleep every so often, and Shelby had never had a better Saturday morning. Even as she thought about it, Morgan made another little contented sigh and snuggled deeper into her pillow. It was so cute Shelby fully turned her attention away from her laptop.
While she watched Morgan, she wondered if she’d ever had a morning like this. She couldn’t think of a time. Certainly not recently. It had been many years, possibly over a decade, since she’d had a girlfriend for longer than twenty-four hours. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried at all, it was just that she’d hadn’t felt like this with anyone in recent memory. Like she was completely relaxed and content with a woman but also kind of wanted to jump her bones constantly. Maybe this is what it was supposed to feel like? She wasn’t sure, but she hoped Morgan would be interested in figuring that out together.
A little while later, Morgan began to stir. She was slow to come awake, rolling over and grumbling and then slowly blinking her eyes open. She had such an open face. Shelby could see everything she was thinking as she worked herself into consciousness. Her eyes searched around, then landed on Shelby. A slow smile spread on her face as she looked up.
“Hey, you.” Morgan’s voice was gravelly with sleep and did a number on Shelby’s hormones.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“Not my fault. Someone kept me up past my bedtime.”
“Oh, babe, I had you in bed pretty early in the evening if I recall correctly,” Shelby said.
“Yeah, you did.” Morgan’s eyes sparkled and Shelby could tell she was replaying some of their greatest hits in her mind’s eye. She even looked like she might request a reenactment until her gaze landed on Shelby’s laptop. She sounded much more awake when she asked, “Are you working?”
“I sure am. I’m a morning person and I felt like a creep just sitting here watching you sleep.”
“Sorry, I’m not a morning person.”
Shelby closed her laptop and set it on the nightstand before sliding down into the sheets and pressing her whole body against Morgan’s. The shiver she felt run through Morgan was incredibly satisfying.
“I remember.” Shelby nibbled on Morgan’s ear. “I was always up before you in the cabin. Remember that first day when you caught me coming out of the shower?”
Morgan answered with a lingering, searing kiss and wandering hands. She seemed to appreciate Shelby’s decision to wear a T-shirt and nothing else, but when the hem of the shirt got pinched between their bodies, Morgan growled in frustration.
“Are you wearing my shirt?” Morgan asked.
Shelby leaned up and plucked at the fabric. It was a bright, sunshine yellow and had the words “Heroes Among Us, Lab Week 2019” emblazoned across it. She’d found it in the first drawer she’d checked in Morgan’s dresser and didn’t want to keep searching and possibly wake Morgan.
“I like it. It smells like you,” Shelby said.
Morgan stuck out her bottom lip in an adorable little pout. Shelby dropped a kiss on her extended bottom lip, but Morgan kept up her pout.
“Oh no, am I wearing your favorite shirt?” Shelby asked in mock horror.
“It’s not the specific shirt, it’s more that you’re wearing a shirt at all when you could be naked. Like me. We could be naked together.”
“But you have to tell me what this heroes thing means.”
Shelby pulled the shirt tight, trying to read the words, but noticing that her nipples showed rather prominently through the thin fabric. She liked the way Morgan’s eyes went all hungry and hazy and the way she couldn’t seem to make herself look away. She bent and slowly, sensually kissed Morgan, making sure to show in no uncertain terms how much she appreciated that desire.
“As much as I want to give you everything your little heart desires, I’m going to need at least one meal and three cups of coffee before you can seduce me again. Last night wore me out.” Shelby rolled back to her side of the bed.
“I’d love to argue, but I feel the same way.” Morgan laughed and flopped back onto her pillow. “Did you borrow anything else of mine while I was asleep?”
“Yes, actually. The coffeemaker.”
Shelby nodded across at the other nightstand where Morgan’s laptop sat next to a mug that had just about stopped steaming. Morgan did a double take, then sat up abruptly in bed.
Her reaction made Shelby worry. “Did I overstep? I’m sorry, I am a bit of a caffeine addict.”
“Wait.” Morgan stared incredulously at Shelby. “Do you expect us to spend our entire Saturday working?”
Shelby’s stomach dropped and the lingering taste of Morgan’s kiss soured on her tongue. “No, not exactly. I just…it was a dumb idea. Sorry.”
Morgan reached out and tilted her chin up to meet her eye. Shelby’s stomach still squirmed uncomfortably, but there was something unreadable and almost sweet in Morgan’s expression. Not to mention, her voice was gentle and kind. “Tell me. Please?”
“Like I said, it’s dumb.” Morgan didn’t release her chin, so Shelby took a deep breath and took the plunge. “It’s just that I’ve always wanted one of those relationships you see in sitcoms and rom-coms. With lazy weekend mornings in bed with coffee and a newspaper. But we spend our weekends working, so I thought, well, no one reads a newspaper anymore anyway. I thought we could have some coffee and work in bed for a little while.”
Morgan laughed quietly and dropped Shelby’s chin. “How domestic.”
Shelby’s chest tightened and she realized it was now or never. Morgan was the brave one to reach out for a date. This was Shelby’s time to be brave. Shelby’s time to ask for what she wanted even with the threat she may never get it.
“Is that something you might be interested in?” Shelby asked. “Being domestic? With, um, me?”
Morgan studied her for a long moment. Her expression changed to thoughtful, almost frightened. It was something Shelby had come to call her “scientist face.” Where her brain worked through all the possible outcomes of the experiment to determine a risk versus reward calculation. It was the same one she had when Shelby first pointed out the cabin porch light in the distance after the crash and when she realized one of them would have to go back to the road to clear the snow off the car.
She wasn’t exactly excited to see the calculations happening. Shelby knew she was a risk for Morgan and she had no idea if she represented enough of a reward. She never really had been for anyone in the past. Of course, that had never bothered her before. Maybe she had done her own calculations in those past relationships and she had never closed the deal long-term with girlfriends before. But she hadn’t wanted them like she wanted Morgan. Not just the sex, but she really, really wanted to have coffee in bed with her on the weekends.
“I’m willing to take a look at your offer.” Morgan rubbed her chin. “How soon can you work up a quote for me on this whole being domestic with you thing?”
A string that had been pulled too tight for too long in Shelby’s chest snapped. A gurgle of laughter bubbled up in her throat, and it was half humor, half disbelief.
“Did you just make a sales joke about dating me?” Shelby asked.
“I sure did.” Morgan laughed and pulled Shelby into her lap, silencing her laughter with a sweet, hungry kiss. “I’d love to drink coffee and catch up on work in bed with you, but, sweetheart? Not right now.”
Morgan surged forward, knocking Shelby onto her back and slipping between her legs. Shelby’s heart rate tripled at the feel of their naked skin pressed together. Maybe she didn’t need a meal or coffee after all.
“Right now,” Morgan said. “I’m going to have to take my shirt back.”
Epilogue
“Take it all in, kids. You’ve arrived.”
Morgan still didn’t think she qualified as a kid and she still didn’t think anyone had ever truly “arrived” by walking into the Joseph A. Floreano Riverside Conference Center in Rochester, New York, but she would never take this moment away from Chad. She also held a special place in her heart for Rochester and for this conference center in particular, so she wouldn’t besmirch its name. Most importantly, however, was the fact that she would never embarrass Chad in front of his new protege.
“Wow, this place is huge,” Mateo said in an awed murmur.
“Don’t be intimidated. Morgan and I will show you the ropes. Maybe even introduce you to some of the rock star sales types from other companies.”
Chad shot Morgan a conspiratorial grin, but Mateo looked aghast at the very thought of meeting competitors. In fact, Mateo looked aghast a lot. And scared. And nervous. And pretty much every other emotion. Maybe it was because he was so young, maybe it was just his personality, but every single emotion he felt was splashed like a neon billboard across his face. It was endearing in a way, but it didn’t do him any favors to look like a frightened rabbit when a customer asked a question he didn’t expect.
Still, Mateo was a sweet kid and he had a lot of potential. All he needed was a little confidence, and Morgan knew a thing or two about that. After all, last year at this time she had been exactly in Mateo’s spot—the invitee of a benevolent mentor to an event that could be her big break. This year, she’d made the trip on her own merit, having landed a massive contract with a chain of doctor’s offices that stamped her ticket.
“There’s always something to learn from our competitors,” Morgan said. “And these shows are all about networking.”
“Is that what these shows are all about?”
The silky purr of Shelby’s voice against her earlobe made a burst of goose pimples flash across Morgan’s neck. Fortunately, Chad had dragged Mateo off to a nearby booth for the latest model of refrigerated centrifuges, so they didn’t hear her stifled groan.
“You love sneaking up on me, don’t you?” Morgan said over her shoulder.
“Sometimes I’m lucky and it makes you squeak like you’ve seen a mouse.”
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Morgan couldn’t wait any longer, so she turned to take in Shelby’s dazzling eyes and smug grin.
“It was just so cute.”
“It wasn’t cute. It was embarrassing.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Shelby wrapped her arms around Morgan’s neck, flagrantly violating the no-touching-while-working policy they’d had to enact after an illicit meeting in a client’s bathroom. “Nothing you could ever do is embarrassing. You’re endlessly sexy and charming.”
“Don’t try to flatter me. You’re the charming one and you know it.”
“Baby, you could charm the skin off a snake,” Shelby drawled.
Over the last year, Morgan had discovered a weakness for North Carolina accents and strange, undecipherable Southern aphorisms. Whenever Shelby was feeling particularly amorous, she pulled out one or the other, but to pull out both at once was overkill.
