Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MORGAN
She was in a bit of trouble.
Maribel had come in for some help after her last class and the two of them had gotten to work on Maribel’s project. The young woman had been inspired by some of her own research and wanted to start a program at the school. When she opened up her book bag and set down an accordion folder on the table, Morgan’s eyes had widened.
When the younger woman began talking about the program, Morgan was mesmerized.
“My cousin Eduardo is stationed in Hawaii and his wife is a teacher there at a local school. That’s why he told me about this.”
Morgan looked down at the short information sheet that Maribel had put together.
“So this program is like a teen counseling program?”
Maribel bit into the inside of her cheek and her gaze was a little troubled. “I’m… I’m not sure.”
She turned her head slightly away and her eyes focused on the table.
“Maribel?”
When the younger woman didn’t look up, Morgan reached out her hand and tapped her fingertip against the back of Maribel’s hand.
When her gaze lifted up, Morgan smiled.
“There… I don’t know what your experiences have been with other teachers, but as long as I’m here, you should know that there is no right or wrong answer when we’re talking about ideas, okay?”
Maribel nodded, slowly. “I guess I’m just not used to talking about things like this.”
“But you’re interested.” Morgan gestured at the folder and the neatly printed information form on the table. “I can tell you’ve put a lot of thought into this. And while I’m interested, I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. So I’m not arguing with you or trying to turn your ideas into something else. I’m trying to understand and discovering I’m not all that great about getting my meaning across to you.”
Maribel’s smile lifted. “I’m stumbling a bit myself. It’s all clear in my head, but trying to say what I’ve thought about… I guess I need a little practice.”
Morgan leaned her elbows on the table and lowered her voice. “Then, we can practice together, hmm? I think by the time you’re ready to take this a step further, maybe you and I will have become much better at these skills. Okay?”
Maribel nodded, slowly again. “I might still stumble…”
Morgan shrugged.“So how about we stumble together? And if one of us is having some trouble, we help each other out.”
Maribel’s whole face lit up. “That would be awesome!”
“You’re already awesome, Maribel. I’m honored that you would come to talk to me about this.”
Morgan could tell that Maribel’s mind was already whirring with excitement.
“Okay. You asked me if this was like peer counseling. I don’t think so. I think it’s a whole new thing that we haven’t tried here at the school. It’s more about personal responsibility and really reaching out to make a change with the other person.”
“The other person that you’re having a problem with?”
Maribel nodded. “I’m not saying that the person being bullied shares some responsibility for it happening to them, but it makes them an active participant in the solution.” Her cheeks warmed and her shoulders rolled forward a little. “In the past, bullying was ignored in some ways,” she looked up, “my sister had a bully and all the people in the office did was put the other person in detention and that only made them worse. No one really talked to them about why they did what they did and they certainly weren’t told about the effect it had. I think that’s why Eduardo wanted me to hear about this. I think he knew how interested I’d be in it.”
“Okay,” Morgan felt her own chest lighten as Maribel’s natural exhuberance lifted the feeling of the room. “Can you tell me how to pronounce this again?” She pointed at the heading of the paper.
“Ho’oponopono.” The lengthy word tripped off of Maribel’s tongue with ease.
Morgan could only lift a brow at it.
“Ho… the O is like o-h. So the first syllable is like Santa’s Ho Ho Ho.”
Morgan grinned. “All the Os are roundedlike that?”
Mirabel rounded her arms in front of her. “Yep. All Os are rounded.”
Morgan turned the paper slightly to look at it head on. So, it’s Hoh-oh-poh-noh-poh-noh?”
“Yes!” Maribel held up her hand for a knuckle bump.
Morgan met her halfway. “Okay. Next. How does this work?”
“Well,” Maribel wiggled in her chair a little, “that’s where this gets a little more difficult to explain, but I hope you’ll understand this when I’m done explaining.”
Morgan met Maribel’s gaze square on. “I’m listening.”
It didn’t take longer than a few minutes before Morgan was all in to help Maribel make her presentation to the school administration. It was going to take some work, but that wasn’t something that bothered Morgan. Especially when it came to students and their interest in being involved.
The fact that Maribel wanted to make a possitive difference in the lives of others?
Even better.
They were heavily into their conversation about the next step in the process when a knock at her doorframe turned both of their heads.
“Hello, ladies.”
Maybe it was just her previous interaction with Officer Munder, but her initial reaction to hearing his voice was to feel a pinch of unease between her shoulder blades.
Still, she did her best to keep things calm so that Maribel wouldn’t pick up on her own feelings.
“Hello, Officer Munder. Is everything okay?”
Maybe it was just her own issues popping up again, but when the school resource officer lifted his arm to look at his watch. He seemed to be over doing it a bit.
“It’s the end of the school day, Miss Rafferty. So I came by to make sure that you’re packing up so I can close up the school.”
She opened her mouth to say they were fine. It was an instinct, but she tried to get the students to understand the rules and follow them. How would it look for her to try and argue with Officer Munder?
“I’m sorry,” she gave him a soft smile, not because she felt it, but because she didn’t want to cause a problem, “we were discussing an idea and the time got away from me.”
The officer raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m glad I could come and remind you it’s time to clock out. I can walk the two of you out to the parking lot and-”
Maribel’s chair legs scratched the floor as she stood. She lowered her head, embarrassed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you off, sir. I can get to the front by myself, I didn’t realized what time it was.”
“I’ll go with you if you can wait for me to grab my bag.”Morgan was already moving, keeping her gaze from the officer’s. “I have to get home, too.”
She picked up her over the shoulder bag and opened her drawer to get her keys.
“Thanks, Officer Munder.” She put a smile on her face before she looked up. “It’s so wonderful to have excited students and excellent security to keep us safe.”
Morgan put her hand on Maribel’s back and the two of them moved past the officer into the outer walkway of the building.
She turned around to lock her classroom door, but the officer was already doing it.
When he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, he grinned. “I got this. It’s one thing about having keys to all the rooms in the school, I can be a big help…”
His words drifted off and Morgan had a feeling that he was trying to say something by his silence.
Morgan just didn’t want to hear it, she just wanted to get home where she felt completely safe.
As they walked up toward the front of the school, Morgan looked at the young woman walking beside her. “I’m here to help you with this, Maribel. I just want you to know that I’m-”
“Miss?” Maribel continued on quickly. “I don’t know why, but that man…” She shuddered. “Gives me the creeps.”
Morgan didn’t really want to argue with her comment. She was feeling something similar.
Still she had to say something and fell back on something her brother had always told her when she was growing up.
“I don’t think you should say anything like that to him,” she gave Maribel a nod, “but you should always let those feels guide you.”
Maribel nodded. “I know Benji doesn’t like him much either.”
Morgan almost tripped over her own feet at those words. Both of them stopped at the curb and Maribel looked over at the bus that was waiting by the curb.
“I asked him about it because before he said that to me, he always seemed to like the officer.” Maribel paused and her brow furrowed above her nose. “Or maybe it was that the officer seemed to like Benji so much, but after he got hurt, Officer Munder changed. I can’t explain it exactly, but things… just changed.”
“Maribel?”
The bus driver was waving at them.
“Time to go!”
Maribel looked torn. “Are you going to be okay?”
It humbled Morgan that the young lady was worried about her.
“Go on, Maribel. I’ll be fine. As soon as you get on the bus, I’m headed home.”
That seemed to reassure her.
“We’ll talk more about your ideas at school. I think you’re really onto a great idea.”
Maribel walked away with a smile on her face and a decided skip in her step.
Morgan couldn’t help but think that Maribel’s ‘off’ feeling about the resource officer was spot on, but that’s all it was. A feeling.
It didn’t matter that her own feelings were the same, she didn’t know anything concrete about the man.
She certainly wasn’t in a position to say much of anything about him besides her odd feelings.
That certainly wasn’t something she could write down in a report.
She knew that from life with her brother. He’d lectured her on the faulty reports people tried to make, so she knew what was actionable and her feelings weren’t good enough.
She had to talk to Benji.
RHETT
Rhett was worried about Morgan.
Since the first time they’d made love, they’d been intimate often, but when they weren’t discovering new ways to pleasure each other, or making food and eating together, she was holed away in her room, working on her lessons and other work when he knew what was bothering her.
Benji.
Yes, he was a student, but Rhett found out early on that Morgan cared about other people. She didn’t just teach these kids, she was doing everything she could to get to know them all and find ways to help them outside of the classroom.
She explained that it was just her love of Civics. Learning to help others in her community wasn’t something she did when she was younger. She knew that she’d been privileged at first, but the death of her parents had done a lot to show her the depths of sorrow and loss that others had faced at a much younger time of their lives.
Teaching, she’d told him, had given her an outlet for her need to give back. Teaching gave her the ability to do good for others and lift them up.
She’d come home from work, eager to share the headway she’s making with her students and some on an individual level.
Today, she’d come in from work and avoided his curious looks, ducking into the shower to avoid his usual after work question. “What happened today?”
It wasn’t until she’d come out of the shower, her hair a mass of wet curls, that she met his gaze.
She accepted his hug and leaned into his embrace.
“It’s fine.” She murmured the words into his shoulder. “I’m just… I’m just frustrated.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
She tightened her arms around him and hugged him like she was afraid he’d slip through her fingers.
“Not right now. I just want to be held by you.”
He tucked her closer and rocked her slightly side to side. “I won’t pass up this opportunity.” He smiled as she sighed and melted against him. “I love these moments, but I just wish that you were having a better day.”
She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and turned her head so her cheek was against his shoulder. “Do you think we could just lock the doors and never, ever leave again?”
“We could,” he explained, “but I know you love teaching and I’m pretty sure that Chief Blaise would send the team after me if I stopped showing up for work.”
“Huh,” she looked up at him and gave him a wobbly smile, “and they know how to break down doors. I’m thinking the management here at the apartment building might have a rather angry reaction to that?”
“Me not leaving or my friend’s breaking down the door?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled at him, her whole expression lightening at his question. “You’re being silly.”
“I’d do anything to make you smile.”
She swooned a little. “You’re like Tim McGraw,” she hummed his song and Rhett softly sang along.
“Just to see you smile…”
She lifted her head and wiped at her eyes. “You are too sweet to me.”
He lifted a hand and brushed some of her hair from her face. “I just want you to be happy. I’m worried that you’re coming home on the verge of tears.”
“I know I’m probably over-wrought and I know I’m overreacting, but I think it’s because this is all new to me. My mentors in the teaching program said that I was too interested in being friends with the students, but I wasn’t. I just wanted to find out about them and see if there were things I could help with. Some of my mentors were trying to get me to change my focus from teaching to something more administrative, but I couldn’t give up on my dream to teach.”
He gently skimmed his knuckles across her cheek. “You shouldn’t give up your dreams or your teaching job. You’re smart and generous with your spirit. You give your students a real connection to the subject. You’re excited about the subject, but even more importantly, you’re interested in them. I know that Benji saw that. Or perhaps he felt it.”
Morgan looked up at him, her eyes shining with what he could see was hope. “How do you know?”
“When he collapsed, he wanted you close. You shielded him. Got him help. He knows deep down that you’re trying to help him. That goes a long way when someone is suffering.”
“I was hoping that his mother would let me talk to him.”
“That’s the issue,” he began, “or maybe it’s one of the causes. His mother won’t let you anywhere near him.”
She looked at him, holding back tears. “I know I can help.”
Rhett touched her lips with his own, a gentle kiss. One he hoped that would lift her spirits and show her that he was there with her. Caring for her.
“Benji went to extreme lengths to keep everyone around him from finding out that he was suffering beyond being hurt. You have the best of intentions, but Benji’s mother has her own intentions. And in the eyes of the law, she is the one who holds precedence over your concern.”
He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her as if he was trying to shield her from all of the hurt in the world.
No, not ‘as if.’
He really did want to shield her from the pain she was feeling and the sorrow.
“We’ll find a way to help him, Morgana.”
A soft smile touched her laps. “You keep calling me that.”
Rhett gently rubbed his hand up and down her arm, humming in a soothing manner.
Morgan leaned into his touch.
“I call you that because I think the name fits you. A little mysterious. A sensual woman who comes alive and lets me into her soul. You give me joy, Morgana.”
“You give me love, Palmer.” She wrapped her arms around his body and he felt his heart beating against her own. “More than I could ever ask for.”
“You don’t have to ask me for love, Morgana. I’m giving it to you. I’ll give you everything I am.”
She stepped back from him, the towel that she’d wrapped around herself falling away.
He couldn’t help but watch her with hunger in his eyes. “What are you doing, Morgana?”
“I’m trying to seduce you. Isn’t that obvious?” She held out her hand for his. “I want to thank you for being so supportive.”
He put his hand in hers and she turned her hand to weave their fingers together.
When she tugged on his hand and led him into his bedroom, he didn’t just choose to follow her. He went with her willingly.
She tugged on the waistband of his grey sweatpants, and he felt the ties come apart. “I have an idea.”
He could hardly breathe let alone speak.
“Lift your foot.”
Of course he did.
She pulled his sweatpants free of his foot.
And then she looked up at him with a mischievous smile on her face.
“Now the other.”
He did what she asked because his Morgana wasn’t just the woman he loved, she was truly a sorceress. And he was happy to be under her spell.
Rhett stood there before her, bare from the waist down.
She stood up and took the hem of his shirt in her hands, and with his only-too-eager-help, she lifted his shirt up and off of him.
When she tossed it to the floor, he grimaced a little. “I’ll grab my clothes later and put them in the hamper.”
Her smile dazzled him, but it was the look of sharp humor in her eyes that told him he was in trouble.
“That’s fine.” Morgana leaned closer and that’s when he felt her hand on his cock. “I’ll just put my hands on this now.”
As she wrapped her hand around his erection, she lowered herself down to her knees until she was eye to…
The feel of her tongue against the head of his cock stole every thought from his head and sent more blood rushing into his hardening flesh.
He felt a soft vibration and looked at her face. She was smiling at him, and her shoulders were shaking softly with laughter.
“Careful,” he cautioned her.
“Careful?”
He groaned knowing it was his fault that she’d taken her mouth away from where he wanted it.
“Yes, careful. You keep doing that,Morgana,” he drew out her name to emphasize his feelings, “and I might just turn the tables on you.”
“Turn the table?” She leaned forward and swept her tongue along the length of his erection. “Is that like bending me over one?”
He clenched his teeth together as the image of her words formed in his head.
Morgan, laid forward on their table, her hands grasping the edge as he gripped her hips…
“Fuck.” The thought flew from his head as she took him into her mouth. “Morgan.”
She looked up at him, one brow raised in a kind of taunt.
“Morgana…” he groaned as one of her hands slid up between his legs and cupped him in her palm. “Where,” he gasped, “where did this come from.”
He realized his mistake a moment later when she pulled her mouth away from him.
“I’ve been wanting you for years, Palmer. Some of what I’ve added to my list of things that I want to do to you would make you blush.”
“Oh yeah?”
His disappointment of her taking her heat from him, dissolved as he considered her words. “Make me blush?”
”Oh, I have a lot of ideas.” She nodded as she pulled off her blouse, leaving her in her delicate pink satin bra.
His cock jumped at the change in his view and Morgan smiled, likely enjoying his reaction.
She put her hands on his thighs and leaned in.
The moment before her lips touched his cock,he swept the tip of his tongue along the inside of his upper teeth. “I dare you.”
He saw the flare of light in her eyes as soon as the words registered.
Morgan Rafferty…
No, Morgana, his temptress and lover, got up on her knees and took him deep into her mouth as her eyes smiled at him.
Oh, she was going to take that challenge…
All he could do was try to survive it.