Chapter 20
WISHING FOR EUPHEMISMS
NELSON
Morgan moaned again. He’d been rubbing his head and moaning for at least three minutes, although it felt closer to three hours. I didn’t know him well enough to hear him make noises like that.
When the moaning finally changed to a rather satisfied sigh, I dared to glance over at him again.
Without the cloak, the makeup, and the harsh black wig, Morgan appeared very different from when I’d first met him at the hotel.
Now he looked a lot like one of the oracle’s paintings, the one where he was in a cage.
Would Venus, the wolf, or the hunter assholes recognize him like this? I hoped not. The fewer people who could identify him the better. Because we may have escaped the market, but I didn’t think Morgan was safe yet.
I glanced at my phone. I needed to update Gage. I didn’t have a lot of information to pass along, but I could at least let him know we’d made it to Chinook Pines.
Morgan inched a little closer to me again. What was he up to?
“Are you cold?”
“Is that a euphemism? Like asking someone in for coffee but what you're really talking about is sex?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Are you going to offer to warm me up?”
“Uh… No?” I cleared my throat. “No euphemism. Just wondering if we should build a bigger fire.”
“Darn, I was hoping for euphemisms.” He frowned and tilted his head to the side as he considered my question. “No, I’m warm enough, I think. But, if you had been talking about sex, the answer would have been yes.”
I stared at him, barely biting back a bark of surprise.
“Do you think we should strip out of our wet clothes?” He reached for the zipper on his jacket. “That’s what they say to do, right? Take off wet clothes. Dry them by the fire.”
He was right. We should shed our wet clothing, but the alternative…
Oh shit, he was tugging the zipper down.
“Stop.” Was I begging? I sounded too breathless for it to be a command.
He crawled closer. When our gazes met, he tried batting his eyelashes again. It was ridiculous, but at the same time, kind of adorable. And now that the makeup and wig were gone, I could see how attractive he was, and that wasn’t helping at all.
In the glow of the firelight, his irises appeared wreathed in opal-like sparkles, although as a unicorn, his eyes might always look like that.
His front teeth were a little crooked, but in an endearing sort of way.
And when he smiled, his whole face embraced the joy.
He had little crinkles at the sides of his eyes, and deep smile lines bracketed his mouth.
After scratching his head so much, his hair stuck up in all directions.
His messy curls had a faint iridescent sheen to the light brown locks, making his face appear wreathed in rainbows.
I followed the wavy locks with my eyes all the way down to the delicate shell of his ear, and from there to the soft cashmere of the scarf I’d lent him.
At some point he’d tugged it away from his throat, so my gaze could trace the long, thin column of his neck and the bump of his Adam’s apple.
I licked my lips, imagining how soft his skin would feel under my mouth. Would he taste sweet? How warm would his skin be? He moved, and my gaze shot up to meet his. His grin, somehow, widened even more. He’d caught me ogling him, and now he obviously had the wrong idea…
“We need to talk,” I said, pressing into the corner of the couch, away from him.
“Again? Why do you keep doing this to me?” He rubbed his chest as if my words had physically hurt him. “Or is this going to be a sex talk? Because I know about the birds and the bees and the succubus.”
“I don’t want to talk about sex,” I assured him.
He shrugged. “I thought this had all the makings of a hookup. Meet a stranger. Go to a quiet place alone with them. Have sex. You know.”
I did know. I’d had my share of hookups. That’s usually how I preferred things. Short. Anonymous. Satisfying enough. At thoughts of sex, my body responded.
“No,” I said sharply. Whether I was saying that to my dick or to Morgan, I didn’t know.
“Well. That’s disappointing.” He sank back against the sofa, but he was still too close. At least he’d stopped advancing toward me. “Because I’d totally let you braid my mane, if you know what I mean.”
I stood to put another log on the fire. It didn’t need it. I’d put two on when I needed to distract myself from him a few minutes ago. But at this rate, if Morgan kept saying shit like that, I’d end up smothering the fire.
I’d never been a coward before, but there was a first time for everything. After I placed the logs, I stayed beside the fire. I didn’t trust myself to return to the couch.
“So,” I said, clearing my throat.
“So,” he mimicked. He was sitting cross-legged on the couch now. He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Why are you standing over there?”
“Just stretching my legs.”
“I’ll quit talking about sex if you sit down again.
” He sighed as he lifted his hands like he was surrendering.
“I promise. No more sex talk. I won’t make any innuendos.
Someone could tape our every conversation from here on out, and it’d be suitable for all audiences.
No parental guidance required. Good for kiddos of all ages.
Not even those words that are sort of like swear words but aren't. Super scrubbed. Like my face.”
This was what I wanted, right? So why did I feel like an ass?
To keep from reaching for him, I clenched my hands. I didn’t even know why I wanted to touch him. I just did. But I couldn’t let myself do that.
“I tried messaging my people earlier,” I started. “There is no service.”
He frowned. “We definitely shouldn’t buy a place here. I need my streaming services.”
“You’re buying a cabin? Here?”
“Not now I’m not.”
I still wasn’t following, but that was okay.
A moment later, Morgan’s nostrils flared as he inhaled audibly through his nose. His chest rose noticeably before deflating again. He blinked.
“Are you yawning?” I asked. “Without opening your mouth?”
He rolled one of his shoulders, but he didn’t speak. He wasn’t smiling either. And he hadn’t wiggled in at least five minutes.
“Morgan, I’m sorry if I made you feel you need to censor yourself. That wasn’t what I wanted.”
“Should we make up the bed?” he said, jumping off the sofa.
Yeah. We probably should, especially if he was tired. Although I suspected his suggestion stemmed from his not wanting to talk to me right now. Oh, the irony of me, the shadow, being the one who wanted to talk.
Once he was settled, I’d figure out something for myself. Shifting was an option. But my shadow form often made people uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to discomfit Morgan any more than I already had.
While I removed the seat cushions and unfolded the mattress and frame, Morgan dug through a chest to find a stash of lumpy pillows, sheets, and several blankets, including a couple of patchwork quilts, one thick fuzzy brown blanket with an elk on it, and a few small woolen blankets.
They all reeked of cedar, which made me sneeze, but at least they weren’t riddled with moth holes.
Wordlessly, we made the bed and plumped up the pillows. When we were done, we stared at one another across the double-sized mattress. His cheeks were bright pink, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with his snow facial earlier or the heat from the fire now.
“I’ll… um…” I glanced around for something to say that’d ease the sudden awkwardness. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
We both looked at the hard, cold floor.
“I’ll use the cushions from the sofa,” I said.
He frowned. “Why?”
I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure how to answer him. If I told him he was too tempting, he might think about hooking up again. And that would be bad.
Really.
Morgan held his hand up like he was taking an oath. “I promise not to touch you inappropriately while you sleep.”
“It isn’t that. I just thought you’d feel more comfortable if I—”
“Nope. You’re staying right there.” He jabbed his finger at the mattress, narrowing his eyes at me as if daring me to contradict him.
My brain must have short-circuited because I couldn’t think of anything to say.
He nodded sharply when I didn’t argue with him.
“Good. Now, since the water is off, I’ll step outside for a minute to take care of business before I turn in. ”
“Uh. Right. Okay. Don’t go too far.” I clenched my hands into fists. I didn’t like that he was going out in the storm, by himself, at night, when we were running from Magic only knew who. But I understood. Some activities needed privacy.
We stared at one another for another long moment.
“Okay, then, I’ll just…” He waved to the door.
“Right.” I nodded. “I’ll see about banking the fire. Do you want to fill a pot with snow while you are out there? We might need some water in the morning.”
I forced myself to poke at the fire as he moved across the room. I wanted desperately to follow him, to make sure he stayed safe, but yeah… That’d be crossing a line.
When he stepped outside, I exhaled slowly and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. I’d put too many logs on earlier. It’d take forever before these burned down. It looked like I’d be tending the fire quite a while longer.
That was okay. I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep tonight anyway.