Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 Read Online Free PDF Page B

across her face. “Better?” Ian laughed again,
then shook his head.
    “Even
angry, you're beautiful,” he told her and brought his hand from
her leg to the top of the table to grab his drink. “There's not
much to me, really. Born here, raised in Texas with my parents, then
moved back here when I was fourteen to take care of my
abuela...grandma,” he added, realizing Morgan may not
understand. “But I'm sure you're not wondering about that.”
    She
smiled, then grabbed one of the fried jalapenos from the small red
bowl in front of them. “That's a good start,” Morgan told
him.
    His
smiled back. “When I was a kid, I dreamed of owning one of the
big hotels we'd vacation in. When my grandmother died, she left
everything to me...including enough money to buy a small complex. I
fixed it up and rented out apartments for a while, and when I had
money, I upgraded....and so on...” Morgan nodded, then asked
the burning question.
    “So,
where do I come in?”
    “Everyone
wants me to settle down, move out of the hotel and get a life. I have
a life and I love it,” Ian began. His words reminded her of
Sean and she nodded, understanding his meaning perfectly. “I
just want to be free. Yes, I get lonely at times, but I don't want to
obligate any woman to do everything I want to do either. If I wake up
in the morning and want to go to Brazil for the weekend...”
    “Then
you can.” Morgan admired him for his honesty and appreciated
the fact he knew what he wanted...or in his case, what he didn't
want. Ian didn't want to be tied down, that was understandable too.
He nodded slightly, then passed Morgan her food.
    “Enough
of all this serious stuff,” he waved his hand as if he were
swatting an insect. “Try this first,” Ian poked a fork
into a pepper and held it up for Morgan to take a bite. Just like
that, they were back to light, playful conversation.
    “Wow...
that's hot! But delicious!” She fanned her mouth, not that it
helped the stinging in her lips and tongue, and took a drink of wine
before taking another bite. Her meal had arrived as she enjoyed
another pepper, and looked the plate over with approval before
thanking the man for his excellent meal choosing skills. “Pot
roast?” It didn't matter what he called it, it looked like one
of her favorite meals, and that was good enough.
    He
told her that she was basically correct, however, the seasoning was a
bit different and it was also served with rice. Morgan took a
healthy bite, and closed her eyes as a moan of approval sounded from
her chest. “This is wonderful...,” her words were cut
short when Ian's warm fingers went to her cheek, and slowly moved to
her lips. She opened her eyes and saw that he was mere inches away,
and her gaze dropped to his mouth before he pressed his lips to hers
gently. It was sweet. Brief. Intimate. “Maybe we should
skip shopping.” She spoke to the man, barely above a whisper,
as she leaned her forehead against his.
    “Whatever
the lady wants, the lady will have.” Morgan smiled, still
leaning against him, and nodded slowly.
    “You'll
have to stop telling me that, I may take advantage of you.”
His soft laughter, as he pulled away from her slowly, brought a new
wave of desire for the man that she barely knew. It was always
exciting for her to learn what was attractive in a man, and laughter
was one thing that she desired above all else.
    Morgan
tried to behave herself as they enjoyed their meals, but lust's
tension remained thick between the couple through every topic that
was discussed over dinner. She found herself drawn to the occasional
flicker of light that would dance across the sand colored flecks
within his otherwise dark brown eyes.
    He
spoke of the hotel, and the work that never seemed to end, while she
leisurely scanned his thin black V neck sweater, down to his
expensive dark jeans. She put her hand briefly over her lips to hide
the smile that formed as she thought of how much she hated that type
of