Fathom(18)

“Why did you leave me? You said you’d never leave me.”

He dropped his head in shame. “I’ll never forgive myself for that.” He said. “I thought you didn’t want to be with me. You said we weren’t right for each other.”

“I didn’t mean it!” I interrupted.

“I know.” He traced the bridge of my nose. “At the time I thought you didn’t want to be with me. When I left you, it hurt me tremendously but I thought perhaps you were better off without me.”

“No, I never want to be without you.”

“Nor I without you,”

Taking my face in his hands, he placed his lips over mine, stalling the kiss, making me want it. When he finally began to kiss me, I desperately wanted him. I wrapped my arms around Thayde’s chest and felt my body melt into his. Passionately, he pulled me to him and a second later, he froze.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Why?”

“You’re not feeling well. You wanted to sleep.”

“Yeah, I wanted to. I don’t want to anymore.”

His arm slide behind my back and I began to unbutton his shirt.

“What are you doing?” His voice was full of mischief.

“Nothing,” I slid his shirt over the side of his shoulder, revealing his beautifully muscled arm.

“Morgan,” he began.

“Shhh…” I hushed him and finished unbuttoning the rest of his shirt.

As I began to kiss his neck and collarbone, his breathing quickened but he didn’t move. Slowly, I made my way to the middle of his chest and rubbed my nose and cheek against it. His heart sounded as if it would beat through his chest. Looking to his face, I was surprised to see his eyes were shut.

“I love you,” I said and his eyes opened.

“I love you more.”

“Nu-uh.”

“Ya-huh.”

I tugged at his shirt and he looked alarmed.

“Morgan, we can’t.”

“And we’re not. But we can play, can’t we?”

“You’re not really in the best shape at the moment.”

I reached forward, trailing my fingers over his rippled stomach. “I think I can handle it,” I said and pulled the shirt off him.

It was all I could do to keep from going further. Hearts pounding fiercely, our breathing quickened. The energy we began to create surrounded us in its loving warmth. My arms found their way around his back and my hands ran the length of it, feeling the strength in his muscles as they led to his trim waist. His desperate kisses grew more and more passionate and finally, he rested his forehead against mine.

“We’ve got to stop,” he breathed heavily.

“No, we don’t.”

“Your parents are on the next floor!”

“I don’t care.”

He pulled back. “Morgan, we can’t, not yet.”

I was so frustrated I could have screamed.

“I know how you feel,” he said and pulled me sideways into his embrace again, his heart pounding against my back. “I want you so much,” he whispered. “I don’t think I can keep playing anymore.”

I didn’t want to keep playing either. I squeezed his hand in agreement and we lay, spooning in the bed, until we both fell asleep.





Chapter Six




The Shadow



Gold rays from the morning sun squeezed between my eyelids, forcing me awake. For a moment, I struggled to remember where I was. The memories came flooding back as soon as I felt Thayde’s warm skin pressed against my back. Easing forward, I peeled myself away from him and sat up. My clothes were so disheveled, it would take an army to iron the wrinkles out.

I had been right when I figured this would be the nicest place I had ever stayed. If the rest of the suite were as nice as our room, we were all in for a real treat. Trust Thayde to go all out. I looked down at him, asleep next to me and let my greedy eyes soak in the view.

He lay on his back, his face away from me. One arm was flung to the side, the other he held close to him, his hand resting on his hip. Though completely relaxed, his sleek body was still beautifully defined. I wondered if I was weird because I took such pleasure from looking at him; he was a piece of art.

Making a slight noise, he turned his head. A dark shadow seemed to grow up the side of his face. Alarmed, I shifted so I could see better. A thick smoke-like line inched from the damaged area in his chest up his neck, to the side of his face.

“Thayde!” I jostled him and his eyes opened wide. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Look at your face!”

He rolled out of bed and stood in front of a mirror that hung on the wall. I watched him frown as the mark slowly shrank.