Morgan turned and looked in the mirror, bracing herself on the vanity. “I’m not cut out for all of this, Lucas.”
I leaned against the sink, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “It’s just a club. If you want to go, we can—”
“It’s not the club, it’s the women throwing themselves at you. It’s the expectation that you’ll hook up with them, because I know you would have. Or maybe you still do, I don’t know. And it’s not my right to tell you not to because what you and I are doing isn’t serious. It’s just sex. But it bugs me, all right. It bugs me a lot. And when Marla tells me how there have been so many before me, it makes me feel like crap, okay.”
I gripped her shoulders in my hands and forced her to look at me. “First of all, don’t listen to a thing Marla Denham has to say. She’s a spiteful cunt.”
Morgan’s eyes widened. “Lucas, don’t say that word. It’s awful. Even if it totally describes that woman.”
“Sorry.” I was sufficiently chastised. “Yes there have been other women. Lots of them in fact.”
Morgan made a face and I kissed her. I needed it. She needed it to. “But you’re different.”
“I swear, I want to smack you when you say that. It sounds horrible.”
I grinned. “But it’s true. I love sex with you. But more than that, I like spending time with you.”
Morgan pulled out of my grasp. She dabbed her face with a tissue, wiping away the tears. “It doesn’t matter, I’m not cut out for all this. It drives me crazy, you know. Seeing those women want you.”
My fingers itched to touch her. But I didn’t. She seemed to need the space so I gave it to her. “It doesn’t matter if other women want me, Morgan,” I said quietly. She wouldn’t look at me. God damn it, I needed her to look at me. “It doesn’t matter because I wantyou. Only you.”
“Until the next hot piece of ass comes along, right? Don’t you see, Lucas, I’ll always be wondering when you’re going to drop me for someone else. I don’t want to be clingy. I don’t want to be the jealous shrew demanding you call every day and text me where you’re going, but I worry I’ll be that woman with you. Because you’re you and being adored is your life.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I wrapped my arms around her, her face fitting into the curve of my shoulder. I rested my chin on the top of her head. “Then I suppose I’ll just have to prove to you that you can trust me. That you’re the only woman I think about. That I won’t just walk away.”
“I’m scared to try with you,” she admitted.
“I’m scared too. I’m worried I’ll mess it up. But I’ll try like hell not to. I want to be with you, Morgan. Only you.” I held her tight. “Just you.”
“You’ll break my heart, Lucas,” she whispered, her face pressed into my shirt.
I kissed the top of her head. “No, Morgan, I’m pretty sure you’ll break mine.”
I realized I was okay with that. And I longed for the pain.
Morgan
The pictures of us were everywhere.
We’d even made the bigger national publications.
They knew my name now.
Morgan Carter, Lucas Bradley’s American sweetheart, they called me. Maybe I should be flattered.
Mostly I felt the need to hide under the biggest rock and never come out again.
“God, you’re everywhere,” Hayley said, holding out the article in The Sun for me to see. There was a rather clear picture of Lucas and me kissing in Spitalfield’s. Another had us holding each other inside the club. Another of us kissing in the booth in the VIP section. I hadn’t realized so many people were taking pictures of us.
“You sure look cozy.” Hayley sipped her tea while reading the article. “It seems they’ve already learned quite a bit about you. They have a lot in here. The town in Virginia where you’re from. Your mum’s name. The fact that you’re on a Tier 2 Visa. Damn, how do they get this information? I thought that stuff was confidential.”
“This is just great. Now everyone knows my entire history. I’ve always wanted people knowing every detail of life,” I said sarcastically.
Hayley closed the newspaper and left it on my desk. “So are you dating Lucas now? It definitely looks that way.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“Oh, I know what that smile means. You’re in love,” Hayley joked, pointing at me.
