Morgan slid her hands up Patrick's arms before hooking them around his neck and pulling her body tight against his. She wished that she could be some brazen seductress but instead she'd have to settle for brushing her lips across his and hoping that he would lead her.
And lead her he did. Morgan moaned against Patrick's lips as he hefted her again, sliding his arms beneath her thighs to hold her tight to his body. Slowly, he backed from the kitchenette until his knees hit the bed, his lips never leaving hers. Morgan gasped against his mouth, ravenous for more, a need clawing through her that she didn't know how to deal with.
"I want…I want," Morgan said against his lips, not knowing what she wanted, only knowing that she didn't want him to stop.
Patrick eased down on the bed with Morgan now straddling him. The position provided her with intimate knowledge of his lust, and she ground herself against his hard length, craving his nearness.
"Shhh," Patrick laughed at her and then rolled, dislodging Morgan so she lay on her back on the bed, bracing his arms around her head.
"Patrick," Morgan said, struggling to breathe easily.
"Let me," Patrick ordered and trailed one hand down her side until he reached the bottom of her shirt. He tugged a little and Morgan realized what he was asking. Nervous, but excited just the same, Morgan lifted herself and pulled the shirt over her head, and made quick work of her pants as well. She propped herself on her arms, suddenly feeling like she wanted to hide, and pulled her long hair to hide the plain white bra that covered her breasts.
"Beautiful," Patrick whispered, reaching out to still her hands. He tucked her hair behind her shoulders and traced his finger across the strap of her bra. "You have no idea what you do to me."
"Really?" Morgan said, pleasure and a newfound confidence seeping through her. "I wish that I had sexier underwear or something."
Patrick laughed and closed his eyes for a second.
"Trust me, plain white can be really hot. It’s really sexy on you. I'm barely holding back here," Patrick said, continuing to toy with the strap of her bra, his eyes on hers.
Morgan reached behind for the clasp of her bra.
"Show me…show me how you feel," she whispered, unclasping the bra and pulling it from her body.
"Sweet Jesus," Patrick breathed and reached out with both his hands to cup her breasts. Morgan jumped as his thumbs brushed across her sensitive nipples and on a curse, Patrick crushed his mouth to hers.
She was lost, so lost, Morgan thought as she fell into a spiral of heat and emotion. Her body seemed fluid and warm under his touch, her mind so completely focused on the sensations he was pulling from her that she didn't once worry about if anything in her apartment was levitating. A coil of heat seemed to form low in her stomach, and she moved her hips against Patrick's, knowing she wanted him to touch her more.
"You're so beautiful," Patrick murmured against her lips as he slowed his caress on her breasts and pulled back to look at her.
"Thank you, you're really handsome too," Morgan said awkwardly and then blushed.
Patrick laughed and toyed with the waistband to her underwear, his eyes tracing her body again before coming back to meet hers.
"I want to touch you everywhere," Patrick said softly, heat lacing his words.
Morgan gulped as her mouth went dry. She nodded, nerves tingling up her back.
"Lie back," Patrick ordered and pushed Morgan gently back onto the bed. He moved to lie propped on one arm, staring down at her.
"I'm going to go slow and if you want to stop, just tell me," Patrick said, nuzzling into her neck and nipping at a sensitive spot there that sent shivers down her back.
"Okay," Morgan said.
"Close your eyes," Patrick said and Morgan looked at him with concern.
"Why?" she stuttered.
"Because I want you to feel. Just feel," Patrick said softly, bringing his lips to her face, kissing her eyes closed.
Morgan closed her eyes, trying to do what he said. Thoughts ping-ponged through her mind. Where would he touch next? Should she touch him back?
"Morgan."
Her eyes shot open as she squinted up at him.
"What?"
"Relax. You're scrunching your whole face up to keep your eyes closed." He laughed at her and Morgan felt herself relaxing.
"Oh, sorry." She smiled and closed her eyes, letting the tension release from her face. With her eyes closed, her senses were heightened and when Patrick brushed his hand across her nipple again, she moaned.
And jerked when he replaced his hand with his mouth.
"Oh, oh my," Morgan said, as a new and decidedly delicious sensation rippled through her as he kissed her breasts, licking gently at her nipples.
Unable to help herself, Morgan arched her back, loving the feelings that Patrick was sending through her body. He continued to kiss her breasts as he slid a hand under the waistband of her underwear. Morgan stiffened involuntarily and then relaxed as Patrick kept his hand still, just lightly toying with her waistband. Morgan wondered why he didn't keep going. Craving more, almost desperate to know what these sensations inside of her were demanding, Morgan lifted her hips to move Patrick's hand further down onto her.
Patrick chuckled against her breasts and Morgan wanted to scream. She needed something, anything, to release this ball of tension that had formed low in her belly.
"Please," Morgan gasped out, unable to articulate what it was that she wanted, but knowing that it was probably the elusive orgasm that everyone always talked about. It wasn't like she'd been hiding in a bush all these years at school. She'd just never had the opportunity to experience it.
Nor had she ever trusted someone enough to touch her this way.
Morgan moaned as Patrick slid his hand lower to find her slick with heat. The lust in her belly kicked up about ten notches and Morgan found herself writhing, desperately aching for release, before Patrick finally slipped his fingers inside of her and took her over the edge with one nudge.
A beautiful wave of heat and release washed through her, slamming her back to the bed as pure joy rocketed through her. It felt like all of her nerve endings fired at once and Morgan shouted out, unable to contain her joy in the moment. It was so crystalline and perfect, she wanted to bottle it and sell it at the store.
Morgan opened her eyes to find Patrick smiling down at her, a very satisfied look on his face.
"Thank you," Morgan said, smiling up at him.
"I think you needed that," Patrick said, leaning down to brush his lips over hers, before pulling his hand from her underwear. He sat up and checked the clock.
"I should be going," Patrick said.
Morgan sat up, crossing her arms over her breasts, to look at him in confusion.
"That's it? What about you? What about…the rest of it?" Morgan motioned with her hand, confused, not sure if she was being rejected.
Patrick leaned forward, his shoulders strong and wide over her, as he nibbled gently at her bottom lip.
"I want the rest of it. But I promised you that I would go slow. So, slow it will be," he said against her lips.
Morgan reached up to hook her arms around his neck, her bare breasts pushing into his chest, her sensitive nipples enjoying the contact.
"But, what about, you know, you?" Morgan said against his mouth.
"It won't be the first cold shower I've taken since I've met you," Patrick said and pulled her arms from around his neck to stand.
"Really?" Morgan said, intrigued by the thought of him lusting after her, a newly found confidence seeping through her.
"You don't have to look so delighted about it. Now, I know it's late and you've got to work in the morning. Can I take you to dinner…" Patrick paused and thought about it. "Sunday? Would Sunday work? I'm on close the rest of the week. You're welcome to come and keep me company at the pub though."
Morgan tilted her head and considered that.
"The village will gossip."
Patrick brushed
a finger over her nose.
"They already are."
Chapter 20
Morgan found herself humming the next morning as she stocked the display by the register with a new order of prints that had just arrived.
"Someone's in a good mood this morning," Aislinn commented as she came in from the back, her arms full of canvases.
"Here, let me help you," Morgan said, bypassing her comment.
She rushed to pull a few canvasses from Aislinn's arms, following her into the stock room and placing them on the shelves.
"Dodging the question." Aislinn turned to her as they left the stockroom.
Morgan blushed and Aislinn stopped, grabbing her arm.
"You had sex!"
"Oh my God," Morgan groaned and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head.
"Was it bad? Oh, if he messed this up, I swear that I will skin him alive," Aislinn muttered, pacing in front of Morgan. Morgan raised her hand weakly, torn between laughing or yelling at Aislinn.
"I did not have sex. What I did was have a first real date with a very kind, and sexy, man," Morgan said primly.
Aislinn narrowed her eyes at Morgan.
"We're talking about Patrick, right?"
"Yes!" Morgan exclaimed, swatting Aislinn with her hand. "Yes, oh, he's just so…I…" She found herself blushing again.
"Why, you're besotted," Aislinn said.
"I am certainly not," Morgan said stiffly, moving away from Aislinn with her nose in the air.
"Sure and I know what besotted looks like and from where I'm standing…you're besotted." Aislinn's steely voice followed Morgan into the showroom.
Morgan whirled and put her hands on her hips.
"And so what if I am?"
"Well, good for you. I encourage it," Aislinn said with an easy smile and Morgan laughed, the tension draining from her.
"We didn't sleep together. We just…" Morgan debated an appropriate way of discussing what they had done.
"Fooled around?" Aislinn offered.
Morgan pointed her finger at her boss, nodding.
"Yes, that. And it was lovely. And, he left like a gentleman, not trying to go any further. I…I've never felt like this before. Nervous, excited, scared," Morgan admitted.
Aislinn tucked her mass of curls over her shoulders and smiled at Morgan but she could see the worry in her boss's eyes.
"What?"
"Nothing, I worry about you because I know how powerful a first love can be. Everyone must go through it once. It's good for you," Aislinn said with a smile.
"First love? I'm not in love," Morgan protested, raising an eyebrow at Aislinn.
Aislinn raised her hands in defense.
"Sorry, wrong word then," she said with a smile. "That being said, Patrick's a solid guy. You could do far worse."
Morgan nibbled at her lip as she considered Aislinn's words.
"He doesn't know about me…about my abilities," she blurted out.
"Ah," Aislinn said.
"What should I do?" Morgan asked, nervously straightening a painting of the cove.
"Well, I'm a bit different than Cait and Keelin. I told Baird about me immediately. It took him a while to believe it, but I accept that part of myself. I always have. So, ultimately, it comes down to your comfort level in sharing your gift."
"I don't know if I can," Morgan said nervously.
"Then don't. But, I suspect that he will find out along the way if you date him for a while, so keep that in mind," Aislinn cautioned.
"He knows about Cait's abilities. I'm not sure who else's."
"Patrick's lived here for a long time. Very little probably surprises him when it comes to that stuff," Aislinn said.
"So you think he'll be receptive?"
"I can't presume to know the answer to that, Morgan. I think the real question is, can you accept yourself enough to not hide who you are?"
On those words, Aislinn swept from the room, leaving Morgan with some deep self-reflection.
"It can never be easy, can it," she muttered to herself as she found her cup of tea and sipped it, her mind returning to her time with Patrick last night. It had been easy between them, she thought.
And maybe Aislinn was right. If being honest about who she was would form the foundation of their relationship, then it would seem like a pretty hurtful thing to do to hide it from him.
Morgan thought back to all of the brief relationships that she had had growing up. She didn't want to be that person anymore, she realized. Flitting from relationship to relationship, never forming bonds with people. Granted, she'd had no choice when the foster homes had returned her to the nuns, but ever since she'd runaway and been on her own, Morgan had refused to form real bonds with anyone.
Until Grace's Cove.
She had friends now, even, maybe the beginning of a family, Morgan thought as Fiona flashed through her mind.
Telling Patrick about her abilities wouldn't be the hardest thing she'd gone through in her life, she thought. Aislinn was right. Morgan was finally coming into her own. She didn't need to hide herself from those closest to her in her life. Coming to a resolution, Morgan smiled grimly. Now she just needed to find the right time to tell him.
Later that day, Morgan grimaced.
She hadn't thought that time would present itself so soon, she thought as she stared in shock at Patrick sitting on the front step of her building.
"I hadn't expected to see you," Morgan said, a smile flitting across her face.
He looked wonderful. A button-down shirt complemented his broad chest and his hair was delightfully mussed in the way that made her want to run her hands through it. She couldn't seem to get enough of looking at him.
She smiled even more broadly as he pulled his hand from behind his back and held a shopping bag up to her.
"What's this?" She tilted her head and looked up at him in question.
"Let me in and I'll show you," Patrick said with a smile.
"Oh, okay," Morgan said, her heart rate picking up a notch. A smile crossed Patrick's face and he leaned down to brush his lips against hers. Morgan leaned into him, craving the heat and security he brought.
"Guess you aren't worried about the village anymore, are you?" Patrick said, pulling back and waving at a passerby.
Morgan groaned as heat flashed over her cheeks and she pulled the door to her building open.
"Upstairs before you start a scandal," Morgan ordered and Patrick laughed at her, holding the door open for her.
They made quick work of the stairs and, moments later, Morgan had her back to her door like the night before while Patrick kissed her senseless.
Pulling back, he ran a thumb over her lips.
"I have to stop before I get too distracted. Here, open your gift," Patrick ordered.
Morgan smiled shyly at him and moved to where the shopping bag sat on the counter, Peeking in, she spied a stock pot. Turning she raised an eyebrow at him.
"A pot?"
"Take the lid off."
Morgan lifted the lid and gaped down at the Irish stew in the pot.
"Stew? You brought me stew?"
"I cooked it myself. If you like it, I'll teach you to make it. I even got my mum to bake some brown bread for you."
At the mention of his mother, Morgan felt her nerves kick in again. Blowing out a breath, she turned to him.
"This is really sweet of you. You didn't have to do that," she began.
Patrick shrugged.
"I noticed that your refrigerator was empty last night. Now you don't have to think about dinner for a couple days until I can take you out on Sunday," he said with a smile and Morgan's heart cracked open a bit.
"That's really incredibly kind of you. Seriously, thank you. Um, hey, do you have a minute?" Morgan rushed out, worried that she would go too far down the road with Patrick, meet his family, form bonds, and then have him turn his back on her when he found out her secrets. It was now or never.
"Sure, I can spare a f
ew before work."
Morgan reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him to her loveseat so that he sat close to her. She needed to be near him so she could read his every reaction. If he lied to her…well, she was quite certain a piece of her would die.
"What's wrong?" Patrick asked, reaching out to trace his hand over her cheek.
"Okay, I just…I'm just going to say it and then you need to tell me how you feel," Morgan said, taking a deep breath and keeping her eyes locked on his.
"You're scaring me."
"I, it's just…okay, here goes." Morgan blew out a breath. "I have abilities…like Cait does and Fiona does."
There, she'd done it. She couldn't be accused of lying. Morgan sat back and watched him, waiting for any indication.
"Wait…like Cait? You can read minds? You can heal? Are you…a descendant?" Patrick asked, his eyes boring into hers.
Swallowing, Morgan nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving his. The silence stretched between them.
"Far out," Patrick said finally and Morgan felt like her heart would explode in her chest.
"Far out?" Morgan exclaimed.
"Sure, it's pretty cool. So what's your super power?" Patrick asked, trailing his hand down her arm and Morgan felt tears spring unbidden to her eyes.
"Hey, don’t cry," Patrick said, leaning forward to capture her lips in a soft kiss.
"It's just, nobody's ever accepted me so easily before," Morgan gasped into his mouth, the tears coming faster, unable to stop the emotion that welled up inside of her.
"Shh, it's okay. As long as you aren't some dark arts crazy devil worshiper, I'm fairly certain that I can handle what you throw at me."
Morgan wondered how he would react if she lifted the couch they were sitting on. Nerves shot through her again and she decided that would be a secret that he didn't need to know. Now that she knew how to control that side of her, she never planned on using it again. Feeling comfortable with that decision, Morgan pulled back and cupped Patrick's face in her hands.
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