Around the World in 80 Men Series Boxed Set 1-10

by Brandi Ratliff

  They spent the rest of the evening cuddling, kissing, discussing Australian beer, and Morgan had even given him the promised fashion show. Of course, the clothing hadn't stayed on her long...they did that too. Lots and lots of that.

  Tanner hadn't been able to handle himself, seeing her in the outfits. Each one bringing him to more heated, raw, desire. On the last one, the red one, he had actually tried to stand. Morgan intervened, pushing him back to the bed, and within seconds, the red corset was on the floor and Morgan was riding him like a pro. She figured it was the safest way to not hurt his ankle, but he couldn't leave her high and dry and he managed a to make her come three times, only using his tongue. That tongue is powerful!

  After their fun, the Aussie was drugged again, and once more, he was knocked out cold. Morgan took the opportunity to sneak into the bathroom and call Finlay back. Is this cheating? Can you cheat on your clients? Morgan debated the morality of her decision and came to the conclusion that no, it wasn't cheating in any way.

  “Fin!”

  “Aye lass, it's me. I was thinking ye wouldn't call,” Finlay sounded relieved to hear from the young girl.

  Morgan crouched down in the corner of the bathroom and held her hand over her mouth as she spoke. They didn't talk long, but it was enough for Morgan to get her Finlay fix. Morgan admitted she missed him, and to her surprise, he had said the same. She held on to that thought until she fell asleep that night.

  Chapter Nine

  They spent the remainder of the week in the room. Tanner was more than disappointed that he couldn't take Morgan out to see the city, and he was upset that she wouldn't go explore it herself. She told him that it had been fun shopping, but there wasn't anything out there that couldn't be seen later. For the week, she was his and that's all that mattered. Eventually, Tanner gave up and just made the best of it.

  Morgan had taken her share of pictures, and was thankful Tanner had been a good sport about it. Most of the guys she dated had hated their pictures taken, but the handsome Aussie was a bit of a ham and actually asked for more. Mind, not the kind of photos to put in a scrapbook, but he did ask.

  He posed for the wink and then in one of their 'fresh air' adventures outside, he propped himself up against the wall, and Morgan had taken a picture that displayed the whole injured ensemble. Crutches, cast, and even the puppy dog face he conjured for the photo.

  She worked on the book whenever she had free time. Free time meaning, when Tanner was sleeping. The rest of the time was spent humping like rabbits, washing each other down in the tub, taking naps together or eating. Once in a while, when it became too much for Tanner to stay in the room, she would help him to the elevator, then outside to the courtyard where they people watched.

  It was their last day together, and to that point, both of them had avoided the topic, but Morgan broke the ice first, “is there anything you want to do today? I have to leave tomo...”

  He cut her off with a kiss, the kind of kiss that made her knees weak. Tanner knew what she was saying, but he wasn't going to hear it until it was time. “One thing I know, I have to get out of this room!”

  “Okay, but you need to take your medication,” she reminded him.

  “To hell with it, I want to be awake for...” our last day. Morgan understood and nodded. It was his pain he had to deal with, she couldn't force him to take it, but she did ask him to take the other ones and he did.

  “Do you want to go downstairs? Get some lunch?” Morgan smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Yeah, let's go, beautiful,” he smiled back, and of course, the wink. He was going to miss her. Tanner had a string of one night stands behind him, and Morgan hadn't been the first companion, but he could never remember missing a single one of them. He thought back to them, would one of them have taken care of him like she had? No, they wouldn't. And any of the other call girls probably would have booked it out of there on the first flight.

  “Thanks for everything, Morgan, you're great.” Once in the lounge, Tanner brought Morgan's hand to his lap and held it there.

  “No, thank you, Tanner, you've taught me a lot. About myself, and about life, so I definitely owe you a thank you,” Morgan argued. It was true. He had called her a whore, and it was her second valuable lesson, next to the lesson she had learned with Finlay. She is what she is, and she's good at it, that's all that mattered. Her skin got a little thicker during the week, and she had also learned to appreciate life a lot more. Live life like you mean it. Morgan decided if she were to ever get a tattoo, that's definitely what it would say.

  “We're even.” He pulled her hand to his lips and planted several kisses across the top.

  They ordered their food and Morgan got a beer for both of them. His questioning look made her reply, “you didn't take the pain killers, remember?”

  Tanner didn't think it mattered, he had taken them the night before and he was going to take them again that night, but he wasn't going to argue, he needed the beer.

  “So, where are you going next?” Tanner tried to keep the conversation light, but he really wanted to know where she would be.

  “I don't know.” Morgan laughed and explained that Julianne would send her options soon, and she would decide then. Either way, she would have a flight out in the morning to start her new adventure.

  Then, Morgan saw her. A red-haired her, and she saw Morgan. Before Tanner could see her, Morgan took action into her own hands. She pushed her hand further up Tanners leg, then leaned in, giving him a passionate kiss. When they separated, Morgan tried to give him a subtle head bob toward the direction of Veta, but he didn't understand. His eyebrow came together in confusion as he tried to read Morgan's lips, and finally she just leaned in closer and whispered, “Veta! Right behind you!” with another bob of her head, pointing to the direction.

  Tanner's face lit up with understanding. With no hesitation, he put his arms out for Morgan and she got up and sat across his lap, going back to their kiss. Oh, he's evil! I like it!

  His hands made his way up her sides, then down over her ass, and back to her face. Morgan wrapped her hands in his hair and by the time the kiss ended, both of them had forgotten it was supposed to be for show.

  “You done?” Veta broke their kiss. Both of them paused and look at her. They fiery red head had her arms crossed in front of her, with the most disgusted look plastered to her pale face.

  “Nope,” Tanner grabbed Morgan's face again, bringing her in for another quick kiss.

  Veta made a low growling sound out of frustration and sat herself down across from them. Morgan realized she wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, so she slid off Tanner's lap, but they still had their hands locked under the table top.

  “Can I just talk to you?” Tears welled up in Veta's eyes. Morgan almost felt bad for her.

  “Hey, Vega, we're having a moment here, mind leaving us alone?” Morgan air-walked her index and middle fingers toward the front door.

  “Veta!” she corrected the blonde.

  Morgan put two thumbs in the air, “Vega, gotcha!” Tanner squeezed Morgan's leg under the table and she hung her head down, taking her cue to knock it off.

  “Talk,” Tanner commanded.

  “I just want you to give me a chance, Tanner. I thought we were good together,” she began.

  “No, Veta, we were never together. We had fun, and yes, I'm sure you enjoyed my wallet. But that's all it was, nothing more, nothing less.” He caressed Morgan's hand under the table but never took his eyes off Red.

  The tears came. Veta's beautiful face began melting under the streams. Her mascara ran toward her jaw, leaving streaks in her perfect makeup along the way. She buried her face in her hands and the only thing the other two could hear were muffled sobs.

  Morgan was taken back to herself. Minus the gold-digging part, she was Veta. Willing to practically beg, and come what may. Even after rejection, there she was, asking for something that wasn't there. In a way,
her heart broke for the girl, she saw herself sitting on the other side of the table.

  Tanner looked at Morgan and her face told him that he needed to be a little more sensitive. “You're a nice girl, Veta. Just not the girl for me. I'll introduce you to some of my friends, okay? In fact, I've got the perfect one in mind. He's my age and he's got even more money.”

  That caught her attention and actually resulted in a quiet laugh. She nodded and thanked him, but the tears continued. Morgan knew how she felt. Discarded and feeling as if she would never be good enough. Morgan reached across the table and took Veta's hand in her own. To her surprise, Veta's gave her hand a soft squeeze and returned a smile.

  “I think we need some girl time.” Morgan got up from the table, and pulled Veta's hand until both of them were standing. “Be right back.” The blonde kissed her date, and the two women walked hand in hand to the ladies room.

  “Veta, I'm sorry. I know this is going to sound strange, but we're alike in some ways.” Morgan took tissue to the girl's cheeks, and continued, “just a few weeks ago I was sitting in a restaurant being stood up by a guy that I was interested in. Do you want to know what I was thinking?” The girl looked up quickly, then back down. Then nodded. “I was thinking of what I would say to get him to agree to another date. Yeah, I was that dumb bitch that didn't care how I was treated, I just wanted to be...well...treated.”

  To her surprise, Veta nodded in understanding. “Morgan, I don't care about his money. I mean, it's nice, but it isn't the way he thinks it is. I guess a guy with money starts to think that any girl that chases them is after their bank account.” Morgan agreed, and she also understood how hard it must be on both ends.

  After getting the girl cleaned up as best as possible, Morgan leaned against the sink and tried to give the red head the best advice she could think of. “I don't know what the answer is, but I've learned not to force people into my life. All it did for me was keep me lonely.” She told Veta to move on, find a man that could give her the love and attention in return. In the end, both of the women agreed that Tanner wasn't the settling down type, and they also agreed that he was really fun in bed.

  When they finally returned to the lounge, Morgan took her seat beside Tanner, and Veta remained standing. She put her hand out to Tanner, “I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me.” Before the threatening tears could start to fall again, Tanner took her hand.

  “Veta, I want the best for ya. Take care of yourself.” The girl nodded, then quickly walked out of the hotel.

  He watched her leave, then turned back to Morgan. “Whatever ya said, thank you.” He kissed her cheek, holding his lips against her skin for several seconds.

  “You're welcome. Now, where were we?” She slid her hand up his leg, and landed in a spot that was normally rock hard. “What? No big reception?” She ran her hand along his length, and started to kiss his neck. The idea of doing something naughty in the hotel lounge was exciting.

  Sadly, for Morgan, he put his hand over hers and shook his head. “No, I want to spend the day talking, laughing, and etching your beautiful face into my mind so that I can remember every last detail. He moved a stray lock of her hair back from her forehead, and she smiled as she put her head onto his shoulder.

  “I never thought it would be hard to leave, but it's yet another lesson that I have to learn.” She tried to hide her sadness, but he ran his hands down her back and told her that he was feeling the same thing.

  That afternoon was spent doing exactly what they wanted to do. They ate together, told dirty jokes, laughed too loud, and bonded in friendship in a way that both of them needed.

  That night, they made love. It wasn't fun, frantic, or ending in laughter. He held her close to him, and spoke lovingly as he filled her with his body over and over. They slept in each others arms, neither of them moved away from the other.

  Early the next morning, Morgan woke to an empty bed, and room. She looked briefly for him, then rolled her eyes at him leaving on his own. Then again, she thought, she wouldn't be there after that morning, so he would have to get along by himself anyway.

  After she was dressed, she made sure everything was packed. Then, she sat on the side of the bed and checked her phone. Julianne's message was all that was there. “Africa...China...Brazil...Italy...Oh! Italy!” She opened the pic of Dante Russo. “Well, hello Dante.” He was very attractive, and a shy smile made him even more so. She closed her eyes to force herself to be more attracted to him, but she felt too horrible about leaving Tanner when they were having so much fun together. Just as she was holding the phone in front of her, the handsome Aussie came through the door.

  She shook her head and smiled, telling him that he should have woke her up if he wanted to go somewhere. But he ignored her, and kept walking in her direction. Without saying a word at first, he pulled a small box from his pocket.

  She took it, then looked up at him. “What's this?”

  “Open it, that's the point of the box.” They both laughed, and she removed the top. Inside, was a white gold bracelet, with a small dangling fish pendant. The eye of the fish was a small, very light, sapphire. As she held it up, he watched her face light up with gratitude.

  “I love it! Thank you, Tanner!” She stood up and hugging him tightly.

  “I figured it would be something to remember my by, other than your scrapbook that is. I've...never made love in the ocean.” His confession caught her off guard.

  “Really? Never?” She couldn't believe that a gorgeous man who loved the water, and sex, and had never made his way into the sea with any of his dates. She also admitted that she never had either. Not until him.

  “Well, I hope that when you look at it, you'll think of that time together...when we made love among the fishes.” He hugged her then, and held her against him for several minutes. Their embrace was interrupted by Morgan's jazz.

  “I'm sorry, I have to take it.” She answered the call, and Tanner walked to the bed and sat down.

  “Hi, Julianne. Yes I did. Yes. Alright, Dante it is. Good, I'll be there in an hour. Bye.”

  She sat next to Tanner when she was done. “Well, to answer your question from yesterday, I'm going to Italy. Julianne wants me at the airport in an hour because she'll book the very next flight.” Morgan put her head on his shoulder, and spent her last few minutes against him.

  “Dante. Lucky bastard he is.” He put his arm around her, and enjoyed the moment as well.

  Thirty minutes later, Morgan was standing in front of the hotel waiting for her taxi. A very quiet Tanner stood with her, and silently willed the taxi to get lost along the way. No such luck, it arrived on time and Morgan was handing the driver her bags before he could get to the car with her.

  He put his finger under her chin, and stopped her from getting into the backseat. “Morgan, I'll never forget you. Not ever.” He kissed her slowly, then let her go.

  “Why are you saying goodbye? I'll see you again, Tanner. I'll come to Australia on my own time, and we'll live life like we mean it together.” She smiled, and he relaxed and laughed. But he never spoke again, he just kissed her forehead, and walked back into the hotel without watching her drive away.

  In the taxi, Morgan took her scrapbook out of her carry on bag, and the pack of pictures from the side pocket. She flipped through until she found her favorite, Tanner smiling wildly with his famous wink. She slid it into the slot of the second page, and wrote underneath it.

  Australia:

  Tanner, I'll never forget to live like I mean it. I'll never forget your wink. I'll never forget you.

  Italy

  Book Four

  Chapter One

  Morgan twisted the gold fish around her wrist as the plane lowered toward the runway, don't crash, please don't crash. Her third flight was a lot easier to swallow than the previous two, and it had gone by quicker as well. She had forced herself to sleep for the most part; she didn't want to be tired for three days straight again from
jet lag, and frankly, there wasn't much else to do.

  She had met a little gray haired woman, who's English skills were about as good as Morgan's Italian vocabulary. But the woman had been terrified at take off, and Morgan wondered why anyone would let a ninety year old fly alone. It broke her heart, so she had ended up switching seats with a honeymoon couple and had grabbed the old woman's hand. She didn't say thank you, but her smile had told Morgan that she had been grateful.

  Her fragile fingers wrapped around Morgan's and she held them until the seat belt light flickered off. As they descended, Morgan felt the woman's hands wrap around her arm and she wore the same scared expression. Morgan stopped her bracelet twirling and put her hand over top of the old woman's hands and kept them there as the plane bumped across the long stretch. “See, it's okay,” she smiled at her.

  When the plane finally stopped, the old woman gave Morgan's hand one last squeeze of a thank you. The warm, weathered face looked at the young girl as she pointed at herself, “Margarite Tonelli.”

  Morgan offered her own name and the old woman smiled, and nodded.

  Morgan reached under the seat and pulled the woman's cane from underneath and stood it up in front of her, then helped her stand up. People filed out of the plane like their asses were on fire, but she figured Dante could wait a few minutes. She had to make sure the woman got off the plane alright, without being trampled.

  Margarite wobbled down the tiny aisle of the plane, hardly able to hold her cane steady. How could they do this to her? I hope someone is there to pick her up!

  As they stepped off the plane into the cool building, Morgan put her arm around the woman's and guided her toward a lone chair against the wall. She was out of breath and shaking even more. As she was about to help the woman sit, a firm grip wrapped around Morgan's arm, turning her around.

  “I've got her,” the man spoke. Morgan pulled her arm away and stared the man down.