Learning To Fly (Fated Love Book 1)

by Lauren Firminger

  “Morgan will just get bored with you Maddie. There is nothing special about you. Plain old boring vanilla Maddison. I’m surprised you even had sex.”

  I turned around and hit her again. “Shut up, or the next time I will make good on my promise. You know nothing so keep your whore mouth shut. You know nothing about Morgan. He is more of a man than Josh could ever hope to be.” I rolled up the tent and put it in the container. Throwing it in the back of the truck, I shut the tailgate and pulled the cover over it. I moved to hug Jas tight and told her I would call her later. Right now, I just needed to get away from Ellie before I did kill her. Opening my truck door and getting in, I made my way through the camps that were still set up and made my way back to where the VIP’s were. I got through security with no problem. Had Morgan made sure of that in case I decided to come back? I looked down and saw I was still wearing the same clothes from last night. Grabbing some stuff, I got out after parking beside his bus. The door opened before I had the chance to knock, and that made me smile. He had been waiting for me. Maddie = 1, Ellie = 0. He pulled me into his arms and I closed my eyes, breathing him in.

  “Morgan?”

  “Yeah, darlin’?”

  “I... um... Can I use your shower?”

  He chuckled and pulled back. Nodding softly, he led me back inside and to the back of the bus once more.

  When he left me to it, I stuck my head back out the door. “And Morgan?”

  “Yes, darlin’?”

  “We will be talking about before. Eventually.” I ducked my head back into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. Stripping out of my jeans and shirt, I lost the bra and panties and turned on the hot water. When I got it to the perfect temperature for me, I stepped in under it and tipped my head back with a soft groan. God, that felt good. I grabbed my shampoo and poured some into my hand and ran it through my hair. Massaging it into my hair, I left it a minute before I tilted my head back and washed it out. As I did the same with the conditioner, I began to feel somewhat human again. I took my loofa and poured some of my body wash into it, I ran it over my skin and washed off the last 24 hours. When I was finished, I grabbed a towel and dried myself off. Putting on a clean bra and panties, I slipped on a clean tank top and a pair of shorts. After drying my hair with the towel, I hung it back up and cleaned up my mess by shoving all but the loofa back into my bag. Opening the door, I set my bag down just inside the bedroom door and then moved through the bus to find Morgan sitting on the couch. He looked up when I came in and set his book to the side. Sitting down beside him, I pulled my legs up to my chest as I lay against his side.

  “I’m sorry I overreacted before. I shouldn’t have taken off like that. I should have stuck around and let you explain. Not that it really matters anymore.” I turned my head to look at him. “I wanna go with you to the States. I will get my passport and everything all sorted and worked out. I know I’m taking a big chance here, but in one night, you have made me happier than anyone else has in my whole life. I know we still have so much to learn about each other, but I want to learn it all. All your bad habits, your secrets. Everything.”

  He pressed his lips to my head and nodded.

  “You didn’t overreact. You had every right to be upset about that. I will explain it all to you, I promise. I just need to know that no matter what I tell you it won't affect us.”

  I had a confused looked on my face but I nodded for him to go on. Whatever it was, I needed to know it now. Otherwise, it would always be there in the back of my mind until he told me.

  Morgan sighed and took my hand. “Please know I had no idea who you were when I met you… I saw you in that bar and I had to know your name. I had to be near you. This morning, I got a call from my cousin telling me he knew you came back with me and I had to let you go.”

  My brows creased in a frown. How the hell did his cousin know who I was? Then like a wrecking ball into a building, I let out a gasp, and my hand flew to cover my mouth. “You are Josh’s cousin? He talked about his cousin Morgan but never said anything about being related to you.”

  He sighed and rubbed a hand over his neck.

  As I watched him, I wondered if this could be a problem. I thought about last night and today. I moved my hand to his cheek. “I don’t care who your family is. The fact you had the chance to lie to me and try to make this my fault but didn't, proves to me you are an actual human being who has a heart. It shows me you were scared I would think you were like him. I know enough to know you and your cousin are two very different people. I would much rather be around you than even acknowledge his existence. I can’t say he is gonna be too impressed when Ellie tells him I hit her…twice.” I laid my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes.

  “My little firecracker.” He pressed his lips to my head, and I sighed softly as I shifted to curl into him.

  “You know he isn’t going to leave us in peace until we talk to him, right?”

  “I know, darlin’, but now you know, and you heard it from me. I can live with whatever tall tale he tries to spin to you where he comes out of this looking like roses. Phones can be put on silent and ignored. I want to know more about my Maddie. My cousin can go back to the shadows where he belongs.”

  I couldn’t help but grin at that. “I think he will have his hands full with Ellie. Thinking about it now, they really do deserve each other.”

  He chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around me.

  “Then let’s leave them to their own misery, and we will just sit back and let karma do its worst.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I grinned and curled into him more and relaxed. Who knew what would happen next. For now, I was going to relax here and enjoy the quiet.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Morgan

  She came back. When security called and said Maddison was on her way to the bus, I was shocked. I honestly thought someone would have beaten me to telling her everything and made me look like an asshole. Maddison was smart, though. She had listened to her instincts and came back to hear me out. She wasn’t turned away by the fact I was related to the ex who broke her heart and destroyed her friendship. I loved that she wasn’t about to let him rule her life like that.

  I got some sick satisfaction in Maddie telling me she wanted join me on tour for a little bit. All my free time would be spent with her, so she would get to see more than just the backstage in venues. Maddie also accepted an offer to come work with us. She showed me some of the photos she had taken over the course of the weekend, so once I got back to the States, I was going to talk to the record company about how to get her on board. I tried to ignore the part of my brain telling me my reasons for doing this were purely selfish, but how could I not want to keep her close to me?

  I was doing this for her too though. She would not only work with my tour but others in the label as well. Her name would be big. I would have her for three months while we got all that sorted out. I was trying to busy myself with things that would stop me from remembering that at the end of the two weeks, I had to leave her here and go back. Could Josh get to her after I left and get inside her head? I cursed myself for thinking that. She was smarter than that. To be sure though, I decided to go and pay a visit to my cousin before I left. Maddie had some stuff she wanted to take care of, so on our way to the Hunter Valley where we would be hiding out for a couple of days, we were going to stop in and take care of it.

  “Are you okay, Morgan?” I nodded at her.

  “I’m fine, darlin’.”

  She nodded and lay back against me and kept watching her movie. We were driving most of the day tomorrow so we opted to stay in and watch movies and rest up today. I was more than fine with that. Maddie had told all the people who mattered that she was turning her phone off for a few days and would be in touch soon. Josh was trying harder than ever to get to her. It shouldn't have surprised me though. He was like this growing up. He always had to be the first to get everything between him and his siblings. He was so competitive even wh
en he didn’t need to be. Ali and Lucas were so laid back whereas he was uptight. When Aunt Katie and Uncle Paul divorced, the kids got to choose where they wanted to be. Paul and Josh were the same person almost. That's who Josh took after. In so many ways. No one was upset when they both moved out to Australia.

  Lucas and I grew closer after that. He became a little brother to me, and I looked out for him. After he got into a fight and had the crap kicked out of him when someone jumped him from behind, Lucas started to work out a lot. When I made it big, he wanted to be the one who looked out for me. He became my head of security and my shadow. Ali had chosen fashion. She always did have her own style about her. She moved to New York with her mom and started her own label. Now she traveled all over the world promoting it and had done quite well for herself. Paul tried to make contact with her when Ali began to have her name plastered everywhere, but she wasn't interested in talking to him.

  Neither Lucas nor Ali had much to do with Josh after he and Paul left. He had walked out on them so they were keeping that door firmly closed. He was just interested in Ali’s money and her newfound fame. When Paul got locked away for insider trading, Josh tried crawling to me for sympathy and asked me to convince Ali and Lucas to talk to him. Again, it fell on deaf ears because although I did tell them, they still didn’t care. He had made his bed.

  “You’re thinking about him aren’t you?”

  “Hmm?” I looked down at Maddie whose eyes were still on the movie.

  “You’re thinking about Josh. I can feel you tensing up.” She looked up at me and I let out a small sigh.

  “Not so much him as my whole family. I honestly thought we had seen the back of him. He is a snake though. He will always find his way back in.” I watched as Maddie shifted and leaned on her elbow to watch me.

  “I couldn’t care if I never saw him again, Morgan. You don’t have to either. How long has it been now?”

  I let out a breath as I tried to remember the last time I saw him.

  “Going on ten years now. Ali was ten when their dad left. Lucas was fifteen.” When I looked at Maddie, she had a confused look on her face.

  “You do know of his brother and sister, don't you?” Maddie shook her head no and I shook my head.

  “He has a sister, Ali, who just turned twenty-one and Lucas, you would have seen him hanging around me like a shadow, is his brother and is about to turn twenty-six. When Paul, their dad, and Aunt Katie divorced, Ali and Lucas stayed with Katie, and Josh went with Paul.” Maddie shifted and sat up. I watched as she chewed on her lip. “Maddie?” She turned and looked at me.

  “He said his parents were dead, and he was an only child. I never met his dad, so I never even thought to question it...” She ran her hand through her hair and pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. “I was so stupid.”

  “Hey now. Don’t you be saying shit like that.” I moved to sit in front of her and made her look at me. “He wouldn’t admit he moved here with his dad because that would mean he would have to admit the apple didn’t fall far from the tree with his cheatin’. Not to mention the fact Paul is behind bars now, so you wouldn't have crossed paths with him.” She nodded softly and dropped her head again. Wrapping my arms around her, I closed my eyes and kept her close to me. I was gonna kill him for this. I was going to wrap my hands around his throat and choke the life out of him. End her pain for good.

  “Morgan… wanna loosen your grip babe?”

  “Sorry.” I relaxed my arms a little and sighed. I needed to talk to Lucas. I wouldn’t put it past Josh to try to get to us through him. Pulling Maddie into my arms, I kept her close as she curled back into me.

  “Let's just forget about him. He isn’t about to ruin our afternoon.”

  “I’ll do my best darlin’. Though, with you around, I am sure to be able to find myself distracted.” I said as Maddie lifted her head with a grin spreading across her face.

  “Oh, really now? Well, I don’t know if you would count this as a distraction but...” She leaned forward, and I closed my eyes as her lips pressed against mine. A small groan escaped me, and I nodded.

  “Yeah that would count as a distraction gorgeous, but damn if it’s not the best kind.” I murmured softly against her lips as my hands moved down to rest on her hips. Shifting on the bed and rolling her onto her back, I moved my lips harder against hers and deepened the kiss. The way her lips moved against mine and the way her body fit against mine was perfect. Running my lips along her jawline and down to her neck, I brushed lightly over her neck before moving back to her lips.

  The way Maddie shifted beneath me was her telling me she wanted more. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I ran my hand down her thigh to rest against her ass. A soft squeal left her lips as I pulled her closer to me. Maddie wrapped her legs around my waist, allowing me to rest between her thighs. Another low groan escaped me as she began to rock her hips against mine. I tightened my grip on her ass.

  “Careful, darlin', or this will go a different way than what I had planned.” I pulled back and looked down at her as her cheeks flushed red. I pressed my lips softly against hers and pulled back. “I want to take my time and savor every inch of that perfect body. You think you can be patient, baby?”

  “God, no.” She giggled, and I bent down to kiss her again.

  “Well, we are just gonna have to show you some then aren’t we?” I pulled back a little and sat her up. I pulled her tank top up and over her head. I laid her back down and moved my lips down her neck and kissed the skin softly. I placed soft kisses along her chest but just as I reached the valley of her breasts, I heard a banging on the door. Dropping my head with a groan, I shook my head and pulled my attention back to Maddie. Everyone else could wait right now. As my hands moved up her back, I undid the clasp on her bra. I pulled it off and dropped it down with her shirt. I trailed my lips along her breasts and left soft kisses along her skin. I looked up at her.

  She had her eyes closed as her back arched urging me to continue. Wrapping my lips around her breast, I flicked my tongue over her nipple and swirled it in circles. Moving my attention to the left breast, I made sure they both got the attention they deserved. Once her breathing started to change, my lips curled into a smirk and I moved my lips down her body placing soft kisses down to her hips. Pulling back to undo her shorts, the banging on the door continued only it was getting louder and louder.

  “MORGAN! Open up! We have a situation! Get your ass out here now!” I looked down at Maddie and she nodded and slumped back against the bed. Fuck! Someone was about to die right now.

  “I’ll make it up to ya in a minute, darlin’.” I kissed her softly and got up off the bed. I closed the door behind me and moved to open the door of the bus. Staring down at Lucas, I saw a trail of blood. “What the fuck happened to you?” I pulled him onto the bus and sat him down on the couch. His face was white as a ghost as he looked up at me.

  “It’s Josh… He is coming for you.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Josh

  I should have known months ago when Ellie first told me she was going to Queensland with Maddison that the weekend was going to fuck everything up. I thought for sure Ellie being with me would end their friendship forever, but no, Maddison just had to go and be the saint she always thought she was. Sure, they weren’t as close as Maddison and Jasmine were, but they were driving up together. That had to mend some fences, didn’t it? No, it just caused more pain for Maddison. When they got there, Ellie called me and told me Maddison wasn’t coming home. She had grown tired of watching Ellie and I and had decided to put her past behind her and travel. Maddison was always a dreamer. I knew by the end of the weekend she would come home and ask her old boss for her job back. She was never one for sticking things out to the end.