Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(43)
She tasted like the mint he’d seen her pop into her mouth right before the press conference started. He wanted her under him, over him, wanted to be inside her. But he reined in his libido and tried to enjoy the moment for what it was: two people taking the first step toward the rest of their lives.
She finally pulled back and licked her lips as she stared at him with pink cheeks. Seeing her tongue swipe over her lips made him want to kiss her all over again. Arrow satisfied himself by bringing a hand to her face and tracing her wet lips with his thumb. “That was amazing,” he told her.
“I haven’t kissed someone in a year and a half. Not like that,” she blurted.
“Yeah?”
“When I was . . . you know . . . there was no kissing. That’s not what they wanted. And before that, with Lane, we gave each other pecks on the lips, but we hadn’t really kissed each other in months.”
Arrow said, “It’s been a while for me too, beautiful.”
She shot him a skeptical look.
“Seriously, the last time I went on a date was . . .” Arrow paused, trying to remember. “I have no clue. I think nineteen sixty-four.” He smiled to let her know he was teasing.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “I’m not an idiot, Arrow. I’ve got eyes in my head. You’re gorgeous. There’s no way you haven’t had women throwing themselves at you.”
Arrow got serious. “Just because they might be interested doesn’t mean I did anything about it. I’ve been way too busy with the team and our missions and even my electrician gig on the side to worry about women.”
She looked so hopeful, Arrow continued speaking. “With that said, if I had been interested in someone, I would’ve made the time for them. I’m not so married to my job that I’d give up the chance to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. I want that. It might not be cool to admit, but it’s true. I see how happy Gray is with Allye and Ro is with Chloe. I want that for myself. But no one has grabbed my attention. Not like you did.”
She snorted. “Right. I grabbed your attention all right. With my beautiful hairdo and smelly clothes and body.”
“Don’t do that,” Arrow warned. “Don’t denigrate yourself. You want to know what I saw the first time I laid eyes on you?”
“No.”
He went on as if she hadn’t answered his rhetorical question. “I saw a woman who was scared out of her skull, but wasn’t afraid to stick up for a small child who needed her. I saw a woman who had been through hell, but somehow the goodness in her still shone from her every pore. I consider myself a strong man. I’ve been through some bad shit in my life, and I’ve seen things that I wish I could unsee. But nothing prepared me for the punch in the gut I got when I saw you in that room. Even before I knew who you were, and what your story was, I knew you were special. That you would change my life.”
“Arrow,” Morgan whispered.
But he kept talking, wanting her to understand how he felt. “I can’t predict the future, but I’m going to do what I can to nurture whatever it is we have going on. I enjoy being with you. I like the way you don’t back down. How you say what’s on your mind, and how you somehow, with all you’ve been through, have managed to trust me and my team. That’s a rare thing, and I want to encourage that. I told you before, and I’ll say it again—I like you, Morgan. I want to be in your life. I’m happy to take things as slow as you need them to go. I don’t want you to feel any pressure whatsoever when you’re with me to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“But we can keep doing the kissing thing, right?” she asked with a small smile.
Arrow returned it. “Oh yeah, we can keep doing the kissing thing.” And with that, he pulled her toward him gently and kissed her again. He took his time, taking the lead. Sipping and nipping at her bottom lip before twining his tongue with hers.
She was with him every step of the way. Digging her nails into his arm as they made out, making little pleased noises in the back of her throat that went straight to Arrow’s dick. Everything about her made him hard as a rock. He couldn’t wait for the day he had her spread out on his sheets, naked as the day she was born, moaning just for him. Begging him to make love to her.
But he would wait, as long as it took, to have that. He knew a good thing when he saw it, and he wasn’t going to give anyone else a chance to horn in on what he considered his.
He caressed her cheek as he pulled back and did his best to memorize the content, satisfied look on her face. He’d seen her experience a variety of emotions in their short acquaintance, but this was how he always wanted to see her. Relaxed and happy.
“You ready to get the visit to the doctor over with?”
She wrinkled her nose, but nodded. “I know I need to get checked out, but I hate it.”
“I know. This doctor is really good, though. She’ll answer any questions you might have, and from what the other women have said, she makes the entire process as painless as possible. You know you won’t get any results from the STD testing today, though, right?”
Morgan nodded. “I know. I’ll just be glad to get it over with.”
“I think you’ll find The Pit an interesting place,” he said, changing the subject. He wanted nothing more than to bring her back to his apartment after her appointment and let her decompress, but he knew the team needed to talk about her situation . . . and her mom was going to meet them there as well.