The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [89]
Morgan pushed a bare foot against the ground, making the swing sway gently, mindful of the coffee they each held. He kept his gaze on her profile. “You wear glasses.”
She didn’t answer him.
“I guess that answers the mystery of your big blue eyes, doesn’t it? I always figured the color was a little too clear, a little too good to be real. Colored contacts?”
Her shoulders stiffened and she turned to him. Over the rim of the glasses, she glared and gave him a view of those perfect, clear, startling blue eyes, unadorned.
Morgan stared into her eyes, then whispered, “I guess I was wrong.”
She turned away again, but muttered, “It’s not the first time.”
Ignoring that, he touched the rubber band sloppily knotted in her hair. “Rough night?”
One hand clutched the coffee mug, the other a damp tissue and the top of her housecoat. She hesitated, then slanted him another look over her wire-framed glasses. “If that’s what you want to think, why not? I mean, you left before me, so it’s entirely possible that once you were gone, I staged an orgy in that nice little gazebo you showed me.”
Morgan sipped his coffee while keeping his gaze on her. His free arm rested over the back of the swing, his fingers almost touching her. Almost. “I somehow doubt your sister would have tolerated that.”
She started to jerk to her feet, but Morgan caught her elbow. “No, don’t let me run you off. I didn’t come out here to harass you.”
“No, you came to see if I was ready to leave. Well, don’t worry. As soon as it’s light, I’ll get dressed and go. I packed last night so I could get an early start. I just wanted to watch the sunrise first.”
Her words made him feel almost as bad as that time Jordan needed help treating an ornery mule and it kicked him in the gut, breaking two of his ribs. Morgan rubbed a hand over his chest, which didn’t do a thing to help this particular ache, then muttered, “It’s for the best and you know it.”
“I’m not arguing with you, Morgan.”
“Good, because I didn’t come out here to argue.”
“No? Then why?”
Hell, why had he come out? Whatever warped reasoning he’d used to justify his actions, he couldn’t remember it now. Because he didn’t have an answer, he tried changing the subject. “You look like you’re…upset.”
She shook her head in denial. “No, not at all.”
But there was that tissue clutched in her hand, and her red nose and watery eyes. His conscience bothered him, and that had to be a first. In the normal course of things, he didn’t bother with a guilty conscience. He was always rock certain of his decisions. “I don’t have anything personally against you, Malone.”
She snorted.
Morgan clenched his jaw, but he was determined to have his say. “It’ll be best for all concerned if you leave soon.”
She sighed, then turned to stare at him. “Yeah, well, you seem to be the only one who thinks so. Gabe spent half the night trying to talk me into hanging around, and Jordan even offered me a job.”
In angry disbelief, he said, “You told them I asked you to leave?”
His anger didn’t faze her. “No. But they knew I’d go sooner or later.” Then she mumbled, “Though sooner seems to be on your personal agenda.”
Morgan struggled to control his temper. “What did you tell Jordan?”
“That I’d think about it.”
His muscles bunched in infuriated reflex. He wanted her gone. He did not want her hanging around his brother. “Like hell.”
She shrugged nonchalantly, egging him on. She had a habit of doing that, deliberately pricking his temper—and his lust. Hell, half the time he was around her he didn’t know for sure what he felt, just that he felt it too keenly and he didn’t like it one damn bit.
Jealousy of his brothers was a unique thing, but he absolutely couldn’t bear the thought of Misty being with one of them. Besides, he knew if she hung around, they’d eventually be involved, he had no doubt about that at all. Acting on gut instinct, he said, “Forget the job with Jordan. I’ll pay you