No Strings Part 17

Reese's eyebrows shot up. "As do I. In fact, last night-"

Morgan covered Reese's mouth with her hand. "I will not talk about s.e.x with you."

"You started it," Reese mumbled from behind Morgan's hand.

She jerked her hand away when she felt Reese's tongue swipe across her palm. But as she turned, Reese's fingers wrapped around her arm, pulling her back. Dark eyes captured hers, holding her in place effortlessly. With her pulse pounding far too rapidly, Morgan looked beyond Reese, taking in the snowcapped mountain peaks, the dark green of the spruce trees. She even tried listening to the chatter of the gray jays and the insistent calling of the mountain chickadees. The fresh air, the crystal blue sky, the sounds of the forest...none of it could distract her from the woman who stood before her. A woman who wanted to kiss her. Her gaze settled on Reese's lips and she swallowed, her throat dry. It was at that very instant that she knew if she should allow a kiss between them, then all bets were off. She wanted her too much, she enjoyed her too much.

She raised her eyes to Reese's. "I'm not going to kiss you,"

she managed before turning away. She made a fist, hating how easily Reese could get her heart rate up. It was one thing, at night when they were alone, but not during the day, not when they were supposed to take a friendly hike on skis, not when there was nothing to their relationship but s.e.x. She wasn't supposed to have to deal with these emotions. She wasn't supposed to want her this much. Or like it as much as she did.

"It's really very beautiful out here, isn't it?" Reese asked unexpectedly.

Morgan nodded, watching as Reese's gaze traveled along the river, then back to the meadow.

"I bet it's nice in the spring."

"The wildflowers are gorgeous, yes." Morgan walked back to where their skis were propped against a tree. "You want to ski down river?"

"If you're up to it, Zula," she said quietly behind her.

Morgan looked up, meeting her eyes, wondering how the name she hated most could sound almost like an endearment when Reese used it.

"I'm up for it, Clarice."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

Reese settled back in her chair, folding her hands behind her head and staring at her dark computer screen. Daybreak was still an hour away, but she couldn't sleep. After their hike, they had parted there in the meadow. And by nine that evening, with no word from Morgan, Reese had finally accepted the fact that she would be alone for the evening. But she slept fitfully, tossing around in the bed, feeling a restlessness she wasn't used to. Last night, she had refused to believe it had anything to do with Morgan's absence. But this morning?

She missed her. And not just the s.e.x.

She got up and went into the main office for another cup of coffee. Well, missed her or not, it was what it was. Their arrangement was to get together occasionally for s.e.x. There was no mention of companionship, of dinner, of watching a movie together. All normal things that two people who were dating would expect. Because they weren't dating.

She sipped her coffee, looking out onto the dark quiet street of downtown Lake City, knowing she was in for another uneventful day. Enough uneventful days made for an uneventful week. Christmas would come and go in eight days time, then the new year. And then they'd be stuck in the middle of winter, hunkering down, as Eloise said, to wait it out. Spring came slowly up here. Or so she was told. And by April, if she'd survived, the spring thaw would begin. And spring brought warmer weather, bright flowers, green gra.s.s. And spring brought summer. And summer brought the tourists and an end to uneventful days.

She wondered if summer would also bring an end to her and Morgan's arrangement.

I hope not.

Morgan hung her jacket on the coat rack in the corner after a curt nod at Berta who already had her knitting stuff out. It was a sign of the slow days of winter when Berta spent most of her time working on her latest afghan. She glanced into Charlie's office, seeing the newspaper spread out.

"Morning," she called as she pulled out her chair.

"How was skiing?"

Morgan glanced at Berta and made a face at her. "Skiing was skiing. At least it wasn't cold."

"Fishing?"

"No."

"I thought that was the point."

"She didn't have gear and thought I would supply it. As if I'm a freakin' guide," she added, hoping her tone sounded as annoyed as she intended it to be.

"If she doesn't want Ed Wade, she should ask Tracy," Berta said."Yes, I told her the next time she got a wild hair about fishing, not to call me." Morgan rummaged in her backpack, finding the bottle of ibuprofen she kept in there at all times. She was three days early, but she'd started her period this morning. And along with that came cramps. And bloating. And maybe she was just a tiny bit irritable. That irritability was what prevented her from going to Reese's last night. That and the fact that she thought the whole situation was becoming a little, well, uncomfortable.

After only a few days together, she was already losing her grasp on the no strings arrangement. Because it felt too much like they were dating, too much like it was normal, and far too right to be together. The s.e.x was effortless...natural. So she'd stayed away last night, trying to put a little distance between them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

Reese heard the bell jingle and listened for a familiar voice.

Another night had come and gone and still no word from Morgan.

She thought perhaps she might just pop over for a visit, but it was a man's voice she heard.

"Sure, she's in. Go on back."

Reese frowned. It was unlike Eloise to just send anyone back without letting her know. She stood as a large man filled her doorway.

"Chief Daniels," he greeted her, his voice loud. He stuck his hand out. "I'm Ron Brightmen, nice to finally meet you."

She took his hand and nodded. "Right. I'm living in your cabin. Thanks."

He sat in the visitor's chair without asking, motioning for Reese to have a seat. Reese remained standing.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Brightmen?"

"Oh, I just wanted to visit with you a bit. As one of the commissioners, consider it a welcoming party," he said with a laugh.

"Well, I've been here two months so you're a little late."

"Sorry about that. Fall's my busiest time of year. I have an outfitting service, so we have a lot of out-of-state hunters who come up here. I'm sure you've heard of my place, the B and B Resort up above the lake there."

She shook her head as she settled back into her chair. "No, I haven't heard of it."

"Oh, well, we don't really do business with the locals." He laughed. "I suppose most of them are p.i.s.sed off about it anyway.

I have my own little store up there, a restaurant, the hunting cabins. No need for my clients to even come down into town for supplies."

"You're a county commissioner yet you get pleasure from taking business away from the locals? I'm surprised you get reelected."

"I get reelected because I have more money than anyone in the county other than Stuart Thompson."

"So he's a commissioner too?"

"Yep. Me and Stuart and Michael Turner."

"And what does Mr. Turner do?"

"He owns the Mountaintop RV Resort, going up Cinnamon Pa.s.s."

"Yes, I've been by there. Nice place."

"Yeah, he's full up every summer." He leaned forward. "I really came by to thank you," he said.

"Thank me for what?"

"Taking the job, for one thing. We were hard-pressed when Ned decided to leave in the middle of his term. We didn't think we'd find anyone to take his place. And the thought of Googan being interim sheriff for two years wasn't appealing to anyone."

He held out his hand again. "If there's anything you need, anything we can do for you, you just let me know."

She shook his hand, then glanced at the card he'd casually tossed on her desk. "Thanks, Mr. Brightmen, but as you know, I'm only here for the one year. If his term is not up for two, then I guess you'll have Googan to deal with interim after all."

"We're hoping you change your mind about that. You may not be a local and no one knows you, but come election time, they'd all vote for you over Googan." He laughed. "Because they do know Googan."

He left as quickly as he'd come in, bidding a quick good day to Eloise before the jingle of the bell signaled his leaving. She picked up his card, turning it over in her hand, seeing his scribbled cell phone number on the back. She let out a deep breath, then tossed the card into her drawer. She couldn't imagine the county producing a whole lot of revenue, and she suspected the allocation they got from the state was small seeing as how the population of the county was less than a thousand souls. Most likely, Brightmen and Thompson footed the bill, which was why they got reelected.

The locals may resent them, but they also knew they needed them. That was how politics worked in small towns.

But, not her concern, she reminded herself. Ten more months and she was free to leave. But in the meantime...

She picked up the phone and dialed the Forest Service office, listening patiently as Berta greeted her.

"It's Chief Daniels. Is Morgan in?" she asked politely.

"Chief Daniels for you," Berta called across the room.

Morgan looked blankly at the phone, then glanced back at Berta who was staring at her. She couldn't just ignore it, even if she wanted to. So she summoned her most professional tone as she answered.

"Morgan here, may I help you?"

"Hi, Zula."

Morgan gritted her teeth. "Chief Daniels."

"I haven't seen you around lately. I'm wondering if I've done something to upset you."

Morgan turned her back to Berta, only to find herself staring at Charlie who watched from his office. Good grief. Could she not have one moment of privacy? "I'm fine," she said.

"Can't talk?"

"Right."

"Shame. I wanted to tell you how much I've missed you and that I can't wait to see you naked again and that I want you to come over tonight so I can make love to you."

"Is that right?"

"Absolutely. But since you can't talk, how would I know if you want to make love to me?"

Morgan closed her eyes, hating the fact that her heart was racing. d.a.m.n the woman. She looked up at Berta who was still watching her. "It's nearly lunch. Do you want to meet at Sloan's and we can discuss it?"

"I'm on my way."

Morgan smiled as she hung up. Yes, she'd stayed away from Reese Daniels on purpose. Getting her period was as good an excuse as any. But both nights as she'd paced restlessly in her cabin she'd had to force herself to stay home. And apparently Reese had missed her. She stood, scooting her chair back and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"I'm going to Sloan's," she said.

Berta just nodded and Morgan knew as soon as she was out the door, Berta would be on the phone. First with Eloise, then with Tina, filling her in. She didn't know why they were trying to keep their affair a secret. She knew speculation was already running rampant among the locals.

And there Reese was, waiting for her, impatiently tapping the table as she lounged in a corner booth, two gla.s.ses of tea in front of her.

"You're evil," Morgan said as she slid in across from her.

Reese laughed. "Sorry. Couldn't help it. And I ordered you a grilled cheese. Jeff said it was your usual."

"Thanks." Morgan stared at her, trying to recall exactly why it was she'd stayed away. Because Reese's eyes were friendly, open, her lips relaxed in a smile. And yeah, she'd missed her too.

"I started my period," Morgan blurted out.

0.

Reese's eyebrows rose.

"Sorry." Morgan leaned her elbows on the table. "That's why I didn't come over," she said. It was somewhat the truth.

"You could have still come over. We don't always have to have s.e.x, Morgan," she said quietly. "We can watch a movie or...or share a meal together. You don't have to stay away because of that."

Morgan shook her head. "That's too much like dating," she said. "And I think that was one of your stipulations. You didn't want to date anyone. You were just looking for s.e.x."

Reese leaned back against the seat. "I did say that, didn't I?"

She shrugged. "Seeing as how I'm leaving after a year, dating wouldn't really be fair anyway."

"Right."