Page 21 of Dr. Fellow

When Morgan left to find my bathroom, all I could do was pace back and forth by the fireplace. The thud of my heavy steps against the hardwoods echoed the turmoil in my head as I tried to pinpoint the reason for the weight in the pit of my stomach.

Something about the situation felt entirely off. When we’re together, it feels like there’s a current of electricity that runs between us and surges back and forth as we banter. But tonight, that spark was almost dim, like she wasn’t in the mood to play.

We might not know each other well, but I know without a doubt that Morgan is not the kind of woman who folds easily. And once I pulled myself out of my head long enough to recognize that the shower was still running after far too long, a knot of worry tightened in my chest. I knew there had to be more to the story.

I knocked several times before entering the bathroom because I didn’t want her to think I was being a pervert or something. But when she didn’t answer, the knot turned into a medicine ball of dread, and I opened the door to check on her.

The sounds coming from the shower almost knocked the breath out of me, clawing at my long-dead heart. Because above the noise of the pounding water, came the most gut-wrenching wails that I’d ever heard. Even if I had wanted to stop my body from going to her, I wouldn’t have been able to. That intense draw between us that’s been irritatingly present since the night of the party forced me into action. In that moment, her pain was my pain, and I needed to be there for her in a way that felt primal.

The self-assured, feisty woman I haven’t been able to stop thinking about was crumbling. And I needed to let her know that she wasn’t alone—that she was safe with me.

The water ran cold by the time we finally got out, which was an impressive feat because in the thirty-ish years that I’ve spent in this house off and on, I don’t think that has ever happened. The last thing I wanted to do was let her go from my arms, but her body started to shiver despite the warm steam in the air. I forced myself to untangle our limbs, and gave her some space while I went to change out of my soaked clothes.

“Ahem.”

The sound of Morgan clearing her throat startles me as I’m bending over to dry my legs off, and I realize she’s probably warning me that she’s got a direct line of sight with my bare ass.

A surge of heat creeps up the back of my neck as I wrap a towel around my waist and turn to face her. I try to ignore the way my heart beats wildly as her eyes travel over my body, like she’s searching for the right words but also surprised by the view.

“Like what you see?” I joke, breaking the silence between us.

She lets out a small, almost inaudible laugh as she leans against the door frame.The hint of a smirk plays at the corners of her mouth, though her eyes still hold a heaviness that I feel in my soul.

“I’ve seen worse.”

“Be careful there, little devil, I might think you actually like me.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” she replies coyly, reaching up with one hand to brush her wet hair from her shoulder. “You might be net negative for previous infractions, but you do get a point in the like category after tonight. Thank you.”

For a moment she hesitates, and I notice a flicker of vulnerability cross her face. She inhales harshly like she’s resetting herself, and it’s gone in a flash, instantly replaced by her usual impenetrable confidence.

“However, if you tell a fucking soul that this happened, I will chop your balls off.”

I ignore the threat, instead focusing on her admission that she likes me. I don’t know why it feels good—it shouldn’t feel so good. I shouldn’t care what she thinks about me, but right now it seems like the most important thing in the world, and I can’t stop myself from wanting to know if I’ve been on her mind as much as she’s been on mine.

“How do I get more points?”

I cross the room, drawn into her orbit like a lost moon that suddenly found its warming sun. I stop a foot away from her towel-covered body, and the smell of my cedary-bourbon body wash on her skin invades my nose, filling me with an acute sense of longing.

“Did you not hear my threat?” She snorts, crossing her arms defensively. “I swear if you tell anyone that this happened tonight—”

I step closer, resting my fist on the door frame above her head. “I heard it.”

My eyes drop to her full chest, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop a groan from escaping my mouth.Her tits are a masterpiece.

Morgan’s breath hitches as the air between us shifts. “And?”

I study the remaining drops of water on her shoulders, fighting the sudden urge to bend down and taste her, to rough her up and force those walls that she just put back up to come crashing back down.

“It’s not a concern of mine.”

She swallows harshly as goosebumps scatter across her flawless olive skin, and I know without a doubt that they’re not from the temperature in the air.

“What is a concern of yours?”

I drag my attention back to her face. I’m close enough now to notice the smattering of freckles that pepper her button nose, and the slightly darker rim of yellow that surrounds each iris. The color sparks into her pupil like a vibrant explosion on the Fourth of July, and it occurs to me how fitting that is for her. Because Morgan Lovett is a goddamn firework that erupted in the middle of my darkest night, and as much as I’ve been trying to find solitude in the silence, her booms keep coming louder and louder.

“Getting a higher score,” I reply, unable to help myself from telling her the god’s honest truth.

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