Possessing Morgan:
A Matter of Conviction
by Aurelia
Part 23
See Part 1 for Disclaimers
Chapter 23
They were alone. Cheryl had left and they were now bound to one hotel room. No more hospital rooms, alcohol or distractions. It was just the two of them.
“So…” Morgan looked nervously around the room, her eyes subconsciously seeking out the double bed.
“So…” Andrea tried not to laugh at the redhead’s predicament. “You want to play?”
“Wha…?” Eyebrows rose quickly as the words sank in. She gulped loudly. “Play?”
“Yeah…” Andrea moved in on the detective, slowly swaggering towards her, her voice dropping to a seductive whisper. “…play.”
“Ahhh… errr…. “Morgan looked around in panic, vainly looking for some kind of refuge. “Why? Don’t you want to have another sleep?”
“Nope. I’m wide awake and ready to play.”
“Now, listen here Counselor…”
Andrea brought out the pack of cards from behind her back. “You deal or will I?”
This fiendish humor of Andrea’s was going to be the death of her. “Grrrrrr.” The sound came from Morgan’s chest, a human panther snarling out her displeasure. “I thought you were going to stop teasing me.”
“Only in public… honey. In private, you are fair game.”
“Me? Fair game?”
“It’s only you and me, Morgan. You have nothing to prove to me. Here we can be ourselves. No pretense, no reputation and no ego.”
“I suppose you’re right. I’m just not used to sharing my feelings.”
“No! Really?” Andrea held up her hand before Morgan opened her mouth to reply. “Sorry. Slip of the tongue.” She knew the she was confusing the woman to the point of madness as far as she was concerned, but Andrea really wanted this to work. Her very happiness depended on this working. “Here, let’s go play.” She handed over the cards to the confused woman, moving away to the table at the far end of the room near the window.
Morgan just stood there, watching Andrea walk away. Was this all worth it? Emerald eyes skimmed over the silky pajamas, watching every movement of that lithe body. She sighed in defeat. Was it worth it? Damn, it was.
Despite the company and the cards the afternoon was dragging by. Andrea retired to the bed to have another rest while Morgan sat on the couch, remote in hand, flipping through the TV channels in rapid succession.
“Pick a channel, damnit.” Andrea’s tired voice was barely heard over the cacophony of sound coming from the television.
“God, daytime TV is soooooo boring.”
“Then don’t watch it. Otherwise, pick something. That constant switching is driving me nuts.”
“Go to sleep.”
“I would if you would stop flipping the channels.”
“Tsk tsk, picky picky.”
“Don’t make me hurt you, Detective.”
“You? Hurt me?” The image flashed across her mind but somehow it just didn’t seem a threat. “I don’t think so.”
Lethargy lay over Andrea like a blanket. “Well, another day another time.”
“That’s what I thought.” Fed up with what the television had to offer Morgan switched it off, reaching for a book instead.
* * *
Some time later, Morgan’s cell phone rang and she grabbed it quickly before it woke up the sleeping woman.
“Hello?” She kept her voice low.
“Hey there partner.”
“And what did I do to deserve this call?”
“Just thought I’d fill you in on what’s happening this end.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“I’m glad you don’t say that when we’re arresting someone.”
“Just get on with it.”
“Ooooh, cranky cranky. Get up on the wrong side of the bed?” Henry heard the aggravated sigh over the phone. “Keep your shirt on.” He hesitated at the double meaning of that. “Errr…”
“Henry…” Morgan growled. “Get to the point.”
“I saw Vaughan’s secretary a short while ago. It seems she had a message from her boss to stop by and pick up some work the morning of Rose’s murder. She had a quick word with the deceased before collecting the paperwork and leaving. Or so she says.”
“Do you think she’s capable of murdering Rose?”
“I really don’t know. She is such a wallflower, but then those quiet types can have emotions that run deep.”
“Maybe she is our mysterious Lauren. Keep digging, Henry. See what you can come up with. Anything else?”
“We’ve found you somewhere to stay.”
“Good.”
“But it’s not the Ritz, I’m afraid.”
Oh no. Morgan could feel the bad news coming even before Henry talked. How bad could it be?
“My family has a factory in Chinatown…” Pretty bad.
“Uh huh.”
“There’s a room above the office that’s made up with a bed, en suite and cooking facilities.”
“Stay there often, do you?”
“Nah. Dad keeps it made up for when Auntie Li Lu kicks Uncle Wang out. He nearly has a permanent reservation there.”
“Uncle… Wang?” Oh God, he’s gonna kill me.
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?” He obviously didn’t get it.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” She was not going to insult his family. After all, they were doing her a favor.
“Anyway, the factory is closed down for the moment for renovations and Uncle Wang is behaving himself. You now have a reservation at the luxurious Chang’s Noodle Factory down on Mott Street. Dad’s putting in a second bed for you two, so we won’t move you until tomorrow.”
“Henry… thanks.”
“Make the most of tonight there partner because Dad’s putting in a camp bed so I can guarantee nothing’s gonna happen there!” He laughed gently down the phone, and Morgan was glad that he couldn’t see the growing blush he had started.
“You just don’t give up, do you?”
“Not until you’re happy, Red. Suzie would never forgive me if Cupid failed this one.”
“Well Cupid is gonna have to sit on his hands for a while. I’m on duty, Detective, so there will be no hanky-panky.”
“We’ll see…” Morgan suspected he was right. How was she going to behave tonight?
“Tell Suzie I said you are a baaaaddd boy.”
“I don’t need to. She already knows. Have a good day, Red. Love to the counselor.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She hesitated. “Henry… will you come… if I call? No questions asked?” There was probably no need to mention it, but somehow Morgan needed the affirmation. They were shifting into an area of town that would be nearly empty at night.
“Sure, you know that. I’ll be on my bike as soon as the phone rings.”
“Thanks, partner.”
“Nervous?”
“I dunno. Just a feeling I guess.”
“I’ll await your call.”
“Henry… you’re the best partner a girl could ask for.”
“Just remember that when you’re my boss.”
“I am your boss.”
“You keep thinking that Morgan.” With that he hung up, leaving the sergeant to chuckle at his antics. No, she wouldn’t forget him… ever.
* * *
Morgan sat looking at her cell phone, mulling over what the night would bring. Her eyes moved to the sleeping figure, sweeping over the form that haunted her every waking hour. What if something should happen? She had been adamant that they would behave until this was all over, but what if Andrea was gone and their relationship was over before it had even started?
The redhead had wanted to do things properly. To woo, to romance, to show the woman what was in her heart. The gravity of the situation had blind-sided her, making her aware of how easily it could all disappear. Morgan knew Andrea would be enthusiastic for such a union, but was one night enough? Perhaps one night was all that they had but they just didn’t know it yet. She reached for the hotel phone.
* * *
Andrea could swear that she smelled roses. Sleepy eyes opened to see Morgan sitting quietly on the bed holding a single red rose. “Hey sleepyhead,” she whispered.
“Hey.” Her fog-filled brain was not yet fully awake. “Is something wrong?”
“Nope. Nothing at all.” Shyly, she handed over the tiny offering. “For you.”
“Huh? What did I do to deserve this?”
“I just wanted to, that’s all.”
But Andrea knew better, reading the tense lines around her mouth as if they were an open book. Her hand came up to caress those lines, gently massaging them until they disappeared. That same hand hooked around Morgan’s neck, pulling gently and feeling no resistance. Lips touched, brushed and caressed in a gentle dance of love.
Andrea pulled back. “I’m not dead, am I?”
A gentle rumble emerged from Morgan’s throat. “Noooo.”
“Then I must be asleep.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you have been avoiding this since we met.”
“Perhaps I just changed my mind.”
“Honey, you won’t change your boxers without a decree from Congress. What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“You are such a bad liar. So what is it? I have a zit the size of Kansas on my forehead? You have developed a third butt? Henry’s going to have a baby? What?”
“I… “ Her courage failed her and it was only those trusting brown eyes holding her own that pushed her on. “What if I lose you?”
“You won’t lose me. I thought we had settled that.”
“Someone is still trying to kill you, Andrea. I could lose you at any time.”
“But you’re here to protect me silly.”
“And what if I can’t? What if he succeeds?”
“Then I suppose I’ll come back from the dead and haunt you until you make love to me.”
“This is no laughing matter, Counselor.”
“Life is never certain Morgan. You of all people should know that. Just getting to work is a daily risk in itself. I’m not concerned about my safety because it’s in your very capable hands. Stop worrying.”
“But…” the words were trapped in her mouth as Andrea captured her lips for a soul searing kiss, burning away her fear and apprehension.
“No ‘buts’ Morgan. If this is our time, then so be it. Don’t fear it, embrace it. I know I will.” A strong hand grabbed her T-shirt, pulling Morgan sharply towards the reclining blonde. Instinctively the detective threw out her good hand to stop the forward motion before she crashed into the counselor. A raised eyebrow questioned the smaller woman’s impetuousness. “Yeah, I know, too impatient for my own good. Sorry.”
“Never be sorry, Andrea. Especially about this, please.”
“I’m not, really. I’m just eager to start.”
“It’s going to have to wait I’m afraid. Dinner is already on its way up.”
“Damn…”
“Patience.”
“I don’t have any, remember? You keep reminding me of that.”
A well-timed knock on the door stopped the conversation. “Hold that thought.” Morgan reached for her gun, tucking it into the back of her jeans. She looked to Andrea, who took the warning and moved out of sight. “Who is it?”
“Room service.” What else would he say? But ‘room service’ covered just about anything.
The tall detective unlocked the door then stepped back, one foot in the bathroom for a quick escape if necessary. “Come in, it’s unlocked.” One large hand wrapped around the handle of her gun, which fitted easily into her palm. Morgan could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, faint echoes reverberating through her brain.
It was like slow motion as the door opened, seconds passing before she saw the food cart wheel into view. “Just put it over near the table, thanks.” Wary green eyes watched the waiter’s every move, her hand twitching with every step he took. She scanned his body for any mysterious bulges but could find none. Perhaps it was dinner after all.
The waiter turned to find two sets of suspicious eyes watching him. He rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants, nearly jumping out of his skin when the taller woman rushed at him. “Er, can you sign this?” He handed over the chit and watched nervously as she signed. When she made a move towards the bedside table, he lifted his hands. “No! No, don’t worry about that.” He was nearly running out the door when the redhead followed behind him. Next time, someone else could have the job.
“I think we just scared a good ten years out of his life.” Andrea couldn’t help but chuckle at the waiter’s terrified look.
“Probably, but I’m not sorry for what I did.”
“No?”
“No.” Morgan replied adamantly. “I will shove my gun up his nostril if I have to… to…”
“To what?”
“Never mind.”
Andrea just knew it was something mushy. Morgan always hesitated when it revealed something about her feelings. “No, come on. You started it, now finish it… please.”
“Awww hell! If that is what it takes to protect you, then I will. Okay? You happy now?”
“Ecstatic. And your romantic declarations are getting better.” Andrea felt a clench around her heart as she watched the detective scuff her feet, looking shyly at the floor. She began to wonder who was the virgin in this relationship. “Can I ask you something?”
“Should I be afraid?”
“Probably, but answer it anyway.” Oh boy… “When was the last time you slept with anyone?”
Morgan gulped… then gulped again. Had she heard it right? “Pardon?”
“Stop hesitating. You heard the question.”
“Anyone?”
“Well, are you exclusively lesbian or do you play for both teams?”
“That’s kind of personal, isn’t it?”
“Hey, I’m not the one who blurted it out way back then.”
“I plead the Fifth.”
“So it’s both teams then?”
“Nooooo. It’s none of your business.”
“You made it my business, Detective. Come on, how bad can it be?”
Morgan walked over to the cart grabbing for the bottle of champagne. Efficiently she opened it, pouring two glasses of the bubbly. As she carried one over to Andrea Morgan drank hers in one swallow.
“Woooow there, champ. Don’t have a heart attack over this.”
Morgan went back to the bottle, refilling her glass. She watched the glass shake, bubbles breaking the surface of the liquid in rapid succession. “About four years,” she whispered.
Four years? So before her dad died, and Andrea suspected that her dad didn’t know. Andrea put down her glass, covering the few feet between them in a hurry. “It’s okay, hon. I just wanted to know, that’s all.”
“Why? Why do you want to know these things?”
“Because you never talk about yourself. How am I going to know all about you if you don’t let me in?” She looked into sad green eyes. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” That brought a whisper of a smile and a hint of a dimple. “That’s my girl.”
“What about you?” Andrea just looked at her. “Errr, stupid question.”
The small blonde pulled Morgan to the sofa, gently pushing her to sit down. Andrea took her place beside the tall woman. “This is really beautiful,” indicating the laden food cart, complete with candle and candlestick, champagne and another long-stemmed rose sitting in a delicate vase. As she watched Morgan took the book of matches off the cart and lit the flame. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” How did the counselor make her feel like a schoolboy with his first teenage crush? She knew, oh Lord she knew, but there was still a tiny kernel inside her that refused to say the word, rebelling against what she so desperately wanted and needed.
“Joel is the only one I have ever slept with, if you wanted to know.”
“I did?”
“Well, turn around is fair play.”
“But…”
“But what?”
“It’s none of my business.”
“Of course, it’s your business.” Andrea could see the hesitation in those eyes. She placed the morsel of food in her mouth, chewing slowly before proceeding with the conversation. “Isn’t it? Or have I read you all wrong?”
Andrea was about to admit defeat when Morgan didn’t answer. Only in the dying seconds of the interminable silence she did so. “No.” The detective sighed deeply. “No, you haven’t.” Andrea let out her breath, trying to calm herself. She was so close to losing it all. “But why sleep with him if you didn’t love him?” There. It was out.
“Why indeed? That’s a question I have been asking myself for a year now.”
“A year?”
“Yeah, we’ve been engaged for about a year.” That should have said something to Andrea long before now. “Some counselor I am, huh? I didn’t even see that one coming.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m twenty-nine years old, Morgan. I had a career but no family. My parents… well, my mother… was pushing me to marry, have kids, settle down and forget my silly profession.” She could see the dismay in those jade eyes. “Hey! What was I supposed to do? My family wanted it, Joel wanted it and I didn’t really care. It made everyone… well, nearly everyone… happy.”
“But not you…”
“No, not me. I’d given up on the falling in love bit and just figured hey, he’s a good man. This is probably the best I’m gonna get.”
“That’s pretty sad.”
“I suppose it is.” The words were sitting on her tongue but pointing out Morgan’s own sad life was probably not wise at this point.
“So why did you take the job here?”
“You know, I don’t know. It was just calling to me. Maybe at the time I felt it was a chance to get away from my family. Now? Now I believe it was to find you.”
“You don’t believe in all that destiny stuff do you?”
“Sure, why not? It answered my prayers… and hopefully yours too.” Andrea waited expectantly for some sort of reply from Morgan. A minute nod brought a smile to the counselor’s lips. “Whew! I’m glad you said that, otherwise I’d be standing in a big pile of doggy doo right now.”
“And this is how you wow them in court, is it? Your eloquence is underwhelming.”
“Hey! I’m off the clock right now. I save all my big words for work.”
“Uh huh.”
“Sure. They absolutely love ‘objection’, ‘ladies and gentlemen of the jury’ and ‘the defendant is guilty’ is especially popular with everyone but the villains. But don’t ask me to spell antidisestablishmentarianism, I’m not that good.”
“You are priceless…,” Morgan couldn’t help but smile, “… and just a little bit nuts.”
“Yeah… I know.”
“That first day you came into the precinct I thought you were a stuffy snob.”
“And now?” Morgan was surprised that Andrea didn’t seem to be offended by the comment.
“Now?” She shook her head slowly. “Now, you are the most amazing woman I have ever met.”
“Why, thank y’all.” Andrea exaggerated her accent, drawing out the syllables as she witnessed Morgan’s reaction. “My, my, Miss Morgan, y’all like a little bit of Southern, don’t you?”
On an unsteady breath, she answered, “Yeah… yeah I do. Damn it.”
“Well then, sugar. Take me to bed, woman.”
“Ahhh… errr.”
“You haven’t forgotten how to, have you?”
“Noooo.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I had promised myself that I would wait until this was all over, when we could both think clearly and not be influenced by circumstance. I suppose I’m still trying to keep that promise.”
A small hand cupped Morgan’s cheek. “Well, I can’t have you breaking a promise then, can I?” But Andrea knew there was more here than a mere promise. “Can I at least get a cuddle in bed?”
Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she was using delaying tactics and she knew why. When they finally made love she would be stepping over that final barrier. She would be giving away her heart as well as her body. There would be no going back.
Andrea studied the tall woman, seeing the strain lessen on her face. She didn’t take offence that Morgan didn’t want to sleep with her. The detective was not that type of woman. “When you are ready just give me the sign,” she whispered.
“Sign?”
“’Don’t leave home without it.’ Just borrow mine.”
“Umm, I applied for one.”
“You did?” That sounded promising.
“I haven’t got it yet though.”
“I can wait.” Who would have thought that an American Express card would be responsible for her happiness for the rest of her life? “But when you use it, I want you to be sure, Morgan. I want it all and I want you to feel the same, alright? There is to be no confusion in this. That card means you are ready to give me your heart. Understand?”
“I understand.” Oh boy, did she understand. The moment she handed the card to Andrea she would be stepping off that cliff to either float, held up by Andrea’s love, or go crashing to the jagged rocks below. It wasn’t the stepping off the cliff that frightened her but the sudden stop at the bottom if things went wrong. “But what if I lose you before then?”
“Don’t go into this for the wrong reasons, Morgan. I don’t want to make love ‘just in case’. Do it because you want to not because you feel you have to. I just want you to hold me close, hon, to feel your skin against mine and to feel your breath mingle with mine. I want the intimacy of the closeness of you.”
Morgan smiled, touched by the gentle loving images Andrea evoked. “I can do that.” She rose from the sofa, extending her hand down to the seated blonde. On the way over to the bed, the redhead detoured to the temperature control, pushing it up a couple of notches to warm the room. Hesitantly, she reached for the counselor’s clothes, clumsily trying to use her damaged hand. “Shit…” she muttered.
Andrea slowly brought up both hands, stopping a time or two to allow the twinge of pain to subside. She was thankful now that Morgan had gotten her some T-shirts so there were no more damned buttons. Goosebumps dotted her pale skin as she stood in her underwear. Morgan moved back to the little box, adjusting the warmth yet again. Slowly the room filled with warm air, laying a sleepy atmosphere over their tired bodies. “Let me get you out of those clothes before I fall asleep.”
“I don’t mind if you sleep.”
“Oh no. I got you to agree to a cuddle, and a cuddle is what I expect.”
“Heh… yes ma’am.”
It took a lot of moaning, groaning and slow movements before both women could find a comfortable position together. Mindful of their injuries they shifted carefully, finally finding a position that, while not perfect, was acceptable considering the circumstances.
“How are you going there?” Morgan knew Andrea was suffering. She should have insisted on just lying side by side to sleep but Andrea really wanted this, and of late she was finding it hard not to give the blonde what she asked for.
“Fine.” But the tightness of the voice told differently. Morgan’s free hand wrapped around the tiny waist of the counselor, her long fingers idly caressing the skin underneath. “Yeah… much better.” All pain receded as Morgan continued the slow seduction of her skin. “Much, much better…” she whispered.
Andrea breathed deep, smelling the skin that had so assaulted her senses that night in her hotel room. She nuzzled it, feeling a gentle roll under her cheek as the detective chuckled. She repeated the action with the same result. “Stop that.” The deep rumble came from her chest, skittering across the skin under her head.
“Ticklish, are we?”
“You’re not playing fair.”
“And why do you say that, Detective?”
“Because I can’t retaliate. If I try to tickle you it’ll hurt.”
“And you don’t think what you are doing now is not torture enough?”
“Sorry. Do you want me to stop?”
“You do and I’ll have to hurt you.”
Morgan bit back a reply. Now was the time for quiet intimacy, not arguing or banter. She gave Andrea a soft hug, pulling the small body towards her own to feel Andrea’s heat. The soft skin resting against her ignited long-forgotten memories of what it was like to love and be loved. A deep longing filled her soul. Her last thought as she slipped into slumber was that she wanted to feel those lost feelings once more.
Feedback is always appreciated. You can contact me at aurelia_fan@yahoo.com.au