Page 63 of Pretend

“Yes,” Morgan mumbled, making him sigh heavily as he realized just how badly he’d fucked up.

Turning his head, Eric pressed his lips against the top of her head as he said, “I’m sorry, baby girl.”

“It’s s’okay,” she mumbled sadly against his neck, making him frown, that is until she released a long-suffering sigh as he followed her gaze to find her looking longingly at the pantry door.

“Did you find it yet?” he asked, mostly to torment the small woman that refused to share her last bite of pancake with him this morning.

“No,” came the sadly mumbled answer as Morgan turned her head and-

Had him groaning when she pressed her lips against his neck.

“So, I was wondering,” came the softly whispered words as Morgan continued kissing his neck.

“About?” Eric asked as he tossed the sketchpad back on the table.

“The secret room,” Morgan murmured casually as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I thought you didn’t want me to tell you where it was,” Eric said, gently running his hands over her back.

“I don’t,” Morgan said, kissing her way to his throat, “but I wouldn’t exactly be opposed to a hint.”

“You wouldn’t?” Eric asked, groaning as he dropped his head back as she kissed his throat.

“I wouldn’t, mostly because I don’t want to have to hurt you, but I will if you don’t tell me what I want to know,” Morgan assured him, cupping the back of his neck as she shifted on his lap.

“Did I tell you that I’m not really into that?” Eric murmured as her fingers slid through his hair as he dropped his head forward to take her mouth in a slow, hungry kiss.

“You might have mentioned that a time or two,” Morgan whispered against his lips. “Are you going to tell me why you banned me from going upstairs?” she asked as he felt her hand sliding down his stomach, making it really fucking difficult to remember that he had a plan.

“And ruin the surprise?” Eric asked when he felt Morgan reach for his belt.

“I would be okay with that,” Morgan assured him as she pulled his belt loose and unsnapped his fly as he picked her up and set her down on the edge of the kitchen table.

“I bet you would,” Eric murmured as he stood up and reached beneath her dress.

“I really would,” Morgan said as she pulled his zipper down as he hooked his fingers in her panties and pulled them down, pausing so that she could shift, making it easier for him to pull them off.

“It’s not going to happen,” Eric said, chuckling when she grumbled, only to groan when she reached inside his boxers and pulled him free and-

“You were saying?” Morgan asked, smiling as she used her hold on him to pull him closer so that he was stepping between her legs and-

Left struggling to remember that he had a plan.

CHAPTER34

“It has to be here somewhere,” Morgan mumbled as she dropped her hand away from the mantel with a disappointed sigh. She’d searched this entire house twice, went over the blueprints from the renovation they did on the kitchen in the twenties and…

Nothing.

She’d hoped to get her hands on the original blueprints, but unfortunately for her and her secret room-finding needs, they were destroyed when the town’s courthouse burnt to the ground shortly after this house was built, which meant, she was on her own. She considered asking Eric again, but…

She was determined to find it on her own so that she could shove it in his face because that’s what you did when the man that you loved more than anything tormented you with the fact that he’d found all the secret compartments in the house. The man was evil, Morgan thought as she ran her eyes over the fireplace, looking for any sign that she’d missed something.

For a moment, Morgan considered trying to push them again, but she had too much to do. With that in mind and a grumble because grumbling always made her feel better, Morgan turned around, released a long-suffering sigh and made her way back to the foyer. That was followed by staring wistfully at the grand staircase that she’d been banned from setting foot on during the day so that Eric could work on whatever it was that he was working on, sighing sadly again and reluctantly making her way back to the kitchen.

She went to sit down only to sigh, grumble, and make her way to the stove when the timer went off, letting her know that the oatmeal raisin cookies were done. Pouting, and not really caring, she grabbed her oven mitts and pulled the oatmeal raisin cookies out of the oven and placed them on the counter as her gaze was drawn to the built-in cabinets by the backstairs and-

“Damn it,” Morgan muttered as she placed the oven mitts on the counter and turned the oven off before she made her way back to the kitchen table where she’d been working all morning, determined to get the sketches done before they had to leave tomorrow and-