Chapter 35: Chapter 35
Obediently, Morgan pulled the cat into her lap, keeping him safe there until Charlie returned with a knife, two forks, and two small plates, licking her lips as she cut the pie and making Morgan salivate, but not for the candy. Chastising himself, Morgan tried to look away from her mouth, but that proved to be a bad decision when his attention ended up on her legs, almost completely exposed by the small jeans she was wearing, whose legs only covered a few inches below of his groin, and which he had been trying to ignore since he arrived. At least the T-shirt she was wearing was loose and long enough to disguise her body shape a bit and keep his mind from wandering too far...
" Here! “She sat down next to him on the sofa again, this time extremely close, making their knees touch as she held out a generous piece to him.
" Thanks. “He whispered shyly, studying the almost invisible grooves in the carpet, to avoid making eye contact with her and end up making the situation in her pants even more difficult to deal with.
“I think I'll take a piece to Vivian tomorrow…” she commented, after a moment of silence “She hasn't been herself lately.
“Are things at the shelter getting worse? “ he looked up immediately, unable to bear the tone of desolation in her voice.
“ Actually, the point is that they are not getting better. We do our best to keep the budget in the positive, but Vivian has accumulated a lot of debt over the years and unfortunately, the donations we receive do not cover all of the animals' expenses. Therefore, she ends up having to prioritize them, instead of paying the installments of the debts and now... " Charlie sighed, crestfallen " It seems that the creditors are being more heartless than usual. And we can't lose the ced... " she gasped, horrified " Where are we going to take another 100 different animals if that happens...?"
“It's going to be okay, Charlie." He promised, stroking her hair. “Listen, you know Vivian a lot better than I do. Why don't you talk to her and convince her to accept a donation from me? We don't even have to pay everything if she doesn't feel comfortable. I'm sure paying off part of the debt will already be a great relief..."
" I've already tried. But she doesn't want to feel like she's paying off one debt by making another. “ Charlie huffed, irritated. “She's very stubborn."
"I don't know why, but that sounds familiar…" He gave a half smile, looking her up and down suggestively.
“Don't even start! “ she poked his cheek, angry “Not wanting you to spend money on my daily expenses is very different from protecting the only home those precious pets have!
" If you say. “ Morgan shrugged, taking a bite of her piece of pie. “Just remember that, if you want, I can give you the equivalent of your father's share of the inheritance right now and you can pay me back in a year. It would be like a loan.
“ Smarty. “ she stuck her tongue out at him, irritated “ But you'll only convince me to do this when it's a matter of life and death. It's not like I don't know you. I know you won't accept that I give you back a single penny when the time comes. Besides, wouldn't we run the risk of Samantha claiming that this indicates you bribed me into agreeing to question the will, or something? “ Charlie wrinkled her nose, looking furious at just the idea “ Unfortunately, I know her well too and I know what she's capable of.
“To hell with her. “ Morgan shook his head, not shaken at all, even though he knew that was a real possibility.
“Is that all we got married for? “ the inconsolable expression that came over her face surprised him, feeling like a stab in his heart “ Why would you want to prevent an injustice?
“You know better, Charlie. “ he argued, vehemently, putting the plate aside so he could hold her shoulders “ The only reason I'm doing all this is you. To prevent you from being wronged. To make sure you get the money that belongs to you. For nothing harm you. “ he kept repeating, looking her deep in the eyes “ You are the most important thing, Charlie. Never doubt it.
" You swear...? “She smiled sweetly, moving closer to him as if she were going to hug him, even though her lips were getting dangerously close...
" It is clear. “ he smiled nervously, practically flying to the other side of the sofa to get away from her, fearing what he might do if that beautiful mouth got even closer to him “ Now, let's forget about the bad things and concentrate on eating the cake, Yes? “ he offered, filling his mouth with candy, to try to calm down.
Without looking at Charlie, he could just hear her mutter something to herself and a few moments passed in silence, until a surprised exclamation caught her attention.
" Oh no! “ she practically screamed and, coming Pulling himself up to face her, he noticed that a large amount of the frosting from her piece of pie was now staining the front of his shirt. “ she huffed, though strangely she didn't seem too upset “Now I'm going to have to change! I'll be right back!
Saying that, she sprinted towards the hallway where the bedrooms were, looking strangely happy, judging by the way her feet were bouncing across the floor, before she disappeared from his life. Once alone, however, Morgan managed to relax a little, closing his eyes and resting his neck against the back of the couch, after covering the pie to make sure Sawyer didn't make any mischief. Immersed in the silence of the room, he concentrated only on his breathing and was almost falling asleep, when the soft sound of Charlie's footsteps on the carpet caught her attention, making him turn his neck towards her on impulse...
And almost falling off the couch in shock, when his eyes took in what she was wearing instead of the dirty blouse from before.
Quite calm, though, Charlie just walked normally over to him, sitting down on the sofa and going back to eating her cake as if she weren't wearing the tightest, most low-cut white tank top he had ever seen, whose thin fabric allowed him to see the shape of a your breasts perfectly. That wasn't a blouse, it was practically a second skin. And, paired with the tiny shorts that did nothing to hide her legs, she looked like she'd come straight out of one of the wet dreams he'd been having every night since they'd been married.
And he had to cross his legs immediately, to keep her from realizing what her choice of clothing had done to him and his peace of mind. If he would ever have that again.
" Some problem? “She cocked her head to the side, fork still in her mouth, as she stared at him curiously.” Her face turned a little red all of a sudden.
“Um, nothing…” he gulped, desperately searching his head for a plausible excuse to ask her to change before he had an aneurysm “I was just thinking it's a little cold today… No would you rather wear a coat? I don't want you to catch a cold.
“What do you mean cold? “She laughed, stretching her back against the sofa so that her breasts bulged even further, making him swallow hard. “Today is one of the hottest days of the year. “ she ran a finger along the neckline, pulling it slightly “ In fact, if I could, I would walk everywhere naked.
Gritting her teeth, Morgan had to stop herself from saying what she already was, at least not since she'd moved into that apartment. He didn't know if he'd completely misunderstood Charlie's taste in fashion or if her summer wardrobe had always been like this and he just hadn't noticed, but the fact was, these past two days, she'd been walking around with more and more clothes. clothes around the house. That was why this apartment had become equal parts personal heaven and hell for him, because he never knew how much of her exposed body he would see when he walked through the door.
Low necklines, miniskirts, flowy dresses and all kinds of short and tight clothes in general... He could count on his fingers the number of times he had seen her wearing that kind of thing in the three years they had known each other, like the day fateful 18th birthday, when he had first felt attracted to her. However, she always looked uncomfortable and self-conscious inside those rags and, fortunately, she always preferred more comfortable clothes in everyday life, which kept her more composed form and hidden from his eyes, which was a very positive thing.
In the last few days, though, she seemed to have thrown all her sweatpants and flannel shirts out or traded them in for a porn star outfit. Should he talk to Vivian and ask her to give Charlie a heads up on her new clothing choices? Although he only saw her dress like that indoors, since her old clothes only returned to her body when she needed to go out to work at the shelter...