Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (35 page)

“
We
have a two mile trek to our next camp, just outside of Boumalne Dadès
But, there are some things you'll enjoy along the way, I assure
you.” Mustafa secured his own bag, and hopped on top of Clyde.

“
I
have enjoyed everything so far. Aside from...you know.” Morgan
pointed at her butt, and the two nodded in agreement. “This has
been one hell of an adventure, Mustafa. I'll never forget this!”
Mustafa smiled, and nodded silently.
Me
either, Morgan.
“Just
a year ago, I was a waitress in Ohio...now I'm riding a camel through
the mothafuckin' desert with a gorgeous man.”

“
Life
does that,” Mustafa agreed. “You never know when it's
going to change.” He gave Clyde a nudge with his foot and the
big male started walking forward. Morgan did the same and followed
closely beside her client. “You live, Morgan. You don't let the
world just pass you by. You embrace the beauty and the wonder, and
you're not afraid to try new things. Don't give up on that. I
wish...”
I
wish I had lived more.
“I
wish more people were like that.”

“
I
didn't always know how to live.” Morgan shook her head after
she spoke. That sounded silly spoken out loud, but he knew what she
meant. “A good friend of mine told me something...live like you
mean it.” They headed up a dune and Morgan's voice went up and
down as her body lunged forward with each steep step. “I didn't
get it at first. I thought I was already
living
but
I realized I wasn't. All I had been doing was settling. I think I've
just learned to appreciate my time and the things around me.”

Time
was not something Mustafa really wanted to discuss, but he thought it
was impressive that the young woman had learned that lesson early on
in life. He wished he could give time back to his parents, more than
he wished he had freedom, but he knew both were impossible. “That's
a good friend, and he's absolutely right.” Mustafa managed a
smile, but for the next mile, both of them remained quiet.

Morgan
was enjoying the scenery around her, and Mustafa was caught up in his
own thoughts. As the days passed by, the reality of his situation
became more apparent, and the one thing he had worried about, was
happening.
I
won't let this consume me. I will enjoy the rest of my week. Don't
bring her into my misery.

It
wasn't until Morgan spoke up, that he realized how close they were to
their first stop. “Wow!”

“
That,
is Todra Gorge. Some of those rock walls reach over one thousand
feet.”

“
Holy
shit, it's beautiful! Are we going there?” The canyon began
about half a mile ahead of them, and some walking would be involved,
but it was certainly something he wanted Morgan to experience.

“
If
you want to,” Mustafa suggested, then winked at Morgan.

*****

“
There
they are.” John pointed through a small opening and moved out
of the way for Finlay to see. They had been waiting at Todra Gorge
for well over an hour, and it finally paid off.
“Aye,
that's Morgan.” John wanted to remind Finlay that he had seen
Morgan several times, and that he didn't need Finlay to verify
anything, but he knew he risked his personal safety with trying to
get smart with the Scot. “Let's get closer.” Finlay
wasn't asking, and he jumped from their rocky perch to the sand, and
weaved his way through several boulders to get closer. John followed
closely behind until they were only twenty feet to the left of Morgan
and Mustafa.
“The trick to watching without being seen, is
to not be seen!” John's whisper yell brought a smile to
Finlay's filthy sand and grit covered face, and he sat down on a flat
rock to begin his stakeout. “Thank you.” John found a
rock to Finlay's side, and the two watched as Morgan and Mustafa
began their trip through the gorge. “And when they get up
further through the gorge, we'll follow behind them.
Be...hind...them.” Finlay nodded in agreement, mostly due to
the fact that it was also his plan.
Finlay leaned against the
rock in front of him and gazed out at Morgan. He had been through
hell in the prior few days, but it was suddenly all worth it to see
that Morgan was safe. Smiling up at another man wasn't something he
wanted to see, but he could live with it in knowing that she was
alright. His need to speak to her had vanished, and he laughed at
himself for his choices. He knew he should have just waited and
talked to her on the phone, or planned a proper visit, but his heart
forced him to do things that were out of character. He thought back
to his uncle Henry who told him that the only men who make good
choices, are the men that aren't in love. He was joking, Finlay knew
that even as a boy, but it still held some truth as he sat behind a
rock, in a desert, weathered a sand storm, rode a camel while drunk,
and almost beat information from a stranger. Yes, Uncle Henry may
have had it right all along.
*****
“This is
the most amazing place I've ever been!” Morgan splashed through
the water that barely covered her sandals as she ran between the
enormous rock walls of the gorge. She had already replaced her last
battery in her camera, and was well on her way to exhausting that one
as well. It was truly a marvel to see palm trees, lush greenery,
desert, rock, ancient basins, and modern dwellings all in the same
general area. She was over-sensitized, and loving every second of her
adventure. Mustafa led their camels and allowed Morgan the freedom to
explore.
Planning the week, he thought he would relive his
childhood memories and enjoy the self guided tour to the fullest. The
last thing he imagined was that he would get more enjoyment from
seeing it all through Morgan's eyes, instead of his own. It was, by
far, the best vacation of his life. “So,” Mustafa pointed
to the small group ahead who were clearly about to enjoy a day of
rock climbing, “want to join them?” Morgan followed where
he was pointing, and laughed loudly.
“Hell no! I can barely
walk without falling....but feel free to climb that wall. I'll wait
here.” Mustafa shook his head, laughing, and told Morgan that
he didn't have the coordination either. “Somehow, I doubt that.
You're in great shape.” She thought of his naked body, and how
his strength surrounded her the night before. He was strong,
intelligent, and adventurous. Morgan was right to assume that he
could most likely scale that wall, or anything else he wanted to
climb.

Mustafa
took a few paces back and looked up at the giant stone wall. “Nope.
Maybe a small one, but not that one.” He knew he didn't exactly
have much to lose at that point, but if he hurt himself on his last
days of freedom and missed the opportunity to spend those days with
Morgan, he would forever regret it.

“
Aw!”
Morgan stepped to the side as a group approached on horseback from
behind. They splashed through the water loudly, and Morgan took the
opportunity to snap a few more pictures of the majestic creatures.

“
Is
there any animal you don't love?” Mustafa came up behind her
and wrapped his arms around her waist, then set his chin on her
shoulder.

“
Hmm,”
Morgan thought, and tapped her chin with a finger. “I don't
like scorpions.” Both of them laughed again, and she turned in
his arms to face him. “If it has more than four legs, I
probably don't like it. Oh, and swans.”

“
Swans?”
Mustafa questioned her, and his hands moved lower on her body, until
they rested on the top of her ass.

She
nodded. “They are beautiful, but mean as hell! When I was a
teenager, I tried to feed some and they attacked me. I ended up
falling and they bit me all over my arms and neck, and I rolled into
the river to get away from them! It was horrible! Stop laughing at
me!” Morgan started laughing too, and playfully hit Mustafa on
his chest. “See how you like being attacked by ginormous
birds!”

*****

Mustafa
and Morgan continued talking, but they were out of earshot from John
and Finlay. All the big Scot could see was Mustafa's hands all over
Morgan, and it took every power within him to not intervene.

“
It's
her job.” John gave Finlay a reassuring pat on his back.

“
Aye.”
He knew he shouldn't be there to begin with, and he certainly
couldn't interrupt her job or be jealous.
I'm hiding behind a
fookin' rock in the middle of Morocco.
Unless Mustafa gave Finlay
a reason to come out of hiding, Finlay would do his best not to be
seen.

“
So,
you said you came here because you love her, right?” Finlay
nodded in response to John's question. “May I ask what your end
game is? You were just going to follow her? Then what?”

“
I
wisnae accounting for ye being here, and I didn't think she'd be with
someone yet. She was supposed te be at my hoose and...we need te
talk.” Finlay went quiet abruptly, knowing he didn't have to
explain himself to John.

“
What
are you going to do now?” John knew he would be following
Morgan, where ever it was she went next, but Finlay certainly
couldn't do the same.

Finlay
watched as Morgan took Mustafa's hand and began walking further
through the gorge and sighed quietly. Truth was, he had no idea what
he was going to do. Maybe, now that sense had come to him and he knew
Morgan was safe, he'd get a ride back to the airport and head home.
Maybe, he would go back to that hotel and wait for Morgan at the
airport. He didn't know. Finlay shook his head back and forth and
laughed. “This was a mistake.” He would make the best of
it and continue following Morgan, and make sure she made it safely to
camp, but after that, he had to make a decision. He stood and hopped
down a few rocks, and John followed behind him.

“
This
is fine.” John was too worried about being spotted, that he
kept his distance even more than he needed to. Finlay on the other
hand, wanted to be absolutely sure he could keep her in his sight. It
was nice to see her...smiling, laughing...that sparkle back in her
eye. The last time he'd seen her, she was in a bad place, and she
seemed more like her normal self. “Finlay, stop!” Finlay
was a good bit ahead of John, but crouched down behind a large
boulder. He thought Finlay would be fine there, but John was worried
he was getting too close.

When
Morgan and Mustafa stopped and turned around, John became worried.
When Morgan looked around, then pointed up at a rock a few feet from
Finlay, that's when John began to lose it.

*****

“
That
one! It's little, I think you can climb it!” Morgan pointed at
a small ledge, continuing their argument about rock climbing.

“
I
told you, nope.” Mustafa walked behind Morgan and stretched his
arms behind his back as a devious smile spread across his lips. He
knew he could manage that little one, and if it made Morgan happy to
watch him climb it, he decided he would do it.

“
I
know you can do it.” Morgan started walking toward the ledge.
“I bet I could even do this one. Well,” she looked down
at her feet, “if I weren't wearing sandals.

Not
even then, Morgan.
Finlay had
ducked down so low, he could no longer see the couple, but he could
still see John and the look on the man's face told Finlay things were
about to get ugly.

Chapter
Nine

“
Would
you climb that rock...,” Morgan pulled her tank off slowly, and
swirled it in air by one finger between them, “for this?”
The offer was clear, and Mustafa smiled and tried not to laugh. He
was going to climb it anyway, but things just got more interesting.
“Or...,” Morgan easily removed her shorts and dropped
them to the ground at her feet, “for this?” Yes, he would
happily climb the little rock for the perfect view of Morgan Holland.
His body was already reacting when he stepped forward and grabbed her
waist.

“
Get
up there.” Without letting go, he spun her around and easily
hoisted her almost naked body up the rock. Morgan laughed and grabbed
as much of the rock as she could and began to climb. She only had
five more feet until she reached the top, thanks to Mustafa, and a
hand on her backside gave her the extra push she needed to grab the
upper ledge. “You might need these... later.” Morgan's
shorts and tank sailed past her head and landed on top of the rock.
Within seconds, she was pulling herself to the flat surface and
waiting on Mustafa to join her.