Disclaimer: Same as before people!
Wishing For Snow by Shelly
CHAPTER THREE
When she awoke the next morning, she found herself staring into gray eyes that were at first unfamiliar to her, but her memories came flooding back along with a fresh batch of tears that she had refused to give into during the time after her father's death. The first sob caught her unawares, and she turned her face into the pillow to hide her grief from the stranger lying next to her, knowing what he must be thinking but unable to stop them once they had started.
Leon had at first been confused when he had woken up to find Morgan lying in bed beside him, but like her he had remembered everything as soon as he had tried moving his foot and feeling a sharp pain cut through his ankle. But nothing had prepared him for the sudden bout of crying that had her whole body shaking, and concern filled his eyes as her sobs tore at his heart.
"Morgan, it's all right," he assured her as he laid his hand on her back. "You're safe now. The battle's over," he said, thinking that it was the battle that had scared her.
Her tears subsided as she turned red eyes filled with surprise towards him, his generosity catching her off guard. But she let him think what he wanted as she didn't want to tell him just yet why she had been fighting by herself. "I'm sorry, Leon," she said as she sat up to wipe her tears away with her fingers. "You don't know me from a hole in the ground, and here I am crying like a child."
He smiled as he eased himself up into a sitting position. "It's okay. Considering the odds you were up against, you were probably running on pure adrenaline and coming down like that is rough."
She suddenly remembered his injury and moved down to the end of the bed to take a look at his ankle, grimacing when she saw how swollen it was and covered in patches of blue and purple with a little green and yellow mixed in. "Looks wonderful," she commented. "There must be a first aid kit in here somewhere. Don't move while I look around and find one."
"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere," he replied with a chuckle.
She smirked at him and dashed into the bathroom to check around, crying out in triumph when she found one and walking back into the bedroom to sit beside him on the bed. She had wet a washcloth and used it to clean the blood off his forehead, having to hold back his hair to see how deep it went, which wasn't that far, and a band-aid fixed that problem easily. His ankle presented a bigger problem as he wouldn't be able to walk on it, much less move it, and he needed something to act as a crutch until he could.
But then another problem arose, one she could take care of when she heard his stomach growl hungrily followed by hers. They both were surprised and embarrassed but laughed it off. "I guess I'd better see if there's anything to eat before anything else," she said as she took a cloth bandage and wrapped his ankle tightly.
"Yeah, I guess we're both pretty starved," he replied as he watched her, finding her ministrations curiously captivating just as she herself was.
Morgan knew he was watching her, and she couldn't keep the blush from coloring her cheeks as she fought against looking at him. "Thank you for what you did yesterday, Leon. It was a very brave and unselfish thing to do."
"I couldn't just let you fight them all by yourself," he answered. "It was an unfair fight."
She looked down at his bandaged ankle, rubbing her thumbs across the top of his foot. "But you lost your Shield Liger. And it's all my fault." His foot jerked in her grip, and she looked up at him to see him trying his best not to laugh. A slow smile spread across her face and she continued tickling him before he stopped her by grabbing her hand and pulling her back onto the bed to dig his own fingers into her sides. She howled with laughter, her pleas for mercy only garnering even more torture.
Finally he stopped and lay there beside her, patiently waiting for her giggles to stop which only sent her into further fits of laughter. "I didn't know it was that funny," he said.
She was holding her aching sides as tears of laughter ran down her cheeks and into her hair. "I'm sorry, Leon," she finally gasped. "I should warn you I'm very ticklish."
He smiled evilly. "What, like this?" he asked, moving in for the kill.
"Leon, please don't!" she squealed at the top of her lungs, grabbing hold of his hands with her own to stop him.
He eased back down beside her, keeping one of her hands in his own and bringing the other one up to softly brush strands of hair that had fallen across her face during her struggles. Gazing into her hazel eyes, he suddenly realized that he wanted to kiss her, but kept the thought from turning into action as he wondered if it only came from a need created by their ordeal together. That and the fact that she may not welcome it.
But nothing could've been farther from the truth. His touch had been feather-light, but it had felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her and had jumpstarted her heart. She had sensed the change in him and knew what he wanted as she wanted it just as badly, but when he let go of her hand and sat up, she buried her disappointment as she sat up herself and moved off of the bed.
"How about I go find us something to eat? Would you like to come with me?" she asked.
He smiled. "No thanks. I'll just stay here. I think that little scuffle tired me a little."
She wondered if that was the real reason, or if he wished to be alone because he wasn't interested in her after all. Maybe she had misjudged his reaction to her. She hid her chagrin behind a smile. "If you want, I'll bring it in here," she offered.
He nodded his head. "That would be great. Thanks," he replied, watching as she left and feeling rotten as he had seen the flash of hurt in her eyes. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, but he was just being cautious as he didn't want things between them spiraling out of control so fast only to be brought to a screeching halt once they realized they never really liked each other that much in the first place. It was amazing that he had just met her and already she had his emotions in a turmoil as she was a very beautiful woman, and his body was reacting to that as well as the more deep-seated feelings that were beginning to stir inside his heart.
And that was what scared him most of all, the thought of giving himself to someone so completely and having them throw it back in his face in the end. Or worse yet, to fall in love with someone and find out that they're not who he thought they were. But there was only one way to find out, and that was to do a little asking of his own.
*******************
Hmm, playtime's over and now it's time to fess up! But will she tell him who she is? Stay tuned!
Wishing For Snow by Shelly
CHAPTER THREE
When she awoke the next morning, she found herself staring into gray eyes that were at first unfamiliar to her, but her memories came flooding back along with a fresh batch of tears that she had refused to give into during the time after her father's death. The first sob caught her unawares, and she turned her face into the pillow to hide her grief from the stranger lying next to her, knowing what he must be thinking but unable to stop them once they had started.
Leon had at first been confused when he had woken up to find Morgan lying in bed beside him, but like her he had remembered everything as soon as he had tried moving his foot and feeling a sharp pain cut through his ankle. But nothing had prepared him for the sudden bout of crying that had her whole body shaking, and concern filled his eyes as her sobs tore at his heart.
"Morgan, it's all right," he assured her as he laid his hand on her back. "You're safe now. The battle's over," he said, thinking that it was the battle that had scared her.
Her tears subsided as she turned red eyes filled with surprise towards him, his generosity catching her off guard. But she let him think what he wanted as she didn't want to tell him just yet why she had been fighting by herself. "I'm sorry, Leon," she said as she sat up to wipe her tears away with her fingers. "You don't know me from a hole in the ground, and here I am crying like a child."
He smiled as he eased himself up into a sitting position. "It's okay. Considering the odds you were up against, you were probably running on pure adrenaline and coming down like that is rough."
She suddenly remembered his injury and moved down to the end of the bed to take a look at his ankle, grimacing when she saw how swollen it was and covered in patches of blue and purple with a little green and yellow mixed in. "Looks wonderful," she commented. "There must be a first aid kit in here somewhere. Don't move while I look around and find one."
"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere," he replied with a chuckle.
She smirked at him and dashed into the bathroom to check around, crying out in triumph when she found one and walking back into the bedroom to sit beside him on the bed. She had wet a washcloth and used it to clean the blood off his forehead, having to hold back his hair to see how deep it went, which wasn't that far, and a band-aid fixed that problem easily. His ankle presented a bigger problem as he wouldn't be able to walk on it, much less move it, and he needed something to act as a crutch until he could.
But then another problem arose, one she could take care of when she heard his stomach growl hungrily followed by hers. They both were surprised and embarrassed but laughed it off. "I guess I'd better see if there's anything to eat before anything else," she said as she took a cloth bandage and wrapped his ankle tightly.
"Yeah, I guess we're both pretty starved," he replied as he watched her, finding her ministrations curiously captivating just as she herself was.
Morgan knew he was watching her, and she couldn't keep the blush from coloring her cheeks as she fought against looking at him. "Thank you for what you did yesterday, Leon. It was a very brave and unselfish thing to do."
"I couldn't just let you fight them all by yourself," he answered. "It was an unfair fight."
She looked down at his bandaged ankle, rubbing her thumbs across the top of his foot. "But you lost your Shield Liger. And it's all my fault." His foot jerked in her grip, and she looked up at him to see him trying his best not to laugh. A slow smile spread across her face and she continued tickling him before he stopped her by grabbing her hand and pulling her back onto the bed to dig his own fingers into her sides. She howled with laughter, her pleas for mercy only garnering even more torture.
Finally he stopped and lay there beside her, patiently waiting for her giggles to stop which only sent her into further fits of laughter. "I didn't know it was that funny," he said.
She was holding her aching sides as tears of laughter ran down her cheeks and into her hair. "I'm sorry, Leon," she finally gasped. "I should warn you I'm very ticklish."
He smiled evilly. "What, like this?" he asked, moving in for the kill.
"Leon, please don't!" she squealed at the top of her lungs, grabbing hold of his hands with her own to stop him.
He eased back down beside her, keeping one of her hands in his own and bringing the other one up to softly brush strands of hair that had fallen across her face during her struggles. Gazing into her hazel eyes, he suddenly realized that he wanted to kiss her, but kept the thought from turning into action as he wondered if it only came from a need created by their ordeal together. That and the fact that she may not welcome it.
But nothing could've been farther from the truth. His touch had been feather-light, but it had felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her and had jumpstarted her heart. She had sensed the change in him and knew what he wanted as she wanted it just as badly, but when he let go of her hand and sat up, she buried her disappointment as she sat up herself and moved off of the bed.
"How about I go find us something to eat? Would you like to come with me?" she asked.
He smiled. "No thanks. I'll just stay here. I think that little scuffle tired me a little."
She wondered if that was the real reason, or if he wished to be alone because he wasn't interested in her after all. Maybe she had misjudged his reaction to her. She hid her chagrin behind a smile. "If you want, I'll bring it in here," she offered.
He nodded his head. "That would be great. Thanks," he replied, watching as she left and feeling rotten as he had seen the flash of hurt in her eyes. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, but he was just being cautious as he didn't want things between them spiraling out of control so fast only to be brought to a screeching halt once they realized they never really liked each other that much in the first place. It was amazing that he had just met her and already she had his emotions in a turmoil as she was a very beautiful woman, and his body was reacting to that as well as the more deep-seated feelings that were beginning to stir inside his heart.
And that was what scared him most of all, the thought of giving himself to someone so completely and having them throw it back in his face in the end. Or worse yet, to fall in love with someone and find out that they're not who he thought they were. But there was only one way to find out, and that was to do a little asking of his own.
*******************
Hmm, playtime's over and now it's time to fess up! But will she tell him who she is? Stay tuned!