She reached up to touch his face, but he caught her wrist. Her heart raced, just from the fact that he was touching her. She took his hand and placed it on her chest. Her weighted breaths caused her chest to heave. She wanted him to feel her heart beat. He looked at her, drawn into her uniqueness, into her freeness. She was like a fire, silent in her destruction and uncontainable. Messiah was walking a fine line. Ethic was a man he respected, and he didn’t want conflict, yet still, he couldn’t pull away. She reached out and put her hand on his tattoo-covered chest. He was like a mural of ink and she secretly wondered what each one meant. He kept his cool and his face was unmoved, but he couldn’t hide the beat she felt through his strong chest. She closed the little space that remained between them and hopped up around his waist. Her legs circled his back and her arms went behind his neck, as he held her up with one arm around her back.

“We got to go,” he whispered. His strong body was tense, cautious. He pulled her hand, as he began to step toward the shore. She pulled back. Almost instantly, his strong arm was around her waist, pulling her into him. She shook her head, declining his request to leave. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, before pulling away abruptly. Just like that, their connection was broken. She sighed, as she followed him toward dry land. He bent down to put on his clothes, and then turned away to give her some privacy, as she stepped into her own.

He had to get out of her proximity before something happened that he would regret. Morgan was a beautiful girl, but she was young, jail bait; and at 17, she wasn’t ready for what he offered at 25. He was in the streets heavy, with no intentions of slowing down. Messing with Morgan would be a direct violation of Ethic. He was lucky to have Ethic’s council at all. Messiah didn’t want to burn that bridge, not over pussy, no matter how pretty it was. Men wanted to conquer Morgan simply because of who she was, and he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to prey on her for her namesake. It just could not happen between them. He wasn’t into young girls. His conscience and who he was as a man would not allow it.

Morgan walked past him, filled with embarrassment and feeling foolish that he had turned her down. She climbed inside the car and turned towards the window, as he entered as well. This time, the silence was loud as they avoided conversation the entire way.

Morgan couldn’t get out the car fast enough. As soon as Messiah pulled into the driveway, Morgan bolted from the car, slamming the door so hard that Messiah cringed.