Momentum (4 page)

A moment later the door closed. She didn’t hear any voices, so she peeked out and then sniffed the air when she saw him wheeling what she presumed was a room service cart to the area by the coffee table in the living room. He spotted her and held up one arm, beckoning her closer with a crook of a finger. Why did that make her want to do his bidding? She was losing her mind if she thought feet and hands were sexy on a guy.

“Come and eat.”

As she came out of the bedroom, she assessed the cart. In a lame attempt to quell her raging hormones, she joked, “Is the entire NBT going to be here?”

He laughed and actually looked a little sheepish. “I wasn’t sure what you would prefer.”

“Why didn’t you just wake me and ask?”

“You looked too peaceful to wake, all curled up and happy.”

“So instead you ordered what must be hundreds of dollars in food?”

Marco shrugged. “Eat whatever you want and leave the rest.” He began to walk into the bedroom, but stopped next to her. Her nostrils were now assailed by the combination of the delicious smells from breakfast and a hint of whatever soap Marco used. For some reason, that was a potent combination. She licked her suddenly dry lips and his gaze tracked the movement. Natalie shivered as the room around her seemed to pulse with sexual tension. It was definitely time to backtrack before she did something she’d regret.

Pivoting, she stepped behind a wing chair, clutching the top of it in both hands to steady herself. Marco’s eyes narrowed as she took another step, putting even more distance between the two of them. He looked as if he might chase her, but then he shook his head and disappeared into the bedroom. Natalie let out a breath.

That had been close. Too close. When he’d been standing right beside her and she’d known he wasn’t wearing a stitch underneath the small bath towel her sex had heated and now she clamped her thighs together to assuage the tingling. She couldn’t deny that at that moment she’d wanted Marco to kiss her, to take ownership of her mouth. In her own head her arms had already been halfway around his neck before she’d come to her senses and stepped away.

She needed to get away from the man, but couldn’t in good conscience leave all the food sitting there uneaten, so she sat and began to lift the shiny silver plate covers, revealing pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, a whole tray of muffins and pastries, and Eggs Benedict. Her mouth watered. It all looked so good, but she absolutely adored Eggs Benedict. She was about to reach for it when she stopped. What if Marco had ordered that for himself? Natalie was still weighing what to do when Marco returned to the living room, dressed in a bright-blue button-down that set off his olive skin and a pair of black jeans.

“You are not eating. Is the food not to your liking?”

“Oh, no,” she hastened to reassure him. “But I didn’t want to eat something you were looking forward to.”

imitation of sex that ratcheted up her need even higher.

Natalie swayed as his mouth left hers and latched on to her frantic pulse point. When he bit down gently she couldn’t stop the groan that worked free from deep inside Marco grinned. “I don’t eat breakfast,
cara
. Coffee is fine for me, so eat whatever looks good.”

Her mouth fell open and she was sure she looked like a total idiot, but she couldn’t help it. “You don’t even eat breakfast and you ordered all this food?”

Marco looked at the food on the tray. “You have a long drive. I wanted you to have something you would like to start out the day. Why is that bad?”

“Because.” She gestured toward the food. “You’re wasting food
and
you’re wasting money.”

He gave another negligent shrug. “
Mio
padre
won’t even notice.” How could he have such a cavalier attitude about money, especially when it wasn’t even
his
money?

“That doesn’t mean you should waste his money.”

Marco approached her and touched her arm. “
Cara
, what is the matter?”

Natalie felt the hot blush travel from her chest into her face. “I just…” She stopped and started again. “You don’t know how lucky you are to have parents who are still around to love you and take care of you.”

Marco snorted. “Lucky? I am lucky to have a
padre
who practically has a second job nagging me about my duty to my family as the oldest son?”

“At least you have a father, and one who’s loaded at that.”

“I don’t care about his money.”

“It’s paying for you to be over here, isn’t it?” Natalie knew she had no right to pry, but Marco’s attitude toward his family made her see red and she couldn’t stop herself. “So what is this bull riding thing to you? One big, long joyride?” Picking up the Eggs Benedict, she took a large bite and swiped her hand over the corner of her mouth before locating a napkin and repeating the motion.

“It is what it is,” he answered, and turned away to pour a cup of coffee. Holding up the pot, he asked, “Do you want some?”

“No, thank you.”

“There’s orange juice and tea on the tray if you’d prefer one of those.”

“Of course there is,” she murmured and then took another bite of her breakfast. Eyeing the various plates, she wondered what she could fit into her belly in an expeditious manner so she could leave as soon as possible. His back was to her again and it was obvious he wanted her gone. Marco walked into the bedroom without another word, taking his coffee with him, and Natalie grabbed her purse, glad she’d decided to use one so large. She had an empty plastic grocery bag inside and she dumped the pancakes and eggs into it and then tied it closed.

After grabbing a couple of the cloth napkins, she wrapped the remainder of her Eggs Benedict in one and the pastries into another. She felt guilty stealing the napkins, but she just couldn’t let all this good food go to waste, especially not when she was watching every dime.

She shoved everything into her purse and then grabbed the suitcase she’d wheeled next to the door to the bedroom and was almost out the door when a hand shot out, blocking her exit. Natalie started, unable to believe she hadn’t even noticed him behind her in her haste to flee.

Marco leaned into her, and she shuddered. “Where are you going?” His Italian accent wrapped around her as if it were the finest silk, and she had to take a couple of breaths before she could answer. All that did was bring that pure masculine smell to her nostrils again. Closing her eyes, she prayed for fortitude.

“I-I wanted to get out of your way,” she stammered.

“So you thought you would just leave without even saying goodbye?” With his other hand, he turned her to face him, pushing into her personal space even more until her breasts brushed his chest. “That’s not very nice.” He lowered his head and ran the very tip of his tongue along her jaw to her ear, where he whispered, “You will make me think you don’t like me, when it is obvious from your eyes and actions that you do.”

“I-I don’t like you.” He chuckled and she cursed the needy tone of her voice. “I mean, I appreciate you buying me dinner last night and letting me stay here, but that’s it.”

“Are you sure about that? Because you are trembling,
cara
.”

“I—”

“I know. You aren’t interested in me that way. But I don’t believe you. Let’s have a test. If you don’t like me you won’t respond to my kiss.” He swooped in, covering her lips with his, and she gasped. Marco took the opportunity to press his tongue into her mouth. She’d never been a big fan of coffee but his taste was positively intoxicating and she knew she’d lost the battle as she moaned and leaned into him.

Marco moved even closer, pressing her against the door and letting her feel his unmistakable arousal. After another bone-melting kiss he pulled away and she found herself demanding, “Don’t stop.”

His eyes flared and his accent thickened as he said, “I never want to stop kissing you,
tesora
. Ah, my treasure.” Plunging his hands into her hair, he tilted her head and came at her again. Natalie’s breasts tightened and she had to force herself to breathe as his tongue moved in and out of her mouth in an her. His hands moved down to cup her ass and lift her pelvis to fit it to his groin. “Tell me you want me,” he got out around clenched teeth as he stared at her, blatant awareness flashing in his eyes.

She couldn’t lie. Not after the way she’d returned his kiss, just as he’d said she would, damn him. “I want you.”

He growled and then pulled back to look at what was obviously an expensive watch.
“Merda!”

She didn’t know what that meant, but could take a pretty good guess. “What?”

“We need to check out and get on the road. I don’t want to leave you.”

Reality came crashing down and Natalie gently pushed him away. “Yes, we both need to go.” Clearing her throat, she said, “Thank you for letting me stay here last night. It was much better than where I was.” Turning, she yanked the door open, but he slapped his hand against it once more. “Marco—”

“Come see me after the event ends tonight.”

“I—”

“Cara…”
Despite the endearment there was a definite air of foreboding in his tone.

“Please, Marco, let me go.”

She watched as he instantly withdrew his hand and straightened, backing away from her.

“I would never hurt you or make you do something that you’re uncomfortable with.”

“I know.” She slipped out the door before she did something utterly foolish, like dive for his pants.

Once in her car she rested her head on her steering wheel. What the hell was she going to do now?

Chapter Three

Marco watched as Natalie left. He couldn’t understand what happened. One moment she had been all soft and pliant, panting for more of his kisses, and the next she’d left him in the dust. He hadn’t felt this out of sorts since that time last season a bull named Crush had done his best to live up to his name. Rubbing absentmindedly at the area just below his ribs where the beast’s hoof had landed, Marco turned and was making the short journey back to the bedroom to pack when he stopped dead.

Hardly a scrap of food remained. When had she eaten that much food?

Shaking his head, he continued on to the bedroom and threw the clothes in his suitcase and then went to the bathroom for the stuff in there. As he was dropping his toiletry bag into his suitcase his cell rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he picked up the phone.

“Pronto.”

“Va bene?”
His brother Paolo asked.

Marco wasn’t quite sure how to answer his brother’s inquiry, since at the moment he was feeling anything but good, so he simply replied, “
Si
.”

Paolo switched to English. They were both trying to improve speaking the language and had made a promise to use it even in conversation between the two of them. “Ready to go?”

“Yes. Meet you downstairs.”

A few moments later they had stashed everything in their Range Rover and got on the road to the next event in Houston, a seven-hour drive from their present location in Oklahoma City. At least it was a straight shot. Unfortunately, that straight shot went right through Dallas, a city Marco knew was a bitch to drive through from prior, and nearly deadly, experience. He prayed they wouldn’t hit rush-hour traffic so they’d make it to the event with time to spare before registration closed.

He and his brother battled through the Dallas-area traffic, which they hit as the morning rush hour was ending. Paolo was thankfully driving, leaving Marco plenty of free time to white-knuckle the “Oh Shit” handle. After grabbing a quick lunch on the go they arrived in Houston around midafternoon, going straight to the arena to register and then to a hotel not far from there to check in. As he handed over his credit card, Marco’s thoughts strayed to Natalie. Where was she staying? Another dump? He was surprised by how angry the thought made him.

They hadn’t eaten much for lunch since neither was a fan of fast food, so after stowing their luggage, he and Paolo went down to the hotel’s restaurant. Each ordered a pasta dish that was on special that evening, and Marco decided he’d better let his brother in on this… affair he seemed to be starting with Natalie.

He couldn’t forget Natalie’s taste, or the way her body had melted into his as he’d kissed her. It had been a risk to kiss her, but once again, his gut had proven correct.

Marco cleared his throat and his brother looked over at him.

“What is wrong?” Paolo’s face betrayed his worry and Marco felt badly he’d apparently misled his brother.

Marco said, “Nothing’s wrong. I, um, met someone.”

“Where? When?”

“Yesterday, after I rode. Remember how I told you I was going to dinner? I went with her. But it’s weird.”

“Oh?”

“She is unlike any woman I’ve ever met.” Marco sat back in his chair, unsure of how to describe Natalie to his brother. “Her father is passed,” both of them made a quick Sign of the Cross just like they had their entire lives when speaking of the dead, “and she thinks she’s the reason he died. But then when she’s not thinking about him, she has this enjoyment of life that makes you want to be around her.”

“Who is she? What does she look like?”

“Her name is Natalie. She’s actually on tour to study us.”

“Us? You and me?” That wouldn’t be all that unusual. Marco especially was the subject of conjecture and interest from the Italian tabloids, but they’d largely left him alone since he’d come to the United States.

“Well, bull riders. She wants to try out for the women’s tour.”

Paolo’s mouth fell open. “A female bull rider?”

“She said it was what her father did before he worked on their ranch and what he would’ve wanted her to do.”

Paolo’s mouth formed an O and Marco had to laugh. “What father would want his daughter to do something so dangerous?”

“Remember, America is not like Italy. The women here are much more forward and independent.”

“I know, but…”

Marco smiled. “It’s a lot to get used to. And when I saw where she was staying last night—”

“You move fast.”

“We didn’t sleep together,” Marco grumbled, wondering why it bothered him Paolo had leapt to that conclusion. “I dropped her off after dinner, and when I saw the motel I insisted she let me in to check out the room. It was horrible,
fratello piccolo
. I have never seen anything like it. I convinced her to come back and stay with me at our hotel.”

“Where is she now?”

“I don’t know,” Marco replied, rubbing his thumb and index finger on the bridge of his nose. “She doesn’t have a cell phone and she’s driving this horrible old little car.”

Paolo reached across the table to squeeze his shoulder. “I’m sure she’s all right.”

“I’ll feel better after I see her.”

“Describe her to me.”

Marco was grateful for the subject change. “She has very long blonde hair,” Marco began, indicating a spot on his back, and Paolo snorted. Both men had a thing for blondes since they were in such short supply back in Italy. “And blue eyes. Her skin is very pale and she’s thin. Too thin.”

“You always did prefer them with curves.” Paolo demonstrated with his hands and Marco chuckled.

“Yes, I do. Once she was in the room with me, though, it felt as if…” He struggled to find the correct English word and gave up. He reverted back to their native language. “It felt as if she should be there. Like it was
destino
.”

Paolo’s eyes widened. “Is my brother falling in love?”

“No, no. But she is different from the buckle bunnies. And I want her.”

“Guard your heart carefully. There are many women who only see our money when they look at us.”

“She isn’t like that.”

“I never said she was, but it would serve you well to remember that.”

Marco changed the subject again, but kept coming back to Natalie. He knew he wouldn’t rest until she made it to the event safely, but also knew he needed to concentrate on his upcoming ride. Even the slightest bit of inattention could be disastrous when on top of a bull.

* * * * *

For about the thousandth time that day Natalie swore and slowed down. Every time she tried to push her car a little, hell, even to break fifty miles an hour, the damn thing started to shake as if there were an earthquake. She’d only stopped to gas up, choosing to make her way through the pastries she’d swiped from Marco’s room rather than buying yet more fast food. Hopefully she could find a microwave somewhere tonight or she’d be eating cold pancakes and eggs for dinner before the event and hoping like hell not to get food poisoning. If she even made it to the event.

Checking her watch since the clock in the car had long since broken, she shook her head. The event began at six and it was already almost midafternoon. She still had, by her rough calculation, at least five more hours of driving. It had taken forever to maneuver her way through Dallas in midday traffic, but she finally made it to the south end and was heading toward Houston.

If she was lucky she would be in her seat before the second group of riders started. At least the lesser-known riders would go first, and she didn’t want to study them as much as she wanted to see guys such as Marco, along with the other top riders like Brady Parrish and Conner Raub. Maybe Marco would introduce her to them. She bit her lip, remembering the kiss he’d given her that morning. Natalie needed to be careful how much she asked of him lest he expect something in return, something she had no time to fool around with. She was here to learn from the best how to ride a bull and that was it. If she repeated that often enough maybe she would even start to believe it.

By the time she reached the arena she was exhausted, dirty and cranky. The event had begun a while ago, but Natalie stopped in the bathroom on her way to the seating area to try to wash as best she could and at least brush her hair into a nicer ponytail. She might not be looking for a man, but she had
some
pride. Natalie made a face at herself in the mirror and skedaddled to her seat. Thankfully she had purchased tickets to the next several events before selling her laptop, so she had a decent spot.

Her seat had a good view of the arena itself, but not of the chutes off to one side where the riders got settled on the bulls. She looked for Marco and then cursed herself for her weakness. Taking a small notepad and pen out of her purse, she prepared to take notes, but then remembered she hadn’t grabbed a program.

Sighing, she waited until the present rider was done and excused herself all along her row as she made her way back out to the main concourse area. Luckily she was able to find a program and had just turned to go back to the stands when she was grabbed. The impulse to scream was there, but no sound came out. Large hands spun her around and then pulled her into a hug.

“
Cara
,
cara
, you’re here.” It was Marco.

Natalie pushed away from him. “You scared the
hell
out of me, Marco.”

“I did not mean to scare you, but I was so worried.”

“Why?”

Before Marco could answer, another man Natalie recognized as Marco’s little brother Paolo materialized seemingly out of thin air. “Hello, pretty lady. I am Paolo.”

Did all Italians flirt like this? “Um, hello.” She spun back to Marco. “Why were you so worried?”

“I’ve been looking for you ever since we arrived today. I don’t think your car is safe.”

“Well, you found me, and I’m fine. My car is fine too.”
As long as you don’t mind driving like an eighty-year-old grandmother with cataracts…

“Hey,” Paolo cut in, “you need to go get ready,
amico
.”

Marco glared briefly at him and said, “I will be there soon. By the way, this is Natalie.”

“I gathered,” Paolo answered with a wink. “Don’t take too long.”

As soon as Paolo walked away Marco was on her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her as if his life depended on it. A bevy of emotions warred for supremacy in her tired brain, but Marco’s kiss demanded a response and she gave it, pushing her hands into his hair and knocking his cowboy hat off his head.

He didn’t seem to mind, though, as he moved in closer, tightening his arms around her. She had a fleeting thought that they were in public and she should probably pull away, but her brain couldn’t convince the rest of her body to deny itself of the racking sensations zinging through her. Already her self-control was nearly annihilated and he’d hardly touched her.

This time it was Marco who pulled away. Running a hand through his hair and then bending down to retrieve his hat, he said, “I do need to get ready to ride.” He sighed and his facial expression betrayed his frustration. “If I am not concentrating that bull will kill me.” It sounded as if he was apologizing, and Natalie’s eyebrows drew down as she frowned.

“You’re right, you should prepare.”

“Ah yes, you know all about this from the bronc riding, don’t you?”

Natalie nodded, remembering well how she’d get into a zone and probably wouldn’t hear a hurricane approaching. “I do. So go.”

“I will if you agree to meet me later.”

Rolling her eyes, she reached into her purse to stow the program. As she did, one of the cloth napkins from the pastries popped out and floated down to the ground. Natalie closed her eyes in mortification as evidence of her theft that morning came in the form of a wrinkled white napkin.

Marco, to his credit, grabbed it and handed it back to her without a word, but Natalie saw the tenseness on his face. Was he angry?

“Look, I just didn’t want to waste food,” she said.

He shook his head. “I don’t care about the food. I’m happy you took it. Say you’ll meet me.”

“I’ll meet you.”

Marco offered a brief salute before trotting away and Natalie returned to her seat. She’d missed several riders, but the top ones were still forthcoming. Thanking her lucky stars she hadn’t gotten so distracted she’d missed the very reason for coming here, she strengthened her resolve not to let Marco put her purpose for this scouting trip on the back burner.

She watched a few more riders and then they took a quick break before the last group. Paolo had been in the group right before the intermission and it was obvious his brother was the better of the two riders. He didn’t have the natural grace of Marco, and even though he managed to stay on for almost six seconds before being bucked, he didn’t look in control at any point.

Marco was scheduled to ride second in the last group of ten and Natalie hoped he’d been able to relax and get his equipment in order. She didn’t want to distract him with her problems. Things happened so fast in bull riding that even under optimum conditions there were a million things that could go wrong.