“Cara, I am sorry I have upset you—”
Natalie hastily wiped at the tears forming. “Forget about it. I shouldn’t be your biggest concern right now.” She tried to heave her suitcase off the bed and staggered a little under its weight. Marco reached out to steady her.
“Don’t go like this. We’ve still got the entire competition ahead of us, two more nights we have to be in the hotel. Where are you going to go?”
“Anywhere but here,” she practically spat at him, her anger getting the better of her as she thought back to how Marco had spoken of his father. Natalie barely contained the wail surfacing as all the pain and guilt from losing her own father bore down on her.
“Cara, you’re not even dressed. Come on, let’s sit down. We’ll have breakfast—”
“No. And stop calling me cara. I’m not your dear. I’m not anything to you.”
Marco’s face turned stormy. “You are my lover.”
“Not anymore. I can’t tolerate someone who doesn’t appreciate what’s been given to him, who turns his back on his family when they need him.”
She watched as he sighed, running his hands over his face. “Natalie, you don’t understand what it is like. But if you stay, I will try to explain it to you. Think about it, ca—” He was obviously about to call her cara again but stopped himself. His lips, those lips that had brought her to new heights last night, thinned into a line. “Please, just stay with me. All the hotels are booked.”
He had her there. This was a huge competition and there would be few to no rooms within any reasonable distance of the arena. She considered sleeping in her car, but the thought of doing that in Houston made her blood run cold. “Fine.” Natalie stalked out to the living room, poured herself a cup of coffee and sat on the couch. “Explain.”
Marco took a moment to get himself a cup, glanced at the remainder of the bottle of whiskey but then left it on the counter. He sat down at the opposite end, looking at her with trepidation and some leftover anger clear in his eyes. “It’s not that I’m unwilling to be in the family business at all…” He looked away as if trying to form the words, and she gave him time, knowing English wasn’t his first language. “But I want to be me. How do you say it…my own man. My father wants me to be a piece of him. I don’t know how to put it in English, cara. I want something that is mine.”
Natalie nodded. “I can understand that. But why the anger? Why the disrespect?”
“You do not know what it is like to be the oldest son in my family. My father and I, we are very different people. So we fight.” He shrugged. “And when I get mad, I swear.” One corner of his mouth crept up in a smile. “We have that in common, actually.”
“Have you tried telling him that? Telling him that you’ll come home in a few years?”
“Yes, cara. He does not listen. He hears what he wants to hear. Today he told me he was going to send my uncle to bring me home. As if I were a child!” He rose from the couch and slammed his cup down so hard on the granite surface of the bar that Natalie was shocked it didn’t shatter. “I am a grown man.”
Natalie also rose and walked to him. Carefully putting her hand on his arm, she said, “I know you are. But parents see things differently. My father didn’t tell me about the money problems we were having. He let me buy a new custom saddle for my horse, enter bronc competitions and a ton of other stuff, all the while going into more and more debt. Why didn’t he tell me?” The last sentence was barely a squeak.
Marco turned and folded her into his arms. “I’m sure he didn’t want to worry you.”
“But that’s just it. Don’t you see? He was doing the same thing your father is, not treating me like the adult I am.”
“Yes. Many parents do it, but it doesn’t mean it’s right.”
“Of course not. I didn’t say it was. In some ways my father ruined my life. When he died I had to sell everything. The ranch, our furniture, the tools, the livestock. Everything, just to get out of the huge mountain of debt he’d accumulated. Sometimes I hate him for everything he kept from me. But I still wish he were here and miss him with every breath I take.”
“Shhhh…” Marco crooned, leading her back to the couch. “Sit down. Would you like breakfast?”
Wiping away more unbidden tears, Natalie nodded. She had a feeling Marco would nag her until she ate. “That would be nice.”
Marco hopped up, returning shortly with the room service menu. “Tell me what you would prefer and I will order it. I will be back in one minute.” He disappeared into the bathroom and with apprehension Natalie opened the room service menu.
“Fifteen dollars for oatmeal and orange juice? Are they kidding?” She dropped the menu as if it were on fire.
“Did you find something?”
“I can’t let you pay these prices. It’s highway robbery!”
“If you would prefer we can go out, but it would have to be the hotel restaurant because I need to go to the arena.”
She doubted the hotel restaurant’s prices would be much more reasonable. “No, that’s okay. I’ll just eat something later once you’re gone.” The thought of another fast-food breakfast made her stomach turn, but she didn’t want to take advantage of him.
“I need to eat breakfast, so I’m going to order something. If you don’t tell me what you want I will order something for you.”
“Fine,” she huffed, knowing he’d said he didn’t eat breakfast yesterday and that he was probably only doing so today to force her to eat. “Um, an omelet would be great.” She refused to even look at the price, knowing it would either make her eat the entire thing because she felt guilty or make her appetite leave completely.
Marco picked up the menu. “Would you like cheese, vegetables? Ham?”
“Plain is fine.”
“Cara…”
“Western omelet, all right? Are you happy now?”
“Not as happy as I would be if I could make love to you in the shower.”
“What if the room service comes while we’re in there?”
“I will give him a specific time for delivery.” Marco waggled his eyebrows. “Now go get in the shower. I will join you in a moment.”
Natalie was astounded at how quickly her sex heated once Marco had mentioned making love in the shower. She left him to order the food and went into the bathroom. After hanging the robe on the hook on the back of the door she got into the shower and quickly washed her hair. She didn’t want to have shampoo all over the place when Marco got in. Biting her lip, she debated whether or not she should shave, and then decided to forego it for the same reason. Instead she wrung out her long hair with her hands as best she could.
Marco entered the shower and immediately pressed up behind her, nestling his erection between the cheeks of her ass. “Ah, a warm, wet woman. Perfect.”
Natalie chuckled. Men all seemed to love women in showers. Her chuckle died in her throat when Marco went to his knees, nudged her legs apart and dove into her pussy with a marauding tongue. Blindly she reached for the sides of the shower to hold herself up as waves of sensation crashed over her like a tsunami. What was this man doing to her? Sex had always been fun, but if she stayed with Marco much longer it was going to become as necessary as breath.
Marco continued to ply her with lips, tongue and teeth as the hot water rained down on both of them. Natalie heard a screech and realized it was her, the sound amplified by the shower, but she ceased to care what she sounded like as her release took over.
He took her down gradually, nibbling at her puffy outer lips and lapping up the cream flowing freely from her. Standing, he turned into the spray and then shook his head as if he were a dog. Natalie ducked instinctively as droplets flew in every direction. He turned and grinned at her.
“Good morning.”
A bark of a laugh burst out of her before she could stop it. “Good morning.” She eyed his sizable erection. “I’m not sure of the best way to help you with that, but if you want…” She bit her lip, consi
dering.
He pulled her lip away from her teeth and licked over it. “I’m fine, cara.”
“Well, I’m not going to leave you like that. If you don’t want to have sex I can take care of you in another way.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
Natalie felt a blush creeping over her skin that had nothing to do with the heat of the bathroom. “Well, um, I can use my hand or my mouth.”
“Or both.”
She giggled. “Or both. Is that what you want?”
Marco looked at her as if she were an alien species. “What man does not want his woman to pleasure him?”
“Good point.” Dropping to her knees as Marco had earlier, she licked up one side of his red, throbbing shaft, over the head and down the other side. Moving back up, she took the head into her mouth and sucked hard, hearing Marco’s breath catch. She smirked a little. Men were so easy to please.
“Your mouth is perfection,” Marco told her and then let out a low moan when she tightened her lips and went all the way down his shaft, swallowing him. Natalie pulled up, suckled the head again and then went back down, the neatly trimmed hair around Marco’s cock tickling her nose. She didn’t have a whole lot of experience in this area, but Marco certainly didn’t seem to mind.
It wasn’t long before Marco put his hands on top of her head and began thrusting into her mouth. Even in this he was a considerate lover, never forcing himself down her throat. She hummed around him and he gasped. “I’m going to come, amante.” Natalie didn’t pull off and he spilled into her mouth with what sounded like a tortured groan that had been ripped from somewhere deep inside him.
She rose and put her head under the spray to re-wet and settle her hair after Marco’s hands had tangled in it. Natalie loved that she could make him lose control like he had, but her hair would not thank her later when it was a snarled mess. Marco waited until she was finished and then pushed her up against the wall of the shower, cupping her breasts and moving back and forth between them as Natalie’s head fell back, thumping the hard tiles behind her.
He kissed her then, pushing his tongue between her open lips to conquer her mouth. She knew he must taste himself, but it didn’t seem to bother him. If anything, he was getting off on it. Marco pulled away, panting for air as Natalie tried to catch her own breath.
“We need to get out. You have stuff to do today,” she reminded him.
“I don’t care what I have to do. I’d rather stay here and make you come.” He threw her a wolfish grin and waggled his eyebrows, then turned her to face the tiles. “How would you like to feel me deep inside you?”
Natalie moaned. She couldn’t help herself. Marco drove her to heaven and back with every touch and she refused to be ashamed of that.
“I’d like that, but later. We have to go.”
“I’m holding you to that.” Marco turned off the taps and Natalie reached for a towel, handed it to Marco before snagging one for herself. Stepping out, she quickly dried off before using the towel to get some of the excess moisture out of her hair. She looked up and Marco was watching her intently.
“What?”
“Your hair is so beautiful. I love to run my fingers through it and feel how soft it is. But isn’t having long hair a difficulty for you?”
Natalie shrugged. “Daddy preferred long hair, so after my mom left I grew mine long so he wouldn’t miss her so much. I guess I never considered cutting it.”
Marco left the room and Natalie dried her hair as best she could but decided to put it in a bun. It was easy and mess-free. With that task completed she threw on a Western-style shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. When she exited the bedroom Marco was signing the breakfast tab, and her mouth watered as the various smells wafted toward her. He pushed the cart farther into the room and she took a seat at the small table. With a flourish he lifted the lid from the container with her Western omelet and set it in front of her.
“Wow, this looks delicious,” she remarked and then groaned with delight after taking the first bite.
Marco raised an eyebrow. “We’re never going to be able to leave the room today if you keep making sounds like that.”
She grinned and continued to eat. Shortly thereafter they took a cab down to the arena, as Paolo had taken the car. “What should I do now? The competition doesn’t start for a few hours.”
“Hang out with me. I’ll have to go get my gear ready a little later, but since you are right that there’s still several hours before the competition starts some of the riders should be okay with talking to you.”
“Thanks again for doing this. I really appreciate it.”
He stopped her and palmed the back of her neck, leaning down to kiss her briefly. “It’s my pleasure, cara.”
They came upon a group of guys and Marco introduced her all around. Several were intrigued when she mentioned wanting to become a bull rider and freely shared tips and techniques with her. Conner walked up with the man she recognized as Brady Parrish, the top bull rider in the world. Brady cast a less-than-friendly glance at Marco, but when Conner introduced her to him he smiled and seemed fine. Natalie could see why the Olympic figure skater Leah Fitzpatrick had fallen for him. He was something, especially when he smiled.
Wonder what’s going on between him and Marco.
She didn’t have time to speculate, as the riders began to depart for their preparation area backstage. Marco kissed her and left, and she went to find her seat, pulling a paperback out of her purse. She loved reading, but with her dad’s death and subsequent fallout she hadn’t had time lately to do so.
Natalie was engrossed in the murder mystery she’d rested on her propped-up legs when someone plopped down next to her. Startled, she dropped the book.
“I’m sorry!” Jessica cried, reaching for it before Natalie could react. She handed it back to Natalie and said, “Conner keeps telling me I can’t just barge in on people and that I should make my presence known.”
“Eh, you’re fine,” Natalie assured her. “I was just involved in the storyline.”
“Do you want me to let you get back to it?”
“No, no. I’d rather talk to a human being. A book can always wait.” It wasn’t entirely true, but Jessica was sitting next to her, so she turned to the other woman. “Tell me your story.”
A brief shadow passed over Jessica’s face, but then she steeled her expression and smiled. “Not too much to tell.”
“Oh, I bet you’re wrong there,” Natalie answered, tapping Jessica’s sizable engagement ring. “Tell me how you met Conner.”
“It was here on tour, actually. I was working for the tour last season when he rescued me from this jerk who’d grabbed me.”
Natalie felt her eyebrows shoot up. “Grabbed you?”
Jessica nodded. “Yeah. He was a stock contractor and didn’t much enjoy being told he had to do things by a girlie such as me.” She rolled her eyes. “So I threatened to disqualify his bulls.”
“And if you’d done that he wouldn’t have made any money at that event,” Natalie answered and Jessica nodded again. “Wow, gutsy.”
“Well, if Conner hadn’t been there that time and the time the same jerk chased after me, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
“Good thing he was there, then.” Natalie gave Jessica’s shoulder a good-natured bump and then realized how long it had been since she’d just had a normal conversation with a girlfriend. Too long. Far too long, really.
“Hey, where did you go?”
Natalie looked up to see Jessica gazing at her, worry clear in her eyes.
“Nowhere important.” Turning more fully toward the other woman, she continued. “So you worked for the tour?”
“Yeah, but I got fired when they found out about me and Conner’s relationship. Said it was a conflict of interest.”
Natalie snorted. “They were covering their asses.”
“I was still out of a job. For now, I travel with Conner, but we’re making plans for the future—you know, ki
ds, his ranch.”
“That sounds nice. I miss my ranch so much.”
Jessica winced. “Marco told us a little about what happened. I promise he didn’t break any confidences, but what you told him upset him and I think he just wanted someone objective to vent to. I’m so, so sorry about your father and having to sell the ranch. It was thoughtless of me to bring it up.”
“Not at all,” she answered, wanting to put the other woman at ease. She needed all the friends and allies she could get right now, and besides, she genuinely liked Jessica.
“Do you have any idea what you’ll do if, you know, you, um…”
“Don’t make the bull-riding tour?”
“Yeah.”
“Not really. I figure, take one problem at a time. Right now my problem is making the tour. If that doesn’t pan out, I’ll have a different problem and I’ll take care of it then.”
“God, you have such a great attitude.”
Natalie shrugged. “I don’t have any other choice.”
The announcer came on the horn then and she and Jessica settled back to watch the competition. Jessica was a font of information herself, both about the riders and their techniques and the bulls themselves. Natalie found herself wishing she could reach inside Jessica’s head and instantly transfer her knowledge to her own brain. Her hand was starting to cramp from the note taking.
The first group of riders took their turns and the break in between them and the top-ranked riders came with only enough time for both women to make it to the bathroom and back. Marco was slated to ride third, Conner fifth and Brady ninth. Another younger rider, Garret, would go last as the tenth rider.
Jessica explained all about the draft and the things these bulls might do that the so-called easier bulls wouldn’t. The first two riders went and then it was Marco’s turn. Natalie watched him get situated, with Conner and Garret and his brother Paolo, who’d been in the first group of riders, assisting him. She bit her lip as the bull jumped in the chute. Why did he always get bulls that seemed crazier than the others?
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