Tackling Her Heart (7 page)

“
Thanks. I’ve never been
considered graceful.”

His eyebrows rose. “I can’t say I
believe that.”

“
Believe it. The graceless
kid became the gangly teenager who stepped all over her own two big
feet. It’s only been in the last few years I’ve been able to
stumble a little less.”

“
You? A gangly
teenager?”

No one saw the awkward girl she was,
only she did when she looked in the mirror. “I was a sixteen year
old six-foot wallflower, more arms and legs than anything. I had
more bruises and goose eggs on my lower body than anyone I knew. If
there was something to trip over, my feet would find it.” Nothing
like talking about her younger years to squelch the desire she’d
just felt for him. Well, it didn’t completely go away, just left to
simmer lower below the surface.

“
Yet you stomped down
runway after runway with poise,” he said.

“
After a ton of practice
and coaching. I didn’t want to be a model. Some woman spotted me in
a crowd, out with my parents, and said she was going to make me a
star. I was plucked, pulled, pinched, and forced to become
something I wasn’t. And she was right. She made me a star, to some
degree, at least in the modeling world.”

Marc observed her, his frown telling
her he didn’t quite believe her tale. So what, it was her story and
if he didn’t believe her, that was his problem. She sat down on the
edge of the deck and dangled her feet in the water.

“
So what would you have
done with your life if you hadn’t been a model?” Marc asked as he
settled down beside her.

“
Futbol. Or as you say
here in the States, soccer. My brother plays professionally in
South America, as did my father and his father, so maybe it’s in
our blood. I loved to play. It was the only time I didn’t feel out
of place. When I was younger, I used to beat my brother. My feet
worked when I was on the field for some reason, or at least they
did for the most part. I was in the running to get a full ride
soccer scholarship, but then the modeling thing happened and my
life was turned upside down. I didn’t go to college and now, well,
now I don’t hae many options.”

“
Why didn’t you say no, if
you didn’t want to do it?”

Sofia looked out across
the water. “My mother had been a beauty queen before she married my
father. I wasn’t interested in being pretty, preferring to play
sports, so I wasn’t the daughter she’d hoped for. I felt like a
constant disappointment. She was diagnosed with cancer a few months
before I was
found
by the agency, and she was so excited by the news. It made
her happy to see me glamorous and in stylish clothes, and her
health seemed to improve for a while. I saw it as a chance to spend
more time with her and keep her spirits high.”

“
And now? How is
she?”

“
She died when I was
nineteen,” Sofia said softly. She hadn’t talked to anyone about her
mother in years. It felt good to remember her again, but why with
Marc? She was here to do a story, not have heart to
hearts.

“
I’m sorry,” he said, his
voice low.

Sofia smiled at him. “Thank you. But
you don’t want to hear about my woes. I don’t even know why I
brought this all up. I haven’t talked about my mom in a very long
time. I didn’t mean to dump all that in your lap.”

“
It’s okay. You have every
right to remember her, in any way you see fit.” Marc leaned in and
kissed her forehead. “And I thank you for sharing that with
me.”

Her chest tightened a little. Was that
actual friendliness coming from him? And here she was thinking he
was a total jerk.

“
So, why Tahiti?” she
asked, ready to change the subject.

Marc looked out at the view. “Why not
Tahiti?”

“
Will you ever be real
with me?”

Marc glanced at her. “So you can write
all my innermost thoughts and feelings down in your notebook? I
don’t think so. Just because you shared a personal moment with me
doesn’t mean I’m obligated to do the same.”

There he is, the real
Marc.
“I didn’t share that with you to try
to pry state secrets out of you. It just … happened. And now I’m
sorry it did.”

Sofia rose to her feet and started to
storm away. Not five steps later, she was caught and spun close to
a large expanse of chest. Marc’s lips were on hers in seconds, his
mouth insistent. The simmering heat she’d held under the surface
boiled over the edges again, her body reacting to his aggressive
nature.

Marc finally drew away from her when
she was nearly breathless, panting for each bit of air.

“
I’m glad you felt
comfortable enough with me to share,” he grated out. “I just don’t
want to be played and end up the laughing stock of your
story.”

“
I know you don’t trust me
after what happened with Maddox, but it was a mistake. A terrible,
awful mistake I wish I could take back. I don’t know how many times
I have to tell you that.”

“
And your magazine was
willing to fly you to Tahiti, and I’m assuming they’ve set you up
in a room here as well, for what? They want info.
You
want info. You want
to flay me open and show the world your point of view on who I am
and what makes me tick.”

No, that was the farthest thing from
her mind. “It’s my job.”

“
And it’s my
life
,” he said, his
voice firm. “You can walk away from the mess you make in someone’s
life and career. I’m stuck here. It’s why I’ve always been a
private person and I rarely do interviews outside of the basics of
the game.”

“
You taking a teammate
down isn’t a basic of the game? You brought your personal life onto
the turf and now you want to go back, run and hide, and act like
nothing happened.” Sofia knew he was reticent. “You want to go back
earlier than your nine weeks? You get the fans to root for your
story. Make The Iceman human and make them want you back. I write
the right story, and let them see a little of who you are, then the
fans can fight this battle for you and demand you come
back.”

That one eyebrow of his rose. “And
that’s what you want to do?”

“
I’ll offer you complete
control over the piece I write.” She knew her editor would be
screaming right now if he heard what she was offering, but Sofia
knew it would be the only way with Marc. “You give me total access
to you during the next week, and I’ll write something up. If you
approve it, we’ll send it to my office and see if they can rush it.
It’s still the pre-season, so maybe we can push them to get you
back on the field sooner rather than later.”

“
And if I don’t
approve?”

She’d more than likely lose her job
and be cast out into the sports reporting graveyard if she came
back without a story. Why did that thought sound so tempting? She’d
never failed at anything, but there would be something she’d gain
from it as well. Freedom. “I won’t send it in if you don’t
approve.”

He stood there staring at her for too
long. His face was emotionless as he watched her.

“
Total access, huh?” he
asked, a grin coming to his lips.

Sofia let out the breath she’d been
holding. “Total access.”

Marc leaned down to kiss her again,
pushing her back into the villa as he wrapped her in his embrace.
He lifted her into his arms, and she tangled her legs about his
waist. Unencumbered, he walked to one of the sofas and sat,
bringing her down into his lap. Sofia straddled him, almost in the
same position she’d been in the night before.

He leaned back and began to untangle
the knot at her neck. Soon, he unmasked her breasts, the tips
contracting even tighter under his regard. The dark rose areola
pebbled as he observed her, and when he rubbed his thumb over the
buds, she shivered. He tugged at the knot in back before casting
the top away.

Marc rolled her over onto her back,
covering her body with his much larger one. His fingers worked
quickly, pulling the strings of her bottom away and making her suit
disappear in an instant.

“
This
is total access,” he whispered before lowering his mouth to
one hard nipple.

Sofia whimpered as he drew it into his
mouth and sucked on her flesh. She knew she should feel bad about
what she was doing, giving him the use of her body for a story, but
it felt too good for her to care. She’d wanted him too long to
worry about what people might think of her.

His teeth grazed over the tender skin,
making her arch into his touch. She could feel each hard pull from
his mouth all the way down to her clit. Now bare, she could feel
her cream coating her folds, ready for him to slide
inside.

Marc lowered a hand between her legs
and ran his fingers along her slit before letting her nipple pop
from his mouth. “You’re tight,” he said, gravel in his
voice.

“
It’s been a while,” she
muttered, feeling him toying with her entrance. “More,” she
whispered.

“
You want me to touch your
pussy? Sink my fingers deep into your wet heat?”

Sofia shook her head, but remembered
the last time. She answered him this time, not willing to let him
stop. “Yes … please.”

Marc sank his finger into her again,
but immediately withdrew it. She glanced down at him and saw him
bring his wet finger to his lips. Sofia watched him press the
finger inside his mouth and then his lips enclose around it as he
sucked her juices from it. A tremor raced down her spine, knowing
he was going to push her further than she’d ever gone before. She
needed to push back.

Lifting one eyebrow, she stared him
down. “How did I taste?”

Marc rose to face her, then grabbed
the back of her head and drew closer. “Taste for yourself,” he
said, his voice low, before capturing her lips.

He swept his tongue inside her mouth,
and she could taste her juices on him. She was no master at this
mating dance, but he certainly was. Sofia yielded to his
experience, melting into his touch, letting him direct her as he
seemed to want to do. With the level of lust fueling her, she’d let
him do just about anything he wanted.

Marc nestled between her thighs as he
deepened his kiss, and she felt him hot and hard against her. He’d
removed his swim trunks at some point and now covered her in his
nakedness. Sofia wanted to see him, all of him. She pushed against
his chest to get him to stop, then he stared down at her with a
frown creasing his handsome brow.

“
Total access means I get
to explore all of
you
,” she said, trying to act bolder than she felt. This
persona, the touch girl reporter was all an act. But this was the
outward face she showed the world, and she’d grown comfortable
hiding behind it. Marc wanted that woman, not the shy wallflower
she’d stupidly told him about.

A smug smile toyed at his lips. He
settled back, lounging on the sofa, and drew her up and onto his
lap. Sofia kissed him before easing to the floor, between his
thighs. She looked up and saw his eyes darken with lust, the smile
sliding from his lips. When she was able to break the spell he was
weaving over her, she glanced down at his hard cock, thick and
pointing up toward his navel.

His shaft was thick, with fat veins
running through the length. The bulbous head was purple. Sofia
leaned forward and gripped the base, pulling the tip down closer. A
bead of fluid eased from the tip. It shone in the light streaming
into the room. She swiped her tongue across the head and gathered
his seed, the salty-sweet flavor spreading over her
tongue.

“
How do I taste?” he
asked, mocking her.

Sofia crooked her finger at him,
telling him to come closer. One side of his mouth hitched up in an
almost smile as he leaned down to her. She quickly grasped his head
and kissed him, spearing her tongue into his mouth. He kissed her
back fervently, his hands drawing her closer, but she broke free,
not done exploring him.

“
Two can play your game,
Marc.”

He sucked in his bottom lip, grazing
the flesh with his teeth. “I think you tasted much sweeter. I’ll
have to taste again to make sure.”

Her body pulsed at his comment,
knowing he would follow through.

Marc sat back as she began to run her
hand up and down his length. Her fingers couldn’t meet around his
girth, and she wondered if she would hurt when he entered her. As
wet as she was, she knew it would aid his entry, and the thought of
him stretching her wide open gave her goose bumps. There would be
no mistaking his thick cock was branding her.

She lowered and licked the head,
swirling her tongue over him. Marc sucked in a breath, his hiss
exciting her. She liked knowing she was affecting him, this man
who’d notoriously kept a check on his emotions. He might have been
sometimes cold in her presence, but he’d never been lacking
feeling. At times, it might have been anger, but there was always
something simmering under the surface when she was near
him.

Had it always been this lust she now
felt from him?