Thrust: Bad Boy Racing Romance (Fastlane Series Book 2) (17 page)

And then, it hit me.

Shit.

I was falling, falling for him, and there was nothing I could do about it. Why had I agreed to come here? Not thinking, I reached up to touch him.

At the last instant, I stopped.

DANI

Not long after, Marco turned off the main road. We drove along a crushed gravel road lined with olive trees. The setting sun shined through them, flickering shadows into the front seat. Within a minute or so, a small, rustic house appeared directly ahead. Marco drove the car up to the front of it and parked.

“Come on,” he said, flashing a mouthful of white teeth in my direction. “You’ll love it here.”

Climbing out of the car, I did a double take, closing the car door behind me. After getting our things, Marco appeared next to me.

“What do you think?” he asked, without looking in my direction. Instead, he stared towards the small building, head held high and smiling.

What did I think? Uh, I think we turned off at the wrong exit.

If this was
his
villa, it was about as far away from the lavish and glamorous lifestyle he led in Monte Carlo as possible. For starters, it looked to be more than one hundred years old, maybe older. I glanced back at him, deciding to keep my opinions to myself for the time being.

“It’s very quaint.”

Marco chuckled and walked ahead of me, the soles of his shoes crunching gravel beneath them. He opened a large, rustic door, which looked to be made of knotted pine. I followed behind, walking inside.

The interior of the home matched the weathered exterior, well-lived in and looking every bit of a century old. Glancing around, I didn’t see how there could be more than a handful of rooms, including a small kitchen. Marco closed the front door. It groaned and creaked. Dumbfounded, I stood in place until he walked by me, still holding our bags.

“Do you,” I began, pausing and trying to take the surroundings, “come here often?”

Marco placed our bags on top of an old table. Turning around to face me, he stood there with his hands on his hips and shook his head.

“Not as much as I would like. Believe me.”

The inside of the villa turned bright pink with the passing of the setting sun. Even so, I felt a sudden chill in the air. Without thinking, I reached up and crossed my arms, rubbing them with my hands to warm up.

“Oh, um, sorry about that, Dani.” Marco began, turning and walking towards an old fireplace. “It can get a little bit chilly out here at night. I'll get a fire going. You’d be surprised how warm it’ll get.”

I wasn’t exactly the kind of girl who liked roughing it. I had a bad feeling that fact would define my stay here at his villa. I followed Marco over towards the fireplace, standing next to him while he got it going.

“When did you buy this place?”

Marco lost his grip on some of the kindling while I spoke. It crashed to the ground, splintering and making a loud noise. He knelt down and began to gather it.

Turning to look up at me, he replied, “What’s that? Sorry, didn’t hear you.”

I shook my head and waved him off, not wanting to prevent him from getting the fire started as soon as possible.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Before long, a two-foot-high flame illuminated the interior of the old stone chimney. The kindling snapped, sparked and crackled. Soon after, much needed warmth found its way to me. Marco stood from his kneeling position and brushed the soot from his hands with a series of quick strokes.

“There,” he began, standing back and admiring his handiwork. “Better?”

I turned away from the fire. The heat blanketed my backside.

“Much,” I nodded, still not quite warm enough to unfold my arms. “Thank you.”

Marco turned and walked away.

“I’ll be right back. Wait here.”

“Okay.”

While I waited for Marco to come back, the inside of the villa continued to grow darker. If not for the fire, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see for much longer.

“Dani,” I heard Marco call out. “Come here.”

I glanced around, trying to figure out where his voice came from.

“Where are you?” I yelled back.

While I spoke, I started to walk in the direction of his voice. The darkness came quicker and grew denser the further away from the fireplace I got. Turning a corner, I glanced down a nearly black hallway.

“Marco?” I said, my voice cracking.

Even though I knew better, I had the sensation I was alone. I called out again. This time, my voice cracked even more.

“M-Marco?”

There was no reply, only silence. I started to walk down the hallway, inching further into the blackness. I traced the old stone walls with my fingers. My skin crawled. Within seconds, the tension grew to be too much to bear.

“Marco!” I yelled, stopping in place and spinning in the other direction. “Where are you? This isn’t funny!”

My panic got the better of me and I took off running.

“Marco!” I cried out. “Marco!”

Frantic, I turned the corner when Marco appeared out of nowhere, grabbing me by the arm. I shrieked and without thinking, slapped him across the face.

“Ow! Hey! Whoa!” Marco groaned, squeezing his grip tight on me. “Dani, Dani! Calm down!”

“Oh my God…” I stammered, leaning away from him. “Why did you scare me like that?”

Marco reached up and rubbed the side of his face.

“I wasn’t trying to! I heard you screaming and came back inside to get you. What’s gotten into you?”

My heart thumped, the pulse in my neck throbbed. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. He stood there for a moment, motionless. At last, he pried me away, reaching up and cradling my chin in the palms of his hands.

“Dani, hey…” he began, staring into my eyes. “It’s okay. Everything is all right.”

I nodded, gulping fewer and fewer massive breaths of air into my lungs. While I settled down, Marco dropped his hands away from my face.

“Come with me,” he said, intertwining his fingers with mine.

Turning in the opposite direction I’d taken in the hallway moments before, I followed behind him, holding tight every step of the way. Seconds later, we walked out of what looked to be the back of the villa. By now, day had turned to night. Marco spread his arms wide.

“Amazing huh?”

The villa backed up to an immense valley below. An early moonrise blanketed the landscape in soft white light. Overhead, the sky appeared stuffed with stars - I’d never seen so many. The terror and panic I’d experienced just minutes before dissipated.

In its place, a sense of awe.

“Wow…” I replied, shaking my head and still trying to take it all in. “It’s so beautiful. What is all of this?”

“Orchards mostly. Olive trees, fig trees and things like that.”

I admired the view for a few more seconds before turning to look at him.

“Marco, thank you for today, I mean, for bringing me here. No matter what happens, I want you to know how much I appreciate you inviting me and sharing this with me. I never do anything like this. I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Marco turned to look at me, arching an eyebrow.

“Even the car ride?” he began, pausing and gesturing towards the inside of the house. “And your little panic attack in there?”

I crossed my arms at my chest.

“Yes,” I deadpanned. “Especially the panic attack.”

Marco nodded, leaning away from me and chuckled.

“Good, Dani. I’m glad to hear it. It’s my pleasure.”

I smiled, turning away from him and looking towards the valley again.

“Oh,” Marco said, snapping his fingers. “I almost forgot. I think the end to a perfect day calls for a celebration. Don't you agree?”

I pivoted, looking him in the eye. The more time I spent with him, the more I found myself having to decode some of the things he said.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I replied, “Hmm, I’m not sure. What kind of celebration did you have in mind?”

He winked at me. “It’s a good thing. Trust me.”

Without a word, he reached around the back of his jeans. After a quick tug, he swung his arm around the front of his body again. In his hand, a folded piece of paper.

He began to open it.

“Is that…” I began, pointing at it. “Are you?”

He nodded.

“It is. I am.”

My heart leapt to my throat. I squealed and jumped towards him, wrapping my arms around him and sending us both towards the ground.  We landed with two heavy thuds followed by a distinctive cracking sound.

“Shit,” Marco grumbled.

“Oh,” I said, covering my mouth with my hand. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Marco! What was that snap? Did I hurt you?”

Marco shook his head. Still seated, he rolled up on one hip and reached into his other back pocket.

“Ahhh, must be a sign,” he said at last, swinging his arm back in full view.

It was covered in a black liquid. I recoiled.

“What is that? What happened?”

“The pen,” he grumbled. “It was in my other pocket. It’s split in four pieces now.”

“Oh, no,” I said, covering my mouth again.

Marco leaned away, bracing himself on the grass with his elbows. He shook his head, holding a look of disappointment on his face.

“Me too, Dani. With my pen broken, there’s no way I can sign the agreement. I guess the deal is off. That is, unless you’d like to negotiate.”

I pursed my lips.

“I see.”

Marco nodded, a corner of his mouth turned up in an adorable curl.

“Well? How bad do you want it, Dani?”

I licked my lips. Moving from a seated position to my knees in less than two seconds, I crawled across the cool, green grass. Marco lay there, legs crossed, propped up with casual ease on his elbows. I pressed my palms against the ground, feeling the muscles in my upper back flex with each inch forward. His eyes never left me, even when I straddled him and lowered my face over his, stopping only a few inches away from his perfect lips.

“You know how bad I want it, Marco.”

With the dimpled smile still intact, he replied, “Well, you should have thought about that before you broke my pen.”

I shook my head and smiled back at him, lowering my mouth to his.

DANI

I hadn’t even realized it, but until our lips met I’d been lost, drifting through life like a zombie. The taste of him, the feel of his tongue inside of my mouth, reawakened my entire being. Trembling, I struggled to restrain the primitive urges gathering between my legs. I wanted to rip at his clothes, tear them away, and take him until I satisfied myself.

Each pass of his tongue, twisting with mine like a wanton serpent, did nothing to diminish my desire. In a last ditch effort of desperation, I broke free of his mouth, gasping for a breath of the cool countryside air. However, my relief was short-lived.

While I groaned and leaned away from him, Marco thrust his hands beneath the fabric of my shirt and raced towards my bra. Cupping my breasts, he squeezed and kneaded at my sensitive flesh. My breath failed me, coming in haphazard gasps.