Momentum by Cassandra Carr Read Free Book Online

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.
    The first rider and Marco both began to get set up in the chutes and Natalie wished she could see better. Her mind was changed, though, when Marco’s bull started acting up, tossing his head and banging against the sides of the chute. The sound was clear even from her seat, and she winced as she realized there was a good chance Marco’s legs were caught on the sides of the bull.
    Conner and a few other guys jumped up onto the platform in back of the chute and hauled Marco off the bull. Thankfully, he appeared to be all right, and more men stepped in to try to calm the animal. After a few minutes, the first rider’s chute door opened and he and the bull careened out of it, with the bull making a quick turn to his left, nearly unseating the rider. But the man held on through several more spins until the buzzer sounded, and Natalie returned her attention to