Going for Gold (An Olympic Medal Romance Book 1) (3 page)

It always made her happy when they called her their daughter. “Olá, pai.” She gave her second father a big hug before gesturing to...her what? What did she call Gunnar? Her friend? Even the Bellos’ knew she had a crush on him, and she hoped they didn’t say anything about that while they were there. She wouldn’t be able to look Gunnar in the eyes ever again. “This is Gunnar,” she finally said.

She spoke in English, so Gunnar could understand them. She knew he had been working on his Portuguese, but she still wanted him to feel at home with two of her favorite people in the world.

“Ah, the American,” Mr. Bellos said. “Mia speaks of you often.”

“Good things, I hope,” Gunnar said, looking down at her.

She glanced around the restaurant to avoid the intensity of Gunnar’s stare. If she blushed any harder, she was going to have to find a pail of water to cool off with.

“Always. Come, I have Mia’s favorite booth open.” Mr. Bellos grabbed menus and led them to a corner area.

Mia noticed that there were a few more patrons eating than was usual for this hour in the restaurant and figured they were tourists there for the games too.

Mr. Bellos filled their water glasses and kept smiling between both of them. “My wife will be out shortly to take your order,” he said before leaving them.

Gunnar’s face filled with confusion as his eyes glanced over the menu. She was thankful he was too busy trying to read it to see the obvious stare Mr. Bellos had given them.

When he squinted, she couldn’t stifle her giggling.

“What?” he asked.

“You don’t know what to order, do you?”

He sighed with relief. “I have no idea. Am I that obvious?”

“Just a little, but I promise not to tell anyone.”

“Then I’m in your debt.”

There it was again, that heat that only he seemed to create with just one look. His blue eyes smoldered underneath generous, sandy eyelashes. And Mia wanted to kiss that dimple on his chin.

“What do you recommend?” he asked.

“They make the best feijoada in the area. It’s a pork and black bean stew dish that’s slow-roasted. I think you’ll love it.”

“If you recommend it, I know it’s good.”

She put in the order with Mrs. Bellos and caught her winking before she left their table. Those two were going to get her in trouble if they kept it up.

Mia didn’t want to hurt the good mood Gunnar was in, but she knew if she didn’t ask him, it was going to bother her. She still wanted it to be his choice to tell her, so she tried to ask around it.

“Gunnar?”

“Mia?” He was grinning at her again. He was good at distracting her and teasing her just a little bit to make it feel like they’d known each other forever.

She leaned forward on her elbows. “Where are you staying during the Olympics?”

His smile faded away, and she immediately regretted asking.

“Ah, I am staying in the Olympic Village actually,” he said. His Adam’s apple bobbed furiously as he swallowed hard.

“Really?”

“Yeah. My coach pulled some strings, so I get to room with the athletes.” He found the activity in the restaurant very interesting all of a sudden and looked away from her for the first time.

“That’s nice.” Her hands were her focus. Did Gunnar think she was untrustworthy?

He took her hand in his and warmth shot from where he touched and spread throughout her entire body. It landed in her center and nearly took her breath away. No one ever made her body react so oddly. It was addictive and off-putting at the same time.

Shouldn’t she be angry at him for lying to her? She was so caught up in where their hands met that she had to focus hard on what he said next.

“Enough about me. What about you? How’s your family?”

“They’re okay. Happy I finally have a place to work.”

“How do you like it at the gift shop?” His thumb caressed the back of her hand.

She sighed, feeling the desire creep up on her like a comforting blanket. She wanted to know what his hands felt like on other parts of her. If he kept caressing her hand with that sensual stroking she would never be able to form words properly and get to the truth, but she didn’t want him to stop touching her either.

M
ia’s pictures didn’t do her justice. She was like a dream that had gotten trapped in his reality, and he never wanted to close his eyes again if it meant not seeing her in front of him. She was perfect—gorgeous, sweet—everything he’d daydreamed about, and now he felt like a bastard. Mia meant so much to him, and he hated lying to her. How could he explain it without sounding like an idiot? He had a good reason for not wanting her to know, or at least that’s what he’d been able to convince himself.

He’d tried to do the girlfriend thing when he first started college. Six months was his record of being with one woman. Then she moved on to one of the star basketball players and left him. He’d learned his lesson well. The one woman he’d chosen to deal with for any length of time had been problematic, so that effectively ended his desire to have a committed relationship. One night was all he needed. Any longer than that and everything in his life could be hell for him.

Instead of focusing on relationships, he put all his energy into the track, running the 1500 meter races and 400 meter hurdles. He’d taken up vaulting early on, when his high school coach suggested he had good height in the high jumps. That had been the event to set him apart from the other players. It was the one he knew could get him to the Olympics one day.

That day was only two days away, and he couldn’t let anything keep him from winning that gold medal. Then he saw Mia holding that colorful sign of hers with his name written on it.

As soon as he saw Mia, he knew he was in a whole different type of trouble than he was used to. This time he knew his time with her wouldn’t be enough, and it would be hard to leave the woman who now sat across from him.

He didn’t approach her right away. After sending Nate off with his suitcase and the rest of the team, he stood back and watched her. He even saw her face flush as she watched the couple next to her going at it like their kiss was oxygen and they had been deprived for months. The little thought creeped into his head, and he wondered if Mia had ever been kissed like that before. He so wanted to be the one to do it.

His attraction to her was immediate and only compounded by the fact that they had been corresponding for years. She was the only person he could tell anything to and not worry about having her judge him.

Why was it so hard for him to just come clean about why he was really there? Mia was never shallow, not like the girls back home who wanted to just use him as the jock of the week before finding someone more popular.

Mia wasn’t like that. He could sense it in the way she wrote to him, and sitting across from her in the small booth, he couldn’t imagine a deceitful bone in her body. But something still kept him from confessing the truth.

He didn’t want anything to ruin whatever was happening between them. He could see that she liked him, and it thrilled him to see her get so flustered in front of him. She was a new adrenaline fix, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay away from her too long.

“What did you ask me?” Mia’s voice trembled.

He had to think about it before his question returned to him. “I asked about your job.”

“That’s right. It’s good. We’ve been busy since the tourists arrived for the games, but it definitely keeps me active.”

“Glad to hear you like it.” He covered her hands with both of his. Her skin was smooth and soft. Different from his calloused hands that often gripped the pole for everything it was worth.

Gunnar didn’t think as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. He made sure he caught her eyes with his as he did it.

There was no mistaking the slight tremble in her, and when she licked her lips he had the urge to close his mouth over hers and capture that tongue for his to nibble on.

He never wanted to let her go. Sadly, the food arrived, making him do just that and halting the consuming desire before he could act on it.

“Your meal is served,” the old lady said as she sat their bowls in front of them along with a basket of bread. “Enjoy.” Her smile was big and joyful as she left their table.

He unwrapped the utensils from the linen napkin and stopped when he caught Mia’s eyes examining him closely.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked.

“I just wanted to see if you liked it first.”

He wasn’t sure if she realized how easy she was making it to play with her. He hoped she didn’t know, because he was enjoying it too much.

“Let me try it and see.” He took his time sticking the spoon in the hearty stew. When he finally brought it to his mouth, he blew on it slightly. Before he took a bite, he stared right at her as his mouth consumed the spoon and its contents.

He chewed just a little and saw Mia’s lips part slightly. He took his time before he swallowed the delicious mouthful.

“It’s really good,” he said.

She stared as if she were completely lost. “What?”

“The feijoada, I think you called it, is very delicious.”

Mia shook herself out of the small trance she was in and said, “Good. I’m glad you like it.” She took small bites of hers and avoided his gaze.

Spending time with her was going to be a rush indeed.

***

M
ia wanted to walk with him to where he was staying, but he offered to walk her to her job instead.

“I don’t mind going with you,” she said. “It’s not a problem at all. I’ll make it to work on time after.”

Her eyes brightened, hopeful that he’d say yes.

She was good at that. Even he could see the beginnings of a fight in her if he said he’d go alone to the Olympic Village. He didn’t want their time to end just yet either.

That only meant there was one solution. He took her hand and led her down the sidewalk.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Hopefully, towards where you work,” he said, keeping his grip firm.

“You’re going the wrong way.”

He stopped and glanced back at her. “Which way is it then?”

She shook her head, holding back the information he needed.

Had she forgotten already he loved a challenge?

Closing the distance between them, he pulled her up against him, so she had to place both hands on his chest. She peered up at him, and he knew he was close to getting what he wanted.

Slowly, he leaned his head down towards her until his lips hovered inches away from hers. His hands slid up her sides and up her back to pull her tighter against him.

He could feel her breath brush across his face. Any closer and he’d be kissing her.

“Tell me where it is, Mia,” he whispered against her lips.

She stopped breathing and closed her eyes. She didn’t open them until she took another breath. “It’s behind me, ten blocks down.”

“Thank you.” He wanted to kiss her, to know what she tasted like and have the flavor of her on his tongue to savor. It took all of his willpower to simply plant a small kiss on the tip of her nose and grab her hand to lead her in the right direction.

He liked having her off guard. Mia was strong in so many ways that she amazed him. Even all the things she’d gone through over the years and the struggles she had with her family made her strong, but there was an inner strength he’d known was there all along and he saw with each move she made.

Mia was a challenge to figure out, and he was going to get through each obstacle until he knew everything that made her who she was.

They were approaching a tourist area. He saw Olympic memorabilia being sold in windows and people wearing shirts from different countries. He stopped not far from a small shop that said “Presentes y Souvenirs.” When Mia stiffened, he knew that was the right place.

“I will meet you here tomorrow, and then you can show me the parts of Brazil that these tourists don’t even dare to see,” he said pulling her in close to him again and away from the pedestrians that passed them on the sidewalk. He loved the way she felt next to him. Her could get used to holding her body against his in this way, and doing so much more if she’d let him.

“What exactly do you want to see?” she asked.

“Everything that you love doing. I want to know everything about you, Mia, and then some.”

This time, he didn’t tease her. He did what he’d wanted to do ever since he’d gotten off that damn plane. He kissed her so fast she staggered against him only briefly resisting, but soon gave into his demands, and settled into his arms like she was made to be there.

She tasted so much better than he thought. Her mouth was sweet and succulent as he pulled her lip in. When she parted slightly he took even more, claiming her mouth as his to take. He wanted what she gave and so much more.

He felt the strain of his hardness growing from simply sampling her, and he was sure she could feel him pressed up so tight against her. He was glad she knew how much he craved her.

It was a lust that had built up over years that exploded with their interaction. Their relationship had been so uncertain, but he was clarifying the situation right now. He needed Mia more than any other woman he’d encountered, and he wanted to make sure she knew exactly how urgent that need was.