Thrust: Bad Boy Racing Romance (Fastlane Series Book 2) (16 page)

MARCO

Sitting across from her, I finally began to get a glimpse of the woman behind the beauty. I sensed that although she had her guard up, Dani wasn’t hiding anything from me. Even so, I would get what I wanted from her. If I didn’t, there wouldn’t be any deal. It was time for her to understand it once and for all.

The waiter returned with our wine. After opening the bottle, he filled our glasses and walked away, leaving Dani and me alone again.

“I’m sorry, Marco,” she began, before I could even say a word. “I just don’t think I can give you what you want.”

I raised the glass to my nose and inhaled before responding.

“And what is that? What do I want, Dani?”

Extending my arm across the table, I gestured for her to bring her wine glass to mine. She broke eye contact with me for an instant while she reached for her glass. After we touched the crystal together, I took a big swallow.

“That’s just it, Marco,” she began, placing her glass on the table. “I’m not sure. All I know is every time we are together I lose track of why I’m here in the first place.”

“The agreement?” I asked, gesturing at it with a nod of my chin.

A sheepish expression came to her face.

“Yes.”

I leaned back.

“I don’t see how that’s something you should feel bad about. After all, it is your career.”

Dani rolled her eyes, reluctantly acknowledging my statement.

“Yes, that’s true. For what it’s worth, I’ve never had this problem before. Maybe that’s why it’s so difficult.”

“What problem is that?”

Dani reached for her wine and shook her head.

“It’s nothing, it’s stupid. Just forget it.”

I took another drink. Placing the glass on the table again, I leaned in her direction.

“Look at what I just told you about my family. Only my very closest friends have ever heard those words from me.”

Dani stroked the stem of her wine glass, looking at me while I spoke. When I finished, I placed my palm on top of the signature page.

“I didn’t ask you to come all this way to manipulate you or play games. I know how important this agreement is to you.”

Dani took another sip of her wine. A hard swallow followed.

“But if I’m going to sign over my father’s legacy and my fortune, I need to know everything there is to know about you.”

Dani looked away from me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Without turning to face me, she replied, “It’s hard, Marco. I don’t know any other way to say it.”

Lifting my hand from the signature page, I reached across the table and wrapped my fingers around her forearm.

“It doesn’t have to be,” I began, squeezing her for emphasis. “The only one making this difficult is you.”

I let go of her, easing back into my seat again.

“I want you to come away with me, Dani.”

She looked at me again. A frown came to her face.

“What do you mean? Come away with you?”

I swirled the wine around in my glass.

“I’ve got a small villa, in the Italian countryside. We can spend some time there and get to know each other better. You’ll love it, trust me. It's just what you need.”

I noticed her jaw clench.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Marco.”

I swallowed another mouthful of wine.

“There’s only one way to find out for sure. I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist, Dani.”

She shifted in her seat, animated by indecisiveness.

“What if I refuse?”

I nodded, swallowing down the last bits of the oak-flavored liquid.

“It’s simple. We go our separate ways. Although it’s not what I would like, I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, Dani.”

A shallow exhale escaped from her lips. I continued.

“If you want the agreement signed, you’ve got to learn how to give as well as take. And anyway, considering what’s already happened between us, spending a bit of alone time together doesn’t seem to be that far-fetched to me.”

I stopped talking and waited for her to respond. She had to understand the importance of my demands. They weren’t just arbitrary reasons I’d concocted in order to sleep with her. I'd already done that and didn’t need a reason to do so again. I had to find out what was beneath the beauty and get a true picture of the substance I knew she possessed. Whether she realized it or not, this was her first test.

Dani cleared her throat. She gestured towards the agreement.

“I feel like asking you if you’re going to sign that any longer is a waste of my breath. If I go away with you, it’s my way of showing trust. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

“For what it’s worth, Dani, I’m sick of you bothering me about it.”

I smiled and winked at her. She smiled in return and shook her head.

“Okay,” she began, nodding her head and looking at me. “All right. I’ll do it.”

I reached for the signature page, folded it again and slipped it inside of my coat pocket. I pulled my hand out once again and patted the outside of my jacket.

“Excellent,” I said, smiling at her. “It will be here, waiting for us, when we come back.”

DANI

After a short flight in his jet the next morning, Marco and I landed at a private air strip near Lavis, in Northern Italy. We exited the plane, and made our way to a Ferrari parked nearby. Marco walked in front of me.

He turned, looking in my direction over his shoulder.

“Hand me your bag,” he said, gesturing with his fingertips. “You wouldn’t want it to go flying out into the Italian countryside.”

I glanced at the sleek red sports car. Even sitting still, it looked like it was going a hundred miles an hour. And just then, I froze in place, swallowing hard at the same time. I was about to get into one of the world’s fastest cars with a Formula One race car driver. I stood there imagining a number of horrific outcomes, all of which wound up with me being dead on the side of the road.

“Dani!”

I snapped out of my trance and looked towards Marco.

“What are you doing?” he yelled, waving for me to get in the car. “Come on, let’s go.”

Grudgingly, I started to inch forward. It felt like my feet were moving through quick dry cement. When I’d come to within ten feet of the car, Marco started the engine. It roared to life, sending goosebumps down my arms. A few seconds later, I opened the door and reluctantly climbed inside.

Marco turned and looked at me.

“What’s going on with you? Are you okay?”

I began to shake my head, slowly at first. At last, I swiveled it towards him. Marco leaned away from me and frowned.

“Dani, are you sick? You look pale all of a sudden.”

My mouth drifted open but no words came out, just a squeak of protest.

“I…”

While I stammered, the engine rumbled, filling my seat with dangerous vibrations. I tried gathering my wits, at last blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“Just promise me that you won’t drive fast.”

Marco chuckled.

“Is that it?”

I nodded but didn’t reply, looking away from him.

Marco let go of the steering wheel and reached for my hand. Even in the warm sunlight of a summer morning, my blood ran cold, causing my fingertips to ice over with fright. Marco wrapped his fingers around mine and let out a deep laugh.

“Dani! You’re freezing! What are you so worried about? You do realize that I drive cars at more than two hundred miles an hour for a living, don’t you?”

I snapped my head towards him again, prying my hand loose at the same time.

“Yes,
thank you
, I do,” I replied, feeling suddenly indignant. “While
you
may be used to driving that fast,
I’m not.
”

Marco looked away from me and put the car in gear.

“Don’t worry, Dani. It will be over before you know it.”

“Marco, please!” I shrieked, reaching across and clutching a fistful of his shirt in my grasp. “Just please, promise me that you won't go over the speed limit.”

Marco revved the engine, sending my anxiety to new heights.

“I promise,” he began, smiling at me. “I won’t go over the speed limit.”

Relieved, I let go of him and placed my hand over my heart. I don’t think I ever felt it beat so fast in my life.

“Thank you,” I said, forcing my gratitude out through a rushed breath. “Thank you.”

Marco revved the engine once again and looked straight into my eyes.

“Lucky for us there aren’t any speed limits here.”

With that, he ripped the car into gear and began to speed away from the airstrip. The engine of the Italian supercar screamed.

And so did I.

“Marco! Marcooooo!!!!”

Exiting the air strip, we roared onto a country road, which was far too narrow for my liking. I had no idea how fast we were going. Desperate, I grabbed hold of anything I could trying to calm myself when I happened to glance in Marco’s direction.

In the midst of my panic, he had a look of complete confidence on his face. He hadn’t slowed the car. In fact, if anything, we continued to accelerate. In spite of that, just watching him behind the wheel, I began to feel strangely at ease while the countryside ripped by us in a blur.

The road ahead - curves, hills and valleys - moved faster and faster towards us. The car’s engine screamed and it was around that time I realized why he loved what he did. The speed, the wind and the danger fused all of my senses, wrapping them together in the moment and blocking out everything else.

I’d never experienced anything like it.

I loved it.

Just then, Marco downshifted and the cry of the motor caused me to look towards him. Soon after, he slowed the car to a stop.

“Hungry?” he asked, winking at me.

Mouth breathing, it was all I could do to nod in agreement.

“Uh huh.”

With that, Marco made an easy left turn and cruised into town. He and I spent the rest of the day engaged in less life-threatening pursuits. A delightful lunch in the village square, followed by a wine tasting at one of the vineyards that dotted the countryside. Everywhere we went, people were happy to see him. He seemed at ease, far removed from the high pressure world of Formula One, not to mention all of the grief of dealing with his father's estate. After one last stop at a small neighborhood market, we got back into the car.

“Don’t you ever get tired of it?” I asked, turning and looking at him.

Marco wrinkled his brow.

“What do you mean? Do I ever get tired of what?”

I shrugged. “You know, everywhere you go, people recognize you. Don’t you ever just want to get away from it all?”

Marco grimaced, almost like it was the first time he ever even thought about it.

“Hmm,” he began, reaching up and pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Not really. The truth is, Dani, driving at the top levels, it doesn't last very long. The racing careers of most Formula One drivers is short. You’ve got to enjoy it while you can.”

While I listened to him, I hooded my eyes from the late afternoon sun.

“So, no, I never get tired of attention from my fans. It’s a privilege. I can’t say the same about the day-to-day of the racing business. Every career has its downsides.”

He looked away from me and started the engine. The last words he spoke made me think about my own life. My career took up
all
of my time. I couldn’t even remember the last time I went on vacation, hell, the last time I took a day off work.

Marco put the sports car in gear. We drove along at a slower pace now, headed in the direction of the setting sun.

“We’ll be at my villa soon,” Marco said, reaching across the car and curling his fingers around my knee. “It’s only about fifteen minutes from here.”

I glanced down at his large hand. It nearly swallowed my entire knee. My eyes meandered along the rugged musculature of his forearm, traveling up past his lean bicep until at last, I came upon his handsome profile. A warm breeze blowing in through the open windows, swirled inside of the car. Marco’s hair danced and fluttered, framing his angular jaw with softness.