She looked in the direction of the phone and then back again. She'd only been down there for forty-five minutes and truly hadn't considered taking the phone. "You said it was okay for me to go down there." She lifted her ponytail away from her neck, the sweat trickling down her spine. "Why are you home so early?"
"I'm sick," he said in a tone that suggested it was all her fault.
"What's wrong?" Natalie asked him, walking farther into the room.
"I have a headache and fever. Joy said you should make me soup."
"How high is your fever?" she asked.
"I don't know. How can you tell?" Again, his tone implied everything that was wrong was her fault.
"With a thermometer. Or otherwise, how bad you feel." She would not get drawn into a fight by his bad attitude.
"I feel bad. It must be high," he stated like a petulant child.
"Maybe you should go see a doctor."
"Why would I do that? Won't soup fix it?"
"Marco--never mind. I can't just whip up soup instantaneously. Unless you want it out of a can?"
"What other kind is there?"
Natalie studied him to see if he was bullshitting her, but he didn't seem to be. "Okay. I'll fix you some soup. Do you want crackers or grilled cheese sandwiches?"
"You know how to make grilled cheese sandwiches?"
"I think I can probably manage some."
"That sounds okay. Should I get in bed now?"
"If you'd like. There are trays under the cabinet. I can bring you one in bed if that's what you're used to."
"I'm not used to anything. I'm never sick."
He didn't look or sound sick to her now, either, but she refrained from saying as much. "Okay. Can it wait fifteen minutes while I have a shower? I'm pretty disgusting."
"Come over here and see how hot I am. Joy put her hand on my forehead; see what you think."
Natalie bit the inside of her cheek and took a hesitant step toward him. He looked good enough to eat, even though his attitude sucked, and it was taking everything she had to remember he had a girlfriend. He might not refer to Tanya as such, but that's the way Natalie saw it. She came to a halt in front of the couch where he lounged back. Bending at the waist, she reached out and put her hand softly to his forehead.
His arm snaked out and landed on her back, down low, his hand spread wide and his fingers splayed over the top swells of her buttocks. Her hand trembled over his forehead. "You feel okay to me. Maybe just a tad warm." She really didn't have much of a clue; she wasn't a mother and she had no siblings, younger or otherwise. She didn't think he had a fever at all--certainly nothing like the wave of heat his touch was instigating in her now.
She dropped her hand and tried to move away from him. His grip clenched tight over her flesh, holding her in place. "You smell so good, Natalie."
A hot trickle of awareness began to spread like molten lava through her insides. Her tongue shot out and licked over her dry lips. "You must have a fever." Her words were caustic. "You're delirious. I'm disgusting, Marco. I'm covered in sweat."
"You could never be disgusting--you're beautiful." Oh God, there was that word again. His hand slid up and down her spine, coming closer and closer with each swipe to the hollow between her cheeks.
She pulled away from him and put the distance of the room between them. "Why don't you get in bed now? I'll be there in twenty minutes with your soup."
She turned away and headed to her room, not waiting to see if he did as she requested.
****
Thirty minutes later, Natalie took a deep breath and knocked on Marco's opened door, balancing the tray in one hand.
"You're late." He sat up in the bed, pillows propped behind him, and Natalie had the vague thought he looked like a sultan ready to be served by his concubine. Shit. That made her the concubine.
She walked in and put the tray over his lap, saying the first thing that came to mind in an effort to sidetrack her brain from the picture he made sitting in the bed without a shirt on. "Remember, don't judge the soup. I didn't make it, I only opened the can."
"It smells fantastic. I had no idea I was so hungry," he said as he picked up the spoon.
She backed away toward the door as quickly as she could manage. She so needed to get away from him. The way he looked in that bed--"Okay, then. I'll check on you after while."
She was almost to the door when he stopped her. "Natalie?"
"Yes?" Was he actually going to thank her for the soup? She turned back around to face him, a mildly expectant look on her face.
"Can you hand me the remote?"
****
Twenty minutes later, Marco rang her cell phone. She was just leaving her bedroom after finishing up the job of blow-drying her hair after her shower. Instead of answering it, she walked in his room. "What do you need?"
"Take the tray."
She gritted her teeth as his abrupt tone, but walked over and picked the tray up from his lap. "Anything else?"
"No, just the tray." He sat flipping through television channels and didn't once glance her way.
She turned toward the kitchen.
Five minutes later her cell phone rang again, and again she didn't answer it--she just walked to his room. "Yes?" This was getting old. Very quickly.
"I need more pillows." The television was off, the remote sitting on the bedside table.
She gave him a fulminating look and turned away again, and walked to the hall closet.
A minute later, she was helping him with the extra pillows, pushing them behind his naked back. His shoulders were wide, and the hair on his chest was perfect--not too much but enough that running her hands down his pectorals would be amazing. Oh my God. And that wicked bunny trail that led south below the sheet. She needed to get away, and quickly. "Will that be all, sir?" she asked sarcastically.
He frowned at her. "Go then, if you're in such a damn hurry."
"I'm not in a hurry--"
"You're not a normal woman. You're not domesticated at all. You're supposed to be fussing over me," he lashed out.
"I'm sorry, did you not like the grilled cheese sandwiches?" she asked as her voice rose at the end.
"They were okay."
"You certainly ate them all."
"I'm burning up. Can you bring me a damp washcloth for my head?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and paused just long enough to let him know she wasn't buying his 'poor me' act. Turning toward his bathroom, she retrieved a wet cloth and came back only moments later.