Free Velocity by Cassandra Carr Page B

for a moment before saying, “Okay. I
probably could do with getting a few things cleaned. But I’m not putting any
silky underthings in there.”
    “I would not want you to,” Paolo told her with a wink. “I
want to keep the silky underthings for my eyes only.”
    After dressing enough to be decent for company, they got a
bag from the hotel’s closet and filled it. They didn’t have to wait long before
Marco and Natalie brought theirs over.
    “Want to grab breakfast?” Marco looked Paolo up and down,
raising an eyebrow.
    Paolo glanced at Savannah. “We have not showered, so I think
we’ll pass.”
    Marco turned away with a little smirk. “All right. We will
meet up at the arena later?”
    “Yes, we’ll see you in a few hours.” That brought a bigger
smirk and Paolo pushed his brother out of the room before Savannah noticed the
expression. When they’d gone, he turned back to Savannah. “I’ll go get you
coffee.”
    “You really don’t have to do this every day.”
    “I like doing it. Every Italian man knows it’s his job to
take care of his woman.”
    “Well, thank you. I’ll shower while you’re gone.”
    “Without me?” He pretended to pout.
    She pointed to his side. “I didn’t get a look at that when
we were dressing. Let me see.”
    Paolo knew it looked horrible and thought about trying to
distract her, but there was no way that tactic would continue to work if he
wanted to have sex with her anytime soon. He lifted his shirt.
    Savannah gasped and looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Are
you completely sure you don’t need a doctor?”
    He looked down at the bruise, which now spanned several
inches. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
    She made a dismissive noise. “Right. Well, if you refuse to
see someone for it, there’s nothing I can do. But I’ll take that coffee.”
    Paolo made his way down to the lobby and got a large coffee
for Savannah, amused he already knew how she took it. As he was leaving the
coffee bar area he ran into a couple of riders and was noncommittal about when
he’d see them. Obviously by later on today everyone would know he wasn’t
registered, and he intended to continue to use the injury as an excuse for a
while, but it was still sort of weird to not be doing what everybody else was
now that the event was getting closer.
    When he returned to the room, he sat on the bed against the
headboard and sipped his own beverage. Would he be able to find something to do
around the tour or would they laugh at him since he had no education or
experience beyond helping take care of his family’s horses while he was growing
up?
    A lump settled into his gut and he looked at his coffee with
distaste, not wanting to finish it. If he quit riding, he would truly have
nothing to do. Now the cold, hard reality was hitting him. As he set the cup on
the nightstand, his hands shook.
    Savannah walked out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam and
he looked up at her.
    “Paolo? Are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a
ghost.” She came and sat next to him, setting one hand on his thigh. “What’s
going on, honey? Do I need to call your brother?”
    Unable to speak around the seeming constriction in his
throat, Paolo shook his head.
    Savannah rubbed his thigh vigorously. “Come on, Paolo.
Breathe for me. Focus on my eyes and breathe. Match my breath.” She slowly took
in a breath and let it out. “That’s it. Just keep doing that.”
    She watched him carefully as he took several more breaths.
    “I’m all right.”
    “So tell me what’s going on.”
    “I don’t have anything if I don’t ride bulls. Nothing. No
education, no work…”
    Patting his thigh, she answered, “But you can find
something. And whatever it is will probably make you happier than what you’re
doing now.”
    “I’ve never dealt with not knowing where to go next or what
to do. It’s always been my parents or Marco leading the way and I did what they
told me to. Now it’s me. I’m not sure I