She lifted it toward him. "Here," she said, when he made no move to take it.
"Goddamnit, Natalie. I'm sick. Can you just act as if you give a shit for a minute?"
She rolled her eyes heavenward and carefully sat on the edge of his mattress, at an angle facing him, her feet dangling from the bed and only one foot finding purchase on the floor. She carefully folded the cloth into a rectangle and with a show of reluctance, put it to his brow.
He sighed in what sounded like ecstasy and his arm came around her legs to land on the side of her hip, holding her in place. A wave of reaction hit her, and she briefly considered what it would be like if he were hers, and hers alone. Would he lose the gruffness? Would he lose the attitude and the chip on his shoulder?
She watched his eyes slip closed on a sigh and eventually hers did the same, as she moved the cloth over his forehead in small gentle circles, trying to soothe not only him but herself as well.
They sat like that for several minutes, with him seemingly content against the pillows, obviously enjoying her ministrations.
The buzzer screamed loudly from the other room, interrupting the quiet moment. His eyes flew open and she jumped off the bed, taking the damp cloth with her, and went to the living room.
She pressed the button. "Yes?"
"Miss Wallace would like to come up, Miss. May I send her up?"
Natalie bit her lip in vexation. Dealing with Tanya right now wasn't something she was eager to do. Did the other woman know Marco was home? "Yes, that's fine."
The elevators opened and Tanya walked into the penthouse with a flourish. "Where is my poor baby?"
Well, that answered Natalie's question. "He's in his bedroom."
The other woman began walking down the hall that led to the bedrooms. "Which one?"
Didn't she know? That came as a shock to Natalie. After all, she was here, all the time. "Second door on the left," she answered.
Tanya pushed her way into Marco's room and Natalie hung back at the bedroom door to see if she could make her escape. She didn't really want to observe the other woman hovering over Marco.
When Marco opened his eyes, Natalie had a clear view of the emotion that glimmered from his eyes before he hooded them, shutting all expression out. His gaze landed on the other woman first, irritation, pure and simple glistening from his brown eyes before they skated past her and focused on Natalie.
Natalie lost her breath with a whoosh at what she saw there--only briefly, before he closed down his expression. With a feeling of dismay, she realized at once that he wasn't happy to see Tanya.
He wanted her with him--Natalie, not Tanya. And the look he'd given Tanya almost made her feel sorry for the other woman; in fact, it did make her feel sorry for her.
"Marco, poor baby."
Natalie put her back against the door and watched Tanya plop her ass on the mattress beside Marco. She hadn't noticed the first time she'd met her that her ass was a tad big. It was big, wasn't it?
"I'm here to take care of you now. It's so lucky I tried you at your office! Joy told me you're sick!"
Marco crossed his arms over his chest. "I need rest, Tanya, not company."
"I'm not company, silly." She ran her blood red nails through his hair and Natalie felt as if she were getting ill herself.
She held the oxygen in her lungs as she walked over to the bed on stiff legs and handed the cloth to Tanya. "He likes the cool compress on his forehead." Was that evil of her, considering the look she'd spied on his face earlier?
Tanya took the cloth and laid it against Marco's forehead. "Like this?"
"Yes," Natalie whispered softly, a slightly ugly emotion clouding her throat as she watched Tanya touching Marco. Natalie looked from Marco's hair, where Tanya's fingers were running through it, and dropped to his eyes. The sudden, unexpected impact of seeing him watching her in return almost knocked the breath from her.
His eyes were focused on her exclusively, expressive and possessive, as if he were only biding him time, and her heart began beating wildly. She began turning away, but Marco's hand reached out and wrapped around her wrist, detaining her. She stalled in her tracks and turned around to face him again, aware that Tanya watched with a dangerous glint in her eye.
"Bring me a glass of water and a--heating pad," he ordered her quietly.
She jerked herself back to awareness and tried to concentrate on what he was asking of her. "A heating pad? With a fever?"
His eyes narrowed on her and he said slowly and firmly, "I want a heating pad."
"All right. Where is it?"
"Try the hall closet, the one with the pillows. That's where it will be if we have one." Natalie stood in bemusement, hearing the word, 'we,' as if it were her home as well, and felt his thumb rubbing circles repeatedly on the inside of her wrist while he placed his request.
And all the while Tanya sat on the edge of his bed, looking between them as if she were about to scratch Natalie's eyes out.
"Okay." She pulled ever so slightly on her arm in an attempt to get him to release her, and after another long look, he dropped her wrist.
Natalie left the room and first went to get him a glass of water. She put it on his bedside table, not lingering to look between the couple or hear the low, heated exchange they were having.
After a thorough search of both closets, Natalie came up empty-handed.
She poked her head back in the room. "I can't find a heating pad. Is another blanket okay?"
"No, I have to have a heating pad." He looked at Tanya. "You don't mind running to the pharmacy and getting one for me, do you?" As he spoke, he leaned over and picked up his wallet from the bedside table and pulled out a large denomination bill. He handed it to Tanya and used a word Natalie hadn't known was in his vocabulary. "Please?"
Tanya grabbed the hundred-dollar bill with unconcealed greed. "Of course, darling. I'll be back in half an hour." She leaned over and kissed him on the lips, her hands going to his shoulders. Bile rose in Natalie's throat as she watched the exchange, but Marco didn't return the embrace, and it was over almost as quickly as it had started.
Tanya breezed past her as if she didn't exist. Natalie stood immobile in the doorway until the faint sound of the elevator doors closing compelled her to look over at Marco. He watched her carefully as he lifted his cell phone and pressed a digit and put the phone to his ear. "Miss Wallace is on her way out of the building. She'll be back soon. Don't let her come up. Take her purchases--but do not let her come back up here." Natalie felt a quiver of awareness as Marco's eyes issued the instructions and waited for affirmation, studying her the whole time. He ended the call and dropped the phone again.