My Stallion Heart

They were interrupted as a hostess suddenly moved between them. “Can I get either of you anything to drink?” the woman asked as she looked from one to the other before letting her gaze rest on Tinjin’s face. She gave him a suggestive smile.

He smiled back. “I’d love a scotch. Straight,” he said. He looked toward Natalie.

“A glass of white wine, please,” Natalie said.

“And white wine for my friend,” Tinjin said as he passed the woman his credit card.

“I’ll bring those right over.” She gave Tinjin a quick wink of her eye.

Tinjin winked back.

When the woman was out of earshot Natalie shook her head. “Really?” she snapped, her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she stared at him.

“What?”

“You’re really going to flirt with another woman right in front of me? Really?”

“That wasn’t flirting. Besides, you set the rules. You said that it’s not like we’re friends, remember?”

“It’s still low of you. But then you’re a man, I guess I shouldn’t have expected better.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I don’t have a lot of expectations when it comes to you and your kind, TJ. That’s what it means.”

Tinjin crossed his arms over his chest. “Beautiful, mean and bitter. You’re just a walking contradiction, aren’t you?”

“Am I?”

A wry smile pulled at his full lips. “You’re like an angel’s trumpet.”

“A what?” Confusion washed over her expression.

“Angel’s trumpet. It’s this incredibly beautiful flower. It has amazing color and seductive lines. In low doses it can be a highly effective hallucinogen. Too much and it’s lethal. It’s also called devil’s weed.”

Natalie paused as she pondered his comment. Before she could respond the hostess returned with their drinks.

“If you need anything else please let me know,” she said, the comment directed straight at Tinjin.

“Thank you. We’ll do that,” Natalie said.

Tinjin laughed. “I think you like me.”

“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t,” Natalie said nonchalantly.

He nodded. “Yeah! You like me a lot!”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m getting used to you, TJ. Don’t misread me.”

“Oh, I’m reading you just fine, Gnat!” Tinjin said with a soft chuckle.

Natalie met the look he was giving her. Despite her best efforts she couldn’t fight the smile that pulled at her mouth. An easy laugh slipped past her lips. She rolled her eyes a second time.

Chapter 3 (#ulink_475f2798-a5a5-58c9-bc7a-4d308e4cf71b)

Natalie had never known a man who slept with his eyes half open but Tinjin did, the dark lids at half-mast as he slumbered. If it were not for the soft lull of his breathing, with the wispy whistle at the end of each breath, she would have sworn he was staring at her. But he snored softly, lost in a deep sleep.

The length of his body was stretched across the cushioned seats. His arms were crossed over his chest, his hands tucked beneath his armpits. His head rested on a pillow beside her leg. He was so close to her that she could feel the heat from his body warming her own. She resisted the desire to draw her finger across his forehead, to tease the slight arch to his brow with her manicured nail. She didn’t know him like that, yet she had the strongest urge to trail her hand across his profile.

There was something about him that she liked and it had as much to do with his deft sense of humor as it did with his good looks. He made her laugh and feel as though she didn’t have a care in the world, even if it was a false sense of comfort in the moment. Because truth be told, Natalie had a lot on her mind and she couldn’t imagine anything about the next few days being carefree or easy. But something about being with Tinjin had her feeling as if things might settle upright when it was all done and finished. She blew a deep sigh, a shiver running up her spine.

Tinjin suddenly shifted, his body jumping slightly as he was startled from a sound sleep. He sat upright, wiping at his face with the palm of his large hand. He swiped the sleep from his eyes, then moved his gaze in her direction.

“I guess I fell asleep,” he said, murmuring softly.

“You think?” Natalie responded. “You snored and you drooled. It wasn’t pretty, player.”

He met her gaze. “I see waking up to your warm personality is quite the thrill.”

“Enjoy it while you can,” Natalie said smugly.

Tinjin’s full lips lifted in a slight smile. He shook his head then stretched his arms up and out as he shook the last remnants of sleep from his system. He moved onto his feet and reached for his carry-on bag.

Natalie shifted forward in her seat. “Where are you going?”

Looking down at her he couldn’t help but smile. Her nervous expression belied her efforts to appear tough and distant. Her eyes were wide and curiosity shimmered in the pale orbs. Her lips were parted ever so slightly and he suddenly wondered what they might taste like against his own. He took a deep breath.

“Restroom,” he finally answered. “I need to wash my face and rinse my mouth out.”

Natalie blew out the breath she’d been holding. She nodded. “When you get back we can go find something to eat. I’m hungry.”

Tinjin laughed. “Is that an invitation?”

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t make anything out of it. I just didn’t see any reason why you should eat alone.”

Tinjin laughed a second time. “I don’t remember saying I was hungry.”

“You look hungry. I was helping you out.”

“Just say you enjoy my company, woman! You’re not fooling anyone! I can see right through you.”

Natalie laughed with him. “You are just so full of yourself!”

Tinjin nodded. “I don’t eat fast food so figure out where we’re headed,” he directed. “I shouldn’t be long.”

As he moved in the direction of the restrooms, Natalie mumbled under her breath. “God, I like a man who takes command!”

* * *