Excerpt from Spanish Passions
Natalie’s Story
Book 2, Friends Forever Series

“No tossing him off!” Natalie sternly commanded, her green eyes staring into brown ones. “I don’t want you pushing this new guy up against a tree either. Got it?”
The big brown eyes continued to stare back at her and Natalie knew that wasn’t a good sign. “I know you understand me, Charlie. Don’t even try to play dumb!”
A snort was Charlie’s only response and Natalie paced back and forth along the straw covered path. “You’re going to be good today, got it? That’s your part of the deal. Mine is to make sure that you are protected.”
Charlie only shook his head and twitched his ears, telling her that he didn’t agree with her.
Natalie glared, pointing her finger angrily. “Don’t do this, Charlie. You agreed.”
Another shake of his head and he started to turn away but Natalie’s temper flared. “No! You promised! We agreed!”
The laughter behind her, deep and sexy, caused a long ago memory to flare into her mind. Spinning around, she stared but, because of the early morning sunshine streaming in through the open doorway, she couldn’t determine if….
“Do you really think the horse will listen?” the voice continued.
Natalie’s body froze. Even the air in her lungs refused to budge as her mind sifted through the shocking memories that incredible voice generated.
It couldn’t be! Surely she’d heard incorrectly! It simply wasn’t possible…the voice, that deep, resonant voice…he couldn’t be here! Natalie’s heart pounded and, for the briefest moment, intense joy filled her heart. Even Charlie sensed her excitement and nudged her forward. But then reality came back to her, the pain, the humiliation and she froze.
Please, it couldn’t be him! Not that particular man. He wasn’t here. He was in Spain!
This was someone else. It had to be! Yes, the voice wasn’t his! The voice had only sounded similar.
The tall figure with impossibly broad shoulders pushed away from the doorway, coming closer. And closer. As he moved away from the door, away from the bright sunshine outside and into the dim lighting of the barn, his features slowly became visible. Her eyes widened as Javier Emmanuel Gustavo Vasquez, Marques of Astrana, walked towards her. While Natalie’s hungry eyes looked upon the handsome features, features similar to the beloved ones she saw every day, her heart ached with the pain of what might have been.
And then that pain morphed into anger. Fury! Fury for what might have been…if only…
“You!” she gasped, all the excitement she’d initially felt upon hearing his voice dissipating as this man approached and she remembered her hatred. All those long, lonely, terrifying nights when she’d needed him and he’d…he’d banished her! Tossed her out like a used, rejected shoe!
“I can see you still have an elegant turn of phrase, Natalie,” he replied, stopping only about a foot from where she stood, trembling and trying to control a burst of fury.
Oh, that wasn’t fair! This man had always caused her to be tongue tied! He used to tease her about how she’d struggle with words whenever he was close. Four years ago, she’d been a naïve college student touring Spain before finishing her master’s degree. She’d been young and impressionable, overwhelmed by this man and his suave sophistication. They’d spotted each other and, from that moment on, Natalie had been lost. Lost in his eyes, in his charm, in the way he touched her. He’d made her laugh and feel like she was the center of his world and, at the time, that had been perfect because he’d become the center of her world. She’d fallen so hard for him! He was tall and sophisticated, experienced and charming. It was no wonder that he’d rattled her.
But bringing up how flustered he used to make her…that wasn’t fair and only singed her temper higher.
Fisting her hands by her side, she glared at him, trying hard not to slap that supercilious smirk from his handsome face. “Go away. You’re trespassing!”
She should have known that issuing a command to Javier never stood a chance of being obeyed. The man was literally a law unto himself in his country. As one of the most powerful men in Europe, possibly the world, he was exempt from those petty little things like rules and consideration for another person’s feelings. Not to mention, the police turned a blind eye to his misdemeanors, such as speeding…things ordinary citizens would be ticketed for.
If she were being fair, Natalie would acknowledge that the Vasquez family ensured that the people in their village and the surrounding areas were taken care of and protected. If someone had a death in the family, the Vasquez family covered funeral costs, a significant portion of any major medical expenses and looked out for the villagers if they needed a job or had any sort of hardship.
But Natalie didn’t feel like being fair. Not today! And not towards this man! Never this man! When she’d needed him most, he’d rejected her. His father had thrown her out like yesterday’s trash, called her a liar and a cheat.
So be it, she told herself. Taking a deep breath, she tried to find a calm, a peace.
It was hard to do, but she’d done it before. She was older and wiser now. She could handle this man.
“You’re even more beautiful now than you were four years ago, mi belleza.”
Jerking backwards as his long, elegant fingers moved towards her face, she glared up at him, hating that he was so much taller than she was. “Don’t touch me!” she hissed. “You don’t get to touch me! You lost that right…” she pressed her lips together, not willing to rehash their painful past. “Just go away, Javier. We have nothing to discuss.”
He moved even closer, trapping her against the side of the stall with his arms on either side of her head. “Ah, but I think we do,” he said, his voice deceptively smooth and gentle.
Natalie knew that tone. He was angry. Furious, actually. Javier never yelled. But the lower his voice, the more furious he was. “Get away from me and get off my property!”
His eyes narrowed at her command. “Or you’ll do what?”
She clenched her teeth together before she snapped out, “I’ll call the police! You don’t own them here, Señor imperioso.” Her fingers curled into tight fists by her side. “In America, we don’t care about titles or aristocracy! We don’t care about all the power you wield in Europe.”
His hand moved and Natalie jerked, sensing she’d notched his fury up higher.
When his long, elegant finger stroked down her cheek, she knew she was in trouble. Big trouble.
“You must remember what I used to do to you when you threw out challenges, enojada.”
The Russian’s Proposal
Katia’s Story
Book 3 in Friends Forever Series
February 14, 2018 (Yeah – on Valentine’s Day!)
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The Sheik’s Redemption
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Book 4 in Friends Forever Series
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