Page 15 of Burning Beauty

Maria decided now was not the time to worry about Ruiz. She would try to bring him up with Nic when they had a quiet few minutes and he was hopefully in a good mood, which so far was never. Maybe if she promised to be a good little hostage, he'd feel more inclined to rescue her brother.

Her hand stilled as she was stuffing clothes into her bag. What did Nic want with her? She wasn't exactly a prize. She had no money and no connections. She had no expertise whatsoever. She'd dropped out of high school to get a job cleaning hotel rooms in order to help her mom make ends meet. Which wasn't to say she was entirely talentless, she could make a mean apple pie, but Nic probably didn't know that about her.

He must want her for something else. Like to use her against Franco somehow. But how would that work? Yes, Franco wanted her, but he wanted Nic's holdings more. He'd signed her over with very little argument, effectively making her Nic's property. A daunting prospect by itself, let alone when she had no idea what the terrifying man wanted with her.

"So, you never answered my question," she called over her shoulder as she swept makeup and hair stuff off the bathroom vanity and into her travel bag. "Where are we going after this?"

"Florida. I have a place just outside of Miami."

Maria jumped and dropped the shampoo bottle she'd been grabbing. It fell into the tub with a clatter. She whirled around and found Nic standing in the door of the tiny motel washroom. She swallowed hard, her eyes travelling the length of his body, her heart beating a little faster.

"Y-you're taking me home with you?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes," he answered, his dark gaze still on her.

"But why?" she blurted out. Why would he possibly want to take her to Florida with him? Unless it was so he could kill her in the comfort of his home and dispose of her in his estate garden.

He ignored her question and, indicating the single shoulder bag and toiletry bag she'd lined up on the bed, asked, "This is all you have?"

"No," she said defiantly, pushing past him while carefully not touching him. She grabbed a pair of boots out of the closet. "These too."

Maria took the opportunity to change out of the rumpled dress she was still wearing. What had looked glamorous the night before looked a little sad in the light of day. She slipped into the bathroom, locked the door and hurriedly changed into a pair of jeans and a light blue camisole top. Feeling a little more in fighting shape, she left the bathroom to face Nic again. She reached for her bags, but he intercepted her and picked up her two items. As he ushered her from the room, he handed the keycard to Luke. "Get her checked out and meet us back at the car."

"Hey, wait!" Maria snapped. "My brother's things are still in there."

She would have gone after Luke and demanded the card back, but Nic grabbed her arm and hauled her with him back to the car. She stood in fuming silence while he opened the trunk and tossed her things inside without care and slammed the lid down. She blinked back tears as he essentially treated her entire life like disposable garbage.

When they got in the car, she turned to him and said, "They'll throw his stuff out. He won't have anything to come back to."

Nic gave her that blank look with the slightly raised brow. "You think I care?"

"Please Nic," she begged him. "Please don't let his stuff go in the garbage."

Perhaps it was her use of his name, or maybe it was something else, but he seemed to be considering her request. Finally, he said, "I'll have someone collect his things and put it in storage."

"Thank you," she said, relaxing back into her seat.

"I will require something from you for this gift," he said seriously. "A favour for a favour."

She studied him, mulling over his language and the stoic way he held himself. He was a weird mix of old-style mafioso, the type you might see in a mafia movie like The Godfather or Goodfellas, but he was also completely comfortable in his modern surroundings. In the car, on the smart phone, in the hotel room. It was strangely attractive in a terrifying way.

"What sort of thing do you want from me?" she asked curiously, though she knew she would be willing to give a lot in order to keep her brother's things. Somehow the idea of losing that connection to Ruiz felt like abandoning him to his fate. She just couldn't do it.

"I suppose it would be too much to ask you to be a good girl for me?" he asked, a sardonic edge to his voice. "Maybe try a little humble or even submissive if you want to take it a little further. I like submissive women, the type that don't talk much, don't argue, don't make a move without asking first."

Maria started laughing, she couldn't help herself. Despite her dangerous situation, she found his words wildly hysterical. She wiped a tear from her eye and glanced at him. He had a wry quirk to his lips indicating he found humour in her response.

"Yes, definitely too much to ask," she confirmed. "If you want a woman like that, you should probably look for her in a coma ward, or a graveyard."

He chuckled for just a second before sobering up and turning that intense gaze on her. "No, my dear, I think I will keep you."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she stayed silent and studied her hands.

"The favour I ask is a simple one," he continued. "I want a kiss."

"A kiss," she whispered.

It should be easy, something they'd already done. But everything about this guy sent her into overdrive. Her temper, her libido, her pulse. Touching him willingly felt like taking a giant step into the dark unknown. Like reaching under the bed or into the closet, knowing there were monsters inside, about to grab and attack her. A kiss felt like asking for the moon. Impossible.

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