Page 23 of Burning Beauty

Cassandra laughed, the sound light and tinkling. Of course, an ethereally beautiful creature like Cassandra had a laugh like angels playing in the clouds.

"That's complicated, or at least a longer story than we have time for. We'll talk once you're all settled in." Cassandra patted Maria's wrist and stood up. "Please let me know if you need anything. Letty, our upstairs housemaid, can also help you if you happen to find her first. Dinner will be on the table at 6pm sharp." She turned and looked at Maria, a hint of concern in her eyes. "Please don't be late. Nic insists on family eating together when he's in residence."

She disappeared down the hall, leaving a bewildered Maria behind. This was not Wonderland, she decided, this was the fucking twilight zone. She went to the window and, moving the curtains aside, looked out across the estate grounds. The view was breathtaking. Located at the back of the house, her room faced a sprawling lawn that ended at the beach, which stretched out across white sand and touched the edge of the ocean. Her heart pounded at the thought of sinking her toes into the sand and wading in the water.

Maria was from Guadalajara, in western central Mexico, and had never been to the ocean before. The closest she had come was years ago when her airplane had flown over the Gulf of Mexico.

Beneath her window, on the ground floor, was a pool and large patio section, enclosed by perfectly manicured bushes. Everything about this place was luxurious, like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Maria had never really aspired to a wealthy lifestyle, but even she had to admit the lure to fall in love with this place was strong. Luckily, the asshole landowner smashed those feelings with his bad attitude and kidnapping ways.

"Forgot to say, there're some clothes in the closet for you!"

Maria jumped and whirled around as Cassandra stuck her head in the doorway.

"For me?" she asked. "When did he get a chance to buy clothes for me?"

Cassandra shrugged. "Don't know, but they've been here for weeks."

Before Maria could tell Cassandra she’d known Nic for less than 24 hours, the other woman was gone, her high heels tapping as she made her way quickly back down the hall. With a frown, Maria opened the closet door. Of course, it was a massive walk-in. She flipped on the light switch and gaped at the interior. Rows and rows of every type of clothing item imaginable lined the shelves. Several racks of shoes inhabited the bottom shelves. She stepped inside and ran her hand across the material of a row of coats and dresses, before stopping at the back of the closet where a chest of drawers stood tall. She opened each drawer to find underwear, socks, lingerie, everything she could possibly want and more.

At first Maria thought this was the mistress closet set inside the mistress bedroom. Her temper was on the verge of boiling over, which would mean something very dangerous to the expensive looking clothes within the closet, when she realized everything still had tags. Every sleeve she grabbed, every dress, they all had the original tags. And everything was in her size.

"What the hell is this?" she asked herself.

Had Nic planned on installing a woman of her exact size in this bedroom and then decided to settle on her? But that didn't make sense. These clothes had to be for her. They were in colours that flattered her. Even the shoes were her size. In fact, Cassandra said the clothes had been brought in specially for her. But that was weeks ago. Nic didn't know her weeks ago.

Maybe he didn't know her, but he could've known of her. And if that was the case, then he probably knew about her brother and her entire situation. If he was organized enough to know exactly what Franco was planning, then he would know all about Maria and her part in the blackmail plot.

Did that mean he knew about Mexico?

Her stomach dropped at the thought. If he knew, then why didn’t he say anything?

She left the closet without touching any of the clothes, she'd rather go naked than wear anything he got for her. She glanced at the clock. There was an hour until supper. She looked at the bed, longing for a nap despite the sleep she got on the airplane. She crawled on top of the covers, determined to rest for a minute. She was asleep before she'd fully settled, the stress of last night and this morning catching up with her.

Maria woke to a hand on her shoulder, shaking her. "Wake up!"

She blinked and rolled to look up at a stunningly attractive angel leaning over her. Cassandra. "What?" she mumbled.

"We have to be downstairs in two minutes!" she snapped, dragging the covers off Maria. "Look at you, you're not even dressed yet."

"I am so dressed," she said sleepily.

Maria yawned widely and sat up, sliding toward the edge of the bed. She was not a light sleeper. Whether she was napping or going to bed for the night, she slept like the dead. She would pass out for however long her body needed to rest and then she would wake up a complete zombie until she got her hands on some caffeine.

As a result, she sat blinking at Cassandra who was tossing things out of the closet toward the bed. A pair of pants and a silky blouse flew towards Maria and landed a few feet short of the bed.

"I'm not wearing that stuff," Maria said loudly and yawned again. She scrubbed a hand across her face and then blinked sleepily down at the palm of her hand. There was dried mascara flakes on her skin. Crap. She still had last night’s makeup on, and the application had been a fairly heavy one. She probably looked like a racoon.

"Well, you have to wear something," Cassandra said, coming to stand in the door of the closet, her hands on her hips.

"Where are my clothes?" Maria asked. "I need the bag I brought from Las Vegas. I think I have something in there."

Cassandra shuddered dramatically. "First of all, I have no idea where your bag went. Second, we don't wear jeans to the dinner table." She eyed Maria and then sighed heavily. "You're going to have to go down as you are, we're out of time. But I'm warning you, Nic won't like it."

Maria so badly wanted to say, I don't give a flying fuck what Nic wants, but she figured she should be at least somewhat diplomatic with Cassandra. This woman had the look of a potential ally. A weird one with a twisted relationship with Maria's captor, but Maria wasn't about to be choosy. She would take what she could as long as it meant she was one step closer to her goal.

Of course, Maria didn't know exactly what that goal was, but she'd figure it out along the way.

"What happens if we're late for supper?" Maria asked as they left her room.

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