Page 24 of Burning Beauty

Cassandra cast her a look and replied, "The one time I was late, Nic impressed the importance of time management on me by forcing me to wake up at 7am every day for a week and join him for breakfast."

"Is that all?" Maria asked incredulously.

Cassandra shot her a dark look. "Being forced into his company at such an ungodly hour was torture. I learned never to be late again. Now hurry."

Maria followed her hostess down the stairs and back into the main part of the mansion. While they walked together, Maria got the chance to check out Cassandra's outfit. Now she had changed for supper. Maria wasn't up on her brand labels, but she would bet her last dollar that Cassandra was wearing a super high-end and recognizable label. The flirty high-waisted pink skirt that dropped to her knees was paired with a white silk blouse that had ruffles on the short sleeves and around the high neckline. A string of delicate pink pearls decorated the collar. Cassandra’s long light brown hair hung loosely in bouncy waves around her shoulders.

Maria was beginning to wish she'd accepted the use of an outfit. She felt like yesterday's leftovers. The ones that were no good a second time around, even once they'd been reheated. She still wore her jeans and cami top, but the fabric was rumpled from being slept in multiple times and travelling on an airplane. Her hair was probably a tangled frizzy mess since she kept running her fingers through it and pushing it back off her forehead.

Then she no longer had time to worry, because they were stepping through the doorway and into the dining room where Nic stood, leaning against a side-table filled with glasses and liquor bottles. His gaze took her in from top to bottom, but rather than a frown of disapproval, as she might have expected, his eyes glowed with warmth and the ghost of a smile curved his lips.

Next to Maria, Cassandra stopped walking. When Maria looked up, she saw a quickly smothered expression of shock on the woman's face. She glanced shrewdly down at Maria before stepping away and leaving Maria in the hands of the big bad host.

Chapter Thirteen

Nic held a chair out for Maria and helped her sit, then crossed to the other side to do the same for Cassandra. It was a strangely formal gesture that also seemed fitting for the tall, lean man wearing an evening suit in a formal dining room. He took his own seat and gestured to someone in the back of the room. Seconds later a bowl of steaming soup was placed in front of Maria.

The moment the aroma hit her, Maria's mouth started watering and everyone else in the room faded. She picked up her spoon and lifted a sample to her mouth. It was everything, delicious, warm and comforting. She opened her eyes to look up the table toward the host.

Nic was watching her intently, ignoring his own bowl of soup. "You didn't find the closet filled with clothes?" he drawled.

Maria shrugged. "I prefer my own things."

"Regardless, you will wear the items I have provided for you."

Maria gritted her teeth and dropped the soup spoon. She turned a fiery glare on Nic and said, "I will wear my own clothes."

His eyes drilled into hers and she knew they were heading toward a standoff.

"I will have your clothing thrown in the trash, you will have no choice but to accept my hospitality."

"Hospitality is the generosity of a host, of which you are not. You are a criminal and a kidnapper. I would rather go naked than accept any form ofhospitalityfrom you." Maria spoke passionately, if a little foolishly. She didn't think she was in any real danger, at least not yet, but pissing off the host probably wasn't a good idea.

"I propose a compromise," Cassandra interrupted, her voice a pleasant tinkle from across the table as she tried to stave off a potential war in the dining room. "Maria should be allowed to keep the clothing she arrived in, since they are familiar to her and she can supplement whatever else she needs from the wardrobe Nic has generously provided."

Maria wanted to fight the whole clothing issue right to the death, but Cassandra was being so fucking reasonable. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the other woman. Beautiful, seemingly friendly, willing to share her husband with another woman. There had to be a deficiency somewhere. People weren't built the way Cassandra was acting.

"Fine," Maria muttered and picked up her spoon, eating voraciously and ignoring the dark stare of her host.

Nic didn't say anything to Cassandra's solution, but Maria assumed he was going to go with it. Otherwise his new mistress was going to be walking around his property buck naked. She didn't really have a problem with that. She was secure in her nudity. In fact, she preferred naked or very little clothing over dressing to the nines.

When they finished the soup course, a silent server removed the dishes and replaced them with a salad. It wasn't a huge salad, but Maria was starting to wonder how many courses were coming and how she would possibly eat all the food. She was a good eater, with a good appetite, but she wasn't used to multiple courses.

"I was thrilled when Nic told me we would be entertaining a guest," Cassandra said, smiling sheepishly at Maria. "I may have gone a little overboard on the menu. I hope you like it."

How was Cassandra so damn nice? What was her deal? "It's good," Maria said noncommittally, while forking salad into her mouth. It was butter lettuce with candied walnuts, dried fruit and a citrus dressing.

It wasn't until the main course arrived, duck with orange sauce served with mashed potatoes and green beans, that Nic spoke again. "You will come to my room tonight at 9:00."

Maria choked on her bite of duck and again dropped her cutlery. She swung her head around to glare at Nic and confirm her suspicion that he was talking to her. She glanced at Cassandra who was studying her plate with an exaggerated intensity.

"No." It was the only thing Maria could think to say. She clenched her fist so she wouldn't hurl the water goblet at him.

"Your refusal isn't an option. You will come to my room."

The man was on drugs, he had to be. "Are you on drugs?" she asked, testing the theory. "You know what they say about drug dealers who get into their own product."

Cassandra spit something out onto her plate and choke laughed into a napkin while Nic continued to stare at Maria with ferocious intensity.

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