Page 29 of Burning Beauty

"That's easy." Cassandra stood and kicked off her high heels, leaving them next to her lounger. She stepped up to the pool and dipped a toe into the perfectly still aqua water. "Do you see any women around here? Anyone my age, anyway?"

Maria thought their friendship status might go into rocky territory if she pointed out that she was probably a good thirteen or fourteen years younger than Cassandra. So she agreed, "No, I don't see anyone like that."

"Exactly," she said and then cannonballed into the pool, splashing water all over the tiles and chairs. Maria sat blinking, water dripping down her face as Cassandra swam to the side of the pool, leaned against the edge and put her chin on top of her arms. "I've lived with Nic for twenty years. He keeps me isolated, out of the hands of enemies, but also away from any potential friends. And before Nic, I lived with my parents, who were mafia royalty in Italy. I wasn't allowed out in my own back yard let alone anywhere else."

Maria was beginning to get the whole picture. "Your marriage was arranged, wasn't it?"

Cassandra nodded seriously, her beautiful eyes darkening. "I was 19 and Nic was 21. We'd been engaged for a decade, since I was a young girl. Tradition was all we knew, so we went along with the demands of our parents."

Curiosity drove Maria off the lounger and toward the pool. She sat next to where Cassandra was resting. "You don't like each other? Is that why you're okay with him bringing women home?"

Cassandra tilted her head and made a face as though to say that Maria was close, but not quite getting it. "First of all, he doesn't bringwomenhome, just woman, as in you."

Maria's heart sped up at that information. She shouldn't care. In fact, she should be happier at the thought that she was just one in a long line of women. Then he might let her go sooner, when he got bored with her. But if he'd somehow fixated on her, then it seemed less likely that he would just let her go. The whole idea sounded so bizarre and fantastical that she couldn't bring herself to dwell on it. Why would someone of Nic's calibre and wealth be interested in her for more than a fling? They barely knew each other.

"And it's not that we don't like each other," Cassandra continued. "It's more like we got too close over the years. When we became engaged, I was only nine years old. Nic took it upon himself to become my protector, though he was barely older. He made sure nothing bad ever happened to me, including in my own home. My father was known for his Italian temper, and sometimes he would take it out on the family. As Nic got older, into his late teens, he made sure my father knew that if I was harmed in any way, he would take me from them and there would never be a merger."

"That sounds... very romantic, actually," Maria murmured. "Like the start of a romance novel."

Cassandra laughed and let go of the ledge, leaning back in the water and floating. "You would think so, but no. We only ever had sibling feelings toward each other. The more Nic protected me from bad stuff over the years, the more he blocked me from actually living my life. All I've ever known is walls, gates and locked doors."

"Poor little rich girl," Maria said wryly.

Cassandra laughed with her. "Yeah, I guess. There are definitely unicorns and lollipops mixed in with my life of captivity. But tell me, Maria..." Cassandra swam back to her and floated next to Maria's knees. "How do you feel about this captive life?"

Maria opened her mouth to reply that she would love it, then she realized what Cassandra was saying. She wasn't asking if Maria would trade lives, she was asking if Maria was prepared for the kind of life Cassandra led. Because she was now under the power of Niccolo DeLuca, in almost the exact situation as his wife.

When she looked at it that way, Cassandra's life suddenly became a lot less appealing. Wealth couldn't replace freedom and experience. She now understood Cassandra's somewhat childlike demeanour. She wasn't slow, or developmentally challenged, she was severely sheltered. Her experiences came from her immediate surroundings.

No wonder she was so eager to find a friend in Maria.

"I don't think I would like living that way very much," Maria said, her throat dry with fear.

Cassandra just looked at her, she didn't say anything. She didn't need to. They both knew what she was thinking. Maria didn't have a choice. She was Nic's captive and this was her life now.

Chapter Sixteen

Shortly after a lovely lunch by the pool, Maria was summoned into Nic's presence. She thought about not going, she really did, but she decided perhaps it was time for a more diplomatic approach. Now that she was beginning to understand her place in Nic's home, she thought she might be able to gain some leverage.

She was escorted to his office by a man she didn't know. He was big and beefy though, and reminiscent of Luke, so she figured he must be another bodyguard. Or whatever they were called, the guys that wore dark clothes, sunglasses and generally looked too serious. Thugs? Muscle for hire? Enforcers?

At Nic's curt answer to the knock on his office door, her thug friend opened it and waved her inside. Maria gave him a test smile that he didn't return. Maybe not friends then.

"Have a seat," Nic said from his desk without looking up.

Maria glared at him. She was getting tired of being ordered around all the time. She crossed her arms over her chest and dropped heavily into one of his guest chairs, huffing with indignation. She'd just been told by this man's wife that she was his sole obsession. Or something like that. Was it too much to ask that he put his laptop away and pay some attention to the woman he kidnapped?

She sat that way, silently fuming, as he typed away at his keyboard. She wondered what he was doing. What did mafia bosses do exactly? She was about to ask him when he finally looked up and softly closed the lid to his laptop. The quick look he passed over her sent her into a mini tailspin as it touched her everywhere, the golden amber depths darkening with desire.

"I thought it was time we talked about your place in my household."

Maria badly wanted to tell Nic that his wife had just informed her of her place in the household, but she kept her peace. He was a guy that enjoyed maintaining control. It was maybe in her best interest to not piss him off too early in the conversation.

"I would appreciate that," she said politely.

"You've been brought here to partner me sexually, whenever, however and wherever I want."

Fuck diplomacy. "So, I'm your sex slave?" she asked bitterly, her voice rising. "And here I thought you weren't into human trafficking. Oh wait, you said you weren't into drugs. Maybe you do buy and sell women for a living."

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