Page 41 of Burning Beauty

"That was my plan," he told her, sending a chill coursing down her spine. She tried to pull away from him, but he tightened his arm, trapping her against his side. "In my line of business, women and family can become a liability. If I'm distracted, I might make a mistake that could prove fatal."

"But you decided not to kill me?" He'd assured her before that he wouldn't hurt her, but she needed to hear it now, after being intimate with him. She needed to know that she was more to him than a disposable pussy.

He cupped the back of her head with his hand, sifting his fingers through the strands and holding her face against his chest.

"I couldn't hurt you now, even if a part of me knows it would be better for both of us."

She tilted her head to look at him. His dark amber eyes were enigmatic pools. "Dead isn't better," she said huskily. "I'd rather be alive and with you."

He fixed his gaze over her head, deep in thought. "You may eventually wish you were dead instead of mine."

His ominous words made her feel vulnerable, like she'd revealed too much of herself to him. But Maria wasn't one to hide her feelings. Everyone knew when she was angry, sad or happy. She was built to share her emotions with those around her. Just like she was built to fall in love with dangerous men. As she drifted to sleep in Nic's arms she wondered once again if this relationship would end up killing her.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Maria had been living in Nic's home for two weeks and they were slowly settling into a pattern. In fact, the whole household was settling into a pattern with Maria. She felt a warm glow when she thought of how well everyone accepted her as part of Nic's life. Almost against Maria's will, she and Cassandra had become friends. Even close friends, though Maria was still cautious as she felt Cassandra's first loyalty lay with Nic.

Oddly, it didn't bother Maria that the other woman was married to Maria's lover. The more she got to know both Cassandra and Nic the less she had to be jealous about. It was like Nic couldn't see how beautiful Cassandra was, and Cassandra acted more like a bratty younger sister to Nic. They were interesting to watch together and there was absolutely no chemistry between the two.

Unlike Nic and Maria, who had only to stand in the same room for a few seconds before the heat would noticeably start to rise. Their lovemaking was constant, frantic, explosive and only getting more intense with each encounter. Even thinking about it made Maria feel like she was melting into a puddle of well fucked goo.

She spent most of her days with Cassandra, and her nights with Nic. It was like she was living in two different worlds, both vastly different. During the day she and Cassandra talked, shopped, went swimming, watched TV and played games together. It was a strange for Maria to have so much free time, but to stay so busy too. It felt like she was doing a lot but accomplishing very little. While the whole concept of a life of leisure was appealing, she was already starting to feel restless.

Maria had been born knowing that she was expected to work. With a single mom, both she and her brother had to contribute to the household income. Which they did quite happily, since their mama afforded them many opportunities in life. Despite money being tight, Graciela had never let her children go hungry or feel as though they were missing out. She always found a way to make sure they got whatever they needed and as much of what they wanted as she could comfortably afford. It had been a great life, until mama had died and then Marc.

The years after Marc's death had been so terrible, Maria couldn't bring herself to think about them. She knew she should talk to Nic about what had happened, especially since they were growing closer by the day. But, even though her new boyfriend was a mob boss, she still worried he would judge her. A lot of people judged her based on that split-second decision to pick up a knife and defend herself from Marc's drunken abuse. In fact, most people she knew back home had blamed her. Had happily seen her dragged over the coals and get what they thought she richly deserved when she was arrested. Only Maria's brother had remained loyal, hadn't twisted the facts of the incident to make Maria look like a black widow.

"What's up with you?" Cassandra asked from behind Maria.

Maria twisted in spot next to the pool and looked at the other woman. Cassandra had slept in and was only now coming outside to their usual meeting place.

Maria looked closely at Cassandra's pale face and frowned. She patted the spot next to her on the pool deck and Cassandra sank down to sit and dangle her feet in the water alongside Maria. She sighed gratefully when she was no longer standing and slumped a little.

"Never mind me, what's going on with you?" Maria asked, touching a finger to Cassandra's shoulder. "You look like you've had a rough night."

Cassandra shrugged and tried to smile but her eyes filled with tears and she dropped her gaze to the water. "It's nothing. Something I shouldn't even be upset over."

"Tell me," Maria said, her voice more commanding. "It's obviously not nothing if it's upsetting you. Maybe we can work it out together."

"You're very sweet, but this isn't something that'll ever be worked out."

Maria had to swallow a snort at Cassandra's description of her as sweet. Maria was many things, but she had never been called sweet before. There was too much hellfire in her for that, or that's what Maria's mama would've said.

"Maybe we won't work it out," Maria conceded. "But it can't hurt to talk about it. You might even feel better if you share the burden."

Cassandra smiled tremulously and then sighed heavily and leaned back on her hands. "It's my dad. He called last night after dinner. It was the middle of the night for him, back in Italy, but I swear that man never sleeps."

Cassandra wasn't speaking fondly of her father and Maria remembered that Cassandra said he'd been quite vicious to her when she was younger and Nic had stepped in to stop the bullying. "What did he want?" Maria asked.

"The usual," Cassandra said bitterly. "He wanted to know when I was going to have a baby. Then he went off about how I was dishonouring the family name by not doing my duty. That I'm a disappointment and my mother is better off dead than seeing the rich American bitch I've become."

"Well he sounds like a fucking gem," Maria said with a dark frown. "I hope you know better than to listen to that garbage."

Cassandra laughed weakly. "I suppose I should be immune to him now, after all these years of taking his abuse, but to be honest there's always been a little girl inside me who desperately wants his approval."

Maria understood that. She'd grown up in a loving family, but wishing for approval was a universal human condition. "Does he know about you and Nic, that you aren't really together?"

A look of horror crossed Cassandra's features she glanced around in alarm, as though expecting her father to jump out and start berating her right then and there. "No, of course not. If he knew, I'd probably be dead. He'd find a way through Nic's security and have me killed before I could further embarrass the family."

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