Page 72 of Burning Beauty

They sat together and talked for hours, watching the sun slowly sink below the horizon before returning to the house to get ready for dinner.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Nic watched Maria as she dressed. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever had the privilege of knowing. Not just her looks. She was not the most beautiful woman he knew, though she was quite lovely with her lush sexuality and confidence. Eventually her looks would fade with time into a pleasant roundness. He'd seen pictures of Maria's mother when she was young and after she'd reached her middle years. Maria was almost a complete replica of the woman who had given birth to her. Graciela had been plump with an open and friendly face. She gave many of her best features to her daughter.

No, Maria's beauty, the beauty that set her apart from the other women in his life, was her zest for everything, whether it was winning an argument or eating her food. She was passionate, her moods reaching for the clouds on some days and then into the depths of hell on others. She was not afraid to take him, one of the most feared men in the world, to task if she thought she was right. She spoke her mind and she was completely open, with no deception about her. Despite the start of their relationship beginning on rocky terms, with her helping an enemy to blackmail him, Nic knew that she hadn't wanted to do it, had been coerced herself.

Maria lived every day as though she might die the next. She found reasons to be happy, instead of simply looking at all the reasons she had to be unhappy. He knew it wasn't easy on her, the bodyguards, the planning, the restrictions on her life, but she took everything he dealt her, yelled about it, then moved on.

She was currently trying to wiggle into an obscenely tight red dress that would make her the focus of every straight man at the King wedding. She was ignoring Nic, refusing to acknowledge that she intended to wear a dress he had explicitly forbidden. He knew the moment he said no to her that she was on her phone ordering it. He knew and did nothing.

For some reason, Maria's defiance didn't bother him. Far from finding it annoying, as he would with any other person who didn't heed his orders, he found her defiance beautiful, intriguing, and welcome. The chaos surrounding her moods and her sassy behaviour drew him like a fly to honey. He wanted more, he wanted all of her. But he wanted her for herself, not a creature he had broken and twisted to his purposes.

This was the crux of Nic's current dilemma. How to keep Maria with him and keep her safe, as he craved to do. His professional life was not conducive to living a life of safety and freedom. He was at the top of his game, each move in the underworld scene putting him more and more in the spotlight. Even if he were to retire at this relatively young age, which he would consider for Maria's sake, he would always be on someone's radar. He would never be free, which meant Maria would never be free. And he would never let her go, even if she wanted to leave him.

He hoped that one day he would be capable of making her happy enough that she wouldn't notice the stifling security, as she did now.

She was busy adjusting the dress around her hips, wiggling her ass in a way that made his mouth water. She straightened and stuck a thigh out through the long slit in the fabric, admiring the way the dress hugged her curves. Nic was also admiring her, his cock responding with enthusiasm and an embarrassing lack of control. They had less than an hour before they needed to head to the wedding, not enough time to fuck her the way she needed to be fucked.

"Later, I will be tearing that monstrosity of a dress off you," Nic muttered, his voice made harsh with lust.

Maria looked over her shoulder at him. "You don't like it?"

"Oh, I think you know I like it very much, and so will every man that sets eyes on it."

She grinned her pleasure at his compliment. "Then you have my permission to tear it up when we get back."

"Wasn't asking permission," he replied.

"You never do." She turned her back on him again, ensuring that she got the last word.

He grinned and entered the ensuite for a shower and a shave. Less than an hour later they were ready to leave. They didn't speak as they took the elevator to the main floor where Justin and Luke met and escorted them out to the car. Nic had decided not to get a room in the hotel where the wedding and reception was to be held. Though the wedding venue was in the best hotel in the city, Nic wanted to keep a lower profile while he had Maria with him.

He had thought seriously about bringing the decoy Maria instead, but decided he preferred to have the mansion still standing when he returned. If he left his fiery woman behind he had no doubt that she would set fire to his house and drink cocktails on the lawn as it burned down. Cassandra would, of course, be by her side holding the box of matches and an accelerant. He was both pleased and a little concerned by their developing friendship.

As they drove, Nic became grimmer, thinking of the potential dangers in attending the wedding. He gave the bodyguards instructions and told Maria to stick close and not to worry when he was forced to network. He held her hand, while he talked, hoping she understood his meaning. He would have to become Niccolo DeLuca, the mob boss.

She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. "I'll hang onto your coattails all night."

Though he knew she was joking, he said, "Good."

Later, during the wedding reception, he was put to the test. The place was crowded with dangerous men. Vladimir Sitnikov was in attendance with his wife Jane and many of their men, including Boris Grekov, the Sitnikov enforcer and head of the Russian Grekov family. At a glance, Nic also recognized Daniel Mercer, who nodded his acknowledgement but otherwise kept his distance from the Italian mobster. Mack Hudson was also in attendance. The man was a loose cannon, a bounty hunter with a grudge against the world. Hudson's aim with any kind of ballistic weapon was impeccable and he didn't care who was on the other side of his sights. Nic wanted to whisper a word of warning to Maria, but she was busy staring wide-eyed around the glittering ballroom.

As Nic's anxiety climbed, his mood plummeted. The last thing he wanted was his woman mixing with a roomful of mobsters and their wives. She couldn't possibly understand the danger. One wrong move and she could become a target. While Nic was on semi-friendly terms with Sitnikov, he knew, if given the opportunity, either one of them would be happy to take territory from the other. There was no room for friends in the dark underworld they all inhabited, just enemies and men waiting for the chance to turn on each other.

Sitnikov seemed to notice Nic's perusal and, putting an arm around his small dark-haired wife, moved toward them. Another woman trailed after them, looking around as though searching for someone or something. She was young and quite lovely in an innocent, wholesome way. She was cute, but she had none of the sultry beauty of his Maria.

Nic took Maria's hand in a tight grip and growled, "Don't say a word."

"What?" she asked glancing around.

Nic reached out a hand to Sitnikov as he arrived with his female duo. "Vladimir." He spoke informally. The two men had met before, wary acquaintances, attempting to split territory without going to war. So far their truce was holding. It helped that the two men operated on different coasts.

"Niccolo," Sitnikov acknowledged him coolly. "You've had business in my city recently."

Nic nodded his head, his lip quirking in a grim smile. Trust the Russian boss to make a point of his displeasure over Nic's movements through his territory without gaining permission at a wedding of a mutual acquaintance.

"I had a meeting with King's man, Daniel Mercer. We were discussing a mutual Columbian acquaintance."

---