Chapter 4

Cassandra had to hand it to Keith Andino. His house was so big, making her feel like an ant. A tiny, invisible, and unwanted ant. That mainly was how she felt anyway. Perhaps not tiny, apparently, she was quite the tall one at 5“11, but invisible and unwanted? Yep. She definitely felt that way.

Everything about the mansion seemed so...serene. The main building was structured in a semicircle, su

rrounded by pretty red and pink flowers she had never seen before. There was a pool right in the middle of the compound, within the semicircle. Its waters were a striking aqua color, shimmering with a strange glow on the surface.

“Must’ve powered the pool with LED lights or something,” she whispered. “Must feel damn good to be so fucking rich.”

The butler halted then, and Cassandra clamped a hand over her mouth. Ah crap, she had forgotten Aria’s warning not to use swear words. It didn’t help that the butler had already detested her from the start. He had a sour look on his gray face when he received her at the gate.

Dalton, as he had introduced himself, turned to face her, gesturing toward the door they stood before. “Here’s your room, Miss Wilbur.”

“It’s Wilson,” she replied with a grin.

Dalton merely sniffed haughtily and stepped aside so she could open the door herself. Some butler he was.

“Keep to yourself at all times. Master doesn’t like to be disturbed. There is a kitchen down the hall. Make your meals and never venture down the North wing unless called upon,” Dalton spat in one breath; she was surprised he didn’t pass out.

“Wow, that’s a lot of rules. At least I know which ones I’ll break now.” Cassandra grinned triumphantly at the look on the older man’s face, turned the doorknob, and gasped when it slid open. “Oh. My. Days.”

Her room was even more lavish than she had expected. She had expected something more significant than her room at home, of course. Seeing the size of the mansion, 

Andino would have to be really dumb or stingy if he made the rooms small. What she hadn’t expected was how terribly huge her room was; it could house her whole apartment.

“Dalton, this has to be fucking wonderland!” She screamed, running into the room and twirling

 around in excitement. The room’s walls were painted a golden yellow, with the chandelier casting a warm glow on the walls. One side of the room was entirely glass, and it overlooked the pool. She ran toward it, pressing her palms on it as she took every detail of the mansion.

“This is so beautiful,” she whispered, blinking back the tears that stung her eyes. Oh, what the hell was she doing? It wasn’t her home. She was there because the jackass of a billionaire wanted to prove himself right. Retracting from the glass wall, she walked back to the gigantic bed in the middle of the room, kicked off her shoes, and plopped her face on it.

“Now that the embarrassing show is over, I shall take my leave,” Dalton announced, and she shooed him off, feeling the soft wisps of sleep reach for her.

Please, she pleaded, closing her eyes tighter and trying to relax, even if it was just for a few minutes. Just a few minutes.

***

Keith paused mid-sip, his glass of wine hanging in the air. “She said that?”

He sat in the dining, a slightly dark hall lit up with golden candles. A vase of red flowers sat on the table, and the air radiated a sense of peace and quietness that Keith desired.

Dalton nodded glumly. “And then she ran around like a crazy person.”

Keith couldn’t help himself. He imagined the grown woman squealing joyfully as she danced in her room. For a mere mortal like her, luxury must be enchanting. A chuckle slipped from him, and when Dalton gave him a sizzling look, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“What room did you put her in?” He asked, taking a sip from his wine. The rich flavor was good enough, but he found himself craving the ambrosia served on Olympus. Dionysus had promised to smuggle him some the previous summer, but he’d been nowhere to be found. Sighing, he dropped the glass to the table and rose. “Dalton? I asked a question.”

“Number 13,” The older man grudgingly supplied, and Hypnos nodded. “If there are no changes, we might have to move her to the dark room.”

“Ah yes, the dark room,” he agreed. “Is it prepared?”

Dalton assured him that it was, and with a sigh, he trudged out of the dining room. Cassandra Wilson was settled, and tomorrow, he would have to worry about making insomnia go. No one could resist the allure of his medicine, Hypnos. It had been crafted with the best materials he could source for in the mortal realm, mixed with an essence of himself. Unless she was on his list of people, he wanted to suffer, which he was sure she wasn’t. He could not have forgotten such a brash, brazen woman like her.

Just like how he couldn’t forget her now. Even as he forced himself to think about other things, he found his legs carrying him toward her room.

“I just want to see if she is settled,” he mumbled when he reached her door. “The more relaxed she is, the more she’ll be easy to deal with.”

Without thinking, he turned the knob and walked in. A jolt traveled from his brain to his cock at the sight before him.

Cassandra Wilson was on her knees, wrapped in a towel, wet and dripping. Though she faced 

him, she was hunched over, and he could see the peaks of her plum backside peeking out of the towel, taunting him and haunting him. Ah, Hades, he was doomed.

“What the hell?!” Cassandra screamed, struggling to her feet.