Cassie's Chance Read Online Free PDF Page A

it, and about other birds she painted. She told him she'd never exhibited, but was finding herself looking forward to showing his uncle her work.
    And she told him, cheekily, about a portrait she'd begun, of a guy she'd noticed on the beach while swimming there.
    "He's got great eyes," she said.
    "You spend most of your time on the beach looking at me," said Rangi. And then he got it, as she giggled.
    "Better make it a good one, girl," he said. "I'll hang it in my house."
    Why did he assume she'd painted it for him? Her exuberance died away as she imagined her portrait hanging by a photograph of the kneeling, tied girl.
    She wondered what she should ask. "Did you grow up with your uncle?"
    Rangi shook his head. " As I told you on the beach, I'm from Whangarei. My Dad has a big yacht chandlery; it's a family business. My mum works there, my koro, my brother Tom also. I did too, until my brother and I. . . well, my Dad called it a difference of opinion, eh?
    " Then his brother offered me a place for the summer, and some work, so here I am. After the season? We'll see."
    "Hey, Uncle, " he called out, as Stephen passed near to their table, "bring me another beer, please."
    Cassie scowled. "That's not fair. How come your Dad let him push you out?"
    Rangi snorted in a sort of half-chuckle. He shook his head. "It wasn't like that. Tom was taking stuff. I told him to quit stealing from the whanau or I'd knock his fuggin' head off. Excuse my French."
    A smile crept along Cassie's mouth. Rangi's eyebrows almost touched when he got serious. It was very cute.
    "Anyway," said Rangi, "I had more free time after Briar went to England, and I wasn't hanging around home, so I came up here one weekend. Uncle asked if I'd stay over summer.
    He shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea. And it was, wasn't it? You turned up."
    "Having a good night? " Stephen had returned.
    Rangi rolled his eyes. "Where's the kai, Uncle? Look at Cassandra. She's getting thinner by the second."
    Cassie couldn't contain her laugh and was very pleased she hadn't quite taken a sip of drink before he'd said that. She put it down quickly so it didn't spill in her shaking hand.
    "Rangi does have one or two good attributes, Cassandra," said Stephen. He winked. "Rarely seen though, like the blue duck. Hang about, and you may get lucky.
    "Ahhh, " Stephen continued, "here comes your dinner. Enjoy. And don't forget to bring me some of your work, Cassandra." With a brief wave, he went off to welcome some new arrivals.
    Cassie smiled. "He thinks quite a lot of you, obviously."
    Rangi nodded, as their plates arrived. "He's a good man."
    As they ate, Cassie became aware he was intensifying his gaze. Not an idle companionable glance, now and then, to accompany banter about the beer, the sunset or the fish; no, his eyeing rather suggested someone who was deciding on a serious purchase, who wondered if the product would outlast its warranty.
    Each time she looked up, he was watching her. H e wasn't silent; he chatted personably in his alluring voice. She would have been happy if he hadn't stopped at all. But his intense regard unsettled her.
    "Are you staring at me?" She finally asked , after tension had built in her until she felt it would split her open.
    Rangi put his fork down. He rested his hands lightly on the table edge.
"
I've been thinking about our relationship," he said.
    As her mouth opened and she drew breath to demand his reason for thinking they were any kind of 'item', he continued.
    " Do you know what a dominant is, or a submissive? If you do, what do you know of that lifestyle?
    Submissive ?
    That did ring a bell . She remembered the book about the billionaire's belle, who did every kind of demeaning thing on command. It had been a hot topic at work for weeks until they'd all got it out of their systems, or at least stopped talking about it.
    She remembered asking Pete if he knew about 'that stuff', and he'd said he had no interest in demeaning her. Which had been fine