Cinders & Ash: A Cinderella Story (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales Book 3) (13 page)

Ashton had thought his days of sneaking out of the castle were done. Only, he’d wanted to see for himself. And now he wished he’d hadn’t come. Heinrich said the woman’s injuries looked worse in the light of the day, the bruises fully forming. Her skin had horrific blackish blue blotches, her neck was several shades of dark red, and you could still tell, if you knew what she’d said had been done to her, that those were the spots where his fingers had left their impression.

This was really unacceptable. He’d defended Chandler to Gertrude, but he’d never seen him leave a woman like this before.

He told the woman he was a friend and had promised her a tidy sum for her trouble. She didn’t know he was the prince. He and Heinrich left the woman’s tiny rented room, Ashton still covered by his cloak, and Heinrich walking a few feet in front of him, though not wearing any clothing to associate him with the palace.

That’s when he spotted Cinders strolling down the street, a smile on her lips, her eyes taking in the wares being sold streetside. He had never seen her in her element, unnoticed, before. She was always cheerful with him, and he’d assumed that was her nature, but it was refreshing to find he was right. He quickened his pace, so he was walking alongside Heinrich, and gave him instructions to get Cinders.

Ashton walked a couple of blocks over, away from the hubbub of the market to a secluded less traveled street, one much like the one he’d seen her in after their first meeting. He leaned against the wall of a building, his hood pulled over his head and waited. A few minutes later, Heinrich returned, Cinders in tow. She cautiously approached him, an empty basket in her hands.

“Ash?” she said tentatively, trying to peek under his hood.

Without answering, he grabbed her and pulled her into a kiss. Her mouth was warm and minty this morning, and she tasted so good, he wanted nothing more than to throw her down and take her in this alley. Though he knew this was both impractical and less than chivalrous.

As she pulled away from their kiss, she smiled. “What are you doing in the market?”

“Running an errand,” he said, taking her hand in his to sate his desire to be close to her. “But I was so happy to see you about, I had to have Heinrich ask you to stop for a visit.”

She nodded. “A professional visit?” she asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “You know, in my capacity as your portrait maker?”

He shook his head. “Completely unprofessional visit,” he said. “A visit because I missed you. Besides, as much as I’ve tried, I cannot think of you the same way as I do those fat, balding old men.”

Cinders grinned at him. “Well, I must say, I am glad for that.” And then she tucked herself in his arms and kissed him; a slow, smoldering kiss that alighted every part of him. He found his hands gently sliding down her back, caressing her as his mouth played with hers, their tongues dancing a pleasant duet.

After a few minutes, Cinders pulled away from him slightly, but his hand still rested on the small of her back. Her face was flushed, yet she wore a huge, sexy grin. “Why don’t you come with me, now?” he asked. “We can have a quick, more intimate visit.”

Cinders laughed, and then shook her head. “My, my, my,” she said. “While part of me would adore that, I can’t. My mistress will be very angry if I don’t finish buying the things she’s sent me to town for, and if I’m late again.”

He frowned. “She won’t hurt you again, will she?”

Cinders shook her head. “I don’t think so. I actually think she regrets what she did that first night, the one we met. But, still, I don’t want her wrath. I should go.”

Ash nodded. “I’ll see you on Saturday, though?”

“Absolutely,” Cinders said, leaning in and supplying a peck on the cheek. With that she turned and walked away. He watched until she was completely out of sight.

Ashton was walking through the courtyard, a smile on his face. He’d hoped to see Gertrude once more and ask her for any advice on finding the Crystal Pond. Cinders had given him the instructions but he still felt concerned, given the last time he’d gone looking he hadn’t found it.

Gertrude had said the Crystal Pond was for lovers and fairies though, and he and Cinders were definitely lovers.

Ashton felt a hand smack him on the back. He stopped walking and turned, startled.

Chandler was standing there laughing. “Cousin, what is it that has your head so in the clouds you don’t even hear me come up to you, even though I call your name?”

Ashton shook his head. “Sorry, Chandler,” he said. “I was deep in thought. What is it that you need?”

“Must I need something to chat with my cousin?”

Ashton suppressed a laugh, because the answer was, quite simply, yes. After the last favor Chandler had asked, helping with that woman — the woman who Chandler had claimed things went horribly awry with — Ashton wasn’t sure he wanted to give another. “Of course not,” Ashton said. “I’m sure you’ve just come to enjoy my good company.”

“Of course, cousin,” Chandler said. “You and I have always been close. We’re as close as brothers, and you’re kinder to me than my actual brother. Leith finds me to simply be a nuisance.”

Ashton nodded, not sure he was in the mood to hear Chandler whine that his life was hard. That Leith didn’t love him and was the worst brother ever, constantly criticizing and often insincere. Perhaps that is why Ashton and Chandler were close. Chandler had always seemed to like anyone who was interested in him, and Ashton always had been. He admired the wild side of Chandler, and the freedom he seemed to always have at his disposal.

Ashton tried to shrug off the feeling of ill will he was having toward his cousin. Perhaps Chandler wanted nothing but a simple visit with his cousin. “I hope you’re behaving yourself now,” he said. “No more troubles in the evening.”

Chandler frowned. “You didn’t have to bring it up,” he said softly. “Would you have brought it up if it were Leith who’d done it? Perfect Leith.”

Ashton shook his head. “I wouldn’t have had to help Leith, so I wouldn’t bring it up with him. Leith doesn’t do this kind of thing, and if he did, he certainly wouldn’t ask for my help in cleaning it up. But you—” Ashton wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. Chandler was more prone to mistakes, which Ashton understood. He’d felt inadequate the few times he’d been compared to Leith, so he could imagine Chandler’s lot. But, even with all that, what happened the other day was too much.

“I’m sorry I said anything,” Chandler said. “I appreciate your help with the situation. I promise you it won’t happen again.”

Ashton tried not to cringe at the memory of Chandler coming to his door in the middle of the night, asking for help. Saying he’d made a horrible mistake with a whore. He’d taken things too far with her, and she seemed grievously injured. Ashton was sure Chandler had murdered the girl, playing the so-called “games.” Ashton’s visit to the girl had made him regret helping, yet Chandler was his cousin and his friend. And he had seemed remorseful. But Ashton couldn’t let this happen again.

“I think the problem is I’ve been getting involved with the standard girl, ones who are from the rougher side and who indulge my more negative traits,” Chandler said.

Ashton didn’t want to hear this. This was the exact opposite kind of thing he wanted to talk about. “I’m sure you’ll solve the problem, Chandler, but I really don’t want to be involved,” he said. “I won’t be able to help if you have another problem like the other night.”

“I swear to you, it was a one-time incident,” Chandler whispered. “Cousin, I don’t want this to sour our relationship. We’ve always been good friends. I know you’re not the type to look down on others for doing the same things as you. I know you’ve enjoyed the company of a certain lady at night.”

Ashton felt his muscles tighten and a sneer form on his face. How dare he mention Cinders. “I do not disparage others for the things that I do, but I have never once hit a maiden, not in anger or hatred, and not to get a sexual thrill. And even if I did do it, as you say you do, for fun, then I would not continue if someone lost consciousness. While you may have illuminated me to the pleasures of the occasional tryst, I have never had one that resulted in anything like happened a few nights ago.”

Chandler backed away. “I apologize, Ashton,” he said. “I meant no harm.”

Ashton shook his head. “What did you mean?”

“I just wanted to thank you for your help, and ask if you could find me a tamer girl, one more like the ones you’ve been having.”

Ashton wanted to punch his cousin. His hand was balled in a fist, and he wasn’t sure why his cousin had the nerve to ask him such a thing after everything that had happened this week. “I think you should stay away from the women of my kingdom after your last incident. Do whatever you want in your father’s Duchy, but the rest of the kingdom is off limits.”

Chandler stood there, mouth agape, “You’re banishing me?”

Ashton shook his head. “Of course not,” he said. “I’m just telling you that you need to practice your form of, romance, or whatever you call it, at home. Heinrich tells me the woman will be fine, but I can’t have it on my conscience if another of my citizens is injured by you.”

“I just said I’d be tamer,” Chandler countered.

Ashton snorted. “Still, it’s for the best that you practice your timidity at home.”

Chandler sighed and nodded. “Well, yes, it’s probably best if I do. I think I’ll head home for a bit, then. I’ll be back for your birthday celebration.”

“Yes, please come,” he said, meaning it. He hadn’t meant to be so harsh with his cousin. He really just wanted to impress upon him the seriousness of it, something he worried Chandler didn’t see. Ash liked Chandler in so many ways, but Gertrude was right. There was a darkness in him, and he didn’t want that darkness to touch Cinders, or any woman in his kingdom.

Chandler leaned in and gave his cousin a hug. “Then I shall see you then.”

“Until then,” Ashton said. He watched his cousin depart.

Ella’s plan had worked perfectly. Her stepmother and stepsisters had been glad for her assistance with Lord Angleton. Well, glad was all relative with them. Their demands seemed less harsh as of late, and they didn’t scream for her again if she took more than two minutes to perform a five-minute task. It had actually made her life bearable.

As such, Ella had felt emboldened enough to suggest to Lady Kenna that she ask Lord Angleton to give the entire family — Lady Kenna, Bathilda, Marigold and Ella — a tour of his lumber business in the neighboring county. Ella promised that on the Saturday of the tour, she would write a note to Uncle Bart saying that she didn’t feel well and send Lady Kenna and the girls without her. Lady Kenna had agreed.

So today, she was alone and free to meet Ash as they had planned. She was sure the tour would take all day, so she’d be able to draw Ash and afterwards, spend the afternoon relaxing. They could take a gentle swim or do other things. She smiled at the way his touch made her feel: soft, special, adored, thrilled. Ash was simply amazing in that respect, and she wished she could spend every afternoon with him.

Only, she knew that wasn’t an option. She packed her art supplies and a light lunch and headed off to the Crystal Pond. It was a pleasant day, not so hot that a dive in the pond would be necessary, but warm enough that it could still be fun. When she arrived, she was alone. Ash wasn’t there, so she lay out her mother’s quilt and sat upon it. She pulled her charcoals out and set them down, then laid out the picnic basket, her mouth watering as she looked at the food she’d brought: freshly-picked berries, cheese, salted beef and fresh bread. She lay back and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. She would lie right here until Ash came.

She hadn’t realized that she had dozed off until she felt the hand stroking her cheek and opened her eyes. Ash was lying next to her, on his side, his elbow propping up his head so that he was looking down at her. He leaned over and kissed her, his lips soft and soothing.

“Glad you’re awake,” he said. “But if you’re tired, you can go back to sleep. I’ve rather enjoyed watching you. I see now why you took so much pleasure in watching me before.”

Ella grinned and remembered how peaceful and happy he’d looked the other night. “Well, if it’s good for the goose, right?”

“‘Tis true,” he said.

“Have you been here long?” she asked, turning toward him.

“No, not long.”

Ella looked around at the trees surrounding the clearing and the bright sun reflecting off the water. It was such a beautiful place, the perfect place to draw Ash. “You ready to make your picture?”

He gave her a crooked smile and raised an eyebrow. “I could be persuaded to do other things first,” he said, grazing his fingers along her neck, sending a pleasant quiver through her. “But if you insist on doing this now, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Yes, I insist,” she said, standing. “Come, I want to draw the picture of you here. I think you will like it.” She held out her hand to him and he took it. He stood and she walked him over to a large boulder that set on the edge of the pond. He looked at it hesitantly, then turned back toward her.

“Please tell me you don’t want me to stand on that, like an explorer conquering a new land.”

“Of course not,” she said. “I want you to sit there.”

“And what shall I do while I sit there?”

“Watch me, watch the birds, the pond. Whatever you want. Just be natural.”

He laughed. “Because sitting on a boulder is so natural for me.”

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I would really appreciate it if you sat there and looked handsome for me.”

“Oh, Cinders, you know exactly what to say to me.”

Ash climbed atop the boulder and sat. She sat a little bit away on the grass and began to sketch. He was watching her and for a moment, it made her feel self-conscious. Sketching him while he’d slept had been easier. But, having done that, she was now able to look at him with objectivity. To see the shape of his face, to note the dimple in his chin, the way his hair flopped down on his forehead. His ears were the perfect size for his face, not sticking out too much, and she realized how much she liked that. The boulder was a good spot for him, as the sunlight highlighted his face perfectly. Her only fear was that she wouldn’t be able to capture it all on the paper, not when there was so little time to get it done.

“How goes it?” he called after about an hour.

“Well,” she said, smiling. “Actually, well enough that we can take a break. Come on down.”

Ash clambered down and they went back to the blanket with the picnic basket. “Shall we eat? I’d love to see what you’ve brought us.”

She pulled out the items in the basket, setting each one in front of him. He smiled when she showed him the last one, the bottle of wine she’d sneaked from the cellar. She was going to tell Lady Kenna she’d accidentally dropped it and the bottle had broken. Whilst she knew her stepmother would be angry, she also knew Lady Kenna would be less likely to punish her harshly since things were going so well with Lord Angleton.

She and Ash ate and he told her about his ride over, admitting he thought he wouldn’t find it. “I had tried to find it the other day, but couldn’t. Gertrude, the woman who helped you with the salve, she told me this place could only be found by—”

“Fairies and lovers,” Ella said, cutting him off, then giggling. “That’s what my parents used to tell me when they brought me here. Only fairies and lovers could find it, but they always found it easily.”

“I suppose they were lovers,” Ash said.

“They were very in love, my father and mother. I sometimes think theirs was one of those great loves that only happens to spectacular people, and the rest of us are doomed to ordinary lives, with ordinary happiness.”

Ash frowned and leaned back. “That doesn’t seem like you, Cinders,” he said. “You usually have a more positive disposition.’

She shrugged. “Perhaps, but nothing with my parents worked out well. She died and then he died, and I was left alone. It seems to me that such happiness, when you are lucky enough to get it, is perhaps short-lived, like my parents’ love. But if you can simply live without such expectations or yearnings, you will live longer, if just a little less happy.”

“And are you happy when you are with me?”

“Of course,” she said, before she could stop herself. It was true what she said, but it felt a tad embarrassing to admit it, especially given why they had met. She could feel herself blushing, but looked up to see he was grinning from ear to ear. She wasn't sure if he was grinning because he thought it amusing her statement embarrassed her or because he was glad she had made it.

“I am happy when I am with you, too.”

Ella blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She hadn’t realized she’d become tight at the prospect of him knowing about her feelings without knowing about his, but she had. And now she felt relaxed. It was almost like a real relationship. And then she shut her eyes. She couldn’t think like that. They couldn’t have that. Lady Kenna would never condone it. Whatever Ash’s name really was, he was probably of much higher station than Lord Angleton, and it would be a cold day in Hell before Lady Kenna consented to a marriage between Ella and Ash.

She wanted to slap herself. What was she thinking? A marriage. Ash had simply said he was happy when he was with her. Nothing else. She opened her eyes again and he was staring at her.

“What’s your real name?”

Ella froze. He was asking her for more than Cinders and Ash. He wanted to know who she really was. And this time she wanted to tell him.

“Don’t you trust me now?”

“I do,” she said, nodding vigorously. She took a deep breath and said, “Ella. My name is Ella and sometimes my mistress and her daughters, if I am covered in ash from the chimney, charcoal from my drawings, or just plain dirt, call me little Cinder girl or Cinders, or sometimes even Cinderella.” She leaned in closer to him on the blanket and said, “But I don’t mind when they call me Cinderella, because once, a long time ago, before my father died, I’d been using charcoal to draw and my face was covered in dark smudges, and he looked at me and said I was the prettiest coal-covered girl he’d seen. ‘Perhaps I’ll call you charcoal-Ella.’

“He’d made a joke of it. And once I’d come home after playing in the fields rather roughly and my dress was stained with grass, and my father said to me, ‘Perhaps I’ll call you GrassElla. Or we’ll pretend you’re a Spaniard and call you Graciella.’ So, whenever they call me Cinderella, I think of my father. I think of him seeing me all covered in grime and teasing me in his usual way, saying, ‘You’re the prettiest Cinder girl I’ve ever seen. I’ll call you Cinderella.’ When I think of it that way, I feel happy and loved and it does not bother me that they use it as a putdown, for it can never be a put down if it is something my father would have gladly called me with cheer and love in his heart.”

Ash leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Then I shall always say your name with cheer and care in my heart, Cinderella,” he whispered in her ear.

She smiled at him and lay back down on the blanket, squinting up at the sunny sky. While the weather had generally started to cool, and it had been a very pleasant walk to the pond, she realized today was turning into a much warmer day than she anticipated. Ella wiped her brow.

“Hot?” Ash asked.

“A little,” she said turning toward him, then sighing. “So,” she said, drawing out the word. “I’ve told you my real name. What is yours?”

He chuckled. “Ashton,” he said.

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Truly?”

He nodded. “I go by Ashton,” he admitted. “When you said your name was Cinders, I’d thought Heinrich had asked you to say it to play a trick on me or something, but then I realized he hadn’t, so I told you my name is Ash. Though no one calls me Ash. No one except for you.”

She nodded at him. It was such an odd thing that his name would actually be Ashton, but she liked that his name naturally fit with the name she had chosen to share. It was almost as if it was fated. Ashton. It was a lovely name. “Would you like me to call you Ashton?”

“I like that you call me Ash,” he said, licking his lower lip, so that it looked red and ripe and perfect. “And you go by two names: Ella and Cinderella. Which do you prefer?”

Ella stared at him, biting her lower lip as she considered it. No one had ever asked her such a question before, and it occurred to her that she preferred a rarer name for him too. Not that no one ever called her Cinderella. They did. It’s just that she liked the idea of someone saying it to her with affection. Imagining it being something her father would’ve called her had helped, but she thought that having Ash call her Cinderella with affection would be sure to never let her, for even one second, feel a sting when Bathilda said it with such nastiness. “Cinderella,” she replied, laying her head back on the ground and taking a deep breath. The sun was directly overhead, and she wondered if this were going to be the hottest part of the day.

Ella felt Ash’s warm fingers gliding across her cheek and turned toward him.

“Your skin is warm, too,” he said “We should go for a dip in the pond. This time a proper one, where I don’t think you’re drowning.”

There was something about the way he looked at her, his hazel eyes alight with yearning, that made her nod her head in assent and sit up. He had been honest with her, with his name and it had made her feel closer to him, even closer than the other night when they’d been intimate. Sharing a name shouldn’t have felt so intimate but given how they’d met, it did.

Ash began removing his clothes. She couldn’t help but staring at his body. His sculpted chest, well-defined arms, breathtaking abdominal muscles and strong hands. Below the waist was dazzling as well: powerful legs that were agile and well built, and of course, in the center, his manhood. Today, it wasn’t at attention; rather, it lay there languidly against him as the summer breeze kissed his skin.

He walked toward the water and bade her to follow. She stood but didn’t move toward him immediately, enjoying the view from behind and the way his buttocks flexed as he walked gracefully into the water.

She took off her clothes and was naked. He smiled at her from the water. He was facing her now, and in, waist deep.

She joined him in the water, passing him and walking to the point when the water covered her shoulders. Ashton waded over to her and touched her cheek again. “You’re cooler now.”

She smiled. “Yeah, the water helps.” She felt a smidge of awkwardness with him in this moment. They’d been naked together before, and alone, but never in the water, never in the light of day. Never really knowing each other’s name. They were together now with no barriers. Not clothing, not the cover of Cinders and Ash. Not even the cover of darkness.

Ella took a deep breath and leaned back into a float. Ash laughed. “Are you leaving me?”

“No,” Ella replied, the water filling her ears so she sounded a bit muffled. “I just wanted to relax, to float. You can float, too, if you like.”

A moment later, Ash leaned back and floated too, his head near hers. She enjoyed the lingering cool of the water, the peacefulness of floating, and having Ashton here with her. In knowing his name — Ashton.