Loving a Fairy Godmother (7 page)

Then he concentrated exclusively on that
little bud, his tongue never leaving it no matter how much her hips
moved or her cries deafened him. He continued until he felt the
spasming of her body, the rush of wetness coat his face, and he
heard his name torn from her throat in the most beautiful sound he
had ever known in his life.

Still licking her lightly, he opened his eyes
to see her head thrown back, her chest frantic with her pants,
making him desire to stand up and fulfill the promise he made to
her earlier.

Beautiful. Such a fucking beautiful sight was
well worth the thirty years it took to get here.

Finally she came back to herself, looking at
him once again, her gaze starting to sharpen. Not wanting her to
end the moment yet, he stood, kissing her sweetly, tenderly.

She took his kisses, and he couldn’t stop the
bulge in his pants from pressing into her, the sensation causing
her to moan, to tilt her hips towards him.

This was killing him, this was killing him
because he had to stop, because she wouldn’t stop him if he pressed
but she might regret it later. He’d waited for her too long to
jeopardize everything now.

He took his mouth from hers, pressing small
kisses along her jaw, along her brow, across the tip of her nose.
“Let’s get back to the house,” he said, voice low between
kisses.

“Yes,” came her hazy voice, agreement without
knowing what she was agreeing to, and he settled her clothes so
that they covered her again.

He picked her up into his arms, and flashed
them into the room they were sharing at the manor. He gave her
another kiss, his tongue languidly exploring her mouth, before
forcing himself to back away from her. “I have wanted to do that
since the first moment I saw you.”

A small laugh escaped from Reina’s mouth. Her
color was high, but as he saw awareness come back, Tiernan was
pleased that regret was not following. “If we did that the first
moment, Cinderella wouldn’t have been able to watch, now would
she?”

So she had felt Cinderella’s eyes on them as
well as he had, the curiosity and first stirrings of hunger their
lovemaking had caused in the young woman, all because of her plan.
Brilliant his angel was. Brilliant and sharp and so fucking sexual
that he was half sure he could start coming just by looking at
her.

He started undressing her. Her hands came up,
but he was ready for her. “Don’t fight me, Reina,” he said, gently
enclosing her hands in his.

“I was going to help you get undressed.”

Shock stole his ability to speak for a
moment, but when her hands landed on his chest, he once again
stopped her. “No.”

“No?”

“If you undress me, no power in this world
could stop me from making love to you tonight.”

She ducked her head as a flush rose on her
cheeks. “What if I said…”

“Don’t finish that sentence, Reina,” he
warned. “My control doesn’t exist right now. I swear to you if you
want me tomorrow, after you’ve had a night to sleep and time to
think, I will spend the entire night worshiping your body. I swear
to you, but right now all I want is to hold you as we sleep, and to
do that, I need to be dressed.”

That didn’t stop him from undressing her,
though. His eyes took her in, taking delight in every place on her
body they touched. He settled them both in the small bed, her back
flush against his front.

She surprised him, turning in his arms so
they were face to face. Reina caressed his face, leaning forward to
kiss his forehead. “Good night, Tiernan,” she said, then closed her
eyes. Within moments, her even breathing told him she was
asleep.

Fulfillment engulfed him. Drawing her close,
sharing her breath, he fell asleep as well.

Reina was unsettled.

She had no better way to explain the mass of
confusion that existed within herself. She wasn’t anything
specific… she was nothing, she was everything…

Her head fell back, and a long, loud sigh
escaped her mouth.

When she’d fallen asleep last night, she half
thought in the dreamy, well pleasured recess of her mind that she
was going to awake angry—at herself, at him, most probably both.
Instead, waking up to Tiernan’s face, one dimple noticeable in the
morning light, her tongue was already out and ready to get a sample
of him before she came to her senses and moved away.

She got up, readying herself for the day. As
she finished dressing, Tiernan woke, a hesitant smile at the sight
of her. “Are you going to hurt me?”

“Not yet, you have the barn to fix
today.”

Both dimples came out at her light response.
“Of course, the secret is to go to bed with chores to do in the
morning. That way I can be assured of not being murdered in my
sleep.”

“Wise Godfather. Up, up, up, we have a HEA to
accomplish. You can discuss strategy with me at lunch.”

Reina spent the morning scrubbing the floors
with Cinderella. The good part was that none of Cinderella’s family
was around. The bad part was they were not around because they were
using every excuse possible to go outside and watch Tiernan, who
was working shirtless in the morning sunshine.

The fact that she had yet to see his bare
chest while they were ogling him made her want to smash their faces
in.

Yeah, that was one feeling she wasn’t
confused about.

“Reina?”

Cinderella’s soft voice broke into her
thoughts. Cinderella had a true gift, a spirit gentle and loving,
able to calm a person before they were even aware of it. “Yes,
Cinderella?”

“How long have you known Tiernan?”

Reina smiled, for a moment the urge to tell
Cinderella the truth and see what her response would be strong. “A
long time.”

“Did you always love him?”

Hmmm, this conversation was going to be
dangerous, and considering her own confusion, not one she felt up
to having. Still, she had to try. She had a HEA to accomplish. “I
was always… aware of him.” Aware of him, yes, always aware. Aware
of his smile, of his scent. Aware that I didn’t want anyone else
near him. Aware that he could lay me bare in ways that would
destroy me. “I always knew the moment he entered a room, I always
felt him when he was behind me. I can’t shut down my emotions
around him.”

“Oh,” Cinderella said, and the tone of that
small sound sparked Reina’s interest.

“Oh,” Reina repeated. “Have you ever felt
that way?”

A light blush suffused Cinderella’s face, and
a small, shy smile passed over her lips. Before she looked away,
Reina saw in Cinderella’s eyes complete, perfect contentment.

Reina had been a Godmother for a long time,
and she knew exactly what that look meant. Whoever caused that
reaction was the only one who Cinderella could ever have a HEA
with, the file be damned. That reaction was one of true love.

Which meant Reina needed to find out the name
of the man quick, since she didn’t have time to waste trying to put
Cinderella with the wrong man. Tiernan’s life was on the line.

Cinderella cleared her throat and went back
to scrubbing the floor, but within a moment she sat back on her
heels. “Reina?”

Nonchalance would be best to draw Cinderella
out. Reina kept her head down as she answered in a distracted tone,
“Hmm?”

“Were you scared?”

“Scared?”

“Your… first time, as a wife.”

Oh yes, complete nonchalance. “Of course,”
she answered, not even bothering to look up to see Cinderella’s
reaction. Keep it simple, keep the conversation easy.

It seemed to work. Reina couldn’t see
Cinderella’s face, but she could almost feel the relief come off
the young woman.

After a moment, afraid Cinderella wouldn’t
continue, Reina said, “I guess you don’t have any women to discuss
such things with.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw
Cinderella’s first reaction, an instinctive response to defend her
Stepmother, but almost immediately Cinderella stopped herself. “I
am not close to my Stepmother or stepsisters.”

“I know many families like yours. It would be
nice if when there is a remarriage everyone would love each other,
but that is not always the case.”

Cinderella smiled in gratitude of her
understanding. After a moment of taking Reina’s words in, her mind
turned back to the original thread of the conversation. “Is it
painful, being a wife?”

Reina reached out and grabbed Cinderella’s
hand, keeping her manner easy and loving. “Will you allow me to
speak with you as a sister in this matter?”

“Please do,” she said, gratitude infusing her
voice.

“As you grew up around animals, I assume you
know the basics,” Reina said, her voice holding the slightest
undercurrent of naughtiness.

Cinderella’s face turned beet red. “I, yes, I
mean, I have seen horses.”

Reina laughed. “If you have only horses to
think upon, you will be more scared than you should be,” she said,
patting Cinderella’s hand reassuringly. “Men are not that large,
but yes, it is the same with humans as it is with horses.”

“So it is painful?”

“It is the greatest pleasure we as humans
have been given, but there are moments that can hurt, especially
for us women. Your body is made to take your man, but the first
time, before you are accustomed to him, it will hurt. For some
women, the pain is negligible, for others they may be sore an
entire day afterwards. All of them learn to enjoy it.”

“And you enjoy it?”

Sharp and distinct, the memory of Tiernan’s
face buried between her thighs surfaced, and heat blossomed in her
body. “Yes, I enjoy it very much.”

Cinderella smiled, delighted with the secret
she came upon in Reina’s expression. “Your husband is very
handsome.”

“Well, please don’t tell him that. Enough
women make fools of themselves over him.”

Smile still firmly in place, Cinderella
started to clean the floor again. “I would not worry myself if I
were you. Every time I saw him, he was looking only at you. His
eyes never leave you if he can help it.”

“Really?” The question left her mouth before
Reina could stop it.

“Oh, yes.”

Before Reina embarrassed herself by asking
probing questions, a male voice that was not Tiernan’s came from
the door. “Am I interrupting?”

Cinderella’s head snapped towards the door,
then just as suddenly her gaze fell to the floor and she swallowed
hard, color coming into her cheeks.

Reina glanced toward the voice, and only long
hours of schooling kept her expression neutral.

By Cinderella’s reaction, Reina was positive
this was the man she loved, and this man just so happened to be the
Prince everyone was so excited about.

Looks like the imminent homecoming was a lot
more imminent than anyone knew.

“Hello, Cinderella,” he said, his voice warm
and his attention focused completely on the girl. He was a very
good-looking man, thick black hair resting against tan skin, green
eyes displaying intelligence, the slight lines around them telling
of a good sense of humor. Still, blue eyes were better, and a man
without dimples really wasn’t worth a second glance.

Not looking at him, Cinderella responded,
“Hello, Henry, this is Reina. She and her husband started working
here recently.”

He gave a quick nod in Reina’s direction, but
his eyes went right back to Cinderella, who was still not looking
directly at him. “I welcome any new friend of Cinderella’s.”

Reina smiled at that. This man was so wrapped
around this little blonde’s finger, it was almost an affront to her
as a Fairy Godmother. If the consequences weren’t so severe, she’d
be laughing right now. “She’s a very easy girl to be friends with,”
Reina responded, warmth in her voice to put the man at ease.

“Yes, she is,” he agreed, his voice deepening
the slightest bit.

“What can I do for you, Henry?” Cinderella
asked, standing but still not quite meeting his eyes.

“It seems there is to be a ball,” he said,
and Reina noticed the flash of annoyance that crossed his face with
that announcement.

“Henry is a messenger for the king,”
Cinderella explained for Reina’s benefit, coming closer to Henry to
get the thick parchment in his hand.

So that was how the prince could just show up
at someone’s door without the household having a screaming fit,
huh? Why the hell was he running around playing dress down while
having everyone believe he was outside the country and just now
coming home? He must have been doing this quite a while,
considering the build up of feelings between him and
Cinderella.

Cinderella took the offered paper from the
disguised prince, and Reina noticed the subtle movement Henry used
so his fingers could brush Cinderella’s.

“I guess this means the Prince is back?”
asked Reina, more to give Cinderella a chance to breathe rather
than truly needing the answer.

“Yes. His Majesty declares a ball is needed
to welcome His Highness home.”

For yet another reason to not look at Henry,
Cinderella was reading the announcement. “Stepmother will be very
pleased to learn of this,” she said softly.

“What about you? Aren’t you pleased?”

Her eyes were direct on his for the first
time. “Why would I be pleased?”

He shrugged, and Reina could see the veil
covering his eyes, telling of long practice shielding his real
feelings. “Don’t all women want to meet a prince? Dream of marrying
one?”

Hurt covered Cinderella’s features. “Do you
truly think so little of me, that I would be swayed by such a
thing? That I would want to marry a title, and not a man I
love?”

“No, Cinderella, I’m sorry,” Henry said, his
hand coming up without forethought to stroke her face. “Never.
Never would I think such a thing about you. I’m just feeling a
little jaded after seeing all the responses to the
announcement.”