Loving a Fairy Godmother (9 page)

Reina partially rolled to her back so that
she was able to look up at him. “I’m not sure we’d be allowed to
take a decade off of work.”

“Darn strict Godmothers.”

Reina started laughing. “Why are you suddenly
so amusing?”

He looked affronted. “I’ve always been
amusing. You were just determined to hate me.”

She rolled back, looking away from him. “I
never hated you.”

“You could have fooled not only me but the
entire Fairy nation.”

“Believe me, it would have been so much
easier if I had simply hated you.” Not giving Tiernan any time to
respond, Reina moved swiftly, rolling over and pushing him back,
then sitting herself on top of him.

Tiernan’s face broke out in a wide grin.
“Now, this is another fantasy that I’ve been looking forward to
having fulfilled.”

“How do you know exactly what I’m going to
do, dimples?”

“Oh, a nickname, now that signifies a
challenge.”

“Well, I do live to challenge you.” And with
that, Reina started fulfilling what was not only his fantasy, but
her own.

Touching him had always been a low level hum
in her fingers, a desire she ruthlessly suppressed, but since she’d
seen him this afternoon, she had been enflamed, every nerve ending
itching to get his skin on hers.

He was so perfect, satin over steel. Her
tongue languidly traced every ridge, every hollow, savoring the
heat and salt she took in from her explorations.

More than that, she reveled in the groans,
the expletives that fell from his lips.

And her lips went lower still.

Tiernan’s groans suddenly stopped, harsh
breathing becoming the only sound in the room. She licked her lips,
and at that, a snarl passed through his clenched teeth.

Holding his gaze, she opened her mouth, and
slowly, so slowly, she descended upon the most sensitive part of
him.

It was so satisfying to see Tiernan, always
so in control, grit his teeth to force himself not to call out, to
feel the fine tremors that were coursing through his body.

She sucked him, playing with the head,
tonguing it gently before abruptly swallowing him whole. She took
him completely down her throat, using long quick strokes to quickly
bring him to a breaking point.

His grabbed her, bringing her up his body.
“Ride me,” he said, grabbing her hips to place her above him.
“Reina, ride me.”

So aroused herself, she couldn’t bring
herself to tease him. She sank down immediately, sighing at the
feeling of having him inside her.

Tiernan’s hands kept moving, on her hips to
encourage faster movement, on her legs to feel the muscles bunching
as she rode him, on her breasts when their bouncing couldn’t be
ignored anymore.

Reina loved looking at Tiernan’s face. She
loved the groans and sighs her movements caused him. She loved the
pleasure he gave her, his body pumping into hers.

Most of all, she loved her name torn from him
as he came inside her.

The screaming from the house was becoming
intolerable, and Melanie, the thinner of Cinderella’s two
stepsisters, slammed the door shut behind her with a sigh of
relief.

It was a madhouse since news of the ball got
out. Right now, Serena was crying over the fact that her dresses
had to be let out yet again.

Of course, if she walked her fat ass a little
farther than the kitchen, that might not be such a common
occurrence.

As she was about the pass through the gate,
Melanie noticed her stepsister in the garden, and her lip curled at
the sight.

Melanie hated Cinderella.

It was a true, abiding hate, past all reason,
perhaps past sanity. She didn’t care to examine it too deeply.
She’d just known it existed from the moment she first set eyes on
her stepsister when they were both six years old and something
inside Melanie whispered that she would never be considered as
beautiful, as perfect, as deserving as the blonde girl in front of
her.

Serena merely played games with Cinderella
when boredom set in and she needed a diversion. For Melanie,
nothing except ultimately making Cinderella break would be
acceptable.

She was about to turn and walk her usual path
through the woods when a man blocked her. His hat was in hand and
his head was suitably lowered, but something about him caused her
to take a half step back. Maybe it was his eyes, so dark there
appeared to be no pupil.

“Excuse me, Miss,” he said, and she swore a
faint hiss threaded his speech.

“Yes?”

“That path you usually choose,” he said,
pointing to her path. “Wild animals are spotted down that way, it’s
not safe. The path that way is where it is safe to walk.”

The man pointed to the path that paralleled
the river. It was slightly overgrown because few used it, but
something inside told her not to challenge this man. Laborer or no,
beneath her or no, her nerves sizzled with the need to get away
from him. She turned and moved toward the path he had pointed
out.

After a fair bit of walking, she considered
turning back. It was less than half her usual walk, but the terrain
was more difficult. Almost turning around, masculine voices
speaking slightly off the path caught her attention. Interesting.
No one came to this area. There was no hunting here, nothing of
value to take from the land, and no true cover if your purpose was
to hide.

Next to her purpose of Cinderella’s
destruction, Melanie was ruled by curiosity, and as such, the
decision to creep closer to those voices was made without
hesitation.

The first man came into view, and Melanie
knew him instantly, a duke and first cousin to the Prince, dressed
in common clothes. She knew he came to the area for the ball, but
why was he here so far from the castle, and dressed like that? Then
the other man appeared, and Melanie’s confusion grew.

Henry, the messenger, who was so in love with
Cinderella she was surprised he didn’t choke on his feelings when
around her, and Cinderella, oh yes, Cinderella loved him as
well.

Melanie had done nothing with that
information yet while she debated the best course for Cinderella’s
ruination. Yes, Henry was beautiful in a way few men were, but he
was a messenger and the court ladies probably used his skills as a
lover as much as they did as a courier. Those same ladies would not
let him stop over such a small thing like his marriage, a situation
that would batter Cinderella’s soul, her love keeping company with
others. Lately, Melanie had been leaning towards marriage between
Cinderella and the man.

Why was a man such as the duke in the company
of a messenger?

“Henry, you are right, she was more beautiful
a sight than I could have imagined. All these years, I thought your
heart and your dick were making you believe things that weren’t
possible, but your dick turned out to be absolutely right.”

“Be careful with what you say about your
future queen,” Henry growled, but the menace was put on, the
affection between the men evident.

Future queen?

The duke slapped his back. “Who would have
thought all those years ago, when you had the thought of going out
amongst your people as a mere messenger, that you would find a
woman to steal your heart.”

“Cinderella isn’t just any woman. Cinderella
is everything.” And even Melanie, as much as she hated Cinderella,
felt her heart clench at the pure love and devotion that was
evident within Henry’s voice, his body, as he thought upon his
beloved.

“You truly are going to marry her, aren’t
you?” the duke asked, wonder in his voice.

“I am going to marry her,” Henry agreed.

“It’s not the most politically advantageous
match, as I’m sure your father will impress upon you.”

Steel entered Henry’s voice. “I am to be
king, and I will choose my queen.”

The duke held his hands up. “I am your
support always, cousin. Don’t run me through.”

Humor returned to Henry’s face. “I will
always do what is best for my country. What could be better for my
country than to have a king who is completely at peace in his soul,
because he is married to the most wonderful being who ever
lived?”

The duke nodded at his words. “Doesn’t hurt
that she has that amazing figure, does it, cousin? You will
occasionally come out of the bedchamber to rule, right?”

At that, Henry started chasing the duke, who
ran, the two of them acting no older than eight year olds.

It was the drip of liquid through her satin
shoes that brought Melanie back to awareness. Looking down, she saw
her pale pink shoes now had splashes of red. After a moment, she
realized the red was her blood. Her hands had fisted themselves
around a thorny branch so tightly that the skin broke in several
places, and as awareness came upon her once again, the thoughts
that she had kept at bay with numbness now started to pour forth.
Cinderella was about to get everything. Cinderella already had the
love of a king!

It was warm, but Melanie felt her body start
to shake. No, she would not give in to emotional weakness, she
thought, digging her nails into the cuts into her hands, letting
the pain give her something to focus on. She had to think, she had
to plan, to calculate. Cinderella would not win. She would not
become a queen. She would not marry her love. She would not have
happiness, or contentment, or joy. How dare she think she deserved
these things that Melanie would never know?

Now was not the time for emotions. Melanie
took a deep breath, letting the rage leech out, cool calculation
replacing it. Yes, she knew what to do.

It was time to destroy Cinderella.

* * *

Cinderella was humming, the sound warm and
happy. Henry had just appeared, wanting to introduce her to his
cousin and making her promise she would attend the ball.

Henry… Heat coursed through Cinderella,
because suddenly an image formed in her mind, Henry on his back,
and she, looking down at his beautiful face, riding him, making him
cry out as she took him inside her body, giving him such pleasure
that he screamed her name.

What would he feel like inside of her? What
would his mouth feel like on her breast, his tongue teasing her
nipple?

Cinderella shook her head, but the images
would not leave. These new feelings inside herself were
attributable to the introduction of Reina and Tiernan into her
life.

Both times she had come across Reina and
Tiernan had been accidental, but she had not been able to stop
watching them. Her curiosity about what happened between men and
women took over.

Beyond watching the physical act, she didn’t
want to stop looking at their faces, watching the love that was
always evident, not just during their intimate moments, but
whenever they were in each other’s presence. Tiernan’s eyes took on
a special light only when Reina was around, and Reina’s body seemed
to come alive when Tiernan entered a room.

Cinderella barely remembered her parents
together, but she knew, somehow, that they had that awareness of
each other.

A door opened, and Cinderella looked up to
see Melanie walking in.

“Hello, Melanie,” she greeted.

“Cinderella,” Melanie answered back. “Where
is my mother?”

“Stepmother went to the seamstress with
Serena.”

“Ah yes, I forgot that she mentioned that.
What will you wear to the ball?”

The question was meant as a subtle putdown.
Cinderella only had one dress, older and out of style, but
serviceable. Cinderella didn’t mind though. Henry wouldn’t care
what she was wearing and would not be embarrassed to be with
her.

“I have a dress, stepsister. I will be
fine.”

Melanie didn’t leave, though, as Cinderella
was expecting. She stood there, looking at her, causing
Cinderella’s nerves to stretch taut. Finally, Melanie said, “I
don’t like you.”

That was unusual. Melanie tended towards
subtlety. It was Serena who boldly declared all emotions.

Before Cinderella could respond to that,
Melanie continued, “I don’t like you, but I don’t hate you. I have
enough feeling for you that I wish you to have some pleasure from
this life, though I admit, I hope it is far from me.”

Wary, Cinderella asked, “Why this sudden
concern now?”

“Because you are getting older, and as soon
as is acceptable, Mother will cast you from the house. Pretty you
might be, but unless you take advantage of that, you will find
yourself old and alone with no money and no prospects. You should
use this ball to find your place in this world.”

“Find my place?”

“There will be many men of power at the ball.
You have no family, no connections, so marriage to any of them will
be out of the question. However, you can become a mistress and
secure your future. Any man only has to look at you to want you in
his bed. You are comely enough for the Prince himself to have
interest.”

Cinderella paled, her hand coming up to her
throat. “I only want love.”

“Are you a fool?” Melanie gave a laugh shaded
with disgust. “Do you live in a Fairy Tale? Love is what poor
people talk about when they don’t have enough money to feed their
children or buy firewood to heat their homes!”

“I would rather be married to one who loves
me than be decked out in jewels and furs and homes and be a
mistress!”

Melanie gave her a pitying look. She turned
on her heel and walked out of the room, throwing over her shoulder,
“Well, then, stepsister, I would advise you to not go to the ball,
because the men there are only interested in making you the
latter.”

The ball was tonight.

Reina was on edge, finding it impossible to
sit still. She and Tiernan were in agreement, at the ball the
Prince would sweep Cinderella in his arms and declare his love for
her, proposing to her that very instant. It would be such a moving
scene, have such an effect on the populace that even with concerns
over her lack of connections the king would have no choice but to
publicly embrace Cinderella as the future queen.