Nobody's Prince Charming (Road to Blissville, #3)

by Aimee Nicole Walker

  “What?” I asked, turning to face him once more.

  “The way you shielded Wren from the chaos without making it seem like you were slaying his dragons for him.” I smiled at the terminology he used since it went along with my fairy-tale mindset. “I’m sure there were many times that you wanted to tell them how rude they were being, but you politely changed the topic away from Wren each time. That took a lot of skill.”

  “I care about him, Josh. I don’t want people to pick at his pain like fucking vultures. He’s a person with feelings, not roadkill on the side of the road.”

  “Gruesome visual,” Josh said, making a face, “but it’s true all the same. I’ve always known how you felt about Wren, and if he didn’t know it before, he does now.”

  Did he? Was that why his lips lingered against mine before he left to get cleaned up for dinner? Did he know that my feelings went beyond caring? I was in love with him, there was no other explanation for the way he made me feel.

  “Off you go,” Josh said, making a shooing motion with his hands.

  It was a long day, and I should’ve been exhausted, but knowing I would see Wren sent a jolt of adrenaline through my system. My pulse raced with the possibilities of what would happen in my small bedroom. I knew that sex was a possibility, but I was more curious if Wren would confide in me about his relationship with his fa-Falcon. I couldn’t refer to the man as Wren’s father until Wren did. My chest still felt tight from Wren reaching for me and asking to see me later. My heart might just explode if Wren really turned a corner and opened up to me freely. I thought it was worth the risk to my health to have those unguarded moments with Wren outside of a sexual situation.

  When I got home, Grandpa was sitting up a little straighter in his chair. He was always happy to see me, but he was even more so than usual. Not him too!

  “Grandpa, there’s nothing much to tell. I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew something.”

  “So, it’s true. Wren’s father is Falcon?”

  “How do you even know who that is?” I asked instead of answering.

  “Nice evasion technique,” he said then smiled wryly. “I’m old, Dare, but not so old that I don’t know who Falcon is, even if I think he is overrated. In my day, performers had talent. Record companies didn’t have to hide their imperfections with technical mumbo jumbo. Singers stood on a stage and sang. Some of them danced, some of them even played instruments, but none of them busted their guitars into dozens of pieces, screeched into the microphone, or wore leather pants with the ass cheeks cut out of them.”

  Grandpa’s comment reminded me of Wren’s leather pants and the way they clung to his ass. He’d look fucking awesome in a pair of assless… “Hey, how do you know about assless leather pants?”

  Grandpa rolled his eyes. “Your father and mother were crazy over that band. They’d come here for those music award shows and eat up every second that Falcon’s Descent performed. They even went to a few concerts back in the day.”

  “I suppose most local people did since Falcon is originally from Cincinnati. We have the Hit King with Pete Rose and Rock King with Falcon.”

  “Well, Cincinnati is called the Queen City, so it stands to reason she gives birth to a few kings too,” Grandpa said. “Is Wren okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s okay,” I replied. Grandpa smiled wryly because he knew I pretty much confirmed that Wren’s father is Falcon without coming out and saying it. Grandpa got his answer without me betraying a confidence. I pointed at the cagey man to let him know I was onto him. “That’s all I’m able to say. This isn’t my story to tell, Grandpa.”

  His wily smile morphed into a deliriously happy one. “I see how it is.”

  “You can’t see anything without your magnifying glass,” I told him. “You better dial down that grin or your dentures will fall out.”

  Grandpa hooted with delight. “Get in there and fix me dinner.”

  “Did nurse Wendy soak your teeth in OxiClean or something? They’re looking extra white.”

  “Boy, you’re not too old…”

  “You’d have to catch me first,” I replied sassily.

  “Yeah, you got a point there. What’s for dinner?”

  “How do you feel about Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes?” The prepackaged frozen meat and gravy wouldn’t be as good as my grandmother’s, but Grandpa seemed to like it okay. “Maybe some peas to go with it?”

  “I hate peas,” he grumbled. “How about lima beans?”

  “Who trades peas in for lima beans?” I asked as I made my way to the kitchen. “You’re supposed to finagle and wheel and deal for cream corn or something good.”

  “Is that an option?” Grandpa asked.

  “Well, I’m trying to keep your starches and carbs balanced, but I guess I can make an exception.”

  “Yes!” Grandpa said excitedly.

  “It’s going to cost you though,” I teased.

  “What’s the price?” he asked suspiciously. God, how I loved that man.

  “I want dirt on Mom and Dad. I’d prefer to see photographic evidence of the eighties. How big was Mom’s hair?”

  Grandpa held his hand several inches above his head. “Big! And curly like you wouldn’t believe. And your dad!” Grandpa started to laugh in earnest. “Have you ever seen a picture from his mullet phase?”

  “No! I must see it.”

  Grandpa gingerly rose to his feet and shuffled to his room to retrieve a photo album. I looked in the cabinet to see what other treats I could find for him. I found a box of sugar-free chocolate pudding that I could make with skim milk to cut calories, fat, and carbs. I could fold in some of the sugar-free whipped topping that I saw in the refrigerator into the pudding to jazz it up a bit, making it more like a whipped mousse.

  After I put the tray of frozen Salisbury steaks in the oven, I joined Grandpa at the table to look through the album he found. It reminded me of the time I found Wren sitting here with Grandpa after I’d fallen asleep in his bed after he nearly fucked me to death. My heart fluttered in my chest and my greedy hole did a little fluttering of its own. It seemed that I would never get enough of Wren. In fact, instead of feeling sated, the craving grew stronger after each time we were together.

  I had to acknowledge that it could all blow up spectacularly in my face if Wren never returned my affections. If I hadn’t already acknowledged that my feelings extended beyond physical, I would’ve known it after today. My physical need to be with him was a distant second to making sure Wren had a soft place to land should he need one after meeting Falcon for dinner.

  I challenged Grandpa to a game of Battleship after dinner, but he decided to turn in early. Grandpa didn’t even eat his dessert, opting to save it for the next day, which was something that never happened. I worried that he wasn’t feeling well, but I saw that the devilish twinkle had returned when I tucked him in.

  “Tell Wren I said hello.”

  He turned in early so that I could visit with Wren. “Grandpa, Wren isn’t home.”

  “He’s going to want someone to talk to when he gets back.” Grandpa patted my hand. “You be that person for him. I’m a sound sleeper so don’t you worry about me.”

  “Grandpa,” I said, blushing bright red with embarrassment.

  “I meant that I wouldn’t overhear your conversation, but I know what you had in mind.” He cackled again and pulled his blanket up beneath this chin. “Goodnight, Dare.”

  “Goodnight, Grandpa.”

  Once back in the living room, I pulled up my renovations for Wren’s apartment and looked at the cost analysis. The commission bonus I would receive from Josh would be almost enough to cover the plumbing and electrical estimates I worked into my budget. I checked my savings account and looked at my bill budget for the upcoming month. If I packed lunch and did away with a few unnecessary luxuries, I could swing it. The first thing I’d need to do was get some solid figures from a licensed professional. I knew just who I was going to call the next day.

>   I decided to play around with a bathroom design also but ended up creating one far too big and luxurious to fit in that apartment. I realized I’d designed my dream master bathroom instead. I looked at the large shower enclosure and imagined how sexy it would be to watch Wren soap and wash himself through the glass. What else would I watch? If I came upon him pleasuring himself, would I stop so I could join in or just watch him stroke his cock? I started to feel my dick swell and tucked the fantasy away for another time. I might even share that one with Wren to see if he wanted to play along. Perhaps a sexy game of “what-if” via text message one night. We could let our imaginations run wild and play out some fantasies. Not helping, Dare.

  I glanced up at the clock and noted it was past ten and Wren still hadn’t made it back home. I hoped it was a good sign and he was working through his issues with Falcon. I knew next to nothing about the rocker, so I couldn’t say if I wanted them to develop a deeper relationship. I only knew that I wanted Wren happy at all costs.

  The exhaustion from the day caught up to me and my eyes kept getting heavier and heavier, no matter how hard I tried to fight off sleep. I hated the idea of missing Wren coming over to talk to me, but I knew it was a high probability with every minute that ticked by. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it any longer, his headlights flashed across the room when he pulled into the driveway. The low rumble of his truck sent my pulse racing and my sleepiness vanished in a snap.

  I hurried to the door at the side porch and turned on the light so he’d know I was awake and expecting him. He sat in his truck for a while, and I worried that he’d changed his mind and would rather be alone. I wanted Wren to come to me on his own volition and not feel obligated. That conviction faded as soon as he stepped out of the truck. Even in the dark, I could see that his body was tight with tension. I wanted to do anything and everything to make him feel better.

  Wren jogged up the porch steps and I opened the door for him, unsure how in the hell I was supposed to greet him. Wren took the guesswork away and pulled me into a hug. I felt his tension ease when I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned into him.

  “There’s my Sparkles,” he whispered gruffly.

  Then he kissed me like months, instead of hours, had passed since we parted ways at the salon. I wasn’t complaining, but my intuition told me that Wren needed something more than kissing and fucking. As much as it pained me to do it, I pulled back from him. Wren didn’t hesitate when I reached for his hand and led him up to my room, but it was probably because he thought I was going to suck or fuck him. I was more than willing to do those things, but he needed a different kind of release first.

  We didn’t say anything on our way up to Dare’s room because neither of us wanted to risk waking Ralph. We were lucky that we didn’t get caught when we pulled that stunt in the laundry room. Okay, the stunt that I pulled. I knew that Ralph liked me, and I even suspected he knew that his grandson had become very important to me, but that didn’t give me the right to be disrespectful in his home. It wasn’t because we were gay either. I would’ve felt the same if we were a straight couple sneaking up to… Couple? I rolled the word around in my head a few times, expecting a negative thought to refute its validity but none came. I discovered I liked the way the word felt, sounded, and even tasted on my tongue. Just because I didn’t speak it out loud didn’t mean it was less true.

  When we got to Dare’s room, we silently undressed each other in between soft kisses in the muted light from the lamp on the bedside table. The mood between us was different like we both had realized something important that day: what we shared was poignant and real. There was a confidence in Dare’s hands when he touched me and in his eyes when he looked at me. Did he see and feel the same changes in me?

  Even my arousal was different. Rather than the all-consuming fire, it was a slow-burning flame that never seemed to diminish or burn out. It vibrated through me like normal, but new emotions joined the passion: tenderness and a desire for something I didn’t deserve and shouldn’t want. I’d been stingy with my heart for my entire life, giving it only to my mom who had died and a boy who was nearly rejected by his family for loving me. My mom didn’t choose to willingly leave me, but the boy did. I didn’t blame him, but it still hurt, especially when our breakup was only a few months after my mom’s death. I had no one in the world I could count on until I met Jimmy and Danny. I sure as hell couldn’t count on Falcon. Just thinking about him brought on a fresh wave of exhaustion, which killed my arousal.

  Dare didn’t seem to mind. He pulled back the sheets and blankets then gestured for me to climb inside. He joined me after I got situated then turned off the light before he rolled over and lay his head on my chest. In the dark, it was easier to find the words that I couldn’t speak to anyone else. Hell, Jimmy and Danny didn’t even know that Falcon was my sperm donor, yet here I was about to tell Dare everything.

  “Wren,” he said softly in the darkness. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, okay? If you do want to talk, I promise you that nothing you say will leave this room.”

  “I know, Sparkles.” I trailed my hands up and down his back, finding comfort in the rhythm and already familiar feel of my fingers bumping along his spine. “You’d never betray my trust.” I knew it as certain as the sun would rise in the east. No matter what happened between us, Dare would keep my confidence. “Once upon a time,” I began to lighten the mood. I expected Dare to snort, but he giggled. “What?”

  “That’s a phrase I use frequently in my head. I tend to work everyday events into fairy tales.”

  “Yeah? Who am I?” I asked.

  “Prince Charming, duh. Only with longer hair, biker boots, and a beefier body. My prince rides a Harley instead of a horse.”

  “Sparkles, I’m nobody’s Prince Charming.”

  “You don’t get to decide that,” he said in a singsong voice. “I decide who my Prince Charming is and no one else.”

  I ignored the fluttering in my stomach and dug deep for a gruff response. “Fine, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

  “Once upon a time…” Dare prompted.

  “There lived a beautiful maiden who made a mistake by giving her heart and everything else to a selfish king.” Fuck! This did sound like a twisted fairy tale, but I somehow doubted that Disney would want to buy the rights to this story. “You see the king wasn’t born into royalty, he was elevated to that status by his legions of fans. The king forgot all about his roots and the girl he promised to marry someday. He rode off to conquer the world and never looked back. Therefore, he didn’t know that his maiden had given birth to his…”

  “Prince!” Dare offered.

  “Bastard son is more fitting.” It sounded harsh, but it was true.

  “Wren, please don’t talk about yourself like that,” Dare said, snuggling tighter into my side like he could ease the hurt somehow.

  “The maiden never informed the king he had a child nor sought gold or jewels for support. She didn’t want to be accused of using the prince to hold onto the reluctant king after he so clearly wanted to be free. So, she raised the…”

  Dare grabbed my nipple and twisted hard.

  “Ouch! Why the fuck did you do that?” So much for trying not to wake Ralph.

  “You will not call yourself a bastard in my presence ever again, Wren Davison. Do you hear me?”

  “Loud and clear, Sparkles. Fuck, that hurt!” I rubbed a hand over my aching nipple. “You’re going to lick it and make it better after I’m done weaving my tale.” It wasn’t a question.

  “I’ll lick anything you want.”

  I thought my dick had fallen asleep, but apparently it was just taking a catnap. It started firing back to life, encouraging me to get the hard part over so that I could get to the good stuff with Dare. “Anyway, the maiden raised her beloved child on her own.” It was true, my mother was crazy about me. “One day, the maiden got sick and kept getting sicker.” My voice cracked and Dare st
iffened against me. He lifted his head and pressed a kiss against my heart. “The beloved son had only recently obtained his driver’s license, but he drove the maiden to the hospital one night after she collapsed in the bathroom. The doctors ran some tests and determined her blood counts were all wrong, dangerously so. After more tests, the maiden had a diagnosis. Cancer.”

  “I’m so sorry, Wren.”

  I kissed the top of his head to let him know he had nothing to be sorry about and then continued the story. “For all his life, the beloved boy wanted to know who his sire was, but the maiden wouldn’t tell him. She kept saying it was just the two of them in their family and that was all they needed. The maiden’s health continued to decline, and she frequently took heavy-duty pain pills to help ease her discomfort. The beloved boy knew he was losing his mother, even though she told him she’d get better. She said her faith was strong enough for the both of them, but the boy knew. He feared what would happen once his mother was gone. Who would love him? It didn’t matter that he was nearly a man himself by this time, he was terrified of losing his mom and being all alone in the world.

  “One night, the beloved boy waited until his mother was heavily medicated and asked about his father. He was shocked to say the least but had no reason to doubt the maiden. If his father was a king among men, then he could make her well again. He could pay for a better hospital or treatment. He could fix the maiden. The boy further betrayed his mother’s trust by searching through her belongings until he found some contact information for the king’s manager.”

  “Uh oh, I think I’ve read this fairy tale,” Dare said softly. “The manager refused to pass the information along to the king that he had a prince and the prince’s mother was ill.”

  “You have read this one,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “It gets worse, and I bet you don’t know this part of the story. It might change the way you look at me.”

  Dare hummed in his throat like he doubted it but didn’t say anything more.

  “The beloved boy needed money to pay for his mother’s treatment, so he started drag racing her pride and joy on the weekends to earn money for medicine and food.”