Unforgotten Passion (Dirty Sexy Fairy Tales Book 4)
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UNFORGOTTEN PASSION
DIRTY SEXY FAIRY TALES, BOOK #4
ERIKA WILDE
Copyright © Erika Wilde, March 2020
Cover Photo: Sara Eirew Photography
Cover Design: Maria @ Steamy Designs
Editor: Amy Knupp, Blue Otter Editing
Developmental Editor: Dana with Danja Tales
Back Copy Edits: Three Point Author Services
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the Author.
Contents
Main Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
UNFORGOTTEN PASSION
By Erika Wilde
A contemporary fairy tale with a dirty, sexy twist! UNFORGOTTEN PASSION is a modern, sinfully seductive take on Rapunzel.
As a famous pop star, Raevynn Walsh has lived most of her life surrounded by fame and fortune while her every choice or decision is controlled by others. Each day she dreams of breaking free from her star-studded castle. She may be living a fantasy, but it’s not her own.
Collin Donovan can’t resist an opportunity to attend the Wilder Way Fairy Tale Ball and catch a glimpse of the sensual songstress he’d once adored but had been forced to let go. When the familiar chemistry burns bright, Raevynn turns to Collin to rescue her from her chaotic life and glamorous prison, even if only for a short while.
After escaping the guards, the two lovers unravel the lies around them and rekindle the passions they’d thought were forgotten. With their time coming quickly to an end, can they save the princess from her gilded tower or is she doomed to stay caged in the spotlight forever?
Chapter 1
There was only one reason Collin Donovan would attend a fairy-tale ball. It had nothing to do with the fact that his boss, Maddux Wilder, and his siblings were hosting the lavish affair for their charity, Wilder Way, and everything to do with the evening’s entertainment, which had Collin completely riveted.
Raevynn Walsh, a stunningly gorgeous pop star, was currently up on the large stage in the ballroom, captivating guests with her angelic voice. Sitting on a wooden swing decorated in vines and flowers, she was dressed in a flowing, crystal-studded lilac gown that swirled around her as she seemingly floated through the air, while her beautiful, long blonde hair fell all the way down her back in soft waves. She was currently singing one of her most popular ballads, “Wishing For You,” and as Collin listened to the emotional lyrics, a part of him wanted to believe that she’d written that song for him. For them. For their short-lived romance that had ended in a painful heartbreak he’d never meant to inflict upon her. But at the time, he’d had very little choice.
While other guests mingled and enjoyed the night’s fairy-tale festivities, Collin stood off to the side of the stage in the shadows, watching her and remembering . . . everything. She’d literally been the sweet, wholesome girl next door to the house he’d grown up in and his younger sister’s best friend through elementary, middle, and high school until their junior year, when Raevynn had been cast on the singing competition show Encore, which had then changed her entire life once she’d won over all the other contestants.
Seven years had passed since that fateful day he’d broken her heart, and his own. In that time, she’d become a famous, successful songstress who’d collected dozens of Grammys, American Music Awards, and Billboard Music Awards—as a performer and as a writer. Collin was so damn proud of Raevynn, and despite the passage of time, he’d never stopped thinking about her and the regrets he harbored for the way he’d ended things between them. For not telling her the truth and instead letting her believe the worst.
“Enjoying the show?”
Startled out of his memories, Collin glanced at Tempest Wilder, the woman now standing beside him, who was dressed in a stunning red gown for the ball. She wore an amused smile as she stared at him, and he shifted on his feet, a bit embarrassed at being caught so engrossed in Raevynn and her song.
“Yes,” he replied, summoning a reciprocating smile for his boss’s sister before glancing back toward the stage. “Very much.”
Tempest followed his gaze back to Raevynn. “She’s pretty amazing, isn’t she?”
“She’s incredible,” he agreed, and took a sip from the bourbon in the glass he was holding, allowing himself to relax. “She’s come a long way.”
“You’re either a superfan . . . or you know her?” Tempest asked curiously.
He hesitated a moment before replying. “I knew her,” he said, keeping his reply past tense because, after seven years, there was so much about her life he didn’t know except for what was public knowledge. “We went to high school together. We dated . . . until she was cast on that singing show, Encore, and moved on to bigger and better things. But this is everything Rae has ever wanted and deserves, so I’m happy for her.”
“She’s a phenomenal singer, but I have to admit that I have total hair envy,” Tempest joked of Raevynn’s long and silky blonde locks that even Collin’s own sister had once wished for. “She has every girl’s dream hair.”
He chuckled as fond recollections flashed through his mind. “Yeah, I used to tease her and call her Rapunzel. When we were dating, I’d go over to her house late at night and call up to her second-story bedroom window and jokingly shout out, ‘Rapunzel, let down your hair.’” Even now, she reminded him of that fairy-tale princess. And growing up, it was as though her mother had tried to keep her locked up in an ivory tower, keeping Raevynn as untouchable as possible, which had forced the two of them to keep their romantic relationship quiet, private, and under the radar.
Tempest laughed. “Is that how you snuck into her bedroom?”
“No.” His mouth curved with humor at the thought. “That would have been a helluva lot of hair pulling.”
“You never know,” Tempest said with a teasing shrug. “Some girls like that kind of thing.”
He shook his head, his smile dissipating. “She was young. We were both young,” he added, since they’d been seventeen and eighteen respectively. “And unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time together to figure those things out.”
They’d only had sex once. After months of secretively making out and fooling around and Collin doing his best to keep Raevynn’s virginity intact, one afternoon, believing they had hours all to themselves, his sweet girl had begged him to make her his in every way. Her words had been so explicit they still had the ability to make him hard when he recalled that moment. Fuck me, Collin. Please. And unable to resist her, and wanting that just as much, he’d taken Raevynn’s innocence . . . burying himself so deep inside her tight body he knew he’d never be the same without her in his life always. That day, he’d fallen so deeply, irrevocably in love with Raevynn Walsh but never had the chance to tell her before they
’d been torn apart.
And the truth was, no matter how many women he’d dated over the years to try and forget Rae, his heart still belonged to her. His greatest fear was that it always would and he’d never be able to move on with his life, as she’d seemingly done with hers. Not just her singing career that had her touring all over the world but the fact that she’d moved on from Collin with a three-year relationship with up-and-coming country singer Zane Bishop. The two of them might have broken up just a few months ago, but knowing that another man had touched what Collin still wanted to be his had ignited all kinds of jealousy inside him.
“Does she know you’re here at the ball?” Tempest asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
Needing a moment to regain his composure, he took a long drink of bourbon before replying. “No. We haven’t been in touch . . . in a very long time.” He honestly had no idea how she’d react to seeing him again—if she hated him for walking away from her when she’d pleaded with him not to, or maybe he was no longer even a blip on her mental radar and she wouldn’t recognize him. Yeah, that depressing thought made his fucking chest ache.
“Maybe you should sneak backstage and surprise her when she’s done performing the second set of her show after dinner,” Tempest suggested, smiling at him. “I promise to look the other way and not alert security.”
The other woman was being completely sincere, and Collin found himself giving her idea serious consideration. “Maybe I will.”
Tempest gave his arm an encouraging squeeze before continuing on her way through the charity ball, leaving Collin alone to think about how a reunion with Raevynn might play out and what her reaction to seeing him after all these years would be. He’d only come to the party tonight to get a glimpse of her, but now that he had, he knew just settling for watching her from a distance wasn’t enough. Given the opportunity, he wanted to see her, face-to-face. He wanted the chance to right a wrong. To apologize for what had happened all those years ago and explain his reasons and actions.
Mostly, he wanted to resolve the past with Raevynn so he could move on with his future.
Decision made, he spent the next few hours waiting impatiently for her to finish her last set of songs. The guests applauded and cheered after she performed her elaborate finale after dinner, this time wearing a sparkling black minidress that hugged more curves than she’d had at seventeen and a pair of black leather boots with a four-inch heel that made her look sexy as fuck as she strutted across the stage, her husky, raspy voice pure seduction.
Once the music ended, Collin watched her move toward the back of the stage and disappear behind a partition, and he automatically walked around the platform in that direction. Since he worked in this building, he knew the layout of the ballroom well enough that he suspected that at some point she’d be heading down the side hallway that led to the back parking area to leave for the evening.
Unfortunately, just as he reached that corridor, he met up with Raymond, a guy he knew as one of Maddux’s security officers from MadX-Tech. He was a burly-looking guy in a suit, and even though he clearly recognized Collin, he stopped him from going any farther by placing a hand on Collin’s chest.
“Hey, sorry, man. I can’t let you through,” Raymond said apologetically, obviously working for the evening and stationed in this area for the sole purpose of keeping anyone from getting close to Raevynn. “This is a restricted area for tonight.”
Collin didn’t think the other man would change his mind just because Tempest had given him permission to go through—not without her actually being present. Raymond was, after all, guarding a famous pop star, and if anything happened to her on his watch, Maddux would likely chop his nuts off, and they both knew it. Not that Collin was a threat to Raevynn, but Raymond was undoubtedly operating under strict internal orders, no exceptions.
Voices and footsteps drifted from down the hallway, and Raymond’s expression turned more stern. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Shit. Knowing he’d probably never get this close to Rae again, Collin decided the only person he would leave for at this point was her. If she looked through him. Didn’t acknowledge him. Or completely shut him out. Any of those scenarios were a devastating possibility, but as a guy who looked to be part of her personal security came into a sight, followed by Raevynn, still in her last outfit, who was looking straight ahead toward the exit, then another suited man close behind her, Collin acted on gut instinct.
“Rae!” he yelled out, using the shortened version of her name that only close friends and family had ever called her.
He saw her entire body tense as she stopped, then turned her head in his direction, a confused frown furrowing her brows as her gaze landed on him. Her bodyguards went immediately on alert and looked prepared to take him down if he tried to make any move toward Raevynn.
Collin waited, holding his breath as the moment of truth arrived. Would she acknowledge him or ignore him?
Chapter 2
Raevynn took her last bow as the crowd in front of the stage applauded her final song and performance. She smiled and blew them air kisses, then, with a cheerful wave, she strolled toward the back of the stage. She pulled out her in-ear monitor and stepped down a short flight of stairs, where both of her security guys were waiting for her—Glen, her main bodyguard, who’d been with her since the beginning of her singing career and had become a father figure to her since she’d lost hers when she’d been a toddler, and Derek, a “plus one” whenever Glen thought Raevynn needed the extra protection.
Derek opened a chilled bottle of water and handed it to her, and she drank half of the cool liquid in a few long gulps that felt so good on her raspy throat.
“Do you want to change, or are you ready to go?” Glen asked her, giving her the option to head to her dressing room to switch outfits if she wished.
The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where she was staying, was only a short drive away, and all Raevynn wanted was to get to her penthouse suite so she could relax and unwind without being crowded and fussed over by her entourage of people, who were currently in her dressing room.
“Hotel, please,” she said, then finished her water and tossed the bottle into a nearby trash bin.
Both men nodded. Derek moved in front of her, Glen positioned himself behind her, and together they walked down the empty, narrow corridor that led to the back exit and the limo that would meet them there. Normally after a concert, it was far more hectic, with fans and groupies doing anything possible to see her, but the guests at tonight’s party were a much more sophisticated crowd. They’d enjoyed her singing and performing but didn’t feel the need to demand anything more from her, thank goodness.
God, she was so tired. Not just physically from all her onstage choreography tonight but emotionally and mentally exhausted, as well. After spending the last couple of years traveling with back-to-back world tours, along with time spent in the studio on new albums, countless radio and magazine interviews, making and producing music videos, attending award shows, and anything and everything else her manager mother managed to book Raevynn for, she was desperately in need of a break.
The only reason she’d agreed to tonight’s concert was because it was for charity, and Raevynn felt like she had more money than God sometimes and wanted to give back—with a concert and a generous donation to the Wilder Way Foundation. What good was millions of dollars if you couldn’t help other people? That was her philosophy and not her mother’s, who kept pushing for more to pad both of their bank accounts.
Raevynn exhaled a weary breath, determined to make some much-needed changes in her life. Now that this obligation was over and off her calendar, for the next two weeks, she only had a few minor things scheduled, which had been deliberate on her part and a major fight with her mother, who never passed up an opportunity for Raevynn to promote herself, her music, and her latest album and tour.
Joyce’s major concern was that the empire she’d helped create and build for her daughter would
come to an end if she stepped back from the limelight for any amount of time, whereas Raevynn’s biggest fear was that she was going to completely crash and burn and become one of those celebrities who cracked under pressure and never recovered.
She was smart enough to realize that being in the spotlight twenty-four seven, not to mention constantly being scrutinized by fans, trolls, and the media, was all becoming too much—as evidenced by the overwhelming swarm of unwanted attention her breakup with Zane Bishop had garnered, even though their split had been amicable and mutual.
For some reason, Zane’s overly zealous female fans had painted Raevynn as the villain for breaking his heart, which, in private, she’d found laughable considering the truth behind their relationship. Publicly, however, she’d been raked over the coals, and those hurtful, derogatory comments she’d seen, heard, and read online had definitely chipped away at her self-esteem, while her mother’s sole worry had been stifling the crisis before it affected Raevynn’s bankability in the eyes of future sponsors and engagements.
Without a doubt, she needed time to clear her head and figure out what she wanted for her future—and not what Joyce demanded and had dictated all of Raevynn’s life, which had started at the age of three, when her mother had enrolled Raevynn in her first beauty pageant as a toddler. As soon as Joyce discovered that her daughter could sing, she’d become obsessed with making Raevynn a big star, and from there, her life had never been her own.
“Paul just pulled up to the back exit,” Glen said, reading the text on his phone. “He said it’s completely clear.”