Fantasy: A Modern Romance Inspired by Cinderella (Seductively Ever After)

by Kim Carmichael

  At his demand, her stomach swirled. It wasn’t his words but how he said them. She paused, made him wait a moment before complying and removing the glasses.

  “Gorgeous.” He licked his lips. “How long are you going to make me wait to kiss you, Petals?”

  The couple that was her fantasy only yesterday appeared in real life. They were here, and he wanted her. She chose to walk slowly, giving him a bit of a show as she closed the space between them.

  With a bit of ownership, she tossed her bag and glasses on the coffee table he set up. The sheer thought of kissing him was too much to bear and she couldn’t wait any longer. She went right into his arms.

  They stared at each other, and then, in unison, leaned in and connected their mouths. His kiss burned through her, totally encompassed her. The only thing that mattered was their mouths melding together, their tastes combining, the way he held her.

  Needing more, she moved back onto the couch. Knight followed, wrapping his arms around her then moving on top of her. His kiss was deep, their tongues tangled and a moan escaped the back of his throat.

  His hand slid down, running along the side of her breast, outlining her waist, her hip and then skimming the back of her thigh where he lifted her leg.

  Their bodies pressed together in all the right ways. She dug her nails into his shoulder when he kissed her neck, lightly nipping at the soft flesh before crushing his lips to hers once more.

  Oh she wanted him, and she bucked her hips up to his. It would be easy to lose herself, let him make love to her right here, right now, but then what would happen? She would be no better off than the woman pleasuring herself in the office yesterday. With everything she knew, there was so much still left a mystery, and she gasped and broke the kiss. “Knight.”

  “Am I going too fast?” He brushed her hair away from her face.

  “I’m not sure if it’s you or the world.” All she could do was stare into his face. Who was this man? There was a certain familiarity about him she couldn’t place. Maybe it was simply her heart.

  “I’m sorry.” He sat up and guided her into his lap. “All I do is think about you. Sometimes the images in my mind are so vivid I almost forgot it’s been a week since I’ve seen you.”

  She wiped her lipstick off his mouth. “That’s how I feel.” Her cheeks heated at remembering what she did only the day before.

  “Tell me what’s happening with you, has your life become any saner?” He took her hand and laced their fingers together.

  “I’m scared, Knight.” Only with him could she admit her real feelings.

  “What’s frightening you?” After asking the question, he took his time to kiss each one of her fingertips.

  “Everything is speeding by. I don’t feel in control.” She laid her head on his shoulder and breathed in the scent of his leather jacked mixed with soap. “I’m afraid that if I continue on my path I won’t be able to turn around. I tried to take control, but there are forces much more powerful than I am, and if I don’t do as I’m expected, I could lose everything.”

  “Is everything money?” he asked.

  “No.” She closed her eyes. “I’ve been trying to prove myself, show everyone I can succeed on my own, but I’m afraid it’s going to be too late, and I’m afraid at the end of the day, I’m going to take the easy way out.”

  “And what’s the easy way?” His voice rumbled through her.

  She looked up at him. “I’m here, and it was easy.”

  “I think that makes you strong.” His lips grazed over hers.

  “No, I’m not. I’m stuck.” If he only knew the truth, he would shake his head and walk away. “I’m stuck, but today…” She let her voice trail off.

  “Today?” he prodded.

  “I saw something. Something I could save. Something I could strive for. Maybe I saw my future, I don’t know.” In no way could she mention the cottage.

  “Did you see me there?” he asked.

  Before answering, she paused, stared off into the trees, and let the image of the little house come into her mind. “Yes.”

  “Then I think your heart and your mind are leading you in a direction, and you need to follow, even if the path is rocky, hopefully it will lead us to each other.”

  She absorbed his words. He was right. “I want to know you, I want you to be there for me and me for you, but then I want to keep this world separate. I’m terrified that if we entered each other’s real life that I would lose you, and that whole thing seems like a hell of a lot to put on a man I have only met a handful of times.”

  He leaned down until he looked into her face. “If you can see me in your future, one day we are going to have to think about the real world, and on that day when we are ready to face it, the answers will be there for us.” Once more, he kissed her.

  “When will we be ready?” She spoke into his open mouth.

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  They were both in some sort of weird purgatory. “Tell me something about you,” she asked.

  “I’m a man who needs to heed his own advice.” His tone fell flat. “If we have any future, I need to be worthy of you in the real world.”

  Out here in the fantasy world of the forest, they fit. “What do you do when you’re not with me? Give me a hint.” She let go of his hand and stared down at his palm, tracing the lines with her fingertips.

  “What do you think I do? You have all the hints you need right in front of you.” He wiggled his fingers.

  His hand spoke of hard work, callused yet still soft and perfect for holding. She turned his hand over and took in his clean trimmed nails and the skull ring she always admired. “Carpenter, sculptor, artist?”

  “Something like that.” Again, he took hold of her hand. “I need to be something more. What part of you tells me who you are?”

  “I don’t create anything.” Her business card didn’t even have a title. “I am known for my last name only.”

  “I would have guessed you are royalty.” He let out a low chuckle then cleared his throat. “Do you live in a castle, Petals?”

  “Not like what you think.” The thought of the simple cottage with her and Knight was becoming more and more attractive. “And you? Where do you go?” They continued their dance of questions as they got to know each other without giving anything away.

  “I have a feeling I am merely a peasant in your world.” He combed his fingers through her hair. “My not so royal court can be quite trying at times.”

  “I understand.” The man truly had no idea how much. “I’ve dealt with it my whole life. I’ve always tried to make everyone proud, but I was always off. Before it’s too late I need to make sure those around me understand.” How could she marry Patrick with Knight right here? “I think that’s what you need to do. Make sure they hear you before it’s too late.” Were they living the same life?

  “We both have our commitments we need to deal with before we move forward.” He sighed.

  The word commitment made her chest tight and she had to know something else. Rather than look at him she focused on the black cord with four silver grommets he always wore around his neck. “Whom exactly are you committed to?”

  At first, he remained silent and her eyes heated with tears. Of course someone like him had someone. What else would he be doing alone out here?

  “Are you asking me if there’s someone else?” Finally, he spoke.

  “I think you know the answer to that.” She turned away, but shivered when she felt him move his face right behind her.

  “How could there be anyone else when all I can think about is you?” His breath brushed over her earlobe.

  Once her heart slowed and she could focus, she faced him. “What are we going to do?” Unable to stop herself, she skimmed her fingers over his beard, then his lower lip. “Everything feels unreal.”

  “Does this feel real?” He curled his arm around her and brought them together for another kiss.

  Instead of a heated r
ush, they let their passion grow. First, playing with one another’s lips, then opening their mouths, caressing their tongues against one another.

  Their kissing continued. Now they let their hands wander. She arched her back when he cupped her breast then ran his thumb over her tight nipple. She slid her fingers under his jacket and up inside his shirt, skimming along the smooth, tight skin of his back.

  Again, he ended up on top of her. With his kisses and caresses, her arousal built and they moved against one another.

  “Um.” He kissed her neck, unbuttoned her shirt and tasted the tops of her breasts. “You’re perfect.”

  “Knight.” She squirmed beneath him. If they kept this up she wouldn’t need for him to make love to her to reach her end.

  “Petals, I want you.” He kissed the side of her face, then reclaimed her lips.

  Her body flooded with need. She had to have him, but not like this. Not on a couch in the middle of nowhere. They needed something grounded. Something real.

  “Knight.” Like earlier, she pushed him back.

  “My body aches for you, dare I say my heart aches for you.” With glazed over eyes, he looked down at her, his chest heaved with his panting. “I want to make love to you. We need to be together.”

  “Are we together?” All they had was a fantasy.

  “I want to be. Like you, I have things to work on.” He sat up and grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned on the television. Much to her surprise, some cheesy reality show lit up the screen.

  She buttoned her shirt up and curled up next to him. “How did you get electricity out here?”

  “Petals if there’s nothing else about us, we have magic.” He put his arm around her. “There is also electricity on this property. I just ran some cords. I wanted to try to give you a normal setting.”

  Well, she didn’t know about the electricity. “I want you to make love to me when you can do it in a bed.”

  “I think we need to start facing reality,” he said.

  She closed her eyes. “Let’s live the fantasy a while longer.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ryane stopped in front of the closed doors to the main boardroom at Windsome holdings and closed her eyes. There it was, the vision of her and Knight together. Knight told her if she could see them it could happen.

  She didn’t know really why it was him. Why it couldn’t be Patrick. Why it couldn’t be one of the countless men she dated. But there was something there, a connection, something deep she couldn’t define, and in her heart she knew she would be incomplete if they didn’t end up together.

  Was that how it always happened? She didn’t know. Didn’t really care. All she knew was she was caught in a mess of lies, tangled in relationships where she was doomed to get hurt or hurt others. However, Knight called her strong, so for her and him, she had to take the next step. She opened her eyes and stared down at her files, running her fingers across the label on the tab.

  “Miss Windsome, are you all right?” Belinda tapped her shoulder. “I tried to get more pink file folders, but the company still has them back ordered.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t care about the color of the file folders.” At her own words, she gasped, pressed her hand to her chest, and looked behind her to make sure someone else didn’t speak with her voice.

  “Oh.” Belinda sidestepped away from her. “I didn’t realize.”

  “Me neither.” Her head held high, Ryane opened the door to find the real estate acquisitions team waiting for her. “Hello, everyone.”

  The people gathered around the table nodded at her.

  “We weren’t expecting this meeting.” Janice, one of the project directors, motioned toward a seat at the head of the table. “You’ve never called one before.”

  “She did when she wanted us to buy the Jewels Mall,” a man Ryane sort of recognized spoke. “It turned out to be a fine investment.”

  Ryane sat down. She wanted the mall in order to have all the stores she wanted to shop in located at one convenient location. Later, she realized it was simply easier to have the stores come to her since she was a VIP at most of the fine establishments. “Well then, we should like this one.” She opened her manila folder. “I would like to go ahead and make an offer on the little property adjacent to the Los Padres land.”

  Janice raised her hand. “As you know, the property is not for sale.”

  “That’s a technicality. Everything is for sale.” Now she sounded like a true businessperson.

  “Exactly.” Janice nodded. “However, in order to make the investment work for the company, we will have to get the commitment from you to begin developing the entire land parcel.”

  That meant the cottage would be destroyed. The lake would be nothing more than a fancy backdrop for people who would never see the magic. The oasis she and Knight shared would be gone. “I think right now we need to secure the land and worry about the development later.”

  “Actually,” Janice interjected. “Once escrow closes, we would like to start demolition, post haste. We took the liberty of showing you what can be done.”

  Suddenly, as if she were in some movie of her own making, the lights in the boardroom dimmed and a screen lowered from the ceiling. An aerial picture of the property was projected.

  “Here is the property as it currently stands,” the woman narrated.

  Ryane’s heart swelled. There was the lake, the clearing, and even the little cottage. Her world was there for everyone to see, yet no one there knew what was going on in their little hideaway.

  “Now, here is the property once we develop it to its potential.”

  The screen flashed and suddenly the world changed.

  While, the lake was still there, now the cottage was gone, the clearing vanished, the trees, everything demolished, and in its place buildings. Neat little buildings, everything planned, everything maximized for the most profit.

  Her eyes glazed over with tears, blurring the horrible image. She had to be strong, had to speak, do as Knight said, and she swallowed back her emotion. “I told you that I am not ready to commit to developing the land yet, and I definitely never approved anything like this.” She motioned toward the screen.

  “With all due respect, Miss Windsome, the Los Padres property has been dormant way too long. The board wants it developed or sold.” Janice dropped the words on her.

  Neither one of those options would work for her, and she opened her mouth to stop this madness. Before she was able to boast her objections, the door to the boardroom shot open, and her father appeared.

  “Daddy!” Instinct alone caused her to jump up out of her chair, actually his chair.

  “Princess.” He entered the room with his two assistants. “I heard you were having a meeting. I would like to sit in.”

  Everyone in the room stood and began rearranging chairs.

  Once her chair was moved aside and everyone settled down, her father took his rightful seat with his assistants standing behind him. “Please fill me in.”

  “Sir,” Janice started.

  Once again, Knight’s words about her being strong echoed around her. In no way would Ryane allow this woman to speak in her meeting. “Excuse me.” Again, she stood. “Thank you, but I will update my father.”

  Her father sat back and waited with the same half smile he possessed back when she was a little girl and going to put on a one-person show for him. No matter. She could do this.

  “Daddy.” She leaned over and poured her father a glass of water and placed it in front of him. “I want to put a bid out on the piece of land by the Los Padres property, but rather than begin development right away, I would like to wait and see what type of building will be on trend coming into the next year.”

  “What is on trend is actually building on the property.” Janice’s tone came out tense, tight.

  Ryane tossed her hair back and crossed her arms. “Pardon me, but I am the Manager of On-Trend Construction, and I say that today’s t
rend is tired. I need some time to see what is up and coming.”

  Janice got out of her seat. “Miss Windsome, there is no such thing as a Manager of On-Trend Construction.” The woman had the gall to make little air quotes as well.

  “That is not true..” She spun around to her father. “Right, Daddy?”

  Rather than answer, her father turned to one of his assistants. The man leaned down and whispered something, then her father faced her.

  “Daddy?” She pressed her lips together.

  He took a sip of the water, then took his time putting the glass on the coaster. “Well, you are one, so it is untrue there is no such thing, however I would have to say that you may be the first with that title.”

  Tears heated her eyes. Her title was a fake. Her father never believed in her. Everything around her was nothing but a mirage to make her feel important and like she mattered.

  It was now her father’s turn to stand and he held his hand out to her. “I say we buy the property and start the construction. It’s time we all move forward.”

  Shaking her head, she backed away from her father. “You want to build on the land?”

  “Now, now Princess. You were instrumental in finding this land. I say at the 75th Anniversary Party we can announce your promotion to Director of On-Trend Construction.” Her father tried to be soothing, but instead his tone came out purely condescending.

  “Do you think I’m strong, Daddy?” She swallowed back her tears.

  Everyone in the room silenced.

  Her father paused.

  The pause gave her the answer.

  “Never mind.” She turned and went to the exit, not looking back as she left. No, she wasn’t strong. She wasn’t smart. In truth, she was a fool. One who continued to go back to nowhere to see a mystery man who was nothing but a mirage, and she needed to make a change.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Let’s play.” Nash looped the strap of his acoustic guitar around his neck and gave the instrument a quick tune up.

  Erik stepped out on the stage of his theatre and took his seat at the piano. “Since when do you write the music Christine sings?”