The Cinderella Obsession

by Carew, Amber

"Nick!"

  "Taking a last look around before you pick up your stuff?"

  Even though he wanted to race across the room and drag her into his arms, he forced his voice to sound reserved. He had to find out why she’d come.

  "I know you’re probably upset with me, Nick, but--"

  He strolled toward her. "Upset with you? Why? Because you disappeared without a word last Thursday? Because you refused to take my calls or answer your door, leaving me worried sick about you? Because you quit without a single word as to why?"

  She had the good grace to look sheepish, refusing to meet his gaze. She glanced down at the metal dolphins spinning around each other in wild circles. "Nick, this is so hard. I … oh, sit down, will you, please?"

  "No." He wanted to be ready if she made a break for the door.

  She sighed. "All right. Nick, I didn’t come here to pick up my things."

  His eyebrow shot up. "Oh? Why else would you be here at this time of night. I assume you wanted to avoid running into me."

  "On the contrary." She stared steadily into his eyes. "You weren’t at home so I came here looking for you."

  Hope fluttered inside him. "Why?"

  "Well, it’s about the mystery woman you’ve been searching for. The Cinderella who crashed your masquerade ball."

  "Really?" So, was she finally ready to confide in him?

  She walked while she spoke, stepping out from behind his desk. "I know you received a call from an insurance company telling you they knew who she was. I also know that they’ve refused to give you the information."

  "You do?" He’d forgotten all about that call until he’d gone to talk to Rachel and realized it was the cause of the difficulties between him and Vanessa. He’d never returned the adjuster’s call and, strangely enough, the man hadn’t followed up. "How do you know that?"

  She waved away his question. "It doesn’t matter. The point is, I know who she is."

  He folded his arms across his chest. "Do you now?"

  "Yes, and … well, I’m not going to tell you any more about it until I find out a few things from you."

  A smile tickled the corners of his mouth, but he held it back, continuing to look stern. "And what might that be?"

  "Nick, please sit down."

  This time he complied, sitting on the couch, which stood nearer the door than the chairs. She stood facing him, several feet away.

  "I heard you talking to Amy on Thursday. I…." Her gaze dropped to her fingers, which she’d twisted tightly around each other. "I know you plan to find her and … that you’ve decided she’s the woman of your dreams."

  At the look of pain that flashed across her pale face, he began to feel guilty about what he was putting her through. "Vanessa, let me--"

  She cut him off with a wave. "No, Nick. Let me finish. I know you think you want her … and, believe me, I understand all about fantasies. I went after a fantasy myself once." Her eyes misted as she stared deeply into his own. "I know you have the right to do the same thing. I just think you should know that…." She averted her eyes. "I love you, Nick." She turned away from him and marched over to the office door. Nick started to panic, thinking she might flee yet again. Before he could leap to his feet, he heard the click of the lock. She turned back to face him, her hands still holding the knob behind her, in a delightfully sexy pose. "And I’m going to fight for you."

  "You are?"

  He watched in fascination as she slowly released the buttons of the long suit jacket she wore. Glimpses of black lace teased as she sauntered toward him.

  He felt his pulse quicken as she dropped the jacket over her shoulders, revealing the skimpy black lace dress he’d given her, the one she’d refused to model. His hungry gaze took in every inch of her body enmeshed in stretch lace. Somehow, the skimpy dress, with the conservative blazer now draped at her elbows, looked unbelievably wicked.

  She dropped the jacket to the floor and turned around slowly, with a swing to her hips that proved incredibly enticing.

  "Nick, I know we can’t build a relationship on physical attraction alone." Standing right in front of him now, she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, sending ripples of pleasure along his nerve ends. "But I believe that you love me, and I intend to hang onto you any way I can, until you admit it to yourself … and to me."

  "Vanessa, I…."

  She trapped his lips beneath her fingertip. "No. Don’t say anything yet." She planted her lips firmly on his as she grasped his lapels and eased herself onto his lap. Her short skirt hiked up even higher as she slid her knees onto either side of his thighs, straddling him, stroking her hands under his jacket to slip it off. He tossed it away as quickly as possible and clamped his arms around her. She stared down at him, holding his gaze as she dropped first one, then the other, ribbon strap off her shoulder.

  "Nick, tell me you want me."

  "Oh, Lord, Vanessa. Of course, I want you."

  She smiled in satisfaction and reached around to unzip the dress, thrusting her breasts forward. He stroked a hand over one, then the other, as he drew the dress down. Her pert breasts, swollen in anticipation of his touch, stood proud and naked before him. He drew one erect nipple into his mouth, feeling his own erection straining against his fly. Her tiny gasp made his pleasure almost painful. Her hand slid over him, and he felt the pressure ease with the rasping of his zipper, then he was the one to gasp as her hand closed around him.

  "Vanessa. Oh, sweetheart."

  "You really do want me, don’t you?"

  She slid her dress up in an enticing shimmy and shifted over him. He gasped as he felt her hot, moist body close around him. He couldn’t believe it. Being pinned to this couch by a wild seductress who now slowly and expertly made love to him was beyond his wildest fantasy. How could Vanessa possibly believe she couldn’t live up to his fantasy woman?

  He stroked her back and, as their pace quickened, planted his hands on her hips, helping her rise and fall to their shared rhythm.

  "Nick," she cried out on a lingering gasp. Her muscles tightened around him, sending him over the edge of reality into paradise.

  As she slumped in his arms, he held her against him, savoring the feel of her, the slippery sweet smell of her, and reveling in the fact that she loved him. The marvelous thought kept swirling through his head, dancing like a tipsy butterfly. Vanessa loved him.

  "Vanessa."

  Her head lolled on his shoulder and he could feel her smile. "Mmm?" The sound came out low and musical.

  "Sweetheart, I know who Cinderella is, too."

  "Hmm?" This time it came out sharp and jerky, as her head flew up. "What did you say?" Her fingernails dug into his shoulders.

  He looked into her startled eyes and decided to change tracks. "Why did you leave?"

  Her lips pinched together. "Because I thought you didn’t want me, that you wanted some fantasy you’d created."

  "Why did you think that?"

  "Right from the beginning I knew you wanted someone like Amy. Beautiful, intelligent, ambitious, career-oriented--everything I’m not."

  "I admit, I used to think I wanted someone like Amy. Until I met you. And for the record, you are beautiful and intelligent. You’re also much, much more."

  "Oh?" She traced her finger along his lower lip, the grim line of her mouth curving up into a smile.

  "I want someone soft and feminine."

  "Really? What else?"

  "Someone creative."

  She kissed his nose. "Anything else?"

  He ran his finger along the bare skin above the edge of the lace dress, which lay crumpled around her waist. "Someone who’s incredibly sexy and willing to seduce me."

  Laughing, she batted at his hand and started to get up, but he caught her around the waist and pulled her back against him.

  His face turned serious. "I also want someone loving and easy to be with. I always felt the other women I’ve dated were competing with me, trying to prove something. That meant a lot of pressure-
-on them and on me. With you I can relax and be myself." He cupped her face gently and kissed her with all the tender emotion flowing through him. "Vanessa, I love you." He kissed her again. "And I have a feeling you want to have a family as much as I do."

  "Oh, I do, Nick, but…."

  She drew herself away from him. As she stood up, she shoved the dress to the floor then pulled on her discarded jacket and hugged it to her body.

  "Vanessa, what is it?"

  "I just … Nick, won’t you always wonder about her?"

  "Her?"

  "Yes. Your fantasy woman. Your Cinderella." She paced across the office a couple of times, Nick following her lithe movements with his gaze. "Nick, I know about dreams. You’re my dream and I’m lucky to have found you. Don’t you think … won’t you always wonder what she might have been like…?"

  "Her? She? Vanessa, are you starting to feel a wee bit schizophrenic?"

  She glanced at him sharply, her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

  "I know who she is, too."

  "No, you don’t. You’re bluffing."

  He stood up and she took a step away from him. "No, I’m not."

  "But you can’t, you … I called the insurance company. They promised. I threatened to…."

  He took another step towards her. She retreated. "You threatened them? Tsk, tsk, Vanessa. That wasn’t very nice. Well, I’d better let them off the hook then. I’ve known ever since that day you came to work at the house. The day we kissed out in the garden."

  "No! You couldn’t. You didn’t say a thing." She jerked to a stop when she backed into the desk.

  "I wanted to know what you were up to. And once I found out why you’d crashed my party, that you’d always dreamt of being Cinderella--"

  "Rachel!"

  He swept his arms around her and pulled her toward him. "-- I decided to make your dream come true. At least partially." He fluttered light kisses across her cheek. "I didn’t know then that I’d fall madly in love with my sweet Cinderella."

  "Fall … but…?" Her eyes lit up with understanding. "When you were talking to Amy on the phone, when you said you wanted to ask her to marry you … you were talking about--"

  "You." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purple satin box. "I believe you have the mate to this one," he said as he snapped open the box, revealing her glass slipper earring.

  She reached into the pocket of her blazer and pulled out the twin. "Yes," she whispered, staring into his eyes with unconcealed joy.

  She tugged off her gold earrings and slipped on one of the crystal earrings. Nick handed her the mate and she slid it onto her other ear.

  "Beautiful." The earrings glistened in the light, but not as brightly as Vanessa’s eyes, aglow with happiness. "And as for marriage…."

  He tugged another box from his pocket, velvet this time, and handed it to her. She opened it. Glittering at her from inside lay an exquisite heart-shaped diamond in a setting to match her antique earrings.

  "I don’t need any more time to know that I want you forever. One weekend of thinking I’d lost you was more than enough to convince me. This is a symbol of my heart, Vanessa. Please accept it. Say ‘yes’ to happily-ever-after."

  "Yes," she whispered almost choking on a sob of joy. "Oh, yes. Nick."

  Their lips came together in a flash of passion, erupting within them the fireworks befitting a fairy tale come true.

  ###

  About the Author

  Amber Carew is the pseudonym of Opal Carew, an award-winning author of erotic romance. She was named "Fresh Face of Erotic Fiction 2009" and her books have won the Award of Excellence and the Golden Leaf Award, and been finalists for the National Readers' Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Laurel Wreath Award, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and Passionate Plume Award.

  Opal loves crystals, dragons, feathers, cats, pink hair, the occult, Manga artwork, and all that glitters. She earned a degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, and spent 15 years as a software analyst before turning to her passions as a writer. She lives in Canada with her husband, two sons and two cats.

  To learn more about Opal, visit her website at www.opalcarew.com, or contact her at OpalCarew@BestRomanceAuthors.com.

  Books by Amber Carew

  Contemporary romance

  The Cinderella Obsession

  Virgin Spy

  Virgin Wanted

  Contemporary fantasy romance

  Christmas Angel

  I Dream of Genie

  Virgin Wizard

  Contemporary futuristic romance

  Man of Her Dreams

  Books by Opal Carew

  Contemporary erotic romance

  Insatiable

  Secret Weapon

  Total Abandon

  Pleasure Bound

  Bliss

  Forbidden Heat

  Secret Ties

  Six

  Blush

  Swing

  Twin Fantasies

  Futuristic erotic romance

  Slaves of Love

  Celestial Soul-Mates series

  Book 1: The King and I

  Book 2: The Commander's Woman

  Book 3: Passion Play

  Fantasy erotic romance

  Crystal Genie

  Contemporary erotic short stories and novellas

  Three

  Debt of Honor

  Red Hot Fantasies series

  Volume 1: The Male Stripper

  Volume 2: The Stranger

  Volume 3: The Office Slave (coming soon)

  Volume 4: The Captive (coming soon)

  Volumn 5: The Bridal Affair (coming soon)

  Connect with Amber online:

  Website: http://www.AmberCarew.com

  or http://www.OpalCarew.com

  Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/opalcarew

  Facebook: http://facebook.com/OpalCarewRomanceAuthor

  Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/OpalCarew

  If you enjoyed this love story by Amber Carew, you might like to try another one of Amber's other contemporary romances, VIRGIN WANTED, or one of Amber's contemporary fantasy romances, VIRGIN WIZARD.

  If you'd like something a little hotter you might enjoy one of Opal Carew's erotic romances, TOTAL ABANDON.

  And, if you'd like something a lot hotter you might enjoy one of Opal Carew's erotic short stories, THREE.

  An excerpt of each of these four books is included below.

  Virgin Wanted

  by Amber Carew

  Gillian is tired of her mother trying to push her on a date with her boss' son. She doesn't want to be hooked up with any guy—especially a rich one—let alone one who would put an ad in the paper looking for a virgin, no less.

  Cade is tired of his father trying to hook him up with a bride. If he did want to find a wife, which is not tops on his priority list, he is perfectly capable of finding his own woman. In fact, he's quite intrigued by the sparky-eyed beauty storming out of his office building. She's spunky, determined—and sexy as hell. When she mistakes him for a blue collar worker, he decides this is the perfect opportunity to get to know a woman he's attracted to without worrying about whether she's after his money.

  Gill is determined to put Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome out of her mind, even though his touch ignites her passion like a keg of jet fuel. Mom calls that kind of passion infatuation. Cade calls it chemistry. Gill just calls it dangerous.

  Chapter 1

  "Virgin Wanted

  No experience necessary!"

  Gillian's focus zeroed in on the phone number at the bottom of the personal ad and she gasped. Snatching up the phone, she jabbed out the sequence of numbers and drummed her fingers on the table top while listening to the electronic whir over the line.

  When she heard the familiar voice on the other end she cried, "Mother. How could you?"

  "How could I what, dear?"

  Her calm voice didn't fool Gill for a minute. "I'm referring to the ad in th
e Citizen." Absently, she grabbed a red pen from the collection of writing utensils in the blue plastic cup beside the phone, then outlined the ad.

  "Oh, you saw that, did you?" Mom's nonchalant manner perturbed Gill. Had she hoped Gill wouldn't see it?

  "Do you know how many crazy people you'll get phoning you with an ad like that?"

  "Yes, dear. I know. You're the first one."

  Gillian's fingers splayed flat on the table top. "Mother!"

  Why me? she asked herself. Why have I been cursed with a mother who gets involved in such crazy schemes?

  "So, dear, are you calling to apply?" The hopeful note in her voice put Gill on guard.

  "For what exactly?" she asked, warily.

  "Why, to marry Jeremy Farraday, of course."

  Oh, no. Not Jeremy again. Jeremy Farraday. Mother had been after her for the past two years to meet her employer's son and Gill had successfully avoided the event so far. Now it seemed Mom's goal had evolved to marriage. Gill suppressed a groan.

  "What does this ad have to do with marrying Farraday's son?"

  "Mr. Farraday has decided it's long past time for Jeremy to get married, so—you know how I've told you what a take charge kind of guy Mr. Farraday is—he's decided to search for a bride for his son. He asked me to help. Everyone's always talking about the power of personal ads so I thought I'd try one."

  Gill folded the open section of the newspaper in half, then in half again, leaving the red-rimmed ad centered in front of her. "Isn't this going a bit beyond the call of duty? After all, you're the personnel manager for Farraday's company, not for his family's personal life."

  Gill heard her mother sigh heavily. "Gill, Mr. Farraday sees getting a wife for his son as an important aspect of continuing the business."

  Gill snorted. "He wants heirs, you mean?"

  "Yes. He's an old-fashioned man. He feels this is part of the business and ... well, Gill, I just couldn't say no."

  Gill clenched her jaw. Mom was too willing to be pushed around. When would she ever learn to push back? "Yes, you could. If he tried to fire you, you could sue him. He'd be laughed out of court when people found out he terminated you because you refused to be a matchmaker for his son."