Cinderella Undone

by Nicole Snow

  Dad isn't kidding about the strange absurdity hanging over us. Silas is a Prince – I have to keep reminding myself – part of the blue bloods with so much money nothing is off limits. Ever.

  “Who says I can't do both?” I tell him. “I don't think you have to shut down and disappear as soon as there's a title in front of your name. Silas was just telling me about his cousin the other day, the Duchess of Southshore. You'd know her face if you saw her. She's been partnered up with fitness guys and New Age gurus for years, helping push health, her passion.”

  “Your first responsibility is always going to be to that country,” dad says. “Don't have to tell you things work different in Europe than they do in the States, peach. Marrying that man means taking on a hell of an obligation – maybe one that prevents you from doing a lot of what you want.”

  “I know exactly what I'm getting into,” I snap, forgetting the fact that I barely have a clue. “Well, the wedding's coming up in about a month. I won't be talked out of it. And, daddy, if you're feeling up to traveling, I'd really love to have you there.”

  I shouldn't say it, stifling the tremor in my voice, but I do. It's official. I'm inviting my father to my fake marriage with a man who's little more than a fuck buddy with royal blood. A man who's already said he's going to let go at some point, leaving me with these insane memories, along with more money than I can imagine.

  “You're right. It's not my place to tell you anything. You're a grown woman, and you can do what you want.”

  “Exactly. So, maybe I won't be trotting around the globe interviewing celebrities and Presidents like you, daddy. But someday, I'm going to publish an amazing book.”

  “Yeah, you will.” I can practically hear him smiling over the phone, warming my heart.

  I have to know how he's really doing. This kind of surrender, acceptance, tolerance just isn't like him.

  “How's the treatment, anyway?” I ask. “Have they done more tests since your last round of chemo?”

  “It's...inconclusive,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “Doesn't mean anything bad. They don't have a lot of experience with what I've got. It's the Big C, yeah, but they all behave a little differently, from what I understand. I'll know more next week.”

  Next week. It feels like an eternity to me, waiting to find out if he's sitting on a death sentence or not. I can't even imagine what it's like for him, and my stomach twists in knots, weighed down with guilt. I regret being so bitchy about Silas just a minute ago.

  “You're going to be fine, daddy. You have to believe that. Positive thinking...”

  “Peach, with you and Prince Charming pumping the finest drugs money can buy into my veins, I'm bringing the fight. I won't go down without swinging back as hard as I can. Whatever happens, it's been a good life. I'm always going to worry about you, Erin, because you're my daughter. But I'm not worried about you doing the right thing anymore. You've got your head screwed tight and your heart in the right place. I did a good job with that, whatever other mistakes I've made.”

  “You did.” The way he's talking makes me want to cry.

  I sit down on a small bamboo bench by the stream, staring through the dense trees, wondering how hot the sun feels on the other side of the world in Mexico.

  “I've got another appointment in about ten minutes, so I'd better go. Love you, darling. Always have, always will, and always gonna be –“

  “I know, I know,” I cut in, finishing the phrase he's said to me since I was a little girl for him. “My daddy.”

  “Damned straight.” My phone goes quiet.

  I lower it to my lap, brushing the tears from my eyes. The furious lion that's always been a fixture in the media has turned into a gentle giant. I'm touched and scared for him just the same, and I spend the next few minutes enveloped in my thoughts, a thousand chances at life and death rolling by like clouds taking shape.

  “What the hell happened?” I hear Silas growl it before I look up, feeling his protective hand on my shoulder.

  “It's nothing,” I lie. “Just worried about my father. We talked. He's doing okay – or so he says – but he doesn't do details. It's almost like he knows he won't be around much longer.”

  Silas sits next to me, putting his arm around my shoulder, and pulls me in tight. “People change when they're face-to-face with death, love. He's going to make it – none of those doctors would dare to let me down after all the money they've gotten for their research.”

  “I don't know that cancer cares about your generosity, Your Highness,” I say, more sarcastically than I really need to.

  I hate it when I'm sad.

  I'm the kind of girl who wraps herself up in barbed wire to hide the pain. Anybody coming too close will get pricked, and bleed with me.

  “No, but the small army I've got working on it are better than any disease. I've always been careful with who I fund. Nobody gets a penny unless they're the best of the best. Mom taught me that lesson.”

  He squeezes my hand. I look at him slowly, the bitterness fading.

  Different doesn't begin to describe the worlds we're from, but here, we're a lot more alike than we should be. His mother, the kingdom's beloved Princess for twenty years, already had her fight with the same thing hammering my dad. She lost hers when he was just a boy.

  “I'm sorry,” I say, lacing my fingers through his. “I forgot, you've been through all this before...”

  “Not quite. Mom's fight was hopeless. The technology wasn't as good, and she held off too long on treatment. The woman stopped caring about her health after the cheating started. My goddamned father, she never got over it...losing his heart, and his loyalty. Watching him ruin himself on women half his age. Pissing away his life, until the ocean put him out of his misery for good.”

  I stare at him, not saying much, dragging my heel through the gravel underneath us. “I can't imagine what it's like, losing both parents. I barely talk to mom. She hasn't wanted much to do with either of us since the divorce. She's all work, spending her days and nights at the law firm in New York. Maybe she's trying to forget the life she used to have, including me. It's like addiction comes naturally to people trying to run from something. Like your dad, maybe.”

  Silas snorts, lifting my hand to his mouth. He stops to kiss the back of my hand before he says anything. Heat blooms inside me, hot and red and wanting.

  I still can't figure out how this man is so damned good at turning me on with nothing more than the slightest kiss.

  “My father never saw past pussy and drink. Although I've inherited his knack for getting panties wet, I'd like to think I'm more than just another player.”

  Right now, he's all player, and he's won the game. I'm burning up by the time his fingers trace through my hair, and he pulls my face to his, smothering me in another fiery trademark kiss.

  “Let's forget all this shit. It's too beautiful a day to dwell on it,” he says, gesturing to the green vastness on the path I haven't even explored. “You haven't seen all the gardens yet, have you?'

  I shake my head. “No. I might need a tour guide for that, I'm afraid.”

  “At your service,” he stands up and does an exaggerated bow.

  It's so ridiculous coming from a real life Prince, especially one as arrogant as Silas, that I burst out laughing. “I don't know if I can handle more of that on the trail.”

  “Deeply sorry, love, I'm afraid I'm your only choice today,” he says, doing his very best to imitate Victor's prim and proper style. “These gardens go on for at least a thousand acres, so you're not going alone. And I'm not turning you over to fuck the gardener.”

  Sticking out my tongue, I slap his chest. “Like I would ever do that!”

  “I don't know, love. I think I've created a monster when I took you to bed. We both know you need it morning, noon, and night.”

  There's Prince Asshole again, jerking me to his chest, guiding me into his next kiss. Everything says I should fight like hell to push him away, but I don't when
I feel him, taste him, lose myself in his infuriating lips.

  If this thing is a fairy tale, then it's the most twisted, incredible story a girl can live.

  We're deep in the gardens, talking about everything and nothing at all. I find out things about Silas I never imagined.

  He got suspended from the most prestigious prep school in Europe for sneaking in his childhood bulldog. The animal went on a rampage, chewing up several priceless books in the school library after getting spooked by a violin practice next door.

  He likes his coffee strong and black. The only way it should be after a late night with too many drinks.

  He remembers the war. Afghanistan follows him, especially when he sneaks away to the royal military cemetery once a year. Always on some dark, cold, rainy day when people hold their umbrellas low, reducing the chances he'll ever be recognized.

  He isn't shy about his big, beautiful cock. Well, I knew that before, but he's still stroking his...ego.

  At least he says I'm the finest, hottest pussy he's ever had wrapped around it.

  I roll my eyes and laugh at his latest crude jests. They do their job, though, making me uncomfortably hot and wet. I'm grateful for the humid, lush forest surrounding us on every side. It's the only thing that distracts me, helps me keep my hands off his big, solid body.

  “Since we're playing a thousand questions, there's something I'd like to know,” I tell him, holding his hand while we go over yet another beautiful stone bridge that's at least a century old. “What happened with Serena? What's her deal?”

  His face darkens. “I made a big fucking mistake with that one. Put my dick somewhere it never should've gone last summer. She hasn't gotten over it.”

  “Did you lead her on?” I look at him, point blank.

  “Hell no. Truthfully, the bitch is psychotic or painfully desperate. Maybe both.” He shakes his head so adamantly I have to believe him. “I never promised her a damned thing. She let her Princess fantasies get to her, like some women do. They suck me, fuck me, think it means they're going to wear the royal ring and have Sunday dinners with grandmom. The other girls were easy to brush off. Serena, not so much, because she's too good at her job. I don't want to send her packing unless she crosses the line.”

  She already has with me. Several times. I keep my thoughts to myself, knowing it isn't my place to decide who he keeps as press secretary.

  “You can't take back what happened. I get that.”

  “Yeah, and we don't need to dwell on it, love. I've taken the liberty of chatting with the bitch myself so you don't have to. We're set for tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? What's happening then?”

  “Our second appearance in public.” He tightens his hold on my hand when I look at him, my eyes going huge. “We've got ourselves a royal parade scheduled. Show of power, really, to remind the Republic assholes who's still boss. We're going out for a ride with tight security. There'll also be several dignitaries present, paying their respects to Her Majesty while she's ill.”

  My chest tightens. I have to hold my hand across my breast. Silas stops when I do, his head cocked, wondering what's wrong.

  “You're sure it's safe? It seems so soon, riding out into crowds like that, after what happened at the palace.”

  I took too many history classes for my own good at college. I'm having brutal flashes of JFK and Arch Duke Ferdinand, both cut down in their prime with their Princesses riding next to them.

  “The rabble rousers don't have the balls to do anything except sneer at us from the sidelines with their signs and banners. I've been through this half a dozen times over the years, love. I promise it's safe. Trust me.”

  He reaches for my hand. I hesitate for several seconds before I let my fingers wind around his. Reassured, for now.

  Maybe he's right. Publicity is half of what I signed up for when I agreed to this marriage. I can't be scared.

  “Okay. I'll do my best. Will they expect us to speak again?”

  “A few words from me in front of the cameras, maybe,” he says. “Not like before. This isn't an announcement. We're there for eye candy, moving through the streets like living ornaments. We'll meet some dignitaries at the end of it, but whatever comes after with them will be said behind closed doors. Most of the people love us. We'll make the world see a couple thousand smiling faces, and just a few angry pricks. Believe me, if anything gets out of line, they won't get far with the extra agents stationed in the crowd.”

  I hope you're right. I hold my tongue, thinking it, without saying anything.

  “I haven't gotten a tour of the capital yet. Good way to do that, I suppose,” I say.

  “It's gorgeous. Lucky for you, I'll also be giving you that surprise tomorrow morning.”

  Oh, God. I'd almost forgotten it. Now, I can't think of anything else with the sly, mischievous glint beading in his deep blue eyes.

  “Tell me, Silas. I don't like surprises.”

  “You'll love this one. Small disclaimer, I'm not responsible if you accidentally come your brains out.”

  I don't even have time to gasp, or hit him with a dozen questions. He takes my hand by the wrist and pulls me along, further along the path into the gardens. Deeper into this craziness and mystery, wondering how I'm going to survive.

  12

  Public Eye (Silas)

  It takes everything I've got not to smile when she opens the platinum box. It's morning, we're due in the car in about an hour, and my Princess is looking at an egg shaped remote-control vibrator custom designed for her pussy.

  Her fingers tremble a little when she picks it up. She's eyeballing it like I just presented her with a stick of dynamite.

  Hell, maybe I have. My cock certainly feels like it's going to explode in my pants while I'm watching her grasp it, hold it up, and turn that shocked little look on her face into total horror.

  “I'm not using this in public. You're out of your fucking mind, Silas.”

  “Yeah? Then why are you holding it like you're already in love?” I smile, sit down on the bed next to her, and put my hand over hers. Our fingers both close around the cool, sterile gold, made to get her hotter than an incoming meteor when I crank it to high.

  “No, just – no!” She says it again, shaking her sweet head, desperately trying to push my hand away with the device in it.

  I don't let her. “Take a chance on it, love. Let yourself have a little excitement. I saw how nervous you looked yesterday, in the gardens, when I mentioned our outing. Believe me, with this thing in, you'll be too busy coming to think about all the eyes on you.”

  “Bad idea! All of it.” She manages to wrestle out of my grasp, jumping up, pacing around the bedroom. “It really shouldn't surprise me what a crude psycho you can be, but for some reason it does.”

  I clench the small metal object harder in my hand. Can't stop thinking about it wedged in her sweet cunt, shaking between her legs, making her soak everything she's wearing underneath that fancy formal dress.

  It's thinner and more modern than the one she had to wear to meet grandmom. Perfect for hiding what I'm doing to her from everybody with a camera, while it shows me everything.

  “Look, if you're dead set against it, I won't make you,” I say, standing up.

  “Like you could!” Erin sticks her tongue out.

  Ah, a challenge. Fuck me.

  My hand twitches for another reason. I want to spank that ass raw. For a split second, I think about pulling out my phone, calling Vic, and canceling the whole event.

  Unfortunately, the interests of the kingdom and my ten inch cock are often quite different. I swear I can hear the world's smallest violin playing a sad song.

  “Babe, take it.” I step up, pushing it into her hand. I'll risk her throwing it through the wall, or maybe at my head. “Go. Finish getting dressed. I'll let you decide whether you want to slip that thing in, or leave it on the bathroom counter.”

  Her cheeks glow rosy. It's a conflicted, reddish flush spreading across he
r face when she stares at the filthy toy in her hand before she looks up at me, her brows furrowed.

  “I can't believe you're thinking about sex again on the day we have a second chance to get this right.”

  “Funny. I can't believe you think I'd rather be thinking about anything else. Especially when you're folding your arms, pushing your tits in my face, reminding me that I want to shred that fucking dress and have you against the wall.”

  My dick's doing the talking now. As usual, I'm at a loss to shut him up.

  “I have to get ready,” she says, briskly spinning around.

  As soon as the bathroom door closes, I let myself smile. I'd bet my whole fortune she's wetter than she wants to be.

  What are the odds I won't see my gift abandoned on the counter if I look in there before we head out?

  I'm still crunching the numbers in my head, trying to distract my rampaging cock, when she finally steps out. The ladies assigned to help her dress this morning are gone at my orders, and I'm relieved to see she can handle the entire outfit herself.

  Wait, handle it? No, she looks good. Sexy. Divine.

  Good enough to eat my fill. My cock aches in tune with my lips, hungry to get her naked, spread her legs, and lick her hard and deep. I want to make this girl squirt on my face, and taste her own cream on my lips when I fuck her senseless.

  “Well? How do I look?” she says, a husky edge in her voice that isn't helping me calm down.

  “Like a Princess should,” I say, standing.

  She smiles, calling me to walk on over and embrace her. There's a knock at our door just then.

  “Your Highness, the men are performing the last security check on the motorcade. Everything's ready, at your convenience.”

  “Thanks. We'll be out in just a minute.”

  Not enough time to satisfy my evil desires. Just enough to kiss her, grab her ass, and realize there's one more thing I have to do before we leave.