Cinderella's Guardian

by Khloe Wren

  "Sure, Dale, take your time. There's no rush. I'll text through my contact details and wait for you to call me."

  "Great, thanks Robyn. We'll talk soon. Bye."

  "See-ya, Dale."

  Robyn hit the end-call button on her phone as a big grin spread across her face and butterflies took flight in her belly. Finally, Dale had noticed her and she would never be stuck in Gloria's shadow ever again.

  All she had to do was keep his daughter reliant on her.

  Chapter One

  1 September 2012

  The hollowness Tina felt in her chest seemed to be increasing each day, the depression sucking her further down into a deep dark pit of despair. Two weeks ago, on the two-month anniversary of her accident, her nightmares had started getting worse. They were now plaguing her sleep every night. When she closed her eyes, all she saw was either the last moments of her routine and felt the pain as her leg broke, or she relived watching her mother walk out of her hospital room and her life. She wasn't sure which hurt more, never being able to do gymnastics again or her mother proving how much she didn't love her.

  Tina rubbed her thigh as she recalled the feel of it cracking against the beam. The remembered agony momentarily stole her breath. The doctors had confirmed she'd basically shattered her femur and cracked her pelvis, and that the injury was severe enough to have her living in a wheelchair, for a while at least. They'd said once the bones healed and with time and rehab she should get back the full use of her leg. She would always limp though, and never have the range of movement in her hip she'd had prior to the accident. Thanks to all her years of gymnastics, she had great flexibility. Just not in her pelvis anymore.

  Every morning when she woke she would put all her energy into moving her leg, but on her own she couldn't do much. It didn't help she'd only been shown the exercises a couple of times and struggled to recall precisely how she should do them. Robyn was supposed to be helping her with them but she never did. Her Dad might pay her to be Tina's "caretaker" but she was pretty lousy at it. Robyn was also a real mean bitch when she wanted to be, so Tina tried to stay on her good side. After all, without Robyn, Tina would be housebound.

  She tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling.

  "How the hell did I end up here?"

  Her life wasn't her own and there wasn't anything much she could do about it. Confined to a wheelchair, she was unable to do so many everyday things for herself, stuck with a harsh evil bitch who she was forced to rely on.

  Her father had taken leave from his engineering job on the oil rig out in Bass Strait when she had her accident. One month later when his savings started running low, he'd rung to go back to work but there were no jobs available. His old boss had heard about work going out on the rigs in the Middle East. It was great money, but the only position open had been a twelve-month contract. He wasn't due back for another eleven months. Which meant not only would he miss Christmas, but he'd also miss her twenty-first birthday.

  Even though she hadn't seen much of her dad in the last five years, the two months they'd spent together before he had to go back to work had been great. He'd been mostly busy renovating the house around her, but she'd sit and chat with him while he did his work. Life hadn't seemed so bad with her dad around, cracking jokes and calling her his sweet pea. She loved her dad, and he made sure he told her every day that he loved her.

  So unlike her mother.

  Tina couldn't for the life of her work out why her mother had left him. He was a hard worker, still good looking with his short brown-blond hair and trimmed beard, and he treated everyone in his life well. Her mother must truly be mad to have left him. Then again, the woman did abandon her only child in the midst of a crisis—and didn't that just say it all. Tina briefly wondered what her mother was doing with herself now, before she released a huff as she shook her head. She honestly didn't care what her mother was up too.

  Tina came back to the present as she lowered her head to look back at the computer screen in front of her. Within days of entering Robyn's care, she'd declared Tina needed something to fill her time. So Robyn had shown her how to do the salon's bookwork. Tina had always liked working with numbers. She'd excelled at mathematics the whole way through school, so doing the bookwork didn't bother her. The fact Robyn didn't pay her for it, now that bothered her a great deal.

  Rolling the mouse to wake the screen up, she stared at the home page of the accounting software with a sigh. She needed to head out to the front desk to grab yesterday's receipts. Robyn always forgot to bring them out for her, but got shitty with her if she caught Tina out front. Tugging on her fingerless gloves making sure the padded palms were where they needed to be, she began wheeling herself out to the front desk. She didn't pay any attention to what was going on around her. There was no need. Robyn and Barbara simply ignored her existence unless they wanted her to do something, and she didn't want to focus on the happy customers going about their day. She was on her way back to the office with the receipts, wheeling past the front door when it burst open and a man came barreling in, nearly plowing right into her chair. Her muscles tensed and her heart sped up in fear. Without raising her head, she quickly apologized and tried to wheel away before Robyn noticed.

  "What on earth do you think you are doing out here, Tina?" Robyn's high pitch voice grated over her nerves. With a long exhale, Tina looked up as Robyn approached. She knew better than to try and defend herself. Robyn would never listen.

  Tina turned her gaze from Robyn to see who had come in. Her breath froze in her chest. The man was gorgeous. He had to be at least six-foot-two, ink black hair that was long enough to look shaggy in a cool designer kind of way. His eyes, framed with dark lashes, were blue with grey specks and they were focused on her with a scorching intensity that left her feeling a little lightheaded. A twitch of his lips drew her attention to the most kissable mouth she'd ever laid eyes on. This hunk put to shame any other man she'd ever seen before, even the pretty-boy athletes she used to date in Sydney.

  "Tina, leave young Mr. White alone. You know better than to talk to customers. Now return out the back this instant and get on with those books like you should be doing. They won't do themselves, you know." Robyn grabbed Tina's chair and quickly wheeled her out of the man's sight, breaking the moment and the energy sizzling between them. Once they were behind the door-curtain, Robyn gave her another mouthful of choice words, which Tina really didn't care about enough to listen to, before she returned to the salon, leaving her alone.

  Tina peeked around the door frame to watch as Robyn headed over to the man, who had moved quite close to the curtain. Had he heard Robyn's abusive words? He didn't look happy with Robyn. When he spoke, his deep growly voice slid straight down her spine and lit up internal body parts she'd thought no longer worked.

  "Who was that girl? Why is she in a wheelchair?" Tina could see Robyn trying to stare the man down.

  "Tina is no one you need to concern yourself with, Mr. White. Now I believe your mother, future sister-in-law and niece are ready to go." Robyn marched off toward two women and a child. The small group had arrived hours earlier, obviously here to get beautified for a wedding. The man trailed behind Robyn, almost like he didn't want to go with her.

  Tina turned away, wheeling her chair across the room, tears flowing down her cheeks as she struggled to contain her grief and sadness. She would never be getting married. She would never be getting with a guy like "young Mr. White" either. With next to no movement in her hip joint, sex had kind of lost its appeal. Until now. Mr. White held her attention and heated her up like no other man ever had. But what young, healthy good-looking guy wanted a wheelchair bound girlfriend?

  ~ * ~

  Robyn was frowning as she stood behind the front counter looking out after the group that had just left the salon. The way Conner had watched Tina was straight up trouble. Robyn couldn't allow Tina to get involved with any man. He would woo her and steal her away from Robyn's care. She needed to keep Tina under her
thumb. It was the only way she could stay in Dale's life. All the plans Robyn had when she took the job of Tina's caretaker were not panning out. Dale was supposed to see Robyn looking after Tina and fall at her feet in gratitude. But Dale continued in his failure to notice her as anything other than the hired help. The only letters that ever came from him were for Tina. To add insult to injury, Tina looked exactly like her damn mother. That long straight white blond hair, athletically toned body and perfect face. So different to her long dark brown wavy hair, lush breasts, hourglass physique and above average height.

  Robyn's mind tripped back in time. She and Gloria had been best friends since grade four in Primary School. They'd been the best looking girls in their class. They got top scores in all their classes just by batting their eyelids. Those were the days. But things had changed that first year of high school. From the first second Robyn saw Dale, she'd wanted him. He was tall and buff and he strolled around the school like he owned it. Gloria never really noticed him, but he'd certainly noticed her. Every time Robyn was watching Dale, Dale was watching Gloria. It hadn't taken long for Gloria to catch on to both Robyn's interest in Dale and his in Gloria. The bitch had gone after Dale like a bull at a gate. They'd dated the whole way through school, and when Dale knocked Gloria up end of senior year, he'd married her.

  Even though Robyn hated Gloria for her betrayal, she remained her friend after the wedding, just so she could still see Dale.

  "I am so pathetic," she muttered under her breath.

  Gloria had been so busy showing off her "trophy husband" she hadn't noticed Robyn's distaste for her. Then once she grew big with pregnancy, Gloria was too busy bitching about her stretch marks to notice Robyn ogling her husband. But once Tina had been born, Gloria's whining had grown too much for Robyn to tolerate. Dale was already working off shore on rigs, probably to get away from Gloria. Hell, Robyn had certainly done all she could to avoid Gloria, and she didn't even live with the woman. If Gloria wasn't complaining about how having a child had ruined her previously perfect body, she was telling the world how beautiful her baby was and how much better than everyone else's child Tina was.

  "Gloria was never good enough, never deserved him."

  "What was that?"

  Robyn jumped with a start. "Barbara, you gave me a fright. I was just talking to myself."

  "I wouldn't worry about it. All the Whites are compassionate. It's just sympathy. Conner's a good looking man. He's not going to settle for a cripple."

  "Hmm, you're probably right. But the way he looked at her... I think I'll keep an eye out for him regardless."

  After patting her on the shoulder, Barbara moved away from her to clean up the salon, leaving Robyn to her thoughts once again.

  She sighed, damn it. Robyn was beginning to wonder if Dale would ever see her like she wanted him too. It was becoming obvious Dale still loved Gloria. Even after she kicked him to the curb to chase their daughter's fame, or when she kicked their daughter to the curb after her injury. He still pined for her. Damn it. How the hell could she win him over? Make him snap out of his delusions. Until she came up with a plan, she needed to keep Tina in her care. Even if having to look at her made her stomach churn. Which meant, no men, especially strong handsome firefighters.

  Chapter Two

  Conner spun around in the darkness. He could sense something—someone—but couldn't see anything in the pitch black. A flash of white caught his eye and he twisted toward it. It flashed again... Hair. Long, straight, white-blond hair. He rubbed his eyes hoping to clear his vision. Another flash had him turning around in the darkness. Green. Emerald green eyes stared at him. So much sorrow in them, Connor's knees buckled under the intensity. As he hit the ground, he saw a glimpse of wheel spokes pass him. Then it returned to peaceful darkness, leaving him alone. The presence that had been was now gone, but Conner couldn't quite catch up with what had happened.

  Conner came awake with a jolt. Bolting to sit up in bed, he wiped the sweat off his face. He squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to breathe through the tightness in his chest. With his eyes closed, Conner saw the vision from his dream again. Tina. The young woman he'd seen two weeks ago at the hairdressers before Dominic and Adele's wedding, she was his mate! Little wonder she sent his instincts nuts. Conner's desire to shield her had scared him. As a snow leopard shifter, he was by nature programed to defend the innocent but he'd never felt that strong of a protective instinct about anyone—not even Kelly when they went to rescue her and Adele from that sadistic bastard, Cole.

  Conner swung his legs over the edge of his bed and scrubbed his face in his hands. What should he do now? He'd already gone back to the hairdressers a few times trying to catch her attention, to talk to her and see if he could help her in any way. He wasn't sure what he could do for her, but he'd felt it vital to try to reach the young woman. But that bitch at the salon kept her hidden out in the back room, never allowing Conner anywhere near her. He'd not even managed to see Tina since that morning. His mind tripped back to when Dominic started dreaming of Adele. He'd felt pain from Adele as she grieved her mother's death. His Dad had explained to them about the mating bond...of course! Dream bonding, Conner could join her in her dreams. His Dad had explained that as mates, you could pull the other into your dream or push yourself into theirs. It was how Dominic had first seen his Adele.

  Conner eyed the clock, three in the morning. Great, he could try now. She should be asleep. He rolled back onto his mattress and did as his father had told him and Dominic all those months ago. He focused on Tina, remembered everything he could about her as he drifted back to sleep.

  Conner found himself in the stand of a massive gymnasium. Large signs stating "Olympic Trials" were hung high on the walls and the floor had every set up imaginable on it, from rings to beams to areas covered in blue mats. He scanned the room for Tina. He couldn't see any wheelchairs, but he would guess she'd dream of being out of it. A loud speaker crackled before calling Tina Anderson up to the uneven bars. Conner made his way down the stand and onto the floor as he watched her approach the bars. She was stunning. All smooth muscle as she gracefully bowed to the judges. Her costume was skin tight, giving Conner a good look at every curve of her body. She was a petite woman, with small breasts and a slight flare out from her waist to her hips. To Conner, she was perfection. The right size for him to wrap up and protect. Her beautiful hair was pulled back into a tight bun allowing him a good view of her slender sexy neck.

  Mesmerized, Connor watched her spin around the bars, every movement exact. Flawless. He saw an expression of panic cross her face as a hand slipped. Out of reflex Conner raced to her, using his supernatural speed to get there in time. As her second hand slipped free, Conner used every ounce of his strength to kick out a side of the lower bar causing it to crash out of the way. Moments later, he held Tina safely in his arms. Even in a muted dream, his whole body shuddered as it came into contact with hers. She gasped as she gripped him tightly around the neck, pressing her hot sweaty body against his.

  People around them were going crazy, he moved off the mat with Tina. He listened as people ran around with stretchers and gathered near where, had he not caught her, Tina would have been.

  "What happened? When I wasn't here?"

  "I fall, crash into the lower bar, shattering my femur and cracking my pelvis. It's why I'm stuck in a chair now. This is my real life nightmare. It never goes away. I relive it while I sleep, and suffer the aftereffects while I'm awake."

  Unsure what to say, Conner simply held her closer to him, lowering his head to nuzzle against the top of hers.

  "Funny that I'm dreaming of you rescuing me."

  "Why is it funny?"

  "Because, I only saw you the once. Well, I've seen glimpses of you since. When Robyn sent you away those times, I'd peak out around the curtain to watch you. But I only had that one up close encounter with you two weeks ago today."

  She began stroking his chest through his t-shirt, before the shirt vanished
and she began exploring his naked skin. A grin tugged at his lips, Tina was a little hellcat in her dreams.

  "Now, here you are. On the night before my birthday, rescuing me. If only you were there when it really happened."

  Burying her face into his neck she began to cry, hard enough her whole body shook. Conner had always been a little awkward around emotional women. Normally, he'd do whatever he could to get away, but with Tina it was different. He wanted to soothe her, make her feel better.

  "I'm here now, and if I could, I'd turn back time to be there when this happened. So I could rescue you for real."

  "Oh, how I wish you were real, Conner."

  He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying too much. He would love to tell her exactly how real he was, but that wouldn't help. Probably quite the opposite.

  "How about we get out of here?"

  She raised her head from his chest with a watery grin. "I know just the place."

  Tina held his gaze as the world around them spun away and returned as something new. Conner looked around to discover they were now near Sydney on Bondi Beach. Tina must have lived near here at some point. She began squirming in his arms, trying to get down. But Conner had a better idea. He looked down at her with a sly grin, taking in her skimpy little green bikini, moments before he sprinted for the crashing waves. He plowed into the surf with Tina squealing in his arms. In the waist deep water, he lowered her to her feet and she gripped his neck tightly until she remembered that her legs would hold her weight in the dream. With a giggle, she let him go and spun around in the water. Conner's heart felt lighter at her laughter. This is how she should be, carefree and loving life. She put her arms out wide and fell back into the water, allowing herself to sink below the surface. She stood back up moments later and while she cleared the water from her face, Conner prowled toward her. She was so gorgeous with the sun shining off the droplets of moisture on her skin. She opened her eyes and watched him as he reached for her. Pulling her into his embrace, he crushed his lips against hers. Her taste washed over his senses, tangy citrus with a salty edge from the ocean. He groaned into her mouth as he deepened the kiss, stroking her tongue with his. He felt his body harden and Tina seductively moved her tummy against his hard length.