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

by Kim Carmichael

  All she could do was shake her head.

  “With you, I can be anything I want to be. Everything else goes away.” He gave her a light kiss.

  “Oh.” Her heart sped, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and held on. “I’m afraid you’re going to go away.”

  “And you’re afraid I’m not going to go away.” Once more he kissed her, not opened mouth, but more than a peck with his lips lingering.

  “Knight.” She tangled her hand in his hair. The silky strands wrapped around her fingers and she never wanted to let go.

  “I need to taste you.” At last, he connected their mouths.

  First kisses were always awkward, a moment of worry and fumbling while one found the rhythm with their partner.

  Of course, she'd never kissed Knight before.

  His soft lips melded to hers. There was no pause, no uncertainty, he simply kissed her. Hard and commanding, he took over, but took it slow. In unison, their mouths opened, he guided their tongues together, and she savored his incredible taste, wine mixed with something purely masculine yet sweet.

  Her entire body became enveloped in heat, and she held him tighter. A low moan escaped his throat and he deepened this kiss. His hands roamed over her body, sensitizing every nerve ending he graced with his touch.

  She grabbed his collar, twisted the fabric in her fist and fought the urge to tear the garment right off him. There was something about him she needed. How would they ever make this work? Maybe all they needed was to end this charade.

  Too soon, he broke the kiss and trailed his lips down to her neck, over to her ear. “You’re delicious.”

  “Knight.” She swallowed and put her hand on the back of his head.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.” He kissed her ear. “I’m sorry about it all.”

  She pulled back. “You can be there.” He could come back with her, they could reveal all, then they could make love.

  “Pretty Petals.” He shook his head. “I’m not the man you see here and when you get back to your real life, I want you to remember a fantasy, not know what I truly am. That’s one gift we can both give each other.”

  The euphoria of kissing him faded, and settled into a sick feeling right in her throat. She came here to end this, but when faced with the reality, she couldn’t do it. “Maybe—”

  He cut her off by pressing his fingertips to her lips.

  Rather than argue, she turned to her plate. “I was always partial to steak.”

  “I’ll remember that.” He took her hand and kissed the back.

  She shrugged. They both knew the fantasy was over.

  Chapter Ten

  Back in Spectre’s heyday, each band member had their vice. Erik bought musical instruments. Upton went for property, Phil traveled, and Nash, he bought transportation, a motorcycle, a boat, and more than one automobile. Before the accident, he was getting ready to buy a plane. After the accident, he sold the bike and the boat, but kept one of the cars, a tricked out muscle car with no gas mileage and horsepower for days.

  He rarely took the shiny black ride, preferring to stay in his more sensible truck, in his sensible life full of responsibilities and commitments, but tonight was different.

  Only an hour before he watched his Petals float away, and he needed his car, needed to be a rock star.

  He kissed her then sent her off on the breeze, only staying close enough to make sure her car started. When she drove off, he forced himself not to look and try to identify the woman. The second their lips touched and his body ignited like he never experienced, he knew what he needed to pluck her from his life.

  The city lights on the freeway blurred into satisfying streaks as he sped down the freeway. It didn’t take a genius to see Petals was well off, she was class personified, from her freshly blown out hair to her designer duds. He used to live in that world, but it wasn’t his anymore, he could never give her what she deserved. Hell, he couldn’t even pick her up, or catch her if she fell.

  In essence, he wasn’t the man for her.

  He was so far away from her world that she didn’t even have the faintest idea who he once was.

  No wonder he couldn’t tell her his name.

  He needed to go somewhere where he was known, where his name mattered, where he mattered. Where he wasn’t taken in by big blue eyes that looked up at him like he could save the world, where he didn’t care, where he made hearts flutter. He pulled up to one his old haunts, The Coach House.

  On the outside, the club was a dive bar in the heart of the city, but the inside hosted a who’s who of entertainment. A secret oasis for anyone who ever had a name.

  He parked in the last space in the small lot, grabbed his cane, and made his way through the back. The bouncer guarding the door saluted him.

  The music throbbed through him and the sights, sounds and smells of a life he once lived bathed him in the welcome and familiar. No, he didn’t need Petals, and she most certainly didn’t need him. Whatever brought her to the middle of nowhere searching out a man she didn’t know, he couldn’t fix.

  As he made his way through the kitchen, he nodded at those he knew, and at last entered the main club. A long bar took up most of one wall, while a dance floor and a stage encompassed most of the area. Tonight the club was packed with bodies gyrating together in time to the music, and up on stage an up and coming band, the Archangels, crooned out their alternative rock.

  For a moment, he stayed by the wall, took in the scene. Somehow tomorrow he would go to the cottage and not visit the lake, not look for Petals. She was nothing but a welcome reprieve, a little sparkle, but she didn’t know him.

  Some nodded or waved as he made his way across the room and leaned against the bar. Yes, here he was known, one of them. Part of him still craved the days where people ran up to him screaming his name. He let out a laugh because at the time he thought it was a bother.

  One of the regular bartenders saluted him and without him needing to say a word produced a shot of whiskey.

  “Nash Cinder, what brings you out?” Tray in hand, Brittany Lynn, one of the waitresses, walked by him and slid her fingers over his arm. “It’s been a while.”

  Yes, he had to agree. It had been a while for everything. His world stopped when his father took a turn for the worst. Did he earn the right to get going again? His gaze traveled over the tasty little waitress. The woman could serve in more ways than one.

  He had a type. Didn’t everyone? Brittany Lynn fit him to a tee. Petite with manufactured curves, copious amounts of makeup, black hair down long and sleek.

  At least he thought he had a type, until Petals came into his life. She wasn’t the typical girl he would go for, blonde, natural, classy, perfect. Not his.

  “Aren’t you going to say hi?” She stepped closer. “I’m just about ready to go on break.”

  Instead of answering, he stared into her eyes, put his empty shot glass on her tray, and held up two fingers.

  “Don’t mind if I do.” After a wink, she returned to the bar. “I’ll be right back.”

  In his pocket, his phone vibrated. One thing was certain, it couldn’t be Petals. He made the deal about no names and no games so he never had to worry about her calling, showing up, hanging on after he was done. It was much better with the rules he set down. Things would have never worked out, and he had a clean break.

  As he watched Brittany Lynn put her tray down, remove her apron and retrieve their drinks, his phone vibrated a second time.

  He slid the annoying device out of his pocket, grinding his teeth together at a message from Stepmother Stacy.

  Cash and Colton are in trouble. Colton got pulled over again. Now they are being held. I need your help.

  No. He hit the button on the phone and the screen went black. No more. He needed to reclaim his life. No more dream girls in the woods, no more being at Stacy’s beck and call, no more anything. He was Nash Cinder, one of the top ten guitarists in rock history. Petals didn�
��t even know his name, she stared at him with zero spark of recognition.

  Drinks in hand, Brittany Lynn returned and slinked up to him. “How about you propose a toast?” She handed him one of the shot glasses.

  “Say my name.” He took the drink and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close.

  “This is interesting foreplay.” She let out a chuckle, and with a bit of ownership, put her long painted fingernail on his lower lip. “Your name is Nash Cinder.”

  Right. She knew him. The world knew him. “Say it again.”

  Now, she slipped her knee between his legs. “You are Nash Cinder.”

  He wasn’t a knight, he was a rock star, and Brittany Lynn knew him. Once more, he felt his phone vibrate.

  “If you would ever get around to toasting our togetherness, we wouldn’t need a vibrator.” She ran her hand down his chest.

  Her attention did nothing for him. Back in the forest, simply looking at Petals made his cock thicken. He reached into his pocket and glanced down at the screen.

  Nashville, I need you. Your brothers are in trouble and they have a big event they need to go to tomorrow. I need your connections.

  Once a star, one was connected. Well, he and Stacy needed to sever ties.

  He shook his head. All he needed was the twins in jail again. Last time, he ended up slathered all over the Internet. A few phone calls would have them out with no publicity.

  “Nash.” She took his chin and made him face her. “Stop looking at that screen when what you want is right here.”

  “Why are you here with me?” he asked, though he knew the answer. She was here for the name. One she knew all too well. Petals didn’t know him or his name, but she wanted him for him. What had he done?

  “Mr. Cinder.” Brittany tapped her glass against his. “You are magic.”

  Magic.

  The word hit him in the chest. No, they didn’t have magic, he and Petals had magic. Magic that brought them together in the most unlikely way. Magic when she looked into his eyes with wonder.

  “Let’s get this party started.” She tossed her drink back, hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him down connecting their mouths.

  He forced himself to go with it, followed her as she opened her mouth, and tangled their tongues.

  Only hours before, he held Petals and kissed her. He knew if he had continued, allowed them to go any further, he would have to make love to her. Somewhere along the way he would have had to tell her his identity, then he would have to watch her walk away when she realized she got taken in by a has-been rock star who spewed lines like they were some sort of philosophy.

  Still, when he kissed her, his body took off, his heart soared and nothing else mattered.

  In essence, it was magic.

  Having a woman draped over him that he didn’t want except for the fact that he knew he could have her wasn’t magic.

  They both deserved better.

  He broke the kiss and pulled back.

  “You’re not here tonight.” Brittany Lynn looked down.

  He drank down the shot. All sensation in his body was gone, he never even felt the alcohol burn his throat, didn’t feel the kiss, nothing. “I have some family things I need to take care of.”

  She backed up and brushed her hair aside. “That’s not it. Maybe you need to be with whoever it is.”

  He couldn’t be with Petals, he sent her away. For all he knew, she would never come back to their hideaway in the forest. “I’m sorry.”

  Brittany Lynn took his glass, gave him a shrug and walked away.

  His phone vibrated again and cane in hand he made his way to the back. If he would have been with Petals tonight, he would have never gotten the calls—there was no cell site in their oasis. She would have saved him.

  How did he get her back?

  Chapter Ten

  “What is this?” Ryane entered Steps, one of the famed restaurants in the city, and stopped. A true nightspot normally swarming with the who’s who of the west coast, the place was quiet with no one there but a few wait staff. “Daddy?”

  “I’ve decided we need some efficiency here.” Ryane’s father nodded and the maître d’ guided them through the ultra modern restaurant done all in dark woods and glowing blue sea glass to a large table at the center of the restaurant. “Now, I know you are seeing Patrick, and I can’t tell you how happy I am about that, but before we decide that he’s the one, I think we need to make sure that we have covered all our bases.”

  Ryane shook her head. No more dates, no more potential. The one man she wanted sent her away before she even knew his name, while the other man in her life was like going out with a cardboard cutout of a date. Patrick was perfect as long as she didn’t mind the ordinary. He was the personification of exactly who she should be with, smart, successful and sensible.

  Then there was Knight.

  Her eyes heated and she pressed her lips together to stop any more tears. With the way she was acting, one would have thought they had a real relationship, not just a few stolen moments in the forest. But something about Knight made her feel connected to something, like she mattered. As much as she needed him, he needed her as well. They were thrown together for a reason. Yet, here she was without him, right in the thick of another one of her father’s set ups. Though nothing had happened yet, something told her to brace herself. “Daddy, we need to talk.”

  “We need to fast track this, so I want you to sit here.” He placed her at one end of the table.

  “What are you doing?” Rather than sit, she clutched the edge of the table.

  “I hired the best. We will get this done tonight.” Her father raised his hand.

  A man in a tight plaid suit appeared at the far end of the restaurant. He lifted his chin and with a clipboard in his hand, rushed over to the two of them. “Hello.” The man bowed. “I am Hall Menlo, your life partner planner. I start with the dating, move on to the engagement party, and then the wedding.”

  Life partner planner? Didn’t the man realize she was going through a breakup of sorts, her heart was in pieces, and she didn’t even want a husband? She reached out to what used to be her life preserver and caught her father’s arm. The man was literally throwing her out to sea. “Can you give me a chance to prove to you I can do this on my own?”

  “Princess.” Her father turned and kneeled down in front of her. “I’ve given you years to prove yourself. I will take care of this, and we will find you an amazing match. You just keep planning whatever big shenanigans you have for the Anniversary Ball.”

  “Daddy.” Her heart sped and the room seemed to close in around her. “I’ve been working. Patrick gave me a lead on a piece of property near the Los Padres land. I want to work on the deal, let me show you I can do this.”

  “After tonight, if Patrick is who you want, I will make it happen. I just want you to weigh all your options.” Her father spoke as if he didn’t hear a word she said. “Hall, let’s get to it, I’m not paying you seven figures for nothing.”

  Hall nodded and clapped his hands. “Let them in.”

  “Them?” She let go of her father, now floating alone.

  Two doors at the far end of the restaurant opened and no less than thirty men entered the room.

  “I have herded the best of the best for you. One nod means maybe and you need more time, two nods means we want a date, purse your lips for no, and raise your eyebrows, and I’ll get the guy out of there before his three minutes are up.” Her new event planner patted her back. “Are you ready?”

  No. No she wasn’t ready. What she wanted was to go back to Los Padres and see Knight, demand to know why he sent her away, ask him if that was what he really wanted. She wasn’t ready to see thirty men when she only wanted one. If she were honest with herself, if she was going to marry anyone it could only be him.

  “All right, here we go.” Clipboard in hand, Hall ran forward, and grabbed one of her would be suitors, and brought him over to the table. “Ryane,
this is Tim Timothy. His father owns Timothy Holdings in New York. Your pairing would be quite a merger.”

  Yes, she knew Timothy Holdings, they were Fortune 100 just like Windsome, but Windsome was in the top sixty.

  To say the man was model perfect would be an understatement. This Tim Timothy could give models lessons in being good looking, but he was too perfect, too groomed, too everything. His blonde hair was perfect, combed back and not a hair out of place, his cheekbones high, sculpted and masculine and his eyes a piercing blue. Come to think of it, she had seen this man many times, mostly on the Internet where his looks were more renowned than his last name.

  A waiter came by and handed Ryane a glass of champagne, but she could only stare at the person before her and the circus going on behind him as men lined up for their turn with her.

  The man finally sat down and gave her a smile. “East Coast West Coast. A perfect pairing.” In what she would call an elegant move, he swept one of the flutes of champagne off a one of the server’s trays and tapped it against hers.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her Life Partner Consultant and her father huddled together watching her.

  She took an unladylike gulp of the champagne, remembering the wine Knight served her. When he kissed her, his taste and the tang of the drink combined to give her a heady feeling.

  “So.” Tim nodded, one lock of hair strategically falling into his eye. “You. Me.”

  An uncomfortable silence took over their non-conversation.

  He graced her with a smile and took a sip of the champagne.

  They stared at each other.

  After a moment, they still stared at each other.

  Hall waved to her and a made a motion to do something.

  Strange, everything with Knight came naturally. Their conversations even their silence, especially their kiss.

  “Do you work for your father?” Unsure really what to do with this person, she asked the first thing that came to mind and tightened her hold on her glass.

  He nodded. “Don’t we all?”

  His answer was followed by more silence.