Once Upon a Fairy tale: A Collection of 11 Fairy Tale Inspired Romances

by Danielle Monsch, Cate Rowan, Jennifer Lewis, Jeannie Lin, Nadia Lee, Dee Carney

  But she had a very good idea with the time she had now. “Follow me,” she said softly, “and we’ll see what we can do about that.”

  Chapter Six

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  She fell in love with really liked the Prince mystery man…

  Before her nerves took over, Elle took him by the hand. She glimpsed the expression on his face, a combination of surprise and awe. “Wait. Are you serious?”

  “Yes,” she said softly. Yes.

  “Are you certain? Because you don’t have to do this,” he said as they got closer to the elevator.

  She hadn’t come up with a plan on where to take him, but she knew with certainty that it was something she had to do. In only a short time together, he’d reminded her of who she used to be yet, how far she’d come. She’d lost her sense of self-worth. Ana, Drusilla, and to a small part, Mrs. Tremaine, pushing down the idealistic girl who’d come to the design firm with big ideas and plans to supplant her with a woman as cold and unyielding as they were.

  A casual encounter with a gorgeous man seemed a great way to help cast off the cloak of indifference she now wore.

  “It’s not something I’m doing for you,” she said. “It’s something for me.”

  The elevator arrived, and he slid an arm around her waist. When he began to nuzzle her neck, a shiver of delight stole over her body. Her nipples peaked, the understanding she was moments away from satisfying a raging curiosity making her bold. She turned, then curled her fingers into his hair, pulling his mouth down to hers.

  The kiss they shared was hungry, the tentative brushes of their lips a thing of the past. Elle parted her mouth for him, his tongue stroking over hers.

  Somehow they managed to dance into the elevator, his body pressed to her. The hard ridge pushing into her belly promised all sorts of wicked things, and once the elevator chimed, the signal the doors had closed, she stroked over its length. Her moan of pure carnal need followed.

  He seemed just as hungry, his tongue and teeth marking and nipping her neck, her jaw, her lips. “We can take it slow,” he whispered against her skin. Warm breath branded her.

  “Second thoughts?” she asked before she sucked his tongue into her mouth.

  “God, no. I’m trying to be a gentleman here.” His hand cupped her breast possessively. She grinned before capturing his lips with hers again. He chuckled.

  She could become addicted to this man’s kiss.

  She allowed herself to drown in the simple pleasure of it.

  Somewhere in the distance of her mind, Elle heard the elevator’s dulcet tones. If it hadn’t meant she was that much closer to her goal, she would have jabbed the “close door” button. But sometime along the way, she’d figured out where to take him, where they might go undisturbed for a while as the rest of the firm danced the night away.

  When she took him by the hand and led him down the hallway, she stopped long enough to study him from over her shoulder. In the dim lighting, she skimmed his kiss-swollen lips, loving the way he looked a little bit tousled right now. Not the eloquent, elegant man she’d met an hour or so ago.

  “This is so crazy,” she muttered, almost to herself. Biting down on her lip, she smiled. Her cheeks heated through, pride and embarrassment working in unison.

  “Second thoughts?” he asked, his tone playful. His fingers threaded between hers.

  Elle’s heart thumped harder. “No, not at all. I’m just thinking how close I came to not attending tonight. If I hadn’t or if I left a few minutes earlier, I wouldn’t have run into you. This wouldn’t be happening.”

  “Nothing before its time. But we would have met eventually. We did once before.”

  “We did?”

  “A long time ago. I was brand-new here, and you didn’t give me the time of day.” He laughed as if to show no hard feelings. “If you noticed me at all, I’d be surprised.”

  She’d thought his voice sounded familiar, but had pushed aside the fleeting thought. “I would have remembered you.”

  “Not that day. I think you were upset about something. But really, it’s all right. It wasn’t our time then, not the way tonight is.”

  It struck her then how fast the night was moving. They’d been together a brief time, yet she was more comfortable with him than she’d been with others she’d spent hours upon hours getting to know. He’d made her laugh and stirred something within her worth holding on to. She didn’t know how to voice those feelings to him, not yet, but she would cherish them.

  “Here we are,” Elle said.

  She reached for the door, but he beat her to it. Instead of pushing it open, however, he rested his hand on the grip. His mouth lost its smile, a new tension in his expression.

  He reached for her face, his touch gentle. Elle’s face tilted toward his, guided by his hand. She saw something rich yet enigmatic in his gaze. A fleeting moment of wondering what thought passed as he looked down at her, but once his lips swept over hers again, she no longer cared.

  Her hands went to the knot of his tie, working it free until the material glided to the floor. He kept busy too, the rasp of her zipper betraying what he did.

  Together they moved deeper into the room, the dress a puddle Elle had to step away from. Beneath, she’d worn a strapless and sensible bra, one she wished she could magically replace with more frills, more lace, more sexy. But when she peered at him beneath hooded lids, his gaze feasted on her breasts with the appetite of a starving man.

  “My God, what have I done to earn this?” he whispered.

  There were a few lumps and bumps to her shape, what some people might call curvy, but she paid just as much attention to her undergarment flair as she did her outerware. While the bra and panties were sensible, they were also stylish. The cafe au lait colored satin against her fair skin tone would give a blind man temporary sight. She looked that good.

  He let out a low wolf whistle as she walked away in nothing but undergarments and heels. It put a blush in her cheeks, but also a swagger in her step. Elle smiled big, swaying her hips as she made her way to the couch in the middle of the room.

  She’d chosen this place because of its lush comforts, designed to keep clients inclined to stick around and spend money. This room had been decorated for the ultimate in pleasure. It seemed appropriate.

  “You are gorgeous,” she said to him as she lowered herself to the couch. Her eyes feasted on the sight of his hands working on each button of his shirt, one by one. The reveal of his bare skin, the hair on his pectorals and abdomen made her already dry mouth go drier. When he unbuttoned his pants, she licked her lips.

  He approached with maddening slowness, time enough for panties to become soaked. To imagine the many, many things she wanted to experience with this man over the next several hours.

  He pushed down the waistband of black underwear and withdrew the erection she’d only imagined. He stood directly in front of her, instruction clear in his heated gaze.

  Her nipples tightened, and instinct drove her thighs wider.

  It was without thought to open her mouth over his cock, the musky scent of him filling her senses, the tang of his skin exploding on her taste buds. Elle extended her tongue, licking over the velvety softness of his cock. A moan rumbled through her chest as she worked her mouth over him. She lived for the power of having a man’s vulnerable masculinity in her control, and she didn’t know if sucking his cock was more for him or for her. Didn’t matter much in the end though.

  He threaded his hands into her hair, holding her firmly but without force. His fingers tightened every time she took him deeper, her lips pressing against the base of his cock. Low, unintelligible words whispered out of him, encouraging every swipe of her tongue. When she reached up to cup his balls, he shouted.

  “Shh,” Elle said with a smile after releasing him. “Unless you want an audience.”

  “I wish.”

  “What?”

  “I want everyone to see me with you. God…you are…” He dropped to his kn
ees. A before moment she could ask him to finish his thought, he gripped her hips and pulled her forward. Impatient fingers pushed aside the gusset of her panties and held them there. His head dipped, and hers fell back at the first touch of his tongue on her pussy.

  She went nearly blind from the pleasure that overwhelmed her as he made love with his lips. Elle alternated between holding his head closer and forcing her hands to the couch arms to keep from smothering him. Her hips twisted, his hold tightening. Forcing her to endure the unending bliss making her cry out.

  Before long, her legs were quivering, and the ecstasy riding over her body was more than she could endure. Her eyes rolled back as an orgasm swept her under its control, driving her senseless. His long licks over her clit subsided just as she became overly sensitive, the delirium ebbing. Elle took a few minutes to capture her runaway breath.

  By the time she could speak and breathe with ease, he stood wearing only the gentleman’s shirt. It had to be one of the most erotic sights she’d ever beheld. A man with a lean, toned body… The shirt flapped over just enough to reveal the hard cuts of his chest and abdomen… An impressive erection pointed upward, flat against his belly. The tip glistening with a drop of seminal fluid.

  “For the love of God, tell me you have a condom,” she said just above a whisper.

  He smiled. Without saying a word, he held up a familiar foil packet. The sound of it ripping open filled the air with a promise that made Elle’s heart pound harder.

  She looked into his glittering brown eyes, a smile tipping her own lips. She didn’t know his name, and that might have made her the sluttiest woman on Earth at the moment, but she didn’t care. She’d earned this.

  Without a second thought, she shimmied out of her panties. Elle lifted her leg onto the couch and he kneeled between her thighs. His gaze locked onto her pussy, spread wide for him. When he directed his latex-covered cock toward her, she watched with him.

  They both moaned as her pussy pulsed, gripping him tighter as he sank into her almost balls deep. She gasped, ready to plead with him to stop because she couldn’t take more, but then he slowly withdrew. When he rocked his hips forward, driving himself into her again, she cried out again.

  The pace he set was brutal. Punishing. Amazing.

  She dug her fingers into his shoulders, unable to speak in words. He slanted his mouth over hers, swallowing down her moans and cries of pleasure. His tongue lashed against hers, the passion of his kiss rivaling the stroke of his cock deep inside her.

  “My name…” Their lips brushed as he spoke. Panted breaths in between heated kisses. “You should know my name.”

  She was so close, so close to tipping over an edge. His cock branded a sweet spot deep inside her that made Elle see stars. “I will,” she said on a moan. Later. After. When they talked about what happened next, what the future would bring. They would talk about lots of things.

  Her toes curled, her hips rocking to meet his thrusts. The rush of an orgasm a siren call that Elle needed to heed. After placing small kisses on her neck, he dipped down low to capture her nipple between his teeth. The sharp edge of exquisite pain was exactly what she’d needed.

  Elle fell, tumbled, into the throes of eroticism. She crashed into pleasure, blinding consuming pleasure.

  “Jesus, Elle.” Through slitted eyes she watched his face tighten above her, the muscles of his jaw clenching. He went rigid beneath her hold, body straining as his cock spurted into the latex.

  The emotion on his face, the languid high keeping her adrift right now… She wanted more of it. More tonight, again in a week. And a week after that.

  She looked forward to getting to know this man. And as he nuzzled her neck, his skin burning hot against hers, she vowed that she would.

  Chapter Seven

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  Unfortunately, at the stroke of midnight…

  They dressed in silence, meaningful glances and satisfied smiles exchanged. With everything, Elle thought there might be awkwardness or shyness. Instead, she stepped into her heels with a sense of hope.

  They held hands as they made their way toward the elevator.

  “So how do we top that?” she asked. It was next to impossible to stop the smile curving her lips.

  “I’m thinking we should probably do it again. Just to make sure the chemistry wasn’t a fluke.”

  That chin. She could fall in love with that chin alone.

  “There’s no way that was a fluke.” They both watched the elevator doors close, and he pushed the button which would take them back to the party. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear the universe conspired to bring us together.”

  “Could be. Or maybe something a little more magical. Does that make sense?”

  “I feel it, I think. Like a fairy godmother stepped in and waved a wand.”

  Elle’s smile broadened. “Oh, I love that idea so much.”

  “It isn’t midnight yet, so if Glinda the Good Witch is out there conspiring to get us together, then we’re obligated to make her job easier.”

  “Wrong movie, you nut.” She laughed.

  The look he gave her melted her insides with warmth. “I’ll tell you something. I’d pay good money to hear you laugh again.”

  Her heart fluttered. He wouldn’t have to pay one cent to spend more time with her. Despite every intention to get in more work, to be at the party for a short time and to make an impression with a client, she’d done none of those things. Instead, she’d spent time with a man who made her smile, made her blush, and made her laugh. It was an excellent trade.

  A small part of her urged her to break the spell of the night and finally ask him for his name. But she had to admit that she still hesitated to do so. There was something so clandestine and mysterious about not knowing. In a little while, she’d ask again. For a few minutes more, she wanted to cling to the extraordinary circumstances.

  “Do you think it’s wrong?” she asked, musing almost to herself.

  He leaned closer. “What, sweetheart? I missed that.”

  Elle turned to face him. They stood just outside of the entrance to the lobby, some of the music spilling toward them. The crash of voices talking and blaring beats made it difficult to hold a conversation, but she was determined. “You feel it too, you said. This night…there’s something spectacular and special about it.”

  “Not the night. Us.”

  She liked that response. “Is it wrong that I’m enjoying not knowing your name or anything about you?”

  “Are you having regrets about what we’d done?”

  The flicker of forlorn emotion that crossed his face made her heart thump. “No, not at all. It’s one of the most spontaneous things I’ve done in a very long time and no matter what happens after tonight, I couldn’t ever regret it.”

  “Good.” His gaze dropped to her lips, and she tilted her face up. She knew with every fiber of her being that he needed a kiss the way she did.

  The sound of throat clearing caught her attention, and Elle shifted to see who made obvious notice of themselves. The old Elle might have frowned in dismay when she spotted Thomas’s salt-and-pepper beard. She might have wondered briefly if he would stop and ask about how it went with Xane or whether she was ready to present the new line at next week’s meeting. The old Elle would have put an immediate stop to the night’s festivities and focused on her job. Her passion.

  The new Elle, the who’d found passion in a different way on this night, smiled knowingly at her boss—accepting his return grin—and put her attention where it needed to be. She could ignore Thomas for one evening. The job could wait, at least for another hour. Everything else seemed of distant, secondary importance for the first time in a long time. She waved at him, blatantly ignored his mischievous smile, and continued where they’d left off.

  Their lips met again and again, warmth in her belly growing. She wouldn’t have thought is possible so soon, but the magical night cried for it. Elle lifted her hands to his shoulders, an anch
or she desperately needed.

  Raucous laughter crashed into them as more passersby drifted through the room. She made a face, annoyed but resigned. It looked like they’d continue to be interrupted so long as they stayed here. “We could go back to the couch,” she said.

  “We were pushing our luck the first time, don’t you think?”

  She supposed. “Back to the party then?”

  “Back to the party,” he agreed. “But only for now.”

  Hand in hand, they rejoined the revelry. The magic.

  The partial cape draped over her shoulder fluttered as she whirled, pulled onto the dance floor by an enthusiastic man who could be elegant in his clumsiness. His fingers traced over her hand, eliciting a shiver to rush through her body. And on the trail of the shiver, a delightful warmth spread through Elle, heating her through when he pulled her close.

  There were subtle, accidental touches exchanged. Flirtation with their eyes. Any time she licked her lips, he watched her mouth hungrily as if he would devour it in a kiss but held himself back by a thin, fragile thread. Her heart thumped so, so hard, and she’d never felt more alluring.

  He watched her as they danced. Not a man trying to keep from trampling her toes, but a man intent on getting closer. On using his motions to communicate how badly he wanted her. She studied his movement and heard his unspoken want. She reacted. And she wanted him too.

  It was stupid and impulsive. It made total sense and seemed incredibly right.

  When the music shifted to something slow and elegant, they came together without speaking. He held her tight, and Elle inhaled deeply, the clean tang of cologne filling her senses. She gave into impulse as she looked into his eyes. Fingers pushed through the thickness of his dark hair. Toyed with the curl at the ends.

  They made love on the dance floor, his body rubbing so sensuously against hers. Separated by clothing only. The erotic build of emotion binding them closer. Somehow, he maneuvered them into the darkness, into a corner where the lights didn’t twinkle as brightly. Where the crowd didn’t form. His mouth brushed against hers again and Elle found herself moaning into the kiss. She opened up to him, their tongues sweeping and caressing.