Sinderella (5 page)

“Shall we remove our masks?”

I shook my head, “No. Let’s let this
be
a true fantasy, like a dream.”

He bent and whispered into my ear. “Like the dream I fear it is?” He placed a soft kiss on my neck.

I nodded against him. Slowly and with purpose, I dragged my hands up his torso, down his arms, across his belly and up to his neck. There was appreciation in every stroke as I paid homage to the magnificence that was there.

He spun me around harshly, unexpectedly. I could feel him tug at the buttons and laces of my dress. When it was loose, I pulled my arms free of it and stepped out of the skirt. He undid my corset and undergarments. They slid down my body until I stood there, completely naked with nothing covering me but the moonlight.

His lips brushed against my back, randomly.
His fingers tracing my spine to my buttocks.
When they arrived at the destination he cupped my cheeks and lifted, almost prying them apart. It was the strangest sensation, and yet I was overcome with the pleasure of being touched by him.

I shuddered when his tongue licked up my spine. His hands crept around my body until they reached my breasts.
He cupped them, as if weighing them each in his hands
,
he lifted and lightly squeezed
. His mouth found my neck, where his warm breath tickled my nape. I felt something against my backside. It was hard and rigid and scratched at me through his trousers. He spun me around again, roughly.
His hands desperately searching for my face.
He cupped my cheeks and lifted me. Our warm lips met with fervor.

The kiss was the one from my dreams.

This was my destiny. My mother had been there. She had been right. She was trying to give me the best night of my life, before I was wed to the duke.

I wrapped my arms around the prince, lifting myself into his embrace. I pulled at his hair and climbed him like I would have a tree.

I moaned into the kiss as he sucked my tongue into his mouth and caressed it with his. Our masks rubbed against each other. One of his hands cupped my buttocks and the other untied his pants and pulled them off. I felt his finger slip between my bottom cheeks and worm its way to the front of me, seeking out the heat we both knew was there. I felt his thick finger slip in the moisture between my legs. He didn't have to struggle to get my lips apart because of it. His finger found its way inside of me, with a bit of effort. I winced against the pain and he froze.

“You are a maiden,” he whispered onto my lips. “An actual virgin.”

I nodded, grinding against him, delirious with passion.

“I cannot take this from you, it would be ungentlemanly.”

I smiled. “I have never heard tell of you in a gentlemanly way.”

He spoke with a chuckle, “I am not normally, but I don't normally come across virgins. This I cannot take unless you swear to marry me.”

I shook my
head,
almost frightened this was about to end. What could I say? The man I was to marry was nearing sixty. He was aged and hideous and marrying me because my stepmother was selling me to him. And then perhaps I could beg him to take my fruits before they were stolen? No. I couldn't. I lowered myself from him, sliding from his arms, planting kisses along his chest. I had seen one carnal act in all my life.

I had seen Gregor with one of the dairymaids. She had taken him in her mouth and sucked him. I had watched, even though I knew I shouldn't, enjoying every second of it. I took a deep breath and lowered myself to my knees, just as she had done. I wrapped my hand around the stiff erection popping from the prince’s body, and lowered my face to it. I licked my lips, hovering at the tip for a moment.

His breath changed, growing ragged.

I took another deep breath and parted my moist lips, taking the tip into my mouth. It was thick and hot and there was no way I was going to get it in as far as the dairymaid had. I stroked the bottom of it and sucked the top, hoping it would be enough. His cock was much larger than Gregor’s, not that the dairymaid had complained. When he had mounted her from behind she had cried out in pleasure. It had been then that I had taken my leave, forcing my prying eyes to avert.

I parted my lips more and tried to take all of him in my mouth, sucking and stroking with my tongue.

He moaned and rotated his hips, pushing it into my mouth farther. His hands ran through my hair. He moaned louder until I felt him start to jerk. He stopped my face from moving, pressing it against him. He lifted me from his cock and laid me back on the bed. He was so beautiful in his mask.

He dropped to his knees, licking my slit. He fingered me teasingly and sucked my nub. I ground my hips into him, taking everything I could from the moment.

When I was soaked, he climbed up my body and smiled. “Refuse the duke and marry me instead.”

I shook my head.

“Then I shall have to deflower you and make you mine.”

I laughed. “If you insist.” I knew he would never take me as a wife. I needed to enjoy myself and leave. He spread my legs farther, resting his cock on my parted, swollen lips. He rubbed the head of it back and forth in my wetness. He looked down on me. “Are you sure you want this?”

I nodded. “I want you, all of you.”

He looked worried. “This is going to hurt.”

“I know. Just do it.”

He grinned. “Bravest girl I have ever met.”

I couldn't help but think maybe I was the dumbest as he spread my legs farther, and sat back on his heels a bit. He dragged the tip of his cock back in the wetness and pushed it into me.

I cringed instantly in pain. He shook his head. “Relax, trust me. It will hurt less if you relax into me. Take a deep breath and breathe it out as I enter you.”

I took a deep breath, trying not to notice the constant feel of someone stretching my insides. He pushed forward, inching himself in. I tried to exhale but it came out in spurts. He gave one hard push, breaking the dam. I cried out, accidentally letting a few tears slip from my eyes.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” He pushed a couple light strokes inside of me and within a few seconds, I realized he was right—I was okay. The pain was gone, and in its place was pleasure. The feel of his body sliding against mine, the heat he was creating, and the way he moaned, made the pain fade away.

I pulled his face down on mine, pressing our lips together. He began to thrust like he meant it, making my breasts bounce between us. He cupped one and lowered his face to the nipple. I moaned as he thrust and sucked simultaneously.

It was bliss
,
it was all bliss
. Everything about the moment, even the masks, was too remarkable. I wrapped my legs around him, grinding myself into his thrusts, meeting his pelvis with mine. He sat up, placing my feet on his wide shoulders and grabbed my hips. He lifted me into the air and started to pump himself in and out of me.

At first it was too much, but then the rubbing of the position started another fire inside of me. I pressed against his shoulders, arching my back a little and lifted my own body to meet him. His grip on my hips tightened but my hands lifted above my head to push on the wall. I was desperate for the fire to become an explosion.

I could feel it building.

He pounded
into me, making a slapping noise and grunting
. For whatever strange reason, I liked it.

I liked it all.

I pushed against the wall and crawled his shoulders with my toes until it happened. Sounds left my lips but I didn't know them. My body tensed everywhere at once, cramping in my legs even, but the explosion was everywhere. I gripped to the bed behind me and cried out as the last of the shuddering left me. He must have had the same experience as me. He made similar sounds and collapsed on top of me, like he might die any moment.

He said something but I didn’t understand it. My ears were ringing and my own breath was too hoarse. I clung to him, not wanting him to move for fear it wasn't real. I was filled with emotions. I didn't even know them all.

He shook his head when he caught his breath. “Now you must marry me.”

Hot tears slipped from my eyes. I was about to just tell him what I really was, and damn myself to being shamed and possibly executed, but the first strike of the clock caught my ears.

I jerked back and looked at the window. “What time is it?”

He kissed my neck. “I don't know, perhaps midnight.”

My mask, dress, and shoes would all change back to the dirty peasant girl’s. I pushed on his chest. “I need to get up.”

He rolled off of me. “First you must tell me that you forgive me for all of that, milady. I don't think I have ever done anything so scandalous to a lady. Please. I was caught up in the moment, but I am sincere in my feelings for you. I will speak to my father tonight and have your engagement called off.”

I ignored him and his ramblings as I wriggled to the edge of the bed to escape. I scooped up my dress and pulled it over my head. I didn't bother with my skirts or undergarments. It wouldn't matter in a few seconds anyway. The chiming of the clock was all I heard.

I grabbed my single shoe and looked down on his beautiful naked body sprawled across the bed. I forced myself to remember every curve, every detail before whispering, “You may still say that you have never committed such an act upon a lady, Sire. For I am no lady.” I turned and fled the small cottage.

“WAIT! I DIDN’T CATCH YOUR NAME!”

I ran into the woods, completely disoriented by where I was going. I ran until I met the road. The night was filled with the chiming of the clock tower, the shouting of my prince calling for me, and the party I was fleeing.

Sobs ripped from me as I stumbled along the road. When the magic wore off, my shoes appeared on my feet and my dress was exactly as it had been before. The wetness between my thighs and the single crystal shoe in my hand were all that was left of my night.

My feet stung as the night gave way to morning and I stumbled into my house. Abbi was preparing the breakfast bread. She stopped mid-knead and sighed. “You were thrown from the horse and got lost?”

I shook my head. “You would not believe me if I tried to retell the tale. Just trust me, I have had the best and worst night of my life. I am resigned to marry Duke Grey. I have lived enough for one night to last all the nights.”

Her eyes twinkled. “You went to the ball?”

I nodded. “I went to the ball. And I danced with the prince and I gave him my virtue and I saw my mother. And all of it has convinced
me,
there is something neither the evil old duke nor Drusilla can ever take from me—my heart. It belongs to someone now.
Someone who would marry me if I were a lady.
But I am not, so I left before he could figure out who I was.”

Abbi looked worried. “You gave him your virtue?”

I smiled peacefully. “I did, and it was wonderful. All of it, well except when I had to run out.”

Her face darkened. “They will kill you for betraying the duke.”

I shook my head. “He won’t know. He has tested me already.”

She sighed. “Oh, Ella. That was a mistake.”

“What will they do? Murder me? What do I care about the rest of my life, knowing it will be spent as the slave to that demented old man who has relations with his sister?”

She started kneading the bread again. “Well, that's one rumor I can’t dispute. A woman in the market told me she had seen it. Worked there for years at the estate. Him and his sister were each other’s lovers their whole lives. It’s only recently that he decided to get married. Must be your father’s riches.”

I paled. “What?”

She looked at the bread and then at me. “What?”

“My father’s riches?”

“Aye, I have just heard it from a reputable source. Your father left very strict instructions with the barrister in town that you were to receive a large dowry—as far as I’ve heard whispered, a very large dowry. In fact, the barrister has the
money,
Drusilla can’t even get a piece of it. She has burned through your father’s riches that were left to her and is selling off the furnishings and even a piece of land at the back of the estate. I would bet she has sold you to Grey for a portion of the dowry.”

My eyebrows were stuck in a frown. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. I never knew it until yesterday. You can’t have it unless you marry, and she has already gone and given your hand away.”

“That changes everything. I would have left here years ago, had I known.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “When I discovered her deal with the duke, I knew all was lost. You would have to run from the wedding and the riches.”

I slumped into a chair and put my hands on my head. “I need a dress. I need to find the barrister and the prince and tell him I might be an orphan, but I have a dowry. Maybe he will still take me as a wife.”

She winced. “My dear girl, don't shoot so high up. You will lose your arrow. I dare say the king will not allow this marriage.”

“The king?” Drusilla came rushing into the kitchen, laughing and rubbing her tired eyes. “The king? What does the king have to do with Cinder Ella?”

My mouth opened, and just like the night before with the prince, words fell out. “You have lied to me and cheated me out of a true marriage, all for what? Riches? You could have had it if you’d just granted me my freedom or if you’d let me be one of you. How could you do that to me?” I shoved her but her hand moved faster than a viper, striking me in the face and knocking me back.

I fell into the flour bins, seeing stars behind my eyes. She growled. “I did it because I can and I would do it again! You’ve been nothing but a thorn in my side and a burden since the moment your father died!” She grabbed my arm and dragged me along the floor. Her strength was savage. “You owe me! You fool of a child, this is my payment and I will not have you ruining it for me!” She dragged me to the base of the stairs and shouted. “GREGOR!”

My blurry vision cleared, and I watched as he stopped in the doorway, scowling when he saw me.

Drusilla pointed. “Take her to the tower and lock her in there.”

Gregor stomped across the floor and scooped me up. Halfway up the stairs he whispered. “Why did you come back?”

I shook my head. “I don't know. I didn’t know where else to go.” I curled into his neck and closed my eyes.

He stroked my back. “I am so sorry, Ella.”

I looked at him. “Could you try to get word to the prince that I am the girl in the mask with the crystal shoe?”

He looked confused. “What?”

I nodded. “Just find a way to tell him that, please.”

He didn't look like he was convinced or understood what I was talking about. He carried me to the tower and placed me on my feet, on the cold stone. A solemn look crossed his brow. “I will bring up food and find a way to send word to the prince.”

He turned and left, closing the door and locking it. I placed my hands against the rough wood of it and closed my eyes. “I am a fool.”

I washed with the basin left for me, changed my clothes, and curled up on the straw bed in the corner. When I was comfortable, I let myself remember every moment, every embrace and caress. I let myself feel it all over again. His lips against my nipple, his fingers delving places fingers shouldn't actually go, the feel of his intense thrusts rocking my body on the bed like a ship on rough waters.

I could feel his rough whiskers on my soft skin, the blush he left everywhere he touched. Could it be enough? Could I let the one night with him be enough?

I doubted it, but the room I now saw as a prison would suggest I might have to.

I sighed and let myself succumb to the exhaustion that wracked my body.

The door opened, waking me. The duke gave me a look of disgust. “I understand you no longer wish to be married to me.”

I looked down on the floor, ashamed of the state of myself. “I wish to be free to choose love for myself.”

He closed the door behind himself. “A girl with a dowry as large as yours has no right to make a choice like that.” He reached down and pulled at the button on his trousers. “Lift your dress.”

I shook my head. “No. Good sir, we are not married.”

He scoffed. “I will not take your precious maidenhead.” He pulled his limp cock from his pants. “I just wish to relieve myself.” He moved quickly, grabbing my arm. “You will learn your place in my home, Ella. You will learn when you are permitted to speak. You will also learn there are punishments for being disobedient. Your disrespect has earned you your first lesson.”

He hauled me up off of the bed and laid me over his knee. I struggled against him but his arms held me tightly. “You think a wiry little girl like you stands a chance? Fight Ella, it makes me harder.” He lifted my skirts and bent my face down farther. He brought his hand down hard on my
cheeks,
thankfully I had my knickers on. The swat still made me cry out though. He ripped at my clothes, tearing my undergarments yet again.

Mercifully, I had been given a washbasin and had cleaned away the evidence of my lost maidenhood.

He brought his hand down on my cheeks.

“How do you want this, painfully or pleasurably?”

I sniffled. “Pleasure.”

He picked me up and dropped me to the bed
,
face down
. He kicked my legs apart, spreading my arse for him to see. He ran his hands over it. “You have a fine ass, Ella.” He spread my cheeks and legs farther. I tried to sit up but he pushed my face down on the bed. “Your poor cunny is swollen from yesterday’s play. I can’t imagine what it will look like when I’m done with you.”

He brought his hand down on my cheeks again, but this time the swing landed close to the crack of my arse. I cried out but it wasn't in pain. The vibration rang throughout my entire groin.

He swung again, reaching his free hand up into the base of my hair. He grabbed a handful of hair and pulled hard, swinging his hand again. I moaned and ground my cunny into the bed. He spanked again, sending fire throughout my body. My legs tightened and my moaned became bleats.

He bent down, chuckling in my ear. “I’ve seen whores take years to become as astute a pupil as you are naturally. You will be my fuck toy.” He spanked and the anger in me blended with the pleasure, taking me to another high. I was on the verge of orgasming but he never hit again. He rolled me on my back and pushed me up onto the bed. He climbed onto the bed, between my legs, slapping the head of his cock on my nub. I moaned, grinding against him. He laid a series of light slaps against it and then started rubbing himself in the moisture I was making.

“Lift your legs in the air.”

I obeyed, on the verge of begging him to just fuck me. He slipped his cock in the tiny space between my thighs and cunny. He started thrusting in the little hole he had made. “Squeeze those legs tighter.”

I did, making his head of his cock rub harder against me. I squeezed so hard he cried out. I thought I’d hurt him, but his cock was spitting something all over my stomach and chest. He rubbed it into my breasts until it stopped coming.

He nodded, out of breath and looking quite red in the face. “You will do nicely, Ella.” He got up and walked out of the room, cock hanging from his trousers and all.

I reached down and rubbed myself, closing my eyes and seeing my prince’s face between my legs. I writhed on the sheets as I came in a series of violent tremors. It might have been the best release I had ever had.