The Fairy Tales Collection (13 page)

“Well, what do you think?”  Duncan said in
a low, persuasive voice.

“I,” her throat was dry and the heat of his
body was making her brain malfunction, “I already have a date for the
Centennial.”

His eyes changed, the blue around his pupil
gradually lightening to a strange yellow and she unconsciously leaned a little
closer to him.  Was he wearing some kind of contacts?  But what contacts
changed colour seemingly at will?

His eyes were completely yellow at
Gaston’s.  Remember?

Before she could really think too much on
that, Duncan was cupping her face with one hard hand and pulling her so close
she could feel his warm breath on her lips.

“Who, Ella?”

“Wh-what?”  She couldn’t seem to look away
from his rapidly-changing eyes.  Were his pupils narrowing into slits?

“Who’s the asshole taking you to the
Centennial?  Tell me.”

She swallowed heavily as his thumb stroked
the curve of her jaw.  “Tell me who will be,” his eyes dropped to her cleavage
and her nipples hardened against her bra, “touching you.  Kissing you.  Taking
you to his bed.”

He said the last word on a growl, his hand
tightening around her jaw and she squeaked, “Rowan.”

Now it was his turn to stare.  “What?”

“Rowan is my date for the celebration,” she
whispered.  “We’re going together.  I – I won’t be, uh, kissing her or, um,
sleeping with her though,” she finished stupidly.

He dropped his gaze for a moment and when
he looked at her again, his eyes were their normal blue and his pupils were
round.  “Good.  Well, I’ll be there so save me a dance.”

“I – I’m not dancing with you again,” she
said.

He just grinned at her before plucking one
of the cards from her hand.

“Hey!  Give that back!”

She tried to reach for the card, huffing
angrily when he held it easily out of her reach as he read it.

“Healing Hands Massage Therapy.  Owner,
Ella Cinders.  You’re a masseuse?”  He gave her a decidedly wicked grin.

“It’s therapeutic massage, pervert,” she
muttered.

He stared thoughtfully at her.  “You worked
at the spa before it closed, right?”

“Yes.”

Even though he’d never once come into the
spa the three short months she worked there, she wasn’t surprised he knew. 
There were no secrets in their small town.

“I didn’t realize you were doing massage,”
he said.  “I would have stopped by.  I’ve got some tight muscles.”

An image of Duncan lying naked in her bed
as she straddled him and rubbed oil all over his hard body, flooded into her
mind and she blushed to the roots of her hair.  His nostrils flared lightly and
he grinned at her. She had a feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking, and
she scowled again at him.

“Give me my card back, please.”

“Are you starting your own business?”

“Yes,” she said stiffly.

“Where’s your office?”

“I – I don’t have one,” she said.  She was
suddenly nervous that he would think her idea of using her apartment or going
to a client’s home was stupid.  “I’m doing something a little different.  I’ll
be travelling to a client’s home to give them a massage.  It’ll be easier for
my clients and it may help them to relax more if they’re in their own home.”

He didn’t reply and she cleared her
throat.  “I can also do a massage therapy session at my home.  It’ll be
whatever the client prefers.”

“It’s a good idea,” he said.

“Do you really think so?”  She asked
tentatively.

He nodded.  “Yes, I think you’ll get a lot
of business that way.”

“Thanks.”

“In fact,” he brushed the card against the
tip of her nose, “you just got your first client.”

“What?”  She shook her head.  “No, I told
you – it’s therapeutic massage, not, not – “

She trailed off, her face flushing again as
he laughed.  “I get it, sweetheart.  I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

He slipped her business card into his
pocket as he stood.  “How about Monday evening at seven?”

“Duncan, I – “

“I’ll email you tomorrow to confirm it. 
See you later, Ella Cinders,” he said with a small wink before strolling out of
the post office.

Ella stared blankly at the cards still in
her hands.  She had just gotten her very first client.  Why the hell did it
have to be Duncan Gillis?

“You’re late, Ella.”  Her stepmother gave
her a disapproving look over her glasses.  She was a coldly-handsome woman with
silver-streaked hair and a tall, slender figure. 

“I’m sorry, mother.”  Ella tried to keep
her voice pleasant.  “The pipes under the kitchen sink are leaking again and I
had some clean up to do.”

Her stepsister, Ana, tapped one slender
finger against the kitchen counter before giving her an irritated look.  “You
always have an excuse for everything.”

She turned to her younger sister, Dru, who
was stealing a piece of beef from the platter on the counter, and poked her
viciously in the side.  “If you keep stuffing your face with food like that,
you’ll be as fat as Ella.”

“Shut up, Ana!”  Dru whined.  “Mom, make
her shut up!”

“Be nice to your sister, Ana,” Edith said
absently as she set the bowl of salad on the table.

“She started it,” Ana said sourly.

Ella could barely stop from rolling her
eyes.  Ana was two years older than her and Dru was her age but both of them
still lived with their mother.  They worked at the cleaning company as well
but, unlike Ella, neither had any aspirations to do something different.  The
three women had a disturbing codependent relationship and Ella doubted the two
sisters would ever marry or leave the nest. 

“Mother,” Ana said as the four of them sat
down at the table.  “I need next Friday off.”

“Of course, my pet,” Edith said as she
pulled the bowl of roasted potatoes from Ella’s grip and handed her the salad. 
“No carbs for you, Ella.”

Ella smiled stiffly.  “How was your day,
mother?”

“Fine, busy,” she replied.  “You’ll have to
cover Ana’s houses on Friday.”

“It’s my day off,” Ella reminded her.

“So?”  Ana snapped.  “You don’t have any
plans, you never do.  You’re just going to sit in your stupid apartment like
you always do.”

Ignoring her stepsister, Ella said,
“Speaking of apartments – can you have a plumber come in and look at the pipes
under the sink?  The leak is getting worse and there are some weird noises
coming from the pipes.”

“It’s not my responsibility,” Edith said as
she passed the potatoes to Dru.  “Eat up, my love.”

“It kind of is.  You’re my landlord,” Ella replied.

Her stepmother immediately bristled and
Ella groaned inwardly.  She knew better than to provoke the woman but the pipes
really did need to be looked at and she couldn’t afford it.  Her credit card
was currently maxed out thanks to the purchase of her massage table and other
supplies for her business.

“I let you live in that apartment at a very
reasonable rent and still you complain.  Where else are you going to live in
this town where you only pay three hundred for your own place, Ella?”

“Nowhere,” Ella said quietly.

“Exactly!  Do you know how much money I
could make if I rented the apartment to a stranger?  Rentals are in high demand
and your little apartment is charming and in a great location.”

Ella bit her tongue to stop her sharp
retort.  The apartment did have its charms – if you liked living in a bachelor
suite that was barely three hundred and fifty square feet, that was freezing
cold in the winter and every morning when her stepmother started up her car in
the garage below, smelled a little like car exhaust fumes.

“You’re costing me money, Ella, but do I
complain?”  Her stepmother was on a roll now and Ella knew from experience that
it was best to let her get all her vitriol out.  “No, I don’t.  Not even my
child and yet I’ve clothed you, sheltered you, worried about you from the
moment your father died and left me saddled with a child who wasn’t even mine. 
I could have sent you off to foster care, Ella, I had enough troubles of my
own, but I didn’t, did I?”

She was waiting for an answer and Ella,
hating that she felt guilty, said, “No, you didn’t.”

“No, because I’m not the monster you think
I am.  Anyone else in this town would have washed their hands of you.  For
years I’ve treated you like you were one of my own daughters and this is the thanks
I get?  You’re going to sit at my table, eating my food, and complain to me
that the apartment I so generously allow you to live in isn’t good enough?”

Edith’s face was pale with fury now and
Ella, her guilt and the decades-old need to try and please the only mother
she’d ever known pulsing through her, shook her head.  “I’m sorry, mother.  I
didn’t mean to complain.”

Her stepmother, her chest heaving and her
eyes cold chips of blue, stared silently at her before giving a slight nod. 
“That’s better.  I swear, I don’t know what gets into you, Ella.  You’re the
most ungrateful child I’ve ever met.”

Dru took a few noisy gulps of wine.  “Mom,
I need to borrow a couple hundred bucks.”

“For what?”  Edith said sharply.

Dru flinched at her tone.  “I need to get
my make-up and hair done for the Centennial Celebration.”

Her mother softened, “Oh, of course, my
darling.  We need you looking your loveliest.  The whole town will be there.”

Dru smiled at her and Ella snorted
inwardly.  While Ana was gorgeous with her slender figure, shiny dark hair and
light blue eyes, Dru was short and a little, well, unfortunate looking.  Her
dark hair was almost straw-like and her bulbous nose and acne-riddled face
wasn’t doing her any favours.  It would take a lot more than make-up and a new
hairstyle to fix her looks.

Unkind, Ella!

She flinched a little.  Yes, it was unkind
and another bout of guilt blossomed inside of her.  She smiled at her stepsister. 
“Who are you going with to the Centennial Celebration?”

Dru glared at her.  “None of your business,
Ella.  God, you’re so nosy.”

“I’m going with Duncan Gillis,” Ana
suddenly announced and Ella’s heart dropped to her stomach.

“You – he asked you to go with him?”  She
said.  “When?” 

“He hasn’t asked me yet, but he will,” Ana
said smugly. 

“Of course he will, my pet.”  Edith patted
her oldest daughter’s hand.  “You’re so lovely, how can he resist?”

“He’s resisted so far,” Dru snickered and
then shrieked when Ana hit her on the back of the head.

“Shut up, Dru!”

“Mom!”  Dru wailed indignantly as she
rubbed the back of her skull.

“Girls, be nice to each other,” Edith said.

“I ran into Duncan earlier this morning and
he could hardly keep his eyes off me,” Ana said with a pleased smile.  “He’s so
handsome, don’t you think?”

Ella, relief coursing through her, couldn’t
help herself.  “I’m surprised you’re not going with Marty.”

Ana rolled her eyes.  “Are you still upset
about me sleeping with Marty?  God, get over it, Ella.  He came on to me and
besides, it’s not my fault that the men you date find me more attractive.  Try
hitting the gym every once in a while and maybe you’ll be able to keep your
man.”

Ella’s face turned a brilliant shade of red
and she clenched her hands into tight fists.  She wanted to reach across the
table and punch Ana in the face and she forced her gaze to her plate of
untouched food.

Let it go, Ella.  It doesn’t matter.

She took a few deep breaths as Ana smiled
at her mother.  “On Friday, Duncan plays basketball with a few of the other men
at the rec center.  I’m just going to happen to be there in that new red
dress.  When he sees me in it, I won’t be surprised if he asks me to the
celebration right then and there.”

“Why the sudden interest in Duncan
Gillis?”  Ella asked.

“It’s not sudden, Ella.  The man’s gorgeous
and the most eligible bachelor in the whole damn town.  I’m tired of playing
the field.  It’s time to settle down with the right man and I’ve chosen
Duncan.  We’re perfect for each other.”

She gave her mother a dreamy little smile,
“Can you imagine how beautiful our children will be, mother?”

They would be beautiful
, Ella thought sourly.  Her stomach was a knot of anger at the
thought of Duncan sleeping with her stepsister but she tried to ignore it.  Ana
had set her sights on Duncan and what Ana wanted, Ana got.  Duncan wouldn’t be
able to resist her for long.  He loved women, that was plain to see, and she
had no doubt that Ana’s charms would win him over.  She wasn’t as certain as
Ana seemed to be that she would end up as Duncan’s wife but he would definitely
sleep with her.  They always did.

He says you belong to him, remember?

Yeah, so what?  The guy was known for his
own considerable charms when it came to women.  It was just a pick-up line and
a rather brilliant one at that.  Well, at least when it came to her.  Every
single time he said those words in his raspy voice, it sent a weird and rather
violent tingle of pleasure through her.  She’d never been into men who were
over-the-top jealous and possessive but the thought of belonging to Duncan
Gillis was an undeniable turn-on.

“We’ll be married at the little church on
Roven Street,” Ana said to her mother.  “Navy blue and cream will be my colours
and it will have to be a spring wedding.  I want the entire church filled with
tulips and - ”

“Don’t you think it’s a little early to be
planning your wedding?”  Ella interrupted.  “You haven’t even been on a date
with him.”

Ana glared at her.  “Shut up, Ella.  Unlike
you I have no intention of dying a spinster.  I actually go after my dreams and
there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Ella’s going after her dreams,” Dru said
in a snide little voice.  “Michelle told me that Karen told her that Ella’s
starting her own massage therapy business.  She left business cards all over
town this afternoon.”

“Oh, Ella,” her stepmother said with a
sigh. “Are you still pursuing that silly little dream?  I held my tongue when
you wasted all that money taking your little massage courses and I never
complained when the girls and I had to cover a few of your shifts, but trying
to start your own business?  This town isn’t big enough for that type of
business.  If it was, the spa wouldn’t have closed down, would it?”

Ana poked Dru in the side with her elbow. 
“Ella’s just so desperate to touch a man that she’ll probably pay them to let
her massage them.  How many
happy endings
are you going to hand out,
Ella?”

“It’s therapeutic massage,” Ella said
through gritted teeth.  “Get your mind out of the gutter, Ana.  Therapeutic
massage is well-known to help people with chronic pain and – “

“Whatever,” Ana interrupted.  “No guy’s
going to want to be massaged by a fat-ass like you.  They want skinny, pretty
girls to touch them.”

Ella pushed back her chair.  Her head was
throbbing and her stomach was rolling with nausea and she’d had all she could
take of her family.

“Where are you going?”  Edith frowned at
her.

“I’m not feeling very well,” Ella said. 
“Thank you for dinner, mother.”

She turned and hurried out of the kitchen.

* * *

Rowan dropped the bananas into her basket
and wandered out of the produce section.  She turned down the first aisle,
needing to get some pasta.  She stared appreciatively at the ass bent over in
front of her.

Rafe Taggert.  Delicious.

She flushed, a little embarrassed that she
could recognize the man by his ass alone, but it didn’t stop her from staring
eagerly at it as he straightened and placed the can of tomato paste in his
cart.

Now’s your chance, girl.  Go.

She hurried forward as Rafe’s body
stiffened and his head lifted.  He almost seemed to sniff the air before he
started to stride forward, pushing the cart in hurried, jerky movements.

“Mr. Taggert?”

Nice, Rowan.  Maybe seducing the man
would be easier if you called him by his first name?  What do you think?

He stopped and cleared his throat as she
stood next to him.  “Hi.”

“Hello, Ms. Jameson,” he said politely.

“Please,” she said, “we’ve known each for
years.  Call me Rowan.”

He gave her a stiff smile and she waited
for him to tell her to call him Rafe.  When he didn’t, her own smile faltered a
little and she glanced at his cart.  “Doing some grocery shopping?”

Smooth, you idiot.

“Yes,” he said.

“Me too,” she said.  “So, how are you?”

“Very well, thank you.  How are you?”

“I’m good.  I haven’t seen you at Gaston’s
lately.”

He hesitated.  “I’ve been going to the
Woodsmen Pub as of late.  It’s closer to my home.”

“I was there a few weeks ago,” she said.

“Oh?”  He said.

“I saw a wolf.”

“A wolf?”  He raised his eyebrow at her and
she blushed lightly.

“Yeah, in the parking lot.”