The Fairy Tales Collection (21 page)

“Yes,” she muttered.  “Oh God, yes.”

His eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight,
their usual hazel colour a bright, vivid jade, and a stronger, nearly
uncontrollable jolt of lust went through her.

“Fuck me, Rafe.  Please, fuck me,” she
whimpered.

He reached between their bodies, his hand
unbuckling his belt and yanking at the zipper.  She was reaching for the hem of
her dress, wanting to pull it up, wanting to make it easier for him to take her
when a cloud drifted across the moon and plunged them into darkness.  He froze,
his head lifting as he searched for the moon, and she cried out harshly when he
pushed away from her.

“What the fuck am I doing?”  He whispered
before reaching down and yanking her to her feet with one hard tug.

“Rafe, no.  Don’t stop,” she pleaded.  She
tried to kiss him, tried to wrap her arms around his neck but he gripped her
arms and held her away from him.

“Rowan, stop.”

“No!”  She nearly shouted.

“I shouldn’t have done that.  I have to
go.”

“No,” she hissed.  “Don’t you dare leave me
like this.  I need you, Rafe.”

“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely.  “This was a
mistake.  I’m so sorry, Rowan.”

He turned and ran across the yard,
disappearing down the dark street and she clenched her fists and pressed her
lips shut against the scream of anger that was trying to escape.  She lowered
her head and breathed harshly until a little of the pulsing need had dissipated
and she felt somewhat normal again.  She stared up at the sky as the moon
reappeared before placing her hand over her mouth.  What the hell had just
happened?  She – she had not just been about to fuck Rafe Taggert in the middle
of the Centennial Celebration.

Hell yes, you were
, her mind whispered. 

She groaned and, her heart pounding and her
entire body aching with need, turned and walked slowly toward the front porch.

* * *

Duncan slipped into the ballroom and leaned
against the wall.  He scanned the crowd, his lion growling anxiously, when he
didn’t see Ella.

Just relax
,
he soothed. 
She’s here.  We’ll find her
.

And then what?  She hates you,
remember?  Why did you even come here in the first place?

He ignored his inner voice.  He knew why he
had shown up three hours late to the celebration.  He could no longer stand to
pace at home - his lion could no longer stand it - while Ella was here, maybe
dancing with other men, maybe allowing them to touch her.

Find my mate!
  His lion roared angrily.

He continued to scan the crowd of people. 
He saw Bennett and Belle dancing at the edge of the crowd.  Well, Bennett was
shuffling his feet awkwardly as Belle giggled and twirled around him.  He still
couldn’t see Ella - God where could she be – and as the song ended and the
music turned slow, his lion snarled again.  He paced back and forth as people
danced by him, their brightly-coloured clothing flashing in the light from the
massive chandelier above them.

A flash of green caught his eye and he
turned to see Rowan Jameson moving past him.  He grabbed her arm and tugged her
to a stop.

“Rowan, is – “

He paused and gave her a careful look
before inhaling deeply.  His nose wrinkled a little.  She was covered in Rafe
Taggert’s scent, her cheeks were flushed and underneath the overpowering scent
of Rafe he caught a faint whiff of her own lust.  “Rowan, are you okay?”

“Fine,” she muttered before crossing her
arms over her chest.  “What are you doing here?”

“Is Ella here?  Did she come to the
celebration with you?”

Rowan eyed him carefully.  “You thinking of
poaching my date, Gillis?”

He shook his head.  “No, I was worried
about her.”

“Why?  According to Ella, she was nothing
more than a fuck for you.”  She glared at him and he sighed.

“I lied, Rowan.”

“Why?”

“I – it’s a long story.  I should never had
said that to her and I wanted to apologize to her.”

“And you chose tonight to do it?”

He just shrugged and she gave her own sigh
before pointing to their left.  “She’s dancing.”

He followed her finger and a growl burst
from his throat before could stop it.  Ella, looking heart-stopping in a pale
blue gown that hugged her full breasts, was dancing with Henry Treating.  He
started forward, his lion snarling for him to show Henry what happened to men
who touched his mate, and growled at Rowan when she grabbed his arm.

She gave him a disdainful look.  “Chill
out, Duncan.”

He blew his breath out and smiled
apologetically.  “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.  Believe it or not,
you’re not the first man who’s growled at me tonight.”

He didn’t reply and she smiled dryly at
him.  “I’m not suggesting that you don’t talk to Ella.  I’m suggesting that you
don’t flip out because she’s dancing with a guy twenty-five years her senior
and rein in the jealousy.  You’ll just end up pissing her off.  Go out to the
terrace and get some fresh air.  As soon as the song is over, I’ll send her out
to you.”

“Thank you, Rowan,” he said gratefully.

“Yeah, don’t mention it.  Go on, Duncan.”

He crossed the room to the terrace.  A
couple was standing at the end of it, kissing passionately, and when they saw
him they gave him identical embarrassed grins before leaving.  He leaned
against the railing and waited impatiently for the song to end.  The door
opened behind him, and he turned, the smile on his face dying.

“Duncan Gillis,” Ana said softly.  “I’m so
happy to see you.”

She was wearing a bright yellow dress and
she ran her hand seductively over the low-cut neckline before moving toward
him.  “I didn’t think you were going to show.”

“What do you want, Ana?”  He said.

“You know what I want,” she said.

“Not interested,” he snapped as she tried
to drape her arms around his neck.  “Get lost, Ana.  I mean it.”

He groaned when tears welled up in her eyes
and spilled down her cheeks.  “Why are you being so mean, Duncan?  I don’t
deserve such cruelty.”

He staggered back when she threw herself
into his arms.  She sobbed loudly and he patted her back awkwardly.  “Stop
crying, Ana.”

“I know you had a thing with my stepsister
but I don’t care,” she sobbed.  “She’s not right for you, Duncan.  I am.”

“You’re wrong,” he said as she lifted her
head and pouted at him.  “Listen, I’m sorry but I’m not – “

He made a muffled curse when she pressed
her mouth against his and her tongue pushed at his lips.  His lion made a snarl
of disgust and he groaned inwardly.  Fuck, could this night get any worse?

“Ro,” Ella gave her a confused look, “why
on earth do I need to go out to the terrace?”

“Just do it, Ella.  Trust me, okay?”  Rowan
said.

Ella nodded before giving her an uncertain
look.  “Are you okay?  You’re really flushed.”

“Just fine,” Rowan sighed before giving her
a gentle push in the direction of the terrace.  “Go, Ella.”

With one last look at Rowan, Ella headed to
the terrace.  As she pushed open the door, she heard soft sobs and her eyes
widened when she saw Ana, her slender body pressed against Duncan, kiss him on
the mouth.

Jealousy flooded through her and she
stalked forward as Duncan pushed Ana away.  “I said no, Ana.”

“Duncan,” Ana whined, “You don’t – oh!”

She staggered back as Ella grabbed her by
the shoulder and whipped her around.

“What the hell, Ella!”  Ana shouted.  “Get
away from me, you crazy bitch!”

“Duncan belongs to me,” Ella said in a low
voice.  “Don’t ever touch him again.”

Ana’s mouth dropped open and she brayed
loud laughter.  “As if Duncan would ever want you for anything more than a quick
fuck.  You’re fat and ugly and – “

Ella, her face calm, balled her hand into a
fist and punched Ana in the face.  Ana stumbled backward.  Her legs hit one of
the metal tables that was set up on the terrace and she went ass over
teakettle, landing on the stone floor of the terrace with a harsh thud.  She
stared wide-eyed at Ella as she touched the blood trickling from her lower lip.

“You – you hit me,” she whispered.

Ella stood over her.  “Stay away from him,
Ana.  This is your last warning.”

She turned away and glared at Duncan when
he tried to take her hand. 

“Asshole!”  She shouted before stomping
toward the door.  Her heel caught in a deep crack in the stone and she cursed
and grabbed the doorframe to stop herself from falling.

“Ella!”  Duncan rushed forward and she
shook him off angrily.

“Dickhead!”  She shouted and, leaving her
shoe wedged in the terrace when she couldn’t pull it free, limped into the
ballroom.

“Duncan?”  Ana said.  “Help me up.”

He ignored her and yanked Ella’s shoe free
before running into the ballroom.  He caught sight of her, she was nearly
halfway across the room, and he ran after her, muttering apologies as he bumped
into people.

“Ella, wait!”

“Stay away from me, Duncan Gillis!  You –
you stupid lintlicker!”  She shouted over her shoulder and limped faster.

He caught up to her and pulled her to a
stop before turning her around.  She kicked him in the shin and he cursed
before simply hoisting her over his shoulder.  She shouted in outrage and
pounded on his back as he pushed through the crowd of people who were staring
at them with their mouths open.

“You put me down right now, Duncan Gillis! 
Put me down or so help me God, I’ll kick you in the nuts!”  Ella shouted.

He clamped his free arm over her legs, just
in case she decided to make good on her threat, as he stalked past Belle and Bennett.

“Belle!  Help me!”  Ella cried.

Belle, a small grin on her lips, shook her
head.  “Sorry, honey.  I think you and Duncan need to talk.”

“Traitor!”  Ella shouted and shook her fist
at Belle.

“Sorry!  I love you!”  Belle called after
her.

He left the ballroom and opened the first
door he came to.  It was a small parlor room with an old-fashioned writing desk
in one corner and a daybed in the other, and he dropped her to her feet and
slammed the door shut.

She glared at him.  “So now you’re kissing
my stepsister?”

“She kissed me,” he said quickly.  “I told
her I wasn’t interested, she started crying and then she threw herself at me. 
I swear, sweetheart, I have no interest in her.”

He handed her the shoe he still held in his
left hand and she snatched it from him before chucking it at his head.  He
ducked and the shoe hit the wall with a loud bang.

“If I ever catch you kissing another woman
again, I’ll cut off your balls!”  She shouted.

He grinned, he couldn’t help it, and she
gave him a look of seething anger.  “You think this is funny?”

“No, sweetheart,” he said.  “Well, the part
where you punched your stepsister in the face was kind of funny.”

Her mouth twitched and she looked away
before smoothing down her dress.  “Why are you even here?”

“I came to apologize,” he said.  “I’m
sorry.  What I said earlier wasn’t true.  I’m crazy about you.  You’re all I
think about.  I can’t sleep, I can’t eat – I need you.”

“Then why did you say those awful things?” 
She snapped.  “Why did you break my heart?”

“Because when I saw how afraid you were of
me, I thought it was better for you to not be with me.  You were so afraid of
my,” he lowered his voice, “lion and I couldn’t stand the thought of trying to
make you be with me when you were that terrified.”

She blinked at him.  “You drove me away
because I was a little freaked out.”

“You were more than a little freaked out,
Ella,” he said.

“Oh, well excuse me for being weirded out
by the fact that my boyfriend can change into a damn lion whenever he wants!” 
She hissed in a low voice.

A wide grin broke out on his face.  “You
think of me as your boyfriend?”

She paused before shaking her head.  “It
was a slip of the tongue.”

“No it wasn’t,” he said in delight.  “You do
think of me as your boyfriend.  You told Ana I belonged to you.  I heard you.”

She rolled her eyes.  “So what?  You say
that all the time and it apparently doesn’t mean shit.  I danced with seven
different guys tonight and you didn’t do a damn thing about it.”

“I just got here,” he protested.  “The only
guy I saw you dancing with was Henry Treating and the only reason I didn’t go
over there and tear him away from you was because Rowan convinced me not to. 
She said it would piss you off if I did.”

“It would have,” she said.  “I’m not your
possession, Duncan.”

“I know.  But you are mine,” he said.

“Oh my God,” she said. “You know, you’re
awfully smug for a man who – “

He pulled her into his embrace and cut her
off by kissing her firmly on the mouth.  She smacked him on the back before
returning his kiss eagerly and his lion purred with excitement and need at the
touch of her soft mouth.

He kissed her repeatedly, until she was
breathless and clinging to the front of his suit jacket.  “I miss you, Ella,”
he whispered.  “Please forgive me.  Give me another chance.”

“I miss you too,” she said softly.  She
rested her head on his chest and stroked his arms.  He purred loudly and she
laughed.  “I’ve missed this as well.”

“Do you forgive me?”  He whispered.

She nodded.  “Yes.  Of course I do,
Duncan.  I’m crazy about you too and I’ve been miserable without you.”

He hugged her tightly and pressed soft
kisses all over her face.  “Thank God.”

They stood quietly for a few minutes,
hugging tightly, before she raised her face to his again.  “I moved out of my
apartment.”

“I heard,” he said.

“Right,” she said.  “Nothing’s a secret in
this town.  Well, almost nothing.”

“Move in with me, Ella,” he said.

She twitched in surprise.  “What?”

“Move in with me.  There’s plenty of space
and why rent an apartment that you’ll never sleep in?”

“Why wouldn’t I sleep there?”  She gave him
a look of confusion.

“Because the only bed you’re sleeping in
from now on is mine.”

She gave him a considering look and he
flushed.  “I won’t shift again, Ella.  I promise.  I won’t ever shift around
you.”

She frowned at him.  “I don’t want that,
Duncan.”

“You don’t want to live with me?”

“No, I mean, I don’t want you not shifting
because you think I’m afraid.  I’m not, I swear.”

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?”  He
said.  “Please, will you move in with me, Ella?”

“What about Gus?  I’m not leaving him
behind.”

He grinned.  “I like cats.”

“Yeah, I guess you do,” she said with a
small smile.

“Well?  What do you say?”

“Before I say yes, are there any other secrets
you’re hiding from me?”  She asked.

He hesitated and she smacked him on the
chest.  “Oh my God, there is.”

“Just one,” he said, “and it isn’t bad, I
promise.”

“What is it?”  She asked.

“Come home with me.  It’s easier to show
you,” he said before grabbing her shoe.  He bent and slipped it onto her foot
then straightened and took her hand.  “Are you ready, Ella?”

“Ready when you are, Prince Charming,” she
said.

He gave her a strange look and she giggled
before shaking her head.  “Never mind, Duncan.  Let’s go home.”

* * *

“Duncan, wait,” Ella said.

They were standing in his house and she
tugged him into the living room.

“What I need to show you is upstairs,” he
said.

“Okay but first, I want you to shift.”

“No, that’s not a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea,” she said.  “And I’m
not budging until you do.”

“Ella,” he said.  “I don’t want to shift.”

She shrugged.  “Either shift or I don’t
move in with you.”

“That’s blackmail, Ella Cinders.  I had no
idea you were capable of that.  You seemed so sweet,” he said.

She smiled at him.  “Shift or we’re done,
Duncan Gillis.”

He sighed loudly and stripped off his
clothing.  She made a low whistle of appreciation and wiggled her eyebrows at
him.  “Just as pretty as I remembered.”

He rolled his eyes before giving her a
hesitant look.  “Ella, are you sure?”

“Very,” she said firmly.  “Shift, Duncan.”

He dropped to his hands and knees, closed
his eyes and called for his lion.

Ella watched as Duncan’s body swelled, his
nails turned to claws and fur sprouted on his body.  She stared in fascination
as he switched to his lion form and gave her a very human look of apprehension.

“Hello, Duncan,” she said quietly.

He made a low purring noise and she smiled
before walking forward.  He stayed perfectly still and she buried her hands in
his mane and scratched.  He purred again, the sound rumbling out of his throat
with every exhale and she grinned delightedly at him before rubbing his broad
nose.

She cupped his large face and lowered her
face to his until they were only inches apart.  “I’m not afraid.”

She pressed her hand against his mouth and
when he opened it, she traced his large fangs with her fingers before stepping
to the side and running her hands along his back.  He stood and she smiled when
he rubbed his head against her hip.  She scratched his back and his purring
grew to an almost deafening volume as he arched his back into her hand and
rubbed his face against her again.  She laughed when he almost knocked her over
and gave his back a final scratch before moving away from him.

He shifted to his human form and gave her
an anxious smile.  “Are you okay?”

“Yes.  I told you, I’m not afraid.  It was
just – just a little strange at first.  I don’t want you stopping yourself from
shifting when you’re around me.  Promise me you won’t.”

“I won’t,” he said.  “I promise.”

“Good.”  She kissed him lightly on the
mouth before squeezing his naked ass.  “Now, show me your secret.”

He grabbed his keys from his pants pocket
and led her down the hallway, stopping in front of the locked room.  He
unlocked the door and, smiling nervously at her, opened it and stepped back. 
She stepped into the room, staring curiously at the canvas set up on the easel
near the window. 

“You paint?”

“I do,” he said.

She moved closer, studying the canvas with
her head cocked before turning to look at him.  “This work is – it’s…”

She trailed off as she caught sight of the
canvases propped up against the wall in a neat row.  She inhaled sharply before
walking to them and studying each one.  Each one of them was of the same blonde
woman, her face always obscured, and a large, golden-coloured lion.

“This is me,” she whispered.  “Isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said.  “My full name is Duncan
Samuel Gillis but I paint under one name – Samuel.”

“The little girl on the tire swing – was
that me too?”

“Yes.  I painted that one a few years ago. 
These latest ones have all been in the last six months or so.”