Collaring Cinderella

His words in my ear were dirty…

I’m going to eat you…

I’m going to taste every inch of you…

I’m going to fuck your sweet pussy so hard…

…and they kept making me blush as he twirled me around the dancefloor. Dancing with him was incredible, almost like having sex—or at least the way I imagined it. And with everyone’s eyes on us, I felt special and beautiful. I really felt like a princess, and just for a few minutes, I let myself forget all about Martha and my mess of a life. I played the role of Rafe’s princess and let him sweep me off my feet.

We were still dancing when he suddenly pulled me away from the dancefloor, the guests clapping as we left the ballroom. We ran down the length of a long marble hallway, and I giggled as he pulled me behind a column, pressing his body close to mine.

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” he told me roughly. “I needed to get my hands on you, sweet little princess.”

“I…” I whispered. “Rafe, I’ve never done this before.”

“I know,” he growled. “It’s because you’ve been fucking waiting for me, haven’t you, Ella?”

I didn’t want to tell him he was right, didn’t want to admit I really had been waiting for something like this to happen—for someone magical to take over and make my life beautiful like it was supposed to be. And with Rafe around, my future sparkled with possibility and hope. Here, there was no room for despair, no time for feeling sorry for myself.

“I want to kiss you,” he muttered against my neck, his breath hot against my skin.

“Oh, Rafe,” I mewled. “Kiss me… Please, just kiss me.”

His mouth found mine and we connected feverishly, needily. He kissed me like he needed me more than the air we breathed, and he gave me his everything just like I did with him. I let him have every last piece of me, even the broken bits I’d been hiding from the world, the ones my father’s death and Martha’s cruelty had left behind. And Rafael took it all, kissing me like he wanted everything that made me… me.

“You beautiful girl,” he whispered against my lips. “I have to have you, Ella. Will you come with me?”

He held my hand and I found myself nodding, even though I knew what was going to happen. I wanted it. Wanted him. Had to let him have anything he wanted.

He took me outside into the night, and I ran with him, laughing wild and free. We disappeared into the gardens, away from the prying eyes of the guests, through the maze at the back of the house. It was all thick shrubs, so tall there was no chance I could see over the top of them. We played hide and seek in the bushes, and once Rafe found me, he lifted me up in his arms and slowly lowered me into his embrace, leaving fleeting kisses everywhere he touched.

My feet dangled in the air as he reached for my mask, holding me up with only one arm. He undid the ties behind my head and the mask fell away, leaving me gasping. His own mask followed suit, and now it was just us, not masked at all. Just our faces, our lips touching, our breath fogging the cold air, the rawest we could have been with one another, and it was beautiful.

I felt something cold on my face, and we tore our gazes from one another and looked up into the midnight blue sky.

It was snowing.

The first snow of the month falling gently, thick white snowflakes settling on our skin.

Rafe laughed out loud and I stuck my tongue out, catching some snow on it and tasting it.

He didn’t let my feet touch the ground, holding me in his arms instead and slowly undoing the corset at the back of my dress. I gasped as he lowered the dress down my back, exposing inch after inch of my pale skin to the cool night air and the snow that was coming down fast now.

“I want you naked,” he said darkly, and I whimpered at the thought.

I couldn’t do much more though, because he’d already let me down and was tugging on my dress, getting me out of the beautiful fabric until I stood in front of him in nothing but a tiny cotton thong, my arms shivering in front of my body in a silly attempt to hide my breasts.

“Put your hands down, Ella,” he growled, and I begged with my eyes for him to be gentle with me, but even as I did so, my arms came down slowly.

I wanted him to see me, the way I was for him, and I wanted him to want me even more than he had back in the ballroom.