The Glass Slipper (Cinderella 3)

His face darkens. “I’m watching you, bitch.”

“Right back at you, asshole.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Winston

No control.

All it took was seeing Ash and I’m back to being the starved bastard, aching to get her naked and beneath me. I had to send her away to Nate, not because I wanted to punish her, but because if she stayed close to me, I’d end up fucking her.

And that’s not happening.

At least not yet.

I need to get my affairs in order and in control of my maddening thoughts before I even think about sleeping with Ash again.

If I truly were a wise man, I’d cut her off completely. But, like she got me addicted to those damn red gummy bears, she also has me addicted to her. Her taste, her scent, her sexy little mewls when she’s being bad for me.

No one, and I’ve been with a lot of women, has ever come close to pleasing me in all areas of my life. Ash holds her own in conversation and intellect. She’s funny, much to my annoyance most of the time. The girl is fucking hot with perfect tits and a round, bitable ass. She isn’t a bimbo and works hard while at the office. And in the bedroom? She’s a goddamn freak like me.

My kinks are…odd. I know this. But it is what it is.

Ash is the only person to see me at my most vile. The girl doesn’t even balk anymore. She’s eager to play my games and is good at playing them, too.

“Shall I remain nearby?” my driver asks, his eyes in the rearview mirror.

“Please. I don’t anticipate this taking long.”

He gives me a nod, and before I can exit, he stops me. “For what it’s worth, sir, I hope you bring down whoever did this. You don’t deserve this and she certainly doesn’t. I’ve never seen you so happy. Don’t let them take this from you.”

“Don’t worry, Daniel,” I say to him with a vicious grin. “Those responsible won’t be able to walk after I’m done fucking them over.”

He laughs. “Go get ’em, boss.”

I’ve never seen you so happy. Don’t let them take this from you.

Happy. Right. Ash pleases me but she doesn’t make me happy. I find pleasure when we play but certainly not happiness. Nothing makes me happy.

Liar.

For some reason, I think of a silly selfie Ash took once with her pink bird. Her face was twisted into a goofy expression and the bird was a blur, mid-flap as though he was bothered by her cheesy fucking pose. She’d sent me the picture and I told her I wasn’t paying for that low-quality shit. I’d gotten a serious picture right after that I paid for. But the silly one is the one I look at sometimes.

Why?

Because it makes me smile.

A real smile.

Something about that picture makes me…happy.

Which is why I’ll delete it the second I get the chance. Refocusing my thoughts, I forget about the picture and enter Anthony’s office. When Mother called, I knew we needed to take this conversation away from Halcyon which is why I’m meeting them both here. Luckily, Daniel gave the paparazzi the slip on the way here so I’m not bombarded with a hundred fucking cameras like I was when I left Halcyon shortly after Anthony did. Once inside, I take the elevator to Anthony’s floor. As soon as the doors open, I sense Mother’s presence. Her familiar perfume lingers in the lobby. I’m reminded of when I was a small boy before all the kids joined the fray. I’d misbehaved once badly enough to piss my nanny off. She warned me that my mother would tear me a new backside when she got back from lunch with her friends or shopping or wherever it was Mother had been that day. I’d sat with my nose in the corner of the piano room that smelled of my mother. Same perfume.

“Winston,” Mother says from Anthony’s office doorway. “Come here.”

It’s like I’m there again. Five years old. Unsure of how Mother will react to the news of what I’d done. And, like back then, I walk right over to her. This time, instead of peering up at her sharp features, I look down since I tower over her now.

“Mother.” My voice is much deeper this time but carries the same hint of respect.

“I’ll take care of it,” she says, her voice cold and cruel.

She’d said those same words when I was five. That nanny was fired on the spot. Mother took me by the hand, walked me through the estate, and set me in front of the window with the spectacular views. It was then she explained that Constantines make mistakes, but the difference between us and those who weren’t us, was we could afford to make those mistakes disappear.

Even though I can handle this shitstorm, I give her a nod. “Thank you, Mother.”