I COULDN’T STOP STARING INTO Rafe’s eyes as he spun me around the dancefloor.
He was darkly enchanting, charming me with his wicked smile and the promises he kept whispering in my ear. I was wet, I could feel it between my legs. I was thankful Rafe didn’t know, but the way he licked his lips and looked at me, I really wasn’t sure he was as clueless as I thought.
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.
He groaned at the sight of me, and I let my arms fall down, exposing my breasts to him completely. My nipples hardened in the cool air, forming painfully hard pink buds.
“Fuck,” Rafe said, taking a step back and drinking me in. “I want your panties off too, princess. You shouldn’t be wearing any… Not around me. I want you fucking bare.”
I shook my head and looked away shyly, suddenly not having enough strength to drag the thong down over my hips.
“You do it,” I whispered, and he took a hasty step forward, his thumbs hooking under the hem of my underwear.
“Are you sure, princess?” he asked me, and I looked into his eyes, giving him one simple nod.
He pushed them down, and they fell off me, ending up on the floor along with my dress. Once again, Rafael drank me in with his hungry eyes, his breaths heavy at the sight.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him, my voice shaky, needing him to tell me just how very much he wanted to be inside me.
“You,” he said simply. “You’re amazing. I can’t get enough of you, and I never will. I have something for you.”
I stood there, shivering, naked for him while he reached into his suit pocket and brought out a midnight-blue velvet box. I knew it was jewelry, and my heart pounded with the possibilities as he brought it closer to me, urging me to open the lid and reveal what lay inside. My fingers trembled as I did just that, opening the box and staring at its stunning contents.
“A necklace…” I breathed, the diamonds on the silver nearly blinding me they shone so brightly.
“Close,” Rafe chuckled. “It’s a collar, a diamond one, just like I promised you, princess. Hold your hair up for me.”
My hands shook badly as I did so, and he took the stunning collar out of the box. It seemed heavy, but once he fastened it around my neck, the weight felt perfect. It settled on me like it belonged there, and I never ever wanted to take it off.
The diamonds glittered in the moonlight, reminding me of the snow that was settling on the ground below us. It was coming in fast now, covering the ground in a thick white carpet.
“Mine,” Rafael told me simply. “Now everyone will know who my little princess belongs to.”
“Rafe…” I whispered, but then his hot mouth was on mine.
He kissed me hard, each flick of his tongue telling me exactly what I needed to know. That I was his, and I belonged to him fully and completely. No one else would ever have me, and I was perfectly alright with that—in fact, it was all I wanted.
I melted into his kiss, letting him claim me, his warm fingers wandering over my chilled breasts, tweaking my nipples into points so hard I mewled into his heavenly mouth.
“What do you want, princess?” he asked me, and I shivered underneath his fingertips.
“I want you inside me,” I begged. “I want to know what it’s like to be a real woman.”
He cursed out loud and reached between my legs, his hand coming away completely soaked. I blushed at the sight of it, averting my eyes, feeling so embarrassed I wanted to die on the spot. But he raised his hand to my lips instead, making me look right at it.
“Lick,” he told me simply, and my tongue stuck out between my lips.
I tasted myself on his fingers and he groaned at the sight before lifting me up into his arms and laying me down on the cold grass. I couldn’t even feel it, the grass rustling under our bodies as he started stripping, his clothes flying off piece by piece. And then he stood in front of me in all his glory, Rafael Goldwyn, the way I made him, with his cock throbbing between his legs and his fist working the shaft.
“Beg me,” he said, and I whimpered.
I had no idea what I was doing. I’d never even kissed anyone other than him, but it still made me desperate for more. I wanted to please him, show him all the things I was ready to do for him.
“Please,” I whispered. “Please, Rafe, make love to me, I want to feel you inside me, I’m so desperate for it, please…”
“Yes,” he growled, lying down next to me. “Come here, little Ella. I’m going to make you a woman.”
I moved closer to him, and he embraced me warmly, his hands passionately working my pussy until the cold night vanished and I was crying out for him like a little whore.
“You are incredible,” he whispered in my ear. “And you’re fucking mine. You got that, princess?”
“Yes,” I whimpered as his fingers entered me, stretching my pussy out as if he were getting it ready for me. “Is it going to hurt?”
“Yes,” he growled. “It’s going to hurt so fucking good, I promise you that.”
“Please,” I begged. “Do it, I want to be yours. I want to hurt for you, Rafe.”
“You are mine,” he promised me, and then he was on top of me, and my heart was pounding, and his cock was teasing my little hole, making me go crazy.
I whimpered and moved underneath him, begging so much I felt like a slut. But I was desperate, more desperate than I’d ever been in my life, and I begged him so much he finally did it; fisted his cock and pushed it into me, breaking every barrier, entering me with nothing between us, his cock in my pussy, his heart in my hand and mine is his.
“Rafael!” I cried out, the searing pain almost too much to bear.
“Shh,” he said, kissing me gently, his cock barely moving, pushing past the point of no return inside my needy cunt.
He grabbed my ass and held me up, cursing out loud.
“Tell me when it stops hurting, princess,” he said roughly. “I can barely hold back… I need to fuck you so damn bad. Just tell me when, princess, tell me fucking when.”
“Oh God,” I cried out. “Please, Rafe, please fuck me now!”
He started moving, slow at first, but losing control of himself in a matter of seconds.
“Fuck,” he grunted. “Sorry, princess, I can’t slow down anymore, can’t stop now…”
He pumped into me and I moaned with him, little gasps and mewls and pleases begging him to go on and show me what I’d been missing all those years. He fucked me relentlessly, his whole body claiming mine and letting me know I’d never belong to anyone else. And I loved it, his animalistic possessiveness mixed with the gentle way he held me as he made love to me.
“You’re mine,” he growled at me. “You got that, little princess? You’re all. Fucking. Mine.”
He punctuated each word with a thrust inside me, and I cried out for him, so very desperate for more. His fingers tangled in my hair and he held me in place, looking into my eyes.
“No one else touches you,” he said feverishly. “No one else gets this. Promise me, little princess.”
“I-I promise,” I stuttered. “Nobody else… Just you, Rafe.”
“Swear!” he growled, fucking me savagely and making me cry out.
“I swear! I swear!” I whimpered, feeling something cresting inside me, so close to crying out again, so close to something I’d never experienced.
And I knew what it was, but I was too scared to admit it… That within minutes inside me he already had me so close to an orgasm when I’d never been able to give one to myself. I needed more, I needed him to keep going and fill me up, but my tongue was tied, and I was too scared to admit it out loud and tell him exactly what my body needed.
“My princess,” he laughed in my face. “I know you’re trying too hard, I know all your secrets…”
I mewled like a kitten and he drove himself deeper inside me, reaching places I didn’t even know I had. I cried out for him and begged, nothing like a princess. But I needed him so much, the combination of new sensations driving me absolutely wild.
“Please,” I said. “Please, fill me up, Rafe…”
“You want my cum?” he asked hoarsely. “Beg for it, princess, I want to know just how fucking bad you need it inside you…”
“Please Rafe,” I whimpered. “Please fill me up, please let me have it, I want to feel it inside my pussy.”
“Even like this?” he asked, his mouth so close to mine I could almost taste him. “Like this, bare, princess?”
“Bare,” I nodded. “Always bare, Rafael please…”
“I’m going to knock you up,” he growled. “You know that, don’t you, little princess? I’m going to send you home dripping and with a baby in your belly.”
“Please,” I cried out, my eyes fluttering closed as my whole body tensed, so close to that sensation I didn’t yet understand. “Please, Rafe! Let me come!”
“Come,” he said. “Come for me, princess, let me fucking see you coming, I want to feel you come apart on my cock, do it, come for me…”
I cried out and he kept his cock inside me, pushed so deep I couldn’t stop begging for more. I really felt like a little whore for him then, and even more so when my breathing crested and I said his name in a desperate whisper before I came crashing. I felt myself come all over him, soaking his cock and making him laugh at me as he kept fucking, splashing all over his crotch and covering his balls in my juices. I couldn’t stop, and I was too far gone to even be embarrassed, so I just let it happen the way it was supposed to.
“Good girl,” he said, kissing the top of my hair as I came down from it, whimpering like a little kitten. “Now it’s my turn, princess.”
And then he really started to fuck me, the thrusts of his hips powerful and strong, making me submit to his body completely until I was a shuddering wreck of moans and cries. He grabbed my throat, his fingers touching the diamond collar around my neck as he kept on fucking me like a madman. And then he stopped, and our eyes connected, his gaze filled with lust and love as he stared me down. The view of him above me, with snowflakes falling all over us, would be ingrained in my memory forever.
“You’re mine, Ella,” he said simply, pushing himself an inch deeper, so far it hurt like hell until I felt him spill, felt his rock-hard cock spasm inside me, felt his hot cum splashing all over the inside of my pussy.
“Rafe,” I moaned. “Rafe, oh God…”
“Take it,” he growled. “Fucking take it, little princess, take it all.”
He filled me up, and the cum just kept on coming and coming, running out of me now, and as he pushed himself in and out, spurting out of my newly fucked pussy. Rafe pulled his cock out and I watched the cum pool on the ground beneath me, a little smile playing on my lips.
“Remember you’re mine,” he told me, picking me up in his strong arms as if I weighed nothing at all. “You’ve been such a good girl for me, Ella. I cannot wait to have you forever.”
He held me close, and I shivered in his arms as he pulled the dress back up over my naked body. My hair was tousled, and I was out of breath, but I had never felt better. I felt like I belonged for the first time in my life, and to a man who would treasure me forever. I wanted to be his, I never wanted Rafael to change his mind.
“We have to get back to the dance,” I whispered, and Rafael grabbed me, holding me close.
“Not before I tell you this,” he said simply, taking my face in his hands and looking right into my eyes. “I love you, princess Ella. I’ve loved you since the second I saw you, and now that I’ve proven it, I’m going to claim you in front of everyone.”
My body shivered with his words, and I giggled nervously as he pulled me back, running through the maze. I felt special in that moment as if Edna truly had sprinkled some fairy dust over me before I left to make sure my evening was well and truly magical. And it had been… But I had a big decision to make.
I still had my ticket for the bus out of town, though I wasn’t so sure I wanted to make use of it now. But I would have to decide soon—it would soon be midnight…
Rafe tore himself away from me in front of the entrance to the maze.
“I have to make sure everything is ready,” he told me. “Can you wait here for me? Only a few minutes princess…”
“Yes,” I nodded, giving him a small smile. “I’ll wait.”
He left a fleeting, much too short kiss on my lips before running off. And once he was almost out of sight, he turned back, and winked at me over his shoulder, sending butterflies to my stomach once again.
The guests of the ball seemed entranced by the snow, most of them gathering outside and staring at the sky with childlike wonder. It made me grin from ear to ear, especially with the hidden memory of Rafe and myself in the maze… so fresh in my mind I could still taste his tongue in my mouth, feel his cock pressing between my legs urgently.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
My moment of happiness didn’t last long, and I turned around to face my snarling stepmother. I fumbled to find the mask I’d been wearing, but she stopped me, grabbing my arm viciously and making me cry out in pain.
“I know who you are, stupid girl,” she said bitterly. “No use in trying to hide anymore.”
“Martha, I…” I started, but she cut me off.
“You really are a naive little girl, aren’t you, Ella?”
“W-What?” I stuttered. “What d-do you mean?”
She made me feel so weak. So powerless. I hated it.
“Don’t you think he has a whole group of girls like you?” she asked. “Don’t think you’re anything but the flavor of the day, Ella. You’re done here, he’s done with you.”
“He’s not,” I whispered.
“No?” she asked, pointing inside.
I looked up. Rafe was talking to a girl inside, laughing with her. She was absolutely stunning, painfully so, and it hurt so much to see him with her I felt my bottom lip trembling.
“He’s already moved on to the next one,” Martha said triumphantly. “Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you, Ella.”
I looked up again, seeing Rafe take the woman’s hands in his and holding them up. It cut through me like a knife.
“See?” Martha said. “He’s moved on already, and it hasn’t even been a day… Poor sad little Ella. All alone.”
“I’m not,” I tried to argue. “He told me he loves me.”
Martha threw her head back and laughed.
“And you believed it?” she asked. “You really are dumb, Ella. He said the same thing to me, not a month ago.”
I stared at her in disbelief, and she threw her hair over her shoulder, looking righteous as she stared me down.
“Why don’t you believe me?” she asked, holding her head up high. “I’m beautiful, I’m still young… He’s been sleeping with me since I started working here.”
“Lies,” I whispered, but she merely laughed.
“Believe me or don’t,” she said, taking a step closer. “It’s the truth. And only a few days ago, it was me with his cock between my legs…”
“I… I have to go,” I muttered, trying to move back.
“Hey, wait!” Martha cried out, her eyes narrowing around the necklace I was wearing. “Where the hell did you get that? Did you steal it?”
“No!” I cried out, touching the jewels at my throat. Now they felt like they were choking me. “I would never…”
“Give it back!” Martha yelled, grabbing at the collar just as I ripped myself away.
I felt the clasp come undone, and I stumbled back, feeling the crowd’s eyes on me as I took step after step away. Martha kept glaring at me, and I felt hot and dizzy. I needed to get away. I needed to leave.
I ran out of there, my legs barely able to carry me fast enough. I didn’t stop running until the sound of the clock sounding midnight was gone, replaced by traffic. Somehow, I’d gotten into the VW and started driving, heading for the bus stop, with tears pouring down my face. I needed to get away, and I needed to do it fast.
It took me until I changed in the bathroom of the bus station to find the collar gone. My fingers traced the spot where it had rested so briefly, and I couldn’t stop the tears anymore.
I needed to get away.
I stood in line at the bus stop, waiting to leave, when I felt a memory take over my thoughts. Rafe, the first day I met him in the entrance hall of his beautiful home.
I felt the tears coming, falling down my cheeks as I sobbed for what could have been.
And suddenly I knew… I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t leave this all behind me. I couldn’t walk away from Rafael Goldwyn, no matter what my stepmother told me.
I needed to give him—give us—another chance, even if it never worked out.
I got out of the line, my legs shaky as I ran off. I ended up in a little back alley, the snow still falling softly down, and I looked up at the sky, wondering if I’d made the right choice.
There was no going back now. A smile lit up my face and I prayed for a Christmas miracle. For Martha to be wrong, and for Rafe to rescue me, whisk me off my feet and give me the fairytale I had dreamed of.
“What have we got here?”
I snapped my head up, my eyes zeroing in on a group of thugs approaching me. And just like that, my heart sank, and worry settled in place of happiness as I watched them surround me.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I w-was just l-leaving.”
“I don’t think so,” the tallest one said, slamming a hand on the brick wall behind me. “I think what you really want is to have some fun, don’t you, little girl?”
“Please, let me go,” I cried out, making a desperate attempt to go away, when I saw one of them in the back flash a glinting silver knife.
He grinned at me and my blood ran cold in my veins.
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere, sweetheart,” the leader laughed in my face.