Madison didn’t feel like Cinderella that evening.

Or maybe Cinderella herself never felt the way Madison always thought. Maybe she felt weird and awkward and unnatural and like she didn’t want her prince to fall for a fancy dress and a pretty pose she put on for one night. Maybe Cinderella wanted the prince to fall for her in her ratty clothes, love her for her normal, everyday self. Maybe one shining evening at a ball wasn’t enough to sustain a lifetime of love and work and laughter and suffering.

Whatever the reason, Madison didn’t feel like herself. She knew she looked really good, but she didn’t feel natural or comfortable. She kind of wanted to go home and change into her yoga pants. She wanted Timothy to stop staring at her in that unnerving way.

Dinner was formal and banquet-style. The food was delicious and the room was lovely, but Madison could only pick at her food and keep hoping it would be over soon. She and Timothy talked politely with the people around them, but they didn’t really talk to each other. All in all, Madison didn’t have a good time, so she was relieved when dessert was finally over and she could use an excuse of going to the restroom to escape for a few minutes.

She used the bathroom and then stood in front of the sink, staring at the stranger in the mirror for a long time.

Then she finally washed her hands and left, not feeling much better than she had before.

On her way back to the ballroom, she saw Kevin step out into the hall. He saw her and smiled, so she waited until he came over to her.

“There you are,” he said. “I was looking for you.”

“You were?”

“Yes, of course I was.”

People were starting to stream out of the ballroom now, so dinner must be over for real. Madison stepped out of the middle of the hall to get out of people’s way and ended up with her back to the wall, Kevin standing very close in front of her.

“Why were you looking for me?” She wasn’t really flirting. She just landed on the first thing she could think of to say. But her voice was light, so she figured it might count as flirting.

“Why do you think?” Kevin leaned even closer to her.

There was no question about it now. He was coming on to her. Even though they hadn’t really seemed to connect earlier.

This was her plan. This was what she’d wanted. She could go to bed with Kevin tonight, have a little fling with a hot guy. No stakes of any kind.

All she had to do was keep flirting, respond to his advances.

It would be easy.

She could do what she’d come here to do.

Something caught her eye over Kevin’s shoulder, and she glanced over to see Timothy leaving the ballroom. He was looking in her direction, and their eyes met across the distance for just a moment.

Then he turned and walked away.

He’d said he wasn’t going to get in the way of her and Kevin this weekend, and he’d always been a man of his word.

If he’d been interested in her in the slightest bit, surely he would have come over, put up a fight, not let the competition win without so much as the smallest effort.

He wasn’t interested. She’d known it all along.

She turned back to Kevin. There was a question in his eyes and a little smirk on his lips.

He might be an okay guy, but she didn’t know him anymore.

And she didn’t want to have sex with a stranger.

She didn’t want to have sex with this man in front of her.

And she didn’t want to do it just because he was expecting her to, just because she’d planned it this way, just because the man she did want didn’t want her.

“What do you think?” Kevin asked in a low voice when she hadn’t responded. “You want to have some fun tonight?”

She let out a breath and shook her head. “I don’t think so. I thought maybe… but no. It’s just not me.”

Kevin looked surprised and a little annoyed, but he didn’t argue. He made a casual comment to brush off her rejection and said he’d see her around.

She was relieved he’d left quickly. She didn’t want to talk to him.

It was almost midnight on a Friday evening. She was all dressed up like Cinderella, and there was no prince in sight.

She’d come here to have fun, and she wasn’t having any. At all.

Her stomach growled as she stood there, and she realized she’d hardly eaten anything all night. She was suddenly hungry—maybe because she’d finally relaxed after making her mind up about Kevin.

She suddenly knew what she wanted to do. She was going to do something she wanted, something indulgent, even if she did it alone.

She went down the mezzanine stairs to the lower level and found a well-stocked hotel shop. There was an entire wall of snack foods and a cooler that had mini bottles of wine.

She loaded up on chocolate and cheese straws and gourmet chips and salted caramel, and then she grabbed a selection of mini wine bottles. She tried not to giggle at the cashier’s face as she charged her goodies to her room, and then she carried her two bags to the elevator and up to her floor.

She moved the bags to one hand as she dug for her keycard in her clutch, but one of the bags slipped from her fingers and fell onto the floor.

Six little wine bottles hit the floor and rolled out.

“Shit!” she cried as they fell, watching in trepidation as the bottles rolled toward the door across the hall.

To her relief, they hit against the door but didn’t break.

She was leaning over to collect them when the door across the hall opened.

She straightened up, her hands full of little wine bottles, to see Timothy staring at her. He still wore his tux, although his bow tie was undone and hanging around his open collar.

He looked so sexy and masculine that she gulped.

“What are you doing?” he asked, looking from her face to the wine bottles and bag of goodies in her hands.

“Nothing.” It was a ridiculous thing to say, but how the hell could she explain it?

He frowned, looking strangely forbidding as he murmured, “Odd choices for a romantic evening. Couldn’t he even bother to spring for the refreshments?”

“I’m not having a romantic evening,” she explained. “These are just for me.”

His eyes shot up to her face. “What about Kevin?”

“What about him?”

“I thought you were…”

“I wasn’t.” She took a deep breath and admitted, “I didn’t want him.” She looked down at her goodies ruefully. “Honestly, all this seemed more appetizing than he did.”

A smile was starting to play around the corners of Timothy’s mouth, the first one she’d seen all evening. “Didn’t you just have dinner?”

“I didn’t eat much.”

“No, you didn’t. So you’re really going to eat all that by yourself in your room.”

“Is something wrong with that?”

“Of course not. But it looks like you got enough for two.”

She was having trouble not smiling back at him now. There was a teasing glint in his eyes that she hadn’t seen in a while. “Maybe I did. You can share if you want, unless you’re too good to chow down on junk food after suffering through a fancy dinner.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think I’m as good as you think.”

The edge to his voice made her cheeks warm, but she couldn’t believe it meant what she thought it did. She gave him a suspicious look. “So you want to share?”

He took a step toward her, that same warm look in his eyes. “I want to share.”

***

They ended up propped up against the pillows on Madison’s bed, still wearing their fancy clothes as they ate the chocolate and chips and caramels and cheese straws and sampled every bottle of wine, trying to find the best food-and-wine pairings.

Madison couldn’t seem to stop giggling, and she knew part of it must be the alcohol.

But not all of it.

Some of it was a bubbling excitement that she just couldn’t hold down, no matter how many times she tried to remind herself not to blow this out of proportion, read something into this that wasn’t there.

Timothy was obviously enjoying himself. He was relaxed and laughing and flushed just slightly. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her, and she was almost positive it was admiration she saw in his eyes.

It was what she wanted to see there. Exactly what she wanted to see.

She wanted to be with him exactly like this.

After they’d made good headway with their snacks, Timothy’s expression changed slightly as he asked, “So what happened with Kevin?”

She gave a little shrug. Her dress wasn’t made for lounging on the bed in, and she’d had to hike it up to give her legs room. She was wearing sexy thigh-high stockings—which she’d bought in the hopes of indulging herself a little—and the lace top of one of them was visible through the slit of her skirt.

Timothy kept looking down at it. She definitely noticed that.

“I don’t know,” she admitted after a few moments. “I thought I wanted something that I didn’t want.”

“Maybe you did want it.”

“Oh, I promise, I didn’t. I mean, Kevin is fine, I guess, but I really didn’t want to sleep with him.”

“No, I get that. And I’m definitely not going to complain that it’s true. I just meant that maybe what you wanted was real but you were looking for it in the wrong place.”

She gasped softly as her heart leaped. Was Timothy really saying what she thought he was saying? “Wh-what?”

He licked his lips briefly before he said, “I don’t think it’s wrong for you to want to feel good, Madison.”

Oh. That was what he meant. She was a little disappointed, but this discussion felt too important for her to stew about it. “I know it’s not wrong.”

“Do you? It seems like you’re always working, always taking care of other people, and ignoring what you might want and need for yourself.”

“I’m… I don’t think I do that.”

“Yes, you do. You know you do.”

She cleared her throat, suddenly uncomfortable, like he was digging too deep into her soul. “Well, people have needed me recently. My dad and… and… It’s not like I’m always like that.”

He reached out to put hand on her thigh, the touch shockingly intimate—but not as intimate as the look in his eyes. “You’ve been like that for as long as I’ve known you.” He paused, then said in a softer tone, “Jenny was telling me about your conversation about the moon.”

The shift in subject surprised her. “What about it?”

“About how it’s beautiful in and of itself, but we can’t see how beautiful it really is until the sun shines on it. It reminds me of you.”

She stared at him for a moment, trying to keep up. “A cold, barren rock reminds you of me?”

“You know that’s not what I mean.” His eyes were very soft. “I mean you’re so beautiful, but you won’t always let people see how much.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment. “I can’t dress up like this all the time.”

“I’m not talking about dressing up. You’re beautiful all the time, no matter what you wear.” He spoke the words almost matter-of-factly, like he wasn’t trying to flatter her, like he was simply stating what he knew to be true. “But I’m not even talking about your appearance. I’m talking about you. The real you. You hide yourself in the shadows instead of shining in the sun.”

She was breathing raggedly, her vision blurring. “I… I don’t know that I do that.”

“Yes, you do. You know you do.” He very lightly touched her thigh again. “It’s all right for you to focus on yourself occasionally, Madison. It’s all right for you to share what’s in your heart. It’s all right for you to want things for yourself.”

“I know,” she said in almost a whisper. She had to turn away from the look in his eyes, and the hand holding her glass of merlot trembled slightly. “It’s one of those things I know in my mind but can’t always live out. Like we were talking about earlier. That’s what this weekend was supposed to be about. Doing something for myself. Feeling… feeling good again.”

“So that’s what you should do.”

“Do what?”

He reached out and lifted her chin, and she raised her eyes to meet his. His were so full of warmth and understanding and excitement and a smoldering fire she’d never seen before that her breath caught in her throat. “Do something to make yourself feel good.”

“That’s what all these goodies were about.” She tried to use her normal, dry, practical voice, but it came out breathless instead.

“Good. That was a start. Now do something else.”

“Wh-what?”

“Do something else to feel good.” His voice was low and husky and so erotic it sent tingles all through her body. “Do exactly what you want.”

His voice, his eyes might as well have been hypnotizing her. There was no way she could resist. She couldn’t control her body. It was moving toward him, leaning into him.

She was still holding her glass of wine, but he took it out of her hand and put it on the nightstand beside him. He reached out for her as she swayed toward him, and then she was finally kissing him.

His lips were warm, eager. He pressed a few gentle kisses against her mouth, and then he pulled her over onto his lap so they were in a more advantageous position. She hiked up her skirt so she could straddle his hips.

Madison’s head roared with pleasure and excitement as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue in her mouth to slide against hers. She moaned low in her throat as she opened for him more fully, and her arms wrapped around his neck so she could cling to his thick hair.

“Madison,” he murmured against her lips. His hands had slid down her ribs and her sides until he was cupping her bottom. “Is this what you want?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” She couldn’t seem to stop saying the word, and she kissed him in between each one. She didn’t care if she looked shameless or overly eager or anything really. This was exactly what she wanted, and she was going to take it at last.

“Then take it,” he said hoarsely, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes. “Take it. Take me. Exactly like you want.”

She made a whimpering sound as she grabbed his head with both hands and pulled him back into a kiss. She was out of control now as his mouth devoured hers, and she clawed at his shirt to get it opened enough for her to slide her hands against his bare skin.

His hands were busy too, caressing over the length of her body, stroking her thighs over the tops of her stockings, searching over her dress until he finally found the zipper on the side and then pulling it down.

She had to let go of him to pull her arms out of the straps, but when she did the fabric fell down to her waist, freeing her breasts. Timothy lifted her up higher so he could take one in his mouth, and he teased it until she was moaning helplessly, clutching at his shoulders for support.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured thickly, releasing her nipple to stare at her naked upper body. “So beautiful like this.”

She felt beautiful—more beautiful than she had earlier in the evening when she was all dressed up. She reached up to the pins in her hair and pulled them out so her hair fell down over her shoulders.

Timothy groaned and pulled her into another kiss. This time as he embraced her, he adjusted their bodies, turning them over so she was on her back on the bed and he was on top of her. From this position, he could pull her dress down over her hips and legs, leaving her in just her stockings and underwear.

She’d managed to get his tie off and open his shirt, but she was tugging futilely at his jacket. When she gave an extra-hard tug, he raised himself up and yanked his jacket off, dropping it over the side of the bed to the floor. While he was up, she pulled his shirt off too, her eyes lingering on the strong musculature and lean lines of his shoulders, chest, and abdomen. When he kissed her again, his pelvis pushed down into her middle, and she could feel that he was aroused. Very aroused. Just as aroused as she was.

The knowledge sent more shivers of pleasure through her body, and she was aching deliciously between the legs. Timothy started to kiss his way down her throat to her breasts, and she was practically sobbing with desire as he suckled at one nipple and caressed the other with his hand.

Soon she was begging him to make her come, something she’d never thought she’d do. She’d always enjoyed sex just fine, but she’d never thought she was a very sexy person overall. Not like she felt right now. She arched and wriggled and dug her fingernails into his back as he kissed his way farther down her body. Down past her belly. Down between her legs.

She was so far gone that when he pulled her panties aside and gave her arousal a stroke with his tongue, she came without warning, crying out at the unexpected shock of pleasure.

She would have been embarrassed by coming from so little if she hadn’t felt so good, and she didn’t have time to really come down before he was teasing her clit with his tongue more attentively and slipping two fingers inside her. She kept clenching around him as little climaxes followed the first. She was pulling hard on his hair and fighting to keep her legs open and had never felt so good in her life.

In her life.

Tears were running down her face as he kept up his ministrations for a long time. “Timothy,” she gasped. “God, Timothy, I’m… I’m… What’s happening to me?”

“You’re feeling good,” he murmured, raising his head briefly to look at her face but still pumping his fingers inside her. “Don’t fight it, honey. Let me make you keep feeling good.”

She sobbed out some more when he lowered his mouth to her clit again, and she surrendered to the sensations. She hadn’t even known her body was capable of responding this way, feeling so much pleasure.

When she was afraid she might be hurting Timothy by pulling so hard on his hair, she let it go and reached up to cling to the headboard instead. Her body was mostly naked and stretched out for him to do with as he wanted, and he was making her feel so good.

It went on for a long time, until she was hoarse and limp, but he finally straightened up and moved back up her body. His little smile was pleased and proud as he gave her a little kiss on the lips.

“I won’t even tell you not to be smug,” she said, wrapping both arms around him in what was almost a hug. “You deserve to be smug after that.”

“It’s not over yet,” he said. “Do you have a condom?”

She nodded over at her clutch on the nightstand, and he reached for it and handed it to her. She pulled out a condom, and then she pushed him back onto his side so she could reach the front of his pants. She unfastened them carefully and then pulled his erection out of his underwear. He gasped and stiffened as she stroked him.

“I guess I can make you feel good too,” she said.

“Def—” He broke off the word with a moan as she stroked his balls. “Definitely.”

She would have spent more time caressing him, but he had finally seemed to lose patience. He took the condom from her, ripped the packet open, and rolled it on. Then he moved back over her, moving aside her panties again and then lining himself up at her entrance.

She bent up her legs as he entered her, and they both moaned at the penetration.

He was staring down at her deeply, warmly, and the intensity of his expression made her self-conscious. He was obviously enjoying this, and he clearly wanted her to enjoy it too, but other than that, she didn’t know what he was thinking.

He pumped his hips a few times, and she relaxed her body around him. She couldn’t believe she was doing this—tangled up with Timothy’s body, feeling him moving inside her.

She’d wanted this for a long time. She’d never thought it would happen like this.

He kissed her softly as he moved rhythmically above her. Then he lifted his head and asked, “What works for you?”

“What do you mean? This is good.”

“Well, I’m glad it’s good, but I think we can manage better than good. I want you to come again.”

She was genuinely surprised, and her eyes widened as she said, “I already had my turn. I came. A lot.”

He’d straightened his arms, holding himself above her, and now he was frowning down at her. “This isn’t about turns. Why would it be about turns? I want you to come again. Is there something wrong with that?”

“No. Of course not. Just that it doesn’t always happen.”

“When it does, what works for you?”

Ridiculously, despite their intimate pose, she felt a little self-conscious as she admitted, “I don’t normally come in this position.”

His face relaxed. “Okay. So what position works best for you.”

Her lips parted.

“Tell me,” he said gruffly.

Damn, for such an innately nice guy, he could be stubborn—even in bed. Relenting, she smiled and admitted, “If you must know, it’s usually doggie style.”

His eyebrows arched.

“You asked,” she said defensively.

Laughing, he pulled out of her and rolled over onto his side. “You think I’ll have a problem with doggie style?”

“Well, no, but…” She trailed off, suddenly overwhelmed by the teasing warmth in his eyes. Giving him a playful swat, she giggled and said, “Stop laughing at me.”

“I’m not laughing.”

She gave him a significant look.

“Well, maybe a little,” he admitted, that same delicious smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Now you’ve driven me crazy for long enough, so turn over on your hands and knees.”

Her cheeks burned with excitement and a little embarrassment. “So now you’re going to be bossy.”

“You have no idea how bossy I can be. Turn over for me. Now.”

She did as he said, thrilling with an excitement she didn’t really understand. She positioned herself on her hands and knees and looked behind her to see that Timothy was kneeling behind her. He leaned over and kissed her softly over her shoulder. Then he pulled her bottom cheeks apart until he could find her entrance. She was still very wet and pliant, so he slid in easily.

She let out a little whimper of pleasure at the penetration in this new position.

He reached over to brace himself on the headboard with one hand, and then he started to thrust into her from behind. It felt good almost immediately, and soon it felt so good she couldn’t hold back her helpless groans.

“You do like this position,” he said thickly, picking up his speed. “You’re definitely going to come.”

“Yeah,” she gasped, pushing her bottom back against each of his thrusts. They were making an urgent slapping noise that turned her on even more. “Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh… yeah!” The last word was almost a scream as the pleasure tightened unexpectedly.

“Oh fuck, you’re so good, so good, oh fuck, I want you to come for me.” His voice had gotten raspy, choppy, as he was starting to lose control.

“Gonna… gonna… gonna… Oh please, harder.”

He took her even harder, holding on to the soft flesh of her bottom with one hand. Her whole body was jiggling, and her breasts were bouncing rhythmically now. The bed was shaking shamelessly, and she was so, so close.

“Fuck, honey. Nothing has ever felt as good as you do.”

She came at the breathless words, her body shaking through the intense sensations. He kept thrusting as her upper body fell down, leaving only her bottom in the air. He was still pushing into her, not really pulling out, and her clenching channel kept clenching until she was sobbing with the pleasure.

When all the spasms had finally worked through her, she was limp and gasping and let Timothy pull out and turn her over onto her back. He settled between her legs and slid inside her again, raising her thighs so her legs were folded on either side of him.

He kissed her urgently as he pumped into her with a short, clumsy motion. She kissed him back, her hands sliding down so she could feel his ass muscles clenching and releasing. He was far gone now, and she loved the feel of his letting go, how the shudders ripped through his body, how he kept groaning into her mouth.

His thrusting finally turned into little jerks as he worked through a long climax. He panted against her mouth as his body shook through the aftermath. Then he was finally as relaxed as she was, still kissing her a little.

When he finally straightened up and pulled out of her, his eyes were soft and hot and intimate. “You are so amazing,” he murmured, giving her one last kiss before he took care of the condom.

Madison wasn’t sure Cinderella would ever have done this with the prince, but she couldn’t imagine Cinderella could ever feel better than she did right now.