Free Cinders & Ash: A Cinderella Story (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales Book 3) by Rosetta Bloom

confident.”
    “Of course I am,” he said with a grin. “I’m the — I’m a man who, when I see something I want, I make sure I get it.”
    She nodded, feeling a tad like she’d been slapped. She was simply a thing he wanted. Not a person, but a thing. Her warm feelings from moments ago were fading. She released his hand and sat up. “I need to get back or else I’ll get in trouble. They might discover I’m gone.”
    Ash sat up too. “Surely, you can stay just a little while longer. There’s no need to run off so soon. I can have Heinrich saddle a horse and take you back. That will get you home quicker.”
    She shook her head. “No, the horse would wake everyone. I need to get home on my own, and I need to go now.”
    He wore a frown with a crinkled brow. “Very well, then,” he said. “But, you’ll come back tomorrow night, at the same time?”
    She swallowed, not sure she still wanted to come back. “Yes,” she said, as she found her dress and pulled it on, then slipped into her shoes. “But, I have to go now.”
    She went to the door, and was opening it when Ash said. “Heinrich will pay you.”
    She had come for the pay. She had been so desperate for money when she had shown up at his door a week ago, that she thought there was nothing she wouldn’t do to get away from Lady Kenna. Yet, the feeling of dismissal she sensed as he offered her money, the way he looked down at the bed, not at her, made her feel ashamed to be here. She went out the door and found Heinrich. He smiled at her, a toothy, friendly grin. Then, his eyebrows smooshed together and he held out a hand to her, “Are you alright, milady?” he asked her.
    She nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. And you can call me Cinders.”
    “Cinders,” he said kindly. “I’m glad you’re fine.”
    Ella heard panting and turned to her left to see a tall blond man rounding the corner. His clothes were fine and neat, and his face would certainly be considered handsome. He had a strong jaw, a nose slightly rounded at the tip and deep brown eyes. “Heinrich,” the man said, and Heinrich looked at him apprehensively. “The King would like to see you.”
    “At this hour?” Heinrich replied.
    “Yes, and he was wondering why you weren’t in your chambers,” the man said. “I told him I’d look around for you, and I came straight here. You’ll need to have an excuse for him if you don’t want him to know where you’ve been. But you need to go now. You don’t wish to keep the King waiting.”
    Heinrich pursed his lips and looked at Ella. He handed her the bag of money. “Do you think you can find your way out?”
    Ella looked down the hallway. It appeared dark and foreboding and she actually wasn’t sure.
    “I’ll take her,” the blond man said. “Just go on up or else my uncle will have your head.”
    Heinrich nodded and went in the other direction. The man motioned Ella to come over. He looked her up and down, and smiled. “I know who you are,” he said. “I see why he was so excited about you. You’re quite fetching.”
    The blond man started to walk and she followed behind him a pace. He slowed a step until he was by her side, then he placed a hand on her ass cheek and squeezed. She was so startled, she stopped and gaped. “Take your hand off,” she said.
    He removed his hand and took a step back. “I see. You’d like to be paid first,” he said. “I understand completely. Working girl like yourself can’t earn a cent if she gives it away for free.”
    The man started moving forward and Ella was thankful for that. She wanted nothing more than to get out of here. To get away from this place.
    “If you’re up for it, I might like to have at you too. Next time, you can start with me and move onto him, perhaps. Or maybe I can get another girl and we can have fun as a foursome?”
    Ella tried not to retch. The thought of this vile man touching her made her want to vomit. Up ahead, the dark hall seemed to lighten and she knew that