Cinderella For A Night

“How did this happen?” he asked. “The virgin part.”

“Actually, I was born this way,” she teased.

“Great.” He took a deep breath and told himself to remain calm. Taking her virginity wasn’t the end of the world…even if it felt that way. “I was more interested in how you stayed one.”

“Oh.” She tilted her chin and looked at him. “It was pretty easy. I never wanted to go all the way with any of my boyfriends. I think it was because my mom had such a great relationship with Frank. I saw that and decided I wanted the same. I wasn’t willing to settle on some fumbling in the back of a car with a boy I didn’t care about.”

If she was trying to make him feel better, she wasn’t doing a very good job. “Cynthia, I don’t think-”

She reached up and pressed her fingertips to his lips. “Don’t worry. I’m not expecting roses and a proposal. What I was trying to say is that I wasn’t interested in sex for sex’s sake. I wanted my first time to be with the right person. I respect you, Jonathan. I admire you and I think we’re good friends. That’s why I wanted this.”

He stared at her, taking in her wide hazel-green eyes and her pale skin. She was young and beautiful and could he really believe her?

His first thought was no. His second was what on earth was he going to do now?

Then a sharp cry filled the room. They turned toward the sound and he realized it came from the baby monitor.

Cynthia sat up. “Someone is awake and hungry. I’d better go see about that.”

She collected her clothes and walked out of the room, leaving Jonathan feeling like he’d both escaped and been dismissed. He wasn’t sure which he wanted more.

Now what? Cynthia wondered as she fed the baby. She’d pulled on a robe and socks, and had taken Colton down to the kitchen. As she held the baby she thought that this wasn’t exactly the postromantic moment she’d been thinking about.

“No offense,” she told the infant.

Colton didn’t bother to respond.

A shadow fell across her. She looked up and saw that Jonathan had entered the kitchen. He’d pulled on jeans and a sweater, but his feet were still bare. The sight of his toes was oddly intimate. She noticed that his hair was mussed and he had a catlike contented quality in his eyes.

Because they’d made love, she thought with some pleasure, and had the sudden desire for them to do it again.

“I don’t know what to think,” he said, then folded his arms over his chest. “How do you feel about all this?”

I love you.

The words came from nowhere and for a second, Cynthia was afraid that she’d spoken them aloud. But Jonathan’s steady gaze didn’t alter, so she figured she was safe.

He continued to talk, but she wasn’t listening. Instead she thought about those three words and wondered if they were the truth. Did she love him? Is that what this was about? Love? She searched her heart, probing and questioning until the truth appeared with sudden clarity. She did love Jonathan. That was the reason she’d wanted to make love with him. She’d wanted to bond with him in the age-old way women had since the beginning of time. She wanted him to be a part of her. “…and, frankly, I don’t know what to do with you,” he was saying.

She blinked. “Why do you have to do anything?” She was pleased that her voice sounded so normal. She didn’t want him to know what she was thinking. “Can’t we continue as we were? Or as we are now?” She felt herself blushing at her forwardness, but didn’t look away.

His expression tightened in what she now recognized as desire. “You mean why can’t we be lovers?”

“Exactly. I think you liked it and I know I did.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and turned away. Bracing his arms against the counter, he dropped his head. “You have no idea what you’re saying. This game is beyond you, Cynthia. If you insist on playing, you’re going to get hurt.”

“I don’t think so,” she said, struggling to keep her tone light. “I know what I want. And it’s you.”

He spun to face her. She noticed that he was aroused again. If she wasn’t mistaken, there might even be a faint tremor in his hands.

“Don’t say that,” he growled. “You’re out of your league. I’m too old for you.”

“Nonsense. If you don’t want me, or are afraid, just say so. Don’t hide behind excuses.”

He surprised her by smiling. “You are always fearless.” The smile faded. “This is your last warning. You’re not prepared to do this with me.”

“I’m a grown woman. I know what I want.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Let’s give it a couple of days. You’ll probably find yourself drowning in second thoughts.”

“I won’t change my mind,” she said.

“We’ll see.”

Chapter 11

Jonathan escaped to the office early Saturday morning, mostly because he couldn’t stand being at home with Cynthia. Of course being away from her wasn’t that easy, either, so he wasn’t able to get a lot of work done. Mostly what he did was pace and think.

Think about what it had been like to make love with her. Think about how soft her skin was and how she tasted and smelled and responded. Of the sweet cries as she climaxed and the way she clung to him. Since they’d made love, he’d spent even more time ready to be with her again. It was as if their single act of lovemaking had opened a door better left closed. Now he didn’t have to imagine what it would be like to be with her. He knew…and it was slowly killing him.

If he was any kind of a decent human being he would find a way to forget what had happened between them and make her forget, too. They were too different to ever have any kind of a relationship and if he didn’t figure out how to end it gracefully, Cynthia was going to get hurt.

He might be a real bastard, but he didn’t want that. And if there was a way to take back what he’d done-to make her as innocent as she’d been when he’d first met her, he would do it in a heartbeat. No matter the price. He would give up the glory of having been with her to have left her as he’d found her.

He didn’t want to be the one she remembered when she thought of the first time because he knew however this ended, it would end badly, and it would be his fault.

He had no experience with a woman like her. Someone who was normal, who had expectations of a forever kind of love and a family. Her world view let her believe that people cared about each other and always did their best, regardless of the personal cost. He believed that everyone was selfish and out for what he could get. There weren’t any heroes. Just regular people constantly on the verge of going bad.

And yet he didn’t think that about Cynthia. If there was one good person alive, she was the one. He could trust her to lead with her chin and her heart. She wasn’t afraid of getting hurt. Hell, she wasn’t even afraid of him. She would stand up to him because…He frowned. He didn’t know why.

He paced to the window and stared out at the view of Grand Springs. He couldn’t change the past, however he might like to, but he could affect the future. He had to promise himself that he would