Cinders & Ash: A Cinderella Story (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

voice raspy. “You do everything he says or else he takes every bit of it back. You leave when he’s done with you.”
    Ella looked at the coin bag, then at the man and nodded. He pushed the door open and bade Ella to enter. She stepped inside to see a large bed, a fireplace and a regal chair, where a man wearing a loose shirt and trousers sat. He was wearing a small mask to cover the area surrounding his eyes, but she could otherwise see his face.
    She heard the door close behind her, the noise startling her. The man in the chair appeared fit and was possibly handsome. He had hazel eyes that glimmered in the light from the wall lanterns. His hair was chestnut brown and cut neatly on his head. He smiled as he watched her. “Set your bag on the hook. Then come and stand close to me.”
    Ella obeyed, setting her bag on a hook near the door and walking over to the man in the chair. The pain in her back was flaring, but she managed to look calm as she stood in front of the mysterious man.
    “What’s your name?” he asked.
    Part of her was ready to say, “Ella,” but then, in her mind, she had a flash of her stepmother saying, “You’ll never guess who I ran into today — the man you’ve been whoring yourself to. Told me he loved this girl named Ella with golden hair in two braids.”
    She froze. She knew it was irrational that a man would ever tell Lady Kenna what he’d been doing with some unknown girl, but the thought froze her in place. “My name?” she said hesitantly.
    “Yes,” the man said. “What is it that people call you?”
    Maid, mostly, she thought. If not in speech, in action. Of course, there was Cinderella too, but they rarely called her that, and only if she was covered in chimney grime. Only she couldn’t say that. “Cinders,” she said.
    He squinted at her, his face hardening slightly. “Cinders?”
    “Yes,” she said. “It’s a nickname, for I have to clean the chimney where I live.”
    He considered that for a minute, giving her a scrutinizing stare, and finally he laughed. “Cinders,” he said. “I like it.”
    Ella smiled. A wave of relief washed over her, knowing he wasn’t mad. “And what shall I call you?”
    He leaned back in his chair, stared at her, as if no one had ever asked him such a question. She wondered if maybe she wasn’t supposed to ask him questions, if she was just supposed to take orders. That was her life already, though, a life where she only got told what to do. He smiled after a moment and said, “You may call me Ash.”
    She curtsied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ash.”
    This seemed to amuse him more, as his lips curled into a broad smile. She wondered if she were doing everything wrong. These are the things her father taught her — proper manners, and this man was supposedly a relative of the royal family, so why would he be so surprised at her manners? She now wished she hadn’t curtsied as it felt like elves were dragging tiny daggers across her back. She tried to keep a genteel smile on her face, in hope of suppressing the pain that made her want to grimace.
    “Remove your dress, Cinders,” Ash said.
    She widened her smile and gingerly untied the sash in the back. She tucked her head down as she did so, hoping to hide the wincing pain. She made sure she faced him head on so he would not see her back, and let the dress fall to the floor so she was naked.
    Ash stared at her, his lips quirking up slightly and his eyes widening as if pleased, but he said nothing. He kept his eyes trained on her, taking her all in, as if he wanted to savor her. She wondered briefly if this was a ritual, if he did this with all the girls. She was certain she wasn’t the first. He seemed experienced at this.
    Yet, for some reason, the way he looked at Ella made her feel special, as if he hadn’t looked at any of the other women this way before. Part of her blanched at the thought. Ella was used to not being special. Lady Kenna had told her that often enough.