Maid For You - A Cinderella Love Story (4 page)

A
va

M
y days pass
and I settle into a new routine. Even though I’m only employed on a part-time basis, I find myself working longer hours to assist Gaby. I seldom have other plans, and besides, I enjoy her company. We work well together and I’m getting accustomed to working my way around my section of the house, which includes maintaining the formal dining room and looking after three of the guest bedrooms.

Due to finish my shift, I realize I’ve forgotten to strip one of the beds. The room’s in the south wing of the house and is very rarely used.

Selecting another tune on my iPod, I stick my ear buds back in and make my way in that direction.

Turning the handle slowly, I peek around the door. And stop short. Gasping, I pull my ear buds out, my hand flying to my mouth to stop the sound escaping. Two bodies are moving under the sheets and I hear a distinct voice that I recognize well. My mind screams at me to get the hell out, but my feet are frozen and my eyes are glued to the scene in front of me.

Just as I finally manage to gather myself, a head peers out from under the sheets and catches me staring. Cold brown eyes narrow and I slowly back away, my heart pounding.

“Ava. Get back in here now and shut the door.”

Oh my God.
I am about to get fired.

“Yes, Mrs. Prescott.”

She sits up in bed, drawing the sheets around her naked breasts.

“Christian. Give us a minute, please.”

“Sure.” The other man shrugs his shoulders. He throws the sheets off him, watching for my reaction. Heat rushes to my face and I avert my gaze as he pads butt-naked to the bathroom.

“What the
hell
are you doing here?”

I open my mouth to speak and quickly shut it again, trying to contain the incoherent thoughts that are spinning through my mind.

“Answer me.”

“Um, sorry, Mrs. Prescott. I was just finishing my shift…and I, I forgot I needed to change the sheets in here.” My face is on fire as she scrutinizes me.

“You will
never
repeat what you’ve seen. Do you understand?”

I look down at my shoes. “Of course, Mrs. Prescott.”

“Let me make this very clear. You are my
maid
. That’s all. Don’t ever get above yourself.”

Indignation rushes through me, but I merely nod.

“I understand, Mrs. Prescott.”

“Good. If I ever hear that you have mentioned this, even voiced a
tiny
hint, you will be out on the street so fast you won’t know which direction is Mexico.” She smirks at my reaction. “And I’ll make sure you’ll never be able to find employment again in this town. After all, no one would take your word over mine, Ava. All I’d have to do is mention that a few things went missing…” she trails off, and a sudden coldness settles over me.

“Like I said, I understand, Mrs. Prescott.”

“Good. You seem like a bright girl. I’m glad you concur. Now go. Leave us.”

Fuming, I stomp off down the hall, pulling off my apron along the way. Tears of frustration gather in my eyes. How can people be so cruel? I had met Mr. Prescott on several occasions now, albeit very briefly, but he was a hell of a lot more pleasant than her. Did he know what was going on behind his back? I purse my lips. How dare she threaten me like that?

I get to my room and fling open the door, my only thought being that I need to get out of here.

Slipping on my bikini, I pack a bag with some books and decide to head down to the beach.

The sea always calms me.

T
he sun feels
good on my body, warming me from the internal chill I’d experienced in the house. I pull out one of my classics and settle back into my towel, looking forward to the escape from my mundane life. Slipping on my sunglasses, I glance towards the water, seeing a bunch of people around my age playing by the edge.

Suddenly, I feel a pang of sadness. I miss my friends back home. Towards the end, I had pulled away from everyone, preferring to push people away rather than deal with their sympathy, which I couldn’t handle. I promised I’d keep in touch with a few of my closer friends, but what could I realistically tell them? That I’d had my dreams of working in communications taken from me and instead, my life plan was now to serve others? To help conceal affairs?

Sighing, I lay back against my towel, shutting my eyes. I think about Jax - did he know what his mother was really like? My thoughts move to him and a small smile creeps onto my face. He makes it clear that he’s interested in me, and so help me God, when he whispers his seductive lines to me, my heart pounds wildly. Small electric jolts shoot up my spine and settle in the pit of my stomach, causing an ache between my legs.

I drift off to sleep, the sound of the waves, like a gentle lullaby, soothing my troubles away.

I
awake with a start
. Rubbing my eyes, I glance at my watch, realizing I must have been napping for over an hour. Sitting up and stretching, I’m feeling hot and I wince at my red shoulders, which would need some attention later. I jump up and jog to the water’s edge, the gentle waves tickling my feet. The water feels beautiful and warm, and without any hesitation, I wade in and swim for some time. The current is a little stronger here than back home, but I’m a confident swimmer. Nonetheless, after a little while, feeling refreshed, I swim back to the shore. Stepping out of the water, I shake my hair out and towel myself off. I’d had enough for the day, and with my lack of options, I drag my feet back to the house.

A
fter a long hot shower
, I comb through my hair and lightly dry it off. My face is flushed from the sun and my shoulders feel on fire. I’m just about to grab a tube of moisturizer when I hear a knock on my door, so I quickly wrap the towel around me.

Leaning up against the frame, with his arms crossed, is Jax. As usual, he has a cocky smirk on his face. My eyes land on his biceps stretching across his t-shirt. I feel my body warming up and I’m sure my face is flushing even more as all I can picture is his naked back.

“Evening, Kitten.” His eyes darken as they rake over my body. “Did I interrupt anything? You’re looking very flushed.” His tone is playful, but there’s a certain edge to his voice.

“What? No.” I’m flustered at his words and drop the tube of moisturizer by his feet. Dammit. I crouch down to retrieve it and my head is almost level with his crotch.

“You know, you don’t need an excuse to be down there…”

I bite my lip and try to conceal my smile. He is the most arrogant man I’ve ever met.

“Unlikely.” I stand back up and slightly wince. My shoulders are really sore and I place my hand on the burn. Jax reaches for the tube and points to the seat.

“Sit.”

I do as he asks, his commanding voice sending a shiver of desire up my spine. Pulling my hair over to my other shoulder, I watch while he warms some lotion in his hand.

Instinctively, I close my eyes as he places his warm hands on my shoulders. My breathing becomes shallow as he slowly massages the cream into me until I feel heat spreading throughout my entire body. His hands apply just the right amount of pressure and they feel so good and relaxing. I can’t help the little sounds of appreciation as his hands work their magic over me. All of a sudden, his hands still.

“What are you doing? Why are you stopping…feels so good…”

His voice is thick when he responds. “So is the view.”

I slowly open my eyes. I’m mortified when I see that my towel has lowered on one side, fully exposing my right breast. My nipples are hard and I can’t do anything to stop him when his hand cups my breast. I moan at his touch and close my eyes as he lightly pinches my nipple, sending an electric current straight to my core.

“Ava…”

His voice hits me like a bucket of cold water. What the
hell
am I doing?

Breathing heavily, I push his hand away and roughly pull the towel over me.

I swallow hard. “What are you
doing
, Jax?”

I spin around and am taken aback by the look of desire written all over his face. His eyes are dilated and burning into me and I feel just as affected, though I’m trying not to let on.

“One day soon, I’m gonna make you scream in pleasure when I give you the best orgasm of your life, Ava Cortes.”

“What? That’s presumptive, don’t you think?” I back away, forcing myself to put the much-needed space between us.

“No, it’s not. It’s just a matter of time. You’ll see.” He winks and steps back from me, taking a seat on the bed.

I’m at a loss for words. The thought of him being between my legs is causing more heat to flood my face. I rush into the bathroom, and even though I know I’m acting like a child, I slam the door behind me. Placing my hands on either side of the sink, I look at my reflection and note my pink cheeks, my eyes sparkling back at me. I feel lightheaded and my chest is pounding from his touch. I’m so turned on right now, I can’t think straight. Splashing some cold water on my face, I get myself together and slip into a fresh pair of shorts and my tank top.

Focus, Ava. Focus.

I
open
the door to find him looking through the things I’d left on my bed earlier.
Shit
. I hadn’t put them away.

He glances at me and then back to the photos. “Is this your mom?”

I nod, walking over to the bed and taking a tentative seat next to him. “That’s her when she was around my age. She’s around nineteen.”

“Wow, you look really similar.” He pauses for a moment. “When are you nineteen?”

I look away and play with my bracelet.

“Kitten?”

I exhale before answering. “Next week, actually. Tuesday.”

He nods and consults the photos once again.

“Who’s the guy in the photo with her?”

Tensing, after only recently coming to terms with it myself, I blow out another big breath. “I believe that’s my father. I found a few of them together after she passed.”

“He looks American?”

“Yeah.” I don’t offer any more information, as I’m not ready to share.

“Has he been in touch?”

I shake my head. “Jax, he doesn’t even know I’m alive.”

We sit in silence for a few moments while he thumbs through the rest of my photos. Then he places them neatly into a pile and turns to look at me, a serious look on his face.

“Would you be interested to find out more about him?”

I glare at him. “Why would I want to do that? I mean, sure, I’m curious, but I can’t imagine he’d want anything to do with me.”

He’s quiet, and I can almost see the wheels turning over in his mind

“What? What are you thinking?”

He shrugs. “Just that you can’t be sure of that, if in the first place, he doesn’t know, to paraphrase,
that you exist
.” He pauses. “I can help you find him.”

“What?” I stand and cross my arms, walking to the other side of the room. “How?”

“We have a lot of connections. It wouldn’t be too difficult for me to make a few calls and use these photos to run a facial recognition check.” He’s quiet as I process this information. “You just have to say the word.”

J
ax

I
see
a myriad of emotions crossing her face.

Placing her palms together, she tucks them between her thighs, looking away. Finally, after what feels like minutes, she answers in a soft voice, almost a whisper.

“You really think you could locate him?”

“I’m pretty sure we could. We can definitely try and do some background work to locate his whereabouts.” Odd, but scrutinizing the photos, there’s something familiar about him. “I don’t know why but…” I squint my eyes in concentration.

“But what?”

“It’s probably nothing, but I feel like I’ve seen his face before…”

Slowly, she nods. “Okay.” A small smile creeps across her lips. “Let’s do this.”

She stands and begins to pace the room. “What if he doesn’t want anything to do with me?”

“Then he’s an ass and you’ll be better off without him.”

She stops moving and looks me square in the eyes. “Are you sure this isn’t too…
intrusive?
What if he has his own family, what if-”

I cut her off, sensing she’s about to start talking herself out of it. “We won’t know if we don’t try.” I stand, reaching out for her hand, and her eyes fixate at my touch. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. If you decide to change your mind, that’s cool too.” I smile. “I just want to help you.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Why? Why do you want to help – and what do you want in return?”

I look away and run a hand through my hair. My brows pull in at her direct question. I don’t have any answers, so I lay on my usual charm.

“If I solve the mystery, I get to take you out to dinner.” She’s opening her mouth to protest and I hold a finger up to silence her. “Just dinner…nothing else.” I purposely rake my eyes over her delectable body. “Of course…I’d only be happy to-”

“Enough. Stop.” She holds her palm up. She exhales loudly. “Fine. One dinner. Purely platonic.”

“So, does that mean I don’t get to sample dessert?”

“Don’t push it, Stud.”

I lean closer to her, my mouth mere millimeters from her ear. “Spoilsport.”

I’m beginning to enjoy the way her face flushes when I say anything remotely inappropriate towards her. As it is, I’m having a hard time staying neutral, when I’d just been witness to the most beautiful breast I’d ever seen. My eyes linger on her chest and all the blood leaves my head and rushes to my cock. I’m hard as a rock and I back away discreetly before she catches on.

She ignores my comment and rakes her teeth over her bottom lip, a gesture I’m beginning to recognize she does when nervous. It’s fucking adorable and all I want to do is pry her lip away with my mouth.

Not helping my situation down below either.

“I really appreciate it, thank you. I’m just not in the position to be able to, you know…afford your fees…”

“Firstly, you owe me nothing. I’m doing this favor for you as a friend. Anything else?”

Her hazel eyes are conflicted as she examines her feet. “I don’t want be the cause of any trouble between you and your mother….” she worries, biting her lip some more. I sense she isn’t telling me everything. I’ve witnessed firsthand how foul my mother can be to people, let alone our staff.

Placing a finger under her chin, I direct her gaze back to me.

“Don’t worry about her, ‘k? She doesn’t need to know what we’re doing.”

“But I’m not even sure she would approve of our friendship...”

“Screw that.” I shoot her a lopsided grin to ease her worries. “She barely approves of
me
most of the time.”

Her shoulders seem to drop at that, and she smiles.

“Okay. I trust you, Jax.”

Those few words hit me like a ton of bricks and stir up an emotion I’m unfamiliar with.

“Awesome. Let’s get some photos together.”

I
quietly shut
her door behind me, armed with a small collection of photos.

My cell buzzes and I pull it from my pocket, a small feeling of dread settling in my stomach.

Olivia. Again. I had managed to blow her off for the past week with work excuses. Now, she’s desperately trying to organize a lunch for us with our respective mothers to chat about plans for the summer.
Shit.
She’s also dropped enough hints for an invite for her to our annual summer ball as my date…yet the thought of her accompanying me just doesn’t do anything for me. Not anymore.

Sighing, I tap the green answer button.

“Hey, Olivia.”

“Hey you, handsome. It’s so hard to get a hold of you anymore. I miss you, baby.”

Her whiny voice grates on me.

“Yea, it’s been pretty hectic at the firm.”

“Well, don’t forget about me, honey. So, anyway, a few of the guys are coming over for an impromptu barbecue - can I count you in?”

I briefly consider her question. A few beers and a chance to let loose seems like fun. I’ll even shoot to have
the talk
with her later.

“Sure, what time?”

“Yayyy.” I pull the phone away from my ear until she stops fucking cheering. “Mom and Dad are out for the evening - we’ve got the place to ourselves.” She pauses for effect, waiting for me to say something, except I don’t. “Anyway, so swing by anytime after seven, baby. I’m sure Mom would like to see you before they leave.”

“Yeah, cool. Later.”

I
wake
up the following morning with a resounding pain in my temple. Groaning, I turn over and bury my head under the cool underside of my pillow. Flashbacks of the previous night comes back to me - shots by the pool bar, girls dancing on tables, music blaring.
Shit
. As usual, things had gotten out of hand. I try to recall if I told Olivia I was done, but nothing comes back to me, which means probably not.

Somewhere on my bed, I can hear my cell ringing. Groping around my sheets, I locate it and hit the button without checking the caller display.

“Yeah?”

“Dude, cool party last night, right? We’re on our way over.”

I snap open my eyes. “What? Why, Bryan?”

“You said we could chill at your place for the day. We’re all on our way.”

Fuck. I totally forgot I’d invited them. At least it was Saturday and I wouldn’t have my father up my ass.

“Whatever.”

I hang up, pissed at myself. Dragging myself out of bed and regretting the alcohol I’d consumed, I hit the shower. Twenty minutes later, I head to the kitchen in search of coffee. Copious amounts.

“Morning, Gaby.”

She looked up from where she’s folding some laundry, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she glances at her watch.

“Good
afternoon
, Jax.”

I shrug, smiling. Whatever. Grabbing a mug, I pour myself some coffee and pull out a barstool.

“Tough night?”

I groan in response. “Something like that.” The coffee burns my throat as I swallow, but it feels good. Sobering. “The gang is coming over. Just wanna warn you in advance.”

“Sure, do you guys want lunch or anything?”

“Nah, that’s fine. Thanks anyway.”

I stand up and walk out of the kitchen, keeping an eye out for Ava. She mentioned she wasn’t working today; I wondered what that Kitten was up to.

A few minutes later, I hear the sound of cars pulling up in the drive and sighing, I open the door, squinting in the bright light.

Bryan reaches me first, fist bumping me and sneering at my disheveled self.

“Yo, feelin’ a little tender, bro? You hit those beers and shots hard last night, man.”

I wince. “Not feelin’ particularly great. Do you mind not shouting in my ear, asshole?”

I watch as the girls gathered their crap, Olivia blowing me a kiss from her car.

I’d have to take care of that today.

I turn to walk into the house, but pause when Bryan blows out a low whistle.

“Fuck, man, who’s that hottie on your grounds?”

My jaw tightens and I run my hand over the back of my neck. Turning around, I see Ava heading off down the drive. With her short shorts and strappy top, her ass looks amazing with that little sway to her hips. A picture of her naked breast flashes before my eyes, sending a signal straight to my cock. Oblivious to us, she’s got her ear buds plugged in.

My voice is terse. “Her name’s Ava Cortes. She’s our new part-time maid.”

I don’t like the expression that forms on his face as he cranes his neck and licks his lips.

“Well, I’m gonna tap that piece of ass for sure.” He laughs and pats me on the shoulder.

I grind my teeth. “Stay the fuck away from her.” My voice is hard as steel, the warning clear in my tone. Bryan’s eyes shoot up in surprise.

“What’s the problem, man? She’s just a maid, it’s not like I’ll ever see her again - I’ll even fuck her nice.”

My entire body tenses and heat rushes through my body. I can feel the vein in my neck pulsing and I have him pinned against the wall in two seconds flat, my arm across his neck, blocking off his air supply. His eyes shoot wide open, betraying his fear and surprise.

“The fuck, man. Let me go.”

“I said leave her the hell alone.” My face is inches from his and I’m not easing off until I hear him say it. Reluctantly, he nods his head.

I release the piece of shit only to see Logan and the girls staring at me, their mouths hanging open.

“Sorry about that. Just a little misunderstanding.”

Walking away, I unclench my fists and make my way out towards the back of the house.

T
he afternoon passes
without further altercations or snide comments from Bryan. The mood from earlier has passed and everyone’s tired and just happy to chill and relax, with tunes playing in the background. My thoughts keep returning to Ava - I wonder where she is, what she’s up to.

Yesterday, before leaving for Olivia’s house, I’d placed a call to one of my father’s contacts - a business associate and close friend he referred to as his “fixer.” I explained about wanting to track down someone without giving away too much detail. He knew the drill and didn’t ask any further questions, so I couriered the photos to him. He promised he’d be in contact today at some point with news of his progress, and I’m distracted by continually checking my phone.

“So, baby, would you like to have dinner with my parents tomorrow night?”

Oh, man. I have to tell her. But I don’t want to be a complete jerk and do it in front of everyone.

“I can’t…I have plans.”

She doesn’t bother to hide her disappointment and her lips flatten together. Before she can respond, I hear footsteps on the patio and glance over to see Ava approaching the kitchen. She’s seen us but has lowered her head, trying to be inconspicuous.

“It’s that new maid again.” Bryan whispers it loud enough to gain everyone’s attention.

I scowl at him and Olivia crosses her arms.

“That’s your new maid, baby?” she purrs as she moves closer to me. Her hardened eyes rake over Ava. “God, they start them young these days, don’t they?”

“She’s almost nineteen.”

“Oooh, you seem to know a lot about her, don’t you?” She tries to play it down, but the venom in her tone can’t be concealed.

I open my mouth to reply but am cut off as she abruptly stands and begins to signal to Ava. “Excuse me,
maid?
Helloooo?”

“Sit down, Olivia.” My voice is firm, but all the others have sat up now, watching with interest.

Ava stops in her tracks. Even from here, I can see her face is flushed, but her head’s held high.

“Yes, can I help you?”

“Yeah, we’d like some drinks to be served out here.” Olivia turns to the others, giggling and fanning herself. “It’s
so
hot today.”

“Olivia.” My voice is raised and I’m surprised at how protective I feel towards Ava. She’s rooted to the spot, but her eyes refuse to meet mine.

“Sure, I can take care of that.” She lowers her eyes and makes to turn around.

I stand abruptly.

“Please don’t talk to my staff like that, Olivia.” Ava freezes in her tracks.

“What?” Olivia feigns innocence and spreads out her palms. “Relax, baby. She
is
the maid after all.”

My jaw is clenched and I shake my head at her.

“Wait up, Ava. I’ll grab them.”

Fuck Olivia. I’m done with her.