Fairy Tales Do Come True

Yes, I thought, Ashley was doing well. I found myself wondering if she ever thought about me anymore, then dismissed that thought. She'd probably be too busy to think about anything except what she was going to do for the next book cover. I was just a cop who'd helped her once.

I couldn't get her out of my head after that. Even if she was busy, wasn't it possible she thought about me once in a while? It was my ego showing, I know, but I wanted her to think about me.

It was a little odd to me that I'd never had that thought before even though I'd helped more than a few people when they needed it. With all the rest, it was enough to know I'd done what they needed. With Ashley, I needed to know she remembered. I remembered her. Why couldn't she remember me? As I sat in front of the TV that night, I started to realize why I was thinking that way.

I'd known several other women over the years, but none of them were like Ashley. A couple had been absolutely beautiful, but they were more concerned with how they looked than with about being with me. Most had been just normal women, pretty enough and smart enough to make them interesting to talk with.

Being with them had been good and the sex had been good as well, but I'd never felt really connected to them. I didn't even remember half their names or faces even though I'd dated some of them for weeks. I hardly knew Ashley, but I knew I'd never forget her name or the way she looked.

I kept remembering her as the woman dragging a suitcase that day at McGregor Park. She'd looked fragile and vulnerable that day. That's why I'd helped her. Then I remembered her at her new apartment. She'd looked strong and confident. I hoped the guy she'd found would see both the vulnerable Ashley and the confident Ashley. He needed to see both to really appreciate the woman Ashley was like I did. If he saw both, he might not be so slow to understand he needed her and that she needed him.

That last thought sort of slipped up on me. I'd seen both the fragile and vulnerable Ashley -- a woman who needed someone to give her strength -- and the strong and confident Ashley -- a woman who'd found her place and was happy. Yet, when I thought some more, the strong and confident Ashley was still fragile and vulnerable. I realized that when I remembered her saying she wanted to believe what happened in the romance novels could happen to her.

She needed to be needed by someone. It had sounded like a fairy tale when she said it and that's what I'd told her. Now, I was ashamed about that. Ashley really wanted someone to live happily ever after with.

The more I thought about it, that's what I wanted too. I was happy being a cop, but I'd been happier having dinner with Ashley and then being with her in her apartment. It just seemed natural, somehow, to have her sitting across the table from me and smiling, or sitting on the couch and showing me the pictures she'd done. I found myself wishing that could keep happening.

The only problem was she already had a guy she liked. She'd told me she was hoping he liked her too. If I said anything now, I'd just mess that up. She might think she should drop the guy for me out of some sense of obligation for helping her. If it didn't work out, she'd be left on her own again, and I couldn't do that to her.

I struggled with that for an hour or so, vacillating between just leaving well enough alone and going to her apartment and telling her how I felt. In the end, I decided I had to at least talk to her again. If I could talk to her, maybe I could get a sense of what she really thought about me.

When Ashley answered my knock on her door the next day, I had to stifle the chuckle. She had a reddish paint blob on her nose and her T-shirt had some smudges of other colors. She was kind of cute because of the paint, and more than a little arousing. That T-shirt fit her as tight as her jeans did. She grinned.

"Officer Jenkins, I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"I didn't have anything else to do and thought I'd stop by to see how you're doing. If this is a bad time I can come back later."

"No, it's not a bad time. I just wasn't expecting anyone and I must look awful.

"You look fine to me. You're just like you always are, well, except for the paint on your nose."

She rubbed her nose and then looked at her finger and laughed..

"The cover I'm working on has to have stronger colors, so I'm doing it in acrylics. I guess I should remember to wipe my hands before I scratch an itch. Come in and I'll show you what I'm painting. It's almost finished."

I followed her into what had probably been the second bedroom. It was now her studio. The painting sitting on the easel was quite different from her others.

The background was a dark sky filled with black clouds. A bolt of lightening slashed from those clouds to the ground. The grass glistened with water drops, and it looked like it was raining hard. In the foreground were a man and a woman locked in an embrace that could only mean they were very much in love.

The woman was clinging to the man with her arms around his neck, and though she was dressed, her thin white dress had been soaked by the rain and didn't leave much to the imagination. The water made the dress mold itself to her heavy breasts, and also made it somewhat transparent. Her nipple and nipple bed were visible as a slightly darker color.

The man was another of Ashley's heavy-muscled men. He was leaning over the woman and kissing her, and he'd put his hand under her knee and lifted her thigh to almost his waist. That caused the dress to ride up to her waist, and her soft, slender thigh and the underside of her hip were exposed. It was easy to imagine she was feeling his cock against her mound.

Ashley's voice was soft.

"The book is titled, "Rain On The Moor". It's a gothic romance about a servant girl and a Baron. The servant is just one of many in the castle, but she catches the eye of the Baron because she's the prettiest one. One day he hears someone talking in his bedroom. He peeks around the door and sees the servant girl there, changing the bedclothes.

"She talking to herself about how she's just a servant girl and can't expect him to think any more of her than that, but that she thinks she loves him. He leaves then, but he keeps thinking about what she said. He does like her, but of course, their stations in life mean it could never be more than that.

"Over the next couple of chapters, the servant girl tries not to show him how she feels, but the more she tries, the more interested in her he becomes. At first, it's just interesting that she wants him, but slowly, he starts to want her too. He doesn't know why, but she attracts him like no other woman ever has.

"He has a fiancée who acts like she loves him, but she's really only after the money he has. After a while, when he's with the fiancée, he starts thinking about how much different the servant girl is.

"His fiancée is pretty, but she's always finding fault with other people and always has to have things her way. When he thinks about the servant girl, he realizes she's always smiling and always goes out of her way to help the other servants do their work.

"His fiancée suspects he likes the servant girl and she's a threat to her plans, so she demands that he get rid of the servant girl. Reluctantly, he does, and then spends the rest of the chapter wishing she was still there.

"In the next chapter, he finally sees what his fiancée is really after and breaks off the engagement. Then, he starts thinking about the servant girl again, and sends his manservant to find her. The manservant finds her and tells her the Baron wants her to come back.

"She's been heartbroken since he sent her away, but when the manservant tells her the fiancée is gone and the Baron says he needs her, she has hope that he needs her for herself and not just as a servant girl. Then she tells herself that it could never be because he's a baron and she's just a servant girl.

She tells that to the manservant. He tries to convince her that the Baron doesn't care about status. She finally says she'll come to the castle the next morning to talk to the Baron. The manservant goes back to the castle and tells that to the Baron.

"In the last chapter, she starts out for the castle. She's almost there when the sky turns dark and she hears thunder. She can see the castle in the distance and starts to walk faster, but she's not fast enough. It starts to rain, and she gets soaked.

"He's watching from the window for her to come back when it starts to rain. When he sees her coming down the lane, he can see that she's soaked through to the skin and that she's shivering. He grabs a blanket and runs out to help her.

"When he gets to her he wraps her in the blanket and says he was worried about her. She asks him why he would worry about a servant girl. He looks at her

and says he was worried because he loves her. She throws off the blanket when she puts her arms around his neck. He wraps her in his arms and they stand there in the rain while he kisses her.

"She's breathless after he does that, but she's still not sure it can work. She looks up at him and asks if he really loves her. He looks into her eyes and says he'll love her as long as there is rain on the moor. That's where the title comes from.

"He takes her back to the castle. A week later, they get married and she becomes a baroness. They have the best sex ever that night and they live happily ever after."

I chuckled.

"I don't think I'd have been standing in the rain when I told a woman I loved her."

"Well, it's romantic to a woman. He was the strong man she loved who realized he couldn't live without her. When he ran out of the castle to put the blanket around her, she felt safe. When he told her he loved her, she felt safe and like everything was going to work out. A woman wouldn't like standing in the rain either, but she would if the man she loved was telling her for the first time that he loved her."

"You'd do that, stand in the rain?"

"If he was the man I loved, yes, I would. I've given up on that ever happening to me though."

I wasn't really sure what to say because Ashley looked pretty sad after those last words. I felt sorry for her, but I was also hopeful.

"I take it your guy hasn't told you anything?"

Ashley sighed.

"No, he hasn't."

"Well, if he hasn't, you should probably forget about him."

Ashley sighed again.

"I know, but I don't seem to be able to do that."

I saw the vulnerable Ashley again, and even though it might mess things up, I couldn't stop the words that came to mind.

"Maybe if you had dinner with me tonight, it might help. What do you think?"

Ashley gave me a funny look for a second or two, then grinned.

"It might. Are we eating Italian again? I liked that restaurant."

I smiled.

"Italian it is, then. I need to go home and change clothes. I'll pick you up about six thirty, OK?'

I hardly tasted the food because I couldn't keep my mind focused on anything except Ashley. The night before, I'd struggled with what I felt for her. That night, it was like she was the only thing in my world. It was a little strange to feel that way about someone, because it had never happened that way before. It felt strange, but it felt like I'd found something that had been missing.

When I pulled into her drive and shut off the engine, Ashley touched my hand.

"I had a really nice time, and it did help a little. Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?"

As soon as Ashley had locked the door behind us, she turned and smiled.

"Make yourself at home. I'll go start the pot, and I think I'll change clothes while it's brewing. I don't wear a dress very often and it feels weird."

For the next five minutes or so, I sat on her couch and looked at the four walls. There was a painting on one wall, so I went to look at it. I couldn't figure out what it was, even after I'd looked at it for a while.

The bottom left third of the painting had a black background with random splotches of dark purple. From the center of that area, a stream of colors emerged kind of like coiling ribbons. The colors were muted purple, a muddy looking orange and a weird looking green. As the stream flowed out of the black section it started to brighten a little.

The bottom right third of the painting had a light blue background and a similar stream of colors flowed from it. Those streams were a bright red, a bright blue, and a bright yellow.

The middle third of the painting had a pale yellow background. As they flowed through it, the two streams began to intertwine, like the way the parts of a rope wrap around each other but farther apart. They got closer and closer together until they merged into the top third of the painting. There the colors of both streams were wrapped tightly together. The muted purple, orange, and green had changed to colors just as bright and vibrant as the red, blue and yellow.

The background color of this section was basically blue, but there slashes of bright yellow that looked a little like sunbeams, and there were a lot of subtle color changes. The color changes created some sort of optical illusion that made that section seem alive. The only way I can describe it is it looked like it was breathing because as I looked at it, one area would seem to move out of the surface and then go back in.

"Do you like it?"

I turned and saw Ashley standing behind me smiling. I didn't see the smile at first. She'd changed from a dress and heels to a thin, dark red satin robe and fuzzy slippers. The robe didn't have any fasteners other than a single belt tied around her waist. The bottom was molded around her round hips, and her breasts pushed out the top enough there was a noticeable gap in the front. Her long brown hair fell in waves over her shoulders.

I chuckled.

"I'm not sure. I haven't figured out what it is yet. Who's the artist?"

Ashley walked to my side.

"I painted it a week ago. It's me."

I laughed.

"You don't look anything like this painting."

"Yes I do...it's what I look like inside."

"You'll have to explain it to me then."

Ashley slipped her arm in mine like she had when we came out of the restaurant. She pointed to the black corner.

"This is how I felt when I lost my job. That's why everything is dark and moody. The middle section is when I stayed with Jennifer and found my new job. That's why the colors get brighter as they go up. I started feeling better about myself. The area at the top is me now, or at least, how I want to feel now. I tried to make it seem alive and happy."

"OK, I understand that part. What about the other part?"

Ashley looked at the floor.

"That's you. I know you don't feel that way about me, but it's what I feel inside."

"I thought you already had a guy."

"The man I thought I had is you."

"Me? How do you know that? You hardly know me."

Ashley sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I've asked myself that a million times. I don't know how I know. I just do."

I put my arms around her.

"Ashley, it took me a while, like in your romance novels, but I came to the same realization about you last night. I didn't say anything because I thought you were seeing another guy."

Ashley looked up at me. I saw a couple more tears trickle down her cheeks..

"Are you going to kiss me like the men in the books always do?"

"Do you want me to?"

Ashley put her arms around my neck and pressed her breasts into my chest.

"If you don't I'm going to be really sad."

I took Ashley in my arms and kissed her while she tried to mold her body to mine. I felt her breasts pressing into my chest and there was no bra keeping them from flattening out. They were just Ashley and they felt firm but soft. I let my hand stroke down her back. Ashley shivered and hugged me tighter. When I eased away, she wiped her eyes and smiled.

"Are we going to do the other thing they always do in the books?"

I stooped down, put one hand behind her knees and the other around her shoulders, and then picked her up.

"If that's what you want, it's what I want."

"It's what I want you to do."

"How do I get us to your bedroom?"

I laid her gently on the bed, and while I took off my clothes, Ashley opened the robe and pulled it to her sides. Her pale skin against the dark red robe made her look small and fragile. Her breasts were large enough to stand off her chest, and firm enough they didn't roll to the side. Her tummy was a little rounded instead of flat, but I love that about a woman. From her tummy down, she was all very feminine woman from the rounding of her hips to the dark triangle of hair between her smooth, slender thighs.

I eased onto the bed beside her and kissed her again, then whispered in her ear, "Ashley, you're beautiful."

She put her arms around my back and pulled me on top of her. Her voice was soft and sultry.

"Then take me like a man takes the woman he loves."

I didn't "take" her, at least not in the way that word means to me. I'd never done that to a woman, and I wasn't going to start with Ashley. Instead, I enjoyed the softness of her breasts as I gently fondled them. I enjoyed the little ripples and bumps of her nipple beds that rose when I circled her nipples with my fingertip. I enjoyed the turgid firmness of her stiff nipples when I licked the tips and then gently suckled them. I enjoyed the little moans Ashley made with each touch.

She shivered when I trailed my fingertips down her chest, and her tummy tightened when they reached the soft skin there. I kissed her as my fingertips moved lower, then lower still until they swirled through the crinkled hair on her mound. She moaned into my mouth when my fingertips found the top of her slit. After a few more caresses there, Ashley opened her thighs wide. She caught her breath when my finger slipped through the hair, then between her puffy lips and stroked the wet softness between them.

Her nails dug into my back a little when my finger found her entrance and slipped inside her. She was wet warmth there, that wet warmth that's slippery and sticky at the same time. I moved my finger in and out a few times, then slowly stroked it up from her entrance to the soft hood at the top of her lips. Ashley gasped at that touch, then reached between us for my cock.

She wasn't ready for me, I knew, and it was an exquisite torture to continue exciting her while my mind told me to ram my cock inside her and stroke until I couldn't stop. Though I'd have loved feeling her body against mine as I stroked through her soft lips, I was enjoying the way she responded nearly as much.

As I slipped one and then two fingers inside her again, I bent my head and inhaled her right nipple. Her hips rocked a little then, and when I curled my fingertips up and gently massaged, she began pulling on my rigid cock.

"I want you so bad", she whispered. "Take me now."

I did then, but just as slowly as I could make my body move. My cock inched inside her a little at a time. She kept rocking her hips up to force it deeper, but I wouldn't let her. When my cock head slipped through the tight ring just inside her entrance, I teased both of us with short, slow strokes through that spot. Ashley moaned, then raised her knees and pulled at my hips to force me inside her.

I gave up trying to go so slowly then, and pushed my cock into her depths. She sighed when the base of my cock spread her lips flat, and searched for my mouth with hers. I felt her tongue slip between my teeth and then a sensation that threatened to make me lose control. Ashley felt it too. Her moan reverberated in my mouth, and I felt her tummy roll against mine.

I got lost in her that night. My world became her soft body pressed to mine, her soft lips clinging to my shaft as I stroked in and out, and her moans and murmurs as she climbed the peak of arousal.