YENA
“Ooh, how about this one?” Lucy asked.
She passed me her copy of the course catalog and pointed to one of the class descriptions.
I shrugged. “Art History around the World… I mean, sounds interesting, but maybe not totally up my alley.”
“Yeah,” Lucy said. “Just sounded cool.”
“Okay, between these two, what do you think?”
I showed her two options for fashion workshop classes. They were almost the same class but were taught by two different professors with different specialties.
“The first one sounds more like your style,” she said.
I looked at the class descriptions once again. Lucy was right.
“Thank you! I really needed a second opinion to help me decide.”
I looked at the clock and realized it was already past mi
The drove on through the little town.This was a poor community, where only commoners lived. The paved streets were riddled with potholes, and the sidewalks were broken apart in places where overgrown tree roots erupted upwards through them.Kerr did seem reasonably committed to Adan’s plan…But Adan could still smell a trace of hesitation and fear on him.It was enough to make him worry.All along, Adan’s plan hinged on his partnership with Kerr.Without Kerr acting as his right-hand man, Adan wouldn’t be ready to make his bid for the throne. Kerr was his oldest friend, best confidant, and closest ally.But he was giving Adan just enough reason to worry if Kerr would actually come through at the critical moment.“It’s been a long time,” Adan said, “that you and I have been on the same side.”“Sure has,” Kerr agreed.
YENAIt’d been a while since I really had anywhere to go.Not that volunteering at the nursing home was anything fancy that I needed to get prettied up for. But it was nice to have an excuse to put some makeup and cute clothes on.And it was also nice to just have somewhere different to go. Something different to do.Because although my upcoming travel plans were nerve-wracking, I was also getting really, really bored at Tina’s house.I mean, I’d been working out a lot. And that was fun enough.But… princess life had certainly been more eventful.I found myself missing my date nights with Nolan. All the cool places he would take me to.I really took that for granted, back when we were together. He’d kept my life really interesting.
YENAI saw Lucy’s text as I was getting out of Evan’s car. She was cancelling on me.But I guess she had a good reason.Her mystery man just broke up with her, she said. And she wanted to be alone.Poor Lucy.I held my phone to my heart, feeling so sad for her. But also relieved, considering what she’d told me about the way this guy had been treating her.Sighing, I walked into the building alone, and checked in with the nurse at the front desk. It was the same la
EVANTina was bustling around in the kitchen when Evan got back home.“Where’ve you been?” she asked casually.“I dropped Yena off to do her volunteer thing,” he answered.“Ah. Well, you’re just in time.”She threw an apron at Evan and he caught it in one hand.“Put that on,” she said. “You’re gonna learn to cook at least one thing before you leave!”Evan tossed the apron on the kitchen counter. “Fine, Mom, but I’ll be right back, okay?”After a stop at the bathroom, Evan went into his room to change cloth
ADANAdan pressed his palm flat against the brightly lit jewelry case, making the glass fog up with his body heat.In all the photos of Yena in the news and tabloids, she was dressed to kill. Wearing her original eveningwear with sophisticated jewelry no doubt given to her by Nolan. In Adan’s own personal experience with Yena at the school campus, she’d always been wearing more casual clothes, but still she always looked stylish and undeniably beautiful.“See anything you like?” A woman with honey-blonde hair wrapped into a tight bun approached from behind the counter.“Well, maybe you can help me. The woman I’m shopping for… she’s very classy. But I don’t want anything too over-the-top. It’s a gift to congratulate her on an accomplishment. Nothing too romantic, you know?”The woman nodded her head just once. Adan offered her a charming smile, making her blush. He smel
NOLANThe prince stepped out of the limo and onto the sidewalk outside Yena’s parents’ house. Took a deep breath, crossed the path up to the front porch, and knocked on the door.It swung open seconds later and there stood Yena, her glossy pink lips parted in a big, genuine smile.“Hi,” she said. “Come on in.”“Thanks.” Despite his best efforts, Nolan’s own mouth burst into a bright, wide smile, too. “How are you?”He took a step inside and was blasted with the smell of bacon, eggs, fresh bread, and cinnamon.“And this is for Tina,” he added, holding out a bottle of red wine with an ancient-looking label.“Aw, thanks.” Yena took the bottle from him. “And I’m good. I’ve got a surprise for you, right over here.” She gestured to the dining room to his right.Nolan turned to find that the furniture in the
I pressed my lips closed tight and gulped down the saliva that was suddenly filling my mouth.Nolan licked his own lips. And for a moment I thought the magnetic force that started pulling our bodies together was something that could not be stopped. I think both of us were trying to resist it, but the space between us was just getting smaller and smaller…And then Evan’s voice came ringing out from behind me, saying, “Sorry to interrupt.”I dropped my hand from Nolan’s chest and wheeled around to see my brother, sweaty from a workout, leaning against the doorway. He had his arms folded across his chest and was wearing a sweat-drenched sleeveless t-shirt. His biceps were red and actively bulging, freshly engorged from a heavy workout.“It’s… Evan, right?” Nolan asked, smiling cordially. But I knew he was not happy to see Evan.And for his part, Evan was not even trying to conceal h
“Okay,” Yena said, “jacket’s done. You should have it pressed before you wear it, of course, but besides that you’re all set.”Tina pushed a lock of her dark hair behind her ear and stood, collecting some spent dishes from the table and hurrying over to the sink.“Thank you, again. Both of you.” Nolan stood and wiped his hands on a napkin but was still hesitant to touch the pristine jacket afterward.“I’ll go put it in a garment bag.” Yena smiled up at him. “Bathroom’s there if you want to wash up.”Nolan glanced over at Tina, but the woman still had her back turned to them, sorting dirty dishes in the kitchen sink busily.The little washroom on the main floor of Yena’s family home was, perhaps, the smallest room Nolan had ever wedged himself inside of. He washed his hands quickly, unable to keep his mind from spinning on what Tina had just said
YENANolan took one look at me, as I stepped out into the surprisingly bright morning light, and placed a hand flat on his chest. His mouth dropped open, releasing a sigh.I watched as his keen eyes roved the entire length of my body, taking in every detail. From the clear glass peep-toe high heels on my feet, to the dress, the earrings, the hair, and… the finishing touch: my golden laurel leaf crown. The one Nolan gave me the first time we married, which marked me as his Luna.I had to stop in my tracks and catch my breath, myself. This, I realized as I took everything in, was the wedding of my dreams.To my surprise, our friend Cindy was standing under the very center of the vine-laced archway – she was clearly all set up to be the officiant for our ceremony. She grinned and winked at me when our eyes met, as if to say, Surprise! The King and Queen stood to one side of the aisle, eyes on me as I walked down with my parents, each with approving expressions and slight smiles. At Nola
Evan smiled broadly at the sight of me and Lucy in our dresses, our hair and makeup all done up. “Whoa,” he said, going wide-eyed. “You girls look incredible.”“Oh my Goddess, back at you!” I cried, making my brother blush. Evan was all cleaned up, had even gotten a haircut, and he was wearing a gorgeous, expensive tuxedo with a boutonniere in the lapel that matched my bouquet. “What is all this?”“Oh. Didn’t you know? I am the Best Man.” He grinned guiltily, cheesing with his teeth clenched.“Oh, that is so…” I felt tears pinging at my eyes, thinking about Nolan making the gesture of asking Evan to stand beside him at our ceremony. That must have been what they were discussing at Tina’s. “That’s sweet, Evan. I’m sure it means a lot to Nolan. Thank you.”He shrugged, starting to look awkward.“Be right back, guys,” Lucy said, heading for the fancy little half-bathroom that was directly across the hall from my studio.“Yena, I’m really happy for you,” Evan said to me quietly once she w
“Can I see it?” Nolan asked. His green eyes lit up with curious excitement.He and I were just finishing dinner together, and I’d told him all about my day with Lucy and how hard we’d worked to finish my wedding dress for tomorrow. I was absolutely thrilled with the end result, but my eyes were also tired from all the focused work and lack of breaks, and my fingers were stiff from so much sewing. It had been a while since I had done this much detail work in such a short period of time. “Hmm.” I thought over Nolan’s request. “Can you wait? I think it’ll be more fun if you see it on me tomorrow for the first time.”He nodded reluctantly. “I can wait. If I must.”“I’m so excited.” I beamed. I didn’t mean just about the dress. “This is going to be really fun. Thank you for doing this with me.”Nolan offered me one of his own big, beautiful smiles in return. “I’m excited, too. And listen, I had an idea…” He pushed his dinner plate away and turned his full body to face me.“Oh? What’s that
Nolan shook his head and mumbled “no” between soft little kisses. “I don’t want to do that to you too much, Yena. Not if I don’t need it.”I hummed out a reproving, “Hmmm…” and used a single finger to gently guide Nolan’s face up to mine. “You don’t have to hold back with me, you know.”Suddenly, while he held my gaze, I felt Nolan’s big dick starting to swell, tapping against my thigh.“Bite me. Drink my blood. Please.”My voice took on a silky quality.“I want you to. I think you do need it.” I moved my mouth to his strong neck, planted a soft kiss there and then dragged my lips up to his ear. “And you know that it feels good for me too, right?”I teased his ear with my tongue, and Nolan groaned.I angled my hips up toward his, and soon he was easing himself inside me while I breathed deeply and mumbled lot of little begs for him to keep going.He moved one hand to the back of my head and fisted a sloppy bunch of my hair.My eyes flew open—I didn’t realized they’d fallen closed. His
YENAWatching my adoptive mother embracing my giant husband right now was hilarious.Tina did this to everyone she loved – and who knows why? – tried to show them how much she cared by embracing them in tight, smothering bear hugs. If I hadn’t known it before today, I knew now that she loved Nolan like family, because she appeared to be trying her best to strangle him to death.The look on my Alpha’s face was what was killing me. Nolan didn’t know what to do, how to escape Tina politely and with dignity. So I sacrificed myself to save him, squishing between the two and taking the next big hug from Tina for myself.“Oh, I was so very happy to hear from you, sweetheart! To what do we owe this visit?”Tina released my bear hug and started playing with my hair, fluffing it up and pulling loose curls forward over my shoulders. I could tell she was admiring how long it had gotten.“Well, we have something to invite you to,” I said vaguely. “But I’d rather wait to talk about it till we can a
NOLANThick morning fog rolled through the cemetery in a hurry, kissing the edges of headstones that cluttered its path. It dissolved under the slow footsteps of three black-clad mourners crossing the dewy grounds as they picked their way toward the yawning mouth of an open grave.A lone priest in a long black cassock stood waiting near the casket. In one hand he clutched an old book, a fragile artifact bound in soft purple cloth. The other hand rose in greeting as first Nolan, then Yena and Cindy came into his view, stomping out fog in their wake.Nolan let go of Yena’s hand when they reached the old man’s graveside. He exchanged some words with the priest, with whom he’d earlier spoken on the phone, and then made introductions between the holy man and his wife and good friend.“An honor to meet you all.” The priest bowed his head. “I am very sorry it is under these circumstances.”The man was middle-aged, but his voice sounded weathered, perhaps permanently hoarse from decades of ov
YENAI’m not sure how exactly, but I felt Nolan’s presence as he approached from down the hall. I looked up, expecting to see him in the doorway, but he was not there yet.The sound of his footsteps on the marble floors hit my ears next. Then finally my prince appeared, pausing at the threshold of my studio and raising his hand to knock on the open door. He met my eyes instantly, since I’d been watching for him. “Hey.” He lowered his arm and stepped inside.“Hi. How’s your mom?”“She’s good. She seems to like the idea of the vow renewal ceremony.”I stood as Nolan reached my desk. He bent to kiss me, his arms wrapping around my waist. I circled his neck with my forearms and let him lift me up off my feet for a second.He put me down, pulled away and smiled. “You’re in a good mood.”“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”He shrugged. “Maybe I am. Kind of strange.”“Being in a good mood is strange?”Nolan stepped away and started a slow stroll around the room. “Honestl
Nolan teased me with his fingertips till I was writhing, unable to stay still though he had a tight hold on my body and kept me seated in his lap. His mouth was busy on my neck, alternately breathing heavily to take in my scent and giving me hard, sloppy bite-kisses that felt like they’d leave bruises.I ran my fingers through his hair, slid my hands down his neck and all across the broad muscles of his shoulders.And grumbled impatiently, “Oh, fuck me.”“Thought you’d never ask,” he said, then he stood up with one easy step, turned, and threw me down onto the bed.He climbed on top of me. My legs wrapped back around his middle like they belonged there. His mouth went my ear and he licked the edge of it, giving me a chill.Then he whispered, “Any other requests?”“Hmm. Just a question.”He arched one of his dark, thick and lovely eyebrows. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”“Do you want me to be quiet this time?” I asked. “Or do you want everyone on this train to hear what you can do to me?”The
I had not meant to bring up the subject of sexual fidelity. But that’s what I did, by accident.That’s what a wedding ring represents, isn’t it? And here I had gone and asked my husband if he ever took his ring off. Just after we reunited after being separated.“No,” I answered, shaking my head. “I’ve never taken my ring off, not since you gave it to me. When I thought you really wanted to divorce me, I thought about it. But it seemed wrong and sad and I never could do it. And I didn’t mean to imply anything by asking you that…”He arched an eyebrow. Said nothing. And kept watching me, with less and less patient curiosity, as I continued on with my efforts to remove his wedding ring.My little plan was not going super smoothly so far.“Yena. Why are you trying to take that off?”“Hush,” I said, giggling nervously. “I will explain in just a minute. I only want to take it off for a second, okay?”“Okay.” An amused smile tugged at his lips, but his eyebrows still looked stern.“Why didn’