“I do have some good news to share, though.” I threw a glance in Lucy’s direction.
She responded with a big, excited smile. Nolan was intrigued. Suddenly I was nervous. He and I hadn’t yet talked about anything related to my career since I’d come back. “I don’t know if you heard about the little business I started on social media a few weeks ago?” I squinted at Nolan. I wasn’t sure if he’d been following what I was up to while we were apart. He nodded. “I didn’t have any expectations for that little enterprise,” I went on, “but it’s really taken off. I actually already went ahead and filed for a business license. And I made Lucy a job offer.” “Oh. Wow.” Nolan looked back and forth between me and Lucy a few times. I saw the wheels turning in his head. He had a lot of questions. “And Lucy? Did you accept Yena’s job offer?” “I did!” She leaned forward, grinning. “Oh, I’m so excited! We’re going to have so much fun.“This has been quite the experience already, Yena.” Cindy was looking in the trifold mirror, watching in amazement as Lucy and I adjusted her dress and pinned it into place. “I’m nervous for tomorrow though. I can’t believe I let you talk me into doing this.”Lucy smiled. “Oh, it’s going to be so fun. Just wait.”“Yeah, you’ll be great!” I took a step back to look at our work, and made eye contact with Cindy. “I’ve seen you command a room many times at the orphanage. You’re a total boss.”“Those are kids, though. They only listen to half of what you say. I’ve never stood up in front of a crowd of adults before – ever. And especially not with the focus on my clothes and body.”“Well,” Lucy said, admiring Cindy’s reflection. “You’ve probably never worn something this awesome before. Yena’s clothes are like magic. Zip yourself in and up goes the confidence.”I had to laugh at this. “That would make a good ad slogan.”“You’re joking,
I needed many, many cups of coffee while I got ready in the wee hours of the morning. Nolan had woken me up at two a.m.“Why are we doing this at the crack of dawn?” I asked, slipping into a pair of heels.“Time difference,” he answered. “There will of course be werewolves watching this live as well, but it’s primarily for the humans. Sunrise here is primetime for their evening news programs.”“Okay. Well, as long as you promise I don’t need to say anything this time, I am ready to go.” I was dressed, made up, had my hair done. It was just my brain that was still unprepared.“You do not.” Nolan paused and narrowed his eyes, thinking. “But if you don’t want to do this, you know you don’t have to…”“Of course I do.” I took his hand and led him out of the room. “I’m your princess. That’s what I’m here for.” I smiled, stood on my toes and circled his neck with my arms.Nolan didn’t get nervous about media appearances. But for some re
NOLANLuna had been standing near the bar when she caught her son’s eye. She sauntered over to him with two flutes of champagne in hand, looking smug. She handed one glass to Nolan when she reached him.“I take it you had something to do with this?” he asked.Luna arched an eyebrow and shrugged slightly, as if to say, “Guilty.”She raised her glass and Nolan followed suit. “Your wife is very creative,” she said. “She did most of this on her own. She wanted to surprise you.”Nolan tapped his glass lightly against hers. “Mission accomplished.”“To Yena,” Luna said, and they sipped their drinks in unison.“Where is she, by the way?”“Backstage.” Luna used her glass to point in that direction. “You’ll see her soon.”The prince wiped his mouth with his hand, trying to conceal from his mother the excited smile that was trying to force its way out. His parents had trained him to not express emotions in public.
I pulled my lips free from Nolan’s. “Careful,” I whispered. “You do remember we are not alone, right?”He smirked guiltily and said, “Let’s get out of here.”“Right now?” I looked at all the commotion around us. Cindy and Lucy had somehow slipped right by me and Nolan while I was distracted. They were already halfway across the room, heading for the bar.“Yes. Right now.” Nolan’s eyes went dark, his expression turning hard and serious. The energy of his desire started washing over me. It felt like I was falling under a spell.I slipped my hand into his and let him lead me quickly (and conspicuously – I saw lots of people watching) through a side exit near the stage that led back to the palace lobby. Heads kept turning as we passed, but Nolan paid no attention to the curious stares of all the noble men and women in the lobby and hallways. He just kept hurrying me on until we were far away, rounding the corner into our wing of the palace.“
YENA“Finally,” I said dramatically as Nolan and I sat down at our table. We were in the private dining room at our old date night restaurant, back for the first time in a long time. “Been a while since we’ve had a proper dinner together. I was starting to think we’d never find the time.”Nolan didn’t respond until the hostess was out of earshot. “I am so sorry, Princess, for my role in that matter,” he said sarcastically. “In my defense, I only cancelled once. You are the one responsible for last night.”I quipped back, “Yes, you’re right. I am also terribly sorry. It was so rude of me to miss our dinner plans and throw a charity event instead.”He slid his big hand onto my thigh, fondling the soft satin of my dress. “And have you been terribly disappointed in me?” he asked, locking his green eyes onto mine. “Have I not been giving you enough attention?”I was rendered incapable of any more witty banter, shivering under the touch of his
NOLAN“So this is the new theater,” Nolan said, taking in the sight. They had built an entirely new structure in the open space behind the main building of the orphanage. It was a sort of covered amphitheater.“The weather isn’t often dry, of course,” Cindy said. “But we can keep this enclosed most of the year and just remove the covering over the seating areas when we do get nice weather. It will be a great way to entertain the kids outside. Instead of just setting them free out in the yard to run around.”The orphanage director closed her eyes and shook her head with an amused smile, no doubt visualizing the chaos of dozens of little werewolves running amok, something she had to oversee and wrangle all the time.The edges of Nolan’s lips curled up into a satisfied smile. This was exactly why he chose this lot in the first place, when he got everything started to break ground on the werewolf orphanage last year. He had hoped that as the organization became more established, the peopl
“What?”Nolan shrugged. “Just thinking.”Their limo was inching its way very slowly out of the small parking lot of the elder care facility. Nolan patted Yena’s thigh absentmindedly and discovered that the blue jeans she was wearing were softer than he’d expected. His hand began stroking the length of her thigh, feeling it.“About?”“About you.”She pinched his cheek, making him look her in the face. “What’s going on with you?”Nolan smiled. “Nothing. It’s just that the last time I was here, I’d been thinking I’d never see you again. Today just kind of feels like a dream.”“It was a nice day, wasn’t it?” She planted a kiss on his lips.Then his phone buzzed. The little vibration in the inner breast pocket of Nolan’s suit jacket, which was pressed up against Yena’s chest while they kissed, sta
I crossed the dim room slowly, letting my hips sway with each step. My outfit and makeup had me feeling sassy and wild.But as I met Nolan’s eyes, I saw his face was looking serious, and not only in a sexy way.He was wowed, looking at me in the burlesque-like lingerie set he’d sent over as a gift earlier in the evening. But also, I was getting the feeling that he had walked into the room with something else on his mind. But I looked so damn good in this outfit. I wasn’t going to let anything spoil the mood.It was a merlot-colored lace corset and brassiere, kind of old-fashioned in the design, but with a deliberately contrasting racy haute couture accent of bright violet zippers. Two arced in a semicircle around each lace-lined bra cup. The third zipper went straight down the middle of the corset, top to bottom. When that one was unzipped, the whole bodice went goodbye. This was coupled with a tiny pair of high-waisted, very &ldq