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 reNOLANLuna 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
NOLANIt was still dark, a long ways till dawn, but Yena was awake and stirring at Nolan’s side. Usually she slept in when she could.“Morning,” he said, stretching. “You’re up early.”“Yeah.” She glanced at the electric rectangle of light that was the screen of her cell phone. “I told Evan I would meet up with him today. And I know you and I have that train to catch at noon, so I asked if he could meet me early at the bakery by our parents’ house, so I can get back in time.”Nolan rolled onto his side, reaching out to stroke Yena’s thigh. He was not feeling wonderful about her rushing out of bed right now for the purpose of meeting up with Evan.“What does Evan need to meet up with you for?”“I don’t know. He sent me a weird text last night. Said he needs to talk to me about something in person.”“Huh. Well, alright.” Nol
I pulled the zipper of my rolling suitcase closed and hoisted it off the bed. Rafaela was there in the bedroom with me, prattling on with questions she thought were helpful, wanting to make sure I hadn’t forgotten to pack something I might find later that I needed. But it was only a one-night trip, and we’d be heading right back home in the morning, so I truly did not need to bring much along.Nolan had been in his office when I got back from meeting up with Evan. His replies to my texts were short and distracted, and I got the feeling he was really busy preparing for our evening. He’d given me a lot of his time yesterday during his only “day off” in recent history. Maybe that had him running behind schedule today.He was still talking on the phone when he met me at the car. A servant had just finished loading our suitcases and garment bags neatly into the trunk as Nolan walked up, moving fast and saying a bunch of legal-themed words I com