It was an informational pamphlet about the orphanage.
“Check it out,” she said. “You can read all about what we’re doing here. It’s still a really new operation, and our first priority was just getting the doors open and getting all the kids a roof over their heads, so we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
I flipped through the pages, glancing at the pictures. Looked like they were all from the opening day.
“We don’t have a lot of group activities set up for the kids yet,” the woman added, frowning. “That’s what we really need the most help with.”
A younger woman popped her head out from a nearby hallway and called out, “Cindy? Can we borrow you for a minute, please?”
The p
“He’s one of your volunteers here, isn’t he?”Cindy nodded and said, “Oh, my. I didn’t know… why would he…”“He didn’t want you to know. Because he wanted to help out here and he didn’t want special treatment.”Cindy’s shoulders relaxed.She must have been worrying about some interaction or another. Replaying something embarrassing in her mind. Something she wished she hadn’t said or done in the presence of the future King.She stared down at Nolan’s photo and shook her head slowly.“Cindy,” I said, pulling her back to the present. “Can I call you later today? Nolan and I actually need your help with something.”“Of course.” She rummaged through a drawer and produced a business card with her contact information. “But what I could I possibly help you with?”“Have you been watchin
NOLANThe freezing night seemed to go on forever. When a tiny bit of sunlight announced it was daytime again, Nolan felt a flicker of hope. Thinking Yena would come to see him again.But she did not come.And the day just dragged on. One slow, cold minute at a time.This was the real punishment. It was not the discomfort or the hunger. It was the isolation of solitary confinement.When night fell once more, Nolan was tempted to slip into feelings of hopelessness.His body missed Yena’s. It felt like part of himself was missing without her.But dwelling on those thoughts did not help to pass the time. And they were not productive, either.Nolan braced himself for another night of deep blackness and bitter cold. He resolved to spend the hours ahead planning.Considering what were Adan’s next possible moves.And how Nolan could anticipate and respond to each one.Nex
YENA When we finally caught our breath, Nolan curled up next to me and rested his head on my shoulder. I combed my fingers through his damp hair. It was getting long and wild. Finally, he asked me how I had done it. Convinced the King to release him.He asked if I found the old man, and what had happened. I started by telling him about my trip to the orphanage. Nolan’s eyes lit up when he heard me talking about my art lesson with the kids. Then I told him about the interview. I sat up and retrieved my phone from the nightstand as I talked. I pulled up the video on the news website and passed him the phone.Nolan was lying flat with his messy black hair splayed all around his head on the pillow. I stroked it as he watched the
Nolan worked with his staff through the afternoon and met Yena in the late evening for dinner. It had been a while since they dined together in their dining room, instead of having food sent up to their bedroom.She was waiting for him. Wearing a pretty blue dress that brought out the color in her eyes.Nolan kissed her. And felt that awful fluttering feeling in his chest.His breath hitched as they broke apart. He hoped she did not notice.She asked him how everything was with work. He waved the question off. Not important.He did want to tell her something she would like to hear.“The King was impressed with you.”Yena’s fork clattered onto her plate. “He really said that?”“Well, I believe his exact words were, that you were clever and well-spoken.”Her face went red. It did that a lot.Nolan smiled.Yena’s regular color returned to her cheeks after she too
First thing in the box was a card, sitting atop glittery gold tissue paper. It was an invitation to go out to a romantic dinner with Nolan the next night. I smiled. He could’ve just asked me tonight. But the formal invite, written out in beautiful cursive, was a nice touch. I lifted a sheet of gold paper and found an elegant black dress folded neatly underneath. I lifted it up and Rafaela went, “Ooh.” She took it from me and hung it on one of my dressmaking dummies. There was something else in the box, too. I pulled out one more layer of gold tissue paper, just as the deaconess was walking back over for a peek. I lifted the garment by its thin, silky straps. And discovered it was a transparent black lace negligee. It was super sexy. Rafaela looked upon it in silent horror. I folded it neatly back into its box. I had to look away from Rafaela to keep myself from laughing at her reaction. She mumbled something I cou
NOLAN Nolan’s secretary was blowing up his phone on the drive home. Just more scheduling problems. Work problems. He turned his phone off and gave it to Yena to put in her purse. Then he told her to scoot closer to him. She slid over. He reached in through the slit in the skirt. His rough fingertips caught on her delicate nylon stockings. They were thigh-high and had a little band of lace at the top. Nolan’s fingers reached the top of the stocking and made contact with her skin. He pushed his hand carefully between her thighs. Yena closed her eyes and shivered. With his other hand, Nolan moved her face
I was in my studio in the next afternoon, sitting in the middle of a pile of fabric samples. I had them all spread out on the floor under the window.The sun had come out, and I wanted to look at everything under the natural light before it slipped back behind the clouds.I heard a distinct knock on the door that told me Nolan was here.I stood and saw him waiting in the doorway, holding a little gold box in his hand.“Please come in, sir,” I said with mock formality.We met halfway across the room and he handed me the box.“What’s this?”“Just a little something.”I lifted the lid off the flat, square box. Inside was a gold necklace.“Oh my Goddess,” I said, “it’s gorgeous.”“Would you like to try it on?”I nodded and led him over to the trifold mirror.I faced the mirror and he stood behind me with the necklace. I h
YENA I woke to the sounds of Nolan moving around. It was still pitch dark like the middle of the night, but I checked my phone and saw it was almost five in the morning.He was in his walk-in closet, getting dressed. Trying to be quiet. Half-asleep still, I closed my eyes. He walked back into the bedroom and I smelled his scent. It was like sandalwood and salty sea air. It drove me crazy, the smell of him. Made me feel like I was slipping back into a dream. Nolan thought I was asleep. He approached my bedside quietly. I felt his presence and relished it. Listened to the slow pattern of his breathing. When he finally reached out and stroked my cheek, I rolled onto my back and let his thumb fall into my open mouth. I sucked on it sleepily. Nolan dug his fingers into my cheek, squeezing my face. A very quiet growl came from deep in his throat. I took his hand and moved it down my chest. He pulled it away. Then he bro
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’