NOLAN “The party tomorrow is very important,” Luna said. Nolan nodded. “You can use some good publicity,” she continued. “And not any more of that secret altruism nonsense. We need an image of you looking like a proper prince, and we need it in the minds of the public as soon as possible.” “I understand,” Nolan said. “Do you?” Luna arched one of her dark, thick eyebrows at him. That was a question that did not invite an answer. Nolan scooted to the edge of the couch and rested his elbows on his knees, putting his hands in a lazy sort of prayer position. “I have invited some associates of your father to the party,” she continued. “People that you could stand to get on your side.” Nolan nodded again. “The time is now to establish allies. Everywhere that you can.” “I agree,” Nolan said, feeling some relief. Finally, she was acknowledging the impending conflict. “These associates…?” Nolan asked, letting Luna fill
YENA Nolan let his eyes flutter closed again and we made out slowly while he started waking up. His breath was hot, and his kisses were sloppy. He kept one hand on my thigh and used the other one to lazily push away my hair, which was falling all around his face.I leaned in to kiss his ear and whispered, “Happy birthday.” He answered with a small smile and a contented moan. Then he had me on my back. I think I yelped, just out of surprise. I’d forgotten how quickly Nolan could rouse from dead sleep.He let out an enormous exhale that seemed to rush around the room like a blast of wind as he slid his big, hard dick inside me.I gasped, taking in a huge breath of his heat and his scent.“I missed you,” Nolan said sleepily.“I’m right here,” I replied. “Where were you all night?” he mumbled, his voice quiet and a little bit whiny.I couldn’t answer right away. I tried to catch my breath between the little jolts of pleasure that were lighting me up with every
He thought he might be able catch Yena if he looked for her in their rooms or her studio early in the afternoon.But the double doors of her studio were locked. He heard voices from within, and decided not to knock and disturb her.In their bedroom, Nolan found the surprise she had left waiting for him. And a note. Not a fancy card. Just a tiny scrap of paper pinned to the button closure on the pocket of his new suit jacket. The suit was incredible. Nolan could hardly wait to try it on. He ran his hand along the fabric and smiled at the soft feel of it. He pulled out the pin and the paper. Unfolded it.Happy Birthday, the note read. Remember. I’m Yours. Yena#YENA I got ready in my studio. I’d made a gown for myself to wear to the party this week, using leftover fabric from Nolan’s suit. It was a black satin dress, with an emerald silk accent that showed under a split in the skirt. Of course, the deaconess insisted on helping me
NOLAN Yena took a step back, interrupting the rhythm of their slow dance, and looked around. They were at the center of the dance floor. The crowd had filled it up around them. “Okay,” she said slowly. Her voice was quiet under the sounds of the music and the lively party. Nolan pulled her close to him again. “Is this the best place to tell it to me?” she asked, sounding nervous. Nolan’s heart was racing. It was the first time in a while that he was hearing Kent’s voice, articulate and clear as a bell, loud in his mind. Saying, It’s almost too late! You fucking COWARD! Nolan felt like his chest might explode if he did not tell Yena he loved her, before the two of them left this spot on the dance floor. “Yes,” he said.His hands trembled slightly.Pressing his mouth to her ear, he told her, “I love you, Yena.”It was easier to get it out without looking into her eyes.She put her hand to his cheek, though, and
NOLAN The prince took the emerald green handkerchief out of the breast pocket of his jacket and folded it into a tight ball. He pressed it into Yena’s mouth, and she kept it there. Then he touched her again, softly. She moaned a little, though it was muted with her teeth clenched over the wad of silky fabric. Nolan shook his head and shushed her again. Her face moved into what would have been a smile, if she were not gagged. “You will be silent,” he said sternly into her ear. “And you will like it.” Her eyes rolled back a little and fluttered closed. She panted, breathing through her nose, and started to shiver. Nolan moved Yena’s panties to the side and slipped his middle finger inside of her, and curled all his other fingers into her skin. “Look at me,” he demanded, and Yena opened her eyes. “Now,” he said, pulsing his finger in and out of her. Carefully.Her shoulders flew back against the wall behind her, and he
Gina either didn’t notice me until I was right in front of her, blocking her path, or she was pretending like she didn’t. “Excuse me,” I said loudly when she tried to side-step me. Finally, she stopped in her tracks. “Oh, my!” Gina said when she finally met my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Yena, I didn’t recognize you.” I raised an eyebrow at her. It was a strangely informal way to greet me. Calling me by my first name. “We haven’t actually met,” I said. “Right, right,” Gina responded. “I just meant, you know, your face is everywhere in the news and such. I thought I’d recognize you when I saw you tonight, but you look so different, with all the makeup.” I had nothing to say to that. “Do you care to introduce yourself to me?” I said to her in the most royal way I could manage. “Oh,” Gina said breathily. “Sorry, it just seems like you know who I am already! I’m sure Nolan must have told you I was coming tonight.”
NOLAN Nolan’s eyes darted around the ballroom. There were so many important people here. And press reporters with cameras. Gina was baiting Yena. She had been telling the princess lies to rile her up. Trying to get Yena angry in public, to embarrass her. Nolan put his hand to Yena’s cheek. She did not flinch but gave him a sharp look that made him pull away. “Just take it from her,” Yena said. “She won’t leave you alone until you do.” Nolan nodded and turned to his ex. “Gina, I’ll take your gift and say thank you, but then I must ask you to please leave. You were not invited here. Neither my wife nor I appreciate your presence here.” Gina flashed him a smile. She held out the little box and Nolan took it. He was about to slip it into his pocket, but then Gina said, “Wait, will you just open it please?” “Fine,” Nolan said. He popped the lid off and saw that there was a watch inside. “It’s imported,” Gina told him. “F
YENA Watching Nolan hold Gina in his arms, even in this context. It made me feel like I’d been stabbed in the heart.Luckily other people rushed over to help, and Nolan passed her off to someone else for medical care.Nolan was inching away from Gina, not letting his eyes depart from her.At first the jealous wolf inside me was enraged. I wanted my husband to come rushing back to my side. I wanted him to leave that skinny bitch behind and not care what happened to her.But that was irrational. Nolan was still playing his part. Looking concerned about a person who’d suddenly fainted at his party.It had never really been fun for me to be in public gatherings with Nolan. He was so different when he switched into Prince mode. I didn’t like that side of him.It made me ache. Like I missed him, even though he was right there.It made me miss the version of Nolan that I knew in private. The one with glowing green eyes and a real smile. And, sometimes, my blood on his lips. Then I he
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’