Chapter 38

Of course Nolan could have lost control.

But he kept it together.

Just barely.

He forced himself to slow his pace. His arms did not want to stay at his sides, but he made them.

Adan was looking very smug. His appearance had hardly changed, as far as Nolan could remember. He was older, yes, but Adan’s signature half-smile, always so charming and successful, was completely the same.

Nolan looked to Yena. His body reacted before he could stop it and in an instant he was holding her in his arms.

She did not try to break away from him. But she put a hand to his chest and very quietly said, “Nolan!” Her face was bright red.

Adan had said, “Little brother.”

It was something he used to say in a whiny, mocking voice when Nolan was very young. Any time Nolan got upset or lost his temper.

“Brother,” Nolan replied. “It’s been a very long time.”

Somehow he managed to say it in a tone that could pass for civil.

“Ten years,” Adan said, putting on a cool and gentle demeanor. “My congratulations, little brother, on your wedding. You married well.”

Adan gave Yena a big smile.

Yena looked from one man to the other and back again.

“Adan,” she said at last. “Thank you for your assistance. I think my husband and I should be heading home now.”

“It was my pleasure, Princess,” Adan said, bowing to her.

Yena gave Nolan a complicated look, then stooped to get into the car.

As soon as her back was turned, Adan met Nolan’s eyes directly and finally let a big grin break its way across his face. Then he gave Nolan a quick wink before turning on his heel and sauntering off in the other direction.

The prince and princess sat side by side in the back of the car. It felt like they were miles apart.

Nolan looked at Yena. He had no idea where to even start.

She took a deep breath and said, “I know what you’re going to say.”

That made one of them.

“And I’m sorry,” she continued. “I know I told you I’d stay away from Adan. But he was just waiting for me outside—”

“Stop it,” Nolan said firmly, not quite yelling. He looked straight ahead at the closed partition that separated the driver’s cabin. Hoping it was soundproof.

Yena fell silent.

He heard her breathing and got the feeling she was trying very hard to stay calm.

“We need to have a talk,” he said, “but not here.”

They rode the rest of the way to the palace in silence. And walked side by side in silence through the palace halls to their suite, the princess rushing to keep up with Nolan’s long strides.

YENA

Nolan tore off his jacket and tie off the moment I closed our bedroom door behind us. His shirt was drenched in sweat around the collar and armpits.

“Will you talk to me now?” I asked.

He started pacing the room. I walked over to try to stop him in his tracks. Get him to look at me.

I grabbed a hold of the front of his shirt, which he’d left halfway unbuttoned.

“He is just a friend,” I pleaded. My voice sounded desperate, and I wasn’t pretending.

I didn’t know how to get him to believe me that he had nothing to worry about with me and Adan, or with me and anyone else at all. And I really, really wanted him to believe me.

He went still, glowering down at me.

“Please believe me,” I whispered. “I don’t want him. I only want you.”

I finished unbuttoning his shirt. He kept his eyes on mine and let me pull it off him.

His heart was pounding. I watched it drumming in his neck.

I put both of my palms flat against his chest. It was radiating heat.

My body felt restless.

Then I heard Lily’s voice in my head.

Tell him that you love him, you silly girl!

I shook my head ever so slightly in protest. Nolan’s eyes narrowed.

I couldn’t imagine how Nolan would react if I told him I was in love with him. Every time I thought about it, my memory went right back to the night of the ball.

He might care about me now, I thought, but what we had was not quite love.

At least not for him.

Lily growled.

You’re wrong, she said. He loves you more than anything in the world.

And you are meant for each other.

Nolan grabbed a fistful of my hair with one hand. The other wrapped around my throat.

I wasn’t scared. Every cell in my body trusted him.

I didn’t flinch, and I didn’t let my eyes leave his.

A few seconds later he released me and let out a hoarse, frustrated sigh.

I immediately felt like begging him to touch me again.

It hadn’t been a good idea to come in here to try to have a conversation. Nolan had wanted total privacy for our talk. I could have told him we wouldn’t be able to talk for long in any room that had a bed in it.

I put my arms around his neck. He was tense all over, still as stone and just as silent.

I stood on my tip toes and kissed him. His lips parted slightly, but that was as much reaction as he wanted to give me.

Tell him, Lily said.

Her voice was getting quieter, but I still felt her in my body. My hands went to Nolan’s face.

It was late afternoon, and his cheeks and jaw were just starting to look darker as his heavy beard began its nightly reappearance. I loved the rough feeling of his scruff, especially when it was short and scratchy like this. I dragged my fingertips across it slowly and felt him let out a long, slow exhale that let me know I was starting to get somewhere.

Then I held his face firmly with both hands, making sure he could not look away.

“Do whatever you want to me,” I said. “Whatever will make you feel better. I’m yours.”

NOLAN

Yena had gone behind his back to associate with his enemy.

Nolan knew it was not really her fault. Adan was a master manipulator, and she was… so naïve.

Still, a cruel impulse deep inside Nolan wanted to hurt her. Because he was hurting.

And… confused.

But then she said something that took all the anger inside of him and changed it into white hot desire. She said, “I’m yours,” so intently he could not doubt she really meant it.

And she gave him permission to do whatever he wanted to her.

Nolan didn’t know whether to punish or worship her first.

He decided on the former and gave a tiny nod toward the bed.

Yena walked over obediently. She started undressing herself until he shook his head. Then he was next to her in a single stride, pulling her dress off with his own hands.

Nolan turned her around and gave her a good spanking. Yena leaned into him and whimpered quietly.

He hated to admit it, but it did make him feel better.

Then she turned around and begged him to fuck her.

Her eyes were glassy and pleading. She moved back on the bed and pulled his hand, trying to drag him up on top of her.

Nolan crept up onto the bed slowly, watching her face carefully as she lay back beneath him.

He kissed her. It was always something that made him feel better. Like his lips belonged on her skin.

Nolan had been hot and irritated all day, and Yena getting him worked up was making him feel like he might explode. He sat back and slipped off the bed.

He tore his pants off and then leapt back on top of her.

Usually, he fucked her slow and took his time. He liked making her moan. Watching her body react to his touch until she lost all control.

This time, though, he could not wait.

He satisfied himself quickly, growling in her ear as he came.

After he slipped out of her, she nodded at him gently. As if to say, that was all she wanted anyway. Just to let him cool off.

Yena called downstairs and asked them to send up some dinner to the room. Then she headed into their bathroom suite. Nolan met her in the shower and they spent a long time under the hot water, kissing slowly and washing each other with pine and lavender scented soap.

A huge meal was waiting for them when they returned to the bedroom, set up on the little table in the corner.

They took a few plates over to the bed and sat together eating in silence.

Finally, Yena squared herself to face Nolan directly and said, “We still need to talk.”

Nolan nodded. His face betrayed no emotion.

“I can’t promise you that I’ll never see Adan again. He works where I go to school. And we’re sort of friends now.”

He wished she would just stop. He wished he could have just one more minute before having to continue this discussion with her.

“I know you believe me,” she whispered. “You know that there’s nothing funny going on with me and him. So why does this have to be a problem?”

Nolan thought carefully. When he finally spoke, each word came out slowly, like it was being pulled out of his throat with tweezers. “He’s not who you think he is.”

“You two have bad blood between you,” Yena replied quietly. “That’s normal in families, especially when someone ran off on their loved ones. But it doesn’t make him a monster, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

Yena’s face was firmly set.

She was not going to relent with this. Not now, after all this arguing.

Now, she would feel like she had to stand her ground and make her point.

“I know I can’t stop you from doing what you want. I just wish you would trust me about this.”

“Well,” she replied, her voice full of sass. “I wish you would trust me. So I guess we’re at an impasse.”

There was nothing more to say.