NOLAN

His mother ended their dinner quickly after Yena’s unexpected announcement.

It might have come as just as much of a shock to Nolan as it did to Luna, when Yena said what she said.

Yes, she had brought up the possibility of her wanting to study abroad… but just the one time.

Since then, Nolan had been bracing himself for the next time the princess might circle back to the awful idea. He did not expect that time to come up in front of his mother.

Sometimes Yena was… clueless.

Nolan looked around to be sure no one was in earshot, and let out a sort of half-sigh, half-growl of frustration.

He met his mother’s secretary in her office and learned that he would not be seeing the queen again tonight. She was now otherwise occupied.

There was no doubt that Nolan’s mother expected him to rush back to speak with her after the icy look she shot him on his way out of her dining room. And her secretary would report he had done so. But it also did not surprise him that she was blowing him off.

A little punishment tonight, the waiting.

But at least that let him get back to Yena.

She was in her studio.

The walk back and forth across the length of the palace had done Nolan some good. He was still frustrated, but could stamp it down for now.

He knocked on the open door, and Yena looked up at him nervously.

She was standing over her drafting table, with bright lights shining down on the surface from lamps on either side of it. Her face was in shadow, but her breasts, stomach, and hands were under a spotlight.

He approached and she stepped out from behind the table to meet him.

They were both silent.

Nolan had been planning to gently reprimand her. But her blue eyes, looking up at him with pleading and a touch of real fear, melted him.

He slid his hands around her waist, and she placed hers flat against his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Yena said, shaking her head.

“We’ll figure it out.”

She stood on her toes and clutched at the collar of his shirt to pull his face down to hers.

Nolan dodged her mouth as it approached his, and put his face right down into her neck. He bit into it… just a little.

She exhaled loudly. And said, “You did make me a promise early this morning, Nolan.”

He ran his teeth lightly across her skin. Licked behind her ears, making her gasp and giggle.

He made a hmm sound and then pulled away, using both hands to push her hair back. He looked deep into her eyes.

“Let’s go out,” he said.

She looked surprised.

“I just need to get out of here,” he continued. “And that dinner was awful. Let’s get something to eat, get a change of scenery, or whatever else sounds good to you.”

Yena looked relieved. “I could use a break from this place too.”

It was freezing out, but Yena insisted on walking over to a viewpoint spot to look down at the ocean before they went inside the restaurant.

“Feels good to be outside,” she said, just as a big gust of icy wind swept her long golden curls up into the air.

The moon was bright and almost full. White-capped waves crashed hard into the rocky mountainside below them.

Nolan closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. The salty air did feel good. It whipped against his face and forced him into a different mental state.

“Let’s go,” Yena said, and he saw that she had started to shiver. He wrapped her up in his arms and they hurried inside.

They shed their coats and were seated in their private dining room with the ocean view. Nolan ordered a steak with all the fixings, and Yena got a slice of chocolate cake with strawberry ice cream. They shared a bottle of red wine, and then another.

Hours passed and they managed to avoid talking about anything unpleasant.

Nolan turned his phone off when he felt it buzz in the quick little pattern that meant it was low on battery. He gave it to Yena to put in her purse.

She said, “I think I might be a little tipsy,” and flashed him a mischievous smile.

“Then it’s time to go home,” Nolan replied. “Can you behave yourself on the way out of here?”

She scoffed and said, “You really underestimate me sometimes.” And gave him a very serious look.

They started to kiss in the limo. Yena was hungry for him.

“You’re drunk,” he whispered, pulling away from her.

“Not that drunk,” she said. “I’ve just been waiting on something all day.”

She reached between Nolan’s legs and felt over his pants for the shape of his dick. It responded to her touch.

He pulled her up into his lap and said, “Not yet.”

She whined, straddling him.

“Kiss me again,” he said, and she did.

For the rest of the drive home, it took all his strength and attention to keep her frantic hands from unzipping his pants or tearing her own clothes off.

He fought her off until they were a minute out from the palace, at which point he commanded her very firmly to make herself presentable. She obeyed.

YENA

Nolan said he wanted a shower when we got back home, so we took one together.

He wanted to soap up every inch of my body, looking like he was taking great pleasure in watching it slide down my skin. Then he told me to get out and go put on the lingerie he had given me. I towel-dried my hair and dipped into my closet to retrieve it.

Nolan was walking out of the bathroom naked as I came back into the bedroom. His skin was bright red and steaming from cranking up the heat after I left the shower.

His eyes were glued to my body.

I waited for him to tell me what to do.

He met me where I stood and got very close. Our bodies were just barely touching. He was still teasing me.

Finally, he bent and picked me up. And in one easy motion, he threw me across the room, landing me perfectly on the center of the bed. Then he leapt over and was on top of me two seconds later.

It wasn’t just pleasure I felt when he finally pushed himself inside of me. It was relief.

All the tension between us melted away when we were together like this.

I ran my hands along the bulges of Nolan’s strong, chiseled arms. And along his sharp, smooth jaw.

He held his face close over mine and looked me in the eye.

It was like I could see the words that wanted to come out. His lips parted. But he was silent.

But before I could start overthinking whether he was about to tell me that he loved me, he tore his eyes away. Moved his mouth to my neck and bit me, hard.

I felt the warmth of blood as it began to trickle down, and the sharp pain I was starting to feel a little bit addicted to.

Nolan sucked at the wound greedily, every moment pounding me harder and harder.

Then he reared his head back and growled so loudly, in a tone so primal that I sincerely worried he might shift right then and there. It sent me, screaming, into an ecstatic stupor.