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 pushed his face back. Held it a few inches from hers.

Her eyes were wet and shiny.

Nolan put both hands around her face and said, “I am so sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Yena swallowed hard.

Nolan took the opportunity to continue. Before she could stop him, if that was what she was going to do.

“I love you,” he said again. “More than anything in the world.”

Finally, she gulped in a big, gasping breath.

He had not realized that she had been holding it in.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said with a chuckle that could also have been a suppressed sob. “I’m just still surprised, I guess.”

Nolan had tried to keep moving them in the slow, gentle circles of a dance step, but Yena was frozen in place.

A couple tears managed to escape her eyes and went rolling down her cheeks. Just one on each side. Nolan put his hands to her cheeks and held them there.

“Did you really think… I did not care for you?” he asked.

Yena met his eyes and held them for a moment in silence.

She answered with a question. “Do you remember the first time we spoke?”

Nolan nodded and said, “Of course.”

“And do you remember,” she continued, “what you told me about our marriage?”

Yena’s eyes were sad. It was dawning on Nolan that there was something that he had forgotten about. Something she had not.

He shook his head.

Yena blew air out of the side of her mouth, working up some courage. She pushed his hands away from her face and moved them to her waist. Rested her head against his chest and gave Nolan a gentle nudge that he took to mean she was ready to dance again.

“You said you would never love me,” she finally mumbled, speaking into his jacket.

Nolan grimaced. “I said that?”

She looked up at him, annoyed. And gave a single nod of confirmation.

Nolan looked away. Now that she reminded him, he did remember telling her exactly that.

But that was the first time he had ever spoken to Yena.

And at the time, he had been going completely insane with desire for her. Ever since their first night together in the cave. And he had been in denial about it, too, and making himself crazy.

And then, when he finally got her alone, Yena had been surprisingly difficult.

She sassed him, and even rejected him outright.

Nolan had lashed out to hurt her. Or maybe he had just been telling her the truth, the way he understood it at the time.

Either way. He was starting to dislike that version of himself. It all occurred not that long ago, but it felt distant, like a past life.

Nolan looked back at Yena.

“I love you too, you know,” she said quietly.

He said, “I do know.”

YENA

And then I was right back to where I started from.

Never wanting to be away from Nolan ever again.

I wanted to kiss him. But I needed to concentrate and keep Lily from running wild. She was ready to take over my body and leave me behind.

The way she was streaming thoughts through my mind. It was something between a howl and a scream. I pressed my ear against Nolan’s chest and closed my eyes.

I had fantasized about this before.

Hoping that someday Nolan would tell me, I love you.

Now that it had happened, it seemed like a strange dream. And it got Lily way too riled up. I had to get my emotions under control before I could really even respond to Nolan.

Behave, I said to the wolf.

And I took several slow breaths.

The band began a new song, a faster one, and Nolan shifted the position of our hands on each other’s bodies.

“Hey,” he said, lifting my chin with one finger. “I’m sorry about all of that. Back then.”

“Don’t,” I told him. “Let’s just forget about it.”

He nodded and looked away, scanning the sea of couples dancing all around us.

Then he bent his face back down to my neck. He gave it a soft kiss and whispered in my ear, “How about we sneak out of here for a minute?”

“Can we really do that?”

Nolan made a thoughtful hmmm sound.

“Think so,” he said. “Follow my lead.”

He stopped dancing and took my hand, leading me off the dance floor and over behind a bar. I knew all eyes were on us, but Nolan managed to slip us into the dark of some shadows, and from there we made what I think was an unseen escape from the ballroom.

We wound up inside a big pantry at the back of an empty kitchen.

I found the light switch on the wall and flipped it over, making a single lightbulb in the ceiling flicker to life.

Nolan closed the door and turned the handle back and forth. I think he was finding that it did not lock.

He found a chair that he could prop underneath the handle to keep anyone from opening it from the outside, and got it wedged into place.

Then he turned around and looked at me with a smile.

“Don’t mess up my dress,” I told him, running my hands down the crisp fabric of my gown. “Or your suit, for that matter.”

Nolan took a slow step in my direction and knelt down before me.

“Not a problem,” he said.

He petted my curves over my dress, running his big hands down the length of me, and when he got to the floor, he was very careful with the skirt as he slipped one hand up and under it.

I had on black thigh-high tights underneath. Perfect, new, expensive ones.

“And the stockings,” I said. “Careful with those too.”

Nolan chuckled and said, “Yes, ma’am.” He looked up at me with a big smile, and kept his hand moving gingerly up my leg.

He used his other hand to carefully support the rest of my skirt without shoving it to the side or wrinkling it. And rose to stand once his wandering fingers found their destination.

I only moaned a little. But his mouth flew to mine, kissing me hard to shut me up.

“I’ll only get you off if you can be quiet,” he said, very seriously.

“I don’t know if I can,” I told him.