NOLAN

“You’re sure about this?”

Nolan’s attorney sounded worried.

“I’m sure,” the prince answered into the phone. “Just have the paperwork drawn up and messengered to my office. Today.”

“Of course, Your Highness. It’ll be there in a couple hours.”

Nolan hung up and froze in place, staring into the fire burning in his fireplace. His mind was swirling.

He was going to present divorce papers to Yena. Tell her it was her only option if she wanted to move away to follow her dream in the human world.

Actually divorcing her was the last thing he wanted. But this was his best move right now, and he had to do something.

If Yena stayed with Nolan and had to wonder later if it was worth it, she could not be happy here with him for the rest of their lives.

He loved her too much to let her live with regrets.

And though this was a risky move, it was a calculated risk.

Yena loved him. Nolan knew that to be true. She would not leave him…

He was almost sure she would say no. She would tell Nolan she wanted nothing more than to stay with him.

To keep their bodies close, pulling at the gravity coming off each other, forever.

He was pretty sure.

And Yena was not the only one who needed to know for sure how she felt about this life with Nolan. If it was what she really wanted. Not just something she was making the best of.

That she originally agreed to in exchange for ten million dollars.

Nolan noticed that his hand was shaking. He set his coffee on his desk and wrung his face in his hands.

He hit a button on the intercom and his secretary came rushing into the room.

Nolan asked, “What’s Yena doing?”

“I believe she had breakfast sent to her studio sometime in the past hour, Your Highness.”

Nolan drummed his fingers on his desk with one hand and wiped his mouth with the other. Both were nervous habits that he hated.

“That will be all.”

The secretary left the room.

Last night, Nolan had resolved to tell Yena everything today. But it was not going to be that easy. He could not just blurt it all out.

He needed to surprise her.

Nolan thought back to his first fencing lesson with Yena, when he was showing her the basics.

He had asked her which was her dominant foot, and she didn’t know.

So Nolan shoved her backward to see how she would fall. Which foot she would step back onto for balance.

Yena had been really annoyed. She asked him if there had been no other way to figure out which foot was the dominant one.

“No faster way,” he’d told her.

And Nolan needed to do something similar right now.

He needed to test Yena.

Her first reaction was what he needed to see. Not what kind of decision she could come to after thinking about it. He needed to push her, in order to see what she really felt, deep down.

Nolan knocked on the open to door to Yena’s studio.

She looked up from her desk.

“Hi,” she said sweetly. It looked like she tried to smile, but she was too tired to make it all the way.

“Hey.”

Yena rose to stand, and Nolan crossed the room quickly.

He had been planning on making just a quick visit to her, to make a dinner date for the following night.

That gave him today to get the divorce forms ready. And plan what he was going to say when he showed them to her. How he was going to unfold this plan of his.

But when Nolan looked into Yena’s eyes, he lost his nerve.

She looked tired and sad, yes. But she also looked like she had been waiting for Nolan and was glad to see him.

He kissed her lightly.

Yena put the palms of her hands flat against the center of Nolan’s chest. Her touch was electric, like always, sending a hot chill down into his body everywhere she touched.

Nolan’s hands went to her soft hair, and he let himself get lost in the kiss.

Next thing he knew he was holding her in his arms, and she was wrapping her legs around his waist.

Yena tore her lips away to look Nolan in the eye.

“Where have you been all morning?” she asked. Her face was very serious.

Nolan darted his eyes away, putting his face to her neck and kissing it.

“Just working,” he lied.

He breathed in her intoxicating smell and sighed.

Yena stroked Nolan’s hair while he ran his lips all over her neck and throat.

“I heard you were having breakfast in here,” he continued. “And wanted to see if I could join you.”

Nolan carried Yena over to the big sofa near the trifold mirror, where they’d fucked before.

He set her down on it gently, and she laid back into the cushions lazily.

“I couldn’t eat,” she said.

She pointed over to the other side of the room. A gold coffeepot and several trays of pastries, fruit, and breakfast foods were all piled on a little table, untouched.

“No appetite.” Yena frowned, then reached up for Nolan playfully and said, “Come here.”

Nolan climbed on top of her, pushing one of his knees up between her legs.

He gave her a slow, deep kiss, and rubbed his body down into hers.

Yena ran her hands across Nolan’s back, clutching at the slick fabric of his crisp white dress shirt.

He sat back and unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and threw it aside. Yena watched him and smiled.

Her eyes were sultry and dark. They darted down to his muscular chest. She took a deep breath and licked her lips.

“No appetite, huh?” Nolan asked.

“Not for food, anyway.” The edges of her mouth began to turn up into a sexy smile.

Nolan was struck with a sudden, unexpected pang of sadness.

He put his thumb to Yena’s beautiful lips and traced the shape of them. Yena opened her mouth and tried to catch his thumb in it.

Nolan’s mind was telling him he might not be touching these lips for much longer. If this dangerous plan of his backfired, he was going to lose this beautiful woman forever.

He bent to kiss her. And felt that he was shaking once again.

Yena touched his face gingerly.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

She pushed him back a few inches and gave him a concerned look.

“What is it? What are you thinking about?”

She stroked his brow gently, her eyes narrow with worry.

“Nothing,” Nolan said. “I just didn’t sleep much last night.”

Yena patted his cheek affectionately.

“You wanna go lie down in bed?” she asked. “I’m a little tired still, myself.”

“Yeah.” Nolan nodded. “That sounds good.”

Back in their room, Nolan and Yena got undressed and slid under the black satin sheets on their big bed.

Yena slid close to Nolan and started to rub her body on his. Her silky-smooth legs felt so good running across his warm skin.

Nolan was on top of her in a flash. He kissed her deeply, like he was trying to press a million kisses into one.

She threw her head back and arched her back as he slid inside her.

Every cell in Nolan’s body lit up. Giving him life and energy.

Usually that feeling was enough to block out every thought from his mind.

But right now, his other thoughts were about Yena, and looking down at her sweet, beautiful face, another pang of sadness struck him.

He didn’t want to lose her. He didn’t want to serve her divorce papers.

But he didn’t know what else to do.