I pulled my lips free from Nolan’s. “Careful,” I whispered. “You do remember we are not alone, right?” He smirked guiltily and said, “Let’s get out of here.” “Right now?” I looked at all the commotion around us. Cindy and Lucy had somehow slipped right by me and Nolan while I was distracted. They were already halfway across the room, heading for the bar. “Yes. Right now.” Nolan’s eyes went dark, his expression turning hard and serious. The energy of his desire started washing over me. It felt like I was falling under a spell. I slipped my hand into his and let him lead me quickly (and conspicuously – I saw lots of people watching) through a side exit near the stage that led back to the palace lobby. Heads kept turning as we passed, but Nolan paid no attention to the curious stares of all the noble men and women in the lobby and hallways. He just kept hurrying me on until we were far away, rounding the corner into our wing of the palace. “

NOLAN“So this is the new theater,” Nolan said, taking in the sight. They had built an entirely new structure in the open space behind the main building of the orphanage. It was a sort of covered amphitheater.“The weather isn’t often dry, of course,” Cindy said. “But we can keep this enclosed most of the year and just remove the covering over the seating areas when we do get nice weather. It will be a great way to entertain the kids outside. Instead of just setting them free out in the yard to run around.”The orphanage director closed her eyes and shook her head with an amused smile, no doubt visualizing the chaos of dozens of little werewolves running amok, something she had to oversee and wrangle all the time.The edges of Nolan’s lips curled up into a satisfied smile. This was exactly why he chose this lot in the first place, when he got everything started to break ground on the werewolf orphanage last year. He had hoped that as the organization became more established, the peopl

I crossed the dim room slowly, letting my hips sway with each step. My outfit and makeup had me feeling sassy and wild.But as I met Nolan’s eyes, I saw his face was looking serious, and not only in a sexy way.He was wowed, looking at me in the burlesque-like lingerie set he’d sent over as a gift earlier in the evening. But also, I was getting the feeling that he had walked into the room with something else on his mind.  But I looked so damn good in this outfit. I wasn’t going to let anything spoil the mood.It was a merlot-colored lace corset and brassiere, kind of old-fashioned in the design, but with a deliberately contrasting racy haute couture accent of bright violet zippers. Two arced in a semicircle around each lace-lined bra cup. The third zipper went straight down the middle of the corset, top to bottom. When that one was unzipped, the whole bodice went goodbye. This was coupled with a tiny pair of high-waisted, very &ldq

I pulled the zipper of my rolling suitcase closed and hoisted it off the bed. Rafaela was there in the bedroom with me, prattling on with questions she thought were helpful, wanting to make sure I hadn’t forgotten to pack something I might find later that I needed. But it was only a one-night trip, and we’d be heading right back home in the morning, so I truly did not need to bring much along.Nolan had been in his office when I got back from meeting up with Evan. His replies to my texts were short and distracted, and I got the feeling he was really busy preparing for our evening. He’d given me a lot of his time yesterday during his only “day off” in recent history. Maybe that had him running behind schedule today.He was still talking on the phone when he met me at the car. A servant had just finished loading our suitcases and garment bags neatly into the trunk as Nolan walked up, moving fast and saying a bunch of legal-themed words I com

“I am open to it,” I finally said. “I mean, I really do want to have a family with you. Of course I do. And I only really wanted to put it off before because I was doing school, and now that I’m not…”Nolan was watching me intently, not blinking. He waited for me to say more.“Yes,” I said, closing my eyes. “I… I think I could handle it.”“You don’t sound very sure.”I blew out a big breath of air. “I suppose I am just scared. I’m still only eighteen, Nolan. That’s young to have a baby.”He said, his tone meekly half-joking, “Your birthday is coming up soon, though.”“Okay. Soon I will be only nineteen. I just don’t know if I am ready to be a mother. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it… I’m just afraid.”“I’m a little afraid, too,” he said, surprising