Tamed

The doorman opened the door for them.

“Come with me,” said Collin.

Danielle hesitated.

“Do you still want to test the enchantment placed upon you? You can. Walk three blocks from here and ask anyone you see on th

e street. You won’t remember anything about home.”

What the hell. She was already in New York City and she might as well enjoy it. The last time she was here she was in third grade during Christmastime. She went with her mom and dad, grandma and grandpa. It was a nice family vacation.

She walked toward Collin.

“That’s my girl.” Collin offered his arm.

Danielle took it.

“Where are we going? Don’t you live here?” she asked.

“I do. But there’s a party at the moment in our apartment. It’s our aunt’s doing. Remember the old crone who asked you if you were Dane’s mate?”

“That’s so cruel.”

“She’s Aunt Titania. Dane was born one minute early, so he was shackled with many expectations from our family. One of them is to choose a mate before he takes over as our clan Prima. Aunt Titania organized that party so Dane can have his pick over the blossoming flowers from various families in our clan and allies. Dane would love for you to go back to the apartment, but I figure you wouldn’t want to be interrogated by our nosy aunt.”

“Ah. You’re right. I’m sorry I’m ruining your party.”

“You kidding? Aunt Titania is the one who ruined our party. Dane and I already had an engagement with the weaver first.”

A red Lamborghini pulled up into the curb. A valet driver got out and handed the key to Collin.

“Thank you,” said Collin. “Let’s go.”

“Where’re we going?”

“I’ll show you a little scenery of New York.”

It was eleven p.m. in New York, and Collin drove her around to see the night scene. They toured Central Park, headed west to ABC Studios, Grand Millennium, Broadway, then turned right to the American Museum of Natural History before back toward Midtown. Collin concluded his tour by pulling into the Plaza hotel.

“Hey, I remember this,” said Danielle. “I stayed here a few nights with my family when I was nine.”

“How was it?”

“It was the best vacation ever. It was Christmas too. Everything was decorated beautifully.”

“I’m glad to hear it. How about we relive a part of your childhood while Dane deals with Aunt Titania and her war maidens?”

“War maidens?”

“Those women my aunt brought with her. God, they’re really pushy. All they see is dollar signs on our foreheads. You don’t know how many times I considered pulling the fire alarm just to clear them out.” Collin made a gesture with his thumb and forefinger. “This close.”

Danielle chuckled. “You’re funny.”

He checked in with the Edwardian suite and asked the manager to open the hotel’s in-house boutique since Danielle needed new clothes and essentials. While the purchase was delivered to their suite, Collin decided to take her to the Rose Club for drinks and tête-à-tête. He ordered cognac for himself and a Shirley Temple for Danielle. After finding out she had a sweet tooth, he couldn’t resist ordering desserts. Collin was a fan of sugary stuff while Dane hated it.

“May I suggest Lady M Mille Crepe cake?” he said. “From the many places I frequented, the Plaza has the best mille crepe cake in the city. It is to die for.”

“That sounds divine. I guess I can cheat once in a while.”