Slippers at Midnight Pt. 06

A/N

Last month was so busy for me that I really had very little time to write. This installment is a little shorter than I prefer, but I wanted to get something out so you all would know that I really, really am working on this. I hope you enjoy the next part of Elle and Daciana's story.

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Chapter 21

The property around the cabin was extensive. There were woods with trails and a small lake. Daciana wanted to tell her brother about us before she told anyone else so she convinced him to hang back when most of the group headed out to swim in the lake.

Julian sent Max and Micah off with the group assuring them that he would stay in the cabin until he joined them. Then he grabbed a greasy breakfast sandwich from the kitchen and plopped onto the couch across from Daciana and me.

His eyebrows lifted as he looked from the princess to me and back. He waited. Daciana was speechless for the first time since I'd met her. She looked at her brother and then her eyes fell to her lap. She shifted and cleared her throat.

I waited patiently. I knew firsthand how difficult it was to do what she was doing. Her brother was less patient and tilted his head quizzically. "Dach, did you actually have something to talk to me about or am I missing out on lake time for no good reason?"

Daciana shifted and reached for my hand. She squeezed it and cleared her throat, again. "I uh..." she stopped and swallowed, "I um," she puffed her cheeks and blew out through pursed lips. "Jules, I..."

A crease formed between the prince's eyebrows. He set down his sandwich, wiped his hands on a napkin, and rose from the sofa. He perched on the edge of the coffee table in front of us and touched Daciana's knee. "What's wrong, Sis?"

Daciana sat up straight. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong." Daciana looked determined. She squeezed my hand again. "Jules, I imprinted. On our birthday. At the dress shop. Remember I came home early? Said I had a headache?"

"Wait, what? I was with you almost all day. I would have noticed if you imprinted on someone. How?" His eyes cut to me. "You can't have. You'd be with him, now. Everyone says it is like a compulsion. You wouldn't be able to fool around with her." He jerked his head my way.

I could feel my eyes stinging. Daciana froze next to me. "I'm not fooling around with Elle. She is my mate. I imprinted on her."

Julian just looked confused so Daciana continued. "I was at the dress shop with Ted and April. There were a bunch of other people and I was chatting with a few and across the store I saw Elle. The moment, the exact moment I spotted her, it was like all the air rushed out of the room. I wanted to run to her. I needed to run to her. I grabbed a hold of Ted and asked him to get me out of there. I was miserable without her the whole day. You wondered who I was looking for at the party, remember? I lied and said I thought Fee might show up. I was looking for Elle. She imprinted on me when she was dancing with you. I saw it happen. Afterward, I found her out back. She was freaked out but we kissed and, Jules, it was like nothing, nothing, I've ever experienced before. Like I came alive in that moment. Or like the world shifted from black and white to color. I know how cheesy that sounds but... that's what happened." Daciana stopped talking and drew in a shaky breath.

Julian rocked back and stared at his twin. He opened his mouth to speak but Daciana interrupted him. "If you point out to me that she is a girl, so help me, Julian, I will punch you."

Julian shut his mouth. "I don't know how or why but I know that it is her. That it will only, ever, be her. She is mine, Julian."

The prince rubbed his face. "You imprinted?"

Daciana nodded.

"On a girl?"

Daciana nodded.

Julian chuckled. "Dad threw a big ass wolf party so I would find a pretty girl to fall for and you found one instead. Dad is gonna flip."

Daciana tensed and Julian squinted his eyes at her. "He'll flip but he'll figure it out. He loves you, Daciana. He'll work something out in his brain or whatever. We all love you. I love you, Daciana." Julian's smile widened and he laughed. Then he stood and pulled Daciana to her feet. He grabbed my hand and pulled us both into a massive hug. "Congratulations, you two. I'm so happy for you both. Confused and a little jealous, but really really happy for you." He beamed at us. "You found your mate!" Julian released us. "This calls for a drink!" he moved to the wet bar to pour and Daciana grinned at me. 'Told you' she mouthed. I laughed in relief and hugged her.

Chapter 22

Julian made a pitcher of drinks and we joined the others by the lake. Daciana took the opportunity to pull April and Felicity aside and explain to them what she had already told Julian. I sat on the dock and watched my friends and tried not to stare at Daciana and her friends. Their responses were more subtle than Julian's and I couldn't tell how they were taking the news.

I shifted my gaze to the water. Delia was on Micah's shoulders and engaged in a chicken fight with our friend Marley who was perched on my brother's shoulders. All four were laughing. It felt good to be here like this. I felt very right and natural for the first time since I'd imprinted. Marley was pushed over and she took Aiden with her. I laughed so hard that tears began to stream when they came up gasping and laughing.

"I love the sound of your laugh." Daciana sat behind me, slipped her arms around my waist, and rested her chin on my shoulder. I smiled and rubbed my hand over her knee. "April and Felicity send their congratulations."

"They took it well?"

Daciana didn't answer right away so I turned my head to face her. Her lips were tight. She saw me looking at her and smiled. "April was over the moon. She was surprised but totally supportive. Fee was... less enthusiastic. She assured me that she loved me and supported me but I'm not sure she believes me. She thinks you and I are dating and don't want to face the reality of the fact that we will soon imprint on men and not be together anymore. She thinks we're fooling ourselves."

I felt my jaw tighten. "She said all that?"

Daciana shrugged. "Not in exactly that way, she was really tip-toeing around it, but that is the essence of it." Daciana met my eyes and smiled. "But I know the truth." She kissed my cheek. "I know I won the mate jackpot and am going to spend the rest of my life with the most beautiful woman in the world."

I had to take a deep breath before I could return her smile. I grabbed her hands and pulled her arms tight around me again. I pressed my lips to her ear. "That sounds perfect. Except, I am the one who gets the most beautiful woman in the world."

The rest of the morning was spent in laughter and lake water. I had to work to not glare at Felicity. The logical side of me didn't really blame her. We were asking everyone to change beliefs they'd held all their lives. The emotional side of me, on the other hand, was angry that anyone would think that they knew better than we did what we were experiencing.

After a few hours, people started to return to the cabin. As Daciana had predicted, the prince located a karaoke machine and Ted, who knew the house as well as the twins did, led a group to a game closet to select board games. A few people found a quiet place to play Scrabble and Settlers of Catan while the rest of us joined Julian for his impromptu karaoke party.

Julian was happy to emcee for a while. Various people sang alone or in small groups. Everyone was surprisingly good. (Though, in hindsight, we'd had some alcohol and were all riding that vacation high-- so it's entirely possible that my appreciation of everyone's musical ability may have been a bit tinted.) Everyone was singing-a-long and generally enjoying themselves. After a bit, April called over the noise between songs. "Julian! It is definitely your turn to sing."

Marley, who was next to April, turned to ask in a stage whisper, "Can he sing?"

April smirked and patted Marley's hand. "Girl, you have no idea." April turned back to the prince. "She will, though, once you get your hot ass on stage and sing for us."

Others began calling for Julian to sing and soon he smiled and took the mic. He pushed a few buttons and music started to play. Daciana had said that her siblings all had musical talent and training so I leaned forward to hear. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better," the prince began to sing and I almost fell out of my seat. (Which I can assure you is no easy task when you are sitting on a giant squashy couch.) As it was, I am confident that my jaw dropped like a Loony Tunes character and hit the floor.

It wasn't just good. We have already established, I think, my knack for picking the most cliche phases, but seriously, Julian sang like an angel. Everyone was silent as he sang. It was transcendent. I'm not sure I even breathed. He got audience participation for the 'nananana's and by the end of the song people had generally stopped staring open-mouthed, but there were definitely people wiping their eyes when the music faded.

I looked at Daciana. She grinned and nodded. "My brother," she whispered with a vague wave of her hand. "In case rich, powerful, charming, and handsome are ever not enough."

Julian pulled Micah on stage with him and brought the party crashing back to Earth with an uproarious cover of Sir Mix-a-lot's "Baby Got Back". Soon everyone was screaming the wonders of big butts and laughing.

Chapter 23

Late that night, I was so tired that I barely had the energy to slip off my jeans before I crawled into bed. Daciana crawled in with me, cuddled up behind me, and curled her body to match the curve of mine. She draped her arm over me and I snuggled back so my butt was pressed against her lap. She grabbed a hold of my hips and ground herself against me. I groaned and I heard her inhale. I was so sleepy but it was impossible not to respond to her.

I could tell Daciana was sleepy, too, by her slow heavy movements. Nonetheless, she slid her hands up my hips and over my stomach. Her fingertips swirled over my bare skin as she slipped them under the hem of my tank top. "Baby, I'm sleepy," I whined.

"I know, Elle, you should go to sleep," Daciana whispered in my ear. Then she giggled and slipped her hand up to cup my breast. I gasped and she shushed me. "Quiet, Babe, you need to get some sleep." She found my nipple and pinched it gently. I sucked in through my teeth and felt her laugh more than I heard it. "I can't help it, you know," she breathed, "you are just so fucking sexy."

Her movements were slow but insistent as she played with my breasts. I relaxed against her so my back was against her chest. Daciana was in no hurry and her touches were as soothing as they were stimulating. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift as her hands moved-- slow and warm-- over my skin.

She began to move in widening circles over my breasts, chest, and stomach. I groaned and she kissed the back of my neck. "You can sleep," she breathed, "I'm perfectly content to just lie here and explore your body." I laughed and nudged her with my ass.

"Mmmm, yes," she moaned. The circle she was making moved lover so that her fingertips brushed the waistband of my panties. My breath caught. She teased the sensitive skin of my low belly. I whimpered.

A finger slipped into my panties and began to trace back and forth under the band. I felt goosebumps rise on my skin. The rest of her fingers followed suit and I trembled as she made her way down. As she brushed over the top of my mound I ground my ass back against her hips and was satisfied when she gasped. Slowly she teased her fingers into my slit and dragged them across my already responsive clit.

"Oh-oh-oh fuck!" I gasped. Daciana began to rub in little, firm circles over the most sensitive part of me.

"You feel amazing, Elle," she whispered. Her breath on my ear intensified all sensation. "And I," she breathed, "am going to make you cum."

I sucked in a breath and my princess got to work. Her fingers were magic as they moved over me. She played me like an instrument and soon had me panting and whimpering in pleasure and anticipation. Magic, I'm telling you. I moaned, ground my ass backward, and came.

I felt I should reciprocate but Daciana stopped me from trying. "I got what I wanted for tonight." She kissed my neck. "Now, go to sleep. I have some ideas for tomorrow and I need you well-rested." I turned my head to shoot her a curious look. She shook her head. "Tomorrow, Love."

I fell asleep, warm and happy, with no suspicion that tomorrow my world would come crashing down.