JASON and KEANNE (5 page)

  “You don’t know what you’re saying,” he finally forced himself to grit out.

  “I want you to be mine.” She repeated the words in French, her eyes sparkling defiance at him.

  He cursed in Greek, furious at her stubbornness.

  She cursed him back in her native language, knowing they were both irritated at each other’s pigheadedness.

  “I am not the kind of man you should love.”

  “But I love you already so it’s too late to tell me that.”

  An exasperated sigh escaped him. “Listen to me, you silly girl---”

  “You should be the one to listen to me, you silly
old
man!”

  Only Keanne would say that to him, and his lips twitched.

  She did not allow herself to smile even though she badly wanted to. The sun god was bestowing a smile on her, and she was like a sunflower wanting to bloom in its brightness.
Merde.
How she wanted to smile back, but not just yet.

  “Give me a chance.” Her voice was fierce and petulant at the same time. She knew that if Lilac was in her shoes, her tone would be sweetly cajoling, begging, or teasing. But she was not Lilac and she did not want to try to be someone she was not. She was Keanne Summers, spoiled and demanding in most ways, but she also knew no other girl could love Jason Christakos more than she did.

  “Let me love you---” He shook his head but she ignored it. “And I am 100% certain you will…” Keanne lifted her chin. “---fall in love with me.”

  Her silvery eyes caught his – and this time it did not let go.

  Jason heard himself saying, “We could give it a try, see how it goes, if you agree to one condition I have.”

  She swallowed. “W-what?” She had been ready to fight tooth and nail for him, and the fact that he was capitulating so easily left her stunned and bemused.

  “You must do everything I say.” His eyes, his face, his voice – everything hardened, and for the first time in the four years she had known him, Keanne had a glimpse of the
real
Jason Christakos.

 
Oh.

  A man’s man, someone who dominated and commanded and did not take no for an answer.

  There was one word to describe him perfectly, but it escaped Keanne. All she knew was that this was a man who demanded – who
needed -
absolute and unquestioning surrender from the woman he would love for all eternity.

  His gaze settled on her, and that alone already felt like a chain of possession wrapping itself around her. His voice was steel and silk as he spoke of a promise both dangerous and beautiful. “
Everything,
Keanne. You must do everything I say. It is the only way I can truly open myself to you.”

“How’s life?”

  Jason smiled at the sound of it, and he leaned back against his chair. “It’s gotten very interesting.” Something settled inside him. Every day, he lived with the fear that she wouldn’t answer his call and his world would stop spinning then.

  Lilac’s voice was filled with joy and warmth as she answered, “I’m glad to hear that, Jason. Is it interesting because of…” She paused. “---a c-certain someone named
Keanne
?”

  Jason almost shot out of his seat, unable to believe that Lilac knew about his Keanne. “Who told you that?” Lilac was not the type to read tabloids, and that had in fact been the reason why she had originally mistaken Jason for his twin Nick.

 
If she had read the tabloids
, Jason contemplated,
then things might have happened differently.

  She would not have made him fall in love with her, and he would not have known Lilac well enough to fall in love with her.

  “…Jason?”

  He pushed the disturbing thought away, refocusing on Lilac. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about something.” Outside, early morning sunlight started to rise past the clouds, and a few rays managed to slide into his office, leaving shadows on the carpeted floor.

  There was an awkward pause, and then Lilac asked very gently, “Are you…
okay
?”

  The catch in her voice made him grip his phone tightly. Sometimes, he wished Lilac wasn’t so damn nice. If only she would just throw him under the fucking bus or something. Maybe then he could forget her completely. Maybe then he could start thinking about her as his brother’s betrothed.

  “I won’t be okay if we stop talking.”

  “We won’t ever…s-stop talking.” But the fact that she was already starting to stammer gave away her distress.

 
Shit…

  He had never wanted to be the cause of her distress. All he ever wanted was to be her fucking knight, dammit. “I gotta go---”

  “No, p-please!”

  Jason stilled.

  “Let’s talk…some more. Let’s talk about your Keanne.”

  “I don’t want to talk about her,” he said brusquely.

  “Yes. Y-you do.” Lilac’s voice became light and teasing again, clearly meant to cajole him out of his bad mood. “I was telling you earlier about how I was reading the news…Nick, you see, was invited to be a keynote speaker…there was media coverage a-and I wanted to create a scrapbook of his…photos. That was when I saw…
you.
And Keanne.”

  Lilac paused again, but this time it wasn’t awkward, and Jason knew she was simply giving herself time to adjust and not stammer.

  “She’s
beautiful,
your
Keanne.”

  A thread of unease wove around him at the words. Suddenly, it did not feel right to discuss Keanne with Lilac, like it was an act of betrayal that he should know better than to indulge in.

  And yet – that couldn’t be, could it?

  How was it that talking to Lilac could be a betrayal?

  Keanne might be in love with him, but Jason had never returned the words. He did not owe her anything.

  “Jason?”

  He heard himself saying, “This time, I really have to go. To Keanne. It’s her first day of classes today and I promised I’d drive her to C.U.”

  “Oh. Okay.” If a part of him had hoped she would sound jealous, then it was doomed to be disappointed. “Please say hi for me…and Nick.”

  His heart twisted.
Her…and Nick.

 
Reid’s words came back to him.
She’s not for you.

 
Keanne’s impassionate cry echoed in his brain.
She will never be yours.

 
He wanted to smash something.

  Fuck them all.

  They didn’t understand a fucking thing.

  They didn’t understand that he knew – that he had always known Lilac wasn’t ever meant to be his.

  They didn’t understand that it didn’t matter. Something drew him to Lilac, and even now that invisible cord was strong as ever. Something that might never break…even if it meant loving her from afar for the rest of his life.

****

“You cannot keep doing this.” Nick Christakos’ voice was soft but curt as he gathered Lilac in his arms. He had entered their bedroom, taken one look at her, and knew she had been talking to his twin again.

  Her arms wrapped around him as he hauled her into his lap.

  “He needs me. You…know that.”

  Yes, he fucking knew that. He also knew that he owed his twin a lot, that there was no way he could ever repay Jason’s sacrifice for him. His twin did not have to tell him anything for Nick to know that Jason had given up something precious in order to make sense of the past.

  Once upon a time, he had been a broken man, believing only that his childhood love could ever love him. Because he had clung to this belief desperately, he had hurt Lilac endlessly, constantly putting the needs of his former lover above Lilac’s. It was only when Jason discovered the truth about Karla Niall’s betrayal that the veil of deception was torn away from Nick’s eyes.

  Karla Niall, the woman he had thought saved him from death so many years ago, the woman he had asked to marry was also the same woman who had sold him to his attackers.

  He looked down at the girl in his arms, whose love had been the result of Jason’s selfless action. Jason had somehow found a way to make their stepmother Beatrice Crichton talk, and it had been her testimony that put Karla behind bars and Davos – the man who had paid drug junkies to violate Nick when he was a teenager – on the run.

  Nick said harshly, “I love my brother, Lilac, but you are the most important thing to me in this world.”

  She cupped his cheek lovingly. “I feel the same…about you. You know…
that
.” A tear escaped her eye, trailing down one smooth cheek, and she wiped it away impatiently. “Nick, you and I both know…Jason’s hurting. If talking to him helps…you know I can’t…turn my back on him.”

  “He will keep loving you if you keep talking to him.” Jealousy and understanding warred inside Nick. He did not want Jason to be hurting, but he was never going to share his woman with anyone – not even his twin. Lilac was his soul mate, and without her he was nothing.

  Lilac slowly shook her head. “No. I…d-don’t think so.” Her head cocked to the side as a thoughtful frown creased her forehead. “You k-know
Keanne Summers
?”

  Nick was startled to hear the name on Lilac’s lips. “I’ve known her for years,” he admitted, careful not to let his voice reveal how much he did know. Jason had not shared with him the particulars, but the clues had all been there. Keanne Summers had a dark past, and it had made Jason feel very protective towards her, so much so that even Nick had rarely been invited to spend time with the two when they were together.

  She had been like his twin’s little shadow when she was younger, but over the years she had become something more.

  Nick had thought she would always be Jason’s friend, but looking into Lilac’s eyes, the truth slowly dawned on him.

  “Jason and Keanne?”

  She gave him a tremulous smile. “I p-pray it’s so. You know how Jason never…runs out of things to say? But with Keanne…it’s different.
He’s different.
”

  The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. “He still thinks he is in love with you.”

  Color flushed her lovely cheeks. “I have seen her…photos. She’s…not…” Her nose wrinkled. “She’s not…like me. I'm too meek. She will make Jason realize…she’s the woman for him.” Her eyes flew to him and her lips curved into a slight smile. “Like I know…I’m the woman for…
you
.”

  Just like that and he was hot for her. In mere seconds, he had her horizontal, Lilac shrieking in surprise at the speed with which he had gotten both of them naked.

  She was breathless with the feel of his heavy weight over her, and she couldn’t keep herself from whimpering when his fingers found her core. A few flicks, and she was more than wet for him.

  He kissed her hard and she welcomed it, kissing him back. When he lifted his head, there was an implacable expression on his face. “You are my world, Lilac. I won’t ever give you up to Jason even if he’s the better man between us.”

 
Oh Nick.

 
Placing her hands on his shoulders, she let her fingers drift to his nape and caressed the tender skin. She smiled lovingly when he shuddered at her touch. “There is no better man,” she said very gently. “You are simply…the
only
…man for me. Just as Jason may be…the only man…for Keanne, and her the only…woman for him. It’s just a matter of time…”

  His expression did not ease. “Just so we are clear,
manari mou.
You are mine.” And not giving her a chance to answer, he pushed his cock into her welcoming warmth, making Lilac moan in surprised pleasure.