by Marian Tee
She glared. “Shameless…flirt.” But she couldn’t keep herself from smiling, finding Nick’s beautiful smile impossible to resist. She was almost giddy, seeing how the coldness in his eyes had somewhat lessened.
A soft knock landed on the screen door, followed by their waitress – Kimmy-san with her still-loose kimono – coming back in to serve the main course.
The meal was delicious – juicy prawns, tender gyuniku served with fresh sprouts and Japanese rice, and an assortment of flavored mocha balls for dessert. Afterwards, Nick excused himself to take a call from his brother. The moment he left, she hastily took out her iPad again, quickly swiping to the page that she had earlier glimpsed but didn’t dare read in front him.
A very trusted source overheard Karla Niall telling a friend that she can have Nick Christakos back in a snap if she wants to. Asked why, she says that the billionaire has never gotten over her – and never will because they have a special connection no one else can have with the Christakos heir.
“Don’t believe everything you read,” Nick said flatly, making Lilac gasp in surprise and drop the iPad on her lap. One look at the photo on her iPad’s screen and Nick knew immediately what Lilac had been reading. His heartbeat was thunderous as he waited for Lilac to speak, a part of him already expecting her to turn away from him in disgust because of how weak he was.
Like Karla had.
Twisting halfway to look at Nick, Lilac wondered uneasily how long he had been there. She hadn’t even heard him come in. She tried to keep still, not letting her worry show as Nick took off his shoes while one of his guards pulled the silkscreen door shut behind Nick.
“Are you…mad?” she whispered nervously.
Instead of sitting across her, he lowered himself to a sitting position next to Lilac. Only then did he speak, asking evenly, “Why would I be mad?”
“Because…I…Googled you?” When his lips twitched, she almost breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s not a crime, manari mou.”
“I could have…asked you…and could have…told you what…I read.”
He asked quietly, “And whatever it is that you read, does it change your opinion of me now?”
She answered simply, “I think it…doesn’t matter. All I want...is for you to…be…happy.”
Her words were like a kick in the guts.
“You,” he told Lilac unevenly, “are too good for me.”
Lilac started to speak, but he held his hand up. “Even so, sweetheart, I won’t be a better man by letting you go.” She watched Nick’s broad shoulders move in an elegant shrug as he said, “And if you fall in love with another man, I’ll just seduce you until you’ve completely forgotten him.” His lips twisted. “I’ll have any fucking jerk who wants to take you away from me exiled from this country.”
A helpless laugh bubbled past her lips. “Selfish…egoistic…arrogant…billionaire.”
“And like I always say, sweetheart, you knew that from the very start,” Nick said silkily. “But you still want me anyway.”
Before Lilac could retort, Nick surprised her by pulling her onto his lap, and a little shriek of astonishment escaped her.
In a blink of an eye, his security team swarmed the entrance, the silkscreen door pushed open. Lilac wanted to die, but Nick didn’t appear bothered at all, his lazy blue eyes gleaming under his lashes.
“No one disturbs us,” he said without looking away from Lilac.
She wanted to die even more.
The moment the silkscreen door was pulled close, Nick hauled her even closer. “Nick!” Fear, excitement, and desire mingled in her voice. Her breasts pressed hard against his silk shirt, its tips now aroused.
Nick watched Lilac’s pale violet eyes widen at the contact, and he suppressed a groan. “Don’t do that.” But even so, he couldn’t stop his gaze from roaming Lilac’s body, couldn’t stop drinking in her essence – everything that made her good and beautiful. Her sweetness wrapped around him, and for a moment all Nick could do was hold her tightly in his arms, allowing the softness of her body to enhance the hardness in his.
With Lilac, the pieces in him were stitching together on their own – not as Karla could do with just one touch but just as seamless, remolding him from inside into something else.
“Lilac,” Nick whispered, just needing to say her name as he kissed her forehead, the corner of her eye, letting his lips move down so he could nip her ear.
“Nick.” Her voice trembled.
He closed her eyes, letting her voice wash over him. It sent his imagination into overdrive as it attempted to visualize how lovely Lilac’s body would be if it were completely bared to his eyes. When their gazes met again, his cock had become fully and powerfully erect, and it pulsed demandingly against Lilac’s belly.
Lilac blinked in shock.
“FUCK.” He had only meant to hold Lilac, but the way she was looking at him drove Nick too close to the edge. He was this close to kissing her, friends or not.
“Nick!” Lilac’s eyes widened even more at the way he so explicitly swore, violet orbs turning doll-like.
“Ah, fuck, I warned you, sweetheart.” It was the only warning she got before Nick sank one hand into her hair, using it to pull her head towards him.
Nick’s lips closed over hers. She stilled, frozen with shock and desire at the sheer heat of it. And then he was moving his lips insistently over hers, demanding her lips to open. She tried to resist, shaking her head, but it only made Nick tighten his grip on her hair. “My second kiss out of five,” he whispered with a slight, tortured groan against her lips. “I’m claiming it now.”
It took her a second to understand what he was saying, another second to realize he was giving her an excuse to give in.
She took it.
Nick could have growled when Lilac’s lips parted. Perhaps he did. Unhesitating, Nick took advantage by plundering her sweet mouth, his tongue delving in, tasting, claiming. Lilac’s arms went around his neck, and he deepened the kiss in response, groaning again when Lilac’s tongue tentatively played with his.
“You’re so unbelievably hot, sweetheart.” He lay back on the floor, taking Lilac with him. He felt Lilac freeze the moment every inch of their bodies came into contact and he gentled his kiss. “Relax, sweetheart,” he crooned. “I won’t do anything you don’t want.”
Nick’s soothing voice calmed Lilac, the horrible times she had felt so dirty and cheap when pleasing James fading from her mind. She rose to seek Nick’s lips again, initiating the kiss this time, the best way she could explain without words how much his consideration meant to her.
Lilac’s kiss was shy and sweet. There was nothing expert about it, but somehow it was the hottest kiss he had ever tasted, making Nick shudder in desire. “I need to see you,” he rasped. And then he was pulling her ridiculously large sweater over her head.
Lilac whimpered at the way Nick was gazing at her. She tried covering herself, but he growled and shook his head, his hands immediately capturing her wrists to pin them over her head. Nick lowered his head to nuzzle the valley between her silk-covered breasts. She whimpered again when one of his hands joined his mouth, pulling the cups down. And then she couldn’t speak, couldn’t think – couldn’t do anything but moan his name when his mouth closed over one nipple.
The sight of Lilac’s creamy breasts, crowned with rosy pink nipples, had him nearly undone. He couldn’t stop himself from taking one areola into his mouth, plumping the breast so he could take it all in. He laved it with his tongue, cherishing it the way it deserved. He was rewarded by Lilac’s moan and the way her body arched so seductively against his body.
“Sweet,” he rasped out before moving to the next breast and lavishing it with the same attention he did its twin.
“N-Nick…” She was restless, wanting to feel his naked skin against hers. She pushed his jacket off, ignoring the way he laughed at how impatient she was. She glared at him in frustration. “Off!”
“Yes, milad
y,” he answered mockingly even as he swiftly dealt with his tie and shirt.
Her eyes widened at the sight of all that beautiful golden skin, unable to believe just how perfectly muscled Nick was. She told him firmly, half-meaning it, “Photoshopped like…the guys…in…300.”
Nick laughed then lowered himself back on top her, making sure that every inch of her naked skin was plastered against his. Not taking his gaze away, Nick greedily took in the way Lilac’s shock turned into desire, her doll eyes dilating, her lips parting in need.
He almost came at the sight alone. “Have pity on me, sweetheart,” he half-groaned, half-growled. “Don’t look at me like that or I won’t be able to give you what you want.” He moved down to start unbuttoning her jeans but Lilac suddenly froze, her hands clutching his.
“N-Nick.”
He stilled at the sound of fear threading her voice. For a moment, rage filled him, making Nick swear to himself that he would have his revenge on James Caruthers soon.
“Sweetheart, don’t be scared.” He moved up again, cupping Lilac’s face, raining kisses on her until he could feel her relaxing. “I just want to please you. There’s nothing you have to do. Just relax and let me please you, mm?”
Slowly, she made herself relax. Lilac nodded. “Sorry…so…silly,” Lilac whispered, pressing a kiss on one hard shoulder.
His chest ached at the tenderness of that act. Swallowing, he said quietly, “Be as silly as you want. Everything you say or do is a turn on for me.”
A smile curved on her lips. “Really now.”
She spoke it so beautifully, the teasing note in Lilac’s voice adding a lump to his throat. “Fuck, yes,” he said fiercely and because he couldn’t really wait anymore, he worked on her buttons again and had her jeans off before Lilac could draw her next breath.
“Nick, please…” She writhed at the heat of his gaze.
“Patience, sweetheart,” he murmured, but she could feel him smiling wickedly against her skin.
She pounded his shoulder in frustration, and this time he chuckled before leaving a tantalizing trail of kisses down her body, from the side of her neck to her shoulder, her chest and her breasts. She gasped when his mouth brushed over her nipple before continuing to descend, his lips touching her belly.
Lilac whimpered as his lips reached the edge of her silk panties.
“This has to go, sweetheart.” It was the only warning she got before he ripped her panties away.
“Nick!”
“It was in the way.” He lowered his head.
“Selfish---” She stopped speaking when his mouth touched the innermost part of her that he could reach, her body arching in response.
Nick lifted his head. “What did you say?”
She still couldn’t make herself speak.
“Thought so,” he murmured wickedly before lowering his head back down. Nick took his time tasting Lilac, leaving small kisses on her folds.
“Nick!” She clutched his shoulders, nails digging as her body twisted under him restlessly.
“I love how you taste.” He licked her folds.
“I love…how you…lick,” she gasped.
“Then I’ll always do this.” He licked her long and hard, short and fast, his licks sweet, frustrating, and unbelievably hot. “I’ll give you everything you want, sweetheart.” He moved up a little. Keeping his gaze on Lilac’s beautiful expressive face, he touched her clit gently.
She screamed.
“Everything you want, manarimou,” he promised intensely, “---and you won’t ever have to ask for it.” Then he started sucking expertly on her clit, nibbling and playing before sucking it hard like the sweetest candy.
Lilac came then, moaning Nick’s name, no longer caring who heard what outside the door. All she knew that moment was she had never known this kind of pleasure. When she opened her eyes, Nick was half-lying over her body and he was gazing down at her with a possessive look in his eyes.
“You didn’t…” She gazed at him questioningly even as she blushed.
His smile was a little pained. “It’s fine.”
“But---” Her fingers curled around his shoulder. “I want to…do something…for you.”
His heart clenched at her words, knowing what she was offering even though he could see the fear that had darkened Lilac’s eyes at her own offer. “Sweetheart, if you want to do something for me then…” He struggled to keep his voice even as he told her his worst fears, the one that had him staring at her the whole time she was resting. “Don’t regret this, Lilac.”
His tone was almost violent. There was also an odd note to it, and Lilac instinctively knew what Nick wanted to say but couldn’t. Stupidly, it made her want to cry but she willed the tears away even before they could reach her eyes.
She laid her hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating hard. It made her want to cry even more. Returning his words, she said softly, “I will…remember this forever.”
The Twelfth Encounter
The music was deafening, the lights overhead a neon galaxy of colors that hurt the eyes but made the club’s affluent guests sparkle the way they wanted to. With Halloween just a few weeks away, sparkling ala Cullen had become in once more.
The dance floor below was more than crowded, with bodies grinding against each other. Velvet ropes held back unlisted guests from the VIP floor, secured by stoic-looking men in black.
“Oh my God, Charlene,” a girl in a glittery dress gushed to her friend. “Do you see him? It’s Nick Christakos!”
Her friend quickly followed her gaze. “Oh my God, it is him! And I just saw Christien di Luca a while ago---oh my God! I just remembered!” She shook her friend’s shoulders in excitement. “It’s Christien di Luca’s birthday today and I bet all the BBFs are having a party upstairs!”
“BBFs? Shouldn’t it be BFFs?”
“Oh, Rach, you’re so out of the loop! That’s what they call those beautiful boys now. BBF: Boys with Billion-dollar trust Funds.” She sighed. “Let’s hope Christien di Luca sends out an invitation. I hear he throws the wildest birthday parties. I’m going to give him the best blow job of his life…” She sighed again, and her friend sighed with her as Nick Christakos and his security detail went past them. Oh my, the man’s scent alone was amazing – manly and sexy, enough to make her come if she had more than a whiff of it.
At the sight of Nick, the men guarding the stairs leading to the VIP floor immediately parted to let him and his own security team pass. Nick nodded in response to their greetings.
“The playboy’s back in town,” a voice called out laughingly when he reached the top of the stairs.
Nick laughed. “That,” he told Derek Christopoulos, “is definitely a case of the pot calling the kettle black.” They clapped each other on the back. The others came to greet him, welcoming him back from his trip. Nick shook hands and exchanged brief hugs with Christien di Luca last, the host of the party.
“Will this birthday be a lot like last year’s?” he asked with a grin, knowing how “tastefully” riotous Christien’s parties could be.
“I’m afraid not,” his friend answered after a beat. “I may have a lady friend stopping by.”
Nick raised a brow as they took their seats on the L-shaped leather sofa. “A girlfriend?”
“Lady friend,” Christien repeated firmly.
After the first round of drinks had been served, Nick said dryly, “Don’t be fucking shy with me. I can see it all in your eyes, assholes.”
Derek said carefully, “We thought you’d be on the first flight to Beverly Hills after the…headlines.”
The expected pain that came with anything to do about Karla didn’t hurt as much, alleviated by the sweet hot memory of having Lilac in his arms this afternoon.
An unconscious smile touched Nick’s lips as he replied levelly, “I’m…busy.”
His words were greeted by shocked silence, one that gradually turned to relief. Reid Chalkias was the first to react, his green eyes
gleaming with interest as he asked, “Busy, you say?” Although an heir to a ten-digit fortune as well, Reid was better recognized as their university’s star basketball player, his future in NBA a certainty. He was, without a doubt, the most debauched of them all as well – a reputation Reid embraced whole-heartedly as the university’s Prince of Darkness.
“I think I know what that means,” Reid murmured.
“It’s not like that.”
“How can it not be like that, Christakos? It’s a fact of life. Girls can only be forgotten with other girls,” Derek said matter-of-factly.
“Does that generalization include your Jaike?” Nick retorted, referring to the girl who famously captured his friend’s heart.
“Fuck no.” Laughter ensued at Derek’s equally matter-of-fact response.
“Will your brother be able to make it?” Christien asked.
“No. I just received a call from Jason. He’s abroad and won’t be back till tomorrow.”
“We’re getting off topic,” Reid inserted. “Nick is definitely keeping a secret from us and I bet it’s the sexy and beautiful kind.”
“She’s not---”
Reid said with a grin, “So there is a she.”
Nick flushed, realizing he had given himself away and laughter filled the room once more. “She’s not that kind of girl. She’s a friend.” He looked at Christien pointedly. “Like your lady friend, I presume.”
“Perhaps,” Christien conceded. “But the difference is – I have always had lady friends, Nick. Not ones especially close but they are friends nevertheless. While you…”
“She’s a friend,” he said firmly. Pausing, Nick added reluctantly, “She’s a friend of Jilly…and she knows Karla in a way.”
“Ah.” Christien took a sip from his beer. He looked as if he was weighing his words carefully when he said, “I hope you’re not playing around with that girl just to hurt your former flame?”
Nick’s lips twisted at Christien’s old-fashioned words. This friend of his would probably get along quite well with Lilac, with Christien’s preference for formality. “I’m not playing around with her. She’s a…nice girl.”
