Nick and Lilac (3 page)

It created a sick feeling in Lilac’s stomach, making her want to withdraw into herself further. The university’s open-air hallway suddenly felt suffocating, the surrounding courtyard with its vast spaces, magnolia trees, and stone tables reduced into a gilded cage.

And yet---

Nick’s presence was so forceful it overrode her usual inhibitions. Those eyes of his made Lilac want to look at him…really look at him when for years just the
thought
of looking into another man’s eyes was enough to make her feel claustrophobic.

Lilac caught sight of a long-sleeved shirt tucked into a pair of gray beautifully tailored pants – urbane beyond words and with more confidence than a twenty-something MBA student should have.

She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes, unable to help it. He caught her staring – and didn’t let go.

Nick waited for the girl to stammer or blush when their gazes met for the second time. That was all he needed to make a move.

But all she did was blink at him, as if she couldn’t believe he had the right to look at her.

What. The. Fuck. Was. Up. With. This. Girl.

He should be insulted, turned off, but the way she was so coolly disregarding him only amused him…and
Dio!
Damn if it didn’t turn him on even more.

Jilly bit her lip, unused to someone being so incredibly persistent with Lilac and more than a little worried now by Nick’s interest in her friend.

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all
, Jilly thought with a frown. Turning to Nick, she said sharply, “Stop bullying her, Nick. She
is
shy, but right now I think it’s more of Lilac being smart enough to
not
want to talk to guys like you.”

Nick knew other girls would deny Jilly’s words right away. But all that
this one
did was blink again, as if Nick wasn’t worth wasting her voice for. That clinched it, as far as he was concerned.

He had been getting alarmingly bored these past few months, unable to find it in himself to be even the slightest bit interested in any of the hundreds of girls who threw themselves at him. The harder they tried, the wilder their antics were, the faster he lost interest in them. But this girl worked on him like the best aphrodisiac, making his cock ache with her blink-me-not ways. And considering the average number of times a person blinked in a minute, Nick had a feeling he’d spontaneously combust if he didn’t get to fuck this beautiful girl soon.

Jilly went to Lilac’s side, curling her arm around her friend’s. “Don’t worry, sweetie. His reputation may precede him, but I’ve got your back. I won’t let him mess with you like he does with other girls.”

Wisely, Nick chose to say nothing. If he had his way, he would like to mess Lilac up right now, see her go wild with need in his arms.

She was looking at him with a mixture of puzzlement and disregard.

Stop looking at me like that, sweetheart, or I’ll have you up against the wall in no time.

But his silent message was lost as she blinked yet again, and all Nick could think at that moment was how he wanted her doll eyes focusing only on him as he took her again and again.

God, she was hot!

Nick glanced at Jilly.
I want her. No more fucking games.

Jilly’s jaw dropped open, but even she wasn’t brave enough to get in his way. Clearing her throat, she said reluctantly, “Let me formally introduce you two. Nick, I’d like you to meet my very good friend Lilac York.”

Lilac York.
Even the name was sexy.

Jilly hesitated before carefully adding, “She’s best friends with Karla’s cousin Amber.”

Tension poisoned the air at the mere mention of Nick’s supermodel ex-girlfriend. His eyes were now an arctic blue, and for some reason it made Lilac’s heart ache.

That was not the look of a man who had moved on.

Somehow, the realization made her heart ache even more.

The mere mention of his ex made him feel like he got punched in the gut, but Nick managed not to react to it. So Karla knew Lilac. That shouldn’t matter and Jilly seemed to agree as she continued steadily, “Lilac, this is Nick Christakos.”

Nick didn’t wait for Lilac to answer. “It’s my honor to meet you, Lilac York.”

Lilac froze, feeling like the gods of serendipity were laughing at her. Those were almost the exact words used by the duke in her daydreams!

“Err, Lilac…” Jilly cleared her throat meaningfully.

Flushing, Lilac realized that Nick Christakos had his hand out for quite some time.

Nick watched Lilac’s gaze dart around in response, as if there was a chance she’d find an excuse to avoid his touch. Fuck if that didn’t make his erection bulge painfully against the tight confines of his pants. Maybe, Nick mused, just maybe, it was true that girls who presented a challenge were more interesting.

Patient, amused, and aroused, Nick was content to watch Lilac dither without saying a word.
Sweetheart, there’s no escape.

As if she heard him, Lilac slowly turned to face him again, a reluctant expression on her face as she took his hand.

The connection was electrifying, making Lilac’s body jerk. She withdrew her fingers right away, but it was too late – for both of them. Lilac was in a daze. Oh, sweet heaven, just that one touch alone had set her body on fire, skin sizzling as if she was being caressed by flames.

She saw Nick smiling at her lazily, telling her without words that he knew what she was trying to hide. God, he was arrogant! But the worse thing was how his arrogance only seemed to add to his attraction.

This is insane
, Lilac told herself. She had sworn off guys. She
needed
to swear off guys. She had to remember that. Managing to finally tear her gaze away from his mesmerizing blue eyes, Lilac desperately sought for something else to look at –

Unfortunately, that ‘something else’ accidentally happened to be his crotch, which was not so effectively hiding his raging hard-on.

Lilac’s eyes flew to his in shock.
Really?
She wanted to gasp out loud, never having met someone so blatantly sexual and so shockingly arrogant about it.

Nick didn’t even blink, his smile only turning into a smirk that just made him more intensely sexy.
Yes, really,
his smirk seemed to answer.

Lilac hurriedly looked away, needing a few seconds to think and just…breathe. She had never come across someone even distantly resembling a powerfully attractive man like Nick.

Nick could see that Lilac was struggling to ignore him. Her body language said it all, as if she wanted him to understand that she had decided whatever they had between them wasn’t worth exploring.

You can’t fight fate, manari mou,
Nick thought with possessive satisfaction, his imagination already going into overdrive with how he would soon pursue Lilac York...and make her
his.

Lilac forced herself to speak. Stuttering or no stuttering, she had to go like right now unless she wanted to embarrass herself by doing something like…like beg Nick to take off his shirt so she could stop obsessively wondering what kind of abs he had.

“I’m sorry. I have to go.”

Jilly tried her best to hide her relief at Lilac’s words.
Yes, go! The Devil’s out to get you.
But of course she couldn’t say that, not with said devil still beside her and emitting predatory vibes. Shit. What had she done?

“I have a meeting with the SAC,” Lilac was mumbling.

“Then you should hurry,” Jilly said firmly and waved her friend away.

“SAC?” Nick echoed without taking his gaze off Lilac’s hurriedly retreating back. She looked, he thought with amusement, like the devil was after her. Then again, her fears had merit. He
was
closer to being a devil than an angel.

Despite her worries, Jilly couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “
Social Action Committee,
you jerk.” She shook her head. “Why am I even surprised that you don’t know anything about it?”

Nick shrugged, not bothered by her all-too-accurate assessment. He was a selfish bastard. He knew it and didn’t see any point in denying what he had no plans changing.

He caught sight of Lilac turning toward the stairs, disappearing completely from view in a second. Something primal inside him wanted to command her to come back, but he managed to reel the urge in.

“What the fuck does someone in the SAC do?” Nick muttered.

Why the fuck are you even thinking about it,
Jilly wanted to ask. But she didn’t. She wasn’t ready to hear the answer.

“
Nick
.” She planted herself in front him. “You can’t---” Her voice faltered at the look in his eyes. He had never looked at her that way.

Mine,
those cold blue eyes said.
Don’t fucking mess with what’s mine.

Jilly bit her lip. “Nick, she’s not for someone like you…she doesn’t even date. She’s a nice girl, the real thing.”

Nick was quiet. Jilly was beginning to panic when he said flatly, “I know that.”

But he still wasn’t going to give up on the idea of pursuing Lilac. She tried another tactic. “It’s not right to go after her when…” The moment the words were out, she knew it was a mistake. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. She had no right to bring up Karla. Even her fiancé Ephraim didn’t have a clue as to what had really caused the breakup. All they knew was it had wounded Nick and made him harder, colder.

More silence, tinged with bitter fury, and then Nick spoke again. “I’ll do my best not to go after her, Jilly. But if we meet again…” Nick murmured something in Greek, making Jilly wince as she understood him perfectly. Learning the language had been the only way Jilly was able to win over her future and very traditional mother-in-law.

He who submits to fate without complaint is wise.

What the hell did that even mean? Jilly glared at Nick. Ephraim was also often like this, answering a straight-out question with some deeper-than-heck quote when all she wanted was a yes or no. “Nick, please just---”

But he was already walking away, surrounded once more by his security detail, drawing the gazes of every woman after him – even those whose hearts he had already crushed. From afar, Jilly heard his phone ring and saw Nick answer the call. The way he spoke in Greek, the way he talked about billion-dollar deals like they were nothing but child’s play to him, told Jilly that Nick Christakos was already in another world. In his mind, Lilac York’s fate was already sealed.

Jilly’s head started to ache.

Greek gods could really be the worst thing to happen to women on earth.

The Second Encounter

Hearts beat fast

Colors and promises

How to be brave

How can I love when I’m afraid?

Lilac hummed along as Christina Perri sang in her ears and she started highlighting phrases from the University of Minnesota-Duluth paper she had printed from the Internet.

People who stuttered (PWS)…share some similar traits…not as outgoing as they normally would be…unwilling to express anger…depression…guilt…speech is out of their control…

She moved to another printout, an Arizona Western College essay on daydreams, and applied her marker to it as well.

Two of the most common daydream plots…the conquering hero…and the suffering martyr…

Daydreaming typically serves as a positive function.

Lilac flipped to the next blank page on her notebook, preferring to write her first drafts the old fashioned way.

This student proposes to utilize her daydreams and struggles with PWS as research to supplement plot development for a work of fiction.

She leaned back to re-read what she had written. She added a few more paragraphs for the introduction before closing her notebook and reaching for her iPad next. In the background, Christina Perri continued to sing, soothing her ears and never failing to help Lilac internalize.

Time stands still

Beauty in all she is

I will be brave

I will not let anything

take away

what’s standing in front of me.

Lilac started tapping on the iPad’s keyboard.

Lilia was an earl’s daughter as well as a well-traveled bluestocking. Her first Season has so far been a disaster.

She wrote and wrote until Christina Perri had sung her song about six times and her alarm went off, signaling the end of her last class, which Professor Flynn had told her to use for library research.

On her way out, Lilac bumped into what felt like a sexy hard wall of pectoral muscles. Lilac looked up, fully intending to apologize – and found herself trapped, again.

She stumbled on her First Step of her First Waltz during her First Appearance at Almack’s.

If not for the duke’s quick reflexes, it might also have been her First Scandal and he would have been embroiled in it as well. But before she could even panic, he had already twirled her around and swept them across the dance floor.

Everyone around them sighed. The duke smiled. She shivered. 

Lilac blinked, the smile of dark amusement playing on Nick Christakos’ lips making her fantasy vanish as reality reasserted itself.

Got you again, manari mou,
Nick mentally purred in satisfaction as he glanced down in surprise at the soft and curvy missile that tried to go through him.

Around them, a silent sort of pandemonium slowly took place, women enviously cursing Lilac for having the fortune of bumping into Nick Christakos. Lilac was unaware of it, but Nick was – and he didn’t give a fuck about any of them.

She’s not for someone like you.

Jilly’s warning echoed in his mind, but Nick pushed it away. Still, he tried his best to curb his lust for now, knowing it would just frighten his little lamb away.

He tried to distract himself with his surroundings, finding them more interesting than the girls who kept trying to catch his eye. The Christopoulos University’s three-story library was renowned throughout the world, its lavish décor resembling a hall straight from the Versailles Palace. A room made of circular fifty-foot walls that reached all the way to the domed glass ceiling, all of them stacked with books, the library’s magnificent architecture never failed to inspire awe.

People often caught their breaths on their first visit.  Nick did so, too, today, when Carole Richards had given him a blowjob behind the last-row shelves on the ground floor.

Carole had been extremely skillful, and coming in her mouth had been fantastic. But now that he stood before Lilac, Nick thought with a frown, somehow it did not feel right anymore.

He glanced back down at the beautiful girl who captivated him without seemingly being aware of it. “
Hello, Lilac.
” Nick savored the way her name flowed silkily past his lips. No one hearing him would ever have guessed that in the six days that passed since they first met, he had been fucking every hot girl who came on to him.

He watched with amusement as she took a careless step back, only to bump into one of his security detail. She tried backing away in another direction, only to bounce back towards him. He did his very best not to smile as she tried this several times, much like a pinball, before realizing there was no escape.

Lilac stilled, and it gave him a chance to just look at her. Beautiful as she was, it only made Nick hate her clothes more, which belonged inside a garbage bin than outside it. Yet somehow it did nothing to dampen his interest. Looking at Lilac, Nick knew all the other girls he had taken to bed the past week had been nothing but mere distractions.

Lilac
was what he really wanted,
Lilac
he wanted to fuck,
Lilac
he wanted to claim as his own.

He had been true to his promise to Jilly. He had deliberately gone out of his way to avoid Lilac, but it was as if the Fates were insisting his shy little lamb was his to seduce and possess.

Cringing at the realization that Nick’s security team had practically caged her in with Nick Christakos, Lilac made herself look at Nick. Why, she wanted to ask him. Why did a billionaire like him waste time talking to her?

Lust slammed back into his body in full force when Lilac blinked at Nick, her air of perplexed silence suggesting she could not figure out why he was blocking her way.
Ah, sweetheart, do you really want me to fuck you here?
How could she not know what kind of power those blinking doll eyes of her wielded?

“Still not going to talk to me?” Nick’s voice was all sexy challenge and dark amusement – the voice, she thought miserably, of a consummate playboy that she stood no chance against.

Lilac pursed her lips as Nick Christakos sent her a devastatingly gorgeous smile, doing her best to stay aloof. The way he gazed at her was criminal, and the way his smile sent butterflies flying inside her tummy like they were drunk was even more worrying.

When he only continued to look at her, Lilac made herself nod – before shaking her head, realizing that her action may be misconstrued as her agreement to ignoring him. She paused and nodded, realizing that a shake of her head could also be misunderstood.

“
Lilac
.” Nick’s rich dark drawl hinted at barely suppressed laughter.

She froze, realizing she had just made a fool of herself.

“Just answer me with a yes or no,” he urged with a faint teasing tone in his voice.

Lilac wanted to glare at him. That was the problem! She did not want to speak to him at all!

A smile tugged at his lips. Lilac’s face was unreadable, but her pale violet eyes were more than expressive, and right now they were bright with frustration, the question in them almost audible.
Why don’t you just go away?

Make me,
the mocking gleam in his eyes answered back.

Lilac saw Nick gave a small nod, and his security team dispersed like shadows under command. It confused her, and when she looked back at Nick, he was gazing at her body. Lilac crossed her arms over her chest with a silent gasp.

Too late, sweetheart,
Nick thought. Her breasts were magnificently bountiful, very obvious even with the loose grandmother’s shirt she was wearing over brown leggings. Chuckling, he said teasingly, “See what you make me do if you continue to ignore me?”

Her doll eyes widened.

His cock swelled.

“Do you have any plans for today?” Nick hoped his words were enough to distract Lilac from the fact that he was again painfully aroused. It was too soon, and he didn’t want his pretty little lamb to run away scared.

Silence answered him, but this time Nick wasn’t bothered by it. He was already getting more attuned to the little nuances that revealed the real Lilac York behind her appallingly boring disguise. Right now, she was extremely nervous, made obvious by the way she was clenching and unclenching her fists on the sides.

Why,
Lilac wondered anxiously,
did Nick Christakos even care to ask what she did with the rest of her day? What kind of game was he playing?

“Lilac?” she heard Nick prod.

Trying to unknot her tongue without him noticing, she said slowly, “Yes. I have plans.”

“What is it?”

“I’m…going…home.”

Nick flashed Lilac a smile.
Ah, manari mou, did you really think that’s going to stop me from having you in my bed?

“Perfect then.”

Her eyes widened once more.

He almost laughed. But he decided to tease her further by swiftly taking hold of her hand and then pulling her with him, pretending he didn’t hear the way she quickly drew in several breaths. When she started to breathe more easily, Nick slowly caressed her knuckles, and Lilac started taking deep breaths once more.

But when he looked at her, she looked right back – and blinked curiously at him.

Nick laughed.

A confused frown marred her smooth forehead. What was so funny? When Nick’s laughter died down, she tried tugging her hand away but it was like trying to escape from steel cuffs. “Please…let me go.” It took everything in her not to stutter.

“No. I want you with me.”

Surely she hadn’t heard Nick Christakos say he wanted her with him? Frowning, Lilac asked in a perfectly polite voice, “Excuse me?”

He had an insane desire to laugh again. Any other girl would have been thrilled to hear those words from him, but Lilac York was acting like he had just spoken in Chinese. Even his security team was amused by it, if their hastily muffled coughs were any indication.

Nick tipped her chin, intending to tease her more, but when Lilac blinked at him again, Nick forgot whatever he was about to say. This close, her eyes were exquisite, and the way her lashes seemed to flutter was even more exquisitely…erotic.

Something primitive inside him burned and he bit out harshly, “Don’t ever do that in front other men.”

Another unintentional flutter of lashes followed, followed by a cute little frown.
You are so peculiar,
Lilac’s perplexed gaze seemed to say.

Nick scowled back.
And you are too goddamn naïve for your hot body to remain untouched.
He hoped that was what his scowl said, but even if it did he doubted Lilac would have understood. She was just too innocent, and the thought of having her blink those doll eyes up close at another man was a fucking nightmarish vision he didn’t want to become reality.

He turned to his head of security, uttered a command in Greek, and in seconds he had one of his spare pairs of aviator glasses handed to him. He always had spares for everything. It was one of the perks of his wealth, and right now it was a perk he was goddamn grateful for.

Before Lilac knew what Nick was doing, he had already slapped a pair of glasses on her face.

She automatically adjusted the dark designer sunglasses perched on her nose even as she asked in a bemused tone, “What…is this for?”

“The sun,” Nick answered curtly. “I don’t want it to hurt your eyes.”

Lilac opened her mouth to answer before thinking better of it. She shut her mouth again, feeling it was the lesser of two evils. Arguing with an arrogant billionaire over a pair of sunglasses just wasn’t worth it.

Satisfied that Lilac wasn’t going to argue, he made an effort to soften his voice as he asked, “Shall we go?” Lilac opened her mouth again, and this time Nick knew she was going to argue. “Never mind,” he told her. “It wasn’t a question.”

Before she knew it, Nick’s security team had swiftly cleared a path for them, and Lilac did her best to ignore the way all the other students were so obviously gossiping about them. Did they notice how impervious Nick was to their gawking eyes as he walked past them? He acted as if he knew he was worth staring at – and he wasn’t even going to bother pretending he wasn’t aware of it.

And oh dear Lord, Lilac hoped none of them noticed how tightly Nick Christakos was holding her hand. Because if they did, then they would all have noticed how tightly she held him back, too. Lilac didn’t want to, but somehow she couldn’t help
not
doing it either.

Nick only stopped walking when he reached his car in the school’s indoor parking lot, and he pulled Lilac to a stop next to him.