Nick and Lilac (16 page)

Tears stung her eyes as Lilac pulled back to hold his face with her hands. “Look at…me.” How could this beautiful man not see how strong and beautiful he was? When Nick’s tormented gaze met hers, she said haltingly but as firmly as she could, “I believe…in you. You’re strong.” Her face took a mulish expression even as her violet eyes sparkled more with unshed tears. “You are very…brave…and
fuck
everyone who…says you are not.”

As the darkness in Nick’s gaze faded, his arms went around Lilac, tightening until she almost had difficulty breathing. But she didn’t protest, knowing Nick needed this.

The understanding in Lilac’s words made him shudder, her voice a gentle embrace in itself that healed and made him believe again. Nick took her face in his. “You’re mine, Lilac,” he told her seriously because he fucking meant it. He had to. There was no longer any hope of a normal life without her, not as long as Karla didn’t come back. His chest squeezed hard as he made himself accept that it was more than possible Karla wouldn’t ever come back.

“I want to be your only guy friend.” He kissed her again, a kiss that also demanded her surrender. “You don’t need anyone else but me.” Nick looked into her eyes, telling her the words he couldn’t make himself say yet – that Lilac had to need him back because Nick only needed her.

Lilac’s hands slowly crept up, covering his.

And then she turned her face sideways so she could press a reassuring kiss to his palm, making him not just see but
feel
that she understood.

Nick pulled her back roughly into his arms. “Lilac.” The name was torn out of him in a low, hoarse cry.

“I…know.” Her arms crept around his neck and Lilac pressed her face against his chest, tears seeping to his shirt. “Don’t be scared…anymore. I’m here.”

****

“…and finally, the asshole who almost killed you, Jason, my
twin
brother,” Nick said with just the barest hint of temper two hours later. He had wanted to cancel the whole thing, but Lilac had insisted, fearing she would make the wrong impression if they ditched everyone at the last minute.

At Nick’s words, his friends winced while color stained his brother’s high cheekbones. “My apologies again,” Jason Christakos said stiffly.

“It’s not…your fault,” Lilac rushed to say, face flaming as she begged the powers that be to let her die. What was it with Nick Christakos that one moment he could make her feel so alive and then the next moment make Lilac want to kill herself?

She mustered the courage to look at Nick’s twin, who was completely identical but at the same time was also Nick’s opposite. “I’m so…sorry.” Mortification colored her voice. “I didn’t…know Nick…has a…twin.”

Silence.

The tall, cruelly beautiful man with green eyes standing next to Nick finally asked, “You seriously didn’t know?”

“Reid, dammit,” Nick gritted out, seeing the way Lilac turned red at the question.

Reid was at a loss for words, realizing that Nick’s “friend” really did mean it. How could someone
not
know that Nick and Jason Christakos were twins? His gaze narrowed, taking in Lilac York’s beauty, her abhorrent taste in clothes, and the lack of artifice in her pale violet eyes.

“I’m not aware…much…of current…news.” Her tone was serious and extremely apologetic, and she made it sound as if Nick and Jason Christakos’ love lives were as important as the political situation in the Middle East.

Reid shook his head, amazed. This girl was the real deal. She wasn’t just another fake bitch who had managed to gold-dig her way under his friend’s skin. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she had no idea who he or Christien was, and she didn’t seem to be affected at all by the fact that she was in a room filled with billionaires.

She was not, Reid was satisfied to see, another Karla in the making.

“What the fuck did you do to deserve this kind of girl, Nick?” he muttered under his breath in Greek.

When Lilac started to blink in confusion, Nick was prepared, slapping a pair of 3D glasses on her. “No blinking,” he hissed.

She didn’t know if she wanted to strangle Nick or herself. “
Nick
.”

“What,” the blond blue-eyed angel with the mixed European accent asked with extreme interest – Christien if she recalled correctly – “---does blinking have to do with anything?”

“Nothing,” Nick and Lilac answered simultaneously, his voice threatening, hers embarrassed.

Nick’s other friend inserted smoothly, “We’re all delighted to meet you, Lilac.” This one was from Derek Christopoulos, and his gorgeous face was the only one she recognized, being the son of their university’s founding member and one whose generous donations and insightful thank-you letters made the SAC anniversaries extra special.

Derek flashed a devilish smile. “We’ve heard so much about you.”

Lilac’s eyes widened but she didn’t answer, didn’t dare say a word because she had a feeling she would stutter if she did. Words were stuck in her throat and she tossed a helpless look at Nick.

Nick caught sight of it, and without missing a beat he put an arm around Lilac’s shoulders, saying with feigned irritation, “Don’t listen to him, Lilac. I haven’t told any of the guys a goddamn thing about how you and I at the park---”

She forgot all about being nervous in the presence of Derek Christopoulos, her eyes widening at what Nick was saying. “
Nick!
”

He grinned, never having heard Lilac wail before, and it was a sweet adorable sound – like everything about her was. It made him hard, imagining how Lilac would wail if he played with her body for hours without making her come until the very end.

Lilac’s disapproving violet gaze sought Nick’s.
How could you?

Nick’s blue eyes laughed at her.
Because I can, sweetheart.

Derek coughed, and the sound had Lilac quickly look away from Nick, flustered. Derek was fascinated, having never before encountered a girl like Lilac York. Nick had warned them that Lilac York was
different,
but he hadn’t thought she’d be this…charmingly reserved, so much so it felt like
they
were the ones who were privileged to be with her than the other way around.

Oddly, she reminded him of his Jaike, and the thought had another kind of smile curving on Derek’s lips. This one was of fondness, and Derek looked at Nick, letting his friend tacitly know of his approval.

Nick rolled his eyes at Derek’s not-so-subtle message, but he was not really bothered by it. Deep satisfaction was coursing through his veins because of the way Lilac appeared so unbelievably oblivious to his friends. He had a sudden urge to kiss her, claim her for his but he kept his hands to himself with an effort. He hadn’t yet talked to Lilac about her boundaries regarding their friendship but that had to go away – soon.

Derek bit back a sigh when he saw the way his friend was looking at Lilac. It was more than how friends should look at each other, but it was not yet love and that was a damn fucking shame. Nick Christakos might be one of the most cunningly resourceful men in the business world, but he was terrifyingly blind when it came to love. Derek could only hope that Lilac would finally be the one to make his friend forget about the bitch he had the misfortune to fall in love with.

Cold sweat bathed her skin as Reid Chalkias, Christien di Luca, and Derek Christopoulos continued to gaze at her intently. It was as if she was being weighed and measured of her worthiness to live. She adjusted the 3D glasses on her nose. Thank God the dark modified lenses had them a little disfigured or she would probably have run away in fear by now. They were just too intimidating.

Sensing Lilac’s nervousness, Nick was about to snap at his friends and pull Lilac close to him when his brother suddenly stepped forward, saying with a smile, “My turn to introduce myself.”

Jason Christakos’ easygoing manners put Lilac at ease, and she found herself smiling back tentatively.

“I’m sorry for the fright I gave you. It wasn’t intentional---” He paused, appearing almost embarrassed. “This is the first time I’ve heard of someone who doesn’t know we’re twins.”

Lilac winced. “I see photos…online of Nick…but I never thought…to read…the articles.”

“Ah.” Jason looked at his brother slyly. “Well, now that you know we’re twins – I have to warn you about one thing.”

“What?”

“You might like me more after this.” Jason gave her a solemn nod. “It’s a well known fact Nick’s the less charming between the two of us.” He leaned close to say in a confidential whisper, “Not to mention the fact he’s extremely arrogant.”

A smile flitted over her lips. “Not just…conceited,” Lilac told Nick’s brother. “Don’t forget…selfish, too.”

There was a moment of silence before Nick’s friends burst into laughter.

Nick’s eyes found hers.
You’ll pay for that, sweetheart.

Her eyes laughed at him.
We’ll see about that…sweetheart.
She mouthed the last word.

He blinked.

She mouthed at him,
Don’t blink.

This time, Nick laughed, not knowing that everyone in the room had noted their silent exchange and everyone was uneasy, for very different reasons.

****

Two hours later, the balcony doors slid open as Christien joined him outside. Over Christien’s shoulder, Nick caught sight of Lilac laughing as Jason, with his arms around her, tried to teach her how to effectively fight against Derek with a Wii-Nunchuk-powered sword.

“That’s fucking cheating,” Derek was growling.

“You know how Jason is,” answered Reid, his arms stretched wide on the back of the sofa. “He’s always helpful with the women.”

Ignoring the two, Jason gently held Lilac’s playing wrist and guided it through the motions of swinging her imaginary sword. “That’s how you perform the finishing move…”

Derek said mockingly in a falsetto voice, “Oh, Jason, please teach me, too?”

When he saw Lilac blink in surprise before laughing at Derek’s antics, making her fall back against Jason, Nick controlled the urge to stroll back in and yank her out of Jason’s hold.

His brother answered Derek in the same feminine tone. “I’d rather fucking die.”

Lilac’s peal of laughter filled the room, and it was the last sound Nick heard before Christien pulled the balcony doors closed. When Nick glanced at him, Christien murmured, “They’ve become inordinately close in a short amount of time, haven’t they?”

Nick, still struggling to breathe naturally, managed a nonchalant shrug. “She probably finds it easier to relax with him because we’re twins.”

“Probably.”

Nick glanced at his friend with irritation. “Spit it out, di Luca. You never say anything without a point.”

“Your brother is drawn to her.”

His fists clenched and unclenched. “She’s mine.”

“No,” Christien said implacably. “She is your
friend.
Your words – not mine. If you really do mean that then you should, as a friend, let your brother know what your intentions are towards Lilac York.”

“We have an understanding,” Nick said tightly. “And that’s all anyone has to know.”

“You should tell your brother that.”

“If he wants her, he could just ask. But she won’t say yes. She knows she belongs to me.”

Christien raised a brow. “Are you sure about that?”

Was he fucking sure about that?

This was Jason – his brother. His fucking twin – and he was so much the better man than Nick could ever be.

“I like Lilac York.”

Nick threw Christien a disgusted glance.

A smile briefly formed on his friend’s lips. “Not that way, Nick. I like her – as a human being.”

The admission startled Nick. Although Christien was the most charming and polite among them, never lacking for a compliment to dispense, what most people didn’t know was that it was all a façade for the French-Greek heir, his courteous manners simply a means to conceal his heartless way of looking at the world.

“She is a nice girl, and I believe with your brother she can have a
happier
future.”

The words stung.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Nick acknowledged in a hard voice. “But she’s happy with
me
now and that’s the only thing that should fucking matter.”

****

“Did you have fun tonight?”

She gave Nick a hesitant smile, more than aware of his cold mood for some time now. He had been positively glacial when he had told the rest of his friends that the night was over and had even used Lilac’s morning classes the next day as an excuse. She had wanted to protest, but the icy look in Nick’s blue eyes had made Lilac swallow her protest.

His chest squeezed hard at the smile on Lilac’s face.

Inside the car, Nick took her hand and placed it under his on the gear stick, startling Lilac. “What is…it?”

“I just want to hold you.”

“Oh.” And she knew something was wrong, something Nick couldn’t bring himself to say just yet.

Nick smiled, but he didn’t say anything else and he didn’t let go of her hand either.