Stay With Me Read online

  Another song played and I couldn’t help but notice how Kilyn’s eyes lit up. It was clear music was important to her. Taking her hand, I kissed the back of it. Her mouth parted slightly before I led her out to the dance floor. Pulling her closer to me, she buried her head into my chest as we started dancing.

  Something was holding Kilyn back as much as it was holding me back. A part of me wanted to know what it was.

  Placing my finger under her chin, I lifted her eyes to mine and softly said, “Se skeftomai sinehia.”

  Her eyes lit up and she smiled. “What did you say?”

  I wasn’t sure why I kept talking to her in Greek. I never did that with Savannah. Not once did I ever utter a word to her in Greek.

  Swallowing the lump in the back of my throat, I said, “I’m constantly thinking about you.”

  Kilyn came to a stop as she stared into my eyes. Placing my hand on the side of her face, I looked deep into those beautiful green eyes while I ran my thumb over her soft lips. “I’m fighting the urge to kiss you.”

  She sucked in a breath of air and dropped her eyes to my lips. “Ti Káneis gia ména?”

  Swallowing hard, she asked, “What did you say?”

  My stomach was in knots as I answered, “What are you doing to me, ladybug?”

  Her eyes closed as she whispered my name, “Thano.”

  I needed to see what she tasted like more than I needed air to breathe. Pressing my lips to hers, she gripped onto my shirt tightly while letting out a soft moan into my mouth.

  Slipping my hand behind her neck, I grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled, causing her to open more to me, deepening our kiss.

  She tasted sweeter than honey and I forced myself to pull my lips away. If I kept kissing her, I’d want more. Need more.

  When I opened my eyes, hers were still closed. Releasing her hair, I ran the back of my hand down the soft skin of her face. My God she was beautiful.

  Opening her eyes, Kilyn smiled and took a step back. She drew her lip in between her teeth. “We should probably call it a night.”

  My heartbeat was pounding against my chest so hard I was sure Kilyn could hear it.

  With a slight smile, I replied, “We probably should. Do you want me to give you a ride home?”

  I regretted asking to take her home the moment it slipped from my lips. The attraction I felt for Kilyn was almost too strong to deny. Yet, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to move on.

  No. I’d never be able to move on, but I also didn’t want to lead her on. Use her like I’d used the other women to try and forget for a bit.

  “Are you sure? Claire and Blake live in the opposite direction of me and it would help them out if you could drop me off.”

  It wasn’t lost on me how she stressed me dropping her off. Maybe Kilyn wasn’t any more ready to take the next step than I was.

  Giving her a soft smile, I replied, “Sounds good.”

  After telling Claire and Blake I was taking her home, Kilyn grabbed her small purse and coat. We walked in silence out to my car. Walking up to the passenger side, I unlocked it and opened the door for her.

  With a huge grin, she shook her head and whistled. “A BMW M2 Coupé. Very nice.”

  “Very stupid,” I replied with a chuckle. “My parents told me to go sensible and I didn’t listen. I pay more for the car than my rent, I swear.”

  Kilyn laughed, leaving my body feeling strange in its wake.

  “Well, I’d take yours over mine any day.”

  She slipped in and I couldn’t help but notice how damn good she looked in my car. Shutting the door, I raced around the front and quickly jumped in. Putting it in drive, I took off toward Manitou Springs.

  “What kind of car do you have?” I asked.

  “Honda Accord two door.”

  Glancing over to her, I asked, “You don’t like it?”

  “I do. I let Claire talk me into it when I wanted something else. It still pisses me off I let her do that to me.”

  She turned and looked out the window, wringing her hands over and over.

  “Why do I get the feeling Claire talks you into, or should I say out of, things often?”

  With a gruff laugh, she replied, “Oh, yeah. She’s good at talking me out of stuff, even if I don’t need her to.” Her smile faded some as she continued. “She’s done a ton more stuff than I have. I envy her in a way.”

  “How so?” I truly wanted to learn more about Kilyn. She had a bit of a mysterious air about her.

  Stopping at a light, I looked over at her. She was staring straight ahead. “She’s been horseback riding. I haven’t, even though I’d love to. Oh, yeah, and she’s been on a Ferris wheel. That’s something I’ve never had a chance to do.”

  “Really? You’ve never been on a Ferris wheel?”

  “Nope,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ve never even been to a carnival, which really makes me sad.”

  I clutched my chest and sucked in a breath of air. “How? That’s like a staple of every childhood.”

  Her smile faded before she looked away. “Well, I didn’t have a normal childhood.”

  The pain in her voice bothered me and I couldn’t explain why. “Do your parents live around here?”

  Turning her head, she slowly blew out a deep breath. “No. They don’t.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should push her for more of an answer or not. I quickly decided I should.

  “Do you not talk to them anymore?”

  Her chin trembled before she plastered on a fake-ass grin. “My parents died in an accident when I was fourteen.”

  My heart dropped. “Shit. I’m so sorry, Kilyn. I wouldn’t have pushed if I had known.”

  With a shrug, she gave me a wink. “How would you have known?” She looked straight ahead and pointed to a building. “That’s me. You can pull up and I’ll jump out.”

  I was pissed at myself for feeling the way I was. A part of me was disappointed she wasn’t asking me up, but the other part of me was breathing a sigh of relief.

  “Will you be okay walking up on your own?”

  She narrowed her eyes and gave me a look I couldn’t read. “I mean, I can walk you up if you want?”

  With a breathtaking smile, she opened the door and got out. “Nah, Dave the doorman will make sure I get in okay.”

  The relief I felt knowing she would be okay surprised me. “Hey!” I shouted before she shut the door. “Are you off tomorrow?”

  Leaning in, she flashed me a sultry look. “Why? You want to go salsa dancing? I bet you can do that as well.”

  My cheeks almost burned, I was smiling so big. “I can, but that’s not what I was going to ask. There’s a storm blowing in later this weekend, but I thought maybe we could head up to the cabin earlier in the day so you can take a look at it.”

  “That’s right, me going up to your bachelor pad in the mountains was part of the deal wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, it was. So what do you say?”

  Pulling her lip between her teeth, she studied me for a few moments.

  “I think tomorrow will work. What time?”

  There was no way I could ignore the mixed emotions I was having. No doubt I was excited to spend more time with Kilyn, but I was also feeling tremendous guilt at the same time.

  “Ten too early for you?”

  Taking a step back, she scrunched her nose up in an adorable way. “Puh-lease. I’ll already be back from the gym and ready to go.”

  Putting my car in drive, I nodded. “Ten it is then.”

  I couldn’t really see those beautiful green eyes of hers, but I imagined they were sparkling like they always did when she was happy or excited. “Night, Thano.”

  “Good night, Kilyn.”

  She shut the car door and walked into her building, not once turning to look back at me.

  I drove off trying to decide if I was bothered by that or not.

  BY THE TIME I walked out of my kickboxing class, I was covered in sweat. All I wanted to do w
as get home, shower, and get ready for this trip up into the mountains with Thano.

  Pressing my lips together, I tried like hell to keep the stupid bubbly feelings of excitement down. This was new for me. This whole fluttering in my chest and my stomach dipping like I was driving fast down a road and hit a dip. Of course, I’d never met a guy like Thano either. The way he looked at me, talked to me, held me in his arms like I was something very special to him.

  My fingers moved to my lips; I swore they still tingled from his kiss last night. After I had gone up to my apartment, I lay awake in bed and cursed myself for not inviting him up. I didn’t want this to be just another fuck buddy type of thing. If I was going to let my walls down, I wanted it to be different.

  I shook my head and closed my eyes. Who was I kidding? I’d never fully let my walls down, but maybe, just maybe with Thano I could try.

  “Jesus, that is the look of a girl in love.”

  Snapping my head up, I stared at the girl standing in front of me. What was her name again? She didn’t have her nametag on and when I went to look, it appeared I was checking out her fake-ass boobs.

  “No, it is not a look of someone in love,” I snapped back.

  Wiggling her eyebrows, she replied, “You got lucky last night then?”

  I let out a fake laugh. “I wish.”

  Another girl ran up and practically attacked the nameless big-breasted receptionist. “Oh my God, Ann! There he is! The guy who left you that morning!”

  “Where?” Ann looked as she lifted up on her toes. Her eyes widened as she gasped, “What is he doing here? Don’t tell me he is a member here now.”

  Now I was intrigued. “What is who doing here?” I asked. If she was going to pry into my sex life, I was prying into hers.

  “This dick I met awhile back. I guess to him I was nothing more than another woman to spend the night with.” Her eyes turned dark as if remembering that night. “Asshole has no idea what he missed out on.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. What did she expect to get from a guy who only hooked up with her for sex? “Actually, I only came up to get next week’s schedule. Do you have it?”

  Ann kept her eyes focused on who I assumed was the dick who poked and ran. She reached for a schedule and handed it to me. “He’s coming this way.”

  “Stay strong, Ann,” the other girl said.

  Turning to leave, I ran smack into a familiar chest.

  “Now I’m beginning to wonder if you’re not the one stalking me, ladybug.”

  My eyes widened while I stood there frozen in place.

  Thano.

  My mouth went dry as I took him in. His white T-shirt was soaked with sweat and I could totally see every single line of his muscles beneath it.

  Yummy.

  This was insane. How many times were we going to run into each other? What was life trying to tell me?

  “You work out here?”

  He smiled that brilliant smile that melted my panties right off. How in the hell was I going to be able to survive this little trip with him when all I dreamt about was him on top of me. Or me on top of him. Oh, from behind I bet would be nice.

  I shook my head to clear my wayward thoughts.

  “Today is the first day I’ve tried out this new gym. Gus told me about it.”

  He looked over my shoulder and frowned when he saw Ann.

  My chest felt like a heavy weight was on it as I quickly figured out whom Ann was talking about. Shutting my eyes, I cursed.

  Damn it. I knew he was too good to be true. He was a player. Hooking up with women at clubs and then having sex. I should have known.

  “You probably don’t remember who I am, do you?” Ann said with sarcasm dripping off every single word.

  Thano gave her a smile, not the kind he gave me though. “I do. Your name is Ann.”

  “Wow, I’m impressed you took the time to remember.”

  Clearing his throat, Thano looked back at me and pinched his brows together. “I need to take care of something really quickly here. I’ll still pick you up at ten, right?”

  My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. He was excusing me to talk to his little fuck buddy and making plans to pick me up.

  Oh. Hell. No.

  “Seriously? Why are all guys such dicks? Maybe you need to find someone else to decorate your fuck pad.”

  Pushing past him, I headed toward the exit.

  “Kilyn!” Thano called out as I picked up my pace. I would have run if I thought it wouldn’t make me look like an insane person.

  If he thought I was going to be his next one-night stand, he had another think coming. And to think I let his stupid charming smile and sexy Greek words sneak in on me.

  I was almost to my car when I breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t come after me.

  Unlocking my car door, I opened it only to have it slammed shut again.

  “Wait. Kilyn.”

  Looking up at Thano, I placed my hands on my hips and shot him the dirtiest look I could muster up.

  “Let me go, Thano.”

  Shaking his head, he said, “No. Not until you let me explain something.”

  “There’s nothing to explain. Ann managed to tell me about the dick who screwed her and left when he got what he wanted.”

  His eyes narrowed and a look of anger washed over his face. “Is that so? Well, then maybe you should at least give me the same chance to tell my side of the story.”

  I laughed. “Your side? You fucked her and left her the next morning. What else is there to say? I’m not that type of girl, so you’re wasting your goddamn time.”

  Going to open my door, he blocked me. “Nice mouth, Kilyn. And I have plenty to say and you’re going to listen to me.”

  My entire body began to shake. “I don’t do well with being told what to do, Thano.”

  He pushed his hand through his still sweat-soaked hair. I hated that it made my insides pull with desire. And what I hated even more was how the authority in his voice turned me on. I vowed I’d never let another man have any sort of control over me, but something about when Thano did it was different.

  “Kilyn, please let me tell you something, and if you’re still pissed at me, I’ll let you go and I’ll find someone else to decorate the cabin, I swear. But please give me a chance. I don’t want you to leave angry.”

  The sadness in his eyes caused me to take a step away from my car. Crossing my arms over my chest, I let out a huff. “Fine. You have two minutes and then I’m out of here.”

  He shook his head as if trying to figure out how to talk himself out of this.

  “I lost someone very close to me, and for a long time I was fucked up. I hooked up with a few girls and had sex with them and it was all in fun. I always told them I wasn’t looking for anything but one night. It was the only way I could erase the pain for a bit. That and alcohol. I only did that with a few girls because the guilt drove me insane for weeks afterwards.”

  My heart felt as if it were breaking, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I knew Thano loved someone so much it would break him, or if it was from knowing he had meaningless one-night stands with other women. Deep down I knew it was a little of both.

  “I met Ann months ago at a club I went to with my brothers and Gus. Ann and a few of her friends ended up joining us at our table, and my brothers made sure I got pretty fucked up and kept pushing her on me. We danced a few times and I’m sure I said something that led her on. Ann offered to take me home. I was so fucked up I couldn’t even tell her my address. I had no intentions of sleeping with her; I promised myself I wasn’t going to get drunk and have sex with someone again. She ended up taking me back to her place and she said we slept together. I barely remembered it and I’m pretty sure I was so trashed I wouldn’t have been able to even have sex.”

  Rolling my eyes, I said, “Ugh. I don’t care to hear your details.”

  “I’m just saying, I don’t even think I actually had sex with the girl. I woke up the next morni
ng still in my boxer briefs. She made an advancement toward me and I tried to explain to her I wasn’t interested and I apologized for any misconduct on my part. Needless to say, she was pissed I was turning her down. Really pissed. She ended up throwing me and my clothes out onto the street where I had to call Gus to come pick me up.”

  I thought back to what Ann had said about Thano having no idea on what he missed out on. Come to think of it, she never actually said they had sex. I felt a little silly for the way I acted. It wasn’t like Thano was taking me out on a date for Christ’s sake. I was going to be working for him.

  Tilting my head, I stared at him. “Why are you telling me all of this? What do you care what I think?”

  He swallowed hard and shrugged. “I don’t know. The idea of you thinking I would sleep around bothered me. I like . . . I mean . . . I want . . . I um . . . shit.” He sighed as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

  My heart was racing. What does he like? What does he want? Dear God, what’s under his shirt?

  “Kilyn, you make me feel something I haven’t felt in a long time. It both excites and scares me. We keep running into each other and Gus would say it was a sign and, fuck I don’t know, maybe it is. All I really know is I want to get to know you better.”

  My brow lifted. “Get to know me better how?”

  His eyes turned dark while he quickly swept them over me. My body responded with a shudder. When he took a step closer to me, my heart was pounding so loudly I couldn’t hear my own thoughts.

  His hand slipped around the back of my neck, pulling me closer.

  Oh. Dear. God.

  My knees shook as I reached up and grabbed onto his arms to keep myself from falling. Thano softly ran his lips along my neck and a small moan slipped from my mouth.

  I could feel his hot breath on my skin as he talked in a low voice. “I want to know what I do that makes the pulse in your neck beat like this.”

  My breath caught when he pressed his lips to my neck and whispered, “Eísai tósi ómorfos.”

  The foreign words swam around in my mind so beautifully. With my breathing labored, I panted out, “I have no idea . . . what you . . . just said. But you can get to know me in any way you’d like.”