clothes on the opposite side of the street. He stopped when he reached her side, and when she still ignored him, Nick planted himself firmly in front of Lilac.
****
The museum was crowded with faces both familiar and unfamiliar, but no one bothered to speak to her and she was happy it was so. She could spend hours looking at these paintings, could lose herself in imagining that she was in one of its paint-brushed worlds. There, she would be a beautiful girl, one with friends and suitors aplenty---
“Milady,” a voice suddenly whispered devilishly from somewhere behind her.
---and certainly she would not be pursued by a duke whose motives she still could not comprehend.
Could she pretend she had not heard him?
“If you do not look at me, my darling girl, you will regret it.” But the way the duke said the words, it was as if he was not delivering a threat but the most tempting of promises.
She muttered crossly, “I am not your darling girl.” But even so, she was already turning. Her heart beat madly, knowing once again she would be gazing upon the duke’s coldly beautiful face.
It was, Lilac thought with an inner sigh as she shook herself out of her reverie, impossible to ignore a person if that person was made of six-foot-plus of sheer gorgeousness.
And arrogance , she added to herself. She should never forget that Nick was the personification of arrogance.
Nick’s gaze was all smoldering wickedness and laughter when she finally raised her eyes to meet his. This close, he easily took her breath away and Lilac doubted there would ever be a moment he would not do so. He was just too much of a Greek god in real life to do anything but make people catch their breaths, wondering what they did to deserve seeing him up close and personal.
Again, he was dressed elegantly, beautifully, so overwhelmingly sophisticated that one would never fail to realize he was a billionaire first and foremost, an MBA student after.
No jeans, no crumpled shirts, absolutely nothing homely was allowed for Nick Christakos – it was as if he wanted to remind everyone he was the closest thing to perfection alive. And then there were his clothes – Lilac suppressed a sigh. Nick’s clothes never made him less male, never failed when it came to emphasizing how amazingly sexy his body was – broad shoulders, strong arms with extremely defined cuts, rock-hard chest with jaw-dropping abs, and long muscular legs.
Lilac should know. She had just downloaded five more photos of Nick Christakos last night.
“You’re staring,” Dorothy whispered under her breath.
She jerked. She blinked. And when she saw Nick grin lazily, Lilac blushed.
Nick sighed. “I warned you about that, Lilac.”
Lilac’s blush deepened.
“Lilac.” Nick uttered her name as if he was in pain.
She protested, “I…can’t help it.”
“Try harder.”
She did as he said, doing her best to stem the color from flooding her cheeks. She watched Nick close his eyes for a moment, looking as if he was in torment. When he opened his eyes, those blue orbs of his were wry.
He sighed. “You look more beautiful each time I see you.”
She almost jumped at the words. It was too close to what her imaginary duke said to her imaginary Regency self, and the coincidences was getting to be far too many for comfort.
“It’s as if you’re blooming.” Nick knew the term was fucking old-fashioned, but it fit Lilac’s looks perfectly.
Lilac blinked. “You…are the second person who told me that.”
The words provoked something inside Nick. It took him a few moments to realize he was jealous. Nick couldn’t remember the last time he felt like that. Had it been when he had first started going out with Karla, and she had still insisted on dating other boys? That time he had been furious, and Nick had only been able to forgive Karla after her tearful admission that it was because she had been insecure about him.
The cynical part of Nick made him wonder if this was
****
The museum was crowded with faces both familiar and unfamiliar, but no one bothered to speak to her and she was happy it was so. She could spend hours looking at these paintings, could lose herself in imagining that she was in one of its paint-brushed worlds. There, she would be a beautiful girl, one with friends and suitors aplenty---
“Milady,” a voice suddenly whispered devilishly from somewhere behind her.
---and certainly she would not be pursued by a duke whose motives she still could not comprehend.
Could she pretend she had not heard him?
“If you do not look at me, my darling girl, you will regret it.” But the way the duke said the words, it was as if he was not delivering a threat but the most tempting of promises.
She muttered crossly, “I am not your darling girl.” But even so, she was already turning. Her heart beat madly, knowing once again she would be gazing upon the duke’s coldly beautiful face.
It was, Lilac thought with an inner sigh as she shook herself out of her reverie, impossible to ignore a person if that person was made of six-foot-plus of sheer gorgeousness.
And arrogance , she added to herself. She should never forget that Nick was the personification of arrogance.
Nick’s gaze was all smoldering wickedness and laughter when she finally raised her eyes to meet his. This close, he easily took her breath away and Lilac doubted there would ever be a moment he would not do so. He was just too much of a Greek god in real life to do anything but make people catch their breaths, wondering what they did to deserve seeing him up close and personal.
Again, he was dressed elegantly, beautifully, so overwhelmingly sophisticated that one would never fail to realize he was a billionaire first and foremost, an MBA student after.
No jeans, no crumpled shirts, absolutely nothing homely was allowed for Nick Christakos – it was as if he wanted to remind everyone he was the closest thing to perfection alive. And then there were his clothes – Lilac suppressed a sigh. Nick’s clothes never made him less male, never failed when it came to emphasizing how amazingly sexy his body was – broad shoulders, strong arms with extremely defined cuts, rock-hard chest with jaw-dropping abs, and long muscular legs.
Lilac should know. She had just downloaded five more photos of Nick Christakos last night.
“You’re staring,” Dorothy whispered under her breath.
She jerked. She blinked. And when she saw Nick grin lazily, Lilac blushed.
Nick sighed. “I warned you about that, Lilac.”
Lilac’s blush deepened.
“Lilac.” Nick uttered her name as if he was in pain.
She protested, “I…can’t help it.”
“Try harder.”
She did as he said, doing her best to stem the color from flooding her cheeks. She watched Nick close his eyes for a moment, looking as if he was in torment. When he opened his eyes, those blue orbs of his were wry.
He sighed. “You look more beautiful each time I see you.”
She almost jumped at the words. It was too close to what her imaginary duke said to her imaginary Regency self, and the coincidences was getting to be far too many for comfort.
“It’s as if you’re blooming.” Nick knew the term was fucking old-fashioned, but it fit Lilac’s looks perfectly.
Lilac blinked. “You…are the second person who told me that.”
The words provoked something inside Nick. It took him a few moments to realize he was jealous. Nick couldn’t remember the last time he felt like that. Had it been when he had first started going out with Karla, and she had still insisted on dating other boys? That time he had been furious, and Nick had only been able to forgive Karla after her tearful admission that it was because she had been insecure about him.
The cynical part of Nick made him wonder if this was
Similar Books
