by Marian Tee
But like I always say: as long as you guys keep reading, I'll keep writing.
Until our next journey,
Marian Tee
P.S. I have included excerpts to the stories of characters you've met here, such as Lace's friends Aria and K.C. and even her own big brother Slade Wyndham. For other characters, please check out my character database.
P.P.S. If you enjoyed my work, please consider posting even the shortest and simplest review for Boys. It is always a huge help to indie authors who don't have the necessary funds to keep up with the marketing budgets of traditional publishing.
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Kellion:
Greek. Biker. Billionaire.
(Kellion and Aria's story)
Before leaving for class, I peeked through my door’s peephole and saw...no one. The hallway was empty.
Yay!
The word sounded forced even to my own ears, but I told myself it was only because I was so used to being stalked. This was just another form of Stockholm syndrome, I told myself.
So Kellion Argyros had been walking me to school every single day of the entire week. It wasn’t like I had wanted it. Actually, the biker had been the one to force his company on me, not the other way around.
If he never showed up again—-
I faltered in my footsteps.
Weird. My chest felt so tight. I glanced down at my blouse. Maybe it had started to shrink? Or maybe I had gotten even curvier?
Rounding the corner to reach the stairs, I was about to take the first step down when I realized someone was blocking my way.
“Good morning, terataki.”
“Aaaaaaah!” Shock at seeing Kellion Argyros had me losing my balance, and his hard arms wrapped around me as I stumbled against his strong, powerful form.
His body vibrated with laughter against me even as his hands spanned my waist. “You’re throwing yourself at me now?” he teased in a low whisper. “You missed me that much, eh?” Normally, Kellion spoke like any ordinary American guy but when he was with me, his Greek accent seemed to thicken, like he knew how I found it so secretly thrilling.
Red-faced at his words, I pulled away. Pulling out my board from my jumper’s pocket, I wrote. Go away.
But he only laughed and, covering my hand, he made me put my board back into my pocket. “You can just look at me, terataki, and I’ll know what you want to say.”
Weeeeeeird. My chest always felt tight around him. Maybe this was a posthumous symptom of my trauma.
Kellion was pulling my hand, and I knew by now there was no force on Earth that would make him let me go. He was supposed to be one of the most easygoing members of the Afxisi, so why was he so darn stubborn with me?
We were still playing tug of war by the time we left my dorm. Everyone still stared at us, but because he – we – had been doing this for days, they were no longer shocked. Now, they were just...puzzled.
What was Afxisi’s VP doing with a sick person like me?
Honestly, I wish I knew the answer to that, too.
Kellion was quiet as he dragged me to school. I would never admit it to anyone, but his silence was refreshing. He was one of the few people who really got me. Just because I couldn’t – didn’t – speak didn’t mean they had to fill the silence for me.
“I can feel your pretty eyes on me.” Kellion didn’t look at me as he spoke, but I could see the way a grin was tugging at his beautiful thin lips as he did.
Embarrassment flooded my cheeks with color, and I tried tugging away from him harder.
Kellion looked at me with a shake of his head. “It was not a complaint. You do know that, don’t you?”
Tingle, tingle. I hated the way he made my body feel so alive with just a few words. I felt so stupid around him. Those were all just lines, darn it. Why couldn’t I get my body to understand those were all just empty words to get me in his bed?
When we reached my building, I forced us to a halt by digging my feet.
Kellion stopped as well, reluctantly. “You don’t want me to go up with you?”
My eyes bored through him.
He gave me a hurt look. “You’re embarrassed of me?”
I nodded profusely.
Kellion laughed. “Too bad for you, I know you’re lying.” His grip loosened but before I could pull away, he brought my hand to his mouth and pressed a wet, warm kiss against my palm.
Aaaaargh!
He had done it again.
He always, always, always managed to take me by surprise with that.
Kellion released my hand, and I quickly rubbed my palm against the denim of my jumper, wanting to get rid of the feel of his touch. Over my head, I heard Kellion chuckle, the sound low and seductive.
Tingle, tingle, tingle – so many of them it was impossible to count, but I told myself it was because he grossed me out and not for any other reason.
“See you later?”
I shook my head without looking up at him.
“See you later or it’s not your hand I’ll kiss the next time.”
I quickly looked up at him and nodded firmly. See you later.
His lips twitched. “That’s my girl.”
And then he was walking away, like a beautiful elusive dream that I could only have at certain times – but never forever.
Love You Again
(K.C. and Yuki's story)
Let’s just call him X - the first and only guy I’ve ever loved – also the first and only guy who’s broken my heart. I used to think that trauma caused by ugly breakups was only a thing in books, movies – and yes, manga – until of course it happened to me.
On hindsight, I really should have known better. He had so many issues it was only a matter of time before one of them drove us apart. And even if that hadn’t happened, we still wouldn’t have worked out. He was this perfect, gorgeous guy who had everything going for him while I...well, let’s just say I didn’t turn out to be this super-smart girl everyone thought me to be.
I hate him as much as I fear him, so much so that even in my dreams I can’t make myself think of his name, much less say it. It’s like my mind’s completely blocked the sound of it, and now his name works like a breakdown trigger. If I let myself say his name, that’s it, and believe me – what happens after isn’t pretty.
So yeah, it’s that bad between us, but I’m determined to put it all behind me now. I’ve moved to another country, doing my best to get my shite together. I’ve even made myself attend a goukon (a group dating thing) in hopes of finding love again.
Everything’s going well...
Until I bumped into him.
X.
Bloody. Bloody. Bloody hell.
The sight of him has my world spinning out of its axis, my face draining of color, my throat locking oxygen out—-
I can’t remember feeling more terrified than I was at that moment. But the worst thing is – I can’t remember when the last time I felt so alive either.
YUKI IS NO LONGER MOVING, but he doesn’t turn to face me either, and bloody hell, but it has me torn between crying and laughing again. Oh, Yuki. Only a god would tear a girl’s heart into pieces and then expect her to run after him.
My knees knock against each other as I slowly make my way to him. With every step I take, a part of me waits for something to stop this from happening, for someone to interrupt us, just for the fates to prove I’m making the biggest mistake of my life.
But nothing happens, and gradually the inches between us fade into millimeters, until there’s no room to change my mind. Once again, azure meets emerald in an untouchable second, and oh. This part never changes. He’s still the Ursula to my Ariel, and the sheer beauty of him takes my voice away.
Time waltzes by, and sunlight flickers between us. I draw my breath then draw another. “So...”
“What do you want?” The hardness of
his voice is jarring and incisive, smashing the whitewashed grip of nostalgia on my reality.
And just like that I’m back in the present, and I remember the most painful truth: the only boy I’ve ever loved...no longer wants anything to do with me. It’s in the way he looks at me, talks to me. The way his entire body is so tense, like he can’t wait for me to disappear.
Why? Why are you like this? Why?
I see his jaw harden, and it’s only then I realize that I hadn’t just cried the words out in my mind. They’re out in the open, like an exposed wound I can no longer deny.
“Why should it matter?” he snarls. “And shouldn’t this be the other way around? Shouldn’t you be angrier with me?”
“G-good question.” And this time, my laughter wins over the tears, but the sound comes out ugly and choking, and it only makes his jaw start ticking.
“So why the fuck aren’t you?”
“Because I can’t.” Again, the words are out before I can think them through, and again they’re not making me look any stronger. It’s the opposite, and if all he knew earlier was that I was hurting, what he knows now is worse.
But I’m way past caring.
Lifting my chin, I say haltingly, “I k-know what you asked Seiji and Momo—-”
He cuts me off with a mocking laugh. “And that’s all it takes for you to forgive me?” His voice turns scathing. “One nice little deed and it’s enough to wipe the slate clean?”
“Why are you being like this?” I demand shakily. “You would never have asked your friends to check on me if—-” I manage to stop myself, but the cold contempt in his gaze tells me it is too late.
“Since you seem to need me to spell it out – no one,” he stresses in a hard voice, “is asking you to figure out anything. But if you want to know the truth, then it’s that I made a fucking mistake. I wanted you to have Momo as a friend as a way of making up for dumping you. I never thought you’d be stupid enough to read anything else in it, and that’s my mistake.” His voice becomes grim. “That’s all this is. A mistake. Is that clear enough for you?”
I don’t answer.
I can’t.
Mistakes like me don’t have the right to.
Slade:
The Billionaire Rancher
and The Waitress
A Secret Tycoons of Wyoming Novel
(Slade Wyndham's story)
In the small Wyoming town he calls his second home, billionaire Slade Wyndham trades his thousand-dollar suits for aprons and jeans, and instead of wheeling and dealing in the boardroom, he's manning the counter at Redwood Cafe and whipping up the best latte art in town.
It's a (seasonal) role Slade's come to enjoy, but when quiet little mouse Kady applies as a part-time waitress, the billionaire finds himself adding a new job title to his résumé: fairy godfather, with Slade unable to resist the urge of teaching Kady how to stand up for herself and steal back her Prince Charming from her fake best friend.
As Kady blossoms under Slade's tutelage, all signs should've pointed to a happy-ever-after ending...until the billionaire realized he was better suited to be a villain.
Women like Kady deserved to be wooed and wedded, but what if all Slade wanted was to bed her?
TINY. PALE. BLONDE. Like a toothpick version of his baby sister Lace or a shyer version of Farica. Either way, it was clear to Slade the girl was damn near petrified of him. She was shaking like a leaf, and if he had her speak, he hadn't any doubt the girl would end up stammering again.
So, yeah, petrified.
Petrified.
And when Farica turned to look at him over her shoulder, her wide-eyed expression told Slade that she had come to the same conclusion as he did.
The girl was petrified, just that.
And for both of them, that changed everything.
Farica quickly pasted a smile on her lips just as Slade got rid of his scowl, and throughout this they had also swiftly made their way to the newcomer, both of them intent on not letting this heaven-sent opportunity slip past their fingers.
OMG, finally, Farica was thinking. A girl who wasn't bowled over by Slade's looks!
Let this girl be the fucking last, Slade was thinking at the same time. He had gone through five waitresses in the past three months, and he was getting fucking tired of having to go through the whole recruitment and training process over and over.
"I'm so sorry you had to see us at each other's throats like that," Farica said ever so sweetly even as she determinedly took hold of the other girl's arm, just to make sure the latter wouldn't have any chance of escaping.
"It's mostly my business partner's fault, of course," Slade inserted smoothly as he pulled a chair for the girl he was determined to have working for him.
"Yeah right," Farica muttered.
Ignoring this, Slade flashed a wicked smile the other girl's way, just to see how she'd react. "You believe me, don't you?" The simple banter would've made most women titter and come on to him, but instead the girl was fighting against a visible urge to shrink away.
Perfect.
Farica tried not to roll her eyes at the way her billionaire friend was practically purring in a mixture of satisfaction and fiendish amusement as he continued to question the girl, who was now seated between her and Slade.
What's your name, sweetheart?
K-Kady Abrams.
Do you have your résumé with you?
Y-yes, sir.
Please call me Slade.
S-S-S-S-S-S...
Taking pity at the way the billionaire had Kady near tears, Farica said quickly, "You can call him Mr. Wyndham, too, if it makes you more comfortable."
This had the girl throwing Farica a look of relief, and Slade, seeing this, said silkily, "I won't like it, though."
Kady looked like she was about to cry again, and Farica was torn between exasperation and irritation. Dammit, Slade. She shot him a look that silently demanded an explanation. Couldn't he see how out of sorts Kady was around him?
But when Slade's massive shoulders only moved in a lazy shrug, Farica knew it would be no use arguing the point. The man could be annoyingly mercurial when he wanted to be, and for whatever reason, it seemed as if he had developed a sudden but rather sadistic fondness for their future employee.
Turning back to Kady, Farica explained the rest of the specifications of the job and was surprised when the girl actually accepted her offer of free board and lodging. "Are you sure about that?" she couldn't help asking. "I'm not always here, you know, so there'll be times when it's just going to be you and Slade—-"
"Making me sound like some sex-starved maniac won't benefit anyone here." The billionaire shot his business partner a warning look. Do you want this girl to start working for us or not? Because the way Steel's woman was painting him to look like some monstrous perv, the still adorably jittery Kady Abrams might just end up bolting out of their sight and never return.
Shit, Farica thought with a mental wince. Slade was right. If she wanted Kady to work for them, she had to focus on making the girl feel at ease rather than giving her more reasons to run away. She turned to face Kady, intending to apologize, but was instead taken aback when the other girl seemed even more horrified.
"I w-would n-never..." While the other girl's face had completely been without color a minute ago, her tomato-red cheeks now seemed fit to burst in what seemed like shock and mortification. "I'm...me...and Mr. W-Wyndham...never...never..."
It took a while for Slade to make sense of the girl's unique way of speaking, but a smile slowly curved over his lips as understanding eventually dawned. Apparently, this girl thought he was so out of her league it would've been a mortal sin for her to even think he'd look her way.
Farica could feel her confusion growing as she saw the way her friend's blue eyes gleamed at how the girl was fidgeting under his lazy gaze. While Kady's words absolutely made no sense to her, it was as if Slade had not only understood her but whatever those words meant had also caused the bi
llionaire to take immense pleasure from the girl's obvious discomfort.
The man was enjoying himself a little too much, Farica observed uneasily. Hopefully, though, this was just a momentary diversion, and his interest in Kady would eventually wane.
He was Slade Wyndham, after all, and while he played the role of small cafe owner to perfection, it didn't mean anything about him had fundamentally changed. Outside Hartland, Slade was still the cynical, womanizing billionaire that he had always been.
And as far as Farica knew, a girl like Kady had never appealed to him.
Never.
And yet—-
Farica tried not to be too conspicuous as she studied Slade, who was now (torturing) talking to Kady again, which of course had the other girl back to squirming. The whole thing almost seemed like a prelude to flirting but...
I'm probably just imagining things, Farica told herself. Right?