Her eyes filled with tears and her hands dropped to her lap. Her chin trembled as she looked at the diamond and then back up into my eyes. “Is this really happening? Is this for real?”
Smiling, I nodded.
With a smile as big as the Texas sky, she exclaimed, “Yes! Yes, I will marry you!”
My hand laced through her hair while I grabbed her neck and pulled her lips to mine. There was nothing about this moment I would ever forget.
Not even when the ride stopped moving and we sat stuck at the very top for over an hour before they finally got the damn thing running again.
It was the best night of my life.
I WAS FLYING high as Thano and I walked into the lobby of the Warwick Melrose Hotel. My eyes bounced all over as I took in the beauty of it all.
Reaching for my hand, he laced his fingers with mine as we walked to the front desk.
When we stopped, the young girl’s eyes lit up at the sight of Thano. I was used to it now. The gawks and looks from women. Some even had the nerve to flirt with him right in front of me. At first it pissed me off, but in the end I was the one going home with him, so what did it matter.
“Good evening, welcome to the Warwick Melrose.”
We both smiled as Thano replied, “Hey there. Reservations for Thano Drivas.”
The girl quickly began typing. Her face lit up as she looked between the two of us.
“Yes, Mr. Drivas, I see we have you in our presidential suite.”
My head whipped over to look at Thano. He chuckled and said, “No, I think you have that wrong. I only booked a king suite.”
She glanced down at her computer again. Shaking her head, she replied, “No. No, I have here you are to be put in the presidential suite. You originally booked the king suite, but someone called and changed it. It also appears your two-night stay with us has been prepaid.”
I was positive my jaw was on the ground.
“Does it say who called and changed it?” Thano asked.
She searched on her computer. “Looks like it was a Mr. Dimitris Drivas.”
“Pateras,” Thano whispered.
Scrunching my nose up, I thought for a moment. I was almost positive that meant father.
The young girl smiled. “So, here is your key, and you also have access to the private entrance around the side of the hotel if you would like to use it.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Thano responded with a small chuckle.
After giving us the key and a map of the hotel and surrounding area, she grinned from ear to ear. “Are y’all here celebrating anything?”
I almost said no before I remembered the ring on my finger. Holding it up, I felt my heart quicken. “Thano asked me to marry him this evening.”
“Congratulations! How exciting. Well, I hope we are able to make your engagement that much more special.”
Thano looked at me and wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, I think we have that covered.”
The moment we walked into the room, we both let out a gasp. I spun around and laughed. “This is bigger than your apartment!”
The living area was huge and had enough seating for Thano’s entire family. Okay . . . maybe not all of them.
The kitchen was a full size kitchen that led to a dining room that seated ten people.
“We’re totally having sex on that table,” Thano said in a seductive voice.
Nodding in agreement, we made our way to the bedroom. My hands immediately came up to my mouth as I took in the sight before me.
The room was absolutely the most beautiful room I’d ever seen. “Look at the fabrics and colors they used in here,” I gasped. The use of the cream and blue colors was beyond breathtaking.
Thano let out a chuckle. “Only you would notice the fabric and not the flowers.”
In that moment, I was overcome with the smell of flowers. There were vases of daisies everywhere. Every color and every size.
“I can’t believe your dad did this!”
Taking me in his arms, Thano captured my eyes with his. “My father had nothing to do with the flowers. I asked for that to be done.”
My heart melted on the spot and my stomach fluttered.
“I love it. It’s very romantic.”
His lips moved gently along my jaw line as my body erupted in goose bumps and my breath stalled.
“You haven’t even begun to see romantic yet, ladybug.”
“Yes, please.”
Pressing his lips to mine, I got lost in the kiss like I always did.
What was I even thinking earlier when I tried to leave? My life would never be the same without Thano. He was the very air I needed to breathe.
He whispered against my lips, causing a shiver to run down my back. “Love me, forever.”
“Forever,” I softly replied.
Thano slowly began to lift my shirt over my head while he continued to speak.
“Never doubt my love for you.”
With a lazy shake of my head, I whispered back, “Never.”
Reaching behind my back, he expertly unclasped my bra and removed it. His mouth was on my nipple as his hand played with the other, building my desire.
“Thano,” I gasped as he moved his lips down my stomach while dropping to his knees.
Unbuttoning my jeans, he peered up and smiled at me. The same one that showed his dimples, and absolutely made my heart soar.
My jeans and panties were quickly pulled down while I stepped out of them and kicked them to the side. With a quickening heartbeat, I pulled Thano up and started to undress him, and not in the slow romantic way he undressed me. It was frantic and rushed. I needed to feel him up against my bare skin.
He engulfed me in an embrace, eliciting a moan from each of us.
“You feel so good,” he said, lifting me up while I wrapped my legs around him.
Walking us over to the bed, he gently laid me down. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire.
“Slide up the bed, ladybug.”
I quickly did as he asked. I wasn’t sure how Thano seemed to make every time we made love feel like our first time, but he did.
His hands moved up my legs as my body trembled from his touch. No one could ever love me like Thano. He released my deepest desires.
My back arched as he took a nipple in his mouth and pushed his fingers inside of me, pulling a long deep moan from my mouth.
“You’re mine, Kilyn.”
Thrashing my head back and forth, I gripped the satin bedspread. My body ached from the need to release what was building. “Yours, forever yours.”
His lips moved up and across my neck as I felt my orgasm beginning to grow.
Thano’s lips pressed against mine while he pushed my legs open with his knee and slowly slid into my body. I was so worked up, I knew the moment he moved I’d come. I needed it. I longed for it more than I ever had.
Pulling his lips from mine, he began to move agonizingly slow in and out of me while placing his mouth against my ear. His hot breath caused my eyes to practically roll to the back of my head. I swear, when he made love to me it was my high. My rush. The drug I longed for with every single breath I took.
Sucking in a breath, Thano slowly released it. “I can’t wait to make you my wife,” he whispered in my ear.
My chest fluttered with his whispered words as my orgasm rushed across my entire body as we cried out each other’s name.
My arms wrapped around his neck while his lips crashed to mine.
We came together. In one of the most beautiful rooms I’d ever been in. Our whispered names against each other’s lips sounded as if they were echoing in the room.
It was the most intimate, beautiful, romantic, and unbelievable moment of my life.
I wasn’t sure how long we had lain there as my fingers moved lazily over his back.
“Do we have to leave this hotel room?” Thano asked, breaking the silence.
With a giggle, I responded, “I wish we could stay here forever!”
Looking into my eyes, his expression turned serious. “Kilyn?”
With a smile, I replied, “Yeah?”
“How would you feel about eloping?”
I couldn’t help myself from laughing. When he didn’t laugh back, my smile dropped and my eyes widened in an astonished look.
“You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
My heart froze as I looked at him with a dumbfounded look on my face.
With a sigh, he pushed his hand through his already messy hair then dropped it. With a shake of his head, he focused back on me. His eyes looked troubled and the only thing I could think of was his family wouldn’t bless our union.
Tears filled my eyes as I looked down.
Would our lives always be like this? Always fighting to prove we belonged together.
Squaring off my shoulders, I decided our life together was worth whatever fight we had to go through and I was not giving up on another dream of mine.
Sitting up, I pulled the sheet up and covered my body. I wasn’t sure I would be ready for his answer, but I asked it anyway.
“Why do you want to elope?”
THE LOOK IN Kilyn’s eyes was a mix of fear and strength. I knew she thought what I was going to say was something bad.
“The moment my family finds out I’ve asked you to marry me, two things will happen.”
She sucked in a deep long breath and braced herself. “The first will be my mother getting on me and saying it’s too soon, even though we’ve been together for almost six months.”
Lifting her brows in a quizzical manner, she asked, “And the second thing?”
“They will insist we get married in our church. If you weren’t baptized in a Catholic Church, it will become a huge affair.”
I could see her body physically relax. “They won’t disagree with the marriage?”
With a laugh, I shook my head. “Baby, look around at this hotel room my father got for us. Do you really think he doesn’t want you to be a part of our family?”
Her eyes searched around the room as she let out a chuckle. “I guess I’m letting my thoughts get ahead of me.”
Reaching for her hands, I pulled them up to my lips. “Kilyn, my family is crazy. They are big and loud and no matter how long we are married someone is going to say something about you not being Greek. That’s something we both need to come to grips with and realize that it doesn’t matter. What matters is I love you and you love me. I want to spend the rest of my life together with you. As much as I love my family . . . you’re going to be my new family.”
Her lips parted as a small smile spread over her beautiful face. “Your mother will not be happy with us eloping.”
I shrugged. “So we don’t tell them.”
When she looked away and took in a deep breath, I knew something was wrong.
“Talk to me, ladybug.”
She swallowed hard and turned back to me. Her eyes were bright and full of happiness, yet they held a sadness there too.
“When I was little, I used to tell my parents that when I got married I was going to have a wedding on the beach. My mother would sit with me for hours, it seemed like, as we went through wedding websites and I planned my wedding. I even had a book that I would print stuff out and put it in there. I was no different than any other little girl when it came to dreaming of my fairy tale wedding. I even had a checklist.”
I smiled and took her hand in mine. Shit. I can’t believe how selfish I was being. By trying to save her from a Greek overload, I was stripping her of something she wanted.
“When that night happened with Peter . . . he stripped away every dream I ever had. In my mind, I thought for sure no man would ever want to be with a girl who was tainted.”
My chest squeezed as I thought about what that fucker did to her. “Kilyn,” I whispered as she held up her finger.
“Wait, let me say all of this.”
I closed my mouth and gave her a nod.
“Until I met you, Thano, I didn’t have any of those dreams anymore. You reached deep inside of me and turned my life back on. Piece by piece I felt myself coming back. On the outside I pretended like everything was great . . . and in some ways it was. But I was missing something I longed for. Love.”
Her hands came up and cupped my face as the most breathtaking smile appeared. “Your love. You, Thano. I don’t want to run anymore. I love you and I know the road ahead of us is going to be hard at times, but I don’t want to start our life together running away and getting married.”
With a smile, I slowly nodded. “Then we won’t. Tell me what you want, ladybug.”
Her eyes seemed to have kicked up their intensity. They were filled with love but also with a confidence I’d never seen before.
“I want a beach wedding. I want Claire there and her parents. I want your parents there. I want to shop for an expensive as hell wedding dress and I want to see you standing next to a beautiful blue ocean looking handsome as hell in a black tux.”
My heart felt as if it was going to pound out of my chest. It was in that very moment I knew I was going to give her everything she asked for.
“Do you know how turned on I am right now?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Why?”
“Because I love how strong you are. You know what you want and you’re not afraid to say it. It’s sexy as fuck.”
She wiggled her eyebrows and purred, “Should I keep telling you all the things I want?”
“Yes.”
“I want you buried deep inside of me telling me how much you love me.”
Pulling the sheet away from her, she let out a small scream and giggled while I pulled her legs down and got her flat on the bed.
Crawling over her, I slowly began working my cock into her until I was buried balls deep inside of her. I hovered my lips above hers and softly said, “Done.”
Peering over to Kilyn in the passenger seat, my heart skipped a beat. Neither one of us was able to wipe the smiles off our faces. The last few days had been incredible. We only left the hotel room once and that was to go get lunch. The rest of the time we ordered room service and made love in every single room and on I swear every surface we could find.
“Have you told Claire yet?” I asked.
Kilyn turned and grinned from ear to ear as she looked at me. “No. I want to see her reaction in person.”
With a lighthearted chuckle, I nodded. “So, do you want to pick a date?”
She sucked in her lower lip and began chewing on it. “Thano . . . I need to tell you something that I probably should have told you a few months ago.”
My heart dropped. Her eyes turned serious and I swear my hands started to sweat as I wiped each one on my pant legs.
“Do I need to pull over or something?”
She chuckled. “No. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just, with us being engaged, I feel a bit guilty for not saying anything. I don’t want you to worry about how we’ll afford to pay for the wedding.”
My head snapped over as I looked at her. I quickly looked around and pulled into a grocery store parking lot and put my truck into park.
Unbuckling, I turned to Kilyn. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to make you happy. You know that right?”
She nodded.
“I’m not the least bit worried about paying for our wedding. If you wanted to have it in a French castle, I’d make it work.”
Lifting her brow, she tried not to laugh. “Mmm, that might be kind of fun.”
Taking her hand in mine, I squeezed it. “I’m serious.”
Her face softened. “I know you are and I love you for that. But that’s not what I’m trying to say. Um, well, I’m just going to tell you.”
I nodded and held my breath.
“When my parents died, they, of course, left everything to me. My father was very successful and was also very business smart. I kind of have . . . well . . . let’s just say I’m not hurting for money.”
Narrowing my eyes, I said, “Okay. Well, that’s good baby, but I’m not worried about that. I get paid pretty well, so the last thing I’m worried about it money.”
She nodded and gave me a weak smile. “Thano, my parents’ estate is valued at over 5 million dollars, or it was the last time I met with my father’s lawyer. With his investments and real estate properties, my father wanted to make sure his family was always taken care of.”
I closed my eyes and slightly shook my head before opening them again. “What?”
Chewing on her lip, she nodded. “I hope you’re not mad I didn’t say anything, but I’ve never touched the money except to pay for college, and I haven’t been to my house in about six years.”
“Your house?”
“Yeah, my parents’ house here in town. They also own a place in the Bahamas. That’s where I went a few months back when I left for a few days.”
I was so confused. “Why were you in an apartment or living at Claire’s if you had a house?”
With a shrug, she gave me a weak smile. “I haven’t been able to go back there. In all honesty, I’m afraid to go, and I really need to probably sell it. I’ll never live there.”
“Why?” I asked.
Her eyes filled with tears. “It would feel like I’ve lost them all over again if I stepped foot in there. I can’t do it.”
My heart broke as I saw the sadness in her eyes.
“What if I went with you?”
She sniffled. “You’re not upset I didn’t tell you about the money?”
I turned and opened my door, getting out of the truck. Walking around the front, I opened her door and pulled her out. Cupping her face with my hands, I looked directly into her eyes. “Kilyn, I wouldn’t care if you had a billion dollars. I love you for you. This doesn’t change anything about how I feel about you. If you told me you never wanted to touch your parents’ money I’d be perfectly fine with that. This right here—”
Pointing between our two bodies, I smiled. “This . . . this is all I care about. You and me. Us.”
Tears fell from her eyes as she slammed her body against mine. “I love you, Athanasios. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, ladybug. More than you’ll ever realize.”
Stay With Me Page 20