JASON and KEANNE(13)
His scent teased her, but she did not let his nearness and sheer attractiveness make her forget the most important thing.
“You made me wait,” she accused him. He was supposed to be at her house thirty minutes ago.
Jason’s eyes flashed, the scorching-hot emotion in it making Keanne’s toes curl. An arrogant smirk then formed on his lips as he said simply, “Yes. I did. In more ways than one, do you not agree?” The way he was looking at her left no doubt to the message in his words.
He was not just admitting that he had deliberately made her wait for him to drive her to Christopoulos University.
He was also admitting to making her wait for his kiss, his touch, his possession.
The way he was looking at her now told Keanne that he believed she had been frustrated when he made her wait.
And damn it, he was right!
She choked, unable to believe that Jason was being so…so wicked.
As Keanne visibly tried to recover from the shock of his words – and he had no problems admitting that he had intended to shock her – Jason took his sweet time studying her. She was so vibrantly beautiful, with her shining golden hair cascading down her back, her eyes shooting silver fire at him, and her curvy little body barely covered in a white dress with spaghetti straps.
His face hardened, a fierce rush of dislike rising inside him at the thought of having other men see so much of Keanne’s body. It was a strange feeling to feel so possessive towards his little dove. When she had grown out of her shell, turning from a broken duckling into a strong and beautiful swan, Keanne had captured hearts wherever she went. She had always been a provocative witch, dressing herself in the sexiest outfits that somehow always felt more playful than garish.
Then, it had not bothered him. Then, he had only been amused at the way she took all the admiring glances in stride.
Now, it did not amuse him. Now it bothered him – a lot.
“You need to change your clothes.”
“No, I don’t,” she rejected without hesitation.
His teeth clenched together as he snapped, “Do you want every boy staring at you?”
An impish smile appeared on her lips, and at that moment he was reminded of the fact that Keanne was just as good as he was at teasing. “Not really,” she told him demurely. “I only just want one man staring at me, and that’s you.”
“Troublemaker.”
“Tyrant.”
“Change your fucking clothes, Keanne.”
“Only if you say I’m your girlfriend.” The words came out before she could stop them, and Keanne could have kicked herself as she saw the flirtatious look in his eyes disappear, replaced by something bleak.
“It’s not that easy, Keanne.”
Actually, it was. But she knew better than to say it aloud. She loved Jason, and therefore she knew him better than he realized.
Even though her heart ached, Keanne made herself say lightly, “Shall we go? I don’t want to be late for my first day.”
The ride to Christopoulos University was spent in nerve-wracking silence, Keanne cursing herself all the time. This was her fault. When, oh when would she learn to think before she spoke? She was so terribly impatient it was just not funny. If she wanted Jason to fall in love with her, she had to remember to be more strategic and not keep pushing him.
Say I’m your girlfriend.
The words played in his mind as he drove. Even though he did not want to, he found himself comparing Keanne to Lilac.
Lilac would never have said something like that. It was just not in her nature to do so. If anyone had spoken the words, she would have sounded pathetic and desperate to be Jason’s girlfriend. But when Keanne said it, the words did not seem to make her less any proud. If anything, it made her seem prouder, someone so wonderfully courageous and confident that she had no problems wearing her heart on her sleeve.
When they reached her school, Jason had no problems finding a vacant spot. One was already reserved for him since he was friends with Derek Christopoulos, whose family owned the university.
When he opened the car door for her and took her hand, it was cold and clammy. “Dio! You feel as cold as death!”
Keanne glared at him, but her lips were bloodless with fear.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head.
“Answer me!”
Keanne looked away as she confessed hoarsely, “I’m terrified.” She tried to pull her hand away from his. He didn’t let go, and she was secretly glad that he didn’t.
“Tell me why.”
She said in a shamed whisper, “I’m worried that there’d be people from my old school here. And that they’d tell everyone about---” Her words were cut off when Jason’s arms went around her and Keanne suddenly found herself pressed against his chest.