JASON and KEANNE by Marian Tee Read Free Book Online

must promise not to avoid me anymore.” He succeeded in keeping his voice calm and flat, nothing to hint at the panic that strangled his heart at the thought of Keanne disappearing from his life.
      He needed her so goddamn much, more than he should, but she did not need to know any of those things.
      Jason expected her to say yes. He needed her to say yes. She was his little doe, his sweet beautiful Keanne, the girl he had guarded zealously over the years.
      But instead she shook her head, and the pain that it brought him stunned Jason with its strength. It was like Lilac rejecting him all over again, only this time the pain was different. Lilac choosing Nick over him was like a long-standing tumor that had finally become cancerous. But Keanne’s rejection was different and unexpected, a stranger in the dark sliding his knife between Jason’s ribs, killing him before he even realized he was in danger.
      It hurt that fucking much.
      “Jason.”
      He stiffened at the sound of his name on her lips and he prepared himself for her final goodbye.
      But instead, she said, “It’s not me who should be making any promises. It’s you. It’s your turn to promise me that you will live for me .”
      His head snapped towards her.
      She turned to meet him head on, her gaze unflinching.
      Beautiful brave Keanne.
      Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, and the stranger in the dark stabbed him in the heart again. “ Lilac will never be yours. But I am. I will always be yours, and I just need you to give me a chance to prove to you t-that…” Her voice faltered, but a second later she spoke again, her tone only the slightest bit shaky, “…you will want to be mine.”
      Her courage took his breath away, and for a while all he could do was gaze at her. What the fuck had he done to deserve this girl’s love? She had everything going for her, and yet she had stupidly chosen to love a man like him. He was not broken. He was just…undeserving.
      “You don’t know what you’re saying,” he finally forced himself to grit out.
      “I want you to be mine.” She repeated the words in French, her eyes sparkling defiance at him.
      He cursed in Greek, furious at her stubbornness.
      She cursed him back in her native language, knowing they were both irritated at each other’s pigheadedness.
      “I am not the kind of man you should love.”
      “But I love you already so it’s too late to tell me that.”
      An exasperated sigh escaped him. “Listen to me, you silly girl---”
      “You should be the one to listen to me, you silly old man!”
      Only Keanne would say that to him, and his lips twitched.
      She did not allow herself to smile even though she badly wanted to. The sun god was bestowing a smile on her, and she was like a sunflower wanting to bloom in its brightness. Merde. How she wanted to smile back, but not just yet.
      “Give me a chance.” Her voice was fierce and petulant at the same time. She knew that if Lilac was in her shoes, her tone would be sweetly cajoling, begging, or teasing. But she was not Lilac and she did not want to try to be someone she was not. She was Keanne Summers, spoiled and demanding in most ways, but she also knew no other girl could love Jason Christakos more than she did.
      “Let me love you---” He shook his head but she ignored it. “And I am 100% certain you will…” Keanne lifted her chin. “---fall in love with me.”
      Her silvery eyes caught his – and this time it did not let go.
      Jason heard himself saying, “We could give it a try, see how it goes, if you agree to one condition I have.”
      She swallowed. “W-what?” She had been ready to fight tooth and nail for him, and the fact that he was capitulating so easily left her stunned and bemused.
      “You must do everything I say.” His eyes, his face, his voice – everything hardened, and for the first time in the four years she had known him, Keanne had a glimpse of the