I write sweet and steamy rom-coms with tear-jerker happy-ever-afters.
  • Home
  • Books and Series
  • FOR READERS
  • Free Stories
  • For Writers
  • BOOK LIST AND CHARACTER DATABASE
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Contact

where i play the role of romance author, reader, and geek

Jason and Keanne - An Excerpt

9/14/2013

7 Comments

 
Picture
Jason Chalkias is a Greek god, a billionaire, but more than that he’s beautiful inside - the kind of guy someone damaged like me doesn’t deserve. I know people think I’m a slut for once dating a married man. I think so, too, but Jason says I’m better than everyone thinks, that in me he sees a girl any guy would be lucky to have.

The wild child who lives next door...the young girl who’s always desperate to make him smile – that’s how Jason thinks of me but no more. I’m eighteen now and Jason needs to understand that I’ve never thought of him as a substitute father – or even a brother. He’s my life, my best friend – there’s no guy whom I could ever more.

In an all-out bid to win his love, I risk everything on a bet: for every secret date we have, I must date another boy after. Jason says it will help me realize someone out there is better for me. What I don’t realize until it’s too late is that Jason also thinks someone out there is better for him...but it is not me – and it might never be me.
AN EXCERPT
(unedited)
Overkill, ma petite – simply overkill. Jason Christakos sighed, but the sound was more amused than resigned as he gazed at his protégé drive into the club’s parking lot with her usual flair for drama.

Keanne Summers had come a long way in the four years they had been friends, and it was not just because she had finally shed off the baby fat, ditched the glasses for contacts, and found the right treatment for her hair to be glossy and her skin acne free.

Even though she still had not come down, all eyes were on Keanne’s SUV, which – like its owner – was unapologetically attention-grabbing. Her ride was a Volvo S60R with a hot pink custom paint job because - as she had once seriously told a perplexed Jason – Keanne wanted to be the girl version of Edward Cullen, whatever that meant and whoever that Edward may be.

The door opened and out she came, fashionable and sexy in a sixties-inspired dress with its high collar and long loose sleeves. Of course, it was also short enough for it to effectively display her shapely legs and killer red heels. She was the picture of youthful fun and glamour, with not the smallest hint of the bitter and disillusioned teenager she had once been.

                Their gazes met.

                A playful smile immediately curved on Keanne’s lips even as her fingers brushed her chest, using the private sign of communication they had once designed out of desperation. That simple touch over her heart meant one thing. I am here for you, mon bébé.

                The silent words numbed the agonizing wound inside him, enough for Jason to regain a little of his sense of humor. A few minutes ago, he had thought it would take him forever to smile. But with his little spitfire in front him, he didn’t just want to smile. He found himself able to forget.

Jason made Keanne wait, just to provoke her. His cue came when her forehead started to furrow, and Jason swiftly crossed the street to get to her side. When he reached Keanne, his hot-tempered little doe was scowling.

He grinned, unable to help it.

She threw her hands up at the sight, a very French gesture that made Jason’s lips twitch unexpectedly. “You made me wait!” Angry sparks shot out from her gray eyes. “Why do you always insist on making me wait?”

                Jason’s grin turned into a full-fledged laugh, a dark seductive sound that had women all around them wishing they were the one who had elicited it. If they had, then perhaps one of them might have had the luck to spend a night in the divinely gorgeous Jason Christakos’ bed.

                “But of course I must make you wait, ma petite. How else are we to ensure that you do not become like one of your peers?” Jason’s faint shudder was not altogether feigned. “I do not want you to think you are all that.”

                Keanne snorted. “Oh, you mean between the two of us, you’re the only one allowed to have an ego?” Even as she spoke, Jason’s hand had already comfortably gone to the small of her back, guiding her to the entrance of the club, where the line of waiting guests had already wrapped around the entire block.

                As the club’s guards immediately waved them in, their faces alone guaranteeing their entrance, Jason said arrogantly, “I am Greek. Of course I am the only one that should have an ego. And as a woman, you must pander to me.”

                She spouted French curses at him, and she was still doing so despite Jason’s laughter by the time they were escorted to one of the private second-floor lounges reserved for VIP guests.

                He waited for her to slide first into the tiny velvet-seated booth before following, folding his long jeans-encased legs under the black mirror-surfaced table.

Keanne fell silent when Janet, the sexy brunette who identified herself as their personal server, finally left, the subtle message which she imparted about what “personal” meant still lingering in the air.

                Her sudden withdrawn attitude bemused him. “Ma petite?”

                In seconds, she had closed the distance between them, her arms going around him. "Je suis désolée,” Keanne whispered against his neck.

                Ah.

                “You remember your promise, no?” Her words were strongly accented, just like his own English would hint of his Greek bloodline when his emotions ran high, threatening to overcome his rigid self-control.

                She did not wait for him to answer. “Quand cet homme méprisable…” Keanne inhaled sharply, willing herself to stay under control. When she spoke again, she returned to English, using it as another shield for her feelings. “When that despicable man came to my school, demanding to see the principal, wanting me to be expelled – do you remember that day?”

                He did.

                They both did.

                “Do you,” she asked fiercely, “remember what you told me when I called you in tears?”

                Jason’s eyes closed as the painfully bittersweet memory came into life with vivid clarity.

Her sobs had been heartbreaking to hear, but he had steeled himself against it, knowing that the time had come for her to save herself.

                “Please come here s'il vous plait,” Keanne had begged, her words a jumble of English and French. “Please, please, please---”

                She had begged him over and over, crying her heart out, and he let her. But when she fell silent, Jason said flatly, “No.”

                Her moan was full of betrayal, and everything in him wanted to go to her – his little dove, the one thing in his world who was right. He had fucked up so many times with all the people he had loved, but with Keanne he had made sure he would do everything right – and he would be damned if he would let pity sway him to doing otherwise.

                “Listen to me.” Those were the very first words he had used to command her when he was young, to train her to be as strong and as ruthless as he was in clawing her way back to the top.

                Her sobs quieted, and his chest constricted at the way Keanne was doing her best to follow him.

                “Later, when you come home, I will be waiting for you, ma petite. In my arms, you can cry – I want you to cry, I want to comfort you. I want to be there for you. With me, you can be weak – but not with anyone else.”

                “Oui,” she whispered, but her voice still shook.

                It made Jason bite out sharply, “No more tears!”

                He heard her swallowing hard, and when she spoke her voice was still hoarse but firmer. “Yes.”

                Good. She was speaking in English now. Her shield was up, and that was exactly how it should be.

                “Only with me, Keanne. Never forget that. You cannot be weak with anyone else. All these years that I have helped you become strong will be for nothing if you give up now.”

                She did not answer.

                He did not allow it. “Do you understand, Keanne?”

                An eternity passed. “Yes.”

                “Then go. Remember that you are stronger and better than what everyone may say. They do not deserve your tears – do not deserve to see you flinch even the smallest way.”

                This time, her answer was stronger, colder. “Yes.”

                “Make me proud, ma petite. And when you come home, only then you can cry.”

Keanne lifted her head even as she kept her arms around Jason’s neck. His face was drawn with pain, and the sight of it made her want to lash out. “This time,” she told him in a shaky but determined voice, “You can be weak with me.”

7 Comments
Juliana
9/17/2013 09:48:33 am

OMG! Sounds so good. When is the release date?

Reply
Marian
9/18/2013 11:15:55 pm

Hi Juliana! I'm happy you enjoyed the excerpt. Hopefully out September end along with my other book The Demon Duke and I, an adult paranormal romance. :)

Reply
Leya
9/21/2013 01:41:59 am

Another enticing morcel to leave me ravenous for more! My heart already hurts for Jason, but I can tell my tears in this book will be for Keanne. As odd as it is to look forward to empathizing with her pain, I know somehow her heart will be pieced back together and made stronger for it. I can't wait to go on the journey with this couple, but I'll make the time go by faster by re-reading Park & Violet and Nick & Lilac. And most likely dreaming of a soft-hearted but hard-headed Greek god...Sqee!

Reply
Marian
10/1/2013 04:19:18 am

Awww...I always feel like I'm on cloud 9 when a reader tells me she's gonna reread one of my books. I hope you got to read The Demon Duke and I? =D That will help while the time while you're waiting for JNK. And you're right - most of your tears will be for Keanne. =D

Reply
tavata
11/9/2013 11:28:36 pm

I absolutely loved the demon duke and I? I cannot wait for part 2. also when would Jason and keanne be out since its now November and I haven't seen it.

Marian
11/9/2013 11:44:00 pm

Hi Tavata. Sorry! I actually just made an announcement about this on my FB page - JNK has been pushed back to January because of a recent talk I had with my publisher. What I'll be releasing for sure in Dec instead is How Not to be Seduced by Dukes, which is the last Pussketeer story. TDDAI 2, I'm still waiting for the final word of my publisher. :) If you haven't liked my page on FB or subscribed to my newsletter, please do as I frequently post updates there as well! :)

Reply
hannah
10/1/2015 07:21:58 pm

I expect longer for JNK but i hope maybe you can write the Christakos twins the sequel,like put the four of them in one scene.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author's corner

    Here is where I talk about behind-the-scene stuff that readers may want to know more about.

    Archives

    March 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    August 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    Blurb Alert
    Brimstone
    Contest Alert
    Controversies
    Cover Reveal
    Death Loves Me Not
    Drawn
    Evren
    Excerpt
    Greek Billionaire Romance Serials
    Happy Times
    Heart Racer
    Horror
    How Not To Be Seduced By Billionaires
    Jason And Keanne
    Moretti
    Newsletter
    Nick And Lilac
    Poll
    Promo
    Pusketeers
    Release Schedule
    Release Schedule
    Sceleri
    Suit And Fangs
    Supernaturally Yours
    When I Moan
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.