Thano shook his head. “No, Kilyn.”
“I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t realize what was happening until he ripped my panties off. I started to push him away, but he put his hand over my mouth and then used his other hand to hold my hips down.”
Thano stood up, causing the chair to fall back and me to jump at the sound. “That motherfucker.”
“He tried like hell to get it inside of me, but I fought him with every ounce of strength I had. I thought if I fought long enough, he’d realize what he was doing. But then he got mad and grabbed me so hard, I began crying and stopped moving. When I stopped moving, he eased up on his grip, but he still held me down.”
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “It hurt so bad I just laid there. I guess he thought I was either enjoying it or I had given up the fight. When he moved his hand from my mouth, I screamed as loud as I could. I heard someone try to open my door and so did Peter. He quickly covered my mouth but I kept trying to scream. The next thing I knew, the door busted open and Scott rushed in. He saw Peter on me and pulled him off of me. He threw him to the floor and that was about when Claire and her mother walked in.” My voice cracked as I rubbed my hands over my arms to warm myself up from the instant chill in the air.
“Jesus, Kilyn. I’m so sorry, ladybug.”
My eyes snapped up to his. “Claire and her parents had to testify against Peter. It took me a long time to forgive myself for having to have them put their own son and brother in jail.”
Thano walked around the table towards me. “He deserved it.”
Slowly standing, I nodded. “I know that now, but at sixteen it was harder to accept.”
Stopping right in front of me, Thano put his hand on the side of my face. I allowed myself to feel the warmth of his touch as I gently leaned against it for a moment before stepping back from him.
“So, now you know my story. I don’t let it define who I am, yet I did allow the hurt and betrayal to keep me from opening my heart up to another. At least until you. I live life to the fullest, enjoying every moment I’m given. I won’t lie and say I don’t have moments of weakness because I do. I think you saw that when I left your cabin.”
Thano nodded slowly, lost in his own thoughts.
“Now it’s my turn. Who is Savannah?”
I imagined his face looked exactly like mine did when he asked about Peter. My heart raced as I waited for him to tell me.
“She was my fiancée.”
My hand went to my stomach and I instantly felt sick. That wasn’t what I was expecting and I was stunned by how that news made me feel.
He grinned slightly. “Actually, she was my high school sweetheart. My parents were not thrilled I was dating a girl who wasn’t Greek, but I loved her and I didn’t care. I asked her to marry me when we were in college. My mother was upset with me, but Savannah had such a way about her, she won my mother over.” He let out a soft laugh. “That’s not entirely true. My mother was upset with me, but finally stopped arguing with me.”
I didn’t want to know the answer to my next question, but I asked it anyway. “Did you get married?”
His shoulders dropped and he shook his head. “She was walking down the aisle and collapsed.”
My hand instantly came up to my mouth as I sucked in a breath of air.
Oh. My. God.
“She had a heart attack and died. Right there at the church. In front of everyone. We found out she had a heart defect that no one knew about.”
Dropping my hand, I let my tears fall freely. I could hear the pain in his voice and that killed me.
“I’m so sorry, Thano.”
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with tears. “I promised her my heart and I’m not sure I can give it to anyone else.”
My mouth fell open as I searched for something to say. “When I’m with you, I forget all the pain. I forget Savannah.”
Reaching out for the chair, I grabbed it to keep myself standing. My legs felt as if they were about to give out on me. “When we made love, I’d never experienced such emotions, not even with Savannah. I never whispered things to her in Greek. I never called her ladybug. With you it’s so . . . different.”
Quickly wiping my tears away, I tried to make sense of what he was saying to me. I was beyond confused. One second he was telling me he couldn’t give me his heart and the next he was telling me how different it was with me. My head was spinning.