“Are you all right?” he asked finally.
“I’m, umm, yes. I’m sorry.” She sighed again, unable to help it. When Damen had spoken those words, he had reminded her so strongly about the Greek billionaires she used to read about that goosebumps had formed all over her skin.
Damen decided to let those sighs go. He had a feeling he would simply drive himself crazy if he tried figuring it out. “Do you have any other questions?”
“Umm, yes.” She bit her lip. “But…it’s somewhat personal so if you don’t want to answer, it’s okay.”
The words made Damen tense. He was absolutely sure it would have something to do with his parents’ scandal. He poured himself another shot.
And then---
“Who was your first crush?”
Surprise had Damen spitting out his whiskey. What the hell? It was like she was reading her questions straight out of an autograph book. What would she want to know next – what he dreamt of becoming when he grew up? What his motto in life was?
“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.
“Are you seriously asking me that?”
“I told you it was going to be personal.”
Damen didn’t know whether to groan or roll his eyes. “Are you truly like this, Mairi Tanner? Or is this all a show to make me more intrigued? Because you already have my f**king attention and I want you so damn bad I’m tempted to go over there and be damned with the consequences.”
But instead of a straight answer, all he got was a heartfelt sigh.
God, did this woman drive him crazy! And damned if these crazy ways of hers did not make Damen want her even more.
Her gaze drifted towards the wall clock and Mairi gasped, not realizing how late it was. “I have to go,” she said glumly.
And now she was being the first to put the phone down – yet another deed no other woman had been able to do to him. It was like she knew all the right buttons to push, making him feel f**king unsure of where his place in her life was – and he did not f**king like it. Not one damn bit.
“Mairi?”
“Yes?” Her heart started beating madly.
“Once you meet with me tomorrow, there is no turning back. You will be mine – and only mine until I let you go. If you are thinking of playing around, don’t. I’m not the kind of man you would want to cross.”
Another sigh.
This time, Damen ignored it. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Oh dear – he was such an alpha. Just like the Greek billionaires in her bedtime stories, only this time he was real and so, so, so much better than she could ever dream of.
She said tremulously, “I understand, Damen.”
“And you will be mine?”
Mairi answered simply, “I was meant to be yours.”
She sighed.
He wanted to groan. Fuck, f**k, f**k. Those words just made sure he needed a long cold shower to see him through the night.
Lesson 5
To catch a Greek billionaire, you must be prepared to give him your most precious gift.
She said: And that is your love.
He said: And that is your virginity
(Note to editor: Matter to be decided before the last round of edits)
“Ms. Mairi Tanner?” A uniformed chauffeur came out of nowhere, a bland expression on his weathered face as he said Mairi’s name.
“That’s me.” His tone was deferential, his posture so absolutely correct that Mairi felt like she was talking to a king who had gone undercover. Even his uniform seemed more expensive than her own outfit, which she had bought from a beach bazaar the past month.
“If you could follow me, Ms. Tanner?”
She certainly could, and she did her best to not cause too much noise as she followed the older man to the limousine parked at the far end of the road.
Mairi had texted Damen several times this morning, stressing the importance of not being caught by anyone because she couldn’t afford to lose her job. Maybe when they were married, she mused. But for now it was better to play it safe.
The chauffeur opened the door for her. “Ms. Tanner?”
She had barely taken one step inside before hard arms pulled her forward, the strength in those muscular arms making Mairi feel like she was no heavier than a tiny bird, even though she knew she was more like an ostrich than a swan.
There wasn’t even time to breathe, to say hello, or to think about what was going to happen next.
Damen Leventis simply kissed her like she had always been his.
Honestly – she liked it that way.
It made her feel like all the time she had been dreaming of belonging to him, her Greek billionaire had also been dreaming about possessing her.
Damen had expected Mairi to protest, to perhaps pretend she was offended, frightened, or stunned at the fierceness of his need for her. But instead she became completely willing in his arms, her lips parting willingly even as she kissed him back with seemingly untutored passion.
He cupped her face, deepening his kiss as he did. His tongue pushed in, tasting her and becoming addicted to the sweetness of her in an instant. She whimpered against his lips, as if begging for a reprieve but that only made Damen kiss her harder. There was no f**king reprieve – not this time…not when his body was aching almost violently in his need to take her.
She gasped for breath when he finally released her mouth, and then she gasped again when his lips moved down, followed by his hands. As he nuzzled her neck, his hands cupped her br**sts, fondling and kneading them like they were made for his touch.
Mairi arched her neck, her ability to speak or think blown away by the force of Damen’s passion. The simplest kiss, the briefest touch – all of it was more than enough to set her body on fire. And now, with his hands delving into the cups of her bra, his fingers gripping her bare br**sts – the sensations it evoked were beyond anything she could imagine.
She had read about this so many times. She knew everything that could happen between a man and a woman, but the knowledge hadn’t prepared her for the reality. Oh, it so did not.
There was nothing as sexy as the harsh breathing sounds Damen made as he impatiently threw her blouse to the floor and tore her bra away, nothing as thrilling as the way his gaze devoured every inch of her, making Mairi feel like she wasn’t the too-curvy nerd she had always felt she was all her life.
Oh, and nothing – there was just nothing that could compare to the sheer pleasure she felt when he whispered to her, “You’re the hottest little thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Mairi shuddered.