by Tee, Marian
He knew so much now. Knew how he had been so fucking blind, so foolishly messed up by the past, that he had missed all the signs he should have seen miles away.
So fucking sorry.
He took the stairs to her apartment, unable to wait for the elevator, and he found her exactly where he had seen her in his mind: curled up in her couch, crying her heart out.
She looked up the moment the door crashed open, and the endless flow of tears became a silent rush of pain as she watched him come to her. Kneel before her. And take her trembling hands in his.
"The reason you were attracted to me..."
"Yes."
Schuyler felt like collapsing under the devastating weight of the billionaire's admission.
"I didn't realize then, but yes. I saw you because there was something about you reminded me of her---" He saw her whiten, and he said fiercely, "But it's not why I kept looking at you." He tightened his hold on her hands. "I can't change the way things started between us. I wish I could, I'd give everything to give you the perfect beginning you deserve...but I can't. All I can do is make you see that the reason I fell in love with you---"
A sob escaped her. "You don't love me---"
"Because I didn't say anything last night?"
She stared at him, stricken.
"I didn't know it then, but now...it's all fucking clear. The way I hurt you last night by not saying anything. The way I didn't know how I was still hurting you this morning...because I was no longer able to see your pain." His voice became hollow. "I don't even know where or how to start to make it up to you. I'm not sure if it's even possible for me to ever deserve you. But all I know is that I can never let you go. Even if you keep pushing me away...I won't ever let go."
One of these days, he would tell her everything. The way she was so vastly different from Mairi, and how it was those differences, and not her similarities, that had made him fall in love with her and realize that things would never have worked out between him and Mairi.
One of these days, he would tell her of how her insistence on dating other men had unconsciously reminded him of the past - of how Mairi had once chosen another man over him - and why he had reacted with such irrational rage and jealousy. Because he had been terrified the past would repeat itself, terrified that she, too, would choose someone else over him. He had been terrified, and he hadn't even known it.
One of these days, he would tell her all those things.
But for now, all he could do was say the words that had been hers, had always been hers, from the very start.
"I love you, Schuyler."
And when she threw herself in his arms---
Ah, koukla mou.
Her soul had once again reached out to his, and this time it was her heart that whispered, and his heart that listened. Her heart telling him that even if the day he would tell her everything had yet to come...her heart already knew.
"I thought you'd never see me again," Schuyler whispered brokenly.
"Not fucking possible, even if I were to go blind."
"I wanted to run away."
"I know."
"But I didn't."
"I know that, too."
She pulled away, asking unsteadily, "Did you really?"
"It was something Mairi would've done." And the billionaire's own voice was unsteady as well. "But not something my Schuyler would have. My Schuyler would rather slap me---"
SLAP!
It just happened, and a teary laugh escaped her when this didn't even cause the billionaire to miss a beat as he went on talking.
"And then she would tell me how much I hurt her---"
"You did." Her voice wobbled as she remembered just how much it hurt. "You did hurt me."
"But after that, she would know...because she was practical that way..." And this time, Ioniko's own voice broke. "She knew, even if it was right to make the man who hurt her suffer...she knew that on the last day of her life, she would think back and regret wasting so much time when she could've simply---"
Clasped his face, the way she was doing now---
And whisper, the way she was doing now---
"It's okay." Her voice shook. "We're okay."
And his own eyes burned.
"Because I love you."
He hauled her close.
"And I know you love me, too."
Their lips met, and it was as she said.
It was okay now. They were okay now. Because she loved him, and he loved her.
Part V
Two months later
Ioniko was in the middle of a luncheon meeting and taking a sip of his coffee when he received a text from his wife.
Schuyler: I don't think I can join you. :( Kat's stuck in traffic, and she's got a couple of prospective investors coming in. She asked me to show them around the place, so I thought I'd show them our meeting room. Hope you don't mind. <3 I just want to make sure we make the right impression.
Ioniko choked on his coffee when he read the last part of the message. Fuck. And when he looked up, he saw that the executives seated closed to her wore poker expressions on their faces...and coffee stains on their collars.
Ah, fuck.
He remembered his sister telling him that something like this had happened between her and Schuyler, and he mentally grimaced, thinking of how his wife was rubbing off on him in the worst ways possible.
"Apologies." His voice was bland, Ioniko having decided to simply pretend that nothing had happened. "I need to cut our meeting short due to an emergency."
Yes, sir.
Absolutely.
We understand, Mr. Vlahos.
All the executives were careful to be nothing but polite, with the way the billionaire's gaze was challenging them to make any other remark. But the moment their employer turned his back---
Someone snorted.
Another snickered.
And then the whole table of executives could no longer contain themselves.
Assholes, Ioniko thought without heat, having caught the sound of his executives' laughter just before the door of the conference room swung shut behind him. Since the walls of the room were made of glass, he was able to pause and throw his executives a deadly look on his way out.
Wait until you fucking see your paychecks and count how many zeroes had been deducted...
The way everyone's faces immediately turned pale satisfied him, and Ioniko walked away in a much better mood. He wouldn't actually punish them for laughing at him, of course, but it never hurt to make his people sweat once in a while either.
It was a fifteen-minute drive to Associate, and he spent the entire time calling her mobile phone to no avail. Ah, koukla mou. If she did show those prospective investors the meeting room he had purchased from Kat and presented to Schuyler as an engagement gift...well, it would make an impression alright, but probably not the kind she had envisioned.
When he made it to his sister's coworking place, it was to see his wife opening the door to the meeting room whose renovation he had personally supervised, and Ioniko couldn't help wincing as the investors filed inside.
Well, then.
It was already too late to do anything else but enjoy the show.
He started walking, and Schuyler's voice gradually reached him through the still-open door.
"As you can see, we've lots of storage space..."
Schuyler opened one of the drawers, thinking she'd either find it empty or filled with office supplies, but instead---
WHAT. THE. FUCK.
She snapped it close right away, but a quick look around told her that the investors had still soon enough. Oh my God. What the hell was Ioniko thinking, filling one drawer of vibrators?
"Um..." She cleared her throat. "Apologies for that." She dared not peek at any other drawers and instead turned her attention towards the huge smart TV mounted on the wall. "Anyway, meeting rooms can also be custom-designed to make them perfect for presentations." She took the remote control and switched it open---
Oh, yes, shake your hips like that, you dirty little bitch!
She quickly shut the TV off, but once again, it was too late.
"I...um..." Oh my God, what in the world could she say after accidentally giving Kat's investors a sneak peek of today's hottest porn?
A moment later, she heard Ioniko's familiar lazy drawl. "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen. I was only supposed to be pranking my wife, but obviously..." His meaningful look had everyone laughing, and looks of confusion were immediately replaced by looks of shared understanding.
Well of course, that was just it, they thought among themselves in secret relief. The billionaire was newly married, and as such, he was still in that stage where he would do all sorts of crazy things.
Two hours later, and the last of the investors had left, and Schuyler joined her husband in their private meeting room, tired but happy.
But then she saw Ioniko, lounging on one of the chairs, and her exhaustion instantly disappeared. This billionaire of hers was just so, so beautiful...
"I love you."
The cruel lines of his lips softened. "I love you, too, Schuyler mou."
"That was one hell of a prank, though."
"But it wasn't."
"It was."
"It wasn't."
"Dude." It was cute and adorable, the way he was indulging her, but right now, she was more concerned about making it clear to the billionaire that such pranks were a little too elaborate to be a frequent part of their lives. "Pranks like that---"
"Say it again," Ioniko murmured.
"Pranks like that?"
His eyes glinted.
Oh. Okay. Whatever made her billionaire happy.
"Dude," she said obediently, and she couldn't help but laugh when she saw how the look in his eyes had changed. "Seriously?"
"You are the only one who calls me that, and it turns me on."
"Great."
"And as for the prank," he drawled. "It's not---"
"Dude!" The word unconsciously slipped out once more in her exasperation.
"A prank."
She blinked. "It's not?"
"If you check your phone, it's why I've been trying to call you. This is not meant to be a normal meeting room."
"Then what is it supposed---" Her voice trailed off as he reached for another remote control. One click, and the blinds shuttered close. Another click, and she gasped when the couch behind them unfolded into a bed.
Oh my God.
"It's our fuck pad here in Associate," Ioniko purred.
"Oh my God." She couldn't help gasping it out loud this time.
And then she saw the billionaire coming to his feet.
Oh shit.
She tried to turn away and get to the door, but of course, he was much faster, and in seconds he had reached for her...and in another moment, he had thrown her on the converted bed, and a choked laugh escaped her.
He pinned her down as she tried to struggle.
He got rid of her pants. Ripped her panties away. Unzipped himself.
And still she kept struggling, not making it at all easy for him, because it was what they both wanted.
"Ioniko---"
He slid in.
And her struggles ceased.
Oh God.
His cock shoved deeper.
"Ioni---"
His fingers slipped inside of her mouth. "Keep it down, koukla mou."
And then he was fucking her haaaaaaaaaaaaaard.
The End
Dear Readers,
Thank you as always for your patience. I have to confess, in all the years that Ioniko had shown up in various books of mine, not once had I envisioned his story to turn out like this. Honestly, I thought he would also end up with someone like Mairi, but...just nope, nope, nope. ;)
For those interested, Ioniko first showed up in The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire. This is the first of a six-part serial, but you can also read the whole thing with The Greek Billionaire Romance Serials boxed set.
That's it for now. I'm off to finish the next book. <3
Until our next journey,
Marian Tee
P.P.S. If you enjoy my work but have never reviewed a book of mine, pretty please consider making an exception and write a review? I would truly appreciate hearing your thoughts, and while I do not as a rule reply to reviews, please do know that I read each and every one of them. Of course, you are also more than welcome to share your personal review with me, and you may do so by emailing me or using any of the social media links below to drop me a message.
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