by Marian Tee
If only there was something she could do to make Damen Leventis feel the same about her.
Swallowing back the lump of pain in her throat, Alina said teasingly, “I wasn’t even sure you were Damen Leventis when I first saw you.”
Damen feigned a grimace. “Ah. That bad then.” He watched Alina laugh, the tension gradually leaving her body. An air of fragility surrounded her, and it had him biding his time. He didn’t want to accidentally say or do something that could have her walls crumbling down.
When the sound of her laughter faded, Damen took it as his cue to speak and he asked carefully, “Are you still living in Stavros’ apartment?”
“No. I’m staying at one of my friends’ apartment.” She paused. “I don’t think I’ll ever come back to my father’s house. It might be more comfortable there, but it really was like a gilded cage. I like my life better now. I like being able to make my own decisions.”
He nodded. “That is how it should be.”
An uneasy silence fell between them. Alina placed her hands on her lap so Damen wouldn’t see her wringing them. Esther Leventis’ words echoed in her brain.
Damen will never listen to me, and I cannot blame him. I have betrayed him too many times. But you, Alina, he trusts you. You must make him see reason. You must make him see the truth about the woman he’s married. You must be the one to protect him because no one else can.
“Alina—”
She said in a rush, “I love you.”
Damen stilled, the rest of what he had to say obliterated by Alina’s unexpected admission.
She gazed at Damen’s handsome face searchingly, hoping for a hint of softening. But there was none, his silvery eyes as inscrutable as the rest of his expression. Alina’s heart started to crack, but she forced herself to continue, reminding herself that she was doing this for Damen’s sake.
“The American with you all the time—”
“Morrison,” Damen said, stiffening even more.
She looked him in the eye. “He’s Mairi’s lover.”
Seconds passed before Damen responded, two short words that tore her world apart. “I know.”
A cry of anguished surprise burst out from Alina. “And you still took her back?” She shook her head in pained confusion, the crack in her heart getting bigger and bigger as she was confronted with the reality of Damen’s love – of how he loved Mairi Tanner so damn much he was willing to turn a blind eye on reality.
“How could you, Damen?” she whispered. “How could you still marry her and…if what the tabloids are saying is true…you’ve even let that man live with you?”
The unspoken implication of Alina’s words slashed into him, but Damen pushed them away. He didn’t give a fuck if Alina and the whole world thought he was a fool for allowing Mairi and her ex-lover live under one roof. They would never understand that having Mairi close was the only way for him to keep living.
He said tightly, “What happened between them is firmly in the past—”
“You can’t know that for sure—”
“She always sleeps in my bed—”
She cried out, “She doesn’t need to be in his bed to betray you! She doesn’t need to fuck him to be in love with him!” Tears ravaged her voice as she whispered, “I know because you never had to take me to bed to make me fall in love with you.”
As she bent down her head to cry, she heard Damen say, “I’m sorry.”
And she knew that there was no way for her to win.
Damen would always love Mairi.
She didn’t lift her head when she heard him move, didn’t move a muscle even when she sensed Damen’s hesitation. He was standing right next to her, and Alina could feel his desire to touch her. She craved that touch, even knowing that it would only be Damen wanting to comfort her and nothing else.
Please. Please touch me.
But in the end, he did not.
“I don’t want you to think I do not appreciate your concern. I can’t see how you found out about it, but that doesn’t matter. I appreciate that you thought I needed the warning about…them…” Damen shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “You’re a beautiful person, Alina. Inside and out, and I hope that one day you’ll find the man who’s deserving of your love. But that man isn’t me. I love Mairi. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved, and I’ll always love her…even if I end up losing her to another man.”
****
Outside the restaurant, a cab was stationed across the road. The woman seated at the backseat wore a large pair of sunglasses, which effectively concealed her tear-stained gaze as she stared at the couple seated at the back of the restaurant.
A part of her had foolishly hoped that even after all the clues, she would still end up being wrong. But that part of her had died little by little, starting from the moment she had seen Damen walk inside the restaurant and straight to where a beautiful Alina waited for him at one of the tables.
When Damen stood up and acted as if he was about to reach for Alina, Mairi’s head whipped away. She didn’t think she could survive it if she saw Damen touching another woman. Meeting Drake’s gaze through the rearview mirror, she whispered, “I’ve seen enough.”
Instead of telling the cab driver to resume driving, Dark turned his head to study the couple inside the restaurant. Something didn’t add up here. If he had to bet his life on it, he would have bet that Damen Leventis was in love with Mairi and would rather kill himself than hurt his wife again.
But if that was the case, why all the secrecy? And why meet Alina Kokinos?
“I’ve sworn to myself never to interfere between the two of you, Mairi, but don’t you think you should ask Leventis about this first?”
Ask Damen?
Oh, how she had always risked asking Damen Leventis, had always been foolish enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.
She remembered the first time she had learned about Alina Kokinos’ presence in his life. The memory burned vividly in her mind, pain shredding her heart as she remembered Damen capturing her wrist when she attempted to touch his face. She had asked him what was wrong. She had asked because even though she had a sick feeling in her stomach that something was wrong, she had goddamn asked him because she wanted him to prove her wrong.
Damen? What’s wrong?
What exactly do you think we are now, Mairi?
Are you worried about the labels? We don’t have to be girlfriend or boyfriend. We can just be…an item.
An item…that will eventually lead to marriage?
Eventually, yes.
But how can that be when I am still engaged to the Kokinos heiress?
Mairi squeezed her eyes shut, but more unwanted memories flooded her mind. She remembered, God how she remembered, the pain still raw, the time she had goddamn asked Damen when he wanted to throw her out of his house.
I won’t believe you until I hear it from—
Get out of this house. Is that clear enough for you?
What?
Get out of my fucking house, you gold-digging bitch!
Damen, what are you—
What I am is a fucking fool to think you loved me.
Mairi covered her face with her hands, needing the world to be dark so that no one would see her as she made the choice to be weak.
She had asked Damen.
So many goddamn times.
But this time, she couldn’t afford to ask him, knowing if she did, she might not be strong enough to stay strong for her baby.
Chapter Thirteen
She said: To wed a Greek billionaire, one should be ready to live a life filled with poignant tenderness.
He said: Are you referring to the poignantly tender way I fucked you, matakia mou?
“Wake up, sweetheart. It’s time.” Damen’s low husky voice drew Mairi out of her slumber the next day, and she found a bare-chested Damen lying on his side, looking down at her with a seductively attractive smile playing on his lips. Add to that his sleep-mussed hair, and he looke
d so sexy and beautiful it literally made her heart twinge.
Damen bent close to cover her lips with his. “Good morning.” He inched down to place a kiss on Mairi’s silk-covered stomach. “And good morning to you, too, little one.”
The tender gesture brought a lump to her throat, and Mairi had to swallow several times before she could be sure her voice wouldn’t shake when she spoke. “Good morning.”
“You slept early last night…” Damen inched back up, and cupping Mairi’s chin to make her face him, he took careful note of her face, searching for any sign of illness or strain.
“I’m fine. I was just…tired. It’s the pregnancy, no doubt.”
“You slept the whole day yesterday?”
She lied, “Yes.”
Damen’s jaw clenched. “I see.” He knew for a fact that she had not. He had asked the guard deployed at his home and learned that Mairi had left with Morrison just before lunch. He wanted to demand where they had gone, but it was fear and not pride that held him back. He didn’t want to ever hear Mairi say she was happier with another man.
She strove for a casual tone when she asked, “How was your day yesterday? I called your office and you weren’t there.”
“I told you about the meeting, remember?”
“How did it go?”
Damen recalled Willow’s presentation. “It went very well.”
Mairi felt sick to her stomach at the look in Damen’s eyes. “Oh. That’s…great.”
Damen frowned at the catch in her voice. “Something is wrong.”
She shook her head.
“You can lie to me all you want, but I know you, matakia mou. I can feel something is troubling you.” A tear slowly trailed down one soft cheek, and with a silent curse, Damen wiped it away. The sight of it was like acid in his system. Was she crying because she could no longer bear being with him? Was her feelings for Morrison starting to overpower…her pity?
“Mairi…”
His ragged voice made more tears fall. Oh God, she wasn’t ready for this yet. Please God, please just give me a few more hours. Minutes. Let me just be with him until the end and then I’ll let him go.
When Damen started to speak again, she beat him to it by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. It was rare for her to kiss him first, and Mairi couldn’t blame Damen for stiffening in reaction. She kissed him more deeply, using every trick in the book that Damen himself had taught her.
“Please,” she whispered against his lips. “Please make love—”
With a groan, Damen rolled Mairi on to her back as he settled his weight on top of her. He kissed her deeply, hungrily, Mairi’s surprising overture causing his chest to tighten and his cock to rise fully erect against her belly.
When Mairi sensed Damen trying to gentle his kiss, she felt herself become frantic. She didn’t want him to think, fearing that if he did, he would remember he was about to tell her he was no longer imprisoned by his guilt. She just wanted him to feel, and she did everything she could to keep it that way. She rubbed her body against Damen’s muscular form, her nipples brushing against his chest, her sleek folds nestling his cock.
“Mairi.” Her name ripped out of his throat in an agonized groan.
Writhing in his arms, Mairi begged, “Take me, please—”
His control snapped. His fingers found the hem of her nightgown and with one yank, he ripped it away from her body.
The sound of her clothes being ripped away was erotic, making Mairi gasp in aroused pleasure.
Damen’s lips covered hers once more, his tongue diving into her mouth the same time his cock slid into her pussy in one smooth hard push.
Damen groaned as Mairi’s snug warmth closed around his engorged cock, the sound mingling with Mairi’s cry of pleasure. Incapable of waiting or thinking, he thrust in and out of her, love, passion, and desperation turning him into a rutting animal that only knew two things: the need to fuck, and the need to make his mate fuck him back.
Locking her legs around his waist, Mairi ran her hands down Damen’s smooth back. Her fingers dug into his buttocks, using it to anchor herself as she lifted her hips to meet his every thrust. Every instance of his cock plunging into her sent Mairi soaring higher and higher, each lunge causing her to feel more and more breathless—
“I need you to come soon, sweetheart,” Damen grated out. He could barely hear himself, a sensual stupor having taken over his brain. All he could think of at that moment was fucking Mairi hard until she was sobbing his name.
As if responding to his words, Mairi’s inner muscles locked more tightly around his cock. The sensation was pure pleasure, sharpened to the point of pain, and Damen’s mind shut down. “Mairi.” His fingers found her clitoris, and as his cock took full control, he squeezed the sensitive pearl of flesh, again and again.
Mairi’s world spun out of control at Damen’s touch, and she shattered around him with a scream, her cries of pleasure mingling with Damen’s more guttural groans as his fucking became wild and raw, his powerful hips slamming into her hard in an endless cycle of possession.
“Mine,” Damen growled even as his body couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t stop conquering her with his cock over and over. “Mine, always mine.”
Tears fell down her cheeks as Mairi wrapped her arms around his neck, hiding her face against his shoulder as she whispered, “Yours.” She welcomed his every possession, wanting to be conquered because she knew this was the last time she could be Damen’s. More tears fell, fast and furious, like raindrops of a dying storm, and tightening her arms around him, she whispered, “Always yours. Always.”
****
At eight in the morning, police officers escorted Yehor Kokinos out of his own office. His hands remained unrestrained out of respect for his age and position, but even so every employee in his company knew what was happening. People always knew what an arrest was when they saw one, with or without the cuffs.
“You’re making a mistake,” Yehor said between clenched teeth, but the officers flanking his sides did not respond. When they stepped out of his company’s fifty-story building, Yehor froze at the top of the stairs.
Standing next to the police car was a tall, dark-haired man Yehor had thought dead for many years.
Obviously, he had thought wrong. And just as obviously, Damen Leventis was the cause of this.
Teeth flashed in a predatory smile, and Yehor swallowed in fear at the sight of it.
“Good morning, Uncle.” The voice was cultured but without any trace of accent, power and strength honed in places that would never have names because only the dead were supposed to know about them.
His name was Acheron, and he was the real heir of the Kokinos fortune.
****
At nine in the morning, Esther Leventis walked inside the courtroom, her face expressionless, her back straight, as she claimed the seat next to her solicitor. She was dressed in an expensive white suit, with a rope of pearls around her neck. No one looking at her would have known that Esther was suffocating inside, the feeling of being strangled by an invisible noose never leaving her since her offer of a truce had been rejected by Damen.
Noting the vacant seats where Yehor Kokinos’ own legal team were supposed to sit, she turned to her lawyer, asking in a low voice, “Where are the Kokinos?”
“You don’t know?” Her lawyer shook his head, a harassed expression on his face. “He’s being interrogated by the police. I heard the IMF is also involved. It appears he was not the sole heir when his old man died.”
The invisible noose around her neck tightened by a fraction of an inch, and it took Esther a moment before she could speak. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means possible defeat if we cannot convince the judge that our claim against your son is valid. The judge can call for a vote if he considers your claim questionable. Without Yehor Kokinos’ presence, you would need the entire board to vote to keep you CEO.”
Her frustration subsided at the lawye
r’s explanation. She was so giddy with relief she even managed a laugh, the sound drawing the attention of the other people inside the courtroom. “Then this whole thing is over before it’s even started. If Damen thinks he can defeat me by finding some dirt in Yehor’s closet, he doesn’t know me very well. I’ve fired every board member who might side against me in this. Every seat in the board is now under my control.”
Her son had to be taught a lesson. After today, she would make sure to take everything from him. Since he was so stupidly in love with the slut, Esther thought vindictively, then let’s see if he could survive and exist on love alone.
Chapter Fourteen
She said: To wed a Greek billionaire is to live a life free of doubt.
He said: Are you saying you believe in me completely?
She said: Oh yes!
He said: Do you believe me when I tell you I am going to have you naked and moaning my name in ten seconds?
(Editor’s Note: It was actually just seven. I can run fast if I have to.)
A pair of oversized aviator glasses became Mairi’s shield as she placed her hand in Damen’s and allowed him to help her out of the car. Mairi had been okay with taking a cab, but Damen had insisted they use the car Stavros had loaned to them. He did not want to risk having his pregnant wife stranded if ever any kind of tussle erupted at the courtroom.
Knowing that every little thing mattered in today’s battle, Mairi had made sure that she dressed strategically for the occasion. Her dress, with its high neckline, three-fourth sleeves, and slightly loose fit ensured that she was the picture of propriety. She did not want anyone in the court to ever remember that she had once been branded as the most infamous mistress in Europe, a modern-day Mata Hari who had ensnared every Greek billionaire in the globe.
“Your hand’s too cold,” Damen noted tightly with a frown.
“It’s because I’m nervous, not dying,” she murmured under her breath as they went past the revolving doors, preceded by Drake’s intimidating-looking security team while the ex-sniper walked a few steps behind them.