by Marian Tee
“Damen!” It hurt, the pain blazing, enough to have her feel like she was about to lose consciousness.
Pinching her nipple to have her gasp, he used the distraction to move his hand back down once more and teased her clitoris anew while keeping his finger inside her other hole.
Pain and pleasure battled inside her. It was impossible to forget the rawness of his penetration, but it was just as impossible to ignore the aching bliss of his fingers on her clit. She whimpered, she moaned, she cried, not knowing what she was begging Damen for. All she knew was that she couldn’t take anymore—
“Damen!” His finger had started moving inside her other hole.
“It will be even better soon, darling.” He spoke the words between clenched teeth, the sexy sounds Mairi was making enough to test his control. He fucked her with his fingers from the other side, knowing that the sensation of being doubly penetrated would soon make her forget the pain.
In, out. In, out. Oh God, would it ever end? Would she want it to end? Please, please—
She didn’t know when it happened or how. All Mairi knew was that her body craved his possession in a way it had never before.
And he knew it.
He pulled his finger out, and without giving her time to draw another breath, he pried her cheeks open and slid the head of his cock in. Her moan blended with his groan, the pleasure taking them both by surprise.
She was tight, extremely so, more than he could have ever imagined. He wanted to move, wanted to sink deeper into her ass but he did his best to control his desires. Mairi was not just any girl. She was the woman he loved. He would rather slit his throat than have her hurt the tiniest bit once more.
The urge to move became stronger, and he dug his nails into the sides of her hips. He drew a breath—
And that was when he felt it.
Mairi, moving slightly back to bump against him, causing the entire head of his cock to slide inside her.
She moaned, but this time he couldn’t detect even the slightest thread of pain in it.
Or at least he didn’t think he had. Dio, let it not be his imagination giving him an alibi to move. “Mairi,” he said hoarsely. Perspiration covered his body, a result of his extreme efforts. “How do you feel now?”
Unable to make her throat work, Mairi could only push herself against him harder.
Fuck.
He did not imagine that.
Damen tried to keep his touch gentle as he pushed her down, silently commanding Mairi to flatten herself against the bed. She did so with a whimper, her hands clutching a part of the bedsheets between her fingers.
She was right to be scared.
Damen’s hands returned to clasp her hips in a chain-like grip. No matter how much she’d wriggle or try to break free, Mairi knew it would be impossible now. No matter how much she begged, she knew Damen wouldn’t let go of her now. And oh dear, but how that thrilled her—
“I’m going to ride you hard now, matakia mou.”
Oh, oh, oh – did he really have to tell her that? Did he really want her to be even more nervous and tense as she waited for him to…to—
He withdrew, creating a popping sound as the immense head of his long and hard cock came out of her ass.
Mairi gripped the bedsheets harder, her breaths coming in deep fast gulps—
Without warning, Damen pushed his cock back in, fast, strong, and hard in a totally unexpected and absolutely possessive move.
Pain and pleasure ripped through Mairi, making her scream, but there was nowhere to go now. Damen had her in his possession, and he kept ramming into her, over and over, harder and faster, stronger than he had ever taken her.
His cock, its every movement and possession, soon became her world. Her eyelids drifted closed and her fingers tightened on the bedsheets as each thrust caused her breasts to jiggle and squish against the bed.
He was so rough, so dominant, this Greek billionaire of hers, but she wouldn’t want him any other way.
She gasped when he suddenly pressed close, her back against his chest. One hand went down, large fingers clasping hers on the bed while his other arm went around her waist, moving down to play with her clit.
Her eyes widened and her gasps became strangled, the way his fingers moved deftly over her clit causing Mairi’s pleasure to spiral out of control.
“Oh, God, I can’t—”
“I’m taking you every way, matakia mou.”
The fierce tone of his voice caused her to twist her head so she could look at him.
And that was it.
He claimed her lips, his touch claimed her pussy, and his cock claimed her ass.
Tongue thrusting, fingers thrusting, and his cock ramming into her.
HARD. HARD. OH, OH, OH, SOOOO HARD.
She screamed and sobbed her release against his mouth, her entire body shuddering against his as Damen proved true to his words.
She was his, in every way, and he was making sure she would never forget it.
****
When Mairi resurfaced, she was alone in their bed, Damen watching her idly as he stood next to the open doors of their bedroom’s balcony, a dark silhouette against the bright sunlight.
He was, she noticed drowsily, dressed in a shirt and board shorts, and with sunglasses pushed up on his head. Too gorgeous to be true, she thought helplessly as butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
“Are you going out?” she asked.
He nodded. “Would you like to come with me?” He paused. “If you’re not too busy trying to find work?”
She forced a laugh. “I can put it off,” Mairi said airily. She would never ever tell him about the countless rejection letters she had received via her email, all of it proof that the Kokinos and Esther Leventis’ threats about blacklisting her in Greece had not been just words.
Something that felt like distaste soured his tongue, but Damen ignored it, telling himself that there was nothing wrong about Mairi living the life of an idle billionaire’s wife. For that was what she could be as the woman he loved.
Mairi asked awkwardly, “What about you? Don’t you have work to do today?” There were so many questions she wanted to ask. What did his board have to say about the impact of his broken engagement on the planned merger between the two shipping empires? What measures had he taken to address the sliding prices of his company’s stocks? Had he met with his publicist already and strategized about reputation management?
She wanted to ask so many more, but Mairi managed to hold her tongue. Damen Leventis was a proud man and she did not want him to think she was doubting his ability to solve his problems.
Was that all she was going to ask? Did she really care about him? And why were all these doubts surfacing now, when he had already made his bed and the whole world expected him to lie on it with his American schoolteacher?
Damen forced a smile. “You’re marrying a billionaire, matakia mou. Have you forgotten that fact?”
Was it just her imagination or did his words seem…loaded? She shook the thought away. “My bad,” she answered lightly. “I did forget that the great and mighty Damen Leventis is indeed one of the world’s richest men.”
Her exaggerated tone made him laugh.
Rolling her eyes at him, she asked, “But really, where are you going? Can I come with you?”
Chapter Two
One moment, Mairi was staring white-faced at their guides as they let her and Damen loose, the strong winds speeding up their ascent, her feet barely touching the floor of the speedboat. It felt like a giant invisible hand was pulling the parachute strapped to their backs. The next moment, they were flying—
“Aaaaaaah!”
Her Greek billionaire, gorgeous, sexy jerk that he was, simply laughed in the face of her fear.
Ignoring Damen, Mairi slowly opened her eyes, looking down to see how high off the ground they were.
Too high.
She closed her eyes again. What she had gotten herself into? And why, oh why ha
d she been silly enough to think she could do parasailing—
“Matakia mou,” a sweetly dark voice murmured. “Open your eyes.”
Ah, yes, now she remembered.
It was because Damen Leventis had wanted to do this with her, and Mairi could not resist anything he asked.
One strong hand cupped her cheek, stroking the soft skin gently. “Come on, Mairi.”
Strong winds continued to whip them from behind, making her feel like they were going to be blown away anytime. Her feet dangled in the air, and after what she had seen, Mairi did not like to think about how much air there was between them and the ocean.
And yet—
That voice.
It was the most beautiful sound on earth.
She opened her eyes and stared straight into his. “I. Hate. You.”
Damen laughed again.
Ah, dear Lord, would she never tire of hearing that sound?
Damen Leventis was not the man who laughed easily or often. But that he did so with her – even if it was usually Damen laughing at her – never failed to make…
His eyes moved down briefly before returning to her face. “Your toes are curling,” he remarked, a sly smile that was also irritatingly sexy forming on his thin beautiful lips.
“It’s because I hate you.”
His knuckles brushed her cheek once more in response. “Do you really?”
He was blatantly seducing her.
And she was, darn it, happy to be seduced.
“I—” Her words were cut off by a sudden loud creaking sound from one of the metal chains that kept them connected to their parachutes.
Damen saw Mairi’s face turn white.
Knowing she was seriously scared now, he asked tautly, “Mairi, look at me.”
She raised fear-darkened eyes to him.
Ah, shit. Why had he thought to take her parasailing when she was clearly scared out of her mind? What an asshole he was. This vacation on Crete was supposed to be an unforgettable memory for them, not a fucking nightmare for her.
“You’re safe with me.” He spoke in a quiet and firm voice, an unconscious reminder that he was her rock and he would do anything to protect her.
She nodded, the movement slight.
“I’m going to wave to the guides now,” he told her. “I’ll get them to reel us down—”
Mairi quickly shook her head. “No, I’m okay. Just…” She smiled weakly. “Talk to me while we’re here?”
“Talk…to you?”
“It could be anything. I feel…” Color stained her cheeks as she mumbled, “I won’t be so scared if I hear you talking.”
Ah, fuck.
How quickly she could disarm him, her words something that not even the most professional gold digger could ever say convincingly. When she said things like that to him, when she looked like that at him, Damen’s cynicism disappeared like it had never existed.
When she was this fucking sweet, the past would come back to him but they were not memories that haunted Damen’s mind. Instead, they worked like fucking sunlight, making him remember that the person in front of him was no ordinary girl.
This was Mairi.
The girl who had never stopped loving him, not even when the whole world believed he loved another woman.
“Sometimes, matakia mou, I hate you, too.”
Mairi’s eyes widened, her face paling even more.
“I hate that with so few words, you have me twisted in knots. I hate that just by looking at you, I feel scared like I have never been scared before. I’m fucking terrified that one day you will wake up…” An ironic smile flitted over his hard, handsome face. “…and wise up to the fact that you’ve fallen in love with a bastard.”
As he paused, there was no other sound apart from the gentle whistling tune of the dying winds. Around them were blue skies, dotted by fluffs of white clouds and emerald peaks of mountains that rose proudly from the islands’ powdery white sands and turquoise waters.
Surrounded by such breathtaking beauty, the ugly memories of the past faded. Here, there were no sleazy reporters hounding them, no contemptuous gazes accusing them of infidelity – no one to tell them that they were not meant for each other.
Damen wiped the single tear that trailed down Mairi’s cheek. “Are you crying because I hate you so much?”
She nodded.
“And if I ask you to marry me,” he asked unevenly, “because I want to keep hating you for the rest of our lives—”
Mairi’s lips parted in shock, disbelief written all over her face.
Uncertainty and fierce need turned his voice rough. “Will you marry me, Mairi?”
She stared at him.
“Mairi?”
Her lips tightened.
“Mairi?” he growled again even as he started to feel sick to his stomach. She would answer yes, of course. She loved him, didn’t she? And if she said no, it might just be because she was acrophobic and was not thinking too clearly.
Below them, the guides were waving at Damen and Mairi, indicating that their fifteen minutes were up and they would be reeled back down to the speedboat slowly.
Mairi was still staring at him.
What if…what if she was just staring at him because she couldn’t find the words to tell him he was asking too soon? He tensed at the thought. Was it too soon?
He swallowed thickly. “Mairi, if you…” If you say no, I don’t think there’s any point in living? Too fucking sappy even if it was true.
Their feet grazed the surface of the water.
Everyone could see them now. If she said no now, everyone would know, too.
He took a deep breath—
“Whoa!” the guide exclaimed as he and his companions pulled on the ropes to make sure Damen and Mairi didn’t crash into the roofed area of the speedboat. They worked fast afterwards, untying and unlocking to release them from the parachute.
And then they were free.
Mairi threw herself into his arms, surprising Damen so much that he found himself falling and landing on his back, Mairi on top of him.
In a rush, she told him, “I couldn’t answer earlier because I was airsick and I was in serious danger of throwing up on you if I opened my mouth and if that happened, that would be so gross since just earlier I ate an entire bottle of fresh olives and oh my God what if I threw up all those olives on you—”
His head reeled, but before he could make sense of her rambling answer she was already kissing him. “Yes, Damen,” she whispered, her eyes shining so brightly it made Damen swallow. “Yes, yes, yes.”
Chapter Three
It was a rainy day when they flew back home, with the many calls coming from Damen’s headquarters in Athens forcing them to cut their vacation short. And yet, although their flight had not been planned at all, the paparazzi was in full force when Damen’s private jet landed.
Her phone beeped as the crew opened the jet’s main door and she and Damen stood in front of it, waiting for the ground staff to roll the mobile staircase towards them. Checking her phone, Mairi saw that it was from Aunt Norah. You look good on TV.
She automatically forced a smile on her lips, knowing that the message was a subtle reminder from her aunt to stay strong, or at least look strong in public.
“We hope you had a pleasant flight, Mr. Leventis, Ms. Tanner.”
Mairi nodded her thanks, her stomach queasy at the thought of once again coming in close contact with the press. Damen squeezed her hand. “Just stick close to me. Do not look at them, do not talk to them, and it will be fine.”
She nodded. It was all she could manage.
They came down, Damen moving steadily and confidently and Mairi doing her best to keep a calm appearance. Alina Kokinos would have done so much better than Mairi if she was the one in this position, Mairi thought miserably.
The flash coming from the press’ huge camera bulbs was so blindingly bright Mairi had to shield her gaze against them, forgetting the fact that the hand she
was using to protect her eyes was—
Seeing what his fiancée had just done, Damen smirked and pulled Mairi close to him. “You’ve done it,” he told her.
“Done what?”
The shit hit the fan.
As Mairi and Damen got off the last step of the jet’s staircase, everyone started trying to outshout each other with their questions.
“WHEN DID YOU GET ENGAGED?”
“WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE MS. TANNER OVER THE KOKINOS HEIRESS?”
“IS SHE THAT GOOD IN BED?”
“WHAT DOES IONIKO VLAHOS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT YOUR ENGAGEMENT?”
Mairi stumbled at Ioniko’s name and the reporters tried to press forward like hounds sensing a kill, wanting to capture any kind of look on Mairi’s face. But Damen had schooled her well, and she kept her face down, not looking at any of them.
If only, she thought wistfully, she could be as cool as Damen. How did he do it, walking like it was normal to wear dark glasses on a rainy day? It didn’t make sense but he made it look like it was the fashionable thing to do.
As they neared the limousine, one of the reporters shouted, “Do you think your sister approves of your wedding?”
Mairi paled at the question.
“What about your potential brother-in-law, Stavros Manolis—”
Mairi’s head snapped towards the press at the last question.
Click.
Damen hauled her back to his side. “Ignore them,” he said harshly as he tried to keep pace with Mairi, doing his best not to cause her to run towards the limousine waiting for them at the end of the tarmac. Would he cause another scandal if he simply swept her up in his arms? Probably, Damen thought, but right now he was close to not caring.
When they were inside the limousine, Damen and Mairi sat apart on the same side. He waited for her to say something.
She didn’t.
Stavros Manolis. Mairi was in a daze. Could it be the same man? She turned to Damen, seeking answers to the jumbled questions in her mind, her instincts telling her that if there was something she could not solve, Damen could and would help her with it.
The look of entreaty on Mairi’s face made Damen want to curse. She was silently asking questions he did not want her to ask, but when she looked at him like he was her fucking knight – even after everything – Damen knew he would do whatever she damn asked, even if it meant having his heart on a platter.