by Marian Tee
“I’m sorry,” Yuri said tautly. “I didn’t mean to make you doubt…what we have.”
Instead of answering, she twined her fingers with his again, and the warm, forgiving gesture made Yuri swallow.
God. Damn. It.
How different she was. How special she was. And how unworthy he was for someone like her.
“It’s okay.” Her voice was soothing, and Yuri’s self-loathing increased when he realized she was actually trying to comfort him. “You can make it up to me next time, Yuri. Be quicker to show your jealousy.”
Ah, Kalli.
Her words – something only she could say and actually have it make sense – had him torn between laughing out loud and just walking away, never looking back.
Kalli started tugging on his hand, and he obeyed her silent command. They joined his friends, and the other three immediately did their best to make Kalli feel at ease with them. He watched them fawn over her, watched Kalli alternate between frowning and almost smiling at his friends’ teasing, and only one thought ran through his mind.
Too fast.
Too goddamn fast.
Everything was happening too goddamn fast.
Kalliope Antoniou had only been in his life for barely more than a day – most of that spent in a fucking airplane – and she had already remolded his world into something he didn’t recognize.
Because Kalli was different, because she was special, none of the rules applied.
His beautiful violet-eyed girl didn’t feel the need, the pressure, to get to know him first. She didn’t give a shit about what people would say if they learned she and Yuri had only met once before he had come to take her away from Greece.
For Kalli, insta-fucking-love was real.
For Kalli, love was a choice and a promise.
And Kalli had chosen him.
Yuri Athanas.
The heartless bastard who had lied to her.
Chapter Seven
He had forgotten about the sleeping arrangements.
Yuri wearily massaged the back of his neck in a futile effort to ease the tension inside him. This, he thought grimly, was shaping up to be the longest day in his life and even now, the rest of the night seemed to stretch endlessly before him.
From inside the shower, Kalli’s voice floated to him.
She was singing, and she was out of tune, which he found oddly charming. Even more odd was its effect on his body, but it was something Yuri was doing his best to ignore.
God. Damn. It.
Normally, Yuri didn’t swear as much as his friends did, but recent days had proved he also had the same capabilities, given the right provocation.
Inside the bathroom, he heard Kalli call out, “Yuri? Do I wear my pajamas or my nightgown?”
GOD. DAMN. IT.
Clearing his throat, Yuri said, “Pajamas.”
In a rare display of frustration, Yuri began to pace. He had to remember that where Kalli was concerned, anything sexual in nature could be too soon. And for all he knew, the right time might never come.
Even now, Yuri was still struggling to compartmentalize the parts where she remained a child and the parts where she was…not. She was fluent in several languages, but she couldn’t seem to grasp the need for tact. She understood stocks and investments, but she had anxiety attacks over the mere idea of someone lying to her.
Ultimately, she needed to be handled with care.
Yuri knew this. He only wished his dick knew it, too.
The door softly opened, and Kalli came out, her hair still wet and shiny, and wearing pajamas from Victoria’s Secret.
Yuri mentally banged his head against a wall.
Her tank top was made of ultra-thin cotton, its thin straps emphasizing her slim shoulders while the upper slopes of her breasts swelled above its low neckline. Its matching pajama bottoms weren’t any better, clinging to her long, shapely legs and the generous curves of her rounded butt.
She caught him looking at her and said innocently, “They’re new. Do you like them?”
Did he fucking like it?
Was that a fucking trick question?
Did she want him to show her how much he liked it?
Yuri managed a strained smile. “They’re pretty.” Pretty hot. Pretty sexy. Pretty fuckable. What the hell was he thinking?
“My turn now,” he said abruptly and walked past Kalli. He just had enough strength not to slam the door shut behind him. Stalking towards the shower, Yuri wondered grimly how long this insanity would last. Because it was insane, to want Kalli when she was still more child than woman in many ways.
Outside, he heard Kalli say to him, “I’m going to wait up for you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
Yuri almost smiled at the stubborn note in her voice. “I’ll be as fast as I can.” He switched the shower on. He had only started shampooing his hair when he heard her call out again.
“What is it?”
“Can I talk to you while you’re in the shower?”
He frowned at the sudden odd break in her voice. Switching off the shower, he asked, “Are you okay? Do you need me to come out?” He forced himself to wait for her answer. Even though his first instincts were to check on her, Yuri knew if he did he would end up just like Mila Antoniou. He wanted Kalli protected from all harm, but more than that, he wanted her to be strong enough to enjoy a normal life. He owed it to her, at the very least, since it was Antoniou money that had ensured his own sister had a normal life.
“Yes, it’s okay.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Well…ask then.” He switched the shower back on but moved his head away from the showerhead while waiting for Kalli to speak.
“…explain…weird…me?”
“Could you repeat that?” Yuri turned the knob so he could reduce the flow of water and hear Kalli better.
“I said,” Yuri heard Kalli say matter-of-factly, “Can you explain to me why my body feels so weird when you’re too close to me?”
Yuri stilled.
“You see,” Kalli continued guilelessly, “I suddenly can’t stop thinking about how hard your body is.”
Yuri switched off the heater. A second later, jets of icy cold water shot out of the showerhead and cascaded down his naked body, but even so it wasn’t enough to stop his dick from jutting up.
Kalli couldn’t stop thinking about how hard his body was.
His dick went from half-erect to powerfully aroused and throbbing like mad at the thought, and Yuri stifled a groan. What the fuck had he done so wrong in his past life that he had to undergo this kind of torture?
“It’s so different from my body or Grandmother’s. Do you think that’s why I feel weird?”
He desperately tried turning the knob a little more to the right, hoping the water would turn freezing cold. But it didn’t.
“Yuri?”
Trying to ignore the way his balls ached under his throbbing cock, he cleared his throat and, moving his head away from the showerhead, he asked thickly, “Can you explain to me what you mean by, ah, ‘weird’?”
“Well…”
He could almost see Kalli closing her eyes as she thought of his question. A second later, and the image rearranged itself, Kalli sprawled naked on his bed, her eyes closed, her lips parted in a silent moan of desire.
God. Damn. It.
“It starts with my breath.”
Breath. Right. He could hear her breathing hard, panting, as he fucked her hard—
“The closer you are, the harder it is for me to breathe.”
Same here, sweetheart. He leaned his arms against the walls, needing to keep his hands as far away from his dick. Trying to get his own breathing back to normal, he managed to ask, “What…else…is weird?”
“Well…everything.” Her voice had gone lower, shyer, and more nervous. “I…I feel like I’m burning hot—”
Dammit. Control yourself, Yuri Athanas
.
“And I just don’t understand why I feel that way when I don’t have a fever.”
That hot?
Kalli was that hot for…him?
His control snapped.
His fingers wrapped around his cock.
“And then there are tingles.” Kalli’s voice was slightly breathless now.
Yuri couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t even thinking of breathing now. At this point, all he wanted was—
“Tingles all over my body, Yuri…”
To hell with everything, Yuri thought.
He started pleasuring himself, and his fully engorged cock felt close to bursting at the first stroke.
Outside, he heard Kalli say wonderingly, “Oh, Yuri.”
God, he could imagine her in his bed, moaning the same thing as he sank his cock into her.
“I’m feeling weird again.”
Biting back a groan, Yuri moved his hand faster.
In his mind, the image was so damn vivid it was like the vision had been there all along, etched in his soul.
Kalli, looking at him, her wide violet eyes filled with desire—
Kalli, reaching for the back of her dress to unzip herself—
Kalli, letting the dress slip down her body—
“Yuri?”
It was the real Kalli saying his name, and his mind didn’t hesitate to use it in its fantasy.
Yuri, his imaginary Kalli moaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
Yuri. She was digging her nails into his back.
Yuri. She screamed his name as she came.
A harsh, rough growl escaped Yuri as he came hard. He jerked himself off furiously, his eyes squeezing shut at the strength of his orgasm.
When he got out of the shower, Kalli took one look at him and said worriedly, “Your face is red.”
“Err, is it?” Guilt had his flush deepening and making Yuri unavailable to meet her gaze. He couldn’t believe he had actually masturbated to the thought of fucking Kalliope Antoniou.
“Do you think you have a fever? Are you hot, too?”
Yes, he was, but not for the reason she was thinking.
Out loud, Yuri wisely changed the subject, asking, “Are you ready for bed?” But as soon as he asked the question, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. His imagination went into overdrive, deliberately twisting the meaning of having Kalli ready for bed.
He saw it so damn clearly.
Kalli, pulling her tank top over her head to reveal the sweet curve of her breasts—
Kalli, wriggling her pert bottom as she took off her pajama bottoms—
Kalli, offering herself to him in all her naked beauty—
A groan slipped past his lips.
Kalli gasped. “You are ill!” Scrambling to her feet, she flew to Yuri’s side and reached up to feel his forehead, not realizing that doing so would cause her body to press tightly against his.
Fuck!
She didn’t have any bra under her pajama top!
His body went taut with reawakened desire at the realization, and Yuri’s gaze immediately became shuttered to prevent Kalli from seeing the need in his eyes.
“You don’t feel hot.”
Worry made Kalli’s voice huskier, which wasn’t exactly a good thing since it only added fuel to his desire. It was all Yuri could do not to snatch her into his arms, slam his mouth down on hers, and fuck her hard.
“But I’m still worried.”
To his shock, he suddenly felt Kalli wrapping her arms around his neck, her body automatically fitting against his.
Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her body as well and pulled her to him tightly.
“Yuri…” Her breasts rubbed against his chest as she spoke.
“What is it?” he managed to rasp out as his cock jutted demandingly against the thin fabric of his sweatpants.
“I don’t want you to be sick.”
Ah.
Somehow, the words – the goddamn sweetness of it – gave Yuri the strength to regain his control. He wanted to fuck her still – he had a bad feeling the urge would never go away – but this time, he was certain it would remain as such. A desire, unfulfilled, and one he was determined to keep that way for as long as he could manage it.
“I’m fine, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of her head even though the tenderness of it made him feel sick to his stomach. A part of Yuri was telling him he was pretending again and that no matter how much he wanted to change, it would be impossible.
He would always be a heartless bastard.
“Yuri?”
The tremulous note in her voice made his arms tighten around her. “What is it, sweetheart?”
Kalli tried to breathe normally, but it was hard. Grief, made worse by the remnants of shock, was a crushing weight on her soul, and she had a sudden, crazy urge to cry.
Mila Antoniou was truly gone.
Her mind knew this, but her heart hadn’t really accepted it.
Mila, the first person who had loved her and thought she was worth loving.
Kalli looked up at Yuri, and her heart squeezed painfully at the thought that one day, he might be gone like Mila, too. The thought terrified her so much it had Kalli shaking her head. “No.” She knew she was talking to herself, but she didn’t give a damn. She wanted to tell her mind very clearly that she would no longer entertain such thoughts. Yuri would not leave her like that. Yuri was young. Yuri was strong. Yuri would live for as long as she lived.
She raised pain-filled eyes to Yuri. “Right, Yuri?”
He wondered if she knew she was asking him to join in a conversation he hadn’t even heard. But even so, he only said gently, “Tell me what you want to hear, sweetheart.”
“Promise me you won’t leave me.” Her voice broke. “You’re all I have.”
He didn’t hesitate. “I promise.” Some lies had to be said without hesitation, and Yuri knew with all his heart this was one of those lies. Even if he weren’t sure what the future held for them, he could not – would not – ever do anything that would make Kalli feel alone and helpless again.
They stared at each other, and slowly the fear faded from her eyes. She wetted her lips unconsciously, and the tension in the air changed.
Fuck. Yuri’s body was hard in an instant, and so was his dick.
“I feel so weird again,” Kalli whispered.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
No fucking way he would be able to resist that.
“Close your eyes,” he commanded thickly.
Her lids swept down, her long, dark lashes resting like silky fans against her pale cheeks.
Yuri lowered his head.
Kalli’s heart slammed against her chest as something like fire, but hotter and more alive, started licking her skin. He was going to kiss her, she realized, and the thought had her pulse racing even faster.
She thought about all the romantic stories and videos on the Internet she devoured and became dizzier with excitement. This would be exactly like those stories. Those videos. Those stolen glimpses of love.
Her throat tightened, and her heart knocked harder against her chest.
Another moment passed – one that felt like both an eternity and an infinitesimal fraction of a second – and suddenly, Yuri’s lips were brushing against hers.
Oh. She squeezed her eyes shut more tightly, feeling like she was living a dream and it would shatter the moment she opened her eyes.
Again and again, Yuri brushed his lips over hers, and with each stroke, her temperature would go up a notch. So, so hot, Kalli thought dizzily. Feeling herself sway, she found her hands moving on its own accord, going up Yuri’s hard chest before settling on his broad shoulders—
Aaaah.
Suddenly, she felt his tongue nudging her lips to open, and the sensation was so strangely beautiful she couldn’t help doing what he wanted again.
A shudder of desire racked Yuri’s powerful body as Kalli’s lips parted under his in surrender. Telling himself to take
it easy, he claimed her mouth gently at first, moving his tongue in slow, languid strokes. But her taste was intoxicating, sweeter than anything else he could remember, and his tongue moved deeper into her mouth.
Dimly, he heard her gasp again, and he tried to gentle his kiss—
But then he felt Kalli tighten her arms around his neck, the same time she moaned his name. “Yuri.”
Ah, God.
This time, it was real.
Kalli was truly moaning his name.
Gripping her hair, he deepened the kiss, but it wasn’t enough. He started sucking on her tongue, and he was rewarded by the sound of her whimper.
Kalli’s senses were swimming. Why had the Internet not told her a kiss could be this wonderful? This dazzling? This intense?
Dimly, she felt Yuri pushing her towards the bed, and a second later, they were there, both of them lying on their sides, and still the kiss continued. Another second, and Yuri had somehow managed to lift her on top of him without breaking the kiss.
Oh, oh, oh. She could no longer think. She could no longer breathe. All she could do was love. She loved him with every second they kissed. She loved him with every whimper that slipped past her lips. She loved him, oh how she loved him.
Yuri found the strength to end the kiss just before his cock’s urgent demands took over his body. If he had allowed it to continue just one second more, he was damn sure Kalli wouldn’t wake up a virgin the next day.
And that, Yuri thought grimly, would be too much, even for a heartless bastard like him.
Kalli was still lying on top of him, and his arm tightened around her waist. He wanted – no, he needed – her to stay close to him, but he refused to allow himself to think why.
“Yuri.”
God. Her sexy husky whisper made him close his eyes in agony. How he wanted her, this woman-child who was everything he wanted and didn’t deserve. Striving to keep his desire from coating his voice, he asked, “What is it?’
In a small, shy voice, Kalli asked, “Will I always feel this weird?”
God. He wanted to kiss her again. But somehow, he found the discipline not to, knowing that with Kalli, he had to tread very carefully. Pressing a kiss to her hair, he said quietly, honestly, “I hope so.”