Total pages in book: 189
Estimated words: 178200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 713(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 178200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 713(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
“Maybe you should take the day off and say you’re sick so you can get some rest,” Mandy suggested.
Velvet nodded. “You already look terrible anyway.” Mandy kicked her under the table and she quickly corrected herself, “I mean, you’ve been working hard lately so maybe the stress has finally caught up with you and...” She trailed off lamely. Bedside manners were not her forte.
Mairi tried to up her cheer factor by another notch. “Seriously guys, I’m okay.” And she was – or she would be. She had to be. She needed to move on because last night made it so painfully clear.
Damen Leventis was not the man she was supposed to live happily ever after with.
The rest of the day proceeded in a tediously slow manner, with every second ticking by a slow kind of torture. She did her best to keep busy, but there were only so many triple checks on students’ book reports she could do before the words started to swim before her eyes.
She tried to forget, too, but that one was even more difficult. It was as if she was fated to hear the words over and over. Damen Leventis had been betrothed for years – and he had taken Mairi’s virginity even when he already belonged to someone else.
Not a single Greek billionaire in her favorite stories was that much of a bastard.
Her phone buzzed and she fumbled in her haste to get to it, her silly heart still stupidly yearning to hear from Damen. Maybe...maybe he had realized he was wrong, had gotten out of the betrothal, and now he wanted her back?
She opened the message.
Oh drat. It was just a reminder that her payment for this month’s usage was due.
Mairi wanted to throw her phone away after reading it.
Afternoon skies darkened into the evening, but she still didn’t hear from him.
“THANK YOU FOR TAKING me out again, but this time you are going to let me pay or I swear I won’t hang out with you anymore.” It had been almost two weeks since she had made Her Greatest Mistake and Mairi was only starting to move on. Mandy and Velvet helped a lot, as did her work and more recently, she even had Ioniko Vlahos helping to keep her occupied.
They were enjoying a meal in his yacht again – the only “safe” and “private” place Ioniko could vouch for as Mairi was adamant about not being seen in public fraternizing with a school patron. It was a beautiful yacht, sleek and white on the outside, luxurious and decorated in plush purple on the inside.
Today, they had decided to enjoy coffee on the deck, lounging in the sun chairs while enjoying the cool breeze fanning their skins.
Ioniko studied the woman next to him intently. She was even lovelier and a hell of a lot sexier than he remembered. She also still had the most amazing breasts, rounded and pert without being too heavy. Even though Mairi liked to dress in loose tops, they were simply too abundant for their size to be properly hidden.
Mairi coughed.
Ioniko grinned as he met her gaze, knowing why she had called his attention.
“You can look at my face, you know,” she said dryly.
“Ditto,” he answered.
“Huh?”
“You look at me, but you do not really see me.”
She tried to make sense of it but couldn’t. “Umm...huh?”
Ioniko suddenly leaned forward, surprising her. Before Mairi could move back, he had already cupped her chin, another arm pulling her closer and closer until she was almost completely out of her chair.
Mairi pressed her lips together tightly. One tiny mistake and they would be...
“Not going to speak?” he whispered wickedly.
She couldn’t even shake her head. All she could do was glare. If she shook her head, they would be...
“Now,” he breathed, “Do you see me?”
Her eyes widened.
And yes, right now, she did see him.
Ioniko was dressed in nothing but black board shorts, leaving the rest of his naked and beautifully sculpted body exposed for anyone to admire. He had an equally gorgeous face and the always-present wicked gleam in his green eyes only made him more attractive.
He might only be a few years older than her, but there was no mistaking the wealth of experience he possessed as well as the raw strength and power contained in his lean muscular form.
Here was another tall, dark, and handsome Greek billionaire – and somehow she had failed to appreciate the fact.
Chapter 12
Ioniko slowly released her and Mairi collapsed back into her chair. “I am a patient man,” he murmured. “But I do not plan to wait forever. I will make my move eventually.”
“You make this sound like a chess game and you’re off to capture a pawn.” She reached for her coffee, thinking a little caffeine could help keep her senses alert.
“It is a game – all this is a game but you are no pawn. You’re the sexiest queen I’ve ever seen and I’ve wanted to fuck you since forever.”