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He said: With other women you mean?
She said: No, with their mothers.
MAIRI WOKE IN DAMEN’S arms, her body cushioned against his naked chest while they were both snuggled under the covers. When their eyes met, she opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
“Hi.”
She choked on her laughter. “Hi.”
He answered with a devastating smile but didn’t say anything else, content to simply gaze at her as he stroked her hair and caressed her cheek, his fingers occasionally drifting down to draw lazy shapes on the upper swell of her breasts.
She said slowly, “I love you, you know.”
He nodded. “I know.”
Mairi tried not to roll her eyes. Sometimes, he really was too much like the Greek billionaires she read about, the way he kept himself in a state of denial about his feelings for her. She was about to ask him if someone had hurt him in the past, but something interrupted her.
Damen’s fingers stilled.
And then—-
There it was again.
Her stomach – growling.
“I’m going to call for room service.”
She caught his arm just before he could start dialing. “There’s no need,” Mairi told him. “I can prepare something for myself as long as the kitchen’s fully stocked.”
“It is.”
She beamed. “Good.” She gently pulled away from Damen. “Would you like me to prepare something for you, too? Maybe a sandwich or salad?”
“Sandwich, I suppose.” He looked at her blandly even as his eyes gleamed wickedly. “I developed an appetite after fucking—-”
Mairi nearly stumbled out of the bed in her haste to get away. “I’ll go get the sandwich now.” Dirty talk while making love, she could handle. But dirty talk when they were not making love still easily made her blush.
Slipping into Damen’s shirt after asking for his permission, Mairi rushed downstairs and found the entire floor empty. After playing with several light switches, she finally found the right combination that would light her way to the kitchen.
The doorbell for the main entrance started to ring by the time she finished slicing some bread and cheese. Walking towards it, she tiptoed to look through the peephole and saw a glamorous older woman waiting impatiently outside. She recognized the face immediately. Unlike her son, Esther Leventis was frequently photographed for the society pages.
Mairi’s fingers hovered over the doorknob – should she open the door herself or get Damen to do it? But what if Esther found out that Mairi had made her wait?
The doorbell rang again, making Mairi jump. Oh drat. Here goes nothing, Mairi thought, taking several deep breaths before reaching out to open the door and then hiding immediately behind it. She tried her best to flatten herself against the wall as she heard the sharp clicking of stilettos on the marbled floor.
“Damen?” The voice had a very strong Greek accent with an imperious tone to it. This was a woman who sounded like she was better suited dressed in Spandex and leather than silks and furs.
The door swung shut, leaving her completely exposed. Shiiii—-
Esther Leventis spun around at the sound and immediately saw the young woman positioned against the wall like a scarecrow. In seconds, she zeroed in on several key facts about the stranger in her son’s villa.
She looked exactly the type to attract Damen, she was obviously young, gauche, and innocent, and most importantly, the fact that she was wearing a man’s shirt meant she had just come from Damen’s bed.
Slut, Esther thought with a lift of her chin.
Mairi felt like shrinking to nothing at the way Damen’s mother gazed at her. She opened her mouth to say something in her defense, but what could she say? Greek mothers were either terribly protective or possessive of their sons. Either way, things just did not look good for her.
“Where is my son?”
“I’ll call him right now—-”
Esther raised a hand, stopping Mairi in her tracks. “I appreciate the offer, but no, your assistance is unnecessary. You may go now. I assure you that I have much to talk about with my son regarding his betrothal. He will not have much time for you.”
The woman still did not move.
She raised a brow, demanding impatiently, “Well?”
Mairi couldn’t get any part of her body to work. Her lips felt numb, her heart was crushed, and her mind had totally snapped. Had Esther Leventis said...betrothal?
“Mother?” Damen appeared at the foot of the stairs, a stunned look on his gorgeous face. Dressed only in cotton slacks and nothing else, he looked like he had just stepped off an ad for a beach resort.
He also had a raging hard on, patently made obvious by the thinness of his slacks.
Esther’s lips tightened at the sight and turned her head away. “Go and change into something proper.”
Ignoring his mother completely, he strode to Mairi, who was alarmingly pale and vulnerable. “Mairi? Are you okay?” He tipped her face up, and something inside of him twisted painfully at the sight of the unshed tears in her eyes. What the hell had Esther told her to make her want to cry?
