A Fling with the Greek Billionaire (18 page)

“I haven’t fucked you for that yet,” he pointed out.

“I’ll give you an IOU,” she answered promptly. “Now, tell me.”

He thought of refusing. He considered what she would gain from the knowledge and couldn’t think of any since the NDA he had her sign protected him from every kind of threat she represented.

So why ask? Was it really because she wanted to know where she went wrong? Or was she asking because she wanted to see if there was something she could do to enslave him again?

She would be disappointed if it was the latter. Eventually, she would know that whatever lessons his childhood taught him – none of it had been as effective as Daria’s own betrayal had been.
She
was the one who taught him about love and distrust, and it was a lesson he would never forget.

“Nik? It’s okay if you can’t—” Daria stopped at Nik’s shake of his head.

Nik started to speak.
 

His tone was completely dispassionate as he gave her a concise summary of his childhood. The more she listened, the more aghast she was and the harder it was not to cry. She could see how Nik was deliberately using technical terms to eliminate any kind of drama in his story, but it didn’t work.

She only had to read between the lines, and she hurt.

He had issues of displacement.

It meant Nik felt like he didn’t belong to anyone.

Certain foster parents proved to be unfit due to a conflict of interest.

It meant they had wanted his money more than they had wanted him.

He had spent most of his formative years with Beth Lewis, but the responsibility of caring for a teenager who was not related to her by blood eventually took its toll.

It meant Beth Lewis had hurt him the most, but Nik still believed it was his fault for expecting more than he should have.

When Nik was finished speaking, he was surprised to see Daria’s eyes bright with unshed tears. “You look like you’re about to cry again,” he said flatly.

She nodded, mumbling, “I probably would have long ago, if I was allowed to.”

Nik blinked. “
Allowed
? Someone’s preventing you from crying?”

She hesitated before explaining, “I don’t let myself cry as a punishment.”

He was even more puzzled. “Punishment?” When she didn’t answer, he said quietly, “Daria?”

Daria took a deep breath. “I’m punishing myself for hurting you.”

This time, it was Nik’s turn to become silent. It was tortuous to wait, and she found herself swallowing convulsively while her heart began to stutter again.

Up, down, up, down—

But it was a rollercoaster journey that was more terrifying than exciting.

“Daria?”

Her gaze jerked back to his. “Yeah?”

“Never say anything about the past again.” Nik’s chilling voice made his unspoken threat clear, and her heart crashed as it realized that Nik wouldn’t hesitate to leave if she didn’t concede to his wishes this once.

In Nik’s eyes, Daria insisting to talk about the past was Daria admitting she wanted to make a fool out of him again.

Her eyes burned more painfully as she whispered, “I promise. I won’t talk about the past again.” And she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.
 

From now on, all she would be able to do was love Nik without saying a word and hope that in time, he would hear her. Understand her. Forgive her.

Chapter Seven

The days Daria spent with Nik eventually fell into a routine. Mondays, he would leave early from work, arriving at her apartment right after lunch. So far, they still hadn’t been able to make it to the bedroom. They almost made it last week – Daria’s back was against the bedroom door, both of them still fully clothed. Mondays were always spent entirely in her apartment. She would have groceries delivered, and both of them took turns cooking. If they weren’t making love, they were either talking or doing something together.

Fridays, Nik skipped work completely, joining Daria as early as breakfast. Fridays were like date nights, only they lasted twenty-four hours, and they were always surprises. One night, they had gone club hopping, another day they had played tourists in Staten Island. They had attended a museum auction to buy artwork for his home, gone around Central Park in a carriage, and enjoyed a popular Broadway play with front-row seats.

Daria never spoke of the past when they were together. Nik never said goodbye when he left. And in the seven weeks she had been his mistress, Nik had demanded her presence outside of their scheduled days only once.

He had wanted her to accompany him in his flight to Europe. The moment she had boarded his private jet, Nik wordlessly took her to his cabin, and Daria earned her mile-high club entry that night. Only when Nik had gone and left her alone in the jet had she realized with mortification that the noise they made – her cries and the thump of furniture against the cabin’s thin walls – would have made what they were doing obvious to anyone who could hear it.

And since she had been pretty sure the whole crew heard them, Daria had desperately avoided everyone’s gazes the entire flight back.

Remembering the incident made Daria sigh now. Their arrangement wasn’t perfect, she knew, but she was also aware that she hadn’t been this happy since the days she had spent with Nik on the island.

Sighing again, Daria padded towards her desk and pulled the main drawer open. Taking a seat, she rummaged through the magazines and sketchpads until she found her calendar. It was custom-designed, with only Mondays and Fridays to make the waiting more bearable whenever Nik wasn’t with her.

As she slashed a red X on the eighth Monday, Daria heard the door open as Nik stepped out of the shower. She hastily put the calendar back inside her drawer and took out her sketchpad, pretending to be busy.

“You’re going to work at this hour?” Nik was surprised. She had never worked while they were together.
 

“Umm, yeah. I need to give this to the printer tomorrow.” She flipped the sketchpad open to a blank page. “Do you mind?” She expected Nik to simply shake his head and leave her be. Except for that one time in the island, Nik hadn’t bothered asking her about her work again.

But instead, she saw Nik reach for the stool from the dresser and, pulling it closer towards the desk, lowered himself on it. “Mind if I watch you?”

Daria blinked. “You want to watch me work?”

“That
is
what I said,” he answered dryly.

“Why?” she blurted out.

He shrugged.

“Are you sure you won’t be bored?”

“I doubt it.”

Realizing that was all she was going to get, she mumbled, “Up to you.” Pulling the smaller drawer open, she took out her pencils and paints and started to draw.
 

Nik quietly watched Daria work, and as her drawing came to life, it was obvious that she had also started to forget Nik and her surroundings. Her face was a picture of concentration, with her brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and lips slightly parted.

Daria was just working
, Nik thought broodingly. Just Daria moving her damn pencil on paper. She wasn’t the first artist he had seen working either, so why the hell couldn’t he take his eyes off her?

When Daria looked up, her neck and fingers were aching. A glance at the alarm clock on her desk told her it was already one in the morning. She had been drawing for almost an hour.

She quickly looked behind her and was startled to find Nik still there. Startled and pleased, but by now she knew better than to let him know that.

Putting her pencil down, she asked, “Do you work at home, too?”

“Yes.”

She made a face. “You’ve got communication issues, do you know? I mean,
really.
”
 

Nik rolled his eyes. “Preferring to answer a question with yes or no is your definition of a communication issue?
Really?
” He mimicked her tone with the last word.

Daria giggled, caught by surprise by Nik’s rare display of humor.

Seeing that she was still rubbing her neck and hating the sight of her in pain, Nik came to his feet and took her hand away. He started kneading her neck, almost smiling when Daria moaned in pleasure.

Daria closed her eyes as she surrendered herself to the pleasure of Nik’s touch. “What kind of work do you do at home?”

Her sleepy tone made the urge to smile harder to resist, but he managed, answering mildly, “The usual.”

Without opening her eyes, she made a face again, but as soon as she did, Nik bent his head and kissed her on the mouth.

Oh!

When he lifted his head, Daria still had her eyes closed, but she wore a dreamy expression on her face. “Mooooore.”

Third time was the charm, and this time Nik failed to stop himself from smiling. “Spoiled little vixen,” he murmured in Greek.

Her eyes opened a little as Daria asked suspiciously, “Did you say something bad about me?”

“Not at all.”

“I don’t believe you.” She sighed. “But your touch feels so good, I’m going to forgive you.”

“How magnanimous of you,” he said.

“You might as well speak Greek when you use words like that.”

He allowed himself to smile again, but only because Daria’s eyes were closed now.

When her head started to fall, Nik swept her up in his arms and placed her on the bed, tucking her in before joining her under the covers.

She rolled immediately towards him, snuggling against his body. She was the only one who cared to do that. Not even Miranda had ever displayed a desire to have contact with him after sex.

“Nik?” Daria mumbled. “Maybe next time you can bring your work with you here, so we can work together and you don’t waste your time.”

Nik didn’t answer.

Beside him, Daria, who had only been pretending to be sleepy, tried not to be disappointed.
No harm in trying,
she told herself. She could give it another week or two, and then she would try again.
 

But when she woke up the next day, the first thing she saw upon coming out of the bedroom was a brand new iMac set up on an equally new office table in the corner of her living room.

Walking to it, she saw a note on the keyboard.

Out to buy breakfast.
 

Will be working here today.
 

I hope you don’t charge me for rent.

Nik

As soon as she read the message, she spun around and ran back to her room. Snatching her cellphone from the dresser, she hurriedly sent a group message to Alyx and Yanna, telling them exactly what had happened.

Daria: You guys believe me now, don’t you? Nik’s starting to forgive me! It’s God giving me a second chance!

Yanna: I think so. :)

Alyx: The devil has many disguises.
 

Daria: You’re so paranoid.

Alyx: Wrong. It’s called being REALISTIC. He’s the DEVIL. So stay away from the devil!

“Ready to eat?”

Daria almost jumped a foot, and the words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. “
Speak of the devil!”

Nik had one shoulder leaning against the bedroom’s doorway, one eyebrow raised questioningly at her.

Damn you, Alyx,
Daria thought even as her heart skipped several beats before jumping into a rollercoaster for another ride.
Up, down, up, down
it went as Daria struggled not to show just how exhilarated she was at seeing Nik.

He had obviously showered, and he had changed clothes, too. Gone was yesterday’s formal suit, and it was replaced instead with a maroon V-neck shirt and denims. A casual look, but with Nik’s air of sophistication, the clothes became catwalk-worthy.

“You look beautiful,” she blurted out.

“Thank you,” Nik said solemnly, “but that’s not going to make me forget you called me a devil.”