Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Boxed Set (10 Book Bundle) (113 page)

From below, a sea breeze blew close, making her hair whip against her back. She inhaled the scent of the sea with another sigh before opening her eyes. The view beyond the school’s walls beckoned and she leaned forward happily, settling her elbows on the marbled top of the balustrade.

Situated on top of a towering cliff, GAYL boasted of idyllic views of a tropical paradise, a sight Mairi knew she would never grow weary of. It was located right in the center of Oneroi, which translated to ‘dreams’ in English. That literally made Mairi a resident of a place called the Island of Dreams, and it was aptly named with its turquoise waters and white powder-fine sandy beaches, along with the emerald hills in the south and the glittery resort town up north.

The sound of lapping waves was like a lullaby, and Mairi let out a big yawn.

“Ms. Yay?”

She immediately snapped to attention, feeling guilty for being caught yawning as she turned around. Mairi sighed with relief when she saw that it was one of her Class E students and not Charity. The other woman had a tendency to snoop around in hopes of catching one of her teachers violating any of Rose’s gazillion rules.

“Hello, Diana,” Mairi said cheerfully, gesturing for the younger girl to join her on one of the rattan benches nearby.

After a moment’s hesitation, Diana came forward and lowered herself on the padded bench. Dark haired and doe-eyed, the young girl was like the huntress goddess come to life, only this time Diana’s vibrant loveliness hid a very shy nature.

But shy really wasn’t the right word to describe Diana,
Mairi thought with a pang. If she had to be honest, Mairi would have described the fifteen year old as
insecure.
It was a painful sight, seeing how someone as pretty, smart, and wealthy as Diana Leventis could be so lacking in self-esteem.

Since she had started teaching in GAYL, Mairi had made it her personal goal to make Diana more confident. Hoping to make the girl more comfortable, Mairi said with mock severity, “You must stop calling me that, you know.”

The younger girl visibly relaxed at the light-hearted subject, even saying teasingly, “But Ms. Yay---”

Mairi groaned. “You girls are bullies! Will you never let me forget about that? I was just really happy to start teaching in Greece!”

Diana’s profile became visibly less tense even as she remained seated with a straight back. “I don’t think anyone of us will forget it, Miss.”

The fond look on the girl’s face made Mairi wince. She knew Diana was recalling every embarrassing second of that incident.

Diana started to giggle. “Oh, Miss. I can remember every moment---”

“Please don’t.” But it was useless since Mairi’s brain had also started to recall the incident – every embarrassing second of it.

It had been her first day to teach in GAYL and Rose had made a huge deal out of it, taking the time to introduce Mairi to the entire student body during the morning ceremony. Rose had boasted about Mairi being the author of a bestselling phrasebook on Amazon and raved about her fluency in several languages as well as her ability to read hieroglyphics.

“And so without further ado, I present to you Ms. Mairi Tanner, the most
eloquent
individual you would probably ever meet in your life.”

Rose had then gestured for her to ascend to the stage and she had done so with quaking knees, her underarms perspiring at the sight of over a thousand students gazing at her expectantly.

A microphone had then been thrust into her hands.

Rose had nodded at her encouragingly.

Stage fright kicked in, followed by mental block, and as the silence extended, Mairi whispered weakly in the microphone, “Yay me?”

It took over a second for the students to recover from their shock before they all laughed good-naturedly and gave her a standing ovation. She had been nicknamed Ms. Yay after that.

Wincing at the memory, Mairi smacked her own forehead. “That was seriously the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

Diana giggled even more.

“It’s not that funny,” Mairi grumbled.

“It is. But in a good way, Ms. Yay.”

“Hmph,” was all she said, which for some reason made Diana laugh harder.

When the girl’s laughter died down, Mairi asked very casually, “Has your family arrived?” From what little Diana had confided to her in the past, Mairi had pieced enough of the girl’s history to realize that Diana felt terribly neglected by her widowed mother.

Diana shook her head, her silky ebony hair swaying against her school jacket as she did. “Mother is too busy for something like this.” She spoke with perfect English – too perfectly, in her opinion. It was strange, but Mairi had a feeling that getting Diana to say ‘yeah’ rather than ‘yes’ would be one of her biggest accomplishments in her teaching career.

“And your brother?” she prompted. Not much was written about Diana’s only sibling, Damen Leventis, but then again he
was
a Greek billionaire who owned one of the largest media empires in the world. If he wanted the paparazzi to shut up about him, then it would.

Mairi had briefly toyed with the idea about Diana’s brother being
the
one she was meant to live happily ever after with, but the more she got to know her student, the more Mairi was convinced that the Greek billionaire might be too cold and stuck-up for her liking. Her brother had to be the world’s most heartless individual if he didn’t appreciate how sweet Diana was.

Diana said unhappily, “My brother might not come even though he promised. He may suddenly be busy, too.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case,” Mairi lied even though she secretly feared the same. Velvet would warn her against giving students false hope, but she couldn’t help it. For Mairi, it wasn’t
false.
There was always hope. It was that simple.

At Diana’s noncommittal shrug, she suggested, “He could be caught in traffic.”

“My brother does not like to ride in cars much. He’ll probably sail or fly here.”

“Then maybe his, umm, yacht or private jet’s caught in traffic?”

Diana choked.

She protested half-indignantly, “That could happen, right? Haven’t you ever watched
The Jetsons
---” At Diana’s blank look, Mairi realized the girl was too young to know about the rather old school animation series. “Never mind.”

Diana shook her head. “You are so funny, Ms. Yay.”

“Seriously, stop that. You know Ms. Thorn doesn’t like it when students give teachers nicknames.”

Diana said shyly, “I really like you, Ms. Tanner. You are so optimistic.”

Mairi gave her student a mock scowl. “And you are so going to get an F on your next test. You totally said that like you meant to say I’m naïve!”

“If the shoe fits,” Diana retorted, a grin tugging at her lips.

Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be? You’re not even going to take it back?”

“Ms. Tanner, I like you being, umm, optimistic. It is better than being sad or cynical.”

“Exactly,” a voice behind them said.

Mairi twisted around, surprised at the unexpected intrusion of a dark Greek-sounding voice.

“You made it!” Diana was on her feet in an instant, lovely face glowing as she threw her arms around---

Oxygen was suddenly trapped somewhere between her diaphragm and throat – all Mairi knew was that she couldn’t breathe.

Coal black hair, silvery gray eyes, and a face so beautiful it was as if Michelangelo had descended from the heavens just to carve this being to perfection.

Gorgeous wasn’t enough to describe him. He was also the sexiest and most devastatingly sophisticated man Mairi had ever seen, her mouth drying at the way his exquisite midnight blue suit emphasized every inch of his lean muscular hardness. She liked how he was built more like a kickboxer than a wrestler. It made her imagine how he’d be lethally sexy even when he was kicking ass.

All in all, he was
everything
she had ever dreamed her Greek billionaire would be and the realization made her fingers curl tightly against her skirt. She was doing her best not to fling her arms around him and demand that he kiss her so she could know right this very moment if he was…
the one.

Over the top of Diana’s head, their eyes met.

Oh. My.

Mairi blinked several times, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Her madly beating heart threatened to pop right out of her chest, which didn’t help with her light-headedness at seeing this Greek god, but she did her best to think logically. Surely she hadn’t read that right? Surely Diana’s brother couldn’t be looking at her as if---

Hello. Look at me. I want to fuck you.

He smiled slowly, and it was like a seductive gift being unwrapped for Mairi’s benefit. With that sensual smile, the message in those piercing gray eyes became even more demanding.

I WANT TO FUCK YOU.

Oh, oh, oh my.

Her Greek billionaire was so…
bad.

Lesson 2

To catch a Greek billionaire, you must make him want to catch you.

He said: My love, if memory doesn’t fail me, I had no choice but to catch you since you were about to fall flat on your face.

She said: Note to editor – please delete his comment. I’ll think of something else for this part.

Damen Leventis had finally found the next woman he wanted to warm his bed.

He didn’t know her name, didn’t know anything about her, but it didn’t matter. She intrigued him –
everything
about this woman fascinated Damen ever since he had unintentionally walked in on her conversation with his sister.

Having found them by using the GPS he had installed in Diana’s bracelet, Damen had been about to announce his presence when the woman’s earnestly spoken words arrested him. And like his sister, the woman’s views had completely delighted him.

Traffic in the skies and seas. Officers sky-gliding and jetskiing to monitor movement.

And when he had seen her –

Perfection.

Her face was bare of makeup, her dark brown hair held neatly back with a simple lace band. She wore a loose yellow dress, and he had a feeling it was meant to hide her bountiful curves. It was a stupid idea, and Damen was determined to make her realize that her body was beautiful just the way it was the moment he had her all to himself.

Even as he embraced Diana, Damen kept his gaze on the woman, letting her know without any doubt that it would be his absolute pleasure to teach her the wonders of sinning with him – and only with him.

As Diana’s brother released her with softly murmured words in Greek, his intensely heated gaze refocused on Mairi, causing a flurry of heat to rush through her body. It centered on her most private part, making her flustered as she tried to press her thighs close together under her dress.

Satisfaction coursed through Damen at the pinkness coloring the woman’s cheeks. Did she know what she was doing right this very moment? Did she know how those little glances of hers, the way she blushed, the way her body trembled – did she know that all of it was communicating her response to his command?

Mairi finally managed to tear her gaze off Damen Leventis. She had no choice. If she didn’t, she would die from lack of oxygen. She pressed her thighs tightly together. Oh dear. She was too…
wet.
This sort of thing happened all the time to her favorite heroines the first time they had met their Greek billionaires, but Mairi hadn’t expected the very same thing to happen to her.

So this…was a good thing. Right?

When both Leventis siblings reached her, Mairi tried not to stiffen when Diana’s brother chose to stand next to her. His nearness made her body react even more strongly to his presence, and she prayed to all the Greek gods who were awake that her panties would
not
end up leaking. She was
too wet.
Impossibly so. Was this really happening?

Diana was all smiles now. “Damen, here is someone I am excited for you to meet. She is my English teacher, Ms. Yay.”

One dark brow lifted at the words, and Mairi cringed.

“
Ms. Yay
?” His tone was lazily amused, his gaze still scorching hot. But when Diana giggled, his gaze immediately snapped towards his sister.

Oh.

Mairi’s heart contracted at the look in Damen Leventis’ eyes. He cared about his sister. Whatever had made Diana insecure, it wasn’t because of Damen. It was clear that he loved his sister and that he didn’t care if the whole world knew it.

When he looked back at Mairi, she gave him a sunny smile. All she could think about was at least Diana had someone in her corner when she was at home. Even if Diana’s mother did turn out to be as bad as the young girl had let on, at least she had her brother.

We have to talk about her issues later
, Mairi thought, momentarily forgetting all about the sexual tension between her and Damen as her mind focused on Diana. Her brother had to be informed about---

“Ms. Yay?”

Oh drat! She had zoned out in the middle of their conversation. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I was thinking about your brother---”

Diana’s eyes widened.

Mairi let out a silent gasp of horror when she realized how her words could be misunderstood.

Without missing a beat, Damen murmured, “I’m immensely flattered---”

“It’s not like you think!” Mairi could feel herself reddening even more as Damen Leventis’ gaze settled back on her. “I was thinking about Diana and her excellent progress in school and how I could best sum everything up.”

The sincerity in the woman’s voice gave him pause. She really did care about his sister, Damen realized with surprise.
And that
, he thought,
could be a…complication
. She had all the makings of becoming the diversion Damen needed after the nasty falling-out he had with his ex-mistress.

But once he tired of her – and Damen knew he
would
tire of her eventually - would ending their arrangement affect Damen’s relationship with his sister?

He glanced at his sister. “Why do you call her Ms. Yay?” He asked the question lightly, not wanting both women to know he was using it to gauge how close the two of them were to each other.

“Well…” Diana’s gaze was impish as she sought Mairi’s.

Mairi slowly ran a finger horizontally across her neck as Diana spoke, hinting of the girl’s impending doom and likely murder if she continued this story.

Damen Leventis’ gaze suddenly swung back towards Mairi and she quickly let her arms fall to her sides. Then she looked at him innocently.

His lips thinned, but amusement shone in his gaze.

Oh drat! He was doing his best not to laugh at her! Worse, he had probably seen Mairi threaten his sister’s life. Drat, drat, drat. Should she be grateful the man wasn’t reporting her to Social Services at this point?

“I think it’s better if Ms. Ya---I mean Ms. Tanner tell you about it instead,” Diana finally answered with impressive diplomacy. “Anyway, her real name is Mairi Tanner, Damen. And Ms. Tanner, I’m so pleased that you can finally meet my brother Damen Leventis.”

A smile curving on his lips briefly melted the cold perfection of his face. A jolt of awareness shot through Mairi’s body, reminding her explicitly that while this man had the polished perfection of a sculpture, he was anything but inanimate. Damen Leventis was one live hot-blooded male, and just the way he looked at Mairi was more than enough to make her feel like hyperventilating.

Mairi offered her hand per the headmistress’ dos and don’ts –
never let the rich patrons offer their hands first.

Damen took it, savoring the softness, letting his fingers drift on the back of her hand in a caress.

Mairi gasped at the intimacy of the man’s touch and immediately snatched her hand away.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Tanner,” Damen purred, and his words served to disconcert her even more, exactly the way he planned. He liked seeing how he affected Diana’s deliciously curvy teacher. The way she blushed and gazed at him with shy fascination was too fucking sexy by half, and it made his cock swell under his pants.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, sir.” Mairi’s voice sounded even more strained to her ears this time, with her senses all in a riot. She struggled to keep calm, telling herself that she wasn’t 100% sure yet that Damen Leventis really was
the
one she was meant to fall in love with. For all she knew, all this was simply the typical knee-jerk reaction a woman had when meeting her first Greek billionaire.

Damen was talking again. “---so I apologize if I accidentally eavesdropped on your conversation earlier.”

When he paused as if waiting for her to answer, Mairi could only smile weakly, her mind still scrambling to recall exactly what she had said earlier. The words ‘Greek god’ had occurred to her several times at the sight of him, but she hadn’t mentioned that out loud --- right?

Damen continued, “Like Diana, I find your, err, positive outlook of life quite remarkable.”

Mairi looked at him suspiciously. The Leventis siblings appeared to have a really big chip on their shoulders when it came to optimism. They made it sound like a dirty word.

“She’s the nicest girl you’ll ever meet, Damen,” Diana added.

“Diana!” Mairi could have groaned in frustration. The way her student described her, it sounded like she had SUCKER written all over her.

“A nice girl, mm?”

Everything that could quiver in her body did quiver at the way he said the words. It was as if he was subtly challenging her to prove to him that she wasn’t always a nice girl –
with him.
And oh, oh dear! That gaze of his! Mairi’s eyes flitted towards Diana in panic, but the younger girl appeared entirely unaware that her own brother was doing his best to seduce her with his eyes – and it was working!

Her mind shut down, panic setting in completely. What if Damen Leventis was the one? What if he was
not
the one? Oh God, she was so confused! She needed a moment to herself, needed a moment to
think,
preferably with a drier pair of panties.

Mairi looked down, pretending to check the time on her watch. She squeaked out, “Gosh, look at the time. I need to get back to the conference---”

“Perfect,” Damen agreed smoothly. Something was suddenly wrong. He felt his beautiful quarry deliberately trying to shut him out. No woman had ever tried to shut him out before, and that this woman was doing so made Damen cynically wonder if it was simply a ploy to make him more interested in her.

He nodded to Diana, his voice commanding as he said, “Lead the way, Diana. I would like to speak with your teacher in private.”

The word ‘private’ made Mairi’s head shoot up. “I don’t think---”

Diana made a face. “Don’t bully her.”

“I do
not
bully,” Damen answered in a cool voice. “Now go ahead and lead us.”

Mairi looked at Diana, begging the girl not to leave her alone with Damen. But all the girl did was shrug and say apologetically, “I’m sorry, Ms. Yay. He’s the boss, you know.”

Mairi would have believed her student was sincerely apologetic if not for the mischievous grin on Diana’s face. If she wasn’t mistaken, Diana had the look of someone who was trying to play matchmaker. That would have been cool –
later.
Right now? With Mairi in full panic mode?

“Traitor,” Mairi muttered under her breath as Diana left her alone with her brother.

“Pardon?”

Mairi cleared her throat. “I, umm, said, ‘till later’ to your sister.” She started walking as briskly as she could, following Diana to the stairs. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously easy for Damen Leventis’ long-legged strides to keep pace with her.

“Are you trying to run away from me, Ms. Tanner?” Dark amusement underlined his voice.

She blinked rapidly at him as if utterly confused. “Who? Me? Why would I?”

He smirked.

Drat. That was such a sexy look on Damen Leventis. She had to look away or she’d start to drool.

“I hope you are not mad with my sister, Ms. Tanner.”

“I’m not.” She meant it.

“If I were to be truthful, I am amazed at her transformation. When I overheard her talking to you – she is never like that at home, Ms. Tanner.”

Damen’s voice was sincere, even humbled, and her panic receded a little at the sound of it. She started to answer, but by then they had to start weaving their way through the scores of parents crowding the hall leading to the conference room. Almost everyone they walked past was keen to greet Damen, with the men either exuberant or deferential while the women were blatantly appreciative.

It enthralled and repelled her at the same time, with a good amount of jealousy mixed in, the way the women’s eyes, tipped with heavy fake lashes, blatantly ogled every inch of Damen Leventis’ body.

She honestly wanted to do the same thing. Damen
was
worth staring at, after all, but her inhibitions kept her from doing so.

Diana turned at the corner of the hallway and they followed suit. More people called out to Damen, who only nodded in acknowledgment, his expression aloof. It unnerved Mairi, the way even the wealthiest-looking people around them appeared almost obsequious as they courted his attention…which was still solely focused on her.

“She is doing well in school, Ms. Tanner? Please be honest with me.”

Mairi relaxed at the realization that they were still talking about Diana, which was a completely safe subject and unlikely to make her imagine more lustful thoughts about the hot, hot, hot man walking next to her. “Diana is doing better and better each day, Mr. Leventis. It takes your sister longer than usual to…relax and be herself but when she does, I’ve seen for myself that she is a well-adjusted child.”

She paused, trying to choose her next words with care, mindful of how the majority of the headmistress’ dos and don’ts dealt with
never acknowledging the school’s patrons are less than perfect.