The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire (4 page)

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.

“Your sister looks up to you, Mr. Leventis. I was happy to see that you two appear to have a close relationship. As long as you continue giving her the time and attention she needs, she will be fine.”

Mairi waited, hoping Diana’s brother would give in and talk more about Diana’s situation at home. But all he eventually did was nod and murmur noncommittally, “I will always do my best to support my sister.”

Oh well. Maybe she really was the only person who always took the first bait offered.

Changing the subject to prevent any awkwardness between them, Mairi started talking about how Diana was doing in her class.

Damen listened intently but had to cough once or twice, mainly to cover the unexpected chuckle that threatened to escape him. Mairi Tanner was acting like a proud mother hen, and it was even more amusing considering how her freshly scrubbed looks didn’t make her look much older than his sister.

Looking at her, all Damen could wonder was if she would still be able to maintain that innocent smile when he finally had her in his bed and made her come with his mouth.

When she stopped talking, Damen asked abruptly, “Is there anything else I should know? Any subjects she has difficulty handling?”

“You would have to ask the other professors about that, Mr. Leventis, but as far as I know she is doing very well across the board.” Mairi did her very best not to sound boastful, but honestly – she wanted to boast. Diana was one of the Class E girls, and Mairi liked to think she had played a hand in helping Diana find her academic footing in school.

Mairi’s Ms. Sunshine look on her face only made Damen’s cock ache even more painfully.

Striving to keep his tone level even though all he wanted was to growl at Mairi to get down on her knees and have his cock in her mouth, Damen asked, “Then there is nothing else to discuss?”

“Nothing---”

“Good. We can concentrate on us then.” This time, Damen did not bother to conceal the strength of his desire. “I want you in my bed, Ms. Tanner.”

Mairi stumbled, but he was quick to catch her, his hand cupping her elbow.

With both of them bent halfway down, Damen moved closer, enough for his softly voiced words to caress her ear. “May I make love to you tonight?”

He expected her to pretend surprise, indignation, or maybe play coy – the last being the most unattractive but still not enough to dissuade him from taking her. He already wanted this woman too much to give up right now, even if she turned out to be a gold digger like everyone else.

But instead, she looked at him with wonder on her face.

Damen stilled.

Mairi’s head was whirling. Had she heard him correctly? Had he really said he wanted to love her tonight? Was this it then? Was he wondering if she was
the one
for him as well?

“You feel it too?” she whispered.

For a moment, Damen was perplexed as to why Mairi had to question his lust for her. Was it not enough for her that he was doing his best not to undress her with his gaze? Seeing her still looking at him like he was fucking Superman with a huge dick, Damen finally decided just to go along with it.

Maybe she wasn’t as innocent as he had thought. Maybe this was one of her little tricks, meant to make Damen desire her even more.

He said huskily, “I fucking feel it hard.”

She shivered.

Ah, fuck. It may really be one of her tricks. Only the most experienced woman could have guessed how that little shiver would make Damen struggle for self-control, trying his damnedest not to pre-ejaculate like a damn teenager.

“Tonight then?” he whispered as he slowly helped her up.