“I have never had a nose job!” Esther was screaming. “I’ll sue you for slander, you bitch—”
“Yes, you have, Mother,” Damen said without heat, his back still to her, his amused gaze still on his embarrassed wife. Something warm and tender had uncurled inside him the moment Mairi took his hand and spoke in his defense, and the feeling only grew stronger the longer he looked at his wife. “I think we’re done here,” he told him quietly. “Shall we go?”
Mairi said simply, “Whatever you want.”
The words made Damen want to kiss her. God, how he loved this woman. Maybe he really was selfish for keeping her with him, but if she ever found it in her heart to love him again, Damen swore on his life he’d devote every second of his time to making her feel cherished.
Mairi watched Damen and Drake exchange looks before they simultaneously moved to keep her in between them while they made their way back to the sidewalk. The silent communication made her bite back a smile. Maybe one day, Mairi hoped fervently, they could even be friends. That could happen, right?
Damen’s arm was still around her waist, and silly or not, she took comfort in the possessive way he held her close to him. Was it also silly, Mairi wondered, that even though they had all the odds stacked against them, she had never felt closer to Damen? It felt like it was just the two of them against the world, Mairi thought wistfully, and stupid silly her, but she couldn’t be happier about it.
As Drake called for a cab, Mairi saw Damen reach for his phone and answer a call. He spoke Greek in a low voice, but since she stood close to him, it was easy enough for Mairi to understand his words. “I’m not alone right now. I’ll talk to you later.”
When he put the phone down, she asked, “Who was that?”
Damen stilled.
After a beat he answered, “No one important.”
All Mairi’s hopes for Damen and her died at those words. She could only think of one person that Damen wouldn’t want her to know he was talking to.
Alina.
Chapter Seven
She said: To wed a Greek billionaire, one must be ready to protect one’s property.
He said: You make me sound very helpless. You do remember I’m bigger and stronger than you, don’t you?
She said: But can you use your strength to hit a woman who’s hitting on you?
He said: (Pause) Point taken.
If Mairi made one of those sexy husky laughs of hers one more time, Damen thought furiously, he would not be liable for what he would do to the asshole sitting in front of them.
“That’s why PP gets mad,” Drake was saying. “She hated it when I was too soft on her or gave her special treatment.”
Who the fuck was PP anyway? But then did he really care? Right now, what really grated on his nerves was how Mairi was practically sitting on the edge of their seat, leaning against the back of Morrison’s seat as she listened to him talk, the expression on her face making it seem like she was hanging on to his every word. Damen’s lips tightened. And if she said Drake was fucking cute one more time—
“Oh, you are just too cute, Drake,” Mairi gushed.
That was fucking it!
Mairi suddenly found herself being hauled back and as she slammed against the side of Damen’s body, Damen furiously asked her, “What the hell’s gotten into you?”
That was rich, coming from him, Mairi thought contemptuously. But out loud all she said was, “What are you talking about?”
Damen’s gaze bored through hers. “Don’t play games with me, Mairi.” One minute, all had been right in their world but the moment they had gotten inside the cab, Mairi had suddenly and inexplicably changed. She had ignored him the whole ride, choosing instead to focus all her attention on Drake and asking the other man about “PP”.
“I’m not playing games,” she said calmly. “I’m just talking to Drake—”
“You can talk to me,” he snapped.
“Can I?” She wanted to take the words back the moment they came out. She hadn’t wanted to say that at all, but the hurt and jealousy churning inside her made it difficult to control her tongue.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Mairi looked away as she lied, “I…simply meant that there aren’t really a lot of things we’ve got in common.”
He turned her head back to him the moment her gaze strayed. He wanted her looking at him and not at the other man, dammit. “We have lots of things in common.”
Mairi jumped when Damen slammed the bedroom door shut. Whirling around, she saw Damen stalking towards her. The look on his face had her eyes widening and taking a step back. “Damen—”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but if you think making me jealous of Morrison will make me let you go…”
Mairi gasped as Damen reached for her just to spin her around and tear her dress from behind. The cloth gave way with a loud rip. The sound was startlingly erotic in her ears, and her whimper was a mixture of fright and excitement as Damen pushed her to the wall.