A cry of anguished surprise burst out from Alina. “And you still took her back?” She shook her head in pained confusion, the crack in her heart getting bigger and bigger as she was confronted with the reality of Damen’s love – of how he loved Mairi Tanner so damn much he was willing to turn a blind eye on reality.
“How could you, Damen?” she whispered. “How could you still marry her and…if what the tabloids are saying is true…you’ve even let that man live with you?”
The unspoken implication of Alina’s words slashed into him, but Damen pushed them away. He didn’t give a fuck if Alina and the whole world thought he was a fool for allowing Mairi and her ex-lover live under one roof. They would never understand that having Mairi close was the only way for him to keep living.
He said tightly, “What happened between them is firmly in the past—”
“You can’t know that for sure—”
“She always sleeps in my bed—”
She cried out, “She doesn’t need to be in his bed to betray you! She doesn’t need to fuck him to be in love with him!” Tears ravaged her voice as she whispered, “I know because you never had to take me to bed to make me fall in love with you.”
As she bent down her head to cry, she heard Damen say, “I’m sorry.”
And she knew that there was no way for her to win.
Damen would always love Mairi.
She didn’t lift her head when she heard him move, didn’t move a muscle even when she sensed Damen’s hesitation. He was standing right next to her, and Alina could feel his desire to touch her. She craved that touch, even knowing that it would only be Damen wanting to comfort her and nothing else.
Please. Please touch me.
But in the end, he did not.
“I don’t want you to think I do not appreciate your concern. I can’t see how you found out about it, but that doesn’t matter. I appreciate that you thought I needed the warning about…them…” Damen shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “You’re a beautiful person, Alina. Inside and out, and I hope that one day you’ll find the man who’s deserving of your love. But that man isn’t me. I love Mairi. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved, and I’ll always love her…even if I end up losing her to another man.”
****
Outside the restaurant, a cab was stationed across the road. The woman seated at the backseat wore a large pair of sunglasses, which effectively concealed her tear-stained gaze as she stared at the couple seated at the back of the restaurant.
A part of her had foolishly hoped that even after all the clues, she would still end up being wrong. But that part of her had died little by little, starting from the moment she had seen Damen walk inside the restaurant and straight to where a beautiful Alina waited for him at one of the tables.
When Damen stood up and acted as if he was about to reach for Alina, Mairi’s head whipped away. She didn’t think she could survive it if she saw Damen touching another woman. Meeting Drake’s gaze through the rearview mirror, she whispered, “I’ve seen enough.”
Instead of telling the cab driver to resume driving, Dark turned his head to study the couple inside the restaurant. Something didn’t add up here. If he had to bet his life on it, he would have bet that Damen Leventis was in love with Mairi and would rather kill himself than hurt his wife again.
But if that was the case, why all the secrecy? And why meet Alina Kokinos?
“I’ve sworn to myself never to interfere between the two of you, Mairi, but don’t you think you should ask Leventis about this first?”
Ask Damen?
Oh, how she had always risked asking Damen Leventis, had always been foolish enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.
She remembered the first time she had learned about Alina Kokinos’ presence in his life. The memory burned vividly in her mind, pain shredding her heart as she remembered Damen capturing her wrist when she attempted to touch his face. She had asked him what was wrong. She had asked because even though she had a sick feeling in her stomach that something was wrong, she had goddamn asked him because she wanted him to prove her wrong.
Damen? What’s wrong?
What exactly do you think we are now, Mairi?
Are you worried about the labels? We don’t have to be girlfriend or boyfriend. We can just be…an item.
An item…that will eventually lead to marriage?
Eventually, yes.
But how can that be when I am still engaged to the Kokinos heiress?
Mairi squeezed her eyes shut, but more unwanted memories flooded her mind. She remembered, God how she remembered, the pain still raw, the time she had goddamn asked Damen when he wanted to throw her out of his house.
I won’t believe you until I hear it from—
Get out of this house. Is that clear enough for you?
What?
Get out of my fucking house, you gold-digging bitch!
Damen, what are you—
What I am is a fucking fool to think you loved me.
Mairi covered her face with her hands, needing the world to be dark so that no one would see her as she made the choice to be weak.
She had asked Damen.
So many goddamn times.
But this time, she couldn’t afford to ask him, knowing if she did, she might not be strong enough to stay strong for her baby.
Chapter Thirteen
She said: To wed a Greek billionaire, one should be ready to live a life filled with poignant tenderness.
He said: Are you referring to the poignantly tender way I fucked you, matakia mou?
“Wake up, sweetheart. It’s time.” Damen’s low husky voice drew Mairi out of her slumber the next day, and she found a bare-chested Damen lying on his side, looking down at her with a seductively attractive smile playing on his lips. Add to that his sleep-mussed hair, and he looked so sexy and beautiful it literally made her heart twinge.
Damen bent close to cover her lips with his. “Good morning.” He inched down to place a kiss on Mairi’s silk-covered stomach. “And good morning to you, too, little one.”
The tender gesture brought a lump to her throat, and Mairi had to swallow several times before she could be sure her voice wouldn’t shake when she spoke. “Good morning.”
“You slept early last night…” Damen inched back up, and cupping Mairi’s chin to make her face him, he took careful note of her face, searching for any sign of illness or strain.
“I’m fine. I was just…tired. It’s the pregnancy, no doubt.”
“You slept the whole day yesterday?”
She lied, “Yes.”
Damen’s jaw clenched. “I see.” He knew for a fact that she had not. He had asked the guard deployed at his home and learned that Mairi had left with Morrison just before lunch. He wanted to demand where they had gone, but it was fear and not pride that held him back. He didn’t want to ever hear Mairi say she was happier with another man.
She strove for a casual tone when she asked, “How was your day yesterday? I called your office and you weren’t there.”
“I told you about the meeting, remember?”
“How did it go?”
Damen recalled Willow’s presentation. “It went very well.”
Mairi felt sick to her stomach at the look in Damen’s eyes. “Oh. That’s…great.”
Damen frowned at the catch in her voice. “Something is wrong.”
She shook her head.
“You can lie to me all you want, but I know you, matakia mou. I can feel something is troubling you.” A tear slowly trailed down one soft cheek, and with a silent curse, Damen wiped it away. The sight of it was like acid in his system. Was she crying because she could no longer bear being with him? Was her feelings for Morrison starting to overpower…her pity?
“Mairi…”
His ragged voice made more tears fall. Oh God, she wasn’t ready for this yet. Please God, please just give me a few more hours. Minutes. Let me just be with him until the end and then I’ll let him go.
When Damen started to speak again, she beat him to it by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. It was rare for her to kiss him first, and Mairi couldn’t blame Damen for stiffening in reaction. She kissed him more deeply, using every trick in the book that Damen himself had taught her.
“Please,” she whispered against his lips. “Please make love—”
With a groan, Damen rolled Mairi on to her back as he settled his weight on top of her. He kissed her deeply, hungrily, Mairi’s surprising overture causing his chest to tighten and his cock to rise fully erect against her belly.
When Mairi sensed Damen trying to gentle his kiss, she felt herself become frantic. She didn’t want him to think, fearing that if he did, he would remember he was about to tell her he was no longer imprisoned by his guilt. She just wanted him to feel, and she did everything she could to keep it that way. She rubbed her body against Damen’s muscular form, her nipples brushing against his chest, her sleek folds nestling his cock.