Lesson 6
To catch a Greek billionaire is in many ways no different from catching any man you fancy.
She said: What I mean is, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
He said: Says the girl who told me she loved me after I fed her a 300-gram steak.
(Note to editor: Please edit 300 to 150. Please. I mean it.)
“It’s okay to admit you’re hungry.” For all intents and purposes, Damen shouldn’t give a damn about whether the woman he was dating was on a diet or not. Most of the time, they were on a diet but wouldn’t admit to it since in their twisted little brains, admitting to dieting was equivalent to admitting they were overweight.
But this was Mairi, and her stomach had growled repeatedly even after she finished her soup and salad in record time.
She shook her head, red-faced. This would teach her not to skip a meal before meeting with a man she very well knew was determined to take her to bed. She couldn’t make herself meet Damen’s gaze at the moment, instead letting her eyes roam around the elegant décor of the villa’s dining room.
Damen told her he had rented it for the week, and in the same sentence he had also told her that he expected her to sleep there – in his bed – every night for the rest of his stay in Oneroi.
Growl.
She winced.
Damen said gently, “Mairi---”
She forced herself to look at Damen, pasting a bright smile on her face. “I didn’t hear anything.” She peered up at the waiter, whom Damen had solemnly vowed to her knew how to keep his mouth shut. “Did you hear anything?”
The waiter, a man who looked to be in his late teens, tugged at his bowtie uneasily. “Err…”
Mairi looked at Damen with a triumphant smile. “See? He didn’t hear anything either.”
He shook his head. “Enough, darling. You will eat and you shall eat now. If you do not want to order for yourself then I shall order for you.” He spoke to the waiter, giving the orders in a decisive tone.
When the waiter left them on their own, her shoulders slumped. “Sorry.”
“There’s nothing wrong about taking pleasure in food.”
“It is when I’m eating more than you are,” she told him seriously.
He barked out in laughter.
“Aren’t you going to join me? Please?”
“After.”
She frowned. “After what?”
“After I make love to you. I am usually ravenous after I have sex.”
At his unexpected words, Mairi nearly dropped the glass of water she had lifted to her lips. “Oh.”
The waiter came back half an hour later, and he looked a lot more relaxed when Mairi didn’t make any further attempt to get him to choose between her and the famous and powerful Greek billionaire seated on the other side of the table.
Mairi’s mouth started to water as the waiter set dish after dish of the most delicious creations in front of her. Oh, oh dear. It was food p**n at its worst and she was in danger of salivating.
“Would it make it easier for you if I leave you to your meal and do a little work?”
She totally had no pride left by the time the waiter lifted the silver tray with a flourish and revealed a huge slab of steak, its wonderful scent making her swallow several times. Looking up at Damen, she said baldly, “It would be a huge help.”
Damen was still smiling when he reached the study where he had temporarily set up office. He made the necessary phone calls, delegating as was necessary and enforcing his command in situations where only his ruthlessness could save the day.
“Your mother called again, Mr. Leventis,” Bart, his secretary, said awkwardly when Damen asked if he had anything else to say.
Damen bit back a curse. “What does she want?”
“I believe she wants to set a date for the meeting between your family and the Kokinos.”
“All right,” he said finally. “Set a date anytime next week. We might as well get this over with. Anything else?”
“Not anymore, sir.”
“Good. I am taking as much time off as possible this week, so do your best to keep everything under your control. Let everyone know that I will not be pleased if I were disturbed.”
Bart gulped. “Yes, sir.”
After the call, Damen checked the time, decided forty-five minutes was more than enough for Mairi to enjoy her meal, and made his way back to the dining room.
The food had been cleared away and Mairi was nowhere in sight. Frowning, he went to the bedrooms and still didn’t find any sign of her. “Mairi?”
“I’m here.”
The voice came from downstairs and he quickly made his way towards it, eventually finding Mairi in the villa’s patio, which was designed like an oasis in a desert. It had sand-colored walls, ocean-tiled floors, and an all-glass ceiling.
As for Mairi, she was right in the middle of it, seemingly busy preparing --- Damen walked closer. He raised a surprised brow. “You are preparing coffee?”
“Just the way Greeks like you want it.” Mairi was nervous, proud, and excited at the same time as she handed him a cup of steaming coffee, its aroma exquisite enough to have Damen nod in approval.
He took a sip.
And then he took another, a longer one this time. “How did you know how to prepare this kind of coffee?” Damen sounded impressed.
Mairi coughed. She couldn’t exactly let him know she had always dreamt of being a Greek billionaire’s wife and had prepared her entire life for such a role. Maybe after, when they were deliriously in love with each other, but right now?
Crossing her fingers behind her back, she said vaguely, “The Internet?” And then she let out a little shriek as Damen unexpectedly pulled her close. He kissed her, his lips tasting like coffee and passion and her toes totally curled as he pulled her harder against his body.
When Damen released Mairi, her gaze was still a little bemused. And when he smiled down at her, she smiled back dazedly. “Hi.”
He laughed. “Somehow I knew you would say that.” Not wanting to let her go completely, Damen kept an arm around her waist while lowering the cup on the table. Afterwards, he swept her up in his arms.
She gasped. “Damen!”
He mock-gasped in return. “Mairi.”
She swallowed.
He slowly shook his head.
Mairi blinked at the disapproving twist of Damen’s lips. “What did I do?”
“You swallowed,” he said seriously. “And this time I can’t let that one go. This time, you will swallow something else.”