Page 38 of In Love with a Cruel Billionaire

Her head went from Ioniko to Damen and back again. Maybe other women would consider this scenario a dream come true, butnother. This was way out of her comfort zone. When they took a step towards her simultaneously, she shrieked. They froze.

“What the hell’s wrong?” Damen demanded.

“You two are the ones wrong! I don’t dothis, okay?”

“This?” Ioniko echoed.

She gestured to them wildly. “You two. Me. No way.”

One, two, three seconds passed before Ioniko and Damen exchanged dawning looks of understanding.

And then slowly, they started to laugh.

Oh drat.

So they weren’t thinking of having a ménage with her?

“No,” Damen said blandly, correctly interpreting the reason why Mairi was suddenly cringing and unable to meet his gaze – or Vlahos’ for that matter. “We arenotthe kind of men who share our women.”

“Which means you have to choose, Mairi – me...or Leventis?” Ioniko crossed his arms over his chest, and side by side he and Damen looked like Greek warriors waiting for a slave to choose whom she wanted to belong to.

She shook her head. “Idon’twant or need to choose.”

“Bullshit.”

Mairi’s head snapped up at Damen’s furious reply.

“Why did you run away that night?” he demanded. “Do you know how worried I was when I couldn’t find you? I thought something had happened to you!”

“Something did happen,” she cried out. “Youhave a betrothed!”

Damen froze.

“Your mother told me and I heard you two talk and you didn’t say a thing to deny it. You have been betrothed since she was fifteen and you took my virginity even though another girl’s been wearing your ring!” She waited for him to speak, but of course he didn’t and she said bitterly, “Now you know why I left.”

The defeat in her stance made Damen flinch because it was not like Mairi to be like that. He had known her for over a day, but even in that short span of time he fucking knew Mairi was like a goddamn sun that kept shining.

“I want you in my life, Mairi.”

The words stunned her, and even though she didn’t want to admit it, the words made hope unfurl its leaves and start to blossom inside her again. “You do?” Mairi whispered.

“I know it sounds fucking crazy, but there’s something about you that I can’t get enough of. I never stopped thinking about you these past two weeks. I wanted to fix things but you didn’t take my calls—-”

“You called once!”

“You didn’t let me visit—-”

“You tried once!”

“You didn’t reply—-”

“You texted me once!”

“Those were all things I haveneverdone for any other woman but you!” he snapped, his hand slashing the air in an expansive gesture of frustration. “Do you think it’seasyfor me to do any of those when all my life it’s always been the other way around?” He looked at Ioniko with contempt. “And I still fucking want you, even if you are here with him.”

Ioniko said evenly, “I trust Mairi’s judgment. I’m sure she’ll eventually see that she will be happier in my bed than in yours.”

“You willnevertouch her!” Damen spat.

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