Chapter 5

“SO WE WERE IN HIGHschool...” Her voice bounced off the walls of the vast basement gym, its décor and range of state-of-the-art exercise equipment at par with the world’s most popular fitness centers.

The words caused a rather inelegant snort to come out from Damen Leventis, a Greek billionaire who used to be famous for his irreproachable manners.

Seated on the floor, knees pulled up, Mairi shook her head in exasperation at the sound, her ponytail bouncing as she did. “I haven’t even said anything about him!”

Damen’s broad shoulders moved in an arrogant shrug. Crouching down on one knee, he said with a grunt, “Just get on with the story.” Positioning himself to assist Mairi with her sit-ups, he placed his hands on her feet, applying a small amount of pressure.

This close, she couldn’t help but gape. He wore nothing but jersey shorts and trainers, making him a mouthwateringly sexy sight that even now kept Mairi’s throat dry. All those rippling muscles and golden skin...

Did he really think she would be able to work out properly when he looked likethat?

When Mairi didn’t respond, Damen glanced up and caught her staring.

She blushed, immediately averting her gaze, but it was too late.

Damen said wickedly, “Maybe you’re in the mood for another kind of exercise?”

She shook her head.

“You’re sure?” He caressed her knees.

The simple move had her jerking. “Damen! I really need to work out!” She had gained a few pounds after vacationing with him for only a week.

With a reluctant sigh, he released her sensitive knees and went back to holding her feet down. Mairi had a tendency to cheat when doing sit-ups, with her feet lifting off the floor to take away some of the pressure on her abs.

“Start working out then and,” he added gruffly, “—-while you’re at it, tell me about the man from your past.” Damen knew he needed to fucking hear her story about Manolis like a hole in the head, but he also knew that he would never be at peace until he heard it straight from Mairi.

She protested, “He’s not what you make him sound.” Why did he insist on making it sound like she had this wild teenage affair with her old classmate?

Damen pushed her back on the floor, a hard look on his beautiful face. “Get on with it.”

With a frustrated sigh, Mairi clenched her abs and started her sit-ups. “So, Stavros was a Greek billionaire like you...”

As he watched her move gracefully up and down, her breasts once again shaking like a damn invitation for fucking, he heard himself say, “And so you fell in love with him because of that?”