Mairi nearly stumbled out of the bed in her haste to get away. “I’ll go get the sandwich now.” Dirty talk while making love, she could handle. But dirty talk when they were not making love still easily made her blush.
Slipping into Damen’s shirt after asking for his permission, Mairi rushed downstairs and found the entire floor empty. After playing with several light switches, she finally found the right combination that would light her way to the kitchen.
The doorbell for the main entrance started to ring by the time she finished slicing some bread and cheese. Walking towards it, she tiptoed to look through the peephole and saw a glamorous older woman waiting impatiently outside. She recognized the face immediately. Unlike her son, Esther Leventis was frequently photographed for the society pages.
Mairi’s fingers hovered over the doorknob – should she open the door herself or get Damen to do it? But what if Esther found out that Mairi had made her wait?
The doorbell rang again, making Mairi jump. Oh drat. Here goes nothing, Mairi thought, taking several deep breaths before reaching out to open the door and then hiding immediately behind it. She tried her best to flatten herself against the wall as she heard the sharp clicking of stilettos on the marbled floor.
“Damen?” The voice had a very strong Greek accent with an imperious tone to it. This was a woman who sounded like she was better suited dressed in Spandex and leather than silks and furs.
The door swung shut, leaving her completely exposed. Shiiii---
Esther Leventis spun around at the sound and immediately saw the young woman positioned against the wall like a scarecrow. In seconds, she zeroed in on several key facts about the stranger in her son’s villa.
She looked exactly the type to attract Damen, she was obviously young, gauche, and innocent, and most importantly, the fact that she was wearing a man’s shirt meant she had just come from Damen’s bed.
Slut, Esther thought with a lift of her chin.
Mairi felt like shrinking to nothing at the way Damen’s mother gazed at her. She opened her mouth to say something in her defense, but what could she say? Greek mothers were either terribly protective or possessive of their sons. Either way, things just did not look good for her.
“Where is my son?”
“I’ll call him right now---”
Esther raised a hand, stopping Mairi in her tracks. “I appreciate the offer, but no, your assistance is unnecessary. You may go now. I assure you that I have much to talk about with my son regarding his betrothal. He will not have much time for you.”
The woman still did not move.
She raised a brow, demanding impatiently, “Well?”
Mairi couldn’t get any part of her body to work. Her lips felt numb, her heart was crushed, and her mind had totally snapped. Had Esther Leventis said…betrothal?#p#分页标题#e#
“Mother?” Damen appeared at the foot of the stairs, a stunned look on his gorgeous face. Dressed only in cotton slacks and nothing else, he looked like he had just stepped off an ad for a beach resort.
He also had a raging hard on, patently made obvious by the thinness of his slacks.
Esther’s lips tightened at the sight and turned her head away. “Go and change into something proper.”
Ignoring his mother completely, he strode to Mairi, who was alarmingly pale and vulnerable. “Mairi? Are you okay?” He tipped her face up, and something inside of him twisted painfully at the sight of the unshed tears in her eyes. What the hell had Esther told her to make her want to cry?
Mairi forced a smile. “I’m fine. I think I better dress first.” She didn’t wait for his answer and simply walked towards the stairs, keeping her back straight. She gave Esther a respectful nod, but the older woman didn’t even spare her a glance. Then again, Mairi didn’t expect her to – not if what she said was true.
Betrothal?
Surely it couldn’t be. Or maybe it was – but not anymore and Damen would tell his mother now that he would have to break it off. Mairi had reached the second flight of stairs when she heard it – Esther’s raised voice and Damen’s biting tone.
She stilled, torn between minding her own business – like she should – and risking getting caught eavesdropping to find out the truth – like she also should.
“Don’t talk about her like that!”
Mairi made an about face. She was definitely not minding her own business. That was just another term for being selfish and ignorant of other people’s needs anyway. She was just being her caring self by wanting to play mediator between mother and son if their argument escalated.
Tiptoeing her way down the staircase, Mairi peeked from behind the midsection post of the balustrade and saw that Damen and Esther had already moved out of the hallway. She ran down the rest of the stairs and she only heard the muted sounds of their voices by the time she reached Damen’s study.