by Marian Tee
“Then you know me better than you give me credit for,” he said coldly. “Because none of it was my doing. It was all your daughter’s plan.” At Esther’s shocked expression, he shook his head. “Did you really think she would remain loyal to you? Did you think she didn’t know about your plans to marry her off to Athanas?” His lips tightened. “I have to admit, Mother. I at least thought you wouldn’t go as far as whoring your own daughter—”
“He comes from a good family—”
“He’s close to eighty years old,” Damen roared.
“So?” she shouted back. “At least he’s not cheap and money-grubbing like that whore next to you!”
“ENOUGH.” It was quiet but deadly, and there was no doubting the murderous threat glinting in Damen’s eyes.
Even Esther daren’t say a word after that, and she fought hard not to step back when Damen closed the distance between them.
In a voice low enough for only his mother to hear, he said, “It’s over, Mother. If you hadn’t gone after my wife again, I would have let you live in peace. But after what you did – I realized I needed to take everything away from you.” His lips curved in a cold smile. “So I have. Everything you own has been transferred to my account. Everything. You make one move to take them, to go after my family, and I will present my evidence against you in court. You see, Mother, every illegal action you’ve performed in the past few years required you to step on a lot of people’s toes. Those people did not have a voice then, but I gave them the power to speak against you. And as for the ones you paid off? They sang like fucking canaries when faced with the threat of jail time.”
He stepped back. “From here on, you will receive a monthly allowance. You are not to be in any country I or my family are currently in. Which means since we’re here now, you must leave, not using the company jet of course. But a public one, economy, since that’s the only kind you’ll be able to afford.”
“You won’t get away with this.” Esther spoke between clenched teeth.
“I already have.”
Their eyes locked with each other, and this time Esther slowly came to understand it was over for her, just like that. In an instant, her son truly had taken everything away from her.
“You will do this to your own mother just for that bitch’s sake?”
His face hardened. When he spoke again, he made no effort to lower his voice, allowing everyone to hear him. “I’ve changed my mind, Mother. You will only receive money from me if you get on your knees now and beg for it – and promise never to call my wife any kind of name again.”
“Never.”
“You’re free to go anytime, Mother, but I will not make the offer again. Once you turn your back on me, it is over. You will be forced to make your own way from here.”
And since her son always meant what he said, Esther knew she had no choice. “Bastard.” But the way her voice shook was answer enough, both of them knowing it was only a matter of time before she gave in.
“I actually hope you don’t fall on your knees, Mother. If you did, and just for the sake of money, wouldn’t that make you the gold-digger now?”
Esther whitened.
Hearing Damen speak so cruelly was unbearable, and Mairi tugged on Damen’s sleeve. “Damen.” She knew he was only saying such things because he had been angered on her behalf, but Esther wasn’t worth all this nastiness. She knew, one day, Damen would despise himself for letting his anger take control of him.
Slowly, Damen looked down at his wife. When he saw the pleading look in her eyes, he said grimly, “Don’t say it, Mairi.”
She nodded towards their daughter, dozing quietly in her stroller and looked after by Jane. “Think of what she’ll say when she finds out how hard you can be.”
His jaw clenched. “She doesn’t deserve your pity.”
“And I don’t want it, either!” Esther spit on Mairi, but it landed on the scrap of fur in the other woman’s arms.
“You…” Damen started towards her, but Mairi quickly blocked his way.
“Damen, please, no!”
“Can’t you see?” she asked in a low voice. “It’s just her pride talking. She’s got nothing already. Nothing. She can’t hurt us ever again. That should be enough.”
When she turned to face her mother-in-law, Esther spit on her again but this time, Mairi was ready and she stepped back in time, almost bumping against her husband in the process.
“Will you please stop spitting?”
“I can’t help it,” Esther answered snidely. “You look like trash to me.” She looked at the mongrel in Mairi’s arms. “Like that dog you’re holding. Ugliest four-legged trash I’ve ever seen—”
“Eslee is not trash!”
Damen’s head snapped towards his wife. “Eslee?” he repeated slowly.
Esther’s eyes widened.
Mairi’s did so as well. Oh shit, she hadn’t intended to let it slip.
“Eslee…is short for something, isn’t it?” Damen asked.
“Yes, kinda…it’s short for Esther Leventis?”
“YOU NAMED YOUR DOG AFTER ME?”
Esther’s face as she screamed the words was indescribable.
Cameras clicked, light bulbs flashed, and a photographer gasped, “Isn’t that meme-worthy?”
Again, light bulbs, imaginary this time, as everyone realized the photographer’s words were true. Suddenly, everyone was in a hurry, trying to look for the right applications in their phones, tablets, and laptops so they could be the first one to create said meme and be credited for what was likely to be the viral sensation of the month.
Esther, too, had realized what was happening, and spinning around, she went after the reporters. “Don’t you dare post that!”
More clicks, as another photographer shouted, “That’s another fucking meme right there!”
As chaos ensued around them, Mairi and Damen turned to each other. Suddenly, she felt like the world had fallen away, leaving just the two of them and Nala, still sleeping peacefully, the noise not bothering her at all.
She looked at her husband, really looked at him, and found herself breathless. Her Greek billionaire was so, so beautiful, and she just couldn’t believe he was really hers.
The way his wife was looking at him had his lips twitching…as well as another and more insistent part of his anatomy. “Hi.” He spoke with sham seriousness.
Mairi bit back a nervous giggle. “H-hi.” Sheesh, she was married to this man and they already had a baby, and she still ended up stammering in his presence.
Somewhere behind them, they could still hear Esther screaming.
“You probably never thought it would end up this way, did you?” she asked wryly.
“Never,” he admitted.
She nodded, saying knowingly, “God works in mysterious ways.”
“Or,” he countered, “it just so happens you have me wrapped around your little finger. So when you told me to stop…”
A flash of a smile. “That, too,” she acknowledged.
“I guess it means I’m afraid of you.”
“Afraid of me?” she echoed, astonished.
His turn to nod. “Because…you’re very fierce.” He surprised her by mock-clawing at her face. “Rawr.”
She turned red. “Damen!”
Epilogue
“Happy birthday, Damen!” The resounding cheer came from his wife as she jumped out of her hiding place, which was behind the sofa in the darkened living room, giving Damen the fright of his life. A second later, all lights were switched on, and party poppers exploded, showering the air with confetti and leaving the bodyguards in a colorful mess. And still, the Great Dozen, as Jane liked to call them, remained stoic-faced.
Damen couldn’t help grinning. He had been thrown a lot of surprise parties in the past, all of them more sophisticated and expensive than this. But none of it had left him grinning like a fool the moment he saw what his wife was wearing.
Once, he had told her he wished he cou
ld see her dressed exactly like a cougar.
She had done exactly that today, literally.
“Stop laughing,” Mairi protested even as she ran to her husband.
He laughed harder, seeing her fake tail flopping behind his wife’s cute little butt. He nodded everyone’s dismissal as he caught her in his arms.
As he started for the stairs, she reminded him, “But you told me you wanted to see me like this.”
“Yes,” he agreed, his shoulders rocking with silent laughter. “I did.”
She leaned back so she could peek at his face. “Then why are you laughing?”
“Because,” he admitted as he brought her to the nursery, which was connected to their room, “I didn’t mean it literally.”
Mairi paled. A moment later, she whispered, “I. AM. SUCH. AN. IDIOT.”
Damen stilled.
He had to.
He was laughing so hard he might be in danger of losing his hold on his wife if he took another step.
She began beating on his chest, which didn’t have much of an effect since her costume also involved padded claws. This, of course, made her husband laugh again.
“You should have made it clear,” she hissed. Mairi glared at him, but the laughter on her husband’s beautiful face was so irresistible she soon found herself laughing as well.
“Yes, I should,” Damen managed to say despite him having a hard time controlling his mirth. Kissing her nose, he murmured, “Now that you’ve done this, I think your version of how cougars dress is much better. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.” And he meant it.
“Hmph.”
Entering their daughter’s room, they both became quiet. Nala was fast asleep in her crib, her face even more cherubic now that her cheeks had filled up with baby fat.
“She’s so cute, isn’t she?” Mairi whispered.
“Yes.” He sounded so grim it almost made her smile.
“You make it sound bad,” she teased.
“It is. It means I’ll be beating a lot of boys who’d no doubt try to take her away from us.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not going to happen for so many more years, Damen.”
“I still hate the idea,” he grunted.
When the door opened behind them and Jane entered the room, Mairi waved weakly at the nanny in greeting. She found her current position embarrassing, but she knew better now than to think of wriggling away. It would only make Damen do something more embarrassing.
“We’ll be leaving now,” Damen told the nanny. “Good night.”
Jane was grinning widely. “Good night, Mr. and Mrs. L.”
When they were inside their bedroom, Damen slowly let his wife down. “Now,” he said with a wicked smile. “To undress my little cougar.”
“Shut up.” She covered her face, mortified anew. “I can’t believe I didn’t get you.” Lowering her hands, she told him, “I don’t even know how the other kind of cougar dresses like.”
“Trust me,” he said feelingly, “your version is unbelievably cuter. But…before I take this off you, can you do that thing for me?”
Her eyes widened. “No.” She knew exactly what he was talking about. She shook her head. “NO.”
He looked at her under his lashes.
Oh my.
Her Greek billionaire was giving her his own version of a puppy look.
Oh, oh, oh, my.
“Fine.” She closed her eyes. Looking at him, she said, “RAWR.” And this time, she had actual claws, albeit padded, to do it with. And then she saw the phone in his hand.
“Damen!” She tried swiping the phone out of his hold, but Damen had stretched his arm up, making it impossible for her to reach.
“And you know what the good thing about this is, sweetheart?” His lips slowly curved in a smirk. “My phone’s capable of using video screensavers.”
“Nooooo!”
Laughing, he quickly placed the phone on top of one of the room’s wall-mounted shelves, far above Mairi’s reach. And then he was carrying her to bed.
“I love you,” he murmured. “This was the most fantastic birthday I’ve ever had.”
She peeked at his face. “You mean it?” She had been nervous, wondering if he would be disappointed by how simple their celebration was. But he had been held up in the office the whole day because of a business emergency, and she had worried he would be too tired afterwards to attend an actual party, even if it was in his honor.
He nodded. “It is. And now, I really need to get you out of this suit.” Turning Mairi on her back, he unzipped the suit, taking the time to kiss every inch of skin he exposed, causing Mairi to shiver. After, he helped her out of it and when she was down to her underwear, it was her turn to undress him. Even though they had been married for over a year now, her fingers still ended up fumbling on the buttons, her desire and love for Damen making her nervous.
“You still haven’t changed,” he murmured.
Her shoulders slumped. “Yeah.”
“It wasn’t a complaint, sweetheart. Far from it.”
“Hmph.” But she ended up giggling when he suddenly leaned forward and bit her neck as if in punishment for doubting him.
“I think it’s time we do away with these, too.” A second later, he was ripping her lacy underwear away from her body.
Mairi gasped. “Those were new!”
“I’ll buy you new ones.”
“But…” She didn’t know whether to be amused or exasperated. “You could have just made me take them off!”
He raised a brow. “Where’d be the fun in that if I did?” And then he didn’t let her speak anymore, ending the rest of her protest with a deep and hungry kiss.
With a sigh, she surrendered to her husband’s kiss, her arms going around his neck. Their bodies connected, the contact making her moan.
She really only had to feel Damen’s naked body against her, Mairi thought dizzily, and it was all over for her. By the time Damen released her mouth, she was gasping for breath, and when his mouth trailed down her body, she became even dizzier. He was practically devouring her, hungrily sucking on her neck, so hard that he was sure to be leaving marks all over it again. And oh, her breasts, the way he kneaded them, and her nipples, the way he suckled them—
“Damen, please…” There wasn’t ever a time he failed to make her beg for more. And the thought that he would make her beg for the rest of her life—
Thank You, God.
Above her, Damen stilled. “What,” he rasped out, “are you thanking God for?”
Oh, sheesh. Had she said those words out loud? She shook her head vehemently. “Nothing.”
He raised one elegant brow. “Mairi.”
Drat. When he used that kind of voice, she just knew he wouldn’t budge until she answered, and he would also know if she was lying.
“I was thanking God,” she mumbled, “because you’d be making me beg for the rest of my life.”
It took a while for the meaning to sink in, simply because he had never thought he’d ever hear her say something like it. “Ah, sweetheart,” he said softly. “I always did think you had a Sub in you.”
Her face and her body flushed a lovely shade of rose.
It made him groan and his balls ache. It also made his cock impossible to ignore now, and with a muttered expletive, he flipped her around again, taking his wife by surprise.
“D-Damen?” She twisted her head around to look at him over her shoulder, and she saw him rising to his knees, positioning himself behind her. Her heart hammered. “Damen—aaaah!” He lifted her legs up, clasping them to his sides before entering her in one swift, hard thrust.
Her nails dug into the bedsheet as he began to pound into her, setting a steady but hard rhythm that had her gasping. “Damen.” It was all she could think of saying. Literally.
The ecstasy on her face, the way his wife’s lips parted and her eyes dilated made Damen curse, his lust knowing no bounds. He fucked her harder, his balls slapping against her b
ody, and the sounds it created made them both shudder, Mairi crying out while Damen growled.
He palmed one round cheek before slapping it, hard enough to make her cry out.
The pain stunned her, but even more stunning was how it added to the pleasure, and when he did it again, the same time his cock thrust back balls deep inside her, she let out a little scream, her pussy tightening around his length.
“Damen!”
He did it a third time, the slap harder than before, and his thrust deeper than before, too.
Her eyes rolled back. “Oh God, Damen!” She started to come, her orgasm taking both of them by surprise. “OH GOD!” Her body started to shudder, and she couldn’t remember coming as hard as this in the past.
Her orgasm triggered his, a strangled gasp escaping him as his balls started tightening and his cock started to strain. He came with a roar, and he lost control, his fingers digging into the side of her hips as he pounded into her, his thrusts frantic and powerful.
“Daaaaamen!” The strength of his thrusts drew out a cry from her, and she cried out again when she felt her pussy tightening once more. A few more thrusts, and she gasped, feeling a second orgasm coming.
When Damen finally pulled out, she was weak and limp as a doll, falling on the bed face down. When he left the bed, she thought he would run a bath for both of them, like he usually did. But instead, he came back almost right away, the bed dipping with his weight.
“D-Damen?” She forced her eyes to open and though it felt impossible, she also found the strength to raise her head so she could look at—
Her jaw dropped when she saw him holding a bottle of lubricant. “D-Damen?” This time, she wasn’t just confused. She was nervous, too.
He didn’t answer. When his hands were lubricated completely, he simply placed the bottle on the table, positioned himself behind her, and—
“Damen!” Her eyes flew wide open as she felt him pulling the twin cheeks of her bottom wide open.
“I’d like to fuck you all night for my birthday, Mrs. Leventis.” His smile was a dark promise. “In every way.”
