by Marian Tee
A FLING WITH THE GREEK BILLIONAIRE (THE PREQUEL)
BY MARIAN TEE
About A Fling with the Greek Billionaire (The Prequel)
She’s an impulsive and flirtatious artist. He’s a workaholic billionaire and a control freak. A one-night stand is all that should work for the two of them, but instead they find themselves wanting more.
24-year-old Daria Everest has kissed twenty-eight frogs, and all of them had stayed…frogs. She’s ready to swear off love until a twist of fate almost causes her to commit manslaughter against a Greek god. One look, and all her good intentions are forgotten. This time, she’s sure of it. This handsome frog was going to turn into her prince.
Note: A taste of heartbreak ahead. This is the prequel to A Fling with the Greek Billionaire.
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Standalone Novels
His Fair Lady – Prince Julian knows the blind fortune teller Cass is everything he wants in a woman, but she can never be his bride.
Greek Billionaire Romance Serials
24-year-old school teacher Mairi, a hopeless romantic, thinks all her dreams will come true with Greek billionaire Damen Leventis. Problem is, he only wants her as a mistress.
The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire (FREE!)
The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire
The Art of Loving a Greek Billionaire
The Art of Forgiving a Greek Billionaire
The Art of Wedding a Greek Billionaire
The Art of Kissing a Greek Billionaire (FREE!)
Schoolteacher Velvet enters into a marriage of convenience but is too proud to tell her Greek billionaire husband it’s because she’s in love with him.
The Greek Billionaire and I
24-year-old Willow is an ill-mannered junior editor.
27-year-old Stavros Manolis is a conservative Greek billionaire. They have nothing in common except…that one night they had with each other.
The Greek Billionaire and His Secretary (FREE)
Dear Greek Billionaire
Love, Your Greek Billionaire
Forever and Ever, My Greek Billionaire
Mediterranean Affairs
(Greek Billionaire Romance Mini-Series)
A Fling with the Greek Billionaire – Furious over his lover’s deception, control freak billionaire Nik is determined to teach the free-spirited Daria a lesson on revenge.
Prequel
Standalone
The Greek Billionaire and the Nanny – Coming Soon!
Prequel
Standalone
Eternally Seduced: Contemporary Romance (7-in-1) Boxed Set
How Not to be Seduced by Billionaires (4 parts) – 24-year-old Yanna has old-fashioned ideals about love, and all of it are put to the test when her CEO billionaire boss, Constantijin Kastein – also Netherlands’ #1 Playboy – sets out to seduce her.
(Chased: Part 1 can be downloaded for free).
How Not to be Seduced by Rockstars (2 parts) – All eccentric senator’s daughter Saffi wants is a taste of freedom when she attends a concert disguised as an experienced groupie. But she gets more than she bargains for when Staffan Aehrenthal – also Sweden’s #1 Sex God – picks her out from the crowd.
(Note: The Rockstar and His Fangirl is a short story on Saffi & Staffan, and sold separately.)
How Not to be Seduced by Dukes – Although Mary’s determined to resist the charms of the Duke of Wellesley – also England’s #1 Heartthrob – fate decides otherwise, and Mary suddenly finds herself an ordinary college student by day, and the duke’s mistress at night.
(Note: The sequel, The Ice Around My Heart, is sold separately.)
Warning: Love Moderately (BBW Billionaire New Adult College Romance)
Derek and Jaike have always hidden the truth about themselves. But when they meet – it’s not just explosive chemistry. One look, and it’s undeniable. Even if they’re too young, they know. He’s meant to be her Master, and she’s meant to be his Sub.
Unwillingly Yours (FREE!)
Meant to Be Yours
Heart Racer: BIKER Romance Series
Leandro & Bobby’s Story (2 parts) – A young billionaire biker chooses a snarky do-gooder to be his pretend girlfriend.
Heart Racer (FREE!)
Driven by Love
Helios & MJ’s Story (3 parts) - Even though he's commitment-phobic, the aloof president of a billion-dollar bike racing club finds himself jealous of the "secret crush" of a tomboyish camera-wielding first-year student.
Swish (FREE!)
Burn
Click
Kellion & Aria (Standalone) – Aria’s content living her life alone, shut off from the world, but when bad boy Kellion Argyros starts following her wherever she goes, it’s impossible not to start living…and impossible not to start falling for him.
Play With Me: A Sports Romance Series
All Lace Wyndham wants is to be an NBA coach.
All bad boy billionaire Silver March wants is HER.
It’s not a match made in heaven, but since he already had his heart stolen, Silver is willing to do whatever it takes – bribe, deceive, manipulate – to make Lace realize the inevitable: It’s his name she’ll be crying out…every night.
Play With Me
This Round I’m Yours
The Art of Claiming an Alpha: My Werewolf Bodyguard (Paranormal Romance)
Human-slash-pack-princess Calys is a toughie, but she still needs the help of the powerful, dominant, and gorgeous werewolf Alejandro Moretti to be an ‘alpha’. Unfortunately, he wants her body in exchange for her help.
Wolf Fight (FREE!)
Wolf Games
Wolf Kisses
The Master and His Soul Seer Pet: New Adult College Vampire Romance
Life isn’t easy for 18-year-old Zari. As a soul seer, she sees visions of dead people as well as those who are about to die. As a human pet, she struggles to control her feelings for her Master, the powerful, gorgeous, and mysterious vampire Alexandru, who’s in love with someone else.
Ensnared
Beholden
Reviled
Unclaimed
My Werewolf Professor (All Parts at 99c!)
What I know about Alessandro Moretti: he’s the most beautiful professor alive, and I’m his plainest student. I need to let him know I want him, even if he’s likely to dump me. What I don’t know about Alessandro Moretti: he’s a werewolf…and he may just want me, too.
Part 1 (Out Now)
Part 2 (Out Now)
Part 3
Part 4
A FLING WITH THE GREEK BILLIONAIRE (THE PREQUEL)
BY MARIAN TEE
Copyright 2015 by Streak Digital Publishing
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Nine Years Ago
I twirled in front of the mirror slowly, wanting to see the full effect of my new dress front and back. It was a daring little thing made of black silk, its front held by thin strings tied behind my neck and completely backless.
I did another twirl, asking out loud, “Do you think this looks good on me?” I wanted my friends’ opinions before they left to have din
ner with their families and I had to leave for my second date with my week-old boyfriend.
“Everything looks good on you,” Alyx said, rolling her eyes. She was on the armchair in the corner, one leg tossed carelessly over the side. Slender with boyishly cut hair, she could always be counted on to say the truth, no matter how harsh it was.
Even so, I still felt insecure. I always was when it came to the boy I loved. Glancing at the other girl who made up our close-knit trio, I asked Yanna, “What do you think?”
“It’s what I always think,” Yanna said simply. Petite and curvy, she was lying on her stomach on the floor, flipping through the latest issue of Teen Vogue. Seeing that I was waiting for an explanation, she laughed and elaborated obediently, “You look drop dead gorgeous.”
The words should have comforted me, but it didn’t. I knew Yanna meant what she said, and not just because she happened to be the nicest and most polite person I knew. She was also hopeless when it came to lying, and that was probably why I felt worse now. Doubt had shadowed her gaze as she uttered the compliment, and the sight made it harder for me to stay deaf to the warning inside my head.
FROG ALERT, FROG ALERT, FROG ALERT.
After my third breakup disaster, Alyx had told me I was just like the princess in the fairy tale, and that I was destined – or cursed – to kiss a lot of frogs before finding the prince. The analogy had stuck, and since then my paranoid brain had used it to warn me away from potential heartbreakers.
But this one was different, I told myself. And besides, wasn’t I supposed to follow my heart? The heart should know better, and that was that. I was going to ignore what my brain said and follow my heart.
I met my friends' gazes through the mirror. “Wish me luck?” I asked lightly and pretended not to notice the way Alyx and Yanna exchanged worried looks between them.
“Good luck,” Yanna said finally, but her smile was forced.
Alyx opened and closed her mouth.
When she opened her mouth the second time, I chickened out and shook my head. “Don’t.”
She stilled.
I didn’t want to hear her repeat the words that my brain had long been trying to tell me.
Victor was NOT a frog.
Period.
An hour later, and the words had turned into a mantra. Victor was late. It was just our second date, and he had already made me wait for an hour.
FROG ALERT, FROG ALERT, FROG ALERT.
My brain had turned snarky, reaching the point of croaking out the words like a frog.
Damn you, brain.
I mentally shook a fist at it. You’re not going to make me lose faith in true love. Victor was late, yes, but I was sure he had a good reason for it. In fact, I was going to prove that right now.
Victor’s fifth-floor apartment was only fifteen minutes away from mine, but I got there in ten. He lived alone, preferring to work rather than finish college. That could be the reason why he’s late, I thought as I knocked on the door. Maybe his job at the bar had been so tiring—
The door opened, but instead of Victor’s twinkling eyes, I found myself staring into heavily made up eyes that were more taunting than curious. She looked a couple of years older and was dressed in a leather bra and matching mini skirt.
“Well?”The other woman impatiently crossed her arms over her chest when I still failed to speak.
FROG ALERT. My brain’s voice meant serious business.
I ignored it.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “Are you, umm, a colleague of Victor?”
The woman burst into laughter. “Co-the-fuck-what?” She glanced at me from head to toe, smirking. “You sure talk fancy for a kid.”
FROOOOOOOOOG ALERT! My brain was in panic mode by the time she finished speaking. It urged me to leave, to run in the opposite direction and never look back.
But it was too late.
I offered my hand to her. “I’m Daria. Victor’s—”
The sound of Victor’s voice in the background cut me off. “Who is it, babe?”
I stilled.
My brain lost its snarky tone. My brain stopped pretending to croak like a frog. And this time, like a bad omen I couldn’t escape, both my brain and my heart said the same thing.
Please, Daria.
Please listen.
FROG ALERT.
But for some reason, I just couldn’t make my feet move.
Another moment passed, and this time the door opened more widely, revealing a bare-chested Victor. His hair was bed-mussed, his face unshaven. He looked very cute, in a scruffy sort of way. He would have looked cuter, however, if I didn’t notice the guilt flashing in his eyes.
A second later, and the guilt turned into resentment.
His eyes on me, he pressed a kiss to the other woman’s forehead. I flinched, and satisfaction gleamed in his gaze.
PLEASE LEAVE NOW. Both my brain and heart begged for the same thing, but I couldn’t make myself listen to either of them. It was almost like a matter of honor. I had started this stupidity. I would see it to the end.
“Don’t mind her, babe,” I heard Victor murmur huskily. “She’s just a spoiled little rich girl wanting another hard fuck from a real man.”
The other woman laughed. “You really are a stud.” She grabbed his crotch right in front of me, and when I flinched, I saw the same satisfaction gleam in her eyes. Turning back to Victor, she purred, “Too bad for her, she’s not a real woman, not like I am, right?” She started stroking him as she spoke.
Victor visibly bit back a groan. Giving her a smack on the ass, he said roughly, “Go back inside, babe. I’ll deal with this.”
Not bothering to look at me this time, she gave his cock one last stroke before walking away, the taunting sway of her generous hips almost like a middle finger pointed at me. Take that, bitch, those hips said.
And I took it. Because I had to. It wasn’t her fault I fell in love with a frog. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine.
“What the fuck are you still standing there for?”
The coldness in Victor’s voice made me swallow. I looked at him, and even as my heart broke, I couldn’t make myself deny the truth. He was a frog. Just like the other guys before him, he turned out to be a frog but even so, I had loved him. And that was what I couldn’t understand.
How could I have loved a frog?
How could I still love him even now?
Victor turned red. “Don’t look at me like that.” His voice was tight and bitter at the same time. “Don’t make it my fault. This is all yours. You led me on.”
I wanted to ask how. How did I lead him on? Just because I liked wearing sexy clothes, just because I enjoyed flirting, just because I was the first to tell him I liked him – that all meant I was an easy lay and that being my boyfriend meant he had the right to fuck me?
Was that it?
I wanted to ask, but I didn’t because there was no point. He was a frog, and I knew by now that all frogs thought the same thing.
“Get the fuck out of my life.”
Victor’s angry words should have hurt, but they didn’t. Heartbreak always made me numb, and I had learned to be thankful it was so. It made the walk of shame more bearable, made me able to hold back the tears until I reached a place where I could lose all dignity and bawl like a kid.
“You’re Magnolia Everest’s daughter. You can have any guy—”
I shook my head. “But I wanted you.” I knew it would be wiser to shut up, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t want anyone to make me feel ashamed for falling in love, even if I had ended up falling for another frog. “I loved you, and I thought you loved me—”
“Yeah, well, I thought you were a whore like your mom.”
My hand hit his face even before he was finished talking.
“Don’t talk about my mom like that!”
Victor slapped me back, hard enough to cause my face to turn to the side and the corner of my lip to start bleeding.
Fear flashed in his eye
s when he saw the blood on my face. “You fucking can’t sue me for that. If you do, I’m going to tell everyone you provoked me. You made a fool out of me. You dated all of those guys before me, and they all said you fuck like dynamite. So why not do me?”
Because they were lying.
All of the guys I had dated lied about fucking me, the same way I knew Victor would soon start lying about me.
I took a photo of myself and had saved it to my Cloud drive before Victor realized what I was doing.
“You fucking—” His hand rose in the air.
“Hit me again and I will sue you.”
Victor froze.
“I don’t care what you say about me, but if I ever find out that you’ve said something against my mother, I will sue you. And you won’t win.” My lip curled. “Because I am Magnolia Everest’s daughter, and I can buy your life ten times over.”
The drive back home was quiet and slow. It took me thirty minutes to get back and even then, I hadn’t succeeded in completely blocking everything from my mind.
I wanted a hug.
I wanted my mom’s hug.
She would make everything all right.
She would make me believe that I was right to keep on falling in love.
But when I unlocked our front door, the first thing I saw was Magnolia sprawled on the living room floor, half-naked and seemingly unconscious.
“Mom!” I rushed to her side, falling on my knees as I checked her pulse. It was strong and steady. She was alive. Also, she was drunk. The smell coming off her made it obvious.
Her eyes blinked open. “Baby?”
“What happened, Mom?” Not taking my gaze off her face, I carefully pulled the ends of her robe back into place. I didn’t want to see how her breasts had started to sag, didn’t want to see how much she had let herself go ever since my father had dumped her when I was six.
