by Marian Tee
Her Greek was such a sweetie, Daria thought sleepily as she forced her limbs to move. Climbing off the ladder, she stepped onto the deck with the help of one of the guides.
Another guide approached her, a tray of drinks on one hand. “Drinks, miss?” He had to shout the words to be heard over the rumbling engine of the speedboat, which carried with it the next wave of guests who had paid for an hour’s worth of snorkeling.
“Yes, please.” Daria chose a blue-colored Gatorade and after thanking him, she uncapped the bottle and took a quick gulp. On the other side of the yacht, those who were done snorkeling started boarding the speedboat for the trip back to the island.
As she twisted the lid back into place, Daria heard someone speak behind her.
“Daria?”
She froze.
In front of her, Nik rose from the water, his powerful form in full view as the muscles in his body bunched while he gripped the bars of the ladder.
Behind her, the other person persisted, “It is you, isn’t it?”
Nik’s gaze narrowed, his head snapping towards her as if instinctively sensing someone poaching on his territory.
Before she could think of what to do, someone had gripped her arm, spinning her around.
Daria whitened.
Victor.
Without thinking, she threw the bottle at his face.
Chapter Five
“So…” Nik’s voice was silky. “Care to tell me what that was all about?” He paused. “And also, what the hell is it about you and Gatorade bottles?”
Daria’s stomach sank at Nik’s words. She knew it, she just totally knew it, Daria thought miserably. It was too good to be true that Nik hadn’t asked a single thing about what happened. Not when Viktor had cried like a little boy after getting hit square in the face, not when she had dragged him to the speedboat, and not even when they had made it back to the island. Of course, she hadn’t really given him a chance to, either. The moment they had stepped into the speedboat, she had started chatting nonstop and hadn’t allowed him to get a word in edgewise.
But when the sun had set, the moon had claimed its place in the sky, and Nik still hadn’t asked anything about it, Daria had started to relax. Their dinner was pleasant, even romantic, with both of them finding a private spot along the shore to enjoy some grocery-bought bread loaf, a couple slices of her favorite cheese, and a cheap bottle of wine. It wasn’t fancy, but it had been intimate, and she had loved every second of it.
But as life always proved, things too good to be true really were. She should have known better, Daria thought with an inner cringe. Now, it was obvious that Nik had only been biding his time, waiting until they were in the privacy of his room and all her guards were down before he made his move and pounced.
Nik’s harsh voice intruded in her thoughts. “Don’t have anything to say?”
Let’s get naked? It was the first time she and Nik were in bed and not making love. She had wondered why he hadn’t started taking her clothes off the moment they entered his room, and now she knew why.
Unable to meet Nik’s gaze, she tried to prevaricate first, saying slowly, “The thing about those bottles, well…”
She could feel Nik’s eyes boring through hers, and she gulped. Shit. She thought of Victor and remembered the way she used to follow him around like a lovesick puppy, and she heard herself say, “He’s my…stalker.” Yes, that was it, Daria told herself. The best lies were the ones closest to the truth, and hadn’t she foolishly acted like Victor’s stalker at the start?
Staring at his mouth because she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze, she nodded and repeated resolutely, “He was a stalker.”
“Is that so?”
His mild tone made Daria uneasy, but she forced herself to nod again, figuring that it was better to stick with the lie she had started, for better or for worse. “Yup.”
Goddamn. Beautiful. Liar.
Nik knew exactly who Victor was. The bastard was her fourth boyfriend, and like every man in Daria Everest’s life, he had sworn about Daria being an insatiable wildcat in his bed. In fact, the actual words the bastard had used were cruder, and remembering them made him want to drive his fist into the man’s face. Even if every damn thing he had said was true, no man should speak of a woman in such a way.
He forced himself to look back at Daria, and the sight of her beautiful face had desire and self-loathing battling inside of him. Goddamn. Beautiful. Liar. “How did this stalker find out about you?” Nik knew he was only punishing himself by asking, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing so. Something inside him wanted to see just how far she would go, how much she would lie to keep this entire fucking pretense between them going.
Daria swallowed at the hard look on Nik’s face. “A friend of a friend?”
“I see.” Goddamn. Beautiful. Liar. She and the bastard had no mutual friends. His background check on her had been thorough, and Nik knew that if anyone had done the stalking, it had been Daria. In fact, she had been nothing but methodical in her desire to meet Viktor, pulling strings behind the scenes like the manipulative gold-digging bitch she was.
Perhaps it was like that between them, too? Perhaps she had somehow found out who Nik really was, and that was the only reason she was spending her time with him? With the exception of Viktor, all of Daria’s ex-lovers had been a lot richer than she was.
As his suspicions grew, the more Nik believed he had gotten everything wrong. And if he had, it only meant Daria had duped him in every way. Everything they had – from their first meeting and every time they fucked – was contrived. The sex between them might be off the charts, but that probably wouldn’t be enough to make someone as mercenary as Daria consider an impoverished man as her lover.
No, he thought bitterly. It was time for him to face the truth. Daria was with him because she had found out about who he was, and she had been determined to seduce him into giving her access to the Alexandropoulos billions.
Daria’s fears spread inside her like a crippling virus as the silence between them lengthened. When she was no longer able to bear it, she asked in a small voice, “Are you mad at me?”
Instead of answering, Nik suddenly rose from the bed, and her heart jumped in terror. Was he leaving her? She would have run after him if he did, but instead Nik only stalked towards the window, turning his back to her, and her heart thudded with relief.
She sat up, her fingers gripping the covers tightly. When he still didn’t speak, she said tremulously. “Please don’t be mad.” Without warning, Nik swung around to face her, and she gulped at the fury in his eyes. “Nik, I want to explain—”
“I don’t want more lies,” he cut her off. “I want you to tell me the truth.” His icily sharp voice made her pale, but Nik ruthlessly pushed aside all feelings of pity. Goddamn. Beautiful. Liar. He knew what kind of woman Daria was, but she was such a damn good actress, her large gray eyes – with the way it swam with tears – making him feel like the world’s greatest asshole.
“Do you think I’m a fucking idiot who will swallow everything you say? Do you?”
Slowly, she shook her head.
“I won’t fucking ask you again,” he said harshly. “Who was that man?”
“A frog.” The words were out before she could even think of what she was saying, but she realized right after that there was no better way to describe Victor or any of the other 27 men she had fallen for and had broken her heart in return.
“A frog, you say.” Nik’s lip curled. “A frog.” His tone was derisive. “Didn’t you tell me you had no other lover before me? Weren’t you the one—”
“But that’s the truth,” she protested feverishly. “Victor’s never—”
“Shut up.” Rage like nothing Nik had ever known filled him at the mere sound of another man’s name on her lips. Goddamn. Beautiful. Liar. He threw her a look of disgust. “Stop with the fucking lies.”
She wanted to cry at the way Nik looked at her, at the way he spok
e. She no longer understood what was happening. All she knew was that somehow Nik knew she had lied to him about Viktor. “I’m sorry.” She strove to keep her voice even. She didn’t want him to think she wasn’t above using her tears for sympathy. Lifting her gaze to his, Daria whispered, “But I swear, he never—”
“Never what?” he snarled. “Never kissed you? Never made love to you?” A part of Nik wanted her to lie. If she actually admitted to his face that she had not been the virgin she claimed she was – if she admitted to fucking 28 other men beside him – the other man would be lucky if he escaped with his life after Nik was through with him. He would be lucky if his own jealous rage didn’t drive himself insane.
His gaze swung back to Daria, now a pale, silent figure in bed. Seeing her like that made his fists clench, but even so, Nik sneered, “Aren’t you going to say anything? Aren’t you going to tell me I’m wrong? That you heeded my warning and that you never lied to me?”
She didn’t answer, but the look on her face said it all.
He cursed.
Daria flinched, but it was the look in his eyes that made her throat convulse. It was as if Nik had been clinging to the smallest of hope that she hadn’t lied…but she had. She had lied to him, and now all those lies were haunting her. “Nik, I—” She got out of bed, but as soon as she started towards him, her hand reaching out, he shook his head, and she stopped.
His lips twisted bitterly, and her hand fell limply against her side. “You know what? Fuck it.”
She watched dazedly as Nik left the room without a word. FROG ALERT, the tiny, sensible voice in her mind said sadly. Only this time, she was the frog who didn’t deserve a prince.
For a long moment, she simply stood there, wondering if she should just go and put everything behind her. The facts were simple, after all. She had only known Nik for barely a week, and most people would tell her that just wasn’t enough time to fall in love. Worse, everything between Nik and her was based on a lie, but the truth would likely drive them apart, would likely make Nik hate her more.
In short, Daria told herself dully, this was going nowhere. She should just cut her losses and—what?
Turn her back on the only man who had never thought – never treated – her like a whore no matter how flirtatious and provocative she had been?
Daria sank to her knees and covered her face. A sob caused her body to shudder, but she pushed it back, feeling like she didn’t have the right to cry when she was the one who was wrong.
I’m sorry, God.
I’m sorry that I keep getting it wrong, but please. Please give me just one more chance with Nik, and I’ll find the courage to be myself with him. I won’t hide anything after this. I’ll wear my heart on my sleeve. I’ll risk it all.
Just please, one more chance with him.
Please, God.
****
Nik headed to the nearest bar and drank until everything was numb. He was being too fucking ridiculous about this, Nik thought tautly. He was acting like a lovesick fool, and over what? A girl he had barely known for a week, and one whose true colors he had known almost from the start?
Get a grip on yourself, Nik Alexandropoulos. Daria Everest might still be his sexual obsession, but that was all she was. That was all he should allow her to be in his life.
When he got back to his room, he found Daria curled into a ball on the bed, the trail of her tears still evident on her face.
He stared down at her for a long moment, and the way his chest tightened as he continued to look at her only made him more implacable in his resolve.
Slowly, he pulled the covers on top of her. After, he stretched himself next to Daria, careful not to have any parts of their bodies touching. He closed his eyes and was unsurprised when sleep eluded him in spite of his intoxicated state.
One last day, Nik decided grimly. He would give himself one last day to be with Daria, and then he would get rid of her, with or without claiming his revenge. Daria Everest was poison, and one couldn’t ever have vengeance against poison. Poison didn’t feel. It only killed, and it was time he remembered that.
The sun had risen prominently in the sky by the time Nik woke up, and the first thing he realized was that the space next to him was empty.
Daria! She was gone!
He sat up immediately and had to swallow back a groan as his hangover threatened to crush his skull into pieces. Fuck. Forcing himself to concentrate despite the bone-splitting headache, Nik let his gaze roam around the room, but there was no sign of Daria anywhere.
Fuck. Had she left him for the other man? Had seeing the bastard made Daria realize she couldn’t stand another day being with a supposedly poor man like him? Or maybe this was all part of the plan? Had she left to make him jealous and admit the truth about his wealth?
Nik had no fucking idea, and at this point he didn’t really give a damn. All he knew was that Daria was gone and he was going to get her back.
Getting up, he stalked immediately towards the door, not bothering to change. He had barely taken one step outside his room when Nik found himself almost tripping—
He looked down.
“Daria?”
He managed to regain his balance without trampling all over her.
Dressed in a cropped top and denim shorts, she was crouched on the sand, butt up, elbows down, and peering through the lenses of her SLR. She lifted her head up at his voice. “Good morning.” Her smile was sunny, but her gaze was uncertain.
Nik couldn’t answer right away. He needed a moment or two, the relief he felt at finding Daria right outside his doorstep making him feel disgustingly heady.
One day.
Last night’s promise echoed inside his head, reminding Nik that he only had today before he turned his back on Daria for good.
He was silent again, she thought. It was stupid, but she found herself wishing he would be his usual cranky self instead. At least she knew what he was thinking then. At least she knew what she did or said still mattered to him.
But when he was silent like this…
She rose to her feet, nervousness making her clumsy, and she almost dropped her SLR twice. The third time, it completely fell from her fingers, but Nik caught it handily before the expensive equipment could crash on the ground.
He handed it back to her without a word, and she accepted it with trembling hands. “T-thanks.”
Nik shrugged, his mood becoming edgy at the way Daria stared at him with too-bright eyes and an even brighter smile. He hated seeing her like that, but he hated it even more that he was affected by something so damn simple.
Even so, he heard himself say gruffly, “What were you doing?”
It took a moment for Daria to answer, her mind still whirling at the realization that Nik had somehow decided they weren’t going to talk about last night. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but in the end, she decided to follow his lead. She couldn’t afford not to. She just wanted them to be together, and if this was how he wanted to play it…
She pointed at the flowery bushes lined up in front of the row of hotel rooms. “I spotted a ladybug.” She was proud of the way she managed to sound cheerful even though her voice still shook a little in the end. “It looked so cute I had to take a photo so I wouldn’t forget.”
Nik frowned, wondering if he was missing something. “Forget what?”
“How it looked,” she explained. “When I find something I want to draw, I take photos of it so I can study them afterwards.”
“I see.”
More silence fell, and she didn’t like it, prompting her to blurt out, “I’m an artist. I told you that, remember?”
Had she? Nik shook his head. “I can’t recall.”
“Well, I am. But not the real kind,” she clarified quickly. “I mean, I draw, but kawaii stuff.”
The term was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, causing a faint frown to mar his forehead. “Kawaii?”
She nodded. “Basically, cute stuff.” There was a
pause, her hesitation evident, before Daria bent down, and that was when he saw the sketchpad propped against the wall. She handed it to him.
As he flipped it open to the first page, she explained, “It’s deliberately unrealistic, if you know what I mean, with a focus on rounded figures and miniatures.”
Nik only nodded, his concentration fully focused on Daria’s work, which he surprisingly found both interesting and fascinating. Page after page, her whimsical and colorful illustrations leapt to life, ranging from little girls in kimonos to landscapes filled with cotton-candy skies, flowers made of cakes, and rainbows turned into bridges.
“You’re good,” he said quietly.
Her eyes widened.
She was obviously startled, but he also saw the doubt in her eyes, leading him to say firmly, “I mean it.”
“You don’t think it’s silly?” The words were out before Daria could stop them.
Nik frowned. “Is that why you don’t consider yourself a real artist?”
She wondered if he was joking. “You’ve seen what I draw. Almost everyone thinks my work’s silly.”
Nik’s eyes narrowed at her. “Just because something’s cute doesn’t mean it’s silly,” he dismissed. “You shouldn’t listen to people who think like that. They are the ones being silly.” His accent had thickened with his last sentence, and she realized that Nik actually felt irritated on her account.
Daria opened and closed her mouth several times before she could mumble awkwardly, “T-thank you.” Compliments about her looks she was used to, but her work was a different thing entirely, and the fact that it was Nik made her treasure the words even more.
“I’d love to know more about your work.”
At the words, Daria couldn’t help stealing a look at Nik’s face, wanting to make sure he wasn’t just being polite. “You really want to?”
