by Marian Tee
“Anything?” she repeated uncertainly.
He nodded.
“Then…” She whispered her request, which stunned and puzzled him.
“That’s it?”
“Uh huh.”
He said finally, “Then so be it. Come to my house at six in the morning, and don’t worry about the farm. I’ll have someone help out your godparents tomorrow.” He paused. “Are you really sure this is what you want?”
She answered him with just another shy, awkward look, but the stars in her eyes were shining even more brightly now, and Kyr thought, I’m going to be in deep shit tomorrow.
Chapter Seven
She was fifteen minutes earlier than the agreed time when she made it to the Greek billionaire’s manor, but the butler who opened the door didn’t seem surprised at all by her appearance. “H-hello,” Pollyanna stammered. “I’m here to see, umm, Master Kyr?” She didn’t think it was right to call the billionaire by his first name with other people.
The butler only nodded, his bland expression unchanging. “Follow me, miss.”
The manor was vast but surprisingly minimal in its design, almost stark in its simplicity. Ascending the grand staircase, she felt like she was touring a historic house or even a museum, and it didn’t help that the butler was still giving off I-don’t-like-you vibes. It was her first time to be hated, if she were to be honest, but Polly told herself it was probably because the butler and maybe even the rest of the staff thought of her as another gold digger out to fool their master.
Halting in front of the last door in the hallway, the butler opened the door, murmuring in Greek, and after a moment, she heard Kyr say, “Ne.”
The butler opened the double doors, stepped inside, and said stiffly, “Please come in, miss.” She followed him inside, and he bowed again, saying, “Please call for us if you need anything.”
And then he was gone.
Looking around her, Pollyanna found the billionaire’s suite even bigger than she expected it would be and just as remarkably simple as the rest of the manor. The bed was still unmade, and moving towards it, she caught a whiff of a familiar scent. His aftershave, she realized and sniffed again. Oh, how sexy it smelled.
Without thinking, she took one of the pillows and took a sniff. Ooooh. She hugged it to her, thinking, if she hugged the pillow, and the pillow was hugged by Kyr, that would mean—
“It’s an indirect hug?”
The pillow fell from her hands, and she whirled around with a gasp.
The billionaire was standing in the doorway of his bathroom, hair still wet, beautiful face made more arrogant by his smirk, and his rock-hard body in full display, with only a tiny towel wrapped around his hips to keep him from being completely naked.
“How d-did you know what I was thinking?” she stammered.
His smirk only became more prominent. “Just get used to the fact that you’ll never be able to keep things from me.”
Her eyes widened at the sheer arrogance of his answer, and when her mouth opened and closed, too, he smiled in approval. Seeing her blowfish look was definitely a great way to start the day.
Shaking her head at how the billionaire could so easily get away at saying things normal men couldn’t, she asked, “Should I, umm, step out first so you can change?” She was already turning to do exactly that when his words halted her in her track.
“No need,” was the lazy response.
“Umm…” She still couldn’t make herself turn to look at him again. After all, he was wearing the tiniest towel in the world. The tiniest, she thought in agony. He was a billionaire! Couldn’t he afford a bigger towel?
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be invisible today while I show what my day ordinarily looks like?”
Oh.
“So, no need for you to leave. You’re invisible, remember?”
And then she heard it.
That unmistakable rustle of clothes, which could only mean he was going to change, while she was still there.
She gasped at the thought, and then she gasped again when she realized that she was staring straight at tinted ceiling-to-glass windows that showed an amazingly clear reflection of the area behind her.
Where Kyr was, she thought, and as soon as it occurred, she couldn’t stop her eyes from moving, her heart beating hard—
Ooooooooooh.
He had his back to her, but he was indeed naked now, the towel lying discarded on the carpeted floor.
His back was smooth and hard, the muscled panes making her swallow. His butt was just as sexy and muscled, and so were his strong, powerful legs. Oh Lord, but somehow he seemed even taller and more commanding when looking at him from behind—
He turned.
“Ah!” She squeezed her eyes shut before she could see anything.
The billionaire laughed, the sound sexy, dark, and knowing.
Her face went up in flames.
He was right.
There was nothing she could keep from him.
Moments later, and she was still trying to stop herself from blushing while the billionaire beside her was still silently laughing his head off. Even when his gorgeous face had its professional mask in place, she could just feel his amusement, and she was torn between covering her face in embarrassment and giving the billionaire a good hard kick to his shin to stop him from tormenting her.
They went down for breakfast at exactly six, with a place prepared for her at his right. They didn’t talk, with Kyr keeping his word that he wouldn’t let her presence affect his schedule. He ate with speed, grace, and precision, and as the day went on, she had come to realize that mealtimes seemed precious to him, a time when he completely ignored his phone and his staff was trained never to bother him except for the most urgent reasons.
At the office, he was ruthless but fair, and Pollyanna found herself even more awed by him. It also made what they had – this thing that even she knew she shouldn’t put any terrifyingly permanent labels on – more surreal than ever.
He was Kyrillos Gazis, a man who had succeeded in turning his family business around in the short span of four years, eliminating hundreds of millions of debt and building his assets to a ten-dollar figure.
He could have any woman he wanted and yet, he had spent the last two weeks almost exclusively with her.
Why?
It didn’t make sense unless…he felt the same thing towards her?
Unknown to Pollyanna, Kyr was coming to similar conclusions, but unlike her, it made him feel far from pleased. Rather, he was disconcerted to realize how more relaxed the day was, and all because Pollyanna had been there to keep him company.
And it was goddamn ridiculous, he thought tensely. Except for the time they had been in his room, they hadn’t exchanged a word during the rest of the day. Even so, her presence had served to keep him in a good mood, something he knew his own staff at the office had noticed as well.
He had to put on the brakes on this somehow, Kyr decided broodingly. And so, as he escorted her out of his house, he heard himself say, “Is it all right if I won’t be able to walk you back home tonight? I’m afraid I have an emergency overseas call to make.”
“That’s totally okay,” she reassured him quickly, not wanting him to think she was the type to sulk.
“My security will be with you, though.” When she shook her head, he said flatly, “It’s non-negotiable.” Teleios might have a zero crime rate, but even so, he wasn’t taking chances.
Looking around to make sure she wasn’t going to be overheard, she whispered to him, “B-but you know how they feel about me.”
He blinked. “Who?”
“You know.” She gave him a sheepish smile.
He was even more puzzled. “I don’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “Your staff.”
Ah. He had noticed his staff’s reservation towards her, which was a marked contrast to how they had initially welcomed her with open arms.
“But it’s okay,” Pollyanna was reassu
ring him cheerfully. “I think it’s great they’re so protective about you, and it’s kinda flattering, too, that they think I have the power to seduce you and stuff.”
She looked tickled pink with her last statement that he asked silkily, “Should I give you a pat on the back as well? You seem to be doing quite nicely on your own already.”
She grinned. “Sorry. But really, I think it’s totally crazy – in a good way – that they think I can wrap you around my finger.”
“You’re right, it’s crazy. I’ll fire them all tomorrow—”
“I was just joking!”
He smiled. “I was, too.”
She gave him a doubtful look.
“Laugh or I’ll tell everyone how much of a perv you were in my bedroom.”
Pollyanna had never laughed so quickly and hard in her entire life.
When they reached his car, he hesitated then said finally, “We might not be able to meet tomorrow either.”
“Oh.” Her face was projecting the sad-face emoticon in real life, which was cute and crazy funny at the same time.
“Because of work?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Can’t be helped then.” She gave him a sunny smile. “I’ll just use tomorrow to figure out the best way to win your staff over.” At his raised eyebrow, she explained, “It’s clear just how much they love you, you know. I think that’s great, so even if they obviously don’t like me so much right now, it’s only because they think they’re protecting you.”
He wondered if he should tell her she probably had won them over already, with just those words. Right now, they were in a CCTV zone that his security had access to, and his head guards tended to be more gossipy than desperate housewives.
“I’ll see you the day after then?”
“I’ll call you as soon as I’m free,” he promised instead.
And so they didn’t meet the next day or the day after that, and they were the worst forty-eight hours of his life.
Chapter Eight
Kyr gave up on the fourth day. He had done everything he could to get Pollyanna out of his mind. But nothing had worked. The challenge of running his business empire had lost its appeal, and even nightly trips to the mainland hadn’t been able to stop himself from obsessing over a certain strawberry blonde.
And so here he was, heading to the island’s local clubhouse. It required him to go through streets he had stopped visiting, required him to see faces he had stopped seeing. Everyone here knew Kyr, but unlike before, none of them called out to him in greeting. Instead, they only dipped their heads in respect, all of them careful not to meet his gaze. Kyrillos Gazis had changed four years ago, and knowing what Ana had done to him, none of the locals could fault him for becoming aloof and hard.
At the clubhouse, Kyr was stunned to find Pollyanna acting as the host for a birthday party, gaily organizing games for the children as well as entertaining the adults with funny anecdotes of her time on the island.
Kyr spied Abram among the guests and gestured for the boy to come to him. “Who invited her here?” he asked.
Abram colored guiltily. “I did, Master Kyr. I saw her moping around a few days ago and figured she would want to keep busy so…” He took a deep breath. “This is actually the third party she’s organized for us.” Unable to help it, he added proudly, “She’s got a real knack for it, too.”
“I see.” Kyr looked back at Pollyanna. She looked like she fit right in, when she never did. How could that happen when it wasn’t Pollyanna who had lived all her life in the island?
After thanking Abram, he retreated to the edge of the crowd just as she noticed him. And then there it was again, her blowfish look, and his chest squeezed. The funniest, ugliest look on earth, and yet there was no sight like it that could make him feel…right.
His lips curved, telling her without words to continue with what she was doing and he would wait here. Her eyes shone, and it was all the answer he needed.
The party broke off after an hour, and Pollyanna came rushing to him. Unmindful of the attention they were attracting, he only had eyes for her, and his gaze devoured her shamelessly.
He had missed her a lot, dammit.
How was it that she had come to matter him so much when he had only known her for less than a month?
When she reached him, Pollyanna threw her arms around his neck and burst into tears. She didn’t cry in a cute, pretty way. She cried like a howling baby wolf, the sound making everyone wince.
But his arms only tightened around her, his chest tightening even more.
“I miss you,” Pollyanna wailed.
Kyr hesitated before saying grimly, “I miss you, too.” And as soon as he said the words, he realized that he missed her, in every way. At that moment, she stiffened, and he knew she had also realized the same thing, with the way his cock had hardened and was now throbbing against her.
He managed to control himself only as far as the limousine. As he slammed the door shut, he told the driver through the intercom, “Drive until I tell you to stop.” He hung up, pressed another button to prevent the driver from seeing them, and then he dragged Pollyanna to his lap.
He didn’t give her a chance to speak, and she didn’t seem to mind at all, welcoming his kiss without reservation. Straddling him, she kissed him back with equal desperation, her tongue tangling wildly with his. His control breaking, he tore her blouse open and squeezed her breasts hard before feeding it to his mouth, one at a time. She threw her head back and moaned, and when he started to suck on her nipple, she clutched his head tightly to her, moaning even more loudly.
Clasping her hips, he began to teach her how to grind herself against his erection, and soon they were dry humping each other, his groans mingling with her whimpers. When she shuddered, he knew she was close, and grabbing her hand, he thrust it inside his pants. Her fingers circled his cock instinctively, and he had to close his eyes for a moment at the sheer pleasure of it.
“Start. Stroking.” Her hand began to move, and he rasped, “That’s it.” As she stroked him, it was his turn and he dipped his fingers into her panties. Her back arched, and her fingers stilled. “Keep stroking me,” he commanded harshly, and she wetted her lips and nodded. Capturing her gaze, he watched her as he slowly thrust his finger into her already wet pussy.
She moaned. “Kyr.”
He began thrusting his finger in and out of her.
“Kyr, oh God, Kyr.” Her hand on his erection began moving faster, matching his pace.
“Faster?” he asked.
“Yes, please.” And when his finger moved faster, so did her hand, rubbing him up and down.
“Harder?” His voice was thick with need.
“Y-yes.”
But this time, he did more than that, adding another finger as he deepened his thrusts.
It pushed her off the edge, and her fingers tightened around his cock instinctively as she came. Her eyes rolled back, and she shuddered again, her hips sinking down hard on his fingers. He continued fucking her with his fingers even as she came, and somehow, despite her innocence, Pollyanna managed to keep her own hand moving, too, this time squeezing his cock hard with every stroke. When she was done, she slumped against him and shuddered, just before grinding her pussy down on his cock.
It was all the push he needed, and Kyr found himself coming, too.
On the days that followed, it was as if another one of his self-imposed barriers had crashed down and he was no longer able to control himself with her. He tried, God knew he tried, but he only had to see Pollyanna, smiling at him, stars in her eyes, and all his good intentions disappeared until it was all thoughts of fornication that were left in his mind.
At the stables, a gentle breeze had blown her skirt a few inches up, and that had been it for him. He had dragged her to the nearest vacant stall, laid her on a mountain of hay, and placed his head between her legs.
She had protested in sheer embarrassment and shock, trying to push him away, but then s
he had felt his tongue lining her folds, and she had fallen back against the hay, legs falling open, no longer able to refuse him.
When they had gone canoeing, he had taken them just far enough for no one to see them, and there he had taught her to pleasure him with her mouth. And yesterday—
Color crept up Kyr’s cheekbones. He had been getting a haircut in the resort’s salon when he had noticed the way another customer was staring admiringly at Pollyanna, who had been seated next to him. Jealous, possessive rage gripping him, he had barely been able to wait until his haircut was done before dragging Polly to the salon’s restroom. Locking the door, he had then ignored her confused questions, seated her on the countertop, and then he had fucked her with his fingers until she was crying his name out.
Loudly.
Enough for everyone in the salon to hear her, including the asshole that had dared poach on Kyr’s territory.
She was the most irresistible woman in his eyes now, but somehow he managed not to completely cross the line and take her innocence. It was his one promise to himself he was determined not to break. If she left the island still a virgin, surely that would help her move on more easily?
But all this changed when he went to fetch Pollyanna in her home and came face to face with a sobbing Dinah in the living room.
She hastily wiped her tears away, saying, “Pollyanna’s not back from the field yet.”
He told himself he shouldn’t care why she was crying, but instead he heard himself ask stiffly, “What’s wrong?”
She stared at him, stricken.
Ah.
He said harshly, “What is it?”
Her hand trembled badly as she took a piece of paper from the coffee table and handed it to him wordlessly.
It was a letter from Ana, telling her parents that she was going to be married, and she would rather that they didn’t come because she had already made up a story about her parents being dead.
