The Greek's Forgotten Wife (Boarding School #1) (10 page)

Sasha watched the disgusting man walk away from the table.  They’d just finished a business lunch with a company that Damon was considering hiring to do some advertising. 

“Please don’t do business with that man, Damon.” 

Damon sipped his coffee, startled by the heat in her tone.  “Why not?”

Sasha put her own coffee cup back in the saucer, trying to work out her argument in her mind so that she could provide an effective case.  “Because…”

She considered her options, mentally debated the arguments and battled in her mind the best way to explain her issues with the odious man who had just walked away.  “Because his business methods are wrong, Damon.”

He almost laughed at how passionate she seemed about the subject.  His normally tenderhearted wife was practically growling with anger at the businessman who had left them moments ago.  She was still staring at the man’s retreating back.  “Why do you think that?”

Turning to face him, she started off by the information she’d gathered during her research.  “His company is the biggest in billboard advertising.  They have more signs across both Europe and North America, hands down.  So yes, I’m sure they are the most effective at getting your message out.  At least to the people who are driving along the major interstates, that is.”

“So what’s your issue?” he asked.  He was intrigued.  Sasha normally followed his lead when it came to business matters.  She was an eager student who had shown amazing aptitude in understanding all of the intricacies of the business world, fully able to grasp the multi-pronged approach to success. 

Sasha was encouraged that he was at least listening to her argument.  He wasn’t simply shutting her down and moving on to his next meeting. 

“They aren’t ethical,” she finally stated, not trying to sugar coat it. 

“Excuse me?”

Her lips moved to the side before she continued, considering the best way to explain.  “I read an article about his company last year.  Environmental groups noticed a staggering level of toxicity around the land surrounding several of his billboards.  When they looked into the issue further, they found some horrible chemicals that were used on the vegetation.  There were several reports about a year ago and environmental agencies sanctioned this company for the toxic chemicals they spray on the vegetation in front of their billboards.”

He didn’t understand and she could tell that she was losing him.

Leaning forward, she clasped her hands together, trying to slow down and get him to understand the problem.  “See, the billboards have to be a certain distance away from the road so that they don’t distract drivers.  That means that they are usually in fields or in farmland.  The farmers rent their land to the billboard companies.  What happens though, is that trees and vegetation grow up in front of those billboards, obscuring the advertising.  To counter that, they hire people to travel down the highways and spray chemicals that kill the vegetation.  They also inject poison into any trees that have started to grow up.  It is cheaper to simply spray the poisons or inject the trees than to cut them down.”

“And you don’t like that.”  He could ascertain that simply by her angry expression.

She shook her head.  “I don’t like any sort of company that only looks after bottom line profit and doesn’t care about how they do that.  The man you were just speaking with, he works for one of the worst of those companies.”

He smiled slightly, enjoying her passion and impressed that she’d done her homework, plus she was standing up for something she believed in.  “So you don’t want me doing business with them, even if they are the most effective at their advertising campaigns.”

She shook her head.  “You are one of the good guys, Damon.  I’ve looked into your company and I know that you are ethical and care about the kinds of businesses you are into and even the kinds of businesses that you work with.”  She looked into his oddly colored eyes, her brown ones pleading with him to care.  “Don’t sully your hands by doing business with someone who doesn’t care about the long term environmental or the social impact their policies have on the world.  You have a good soul, Damon.  That man…he doesn’t.  His soul is corrupt.” 

He looked down at her carefully.  He hadn’t been impressed with the man’s ideas in the first place, but hearing Sasha say that he was one of the good guys…it made him feel…good.  He’d never cared about other people’s opinions of him or the way he conducted his business.  He was the one who had to live with his decisions.

But he suddenly realized that he cared about Sasha’s opinion of him.  A great deal, actually. 

It was more than just his business, he realized.  Sasha cared about him, about who he was as a person and a businessman.  She cared about his soul!  Not even his parents had stopped to consider where his soul might be heading. 

He leaned back, stunned and warmed by her concern.  “You respect my business model, eh?”

Sasha nodded her head quickly.  “Very much so, Damon.”

He liked that.  He wanted her respect.  He wanted to actively cultivate her respect.  “Do you have other suggestions, other ideas on companies that could be more effective?” he asked.  “Or other marketing strategies that might work in different ways?”

Sasha couldn’t believe it!  He was listening to her?  How wonderful!  She’d never thought he would actually take her seriously, but not only was he listening, he was seeking out her opinions. 

She sat up straighter in her chair, her fingers clenching together in an effort to tamp down her excitement so that she could explain alternatives more effectively.  “Yes.  There are several smaller companies, some that are even startup companies that have some wonderful ideas on how to advertise in a changing world.  They are incredibly ethical and more than a little quirky in their ideas so you’ll have to listen to them with an open mind.  I think their goal in advertising is to get the younger generation and hold onto them throughout a products’ lifetime.  They think it is better to grab the consumer when they are younger and keep them coming back as the company and their products evolve.”

Damon nodded his head.  “Okay.  Set up the meetings and I’ll listen.  No commitments though.  Just meetings.”

Sasha wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him as a thank you for agreeing to just hear her out.  “Thank you,” she told him with heartfelt sincerity. 

Damon looked down into her soft, brown eyes, eyes that were making something in the vicinity of his chest tug uncomfortably.  “Let’s get out of here,” he mumbled, taking her hand and leading her out of the restaurant.  He’d thought he’d been too gruff, but as they wove through the tables, he felt his gentle, softhearted wife press herself closer to him and that tugging got a bit stronger. 

Three days later, Damon stepped into the limousine, shaking his head and smiling at the presentation he’d just listened to.  The ideas were impressive and the conclusions from the data to back up their advertising ideas were astounding.  He’d already given the go ahead to his own marketing division to start negotiating contracts with several of the smaller companies.  They couldn’t handle the entire effort on their own, not yet anyway.  But by hiring five of the best, he was still coming in under budget and with more innovative ideas than he’d heard in years. 

Walking into the office Sasha had set up in his Rome penthouse where she was working on something on her computer, he waited until she looked over at him.  “You were right,” he told her.

Sasha was startled by his declaration.  “I was?”  She looked back at her computer.  She was following up on some advice he’d given her last night so she was pretty sure that he was right in this instance.  Looking over her computer monitor at him, she shook her head.  “What was I right about?”

Damon slid his hands into his pockets.  “The advertisers.  The meetings you set up with the smaller, newer companies, was spot on the message we were trying to send out.  You were right.  They will work.  Their ideas are different and more than a little outrageous, but they seem to have the experience to get the job done right.”

With that, he walked out of her office, whistling as he walked and still appreciating a woman that had both brains and beauty. 

The music was annoying, the champagne a bit flat, the food was barely mediocre and the people asking him questions were starting to annoy him.  Damon looked around at the couples dancing, his eyes searching for his wife.  When he spotted her, his irritation only increased.  As far as he was concerned, there was nothing good about this night or this event.  They were in Paris for some meetings and all he wanted to do was get his wife and head back to the hotel where he could have her all to himself. 

But she seemed to be enjoying herself and she looked stunning in the red evening gown.  He’d stopped trying to give her jewelry because she simply wouldn’t wear it.  Her neck and her wrists were bare even though he’d given her rubies just last week. 

Had she worn that red dress just to prove that she wouldn’t wear the precious stones?  Was she sending him a message?  He’d thought they had been making progress in their relationship but her refusal to wear any jewelry he gave her was starting to feel like a rebellion and he didn’t like it.  Not one bit! 

Damon sighed and tried to pull his eyes away, castigating himself for thinking anything so ridiculous about Sasha.  She wasn’t like that, he told himself sharply.  He was simply applying the malicious intent from his previous mistresses to her and that wasn’t applicable.  There wasn’t a spiteful bone in Sasha’s kind, warm-hearted body and he needed to remember that instead of applying malice to her actions. 

But dammit, he wanted to dance with her! 

So why was he standing here on the sidelines, holding up the ridiculous column?  Why didn’t he storm onto that dance floor, grab his wife and pull her into his arms? 

Damon rubbed the back of his neck with frustration.  Because she seemed to be having a good time.  Once again, he spotted her laughing up at her dance partner and he couldn’t pull her away.  He simply didn’t want to stop the excitement she seemed to be experiencing. 

Unfortunately, that was before the next man stepped in, taking her into his arms.  The previous dance partner was one thing but this guy, he was a known womanizer. 

Sure enough, they’d been dancing for perhaps thirty seconds when Damon spotted the man’s hand slide lower onto her bottom. 

Everything else in his mind blanked out and all he saw was red fury.  No way, he thought.  That was his wife!  The man could go find his own woman, he grumbled silently even as he pushed people out of his way in order to protect his wife from the mauling, disgusting advances of an ass who thought all women were fair game.  Not his wife!  Not his Sasha!

Unfortunately for his fury, his adorable Sasha handled the situation before he could even reach her.  And she didn’t even know that he was barreling through the other guests in order to save her.  By the time he’d reached the edge of the dance floor, Sasha had already grabbed the man’s hand and twisted with enough force to make the man cringe. 

“Say you’re sorry,” she was demanding of the man who was no longer holding his wife just as Damon came up behind the two of them.  The other couples on the dance floor only saw the two of them talking quietly and Damon glaring but had no idea that his wife was crushing the man’s fingers. 

“Sorry,” he gasped out, his fingers in a crinkled mess by her side. 

She smiled politely at a couple she knew, then waved to assure them that everything was perfectly fine before she turned her attention back to the man who had offended her.  “And you’ll never do something rude like that again,” she continued on.

“Never again,” he promised with gnashing teeth.

She smiled and released his hands.  “Thank you so much for the lovely dance, but I think I should find my husband again.”

Sasha spun around, ignoring the man’s strange look over her shoulder as he tried to shake out the pain in his hand.  Unfortunately, her escape was ruined by a brick wall.  A solid, hard, brick wall in the form of her husband who was currently staring at her previous dance partner. 

“Damon!” she gasped, placing her hands on his chest. 

“Sasha, go wait outside with the guards,” he told her and pushed her safely behind him. 

Sasha suddenly realized where this confrontation was heading.  He was going to make a scene and she didn’t want that.  She’d tried very hard to make sure that her admonition to the annoying man had been under the radar and there was no way she was going to allow Damon to ruin her efforts.  “Damon, come with me,” she told him carefully.  He was livid, she realized. 

He didn’t move.  Didn’t even blink his eyes as he continued to glare at the man who now understood that he was in grave danger.  “Go wait by the guards, Sasha,” he repeated.

The other dancers were starting to stare, realizing that something was going on.  “No,” she replied firmly.  Taking his hand, she pressed it against her stomach.  “Damon, I handled the situation.  He promised he wouldn’t ever do it again.”  Turning to look at the shorter man, she smiled encouragingly.  “Didn’t you?” she prompted with an encouraging smile.

The man realized he was in serious trouble and was cowering.  Actually cowering!  Of course, Damon was several inches taller, packed with muscle and was furiously jealous that someone had touched his wife.  The man had accurately calculated the odds and knew that he would come out the loser in this situation.  Not a good state of affairs. 

Keeping her hands on Damon, she twisted around to face the man one more time.  “Go!” Sasha hissed at him. 

He looked down at her, confused for a moment.  “Get out of here,” she told him with an urgency that finally got through to him. 

A moment later, the man disappeared into the crowd and Sasha looked up at her husband, a smile beaming from her face.  “Well, that was an interesting evening, wasn’t it?” she asked and started pulling Damon in the opposite direction.  When he continued to stare at the area in which the man had disappeared, Sasha came back to him, pressing her body against his. 

Looking up at him, she used all of the feminine wiles she’d never known she had until Damon came back into her life and decided to be a real husband.  He’d taught her about his body, what he liked and how she could distract him and she used that knowledge now to avert a crisis.  “I want to leave here, Damon.  Would you kindly take me away from this?” she said softly, her hands slipping inside of his immaculate tuxedo, resting carefully on the hard muscles of his stomach. 

That did the trick almost instantly.  Damon’s eyes flared as he stared down at his wife.  She was manipulating him, but he didn’t mind.  Especially as he enjoyed the direction her hands were taking.

“Come on,” he replied and took her hands.  He was still furious, but now his fury was taking on a different emotion. 

He pulled her into the limousine, barely even waiting for the door to be closed on the two of them before he pulled his wife onto his lap.  His hands immediately took hers and placed them back onto his stomach.  “Continue,” he commanded even while his hands were pushing the red material of her dress up over her legs. 

Sasha was suddenly so turned on, she forgot that they were in the back of a limousine, barreling through the city.  She wasn’t even aware of the lights dancing in and out of the windows as they passed underneath the streetlights. 

All she knew was that Damon wasn’t touching her breasts so she pulled the straps down on her dress, pulling his hands up so they were right where she wanted them.  And then he was kissing her, his mouth latching onto her mouth and she was frantic to feel him, all of him.

Damon only took the time to adjust his clothing and then he was pulling her hips back into place, her legs straddling his thighs and he pushed his erection into her tight, hot sheath.  “Sasha!” he growled, needing all of her.  His hands where holding onto her hips while his mouth returned to her breasts and she leaned back, giving him complete access. 

Sasha couldn’t get enough of him.  She was feverish and desperate, her mind frantically trying to get more of him, to feel him inside of her, deeper and faster.  Her breath was coming in gasps now and she wanted only to…Yes!

She almost screamed when her body convulsed.  She tried to slow down at that point but Damon pushed her harder.  As she felt his climax start, she spun out of control again, her body writhing against his and that movement took him over the edge. 

For a long time after the waves of pleasure dissipated, Sasha clung to Damon, her breathing ragged as she remained perfectly still.  Only slowly would her muscles relax enough so that she could release his neck.  Leaning back, she took several deep breaths, trying to regain control.  It was hard and, as she looked around, she couldn’t believe what had just happened. 

Damon came to the exact same realization at that moment.  “Not again!” Damon hissed.  He didn’t push her off of him though.  In fact, he pulled her closer, burying his face in her neck.  “The things you do to me, woman!” he growled and nibbled on the sensitive skin of her neck. 

Sasha laughed even as his lips and teeth tickled her neck.  “I don’t think I was the one who initiated anything this time, Damon.” 

She slipped off of his lap, searching the floor for her underwear.  When she found it, she grimaced because it was no longer wearable.  Stuffing it into her clutch, she pushed her dress back down and moved over to the other side of the limousine, trying to sit primly for the remainder of the ride back to the hotel.

“Good try,” he chuckled as he took her hand in his, squeezing it slightly just to let her know that she was on his mind even when she wasn’t on his lap any longer. 

Sasha smiled for the rest of the night, and especially when she slipped between the sheets.  She was almost instantly asleep, but when she woke up later that night, she found that she was already snuggled up next to Damon.  Apparently, he’d pulled her over to his side of the bed, not allowing her even that much space while they slept. 

The following evening, she stepped out of her dressing room, smoothing down the emerald green evening gown and transferring her lipstick into a matching clutch purse.  Looking up, she realized that Damon was wearing only a pair of slacks and a tailored shirt.  “You’re not wearing a tuxedo?” she asked.  “Am I overdressed?”

He shook his head as he approached.  “You’re perfectly dressed for our dinner plans,” he told her, taking her hand in his as he led her out of the suite’s bedroom.  The dining room looked beautiful with settings for two, complete with candlelight and flowers.  “What’s all this?” she asked, amazed by the romantic atmosphere.

He took her purse and tossed it onto the sofa.  “Twice in the past three days we’ve lost control of our passion in public places.”  He led her over to the table, pulling out her chair.  “I figured tonight, we should just spend a quiet evening alone.”  As soon as she was seated, he leaned over and said, “Besides, I wanted to dance with you tonight.  I didn’t get my turn last night and I don’t want anyone to stop me.  This way, my desires are guaranteed.”

A hotel waiter stepped through a door at that moment carrying covered plates which were set down in front of both of them.  Sasha was charmed and smiled across the table at Damon, impressed that he’d arranged something so sweet.  They talked all through dinner, discussing anything that struck their minds.  And when dinner was over, Damon turned up the music and pulled her into his arms.  Sasha loved how beautifully he danced.  For such a large man, he was amazingly smooth on his feet, she thought happily. 

When he took her to their bedroom that night, she was more than ready to be pulled into his arms.  He made sweet love to her that night.  No frantic movements, just slow, sensual touches and heat rising to a pinnacle that swept both of them along.  And when he pulled her into his arms later, she smiled into the darkness, enjoying the strength of his arms around her as she fell into a deep sleep.