The sound of an alarm clock buzzing drilled into the silence of the room, causing its sole occupant to stir. Petite and dark-haired, she made a small figure on the vast bed, and looking at her, most people would likely think of her as a teenager still.
Even as she woke up slowly, her fingers were already moving, searching for the feel of a familiar hard body that should be next to her in bed. But it wasn’t, and this made her eyes flutter open.
Oh.
She really was alone.
But a note lying against the pillow next to her caught her gaze, and slowly she reached for it.
The masculine handwriting on the note never failed to make her smile, and the thought that her husband, once a self-confessed unbeliever of love, was writing her a note made her lips curve in a wider smile.

Good morning, my love.
I’ve left early for work. Forgive me for not waking you up – I thought you’d need your rest, after last night. I’d apologize for that, too – if it wouldn’t be a lie. If you want the truth, I look forward to making love to you over and over tonight again.
If you want it crass…I’m counting the seconds until I can fuck you into passing out.

 An embarrassed laugh escaped her at the last sentence. Even now, the fact that her extremely sophisticated husband could talk so dirty made her squirm in a mixture of self-consciousness and desire.
Her eyes drifted back to the rest of the note.

 Did that make you wet, sweetheart? I bet it did.
Can’t wait to see you again. Call me when you’re up.
Your husband,
Damen

For several long moments, Mairi could only gaze at the note, her heart bursting with so much happiness that even now it scared her. It was crazy, how it felt like she loved Damen Leventis more and more each day. It just kept growing, deepening, at a terrifying rate – so much so, she couldn’t help ask herself.
Could life truly be this beautiful forever?
As soon as the insidious thought entered her mind, she pushed it away as quickly. Reaching for Damen’s note, she folded it carefully and took it with her as she got up from bed. Padding towards her dressing table in one corner of the room, she pulled the drawer open and placed it inside, together with the other notes from Damen that she lovingly cherished.
Pushing the drawer closed, she headed back to bed and reached for her phone on the table.

Mairi: Good morning. I got your note, but I still miss you.

She hesitated before sending, wondering if it sounded too clingy. Normally, she tried to keep it cool, not wanting to risk making her Greek billionaire feel claustrophobic in their marriage.
Whoever said about married couples with fairy tale weddings living happily ever after had it wrong, Mairi thought. Every day of her marriage was a dream come true, but it was also hard work, the way everything felt like a rollercoaster.
Biting her lip, she decided to clear the entire message and start again.

 Mairi: Good morning. I got your note – thank you. I’m going to keep it, too. I hope you don’t tire yourself too much at work. I look forward to seeing you tonight, too. I love you. Your wife, Mairi Tanner-Leventis

 Sent.
And that was that, Mairi thought.  It wasn’t really what she wanted to say, but none of it was a lie either.
She headed to their huge en-suite bathroom, one that also made headlines when Damen allowed a popular lifestyle magazine to feature their home in exchange of having a percentage of their sales donated to charity. The bathroom was tasteful and decadent at the same time, decorated in shades of black, gold, and purple.
Checking her watch, she opted to take a quick shower rather than a luxurious soak in the Jacuzzi. Today would be the worst time to be late and she didn’t want to take any chances.

When Damen Leventis silently entered the bedroom, he found his young wife standing in front of the windows, a wistful expression on her lovely face. She was towel-drying her hair with one hand, and her slim body was hidden under the folds of a thick bathrobe.
His bathrobe, and the sight of her wearing something of his made Damen’s chest tighten in pleasure. He knew then he was right in coming here.
Across him, his beautiful Mairi remained oblivious of his presence, her dark eyes revealing longing. She was staring at the building across their home. It was the new headquarters of Leventis Enterprises, the place where he worked.
He walked towards her, and by the time she became startlingly aware of his presence, Damen was already behind her, his hand lifting her hair up so he could place a soft kiss on the side of her neck.
“Damen.” A soft whisper, filled with quiet happiness, at the realization that her gorgeous powerful husband was really here, standing behind her.
Wordlessly, he untied her bathrobe and she let him. She blushed from head to toe as the bathrobe fell to the carpeted floor. Even though she knew the glass in front of her was tinted, preventing anyone from the outside to see them, it still felt wicked, standing naked before the windows.
A sigh escaped her as his lips again nuzzled her neck. She melted against him, arching her neck as his arms wrapped around her, one hand cupping her breast, playing with her nipple.
“I love you.”
Damen’s huskily spoken words made her knees weak and she felt so ridiculously shy as she mumbled back, “I l-love you, t-too.”
Damen chuckled at his wife’s adorably shy tone. Pulling away, he let his fingers slowly drift against her naked back, luxuriating in its satiny texture. She gasped, the sound sensuous, making his cock harden.
“Why…” His fingers drifted lower, reaching the small of her back. “…does it feel like you’re even less used to me saying ‘I love you’ now that we’re married, compared when we were just going out?”
She squeezed her eyes shut in mortification. “I don’t know myself.” She felt his fingers curve around the cheeks of her bottom, and again a gasp escaped her, just before his fingers tightened, squeezing. A second later, he had her whirling around to face him.
She tried to cover herself right away. It didn’t feel right, that she was completely naked while he was fully dressed in one of his incredibly elegant business suits. But he didn’t let her, capturing her wrists and forcing them down.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke first.
“I love you.”
Her struggles ceased, her gaze flying to him.
Damen’s handsome face was serious, but his lips were curved just the slightest bit. It was the kind of smile she knew he only reserved for her, a smile where he completely shed his cold ruthless persona as a corporate tycoon and became her Greek love, her Damen.
“I love you, love you, love you, matakia mou.”
Everything inside her crumbled, and she threw herself at him. “I love you!”
Damen caught her readily with a laugh, having already guessed how his wife would react. She was, in many ways, unpredictable but when it came to love ---
He knew her better than anyone else, better even than her aunts. Mairi would always be the girl who dreamt of fairytales, the kind of girl who would never stop wearing rose-colored glasses. And he wanted, needed…loved her that way.
Sweeping her up in his arms, he said, “I’d make love to you right now if I didn’t think I’d make you late. And you don’t want that, do you?”
Tightening her arms around his neck, she shook her head, unable to speak because she was just so in love with him. When he lowered Mairi to her feet, she saw that he had taken her into their walk-in closet.
Taking a seat on the ottoman, she watched him with reddening cheeks as he rummaged her drawer for lingerie. “Y-you’re dressing me?”
Damen nodded. Not looking at her, busy perusing her clothes, he murmured, “I thought if I dressed you up, you’d have more confidence to go to work later.” He pulled out the dress he thought best fit his wife. Glancing back at her, he asked with a raised eyebrow, “Am I not right, matakia mou?”
God, he was so beautiful when he looked at her like that. It rendered her speechless, making Mairi able to only nod. Yes. You. Totally. Right.
When he returned to her side, she allowed him to dress her like a doll, her breath catching as his lips curved in a wicked smile when she leant to him as he slowly ran her panties up her thighs.
“Pervert!” She glared down at him even as she could feel her body weakening with desire for him.
Damen was on his knees, placing him on eye-level with her belly. He grinned up at her in response, just before moving forward and nipping her silk-covered clit.
Her knees buckled, and she had to clutch his shoulders. “Damen,” she pleaded, looking down at her husband. She mumbled, “I don’t want to go to work with wet underwear.”
He sobered. “I’ll behave. I wouldn’t want anyone to think you’re wet for another man either.”
In minutes, he had her dressed in a semi-tight V-necked peasant blouse, a dark blue box pleated skirt and two-inch Mary Janes. The combination made Mairi snap her head towards him in surprise. “Really?”
“Trust me. This will make sure your students will listen to you.” It was true, but Mairi didn’t know it was because her innocent look right now would make anyone who dared disrespect her feel like the world’s worst bully.
She nodded, knowing that her husband would always have her best interests at heart. “Thank you.”
A smile had lit up her face, making her look so hot and pretty it was all he could do not to haul her towards him and kiss her. Only the thought that he would end up leaving her with kiss-swollen lips stopped him. No way in fuck would he allow her to look like a sex goddess in front of testosterone-influenced college boys.
He held out a hand. “Shall we go?”
Taking it, Mairi smiled up at him in surprised pleasure. “You’re going to drive me to work?”
“Of course.”
Inside the car, she asked, “Why did you come back?”
“Because your text was weird.”
She gaped. “It was?”
Maneuvering the car for a U-turn, he slanted a look towards his wife. “You keep forgetting, matakia mou. I know you. I know when you’re hiding something from me.”
Five minutes later, they arrived at her workplace – Christopoulos University. As he slowed the car down to a stop, he muttered darkly, “You’ll be the hottest English teacher they’ll ever set their sights on.”
She shook her head. “You’re exaggerating.” She hesitated then impulsively leaned towards Damen, placing a surprising kiss on his mouth. “Thank you for driving me to work.” She flashed him a thumbs-up sign. “Made my confidence level 100x higher.”
He chuckled. “A hundred times?”
She nodded. “Seriously.”
He got out of the car then, and by now Mairi knew him well enough to wait, knowing Damen preferred to open the door for her. As he helped her out, she said once more, “Thank you again.”
“I’ll fetch you later, too.” A grin tugged at his lips at the way she beamed at his words, like she had just won the lottery.
She fluttered her fingers. “I’m going now.” But as she started to turn around, fingers wrapped around her wrist and then she was being spun back to face her husband. “Damen?”
He raised a brow. “What did you really want to tell me a while ago?”
She blushed but acquiesced, saying shyly, “I just wanted to say I missed you. When I woke up and saw you weren’t there, I really missed you. When I had to shower alone, I missed you even more. And right now…I’m already missing you, knowing I have to spend a whole day away from you.”
Silence fell after she spoke, both of them looking at each other.
His lips finally curved, and her own lips curved, too, their tiny soft smiles saying the rest of what was in their hearts.
“I’m already missing you as well, Mrs. Leventis.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
He touched her cheek. “Good luck on your first day at work. Remember – you got this. No need to be nervous.”
She blossomed at the words, feeling like she was being so spoiled at the way Damen took the time to comfort her, no matter how frivolous her worries were. “Thank you.”
Damen took a step back. “Until later, matakia mou.” For a fraction of a second, his austerely handsome face softened. “I love you.”
Oooooooh. Her knees threatened to buckle. “I love you very much, too, Damen Leventis.”
His wife mumbled the words so feelingly it had him grinning even as he turned and walked back to the car. Mairi, too, was smiling, a dreamy expression on her face as she walked towards the opposite direction.
A small distance away, a fourth-year student stopped in his tracks, the sight of Mairi catching him unaware. His attraction to her was instant. Powerful.
Whoever that woman was – he would have her.