Women throwing themselves at him were nothing new to Christien. The billionaire had long lost count of the number of women that had tried to sneak into his hotel room when he was on a business trip, and there had even been an instance when he had received a video of a woman hoping to arouse his attention by licking her own breasts and finger-fucking her own pussy.

Over the years, their attempts to seduce him had ranged from exotic to downright bizarre and desperate, but none of them had ever managed to make him pay them more than a few seconds of his time. In the past, he had assumed this was so because he was the type that preferred to pursue rather than being pursued. It was also why, he had further assumed, he had kept Karolina around for so long. Unlike other women, Karolina had no trouble living her life apart from him, and she knew when to cater to him and when to give him space.

And for so long, that was how it had been. No woman – not even his long-term mistress – had ever occupied his mind to the point of being an obsession. Or at least no woman had been able to…until Kharis.

“Sir? Boss? Mr. Di Luca?”

Christien grimaced when he realized he had lost himself in his thoughts again, and it was all because of that damn little mutant of his. When his gaze met his chauffeur’s through the rearview mirror, Elmer said hesitantly, “We’ve reached the school, sir. Would you like me to drive you up---”

Glancing outside the window, the billionaire shook his head, saying gruffly, “This is good enough.” It was less conspicuous this way.

Stepping out of the limousine, the billionaire walked for the rest of the way until he made it to the front doors of Kharis’ high school. Heads turned as he walked past them, people openly gawking at his appearance.

The billionaire couldn’t blame them. Although he was appropriately dressed in his pinstriped suit, he had also paired it with a ski mask that completely covered his face, the sole purpose of which was to hide his identity.

When he made it to the auditorium, there was a moment of stark silence and then everyone started whispering while all eyes followed his every movement. The noise of the whispers increased when he took his seat next to Kharis’ grandfather.

“Security let you in like that?” Paul asked with a grunt.

“Didn’t even blink an eye,” the billionaire answered. And it was true, thanks to the generous amount he had deposited to the school’s account.

“I don’t even understand what it’s for,” Paul grumbled, “since everyone here still knows it’s you.”

“It may be so,” the billionaire acknowledged, “but words mean nothing nowadays without photos.” They could talk about him all they wanted. What mattered was that his presence didn’t overshadow Kharis’ graduation and ruin the normal life he was adamant she’d continue to enjoy.

In a couple of minutes, the graduating students of Angel Falls High started filing in, and everyone in the auditorium started clapping while a couple of alumni at the back hooted and yelled, Freedom, a-holes! Gasps and laughter followed this, but throughout it the billionaire remained silent, his gaze pinned on the only person that mattered.

Kharis looked radiant under her white academic dress, and for a rare change, her makeup didn’t seem like it was patterned after a clown’s. Instead, it was the right mix of subtle and dramatic, with a minimal use of colors: light gray eye shadow, dark eyeliner, the palest blush on her cheeks, and peach-colored lipstick. It transformed her from girl to woman---

Twinkling brown eyes met blue ones, and from across the auditorium, Kharis winked at him---

Ah, fuck.

In spite of the ski mask hiding his face, color still darkened the billionaire’s high-boned cheeks as smirking glances went his way. What was it with Kharis and winking? Didn’t she know it was so damn…cute?

Beside him, Paul grumbled, “Stop grinning.”

His cheeks darkened even more. “I’m not.” But they both knew it was a lie.

The emcee came up to the podium then, and everyone’s attention once again returned to the stage. In a matter of time, the school’s officials started handing out diplomas, and the billionaire glanced very casually to the side. He spotted the award-winning photographer right away. Good. He had hired the man to cover the event incognito, not wanting Kharis or just about anyone to know he wanted a copy of his girlfriend’s graduation. Just the thought of how his friends would endlessly rib him about it was enough to make the billionaire wince. This would be his private copy, and no one else was going to know about it.

When Kharis stood up and walked to the side of the stage, Paul Stamos came to his feet as well. The billionaire immediately moved back to let the older man pass, but instead Kharis’ grandfather asked gruffly, “You should come with me.”

The words were completely unexpected, and the billionaire blinked. Had he heard the man right? “I…” Christien cleared his throat, unused to finding himself lost for words.

He glanced at Kharis, who was busy chatting with the girl in front of her. She was still the prettiest girl in his eyes, but he also couldn’t help thinking that she looked no different from the other students. She looked so very normal, and that was how it should be.

When he looked back at Paul, the billionaire shook his head, saying in equal gruffness, “I think it’s better if I don’t. I’m only going to cause her to stand out with how I look---”

The older man cut him off with a snort. “Can you hear yourself, boy? You really think my granddaughter’s the type to care?”

Good point, the billionaire thought. But still, he hesitated. He was wearing a ski mask, for God’s sake. He glanced at Kharis for a second time, and this time their eyes met. She beamed at the billionaire and waved for him to join her. Come on, she mouthed.

And since his little mutant asked…

The stares and whispers once again resumed as Paul and Christien made their way to Kharis, causing the emcee to frown and remind the audience about the solemnity of the ceremony.

When they reached her, Kharis gave her grandfather a quick hug, saying giddily, “I can’t believe I’m finally done with school.”

Paul scowled. “You’re not. You still have college.”

His granddaughter made a face. “Do I really have to? I thought I could just marry Christien---”

The billionaire coughed, and seeing that Paul looked like he was about to explode, he swiftly stepped into the conversation, saying firmly, “Today should only be about your graduation.”

Kharis pouted. “Does that mean you don’t want to marry me?”

Paul started scowling again. “Don’t tell me this whole engagement was all a ruse?”

Christien was exasperated. How the hell had he become the bad guy here? To Kharis, he muttered under his breath, “You have my ring on your finger, don’t you?”

Kharis’ pout disappeared, and she started smiling again. “That’s true.” She reached to twine her fingers with his, saying sweetly, “I’m glad you’re here for my graduation. Thank you for coming, Christien.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

As Kharis turned to face the stage, Paul moved back a little so he could frown at the billionaire behind his granddaughter’s back. “You didn’t really answer her question,” he said in Greek. “Don’t think I didn’t notice it.”

The emcee chose that moment to call for Kharis to the stage, saving the billionaire from responding. After Kharis received her diploma, Christien and Paul positioned themselves on each of her side and as the three of them readied themselves for the requisite graduation photo---

Countless flashing lights from cameras greeted them, with everyone wanting to take a snapshot of Kharis and her billionaire.

Shit.

Christien looked at Kharis right away, intending to apologize for turning her graduation into a sideshow, but instead of the anger or disappointment he expected, Kharis had burst into peals of laughter.

She met his gaze, asking cheekily, “Shall we give them what they want?”

He blinked. What the hell was she talking---

And then she puckered her lips.

The billionaire scowled behind his ski mask. “Kharis, no.”

But she had already closed her eyes.

“Damn kid,” Paul growled, and for once the billionaire was in complete agreement with the older man. Unfortunately, the crowd had already caught on and was already laughing and chanting, Kiss, kiss, kiss!

Kharis responded to the chanting by making a blatant show of puckering her lips.

He had half a mind to walk away just to teach her a lesson. But then he thought of how that would disappoint her---

Ah, fuck.

Christien cupped her face, and as their lips met, she started giggling. A moment later, her arms went around him, and her lips parted.

He was really fucked.

As always, he found the sweet invitation of her mouth impossible to resist, and he found himself deepening the kiss in front of Angel Falls High’s newest batch of graduates.

Two hours later, the billionaire and Kharis were alone in her room, and she was laughingly recounting everything that happened to his friends over FaceTime.

“A s-ski mask, really?” Nick’s violet-eyed fiancée was visibly stunned.

“Do you have a photo?” Jaike asked eagerly.

“Oh, a lot!”

“This I have to see,” Nathan Callis drawled.

“Go to hell,” Christien growled. And seeing that Kharis was actually preparing to upload photos to the group’s chat window, he shook his head and cursed under his breath. “This conversation is over,” he told his friends curtly.

“Coward,” Jason Christakos mocked while the girls laughed and pleaded with him to reconsider.

Christien smiled at them politely. “No fucking way.” And then he pulled Kharis’ hands away and shut the laptop closed before she could hit Send.

Kharis gasped. “But I promised---”

The billionaire glared at her.

Her mouth opened and closed, and then a smile started tugging at the corner of her lips. “Was it really that bad?” He only looked at her, and Kharis started giggling. “I guess it was that bad.”

Understatement of the year, the billionaire thought as he leaned back against the headboard of her bed and stretched his legs while watching Kharis reach for her phone and start texting.

“Who are you texting?”

She looked up. “Jealous?”

He grunted.

“Don’t be, baby boy.” The billionaire rolled his eyes, and she giggled. “Relax. It’s just Keanne.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Keanne Summers?” The young Frenchwoman was a precious lady friend of Jason Christakos, and one the latter guarded so ferociously he had yet to introduce the girl to Christien or any of the other guys. When Kharis nodded, he asked in stunned disbelief, “How do you know her?”

“Jason, of course, duh. He suggested I add her on Facebook and we started chatting.” Kharis frowned. “Don’t you like Keanne?”

“That’s a bit hard to answer,” the billionaire answered dryly, “since I’ve never met her, much less talked to her.”

“Then add her on Facebook!”

“I would – if Jason hadn’t explicitly warned us against making contact with her.”

“Oh.”

Oh, indeed. And what an understatement that was, too. Did she even realize how rare it was for Jason Christakos to trust another person to that extent? He thought about it and decided that no, she probably didn’t, and even now he doubted it had properly sunk into her that all his other male friends were billionaires in their own right.

It was also probably why, the billionaire thought broodingly, his friends and their girlfriends got along so damn well with Kharis, never mind if they were only able to chat with her online.

Like Jason Christakos, he was fiercely protective of Kharis to the point of being paranoid. It had been five months since they had gotten back together, and a part of him was still reeling from how increasingly important she had become to him. In so short a time, she hadn’t just turned his world upside down but had changed it so much he could barely remember how his life was before his little mutant had entered it.

Did he still want to live? Was he normal? Was he insane? These used to be the questions that had consumed his thoughts, but now---

Everything he said and did, everything he thought had to do with her now. He was so damn obsessed with Kharis Stamos that he hadn’t even had time to contemplate his existence. And the incredible thing about it was that she wasn’t even deliberately courting his attention. It just so happened that Kharis was this naturally spontaneous person with zero sense of danger, and the billionaire had lost count of the times she had given him the scare of his life.

She was so damn friendly and trusting she chatted with anyone and everyone. The last time she had been in Nightmare, he had left her a couple of minutes, only to return and find her about to knock herself out on a drink that a stranger had offered her. While it hadn’t been laced with any kind of drugs – that would never have slipped past his club’s security – the drink had been the strongest his bar had to offer, and it would have been enough to knock her out cold.

Another time, they had attended an art fair, and a local agent who had known she was Christien di Luca’s woman had almost conned her into buying a worthless painting for a small fortune.

Once, he had asked her out of plain frustration how she could be so damn naïve about other people’s intentions. Everyone would’ve seen those people coming from miles away, he had growled at her, but instead of running the opposite direction, it’s like you’re choosing to lie in wait until they can throw you under the bus.

Of course, the moment the words had left him, he had regretted it right away, knowing he had been unforgivably harsh. He had reached for her, intending to apologize, but instead she had smiled up at him. Not an I-forgive-you smile, he remembered having thought then, but something more painfully sweet. Rather, the smile that had curved on her lips was something more like an I’m-sorry-for-believing-in-Santa-Claus-but-I-can’t-help-it---

Too damn sweet, the billionaire had thought then, so much so it had made him want to believe in Santa Claus, too.

And then she had linked her arms around his neck, whispering, “I’m sorry I keep making you worry. I just can’t help it---” Her tone became rueful. “I have a hard time believing that another person would want to lie to me or hurt me.” After, she had raised worried brown eyes to him, asking, “Are you mad?”

He should be.

But when she was looking at him like that---

And it was exactly the way she was looking at him now, the billionaire realized with a frown. His suspicions worsened when she put her phone down and turned to him with a guilty expression.

“What did you do this time?” he asked bluntly.

Kharis gulped. “Well…” She placed one knee on the bed, then another. “You said not to send your friends any picture…” Her hands followed, and she was on all fours this time. “But you didn’t say I couldn’t share a photo with Keanne?”

“Kharis, dammit.” Keanne Summers had been infatuated with Jason for years. He was pretty sure she would share the photo with the Greek billionaire, and if Jason had seen it, then he was certain the rest had seen it as well.

“Sorry!” Kharis quickly crawled across the bed to reach him. Her breasts swayed with each movement, and just like that the billionaire’s irritation, which had been trifling to begin with, disappeared instantly.

And when Kharis did reach him, she asked worriedly, “Are you mad?”

Ah, dammit.

What those shadowed brown eyes did to his libido---

And to make things worse, his little mutant even straddled him.

The billionaire stiffened. “Kharis---”

“Can I make it up to you?” Her hands settled on his shoulders, and when he saw that her gaze had changed from anxious to playful, Christien began cursing in his mind, realizing he had fallen for her trap.

“Thanks…but no thanks.” He reached for her hands, intending to pull them away, but then she started grinding her pussy down on him.

“Fuck.”

But she only laughed, the sound all womanly and knowing.

“Let me make it up to you,” she whispered.

He closed his eyes.

A second later, and her mouth touched his ear. “Please.”

FUCK.

His control snapped, his hands loosened its grip on her wrists, and when his eyes opened, his gaze was burning. “Do it then.” The billionaire’s voice was guttural. “Make it up to me.”

She answered him with another smile – eager and coy at the same time – and it only made him harden even more. He watched her move back and place herself between his legs while reaching for the zip of his pants. Her once clumsy fingers were now nimble as they worked his zip down and wrapped around his cock with the kind of silky confidence that only came from experience.

In this case, that was five months’ worth of experience. Five months of the greatest sexual pleasure and the worst sexual torture---

A groan spilled out of the billionaire as she expertly took him in her mouth. Her tongue moved around the head just the way he liked it, and his fingers drove through her hair. “Kharis.” His voice came out a low rasp as she started sucking him. Her hands began moving in rhythm with the strokes of her tongue, and his eyes squeezed shut.

She was so damn good now, but then she had to be, since he had been the one to teach her everything she knew.

He tried to last as long as he could, but soon he was fisting her hair and trying to pull his cock out of her mouth. “I’m about to come,” he gritted out. But the words only had her sucking him harder, and his balls started to tighten.

“Kharis---”

Her teeth scraped against the sensitive head of his cock, and with a muttered curse, the billionaire started to come inside of her mouth. His thrusts became wild and uncontrollable, his cock nearly hitting the back of her throat as it shot out load after load of cum.

And Kharis swallowed all of it, down to the very last drop.

When she finally pulled away, her eyes were shining, and still holding his gaze, she made a show of licking her lips---

In the next moment he had their positions reversed, her back falling against the bed as he flipped her skirt up and dove between her legs.

“Christien!” His name came out in a half-laugh, half-gasp, but then he tore her panties away and started eating her pussy, and her body melted. “Christien.” This time, her voice was a soft, lovely moan, and he thrust his tongue deeper into her pussy.

“Oh God, Christien.”

She writhed under his mouth, begged him alternately to stop and not to stop, and he responded by moving his mouth to her clit while his fingers thrust inside of her. Deep, hard, fast, possessing her to the point of breaking her----without claiming her innocence.

Her fingers dug into his back. “Christien!”

He sucked on her clit hard, and a moment later she shattered in his hands, her body jerking as her creamy essence flowed out of her. Releasing her clit, he moved down to drink every drop even as his fingers continued to push in and out of her.

After, he carried her to the tub and prepared a hot bath for both of them. It was all part of the routine now, but instead of the familiarity turning him off, the billionaire found every moment of it filling the emptiness in his heart.

She lay against his chest as he soaped and washed her, sighing and moaning under his caresses. She returned the favor afterwards, and although he tried to dissuade her at the start, she had gotten her way in the end and had him coming with a damn hand job.

When they were back in bed, she immediately reached for him again, but the billionaire shook his head, saying gently, “I’ve reached my limit.” He wasn’t talking about the number of times he had come, and his little mutant knew it. If they made love another time tonight, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back any longer.

Kharis’ tiny, wistful sigh drew his attention back to her, and his lips twitched at the look of undisguised gloom on her face. “Do I really have to save myself for our wedding?” she asked plaintively.

No, the billionaire thought, and yes. Wanting a virgin bride was nothing but a spur-of-the-moment excuse he had come up with for still not making love to her even though Kharis was – as she had pointed out once upon a time – already eighteen.

And so far it had done its job, but the billionaire also knew the way things were couldn’t last. Actually, he knew he couldn’t last like this forever. It was only a matter of time before his control completely deserted him---

“Christien?” Kharis touched his face. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” she whispered, “when you’re not smiling like that. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

“I’m certain.” And he was, as much as someone like him could be. “Nothing can be wrong when you’re with me.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the soft skin gently.

Their eyes met.

“I love you.” It wasn’t his first time to say the words. Whenever she told him she loved him, he would tell her it was the same for him. But this time – he had needed to say the words first because now he realized – now he understood and accepted that he wanted it to be true.

If it could be possible for an empty man like him to love---

Then he wanted to love her.