ANDREUS_Part One Read online

  Blurb

  Greek billionaire Andreus Economou is Hallie’s first love, but he’s also the only man to break her heart – and he’s done it more than once, too. Now that she’s twenty-four, and hopefully just a little wiser, too, Hallie decides that it’s time she stops running away from her feelings.

  This time, she’s going to let nature run its course – and stop pretending she’s not in love with him.

  * * *

  Note: This is Part One of a trilogy.

  ANDREUS

  Part One

  Marian Tee

  Contents

  Also by Marian Tee

  Part I

  Present Time

  Eight Years Ago

  Present

  Seven Years Ago

  Present Time

  Five Years Ago

  II. Present Time

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  About the Author

  Also by Marian Tee

  Also by Marian Tee

  Want More Hot Alpha Billionaire and Biker Romances from Marian Tee?

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  * * *

  Standalone Novels

  Savage, Broken, Beautiful

  A contemporary and sizzling-hot retelling of the Beauty and the Beast, this story starts when Arabella sells herself to a mysterious French billionaire who has her whisked to his remote island.

  Eternal Night

  This is a retelling of Hades and Persephone’s love story, but this time the God of the Underworld finds himself falling for a mortal girl.

  * * *

  Captivated: 4-in-1 Friends Romance Boxed Set – Enjoy four standalone romances between passionate, domineering billionaires and the women who were their friends first before becoming their lovers.

  All stories have either happy-ever-after or happy-for-now endings.

  * * *

  His Fair Lady – Prince Julian knows the blind fortune teller Cass is everything he wants in a woman, but she can never be his bride.

  * * *

  Devoured — Cynical Italian billionaire Luca Valencia buys himself a wife in order to give his little girl the mother she needed and deserved. His choice: innocent Vivian Day, who he knew could ill afford to reject his proposition.

  The Marriage Dare

  Quintessential girl Friday Jane can’t ever say no to a dare. And so when her friends challenge her to make out with a beautiful stranger, she does it. And when said stranger dares her to marry him – she does it, too.

  * * *

  Greek Billionaire Romance Serials

  The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire (free)

  The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Loving a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Forgiving a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Wedding a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Kissing a Greek Billionaire (free)

  * * *

  The Greek Billionaire and I (Standalone)

  * * *

  The Greek Billionaire and His Secretary Series

  The Greek Billionaire and His Secretary (FREE)

  Dear Greek Billionaire

  Love, Your Greek Billionaire

  Forever and Ever, My Greek Billionaire

  * * *

  That One Time (Standalone)

  * * *

  My Dutch Billionaire Trilogy

  Part 1 (FREE)

  Part 2

  Part 3

  * * *

  Pollyanna and the Greek Billionaire Trilogy (Innocent and Betrayed)

  Part 1 (FREE)

  Part 2

  Part 3

  * * *

  How Not to be Seduced Series / Mediterranean Affairs (According to Reading Order)

  * * *

  Nik & Daria

  A Fling with the Greek Billionaire: Prequel (FREE)

  A Fling with the Greek Billionaire: Standalone

  * * *

  Eternally Seduced: Contemporary Romance (7-in-1 Boxed set)

  Included in this bundle: How Not to be Seduced by Billionaires, How Not to be Seduced by Rockstars, How Not to be Seduced by Dukes Part 1

  * * *

  The Ice Around My Heart (How Not to be Seduced by Dukes Part 2)

  * * *

  The Rockstar and His Fangirl (Standalone)

  * * *

  The Rockstar I’ve Loved for So Long (Standalone)

  * * *

  BBF Series: Christopoulos University (According to Reading Order)

  * * *

  Warning: Love Moderately Duology (Derek & Jaike)

  Unwillingly Yours (FREE!)

  Meant to Be Yours

  * * *

  Park & Violet (Standalone)

  * * *

  Nick & Lilac (Standalone)

  * * *

  Jason & Keanne (Standalone)

  * * *

  Prince of Darkness Duology

  Part 1

  Part 2

  * * *

  For Angelo (Standalone)

  * * *

  My Greek Billionaire (Alyx & Nathan)

  My French Billionaire (Christien & Kharis)

  * * *

  IN BED WITH A BILLIONAIRE Series

  * * *

  My Russian Billionaire (Sergei & Fredericka)

  My Greek Billionaire (Alyx & Nathan)*

  My Italian Billionaire Part One (Anneke & Marcus)

  My Italian Billionaire Part Two (Anneke & Marcus)

  My French Billionaire (Christien & Kharis)*

  * * *

  *also part of BBF series

  DESERT SHEIKHS Series

  My Arabian Billionaire (Khalil & Harper)

  Malik

  Rayyan

  Tarif

  Altair

  * * *

  Greek. Biker. Billionaire

  * * *

  Leandro

  Helios

  Kellion

  Yuri

  * * *

  Drawn / Russian Stepbrother Romance / Play With Me Sports Romance Series: Christopoulos University (According to Reading Order)

  * * *

  Drawn (Standalone)

  * * *

  Russian Stepbrother Romance Trilogy

  When I Moan

  When I Hurt

  When I Love

  * * *

  Play With Me (Standalone)

  * * *

  This Round I’m Yours (Standalone)

  * * *

  Love You Again (A Standalone Sequel to Drawn)

  * * *

  Visit Marian Tee’s website for her other titles.

  * * *

  Want More Hot Alpha Billionaire and Biker Romances from Marian Tee?

  Enjoy exclusive excerpts about my newest and upcoming releases by signing up for my newsletter.

  Andreus

  By

  Marian Tee

  * * *

  Copyright 2018 by Streak Digital Publishing

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  Part One

  Present Time

  A sense of wonder struck Hallie Athanas as she glanced out of her window and had her first glimpse of Claymore: cloudy skies, sunlight bright enough to make her squint, and unlike Miami or Tokyo – there wasn’t a single
skyscraper in sight.

  As she followed the other passengers out of the plane, she quickly snapped a couple of photos with her Leica DSLR – it wasn’t every day one found a functional, single-runway airport like Claymore’s, and she could already envision how exquisite it would look as a vintage-y postcard, post-Photoshop.

  Both departure and arrival halls were housed in the same floor, and the airport building in itself wasn’t like what she was used to either. There were no queues, no immigration windows, and there wasn’t even any rush to get to the baggage carousel first. There wasn’t even glass and steel melding to form a structure of impersonal architectural perfection; instead, Hallie’s and the others had been directed to a picturesque, modest-sized building with gabled roofs, rows of symmetrical windows, and tall white columns.

  The whole place was like a scene straight out of Gone with the Wind, and a whimsical part of her was just waiting to hear Clark Gable say, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” When one of the airport’s smiling staff offered her a drink, she had to control the urge to try speaking with a Southern accent as she thanked the other woman.

  Maybe, she thought to herself, this will work out after all.

  It had been two years, anyway. And besides, Claymore was more her dream come true. Yuri and the rest of the Afxisi had only made the unprecedented decision of relocating here to provide their growing families a safe place to live in. For Hallie, however, Claymore was so much more. Unlike the others, she had never felt any passionate connection for her Greek homeland. She might have Greek blood running through her veins, but she had always felt she was American at heart. More specifically, she had always wished she had been born half-Southern belle, half-adventurous pioneer – and as fate would have it, that was exactly what Claymore was.

  South meets West in small-town haven, Hallie mused as she loaded the cart with her luggage. That was the guys’ working slogan for now, and she liked it a lot.

  Outside the airport, she parked her luggage-laden cart in one corner before texting her older brother. I’m here. She almost typed ‘for better or for worse’ as a joke but changed her mind at the last minute. There was always a chance Kalli would read her message, and as adorable as her sister-in-law was, there was also no denying that the younger woman wasn’t exactly good at keeping secrets.

  About a minute passed before a big, black truck came barreling down to a smooth stop in front of her, and her lips twitched. Oh, how things had changed! It used to be that Yuri and the other guys were big bad bikers, but a flurry of marriages and babies had changed all that. In one of their weekly FaceTime chats, MJ had shared how the bikes had been repurposed for Sunday morning drives and all sports cars had been sold off.

  “They only drive SUVs or pick-ups now,” MJ had gone on to share. And before Hallie could even ask, the other girl had added very innocently, “Andreus, too.”

  The memory made Hallie grimace. Hearing his name just once had been enough to make her hastily say goodbye and end the call, not wanting to hear any other news about him.

  But you’re not going to do that again, are you?

  If there was one thing that two years of running away and licking her wounds in Tokyo had taught her, then it was ---

  Chikushou!

  The man driving the truck had finally stepped out of his vehicle, and it was not Yuri.

  Chikushou, she thought again, this time with rising panic. The term loosely translated to ‘shit’ or ‘dammit’ in English, and the word aptly described how she was feeling, with the way her heartbeat was so madly racing at the sight of Andreus Economou.

  The urge to run away and book a flight back to Dallas consumed her, and Hallie unconsciously tightened her grip on the cart’s handlebar until her knuckles turned white.

  What was he doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in Miami? What was she going to do now?

  Tall, dark, and handsome, with jet-black hair and a rugged, sinewy build made a hundred times sexier by the black leather jacket he had over his V-necked shirt and jeans – in a nutshell, unbearably masculine and jaw-dropping gorgeous.

  But even so!

  Claymore, Texas – as was the rest of the Lone Star state – didn’t exactly have leather-friendly weather even in spring. The people around them should be laughing at his getup right now – so why weren’t they?

  She wanted to groan in despair at the very unfairness of it, and she probably would have if she weren’t so used to it. Andreus had always been the rule breaker among them. He was the baddest of the baddest, the kind you would never take home for Mama to meet. But instead of all those things scaring women away, it only did the opposite, attracting them like moths to fire.

  And she of all people should know, Hallie thought with an inner wince, since she had been one of them.

  And still was, too.

  An airport officer blocked his way just as he turned towards her, and Hallie almost felt weak with relief as the other man started talking to Andreus about some local rule regarding airport pick-ups and drop-offs. Bless you, stranger. The man had unknowingly bought her a few extra seconds to think things through, and so she was going to do that.

  She would…think.

  Moments passed.

  Nothing.

  Panic struck her, and she quickly lifted her iPhone to her ear and turned her back on Andreus as if she was about to take a call. In reality, however…

  “Hey Siri.”

  “Go ahead,” a robotic voice answered right away.

  “Can you tell me how to act in front of a sort of ex-boyfriend?”

  After a few seconds, Siri answered, “OK. I found something on the web for 'can you tell me how to act in front of a sort of ex-boyfriend’. Take a look."

  Hallie quickly lowered her phone and almost groaned at Siri’s search results.

  How To Make Your Ex-Boyfriend Jealous?

  Ha!

  Andreus? Jealous?

  Ha!

  “You’re no help, Siri!”

  “That is subject to opinion.”

  Cheeky robot!

  She saw Andreus shaking hands with the officer, and anxiety gripped her chest. “Hey, Siri?”

  “How can I help?”

  She spoke in a rush and was grateful when Siri proved more helpful the second time around. Oh, thank God! At least now, she would know what to do if –

  “Sorry I kept you waiting.”

  The gravelly, all-too-familiar voice interrupting her thoughts almost made her jump, and Hallie was momentarily reduced into dumbstruck silence at finding Andreus already standing right in front of her. Ebony eyes captured hers then, followed by a lethally sexy smile that had her clutching the cart’s handlebar again like it was a squeeze toy for stress. It seemed like he was waiting for her to say something back, but what? Her mind was a complete blank. Or rather, it was except for what Siri had told her.

  “I’m planning to put up a social networking site for chickens,” Hallie blurted out, and as Andreus’ eyebrows shot up in surprise, she doggedly forged on with the punchline, saying, “I’m just not sure it will help me make hens meet.”

  Silence, long enough to make her fidget, and then Andreus murmured with a polite smile, “That’s funny.”

  She smiled back weakly even as she wailed in her mind, We’re so not friends anymore, Siri! Your joke is a total fail!

  Eight Years Ago

  * * *

  It was almost five in the morning when Andreus came back to the club’s headquarters through the back door, teeth clenched with pain and one hand pressed hard against the side of his body. One of the assholes he had been up against had gotten lucky with his pocketknife, and while a mere flesh wound wouldn’t kill him, it still hurt like hell.

  The hallway leading to the kitchen was empty; none of the volunteers – college girls who had joined the club hoping to be one of the bikers’ favored groupies – were up yet, which was good. The fewer the witnesses, the better –

  Footsteps behind him made Andreus freeze,
the sound followed by a soft, uncertain voice. “Andreus?”

  Fuck.

  16-year-old Hallie Athanas stood at the foot of the steps, her lovely face registering concern as soon as he turned around and she saw the cut on his lip. Her gaze quickly swept down, and a tiny gasp came out at the sight of his bloodstained shirt.

  “You’re bleeding,” she said dumbly.

  “No kidding.” Andreus’ tone was derisive, and his gaze contemptuous, bordering on rudeness even. All of it, however, was a ruse. He had long stopped caring about what other people thought of him, but somehow…

  She was not other people.

  She was…special.

  The first day he saw her, Helios and Kellion had asked Andreus to accompany them to the airport so he could be the first one to meet Yuri Athanas. He’d make up the last of the club’s roster of officers, 20-year-old Helios Andreadis had explained. They were just waiting for the boy to graduate from high school, and after that Yuri would claim his position as the club’s secretary.