CHAPTER 9

" Yuri. " - Kathy said while suddenly stiffened beside him.

She shivered, and Yuri automatically wrapped one arm around her shoulders.

" Cold? " - Yuri asked.

" No. " - Kathy said with her small voice. She laid her head against his chest.

" I feel like... " - Kathy paused, and Yuri sensed her mentally searching for the right words.

" It's like what Grandmama used to say when she had a feeling something bad was going to happen. " - Kathy said.

" I'm not going to let anything happen to you, sweetheart. " - Yuri said while tightened his hold around her.

Kathy didn't answer, only shifting in his arms as she pressed her head closer to his chest. He realized then she was listening to his heartbeat and, for some reason, drawing comfort from it.

Sweet, beautiful Kathy.

But still, Dr. Corba's words slithered into his mind. 'Please be on your guard, Mr. Athanas. She's been known to hurt other people when she's having one of her attacks'. As if hearing the same warning, Kathy shivered in his arms.

" You're ashamed of me? " - Kathy's violet eyed wearing a long floral dress.

" You know, that's not true, " - Yuri

" Then you will let me do this? " - Yuri, paused.

" If it's truly what you need. " - Yuri spoke with audible reluctance.

A smile that transformed her face into something untouchably ethereal, and then she was murmuring in a breathz voice.

" Thank you, Yuri. " - Kathy said. She raised herself up to place a kiss on Yuri's cheek.

After, she hurriedly but gracefully walked past her companion. Her steps were light and nimble, it was as if her feet didn't seem to touch the ground. 'Score for the girl', Leo Blaze Arlotta thought in amusement.

The tableau that unfolded in the corner of the admissions center had interested Leo greatly, mostly because it was the first time he had seen. Yuri Daniel Athanas with a girl who was neither his sister nor a girlfriend of one of his brothers in the Alcolytes Triad.

He had amused the younger guy would reject the idea of having a known player like him take on the role as official school guide for his girl, but that showed how little he understood of Greek Billionaires or, in this case, their sons.

" I will be with you as soon as possible, Mr. Arlotta. " - Kathy said formally.

" I'll wait for you forever, Ms. Rewis. " - Leo said.

" I assure you, Mr. Arlotta. It will not take forever. " - Kathy's extraordinarily pretty face remained expressionless. And then she was gone.

" If I may speak with you for a moment, Mr. Arlotta? " - Yuri, murmured beside Leo.

He had known this was coming and only lifted a brow on a biker.

" Am I supposed to refer to you as Mr. Athanas, as well? " - Leo's voice was mocking. He might be dirt poor in this people's eye, but he didn't give a damn. None of them intimidated him.

" Whatever pleases you, Mr. Arlotta. " - Yuri said politely. While Leo almost rolled his eyes.

'What was it with these two and their too formal attitudes?' Leo thought.

" Let me make it easy for you, " Leo, said suddenly impatient.

" You're going to warn me off your girl because you've heard the stories about me. You swear to kill or ruin me or whatever other grave threat you can think of if I even look at her the wrong way. " - Leo, said to Yuri.

" We can get to that later. What I have to say is more important. " - Yuri said simply. Then he continued.

" Kathryn Ice Rewis is my fianceé. I would rather you do not speak of this for her sake, but I won't hold it against you if you do. It would only mean I'd have to request for a change student assistant from Admissions. I don't think you want that anymore than I do. " - Yuri said softly, courteous tone.

Leo's jaw clenched, but he wasn't surprised Athanas had found out about his scholarship and that he was largely dependent on his supplementary income from his work with the university. When Leo didn't speak, Yuri continued speaking.

" My fianceé is a very special girl, Mr. Arlotta. She's... Different from the rest. You'll see this for yourself when you spend enough time with her. As such, I like to be thorough when choosing the people whose company I trust her with. " - Yuri said.

Blue eyes that were deceptive in their gentleness settled on Leo's face.

" When the school told me about assigning you to my fianceé, I admit to having reservations. In the end, however, your reputation for being honorable has worked in your favor. " - Yuri, added.

Leo was torn between feeling insulted oq bemused. Also, Yuri Daniel Athanas was the only guy in college he knew who had 'honorable' in his vocabulary, much less have an actual need to use it in conversation.

" If you're counting on me to kiss your feet in gratitude, you're insane. " - Leo said finally.

" Of course not. " - Yuri's gaze narrowed.

" That's truly all the warning you'll be giving me then? " - Leo asked. While Yuri's blue eyed raised one brow.

" Such as? " - Yuri asked.

" If I flirt with her... " - Leo said.

" Ah. " - Yuri said.

A flicker in those eyes, but it was gone too fast for Leo to decipher what it was.

" What you do is your business, Mr. Arlotta. And if she chooses to flirt back, well, that is her business and mine. " - Yuri, added.

'Bastard!' Leo thought. What a fucking cold bastard. Kathryn Ice Rewis, for all her formal ways, was a waste on this man. Leo Blaze Arlotta was helping Kathryn into one of the school's golf carts by the time Helios, Kellion and Andreus caught up with their friend.

They stopped dead at the sight of the good-looking and rather notorious Italian playboy holding Kathy's hand and Yuri simply standing on the steps of the admission center, doing nothing without it.

'Was Yuri made of fucking stone? If it had been MJ'. Helios thought grimly, that guy would have been on the ground and sporting a bloody nose... For starter. The golf cart was driving down the main road now, and the officers slowly went to Yuri.

" What the hell's that about? " - Andreus asked in his customary blunt fashion.

" Leo Blaze Arlotta has been assigned by the school to serve as Kathy's official guide. " - Yuri's voice was perfectly even, and Helios would have been fooled by it if he hadn't caught sight of the club's vice president cracking his fists as he spoke.

" You do know, " - Kellion drawled.

" That the majority of freshmen hookups begin with those tours, don't you? " - Kellion, added.

A pause.

" No, I did not. " - Yuri said.

And then Yuri was striding towards his bike without a word. Helios raised a brow at his friends, 'He's jealous, isn't he?. Andreus smirked in response while Kellion laughed out loud.

" He probably doesn't know it yet. The boy's stubbornly in denial with those things, but... " - Kellion headed towards his own bike.

" That's what we came out to see. " - Kellion, added.

In seconds, the three officers of the Alcolytes Triad and their beasts shot down the main lane, the sight of them driving in their famous V routine causing the girls they drove past to shriek and run after them. For once, the officers of the Alcolytes Triad were without any of their real or rumored girlfriends. It was something to take advantage of, right away!

" You really didn't notice anything, did you? " - Leo, asked his companion two hours later.

They were at the end of their tour, and not once had Kathryn Ice Rewis acted like she was aware that the officer's of the world's most popular underground racing club had been following them from the start like bodyguards on red alert.

And of course, where the so-called Heart Races were, their multitudes of groupies followed. It had gotten so bad that eventually the security personnel of the school had to join forces with the private guards employed by Helios Jake Andreadis, Kellion Mico Argyros, Yuri Daniel Athanas and Andreus Fin Economou.

Their main responsibility: to prevent the girls from mobbing those they loved ( a.k.a The Bikers ) and hated ( a.k.a Kathryn Ice Rewis, who turned out to be the mysterious girl who had been with Athanas in his recent visit to Athens ). None of this, however, seemed to have registered with Kathryn.

" What didn't I notice? The architectural detail of the caféteria? " - Kathy, asked.

" No, ... " - Leo was incredulous to see the heiress completely serious expression.

" Then, perhaps, " - Kathy murmured thoughtfully.

" You're referring to the part where you spoke to me about the chef the university managed to lure away from the two-Michelin star restaurant in Dubai -- " - Kathy, added.

" Are you deliberately fucking with me? " - Leo, asked.

" That kind of language is unbecoming, sir. " - Kathy stiffened, said.

'Unbecoming? Who the hell taught this girl English anyway? Jane Austen's ghost'? Leo shook his head in disbelief.

" You really haven't noticed a thing. " - Leo, said.

" If you tell me what should I notice. " - Kathy, answered readily.

" Then I will not forget. " - Kathy, added matter-of-factly.

" I am a fast learner. " - Kathy said.

He beckoned her to come close to the windows and pointed at the crowd of starry-eyed girls waiting outside the caféteria.

" That. " - Leo, said. Kathryn followed his gaze.

" Oh! Them, " - Kathy shook her head.

" Grandmother told me about them, and it's alright. I understand their devotion to my fianceé. He is an easy man to love. " - Kathy, added.

'While she', he thought, 'was not at all easy to understand'. How could she say something so easily, and to a stranger? Leo was beginning to understand why the biker had warned him about Kathy being... Different, and it was turning out to be a vast understatement.

" You know, your boyfriend is here, too, right? " - Leo almost gaped at Kathryn's wide-eyed look.

" Are you serious? What do you think those girls are here for? " - Leo, added.

" For me, " - Kathy answered.

" I thought, because they're fans of Yuri, they have realized that they must like me, too. After all, they love Yuri and Yuri loves me. " - Kathy, said.

This time, Leo mentally threw his hands up in surrender. There was no point-absolutely no point telling this girl that life would never be that simple or straightforward. 'No wonder Yuri Daniel Athanas entrusted the heiress with him', Leo thought broodingly. The biker had known his so-called honor wouldn't allow him to take advantage of Kathryn's incredible naiveté the way other guys could.

" He's here with his friends. " - Leo, said. He turned towards the Alcolytes Triad direction so Kathy would see where the officers were seated.

All of them, except for the more sophisticatedly dressed Kellion, were in shirts and jeans, but even so their uniform good looks and powerful auras made them appear like a postcard-perfect ad for a luxury denim brand.

" Oh! I see them now. " - Kathy, said.

" I gotta admit, " - Leo, murmured.

" I was surprised Yuri Daniel Athanas let you spend time with me. " - Leo, added.

" Why, shouldn't I? " - Kathy, frowned.

" Jealousy. " - Leo, answered simply.

The girl repeated the word in a puzzled tone, and it was obvious she was mulling it over in her mind. Privately, Leo didn't think there was anything to think about. Jealousy was an extremely basic reaction, and one either felt it or not. It was clear Yuri Daniel Athanas didn't, and as such, it went to reason that he didn't care that much about Kathryn Ice Rewis.

'A pity', Leo thought, when she seemed like a nice girl, despite being different.