Chapter Nineteen #2
“Well”—she shrugged—“I took a few liberties.”
“Show me where you got this,” he said, pointing to the handwritten words.
She flipped the pages in the library book, then handed it to him. The pages were still damp from their swim through the canal. He read through the passage she’d translated, and she hadn’t done a bad job.
“God, this room is seriously like an oven,” she said, reaching her arms up and twisting her long, black hair into a messy bun on the top of her head, magically securing it with a pencil.
He thought that was something they did only in movies. How could a pencil, after all, manage to hold all that hair in one place?
Man, it was hot.
“Is that a prerequisite for all librarians and teachers?” he asked.
“Is what?”
“The pencil-in-the-hair updo? How does it even manage to stay in place?”
“Oh this?” she asked, pointing to her head. “It’s easy. See?”
She pulled the pencil out of the bun like a knight unsheathing his blade, then shook her head, letting her shiny, silky hair cascade to her shoulders. It was hands down the sexiest thing Theo had ever witnessed.
Fuck me now.
She repeated the motions to twist her hair back into a bun, leaving wispy tendrils of hair floating on her neck. He glanced over at her face, noticing her eyes focused on his boxer briefs.
So maybe her mind was elsewhere, too.
“How was my translation?” she asked.
He blinked a few times to get back to reality and cleared his throat.
“Pretty close. The whole thing says, ‘The exact birthplace of Demetrios Papantonis is unknown. It is believed he was born in a fishing village off the Attica coast. He lived on Crete for many years before returning to the mainland and living out his days in present-day Athens.’ So the name of the fishing village wasn’t Attica—it is referring to the entire coast.”
“Well, that could be any number of villages,” Dani pointed out.
“Here, let me grab a map.”
He went back into the main room and grabbed his satchel, then made his way back.
Theo unfolded the map on the desk, smoothing it out with his hand and leaning over as she sat on the chair beside him.
“Here’s the coastline,” he said, running his finger along an area on the map about two inches long, pinpointing the Attica coast.
“Well, that really narrows it down,” Dani said, sarcastically. “Shall we stop house by house and ask if anyone knows where Demetrios Papantonis was born?”
“Fuck,” Theo said, standing straight and pacing in the small open area with his hands resting atop his head. “This is impossible.”
“No, we’re just missing something,” Dani said. “Do you have that translation from the Papantonis journal? The one about the resting place of the Minotaur?”
“Yeah, let me grab it,” he said, reaching down and digging his notebook out of his satchel. “Here,” he said, handing it to her.
She took the notebook and read through his scribblings, running her finger along his handwriting. He’d always loved watching her read. It was like he could see the wheels turning in her mind.
Her brow started to wrinkle, and she pulled the notebook closer to her face.
“Need to borrow my glasses?” he joked.
But she waved him off, then grabbed the map, bringing it up to her face, trading her attention back and forth between the notebook and the map, before setting the notebook down and giving her full attention to the map.
“What do you see—” he started, but she reached out her hand to stop him, placing it on his stomach mere inches above the waistband of his boxer briefs.
He flinched at her touch, and she quickly pulled her hand away.
“Sorry,” she said.
He wasn’t. He wanted to take her palm and place it back on his stomach. Let her explore his body. Climb atop her and slide between her legs, planting soft kisses along her neck.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. But I think I may have an idea.
Listen,” she said, sitting up. “Papantonis said: ‘We’ve reached the gateway to the sea with the eye of the Minotaur…From here, we will travel back to my home. There, below where Helios rises in the east, I will put the eye to rest, accessible only to those who recognize its power. Despite his quarrels, Poseidon himself could not have picked a better place for this beast to spend eternity. It is here that the eye will sleep and blend into the dirt itself, watching over the land of my ancestors and bringing strength and fertility to my people.’ ”
“Yeah, I remember,” Theo said. “We already knew that, but it doesn’t say where his home was.”
“No, but what about this?” she said, pointing to a place on the map.
He looked at her finger, then up at her face. “I don’t get it.”
“The Temple of Poseidon. It’s right here along the coast. ‘Poseidon himself could not have picked a better place’? What if the resting place is there? At the temple?”
Theo furrowed his brow. “Someone would have found it by now if it was there,” he said.
Dani frowned. “Really? Then how do you explain that Lost Moon City they found last year, or whatever it was called? Discoveries have been made in the last five years. There are still so many places left out there to find. Why not this?”
She was right. Even some of his own discoveries had been there for hundreds of years before being unearthed. The eye of the Minotaur could be no different.
“All right, you might be onto something,” he said. “I can’t believe you found this. Pretty badass, Juicy.”
“Thanks,” she said, clearly proud of herself. “I guess we can let Andreas know in the morning before we leave in case he wants to check it out.” With that, she refolded the map and closed the book.
Right. In case Andreas wants to check it out.
Damn, how he wished he could explore it himself. Unless…
Dani shifted in the chair to get up, and then noticed Theo not moving. “What?” she asked, though she quickly caught on. “No, Theo. We can’t go with him. We’re going to the embassy tomorrow. You promised.”
“I know, I know,” he said, waving his hands. “We’re going home.”
She stared at him, and then it hit her. “You don’t want to leave,” she said.
He flashed his eyes to hers, then quickly made a face. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I want to leave.”
“No, you don’t. You want to find the eye. That’s it, isn’t it? Now that we’ve got a lead, you’re curious. You actually think it’s out there.”
He stared at her, fighting for the right words, when he finally blurted out, “Fine. Yes, I think you might be onto something. Maybe there is something at Poseidon’s temple,” he said. “Do you know what a discovery like this could mean? This is the kind of shit archaeologists dream of.”
She looked at her translation again, considering their options, then back at Theo.
“Okay, but what if there isn’t anything up there? Then what?” she asked.
“You just spent five minutes convincing me that it could be there, and now you’re trying to convince me that you’re wrong?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s there for us to discover,” she said, motioning her hands back and forth between their bodies.
“Do I need to remind you about Maurice and Louis? They’re still out there.
And if you don’t remember, you kicked Maurice in the face.
Something tells me he’s not going to let that slide. ”
“Don’t you think they would have found us by now? For all we know, them finding us at the library might have been a coincidence.”
“Oh, so now you’re all about the coincidences.” She crossed her arms and looked away from him.
He kneeled in front of her and spun the chair so she faced him. “Aren’t you even just a little curious?” he asked.
“What are you doing? Are you literally begging me?” She scowled at him.
“No, Juicy. I made a promise, and I will keep it if that’s what you want. But I’m asking, aren’t you curious?”
Her mouth twisted as if biting back the words. “Of course I’m curious. But I also like being alive.”
“So do I. And I never feel more alive than when I’m with you.”
Her lips opened to form a large O, and she shook her head while smiling incredulously. “Oh, you’re good.”
“It’s the truth.”
And it was. Dani literally brought him back to life.
“Do you say things like that to all the girls, Dr. Galanis?”
A guttural sound unwillingly escaped his throat upon hearing her say his name like that again. “Only you.”
A delightfully devious sense of satisfaction washed over her face. He swallowed.
“You’re not just saying sweet things like that trying to get into my panties, are you, Dr. Galanis?” She opened her legs wider, and with those short shorts, he could see said panties.
“I don’t think I’ve been keeping any secret about wanting to get in your panties today,” he said, trying to stay focused on her eyes despite her apex being at his eye level, “but no, I’m not only saying those things for that reason. I meant what I said.”
She bit her lip and stared at him, the wheels clearly turning in her brain. But he didn’t move. He stayed in his position of worship, because that was what she deserved.
“Fine, we’ll check out the temple,” she said, but then put up her finger, “but under one condition.”
“And what’s that?”
“If at any time I get a bad feeling, we leave. No questions. No more promises. No more getting on your knees and not begging. And if we have any other encounters with Maurice and Louis, we’re out of here.”
“That sounds to me like five conditions, Juicy,” he said, taking her hand in his and lifting up the rest of her fingers. He then threaded his fingers through hers, and they each stared at their hands weaving together. God, he wanted to touch her.
“Then we have a deal,” she said.
There wasn’t nearly enough space between the two of them. Especially with the way his cock started to expand.
“You know, I might not be a Good Greek Girl, but I can be a good girl,” she said.
Fuck me now.
“I thought you were a muchacha mala,” he said, suggestively.
“I can be whatever you like, Dr. Galanis,” she said with hooded eyes.
He swallowed hard.