Chapter Twenty
Chapter
Twenty
Dani
Dr. Theo Galanis was God’s gift.
When the fuck did he learn how to do that? To know she’d spent countless hours with a man that talented and wasn’t on the receiving end of his extremely skilled mouth every day was really a damn shame. But she didn’t intend to miss out on it ever again.
Dani studied Theo from across the table as he went over the plan with Andreas and Christos, pointing out the locations on the map the next morning.
It was originally her plan, so she probably should have been participating, but after everything that happened last night, she couldn’t focus on anything but Theo’s dick.
Once they’d made it back to the twin bed, it took all her efforts to keep from saying to hell with the library-fucking plan and fuck right there. But instead, they stayed up most of the night kissing and getting each other off in other ways. Over and over.
And over.
Her body couldn’t be satiated. Not that her orgasms weren’t mind-blowing. Each one felt as intense as the last and incredibly satisfying. But she still wanted more. She wanted Theo. She knew she wouldn’t be sated until she felt him inside her. All of him.
She sipped on her coffee, unable to take her eyes off Theo.
So fucking hot.
“What was that?” Andreas asked her.
Dani’s attention came into focus, and she found all three men staring at her. Oh shit. Did I say that out loud?
“Nothing,” she said. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night. It was so fucking hot.”
She glanced at Theo, and he shifted in his seat, giving her the most sinful of looks. He then took a bite of his cream-and-phyllo breakfast pastry and licked his finger, his eyes not looking away for even a second.
“Great. Let me go make a few calls to see if I can get special access to the temple. Wait here,” Andreas said, getting up from the table and walking away.
“Andreas really knows everyone, doesn’t he?” Dani asked Christos.
He laughed. “You have no idea. You can’t go anywhere with him without him seeing at least one person he knows. And everyone who’s anybody in Greek archaeology knows his name, especially in Athens.”
“He sounds like you, but in Greece,” Dani said, nudging Theo in the side.
“I don’t know, I doubt I have the same kind of sway that Andreas seems to have,” Theo said.
“Don’t sell yourself short. Hey, remember that time you got us into that early screening of the Clash of the Titans remake?” she asked.
Theo laughed and then shook his head. “My uncle owned that theater, you know,” he said. “You teasing me?”
“I swear I’m not,” Dani said. “I’m being a good girl, I promise.”
Theo smirked and mouthed, You’re bad.
She shouldn’t be so turned on with Christos sitting right there, but, fuck, she couldn’t wait until they were alone again.
Andreas returned. “Good news,” he announced, putting his hands on the back of the chair and leaning over. “I’ve arranged for us to stay after sunset once the site is closed to the public.”
“Why don’t we go now?” Dani asked.
“Because if we go now, we’ll be limited to the public areas. But I have a friend who owes me a favor and will let us into the roped-off areas once the tourists have gone,” Andreas explained.
Christos looked at his watch. “What should we do until then?”
“Well, we could go to Sounio Beach. Have some lunch. Enjoy the crystal-blue waters of the gulf. It’s located down the hill from the temple,” Andreas said.
“We don’t have swimming suits,” Dani said.
“Then we’ll stop on the way and get some. We need to pick up some flashlights, anyway,” Andreas said. “Come on, let’s go.”
They drove a few hours out of town, heading south toward Sounio, making a quick pit stop at a touristy beach shop to pick up swimsuits and a few other items for the evening.
Eventually, the Temple of Poseidon appeared in the distance on Cape Sounion, sitting atop a cliff a few hundred feet above the sea, a stone’s throw from the beach.
A row of columns, similar to that of the Parthenon but smaller, made up the structure, although it was clear that part of it had collapsed over the years.
“So what was the purpose of this temple?” Dani asked as they drove through the town, winding down the hill toward the beach.
Theo and Andreas started speaking at the same time. Dani noticed the two of them looking at each other in the rearview mirror.
“Go ahead,” Theo said.
“No, after you. I insist,” Andreas responded.
How things had changed over the last two days.
“Poseidon, the god of the sea, was Zeus’s brother,” Theo explained. “In ancient times, many believed that storms and trouble at sea were displays of Poseidon’s wrath and ire, so the temple was built to honor him.”
“They said this is where Theseus’s ship sailed to after his return from Crete and his slaying of the Minotaur,” Andreas then called out. “Have you heard the story?”
“I’m not sure,” Dani said, assuming he was speaking to her since Theo would have clearly known the story.
“Well, Theseus, son of Aegeus, king of Athens, was returning home and was supposed to display a white sail on his ship to signify his safe return. But when he forgot to change the sail, Aegeus thought Theseus had died and flung himself into the sea in despair. It’s how the Aegean Sea got its name.”
“He killed himself without confirming the truth? Doesn’t sound like a very wise king. Maybe the Athenians were better off without him,” Dani said.
“Brutal, Juicy,” Theo said.
“Sorry,” she said, shrugging with a smile.
“It’s also thought that this was a place for cult worship,” Andreas said.
“Well, that would make sense, then, if there were people who worshiped the Minotaur,” Dani said. “Perhaps this is where they came.”
She thought back to the clay vessel she saw in the museum in Crete of the man holding the Minotaur’s head outside a cave. Though in that piece, the structure with columns perched above the cave.
“Are there any caves around here?” Dani asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” Andreas answered. “Why do you ask?”
Hmm.
“Just curious.”
“Well, we’re here,” Andreas said, parking the car.
They grabbed their bags and headed toward the beach where Andreas had already made reservations for sunbeds right at the edge of the water.
They changed into their swimsuits and settled in for the day, sitting side by side.
Thankfully, the swimsuit she found at the shop was much more modest than the one she’d worn at Vautour’s, despite this one being an actual two-piece.
The white bikini wasn’t anything special, but it provided full coverage.
And she certainly wasn’t mad about the option Theo had picked out—very short board shorts that did little to hide the size of his cock.
Dani stared out at the clear water, listening to the waves and people laughing and enjoying their day.
Christos sat nearby, working on his tan.
Andreas was somewhere at the bar, trying to woo some chick.
Theo sat beside Dani, reading out of Andreas’s leather journal.
If you didn’t know any better, they would seem like regular people having an ordinary day at the beach. The whole thing was surreal.
“What are you reading about?” she asked, turning over on her side to look at him.
“More about the Minotaur’s Children.”
“Anything interesting?”
“Not much. Mostly that whenever Andreas found a lead, such as a marking or a reference, the next time he would go to the same place, it would be gone. They clearly don’t want to be found…or the eye, for that matter.”
“Kind of a gross name—the Minotaur’s Children. You know, with the whole bestiality component, don’t you think?”
Theo laughed. “I suppose so. Hadn’t really thought of it, to be honest.”
“Are you serious?” Dani said, making a face. “That was the first thing I thought when I heard the name.”
“That’s because you’ve got a dirty mind.”
“You like it,” Dani said, sticking her tongue out at him.
“Yeah, I do,” he said, grinning.
Dani leaned back, satisfied with herself.
“You don’t think people were having sex with the Minotaur, do you?” she asked. Because if they were, yuck.
“I doubt it. Greek myths don’t really shy away from talking about sex, and there’s no mention of people having sex with the Minotaur.”
“Unless,” Dani said, excitedly rolling over on the daybed, “the Minotaur’s Children had those references erased!”
He chuckled. “Unless that. Who knows? You could be right.”
She settled onto her side again and tucked her hands under her head as she stared at Theo. He looked so sexy lying there, reading. Watching him was one of her favorite pastimes, though it was much better with him in beach attire sans shirt.
She missed this. She missed him. Just being with him.
“Tell me the story of the Minotaur,” she said.
“You’ve heard it.”
“I know. But I like hearing you tell it.”
“Well,” he said, closing the book and turning slightly to face her, “King Minos had prayed to Poseidon for a beautiful white bull, which Minos was then supposed to sacrifice to Poseidon. But he didn’t.
So as a punishment, Poseidon and Aphrodite arranged for Minos’s wife, Pasiphae, to fall in love with the bull.
Pasiphae then had Daedalus, Minos’s craftsman, build a wooden cow contraption so she could have sex with the bull. ”
Dani’s eyebrow raised. “You’re joking! I don’t remember him building a Trojan bull!”
Theo shook his head. “I’m afraid not. After she gave birth to the half man, half bull, Minos had Daedalus construct a labyrinth beneath the palace to keep the Minotaur.
Later, after the death of Minos’s son in Athens, King Aegeus would send seven young men and seven young women to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur.
If they made it out of the labyrinth, they would be free.
But no one made it out. Not until Theseus came around. ”
“And who was Theseus again? The guy with the sail?”
“Right. King Aegeus’s son. Theseus had set out on a mission to complete a series of dangerous tasks.
The defeat of the Minotaur was his final task.
And when he arrived on Crete, Minos’s daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with him at first sight, and she offered to help him through the labyrinth by giving him a spool of thread that he could use to find his way back out of the maze after slaughtering the Minotaur. ”
“What happened to her?”
“He abandoned her on the island of Naxos when she was sleeping.”
“Wow, Theseus was a dick.”
“Or a prince used to being admired and adored.”
Funny, because Dani was admiring Theo as he talked. He knew these stories as if he’d written them himself. Knowing all the ins and outs. All of the people involved. It was cute.
“What?” he asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I think it’s sexy when you turn into a Greek geek.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mm-hmm. I’m thinking we might need to get into the water so I can get you hard and then get myself off by rubbing my clit on your cock.”
“Fuck, Juicy,” he said, sitting up and immediately crossing his hands over his crotch. “You can’t say shit like that in public.”
“Why not?”
“Because in about ten seconds I’m not going to be able to stand up without an obvious erection.”
“Then you’d better catch me!”
Dani hopped up and ran toward the water.
Theo wasn’t far behind her, though. She screamed playfully as she swam to keep him from catching her too soon, but he tackled her in the water, spinning her around so she straddled his waist. They bobbed up and down in the chest-deep water.
She kissed him, already feeling him go hard below her ass.
God, what she wouldn’t give to fuck him in the ocean right now.
“I bought condoms,” she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and feeling very proud of herself for thinking ahead when they were at the beach shop.
He laughed. “Where did you get condoms?”
“From the gift shop.”
“How? Did you steal them?”
“Hey, I may not follow the rules all the time, but I’m no thief!” she said. “Aside from that library book.”
“Then how did you get them with Andreas paying?”
“I stood behind him and then flashed the box at the cashier, pointing and mouthing ‘These, too.’ ”
Now Theo was laughing so hard his voice echoed throughout the beach area.
“Don’t blame me. You Greeks are a horny bunch. I mean, did you see all the wooden dick keychains and whatnot?”
“You have no idea how horny we are,” he said in that low, gravelly voice that made it sound like he was ready to rip her clothes off at any minute.
She fucking loved that voice.
She ground her hips against his erection. “I don’t know. I think I have a pretty good idea of how horny you are.”
He closed his eyes and then buried his face in her neck. “Juicy, you have no idea how fucking badly I want you right now.”
“Again, I think I have a pretty good idea,” she said, wiggling her hips.
“No. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”
What was he saying? He pulled back his face to look at her, scanning her face. Waiting for her to say something. Anything.
But after he rejected her before, she wasn’t going to be the one to put herself out there first. Not this time.
“So what’s the plan, here?” she asked, changing the subject. “Like Pierre told us. Always have a plan B. What happens if we get up there and it’s a bust?”
“Then that’s it,” he continued. “We head home.”
“That’s only because you want to check fucking in the library off of your sexual bucket list, too.”
He smiled. “Not gonna lie, Juicy, that’s a huge motivating factor.”
Good.
“So that’s the plan, then. If we get up there and can’t find anything, we’re on the first plane out of here. Deal?”
“You forgot library fucking,” she said.
“That goes without saying,” he said, winking.
“Theo! Daniela!” Andreas called from the beach, waving them back. “We’ve got food!”
“This is so weird, isn’t it?” Dani asked as they started wading back to the chairs.
“Like days ago we were being held hostage by criminals who were forcing us to search for the eye, and now we’re at a beach resort chilling and eating with someone who might be your cousin, and willingly still on a quest for that same artifact. ”
“Well, if you hadn’t come along, I’d still be playing in the sandbox at Knossos. Andreas and I may be the archaeologists, but you’re the one who’s piecing together the puzzle.”
She blushed. “Guess you can say I’m the better half.”
“Juicy, you’ve always been my better half.”
He pulled her in for a quick kiss, then released her body and started swimming to the beach.