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 saywherehis 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 caseAndreaswants 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’twantto 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 thereissomething 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.
“Youjustspent five minutes convincing me that it could be there, andnowyou’re trying to convince me that you’re wrong?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s there forusto 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 nowyou’reall 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 alittlecurious?” he asked.
