Posedon's Heart

Poseidon’s Heart

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Diane Taylor

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Poseidon’s Heart By

Diane Taylor Triskelion Publishing www.triskelionpublishing.com

Published by Triskelion Publishing www.triskelionpublishing.com 8190 W. Deer Valley Road, Peoria, AZ 85382 U.S.A. First e-published by Triskelion Publishing First e-publishing August 2004 ISBN 1-932866-29-9 Copyright © Diane Taylor 2004 All rights reserved. Cover art by Triskelion Publishing PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Dedication I’d like to Dedicate this book to the following: Granma Maute, wherever you are, may your wings be white and your halo be bright. I did it, Grandma! I hope you’re watching up there! Samantha Kay and Dyanna Ashley. Who, hopefully, will enjoy this book and others. And to my Editor Gail at Triskelion Publishing. Hugs and lots of chocolate for you, woman. I would never have made it without you.

Diane Taylor

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Chapter One

Consciousness brought images of blood, frothing water, and horrified screams. Fighting weak struggles, blindly striking out with no idea where here was. Only panic, like a wounded animal caught in a trap. Weights settled on my legs and my upper arms to hold me still. Straining and thrashing on the hard surface they held me to, my mind was still back in the water with a shark latched onto my body. Fighting with the waning strength, I had left. To die fighting rather than just giving up to a predator. Suddenly, a voice came through my haze of pain.

“Hold her still, dammit! I need to get this artery stitched or she’ll die!”

The voice spoke in flawless Greek, but I understood what he said. Or, most of it, which brought me from pain filled haze to fully functional combat mode. My hand swung out, grabbed warm flesh, and

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clenched tight through rough cloth. I didn’t care what it was, but the owner of said flesh let out a highpitched scream of pure agony.

“Someone hold her! Get her to let go! Help…!” came the soprano squeak of a man in pain. It was then realization dawned that my hand squeezed one of the orderlies’ most prized possessions. It would have been funny if the pain hadn't been so blinding. As it was, the injection of drugs into my system went unfelt. Even so, it was a fight to get my hand to relax. When it finally happened, the man collapsed into a sobbing ball of flesh into a corner. Or, at least, that’s what it sounded like. I groaned and leaned back, “Stephan. Where… Is… Stephan?” It hurt to talk. Pure agony turned my voice into a harsh whisper. It felt like coiled barbed wire around my throat, pulled tight. Something warm trickled down my arm and flowed over my chest. My eyes didn't need to be open to know the look and feel of blood. Before the happy dosage cocktail soaked into my system, I managed to open my eyes to see why people became deathly silent after my question. Staring me in the eyes was Iaon, one of the crew that dived with me to inspect archaeological sites. His brown eyes held pain, sorrow, and worry, “Jamie, Stephan’s dead. He didn’t make it out of the water.” He put a hand on my forehead. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as tears of sorrow made their way down his face. My brain began to get hazy but I found one last bit of strength, “Don’t tell my Mom.” I groaned. “I don’t want her to worry.” Iaon nodded and backed off to let the rest of the medical team to get back to work on my body. The haze of exhaustion and medication took my pain from me. After a moment or two, even the oblivion of unconsciousness became a welcome partner. Thankfully, the drugs took over before the full impact of what my friend was saying hit. One final whimper of emotional distress escaped my lips before the world went away on a haze of drugs, pain and mental stress.

Nightmares of sharks, blood, pain, and death still haunted my dreams six months after the fact. They dug twelve shark teeth from my neck and ribs. A nasty set of bite marks on my ribcage from a second bite became a constant reminder of how close I came to death. Somehow, having your shoulder and throat chomped on by a great white tends to make you forget about secondary munch marks. I didn't know about them until the doctor started to remove the stitches. Iaon took the teeth from the doctor, cleaned them up, and into a necklace for me. It was a sturdy thing of horsehair, beads, and the teeth.

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To escape the pain, I went up into the mountains of Greece. My parents, American archaeologists both, had bought a little cabin up there and had given it to me as a gift, along with a huge library of books that took up most of the available space in the house. The books and the paycheck coming in from the consulting I did over the internet, kept me from being too bored. Still, many people came to visit to try and coax me down out of my remote mountain habitat. Nothing worked, not even offers for shipboard historical fact-findings. I made a promise to myself the first night out of the hospital. My diving career ended the moment they released me from the hospital. The mere thought of getting near the water caused me to break out in a cold sweat. Some nights became worse than others. The nights when falling asleep meant seeing the man I cared very much about, even loved, floating in pieces on a sea of blood. The nights when the horror became too much for my subconscious to handle and caused me to wake with my screams echoing in the darkness.

All that changed late one afternoon, around dusk, when the postal deliveryman dropped off a package. I had been outside on the small patio, cutting clusters of sweet red grapes from their vines to eat as a light snack when the knock sounded at the front gate. Curious, because deliveries here meant the sound of either horse or truck coming up the road, I went to investigate the knock. After putting a name to the invoice papers and taking the box to the small table, carefully removing the outer cover. Once unwrapped, a beautiful box made of ebony lay before me, inlaid with mother-of-pearl in the shape of dolphins. Inside, resting on a soft bed of wine colored velvet, a cell phone and ancient coin stared back at me. The phone appeared to be brand new while the coin, strangely enough, looked as if it came directly from an archeological find. In this case, someone had taken care to meticulously clean the coin so that the imagery was clearly seen. On one side, a trident with dolphins. On the other, a horses head. An unusual find to be sure. Searching for a note or some other reason for this unusual gift, I came up empty. Not even a return address or postal mark to indicate it's origin. Either of which could mean that it was a local, or someone had money enough to pay off the mail guys for a private courier delivery. Confident that some prankster, well versed with my background, sent this to me as a sick joke, the phone and coin went into a drawer in the nightstand. The last time someone dredged up the courage to pull prank like this, they’d found themselves eating the dirt on the roadside outside their home after I tracked them down. Can you tell that my sense of humor didn't run into surprises or senseless pranks? As the sun descended into the horizon that night, I felt the need to relax in the hammock, also known as a bed to me. Slowly rocking back and forth in the woven netting, I watched the sunset paint the walls of my room soft colors. Russet, orange, rose, and finally dark lavender as the sun finally sank beneath the waves of the cove below my mountain home. Shifting position produced a sharp reminder

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about barely healed wounds. After months of physical therapy and hard work to regain the use of the left side of my body, the threshold of tolerance for agony became quite high. Pain was something of an old friend to me. To be expressed in private and no other place. I neither needed, nor wanted pity or sympathetic gestures from friends or my family. My philosophy was deal with it or go hide. Two hours passed. Two hours of staring at nothing, counting the imaginary dots on the ceiling while trying to get at least some semblance of sleep. The cool breeze blowing through open windows kept the heat from being to blame for my insomnia. Perhaps the cause was rooted in the mysterious box that even now, locked away in the drawer, continued to sing it's siren's song at me. A mystery that continued to plague even my most determined efforts to sleep. A quick look at the glowing green numbers on the digital clock read nine pm. Slipping out of bed, I maneuvered through the front room to the bookshelf to look over the titles. Smiling, one book in particular caught my attention. An old, well read volume, dusty with age and it's pages yellowing. The story of Hercules and the Twelve Labors never failed to put me to sleep. Especially when written in an obscure form of Greek dialect that only a few people, my mother included, knew how to translate. She taught me well. After the first few paragraphs, the book slipped to the floor as my eyelids fluttered down for the first time that night.

Chapter Two

The incessant, yet muffled sound of a phone ringing caused me to roll out of the hammock and landed, face first, on the floor. Standing was dangerous as my toe discovered the edge of a crate, we won’t mention the rocking chair that suddenly turned feral and took a liking to my kneecaps. All this before my fingers could find a light switch. In the lamplight, the room took on a soft glow, giving off a warm light to illuminate the area around the hammock. The ringing sound seemed to be coming from the nightstand under the lamp. Ignoring the thing seemed out of the question, so I opened up the drawer and glared at it, willing it to shut up and go away. The phone, obviously ignored my mental machinations and continued it’s annoying announcement. “They're going to be in so much trouble if this is a telemarketer.” I grumbled, grabbed the phone and hit the on button. “What!” I yelled. “This had better be good or else I’m not going to be happy.”

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For a moment, I thought the line had gone dead because the pause stretched out for what seemed like an eternity. Then, a woman’s voice came over the phone, “Jamie Lakewood?”

I counted to ten mentally, “Who wants to know?”

A sigh came from the other end of the line, “My name is Sara Tamist, executive assistant to Mr. Vasilios Okeanos. Owner of Trident Shipping?” she paused, obviously waiting for an answer to that.

I arched an eyebrow at the calendar, and the logo embossed in gold on the main page. Trident Shipping. Big name, mysterious owner. Rumor had it that anyone who saw the reclusive man came away either really happy with the business deals, or extremely pissed off. Also included in the rumor mill, the fact that he only dealt with men. Every woman he dealt with became a target for insults, that or treated as if she were an inferior person. Apparently, the tough, macho, arrogant male image never died out in the modern age. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him.” I yawned into the phone and dragged a hand through my hair, trying to get the snarls out and wake up a bit to make sense of her words.

“Mr. Okeanos would like you to meet with him on an island off of Bora Bora to validate a find for him. He will pay anything you…”

I cut her off with a curt, “Look Ms. Tamist. I don’t do that work anymore. As a matter of fact, I retired from the diving business as well. So you can tell Mr. High and Mighty that no, I’m not going to show up for anything.” Just the thought brought a sweat on my forehead and send my blood pressure skyrocketing. Keep it cool, I told myself, we’re okay. We can ignore that for now.

“Look” she sighed, “Just meet with him. A chartered airboat is waiting for you in the cove below you. We are aware of your…” a significant pause, "condition regarding water. The pilot has instructions to sedate you for the journey. Only when you arrive at specific points, they will then wake you, or at any other time, you desire. You are under no obligation to do anything except to listen to what he has to say. If you don’t like it, you can walk. Just… please… Come to the island and listen to what he has to say. The consultation meeting pays you a hundred thousand dollars just for showing up.”

Staring at the clock in time to see blinking red numbers just changed over to twelve fifteen a.m. I

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sighed in aggravation, “You’ve got to be joking. Do you realize what time it is here? Twelve Fifteen in the morning and you want me to drop everything and hop a ride in the bay. Just on Mr. Okeanos’s say so?”

“The coin that arrived with the phone should give you an indication of what he wishes to speak to you about. Vasilios Okeanos has found a mystery that needs unraveling and he asked me to find someone to help him. I talked with a lot of people and they all say that you’re the one to talk to about underwater archaeological sites in the area,”

I could almost hear the impressed tone of her voice.

“Please say you’ll come.”

I picked up the coin from it's nesting place in the drawer. My thumb caressed face on the one side. Staring at it, the surface seemed to gleam underneath the remaining crust of age-hardened dirt. Whether it was copper or gold, it could wait until properly cleaned. A strange, pleasant tingle ran itself up my arm, as if someone had kissed my hand. Shaking my head, I put the coin back in the drawer and shut it. I’m going to hate myself in the morning, I thought to myself.

“Miss Lakewood?” Sara’s voice brought me back to the here and now. My eyes flicked around the room, resting on all my books. The clouds moved in to cover the face of the moon, plunging the outside of my home into complete darkness. It was probably my imagination, but I could swear that eyes were gleaming from the shadows seconds before the light was gone from the world. All I said into the phone was “I’ll come”

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Chapter Three

Two days and one strip search later, my feet firmly planted on the white sands of a remote island off the shores of Bora Bora watching the plane disappear into the distance. My duffle and backpack sat near the treeline, well above high tide. The trip, unfortunately, had a few tense moments, as my trip required me to leave the airboat and step out onto a gyrating dock, or into a boat for the trip through customs. By the time, I hit the island, sweat covered my body and my heart rate felt like a drum on high speed. The black T-shirt I wore soaked up most of the cold, clammy sweat. It left, in it's wake, dried salt that made interesting patterns on the fabric. “When they said remote, they meant it. This place is totally out of the way.” I muttered, then began to make my way over the soft, white sand to where my luggage lay. Cranky, hungry, and no caffeine will turn any person into a solid, bona fide bitch. Which was exactly my mental state at the moment. There'd damn well better be coffee ready when I got to wherever I needed to be or else someone better be prepared to catch hell. Finally reaching my bags and still grumbling to myself, a slight movement caught my attention. Around the bend of the island, walked what appeared to be a horse. Raising a hand to shield my eyes from the sun’s glare, horse and rider became quite visible. Shaking my head and using a convenient stump under a palm tree as a chair, I waited for their approach. Not sure what attracted their attention, I watched as the horse broke into a wild gallop down the sand. Thundering hooves dug into the sand, sending sprays of sand, chasing the wind in it's wake. Like the sound of tribal drums on a dark night, or the heartbeat of a mountain about to awaken in full fury, the massive hooves rocketed the magnificent animal ever forward. It's muscles rippling under the glossy coat, indicating the power of such an equine glory. At their approach, I stood and moved my two bags off to one side so they wouldn’t get damaged. When they finally arrived, the rider hauled back on the reins, skidding the horse to a halt, spraying me with sand. The horse still wanted to run, I guess, because he rose up on his hind legs, lashing out with the hoofs, fighting for supremacy from the rider. My eyes, filled with sand, didn’t see the hoof that clipped my forehead, just above my eye. Stars exploded behind my eyes at the impact and a warm, wet liquid oozed it's way down my face in a runny mess. The good thing about the cut, it washed away the sand. The bad thing? Blood ran into my eye, blinding the left eye. Leaving me with only the right to see with. Luckily, the rider won the fight and got everything under control. When I finally looked up through blood pouring down my face, it met the intense gaze of the horse. It was one of those dominance things, locking eyes and never looking away. I wanted to show the

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horse my dominance and I wasn’t taking no for an answer. We both stared at each other silently until the horse, I swore, looked slightly embarrassed and turned it’s head away. It was then that I looked up to his rider and almost lost my jaw and thought, Oh my! The man was gorgeous! He could qualify as a Chippendale’s dancer in a New York minute. His intense blue eyes held me spellbound. For the space of a few heartbeats, my brain nosedived into the dungeon level to indulge in a few heated fantasies. Suddenly, those blue eyes darkened as he slowly looked me over from head to toe, taking in my disheveled appearance and the blood. When his eyes clashed with mine once again, sparks of fury seemed to shoot from his eyes. Disgust curled his upper lip in a sneer. That, alone, became enough for me to yank my perverted mind back to the here and now. Then he spoke in a voice that sent shivers down my spine. If a voice reflected a flavor, this man's vocal chords would be dripping with molasses and honey. It was that smooth.

“Woman, what are you doing here?”

He didn’t yell. Yet the underlying anger that transmitted itself into his words. That, in itself, cured my daydreams altogether and set my hackles up. Lifting my chin, I looked up at him so my eyes clashed with his, “I’m fine, thank you so much for asking.” My voice dripped sweet sarcasm in response to his arrogance. “I just arrived, if you hadn’t noticed, for a consultation with Mr. Okeanos, President and Owner of Trident Shipping. I was told, by his executive assistant, to meet him here on this island.”

His eyes darkened to a deep indigo and his voice dropped a couple octaves lower into a basso rumble, “Vasilios Okeanos does not hire women for consultations.” His made another pass over my clothing and general appearance before adding, with a slight sneer, “Especially trespassing women who need not concern themselves with consulting business.”

I kept my temper under control. It took counting to ten in four different languages, but I kept from exploding. “Look, just show me to somewhere I can take care of this cut and call the air boat back. It’s obvious someone’s yanking my chain.” I glared up at him, trying not to look at that oh so soft mouth, or the tight, leather pants hugging his muscular thighs. Both looked very delicious, yet also increasingly distracting. “Once that’s done, this woman will come back down here and wait to get off this island and back to my own home!”

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Leaning forward in the saddle to watch me intently, he demanded, “What is your name? Mr. Okeanos will be interested in knowing that someone found their way to his island unannounced.”

I sat down on a rock and pulled out a bandanna and a bottle of water. “If you need to know that.” I hissed between my teeth as the clear water caused the ache of my wound to increase to a sharp stab, before resuming it's intense throbbing. It was painful, yes, but not any worse than my body had already endured. It can be useful for clearing the mind and keeping the temper at bay. Cleaning my cut served only to infuriate him further. Which is a nice thing, for a little bit. After a time, I finally spoke, "My name is Jamie Lakewood."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but his phone rang. Cursing he dismounted finally and answered. “Vasilios here, what do you want?” his voice was soft and musical, almost pleasant. That didn't last long as he listened to whomever spoke to him on the other end of the line. Soon, his face darkened. “You what!” he roared. The sound had a force all it’s own and sent every bird within calling distance to flight. The simple force of it also caused his horse to jump startled.

I dropped the wet bandanna from my hand, then grabbed the reins of the horse as it shied away from the angry shouting. An animal that powerful could, if they got the bit in their teeth, trample anything it it's path. Thankfully, the noise only startled him into jumping and dancing in place at the end of his reigns. I spoke softly to the animal in a combination of Greek and Russian, slowly scratching the forehead and along the powerful jaw line. Finally, the horse relaxed and closed his eyes in bliss under the touch of my hands. I had to smile at the “Yes but… no but… Oh all right… but…” that was going on nearby. The horse finally calmed down and nudged my chest slightly. He was making soft murmuring sounds, lipping my shirt and huffing at my hair through his nose at me. It appeared he liked what I was doing and wanted me to keep doing it by angling for another scratch. It was then that a presence made itself known right behind me. Turning I found a very contrite, tall, man standing not two feet from me. “Yes?” I managed to get out. The sheer presence of the man was overwhelming. Gods… was that my voice doing the soft husky thing? Surely not. Get yer brain in gear, Jamie I thought to myself. This guy is an asshole. Good ‘Eye Candy’, but still an asshole.

He looked into my eyes and arched an eyebrow slightly, “You’re bleeding all over your shirt.” he reached out towards my face, “Are you going to be all right?”

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The moment his hand brushed my face, it was as if the heat of the sun caressed my face, in a pleasant sort of way. It was almost sensual. The look in his eyes said he felt it too and the slow smirk turned what should have been a pleasant experience, into something entirely different.

Pure male

arrogant, egotistical bastard caused my day to go from bad to worse with a simple look. Gods! I hated men like this. I slapped his hand away, ignoring the pang of loss that coursed through my nerves, “I’m fine, thank you very much.” I said heatedly. “I’m just had a lousy flight here, with at least one strip search during a layover in Bali, and I haven’t gotten my first mug of damned coffee! Now I’m here and you insult me, deride me and your horse hits me with a hoof, for which I forgive him. You, Vasilios Okeanos, are a different story! Let’s get this consultation over with so I can get back to my cabin and my own life!”

His face registered surprise, then anger. He opened his mouth to say a few choice words, but instead looked like a fish out of water. Apparently, his executive secretary forgot to mention my attitude toward men like himself. Or, perhaps, he never faced a someone who talked back to him on his own turf. Whatever the case, it took stern self-control to keep the grin off my face. When he finally regained control over his mouth and his temper, he pointed up the beach. “My home is about a half mile down that way inside the tree line. There will be refreshments and information waiting for you when you arrive.”

I nodded, then swung up into the English style saddle and grinned. My actions left him standing there, gaping at my audacity. “Fine, I’ll meet you there.” and leaned forward to whisper in the stallion’s ear. “Let’s teach Mr. Arrogance a lesson in manners, shall we?” Then gave the horse a light tap with a heel. The result was the horse kicking up sand in Vasilios’s face as we shot off down the beach, leaving him very angry and roaring in fury. As we left him in the distance, my senses teased by the speed of the horse, the wind rushing past my face, and the dull thud of his hooves as we raced time itself to get to the house. We rounded the bend of the island, a fresh breeze greeted me, cooled my skin and dried the blood that still clung to the edges of the wound As we neared the path to his house, I could have sworn I heard laughter in the back of my mind. But that was just the wind dancing across the palm fronds, wasn’t it?

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Chapter Four

Hours later, I actually got a band-aid for my cut, a mug of coffee, and food! I was starving. According to Andre, Vasilios's stunningly handsome butler, Mr. Okeanos would be absent for quite a while. Vasilios decided that arranging my sleeping quarters took precedence over talking to me. The thought of him in somewhere that I would be sleeping brought a heated blush to my neck. Just the image… No. We won’t go into that. Nope. I spent the rest of the day wandering around the house, more like a mansion really, acquainting myself with the layout. Taking great care to memorize which room held what so I wouldn't get lost in the dark. If it really came down to it. Finally, the library captured my attention. So many books, old and new. Rare and not-so rare. The antique leather bound volumes held my attention for the rest of my time. Time flew like wings upon a breeze, but my imagination and the words made me loose myself. So lost, Andre had to shake me, physically, to get me back to the here and now. Time for dinner.

It was completely dark by the time Mr. Okeanos walked through the door. Under one arm, he carried a huge volume of some sort. I finished off the last of the succulent rack of lamb, wiping the juices from my lips as I did so. Reaching to pull a bowl of fresh fruit towards me, I glanced in his direction before popping a grape into my mouth. Leaning back and savoring the sweet juices coating my lips my attention finally went to Vasilios and arched an eyebrow while my hand lifted my coffee mug. “I want to apologize for the way I treated you earlier.” he stumbled over the apology part, but he got through it. “I don’t get many visitors here and, well, I’m sort of a recluse. Sara Tamist finally called me to let me know about you.” He sighed. “Will you forgive me so we can work with this?”

I took another drink of coffee and looked him over. He wore a dark blue muscle shirt that enhanced his sculpted chest and ab muscles. A pair of soft cotton drawstring pants in a lighter shade of blue complimented his shirt, and hid those powerful legs. My eyes traveled back up to his face and those stunning blue eyes before wandering over the hair. Tied back at the nape of his neck in a ponytail, the sandy brown hair dangled between his shoulder blades. I mentally swatted my hands because they wanted to shake loose the hair and bury themselves in the silky softness. It was the sound of a throat clearing that caused my eyes jump back to his and caught the amusement in his eyes.

“Should I turn around for your perusal?” he asked with a grin.

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Yes, my body screamed. No, my brain said. I blushed furiously and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Okeanos. I’m severely tired and I’m not usually this cranky or off the wall.” “Vasilios,” he said with a smile that made my insides turn to jelly. “My name is Vasilios”

I stared stupidly at him for a minute or two before the words worked themselves into my exhausted brain. “Vasilios, then. You can call me Jamie.” I sighed. Leaning back in the chair and covering a yawn with my hand, “Maybe we should actually start this consultation in the morning. Because if I don’t get some sleep, I’m going to be feeling even worse tomorrow.”

He nodded and offered a hand. “Let me show you to your room.” he smiled.

I sat there, stunned. It was as if the sun appeared out from underneath a cloud. Not to mention the dimples on either side of his mouth. It made me want to... but no. Business. Besides, after the last episode with the hand he held out, I wasn’t going to risk my libido to another onslaught.

I stood up on my own and smiled to him. “Lead the way.”

Frowning, he turned and grumbled something under his breath. I had a great view of his behind in those pants as he stalked out of the house. A pebble strewn walkway led through the lush vegetation to a small bungalow off to one side in a grove of palm trees. My attention continually drawn to that tight pair of buns. When I ran into him because he had suddenly stopped. Granite hard stone or hardened steel came to mind. He looked over his shoulder and a grin of pure, arrogant male pride showed. “You were staring at my ass, weren’t you, Jamie.” he made it a statement. “Would you prefer to see it without the pants?” His tone was pure sensuality dosed with a hint of male amusement as his hands slowly made their way towards the drawstrings.

Glaring up at him to cover my embarrassment, I said, “No, I wasn’t.” I denied a little too quickly. “I was sleepwalking and you stopped and I ran into you and woke up.” Lame excuse, I thought.

He laughed outright. “Ms. Lakewood, you are a horrible liar. But for now. I’ll accept that. However, in the future, please be honest with me. It’ll make our time together, however unwanted by both of us, more tolerable.”

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I looked at him and let his comment slide. Maneuvering around his six-foot tall frame to the doorway without touching him became a difficult matter indeed. “By the way. A word of warning about trying to wake me up. Never, ever make loud noises or try to startle me out of sleep. I tend to react very badly to such things.”

He stepped forward, almost pressing me against the doorframe. ”Oh?” he purred softly. “Would you prefer to have some company so you won’t react badly?” His breath caressed my face like the softest wings of a moth fluttering against my skin. Dark blue eyes stared deeply into mine as his lips began a slow decent towards mine, intent on their purpose and expecting no interference.

His seduction came to a screeching halt by a soft snick of a butterfly knife opening. He froze all together as I pressed the point against the inside seam of his pants, extremely close to something very hard straining against the cloth of his pants. “Actually, Vasilios Okeanos, your company is not required. I came here to help you with research, which you’re going to tell me about tomorrow morning, not to wind up stroking your,” and I tap tapped his thigh, dangerously close to his family jewels, “Ego.”

He carefully stepped away from the blade. Right there on the pathway, he actually clenched his fist, as if to strike out. Rage so thick, you could have cut it with a knife, then serve it up on a plate for dinner. “You will be at the main house at seven am tomorrow morning. If not, I will not be responsible for what happens afterwards!” With that, he stormed off, trailing a deflated ego in his wake. That made the image of a petulant child stomping off to his room all the more vivid. Sighing, I stumbled into the one room bungalow and stripped nude. I lit a candle and spied a full-length mirror against one wall. I needed to check the scars. I always did it before I went to bed. I had done the same ritual ever since I got released from the hospital in Greece. From one of my packs came a small jar of balm that was supposed to help the scars from scarring too much. A gift from one of the village wise women near my mountain home. Reflected in the mirror before me, my eyes traced the scars on my body. The razor sharp teeth went into the junction between my neck and my shoulder, barely missing several important parts. Another crescent of scars ran down my ribcage on the right side, where the first attack had taken place. I fought that one off only to find myself munched on by the second one. Young sharks, nasty wounds. Any older and I wouldn’t have lived through the attack. The memory alone, the vivid imagery of it, caused my hands to start shaking. With an effort, I

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pushed that memory away. To follow the road my mind tried to follow, would be the path to insanity. There were ways to combat my condition. Getting ready for bed was number one on the list. The knife went under the pillow, not the butterfly knife, but a throwing knife that I usually tucked into a forearm sheath during a dive. Just in case, Vasilios decided to get cheeky in the morning, and pull something incredibly stupid. As I reached for the sweatpants and jersey I used for pajamas, something caught my eye. Something about the mirror. It was, as if, someone looked out from the other side of the glass. A faint shadow or a faded outline? Who knows? Trying to look for the movement became a tad bit unnerving. “Jamie Lakewood, you’re getting paranoid.” I muttered to myself as I draped a sheet over the mirror and tucked in the edges so it wouldn’t slip off. The night birds on the island began singing their sleepy time song shortly after I finished with the mirror. The balm soothed the tender scars before I dressed and turned to the feather bed that dominated one side of the room. A fleeting thought of ghosts entered my mind, causing me to laugh softly. “Jet Lag,” I muttered to myself as exhaustion slammed into me. My body fell into the soft looking bed, sinking into the featherfilled mattress. A micro-fantasy involving Vasilios Okeanos and myself flashed cross my mind before sleep claimed me, lost to the real world for the rest of the night.

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Chapter Five

The next morning, Vasilios found out that my warning wasn’t a joke. Being startled awake can become a very dangerous endeavor for the one who attempted it. Men! They never listen to anything a woman says. You tell them no and they go ahead and do it anyway. Hrmph. Why did I even bother? Sneaking in to my room and yelling, “Time to get up!” is the worst thing he could have done. Thank the gods, sleep had dulled my senses. He did received shock of his life, though. My body reacted violently before my mind became fully aware of what, or who moved or spoke in the room. For Vasilios, it wasn’t a good thing. The moment the words left his mouth, a red line appeared across his cheek, my knife quivered in the doorframe, inches from his ear. Following up on that came every breakable, throwable object within reach. Fortunately, there weren’t many. My hands ran out of ammunition quickly. Kneeling in the middle of the sheets, wide-awake and glaring at him from across the room, my hands itched to grab something else and do more damage. Instead of a perfect face and body, he now sported bruises all over the place. Especially on his arms and a nice black eye to match the bleeding cut.

“Damn you! Get the hell out of here!” I yelled.

“I told you to be awake at seven am, it’s now seven fifteen am. I want to get this done and over with so I can go back to being an imm...” he reigned in his tongue, “President of Trident shipping! This fiasco has cost me enough time and trouble and I want to be done with it.”

I wondered his words, but I let it slide, “Then get the hell out of the room and let me wake up at my own pace.” I looked at the center of his bare chest. Then I took a second look, and almost swallowed my tongue. Bare chest? Oh my! Under my watchful gaze, the wall of muscle and smooth, bare flesh moved slightly. The morning sun caught the glimmer of silver fixed into his right nipple. A quick glance at the other one showed a similar ring affixed there. Swallowing hard and telling my body to shut the hell up, I looked up. My eyes rose, and clashed with those seriously blue eyes. Sparks of blue fire smoldered inside those eyes as they traveled down my body, much the same way as I had just done with him.

Everywhere his eyes roamed, it felt like heat had melted away my clothes and caressed my skin. I watched as his breathing began to deepen as evidence of his arousal became more and more prominent in

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the pants he had on. Then his eyes lit on the visible scarring from the shark attack. Eyes darkening to indigo with emotion he pushed off the doorframe and he came over and laid a hand on the scar tissue, lightly tracing it with a soft finger. “What happened?” he whispered. Concern colored his words as he looked intently at the slightly puckered scar tissue on my neck.

His fingers drove all sane thoughts out of my head, leaving only one giant urge. To rip his clothes off and drag him down into the bed for a day of heated sex in every imaginable position. A light tap tapping of his finger on my collarbone dragged me out of my fantasy world and back to the present. I shook my head and got off the bed. Anything to get away from his touch.

“Shark attack.” I said gruffly. “Baby Great White decided that I looked like a good meal.” To speak of the rest of it would be too much for me. It would be like tearing open barely healed wounds that would be hard to handle at the moment.

He opened his mouth to say more, but sighed, “Breakfast will be in about an hour. There’s a shower just on the other side of that door,” he pointed to the back wall of the hut. There, barely visible, a door made of bamboo. “And there’s a hot spring just beyond it if you want to soak for a bit. Andre will come and let you know when things are ready.” With that, he turned around and silently left, leaving me somehow bereft of his touch.

“Damn!” I muttered. “That man should be outlawed and hidden away under lock and key!” Of course, I mentally amended, I wouldn’t mind being the one holding the key. Smiling, I grabbed a towel and laid out the clothes I’d wear that day, then headed for the outdoors and that hot shower, and even hotter springs. After a shower, I lowered myself into the hot springs to try to get some blood flowing to other parts of my anatomy. Unfortunately, it failed. Every time I closed my eyes, I could still feel his on me. I peered around in the fronds long enough to reassure myself that no one was there, then leaned back into the heated water. My eyes closed and fantasized that Vasilios’s fingers massaged my skin. The naturally bubbling water felt like his soft lips pressing against the base of my neck. Groaning, I shifted restlessly in the water, gripping the soft loamy sides of the spring as I moved my other hand between my legs. In my minds eye, it was Vasilios Okeanos I saw angling his hips to thrust forward, into me to ease that aching

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void. The world went away while my imagination conjured up his rock hard body covering mine, working it to a fevered pitch with such sweet torture. Just then, my fingers spread myself open and slowly worked themselves inside to slowly tease and entice. Almost like a slow, sensual thrust of a hard cock. I rocked to a massive orgasm, helped along by the heated water and my own fingers. So powerful. I bit my lip to keep from bringing the object of my fantasies running, drawn by my screams and moans of passion. As I slowly returned from the heavens, sated and completely relaxed, I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Blushing beet red from head to toe, I looked wildly around. There, at the tree line, stood Andre with his back turned. Trying to keep my voice at a calm level, I said, “Yes?”

“Breakfast and a pot of coffee is ready, Ms. Lakewood. I set out a fresh towel and a new bandage for your cut over there” and he pointed to a rock, “Mr. Okeanos asks that you join him on the verandah on the other side of the house once you are dressed.”

I chuckled. “Thank you, Andre. Tell, Mr. Okeanos, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

He nodded and left the area. The moment he disappeared from sight, I leaped out of the pool, grabbed my things, and ran for the hut. Once there, it became a fight to get my blush factor under control and my heartbeat to resume it’s normal pace. I grabbed my clothes and began to dress. In the back of my mind, I began to wonder just how to face Vasilios without my face looking like permanent sunburn. Oh the irony of such embarrassment.

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Chapter Six

With a full stomach and a mug of coffee beside me, Vasilios and I watched the ocean from the porch. Trying to fight the symptoms of a panic attack. Sitting there, listening to it’s siren’s song, terrified me. I swear, the pounding of my heart probably could be audible to even a deaf person. My hands gripped the arms of my chair in a white knuckled grip to keep the shaking from being too obvious. What was the old adage, ‘Once Bitten, Twice Shy’? That whole thing should be rewritten just for me, ‘Twice Bitten, No Way In Hell.’ After my release from the hospital, swearing off diving for all time rather than risk the possibility of another attack seemed the best course of action. Not to mention loosing another person I cared about to another attack. Yes, Yes. Shark attacks are rare in the Mediterranean, but they do happen. Even a minute drop of blood from a cut could be the blue-plate special lunch call. In my case, we never did find out why they came running. They were just there. Iaon speculated that coral may have cut one of us. Vasilios turned slightly and said, “Now, I suppose, you want to know why you are here, right?”

I sat up and looked him in the eye. “Finally. No more games, right? The whole story and no leaving stuff out and no male superiority crap. I’m here to do a job and doing it is going to be difficult while your macho bullshit runs the show.” His voice alone began to dispel the panic that raced through my veins like a high-speed locomotive out of control. As long as he was straight with me, I could forget my own problems for a while.

He nodded, “point taken.” he stood and walked over to a cabinet near the doorway. Opening it up, he took out a few objects that turned out to be old scrolls. Also included in the mix, appeared to be old manuscripts and a new-looking journal. These he brought over and lay on the table in front of me. “What I want you to do is find the Trident and Crown of Poseidon.”

That got my attention. “You what!” I shook my head. “As far as I know, the Sea God never lost them! Whoever told you that he lost them anytime during his mythological existence was a liar.” I reached for my coffee. “Someone’s jerking your chain, Vasilios. Badly.”

He sighed and shook his head, then handed me the pile of old manuscripts before leading the way inside to the huge dining room table. “I assume you know ancient Greek as well as well as the modern dialect, not to mention how to read it?”

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I chuckled, “My parents made sure I was fluent in the ancient languages and how to read them almost before studying English at home. Let’s not forget modern day equivalents.” I smiled, then ran my hands over the ancient books. “Where did you find these?”

He smiled, “From a private collector and various other places. Don’t ask me where because, knowing you, you’d be outraged that these and others aren’t in a museum somewhere.”

You’re probably right, I thought. My hand caressed the tomes in front of me and stopped on one. That funny tingling was back again. I looked at Vasilios, “Why don’t you tell me the story while I read through this one? It’s nice to hear the story verbally as well as reading it.”

He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, sipping his drink. “I don’t know how good my storytelling is, but I’ll attempt to relate the story as it was told to me.”

I opened the book to the first page and my brain began to work on the words as Vasilios’s voice began it’s tale.

“In Ancient Greece, Poseidon was the god of the sea. He also ruled over horses. But you know most of that already.” He grinned as I peered at him, “Yes, I read your dossier while you slept last night.”

“Should have read it before you hired me.” I groused, then went back to reading the text in front of me.

He continued, “According to legend, he had a horrible temper, but he was also reputed to be quite a ladies man, like his brother, Zeus.” He paused to sip his coffee. “I won’t go into the love affairs or the rest of it. Needless to say, on one occasion he boasted of his conquests one too many times in the presence of Aphrodite. Tired of his boasting and the mess he left behind, along with watching the women attempt to explain the pregnancies, she decided to teach the Sea God a lesson he would never forget. “Together with Ate, the goddess of Mischief and Rash Actions, the two of them somehow managed to steal Poseidon’s crown and trident. Ate stole them away and stashed them in some remote and uncharted place, leaving the Sea God without his immortal powers.” he sighed, “Oh, he was still immortal, he could still converse with his realm of the sea and it’s inhabitants, but he could not shake the

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earth or create new lands in the sea. Olympus denied him his place in that holy realm and the gods turned their back on him.”

The sadness in his voice and the longing made me mark the place in the book with my finger and look up at him. He faced the sea with suck a look of stark pain on his face, it became almost too much to bear. Every instinct in me wanted to set aside everything and go take the pain off his face. Instead, I murmured softly, “Ate was also the goddess of the results of those actions as well. Surely, they had a loophole in place so that Poseidon could get his stuff back. Once he learned his lesson, it stands to reason that he would be returned to his place in the Pantheon and all would be forgiven, right?” I arched an eyebrow.

He smiled slightly, “According to the legend, the Sea God can only regain his powers through Love. In order to do this, he must fall in love with a mortal woman, and she with him. Together, they will find that which Poseidon has lost and the gates of Olympus will be opened once again.” He shook his head. “There is a catch, though. It is the woman who loves him that must physically retrieve the items and release them into his care with her own hands before the punishment is lifted.”

I blinked to dispel the mental image of the man before me as Poseidon. Clearing my throat softly, “Maybe after all that time, Poseidon learned the value of not bragging about conquests and perhaps learned the true meaning of love.” I smiled slightly. “I mean, it is a legend after all. Does your story have an ending? Or did this story never get finished?”

He chuckled. “I believe those recording the story died before the final words could be put to paper.” he refilled my coffee cup and pushed some toast in my direction. “The books give clues as to w here the crown and scepter might be. Along with references of how to bet past any traps that might be encountered.”

I nodded and said, “It’s going to take a few days to get all this down pat and coordinated for your diving team. Until they get there, the best I can do is get the briefing ready. Especially the depth of the dive and the details.” My brain already started going over an equipment list and all that when Vasilios’s voice brought me back to the present.

“There will be no diving team,” he said flatly.

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“What? You’ve brought me here for the consultation. I’m going to decipher all the clues and stuff. But you’re going to need a diver or divers to get in the water and find it. According to what I’ve read already, it’s in an underwater cave.” I peered at him, a niggling suspicion beginning to form in my back brain.

Vasilios’s next words confirmed it. “I want you to go for them,” he said quietly. “Everyone I’ve talked to, including your former diving mates in Greece, says that you’re the best diver for this sort of thing.”

I downed the last of my coffee and then carefully laid the book on the table. I kept my hands flat on it to still their shaking, but nothing could prevent the sweat that broke out on my forehead. “No.” I managed to get out. “I am not the best. I will never, ever, dive again.” I stood up and turned my back on the table.

There was anger in his voice this time. “Why not? You're being paid well. I’ll double the offer, triple it even!” his voice didn’t rise or lower, just cold, frosted, and glacial.

I didn’t rise to the bait of his anger. “Because I’ve given up diving, Mr. Okeanos. Your executive assistant and my dossier must have reminded you of that fact. I will never, “I turned to stare him dead in the eye, “ever, dive again.” And with that I walked out.

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Chapter Seven

I made it down the path, past the bungalow and deep into the jungle surrounding the building before the panic attack hit. It was bad this time. In front of me, my eyes saw the blood, sharks, and sight of flesh torn from bone. I knew I was in trouble when my body began shaking hard enough to drive me to my knees. I’d not had one of these attacks in a long time. My sanity began slipping away from me as fast as the sharks that approached me through waters that were a faded, murky red. My body dredged up enough courage and willpower to fight back. No! I was not going to give in! I’ve never done so before and I wasn’t about to do so now. A soft whicker and a gentle shove in my back, helped give me the emotional strength I needed to fight my panic attack. I managed to come back to myself long enough to recognize the image next to me. Vasilios had been riding the same horse yesterday. Bit by bit, awareness of my surroundings returned. Standing long enough to wrap my arms around the horse’s neck, I hugged him fiercely. “Help me out here, friend. I’m as weak as a kitten.” I whispered hoarsely. “I don’t think I’m going to make it back to the house before I pass out.” About that time, my body suited action to the words. Blackness surrounded me before my body hit the ground in the center of the clearing. In the darkness of my mind came a light. Upon that light, floated a beautiful woman. If I had been a lesbian, she would have been a dream come true. But I wasn’t, yet I had to smile. “I’m dreaming.” I said to myself.

The woman laughed. A soft, melodious sound. “Yes, you are unconscious in the middle of a grove of trees with a horse beside you.” she grinned. “But don’t worry, he is on his way.” She sat down next to me and sighed. She didn’t have to say who he was. Vasilios is the only man on the island that had any reason for following me around.

“What’s wrong, if you don’t mind me asking?” I was trying to hold it together. After all, it was just my subconscious trying to make me feel better.

“No, it’s not, Jamie.” she said, smiling in good humor “I can read your mind. But what is wrong is the biggest mistake I have ever made in my immortal life. I’m Aphrodite.”

A stunned look must have appeared on my face because she laid a hand on my forehead and said, “Oh don’t look shocked. We’re still around. We just aren't that important anymore, so we're not seen.

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Anyway, “she looked embarrassed, “The legend is true, Jamie. I let my emotions get the better of me when it came to his boasting. Ate and I did steal his equipment.”

I giggled slightly at the image that came to mind. She blinked and laughed. “Not that equipment, silly!” and we both erupted into helpless laughter.

After a moment, we both calmed down, “I need your help to rectify this problem. And the only way to do it is for Poseidon to fall in love.”

I shook my head. “If he falls in love and gets his stuff back, there’s going to be a lot of heartbreak when he returns back home. You know this. Or should. You being the Goddess of Love and all.” I peered at her. “Ate’s repercussions are still going to be felt a long time after Poseidon returns. I hope you have a backup plan.”

She sighed, “I know I know, His brother has been lecturing me for a few hundred years about the stupidity of it all. But I’m asking you to help Zeus’s brother out. He is dearly missed in Olympus.”

I frowned and started to sit up to put my back against something hard behind me. “There’s just a few small problems with this picture, Goddess. One,” I held up a finger, “I’m dreaming. Two, I don’t even know if this is real at all.” I held up the second and added a third, “Three, I’m stuck on an island with a man who gets so many mood swings that I think he’s either a spoiled brat in need of a good spanking or he’s got more emotional baggage than I do. And Four, “the final digit joined the grouping, “I’ve been in love before. I know what it’s like to be left alone after someone leaves you, willing or unwilling. “I blocked out that memory from my mind for now. No need on reliving that piece of my life.

She shook her head. “I think I’ll let Him reveal himself to you on his own. You both deserve each other.” she got up and started walking away. But after a second she turned back with a grin. “By the way, your bank account has been updated with the consultation money I offered you. Plus triple your going fee for your work.”

With that tidbit of info, she left and the blackness closed in on me again. This time, letting me drift into the blissful dark of unconsciousness.

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Chapter Eight

Something refreshingly cool covered my forehead when I regained consciousness. Groaned and shifted slightly before my eyes opened. Through squinted eyes, all I could see was a blurred image. One that slowly reformed itself into two men, Andre and Vasilios. The look in both their eyes was quite endearing. The mother of all headaches pounding railroad spikes into head prevented me from smiling at the two of them.

“Okay you two, where am I and what happened?” I asked hoarsely.

Andre smiled and moved over to a side cupboard and let Vasilios explain. “You ran out and we couldn’t find you, Jamie. We looked through most of the areas that are clearly marked. We’d almost given up hope when we heard Pegasus scream out. Following the noise, we found you propped up against a palm tree, bleeding from your mouth and nose. Your eyes were open and staring at nothing.”

I raised a hand to my head and groaned. “Can we cut down the lighting? It’s making the railroad spikes in my head feel larger and exquisitely sharp.” I laid the washcloth over my eyes to keep the light out. “Gods… I’ve never gotten one as powerful as this before.”

There was a pause and Andre said, “One what?”

The cloth slipped from my face as I sat up a bit, thankful that the shades were drawn. “Panic attack.” I said shortly, “You get me near water or talk about diving.” my hands started shaking, twisting the rag in my hands seemed to help, “I panic.”

Both of them opened their mouths at the same time and I held up a shaky hand. “No, do not ask me to describe it unless you’re willing to put up with another episode so soon.” Both of them could see the hand shake a little bit harder.

Vasilios asked the obvious question, “Then how the hell did you manage to get here without trouble. The only way on or off this place is by either boat or plane.” His eyes held a wealth of concern and, something else.

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I sighed, “A few days ago, a box arrived at my mountain cottage in Greece. Inside it was a coin and a cell phone. Late that night the phone rang and your Executive Assistant, one Sara Tamist, said you needed my help in a consultation. The price was right for the work.” I looked at them with a steady gaze, “But that’s not what drew me here. It was... I don’t know. A gut feeling that I needed to be here.” They looked at each other, then back at me as I continued. “It was a boat plane, guys. The instructions to the pilot were that I’d be sedated throughout the entire trip. Except for the times when I needed to be aware. The boat ride to the shore was the only time I had any trouble.” I glanced at Vasilios, “And your yelling at me did not help matters.” I grumbled.

Andre held out a mug of something warm. “Clam chowder.” he smiled.

I sat up, with the help of Vas’s strong arms. His voice rumbled in my ear as I leaned back against that powerful chest. “Truce, Jamie. I will not ask you to do anything you do not wish, or are unable, to do.”

I smiled, “Just let me rest for the remainder of the day, Vasilios. I’ll be back to my old grouchy self by tomorrow morning and we can get started on the manuscripts. Besides, “I pat patted the strong arm with one hand, then took a sip of the soup. “My love of a good challenge soars when it comes to clues in old and dusty tomes. My mom and dad always said I was the biggest snoop they had ever seen.”

“All right. But I’m staying around you for the entire day. The world be damned!” I heard the words next to my ear. “Now that I have you where I’ve dreamed of having you. I’m not letting you loose.” he tightened his arms around me while his teeth nibbled my ear.

His actions and words set my whole body on fire. Liquid heat poured through my bloodstream. “Damn you.” I groused. “You don’t play fair!”

He shifted to hold me closer.

“No, not where you’re concerned.” he murmured.

Then,

remembering Andre’s presence, he said, “Andre, get out and tell anyone that calls to butt out and go away for the next millennium!”

I looked up to see Andre’s lips tremble in an effort not to smile, or break out in laughter. My lips trembled in an effort to keep from doing the same thing. “Yes Sir.” he got out before making the escape

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before he lost it. The echoes of his laughter drifted back into the bungalow.

“Traitor” I muttered good naturedly, then gasped as I felt a hand slowly massage the back of my neck and groaned as his hand found all the tightly knotted muscles. “Oh gods… don’t stop.”

Slowly, Vasilios rolled me over onto my stomach. “You’re way too tense, Jamie Lakewood.” He helped me off with my top, revealing the fact I had no bra on. “What you need is a good backrub,” he murmured softly, got to work with hands that were both soft and strong at the same time.

Still emotionally and physically drained from the panic attack, I felt weak as a day old kitten. The feel of his hands on my body was slowly coaxing me to relax into his tender care. Slowly, he worked each and every knot out of my back, then worked down to the waistline of my pants. I found myself arching my hips up so he could slide the garments off my legs.

A soft gasp is all I heard when he found out there were no undies. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “In this, I do not lie.” His hands started to work their magic on the muscles on my lower back, butt, and thighs.

I smiled slowly, “You, sir, are a flirt. But compliments will get you everywhere.” I hissed in pain as he found one particularly tender spot on the inside of my thigh.

Instantly his hands stilled. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. “Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head. “Just a bruise I think. I’m not too sure. Sometimes I pick up bruises and have no idea where they came from.” My mind tried to work on more analytical matters and off where his hand roamed. Either it was the attack, or I was tired, but my body refused to take orders from my rational mind.

Vasilios mmmmmed, almost a purring sound. “Let me kiss it and make it better.” And before I could truly comprehend what was happening, his massaging hands had been replaced by a very sensual and oh so soft mouth.

The sensations were incredible. My brain short-circuited about that time and I gave up fighting

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with myself. As if sensing my surrender to his ministrations, he began to kiss his way down my legs to my feet, slowly worshiping every inch of skin. The feeling incredibly heated. “What” I paused, “What are you doing?” I moaned as he gently rolled me over while his lips began to move up, passed my right knee.

My reward came in the form of a husky chuckle, murmured words, and a twinkle in his eye. “You may have three guesses,” with each word, his lips moved upwards, “but in about ten seconds, you will have your answer.” His mouth moved to gently lick between my legs. Tasting and teasing as he spread me open, like soft petals on the sweetest flower on earth.

The moment his lips encountered my clit, I almost came off the bed. It was as if someone had touched off fireworks behind my eyes and forced a strangled moan from my lips. Of their on violation, my legs spread wider, allowing complete access to do whatever he wanted to do. Shamelessly, he took complete advantage of what I was offering him. With slow, methodical kisses, he brought me to the razor’s edge of oblivion. Again and again, he teased me to a fine point between orgasm and agony. “Damn you, Vasilios! If you tease me one more time…” I never finished the threat because he thrust three fingers inside my hot wetness and touched the oh-so-sensitive spot and his lips took possession my clit. Nothing mattered. Nothing. The orgasmic heights of bliss have to be experienced. No one can explain such a thing and do it justice. Colors exploded against my eyelids like rainbows on a misty morning while my mouth opened up in a silent scream of ecstasy. His hands and mouth working intensely sent me rocketing to the heavens. My body arched up to his mouth, driving his fingers deeper and deeper as they thrust their way in. Making me helpless in the throes of orgasm.

It was hours, perhaps moments later, when I floated back to earth and suffered through the aftershocks of his work. Blinking to clear my eyes of the sparkles left over from the orgasm, my mouth hung open in shock as my gaze found Vasilios. Somehow, while his mouth drove me into overload, his clothes came off. He stood before me in all his naked glory. Definitely outlawed, I thought. A master sculptor created his chiseled body from the finest materials. Then asked a horny woman make up her most intimate wet dream. I know a lot of women who would give certain parts of their body to be in my place right at that moment. I reached out to touch his cock. It was smooth steel wrapped in velvet, or silk. But that wasn’t the impressive part. Nor was his length.

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The thickness of him held me spellbound. I couldn’t wrap my hand around it. Half an inch of visible space between my middle finger and thumb made me gasp in awe. It looked intimidating up close, but leaning forward to place tiny kisses along the shaft caused a strangled groan from above. The sound told me I was giving him the same treatment he so recently gave me. Payback for is a lot more pleasurable when done in return. Slowly, I maneuvered him so he was on the bed while I knelt between his legs. Pausing to take in the size of him, before licking the tip and began to slowly ease him across my lips and into my mouth. I had only gotten a little bit in past my lips before I could take no more. I tormented him with my tongue for a while. Soon, he buried his hands in my hair, dragging me up to his lips in a fierce, animalistic display of lust, I tasted myself on his tongue. We broke apart, each trembling with the power coursing through our bodies. His eyes changed to a strange sea-green color. In any other moment in time, my mind would have tried to analyze the situation. But right then, both of us were on fire. We had no other thoughts except raw, primal, desire. Our lips finally collided once again as Vasilios’s body covered mine in an age-old show of dominance. The moment he entered me, I saw stars. He was huge, and the pleasure became unimaginable. “Yes! Oh Gods Yes!” I growled and bit his neck. The feel of his flesh between my teeth felt almost as good as his savage thrusting. His mouth was like drugged wine, filling my senses, keeping me burning for more. Together, we drove each other physically insane.

Soon, he took my head in his hands. “Don’t close your eyes. Look at me. I want to see the look in your eyes when we both go to the heavens!” His hands, hot as the rest of him, seemed to burn my flesh as our eyes clashed. He swooped down to capture my lips as the rhythm increased, faster and harder. It began at the tips of my toes. It worked it’s way up my body caused little tremors on my nerves, increasing in volume until my senses couldn’t take anymore.

“Vasilios, I’mmm I’mmmm…

I’m

coming!” That was all I got out before his voice shouted wordlessly. Our bodies were imploding and exploding at the same time with pleasure.

Moments, or hours later, we finally floated down to earth in each other’s arms. We smelled like sweat and sex. So did the room. Soon, however, one of us broke tension by chuckling. Don’t ask me which one of us did it. It was infectious and soon, we both started laughing hysterically. Eventually we got ourselves under control and he carried me out to the shower, then into the hot springs. I think I fell asleep in his arms during the soak in the hot water. Gazing into his eyes before sleep claimed me caused me to think, how odd. They’re back to a regular blue again.

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Chapter Nine

Still an hour before dawn and I woke feeling someone was in the room. Besides myself and Vasilios. Him I knew by the feel of his body spooned against my back, one hand draped protectively over my waist. A tall shadow standing in the center of my room greeted my eyes as they slowly opened. The intensity of the stare was enough to put me on edge. Slowly, my hand slid underneath the pillow where my knife was. The familiar weight and feel of it caused me to wake me completely. The figure spoke in a booming voice, sounding much like the thunder and lightning storms from my mountain retreat in Greece. Not on a private island off Bora Bora in the South Pacific.

“So, Brother! You’d rather sleep than return to the Immortals on Olympus?”

That voice was enough to make my jumpy nerves even jumpier. My aim was true as the knife left my hand. My gut reaction to follow up with a physical bodyshot of that man. Except Vasilios kept his arm tight around my waist. I watched the man catch the knife in mid air, centimeters before it would have castrated him.

Vasilios spoke, his tone held the beginnings of anger, “You know well enough the curse I bear, Brother! Yet you do nothing to even remotely help me through the millennia. Now! You invade my home and force an issue which I would prefer to break gently to this woman.”

Gaping at both of them, I wriggled over to the side of the bed and flicked on a light. My voice took on a soft, growling tone. “Let go of me, Vasilios.” I was angry and rightly so. Something was in my voice, which made him look away from his brother and into my eyes. “I will not run, but I refuse to lay here and be ignored.”

Vasilios withdrew his arm with a pained look as his brother laughed outright. I got out of bed and marched up on the man. “Very funny, laughing boy.” I pulled on a pair of shorts near me, kneeling down to grab my shirt off the floor

As Vasilios opened his mouth, his brother spoke, “I like her, Poseidon. She kneels like the supplicants of old. Perhaps we could make her a servant in the olive groves on Olympus, making laurel wreathes.”

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That did it! My shorts were on, but neither of them saw the fist holding my shirt. A fist, as I came up off the floor, rammed itself up into his crotch. He doubled over, and caught a roundhouse punch to the nose then a spin kick to the chin. The combo sent him flying against the doorframe behind him. He could’ve been hurt worse if steel strong arms didn’t wrap themselves around me to hold me tight.

“Stop, Jamie. Leave off. You’ve made your point.” He glared at his brother over my shoulder. “If and when I get back to Olympus, Zeus. I will tell Hera that you allowed yourself to be so inflated by your…” he looked down at his brother as Zeus held his crotch in pain, then looked at me and grinned, “Ego, you got the shit kicked out of you by a mortal woman.”

Zeus looked up at us, pain showing clearly in his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare!” he snarled.

“Oh yes he would, and I’d back him up!” came a new voice. Andre stepped out of the shadows. “Remember what Aphrodite told you. On this island, we’re all mortals. You don’t have your fabulous,” he grinned at the injured man. “Powers. You’re just lucky that you caught that knife before it hit. Otherwise you would be in more than just a little pain.”

Andre turned and looked at me. “I’m sorry this came out the way it did. I am Adonis. You see before you, well, not exactly a Greek Tragedy. But something along those lines. The one on the floor is Zeus, God of Lightning, Thunder…yadda yadda... The man you know as Vasilios Okeanos is Poseidon. Victim of his own mouth.”

I stood there, shell-shocked. My brain tried to wrap itself around the idea these people were immortal. Wait… only two. I looked at Adonis. “Hang on a second… Time out,” I made the motion, stepped out of Vasilios’s arms, and into a seat. “You!” I pointed at Adonis, “Are dead, according to legend. A boar killed you and Aphrodite wept tears and spoke her last words to you when your spirit went to the Underworld. If you are who you claim, friend. How can you be here and still in Hades at the same time?”

Andre/Adonis looked at Zeus and arched an eyebrow. “Well? You started this fiasco. You get to tell the rest of the story. And don’t try to leave anything out or else I’ll tell Thanatos what you did to Cerberus the last time you tried sneaking into his domain.”

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I moved over to a corner and finally pulled on my shirt. When I looked again, they were still there, “Damn” I muttered to myself, looking at Andre. “Can we take this conversation to somewhere less… Cramped? Maybe food and drink?” I made the hint a subtle jab with my words. I so did not want to deal with explanations while sitting in my room.

He grinned and nodded. “As you wish, Jamie.” he winked, then two stepped it out of the room.

The muttered comment, “Showoff” said by three of us at the same time made me uneasy. I blinked, looked at both of them, and pointed a finger at Zeus.

“You… whoever you are. I want to hear the entire piece of insanity. But right now, get out of my room.” he opened his mouth to say something insulting, “You want to keep your nuts in one spot or do they go into a jar for your wife?” That shut him up and he left the building.

Turning to Vasilios, or Poseidon, whichever. “Tell me truthfully.” My heart contracted at the look of pain on his face. How had I gotten in this deep and not noticed it? My heart wanted to hug him, and wipe that look of pain from his face, and go shred a few people who truly deserved it.

He hung his head, “It’s true, Jamie. My pride and ego caused all this.” His voice whispered softly as he got up to put in his clothes. “The punishment is of my own making. Come out when you are ready to hear what my brother and Adonis say. Please.”

Staring him in the eye, my voice trembled with emotion “What I should do is find a way off this island, away from men who can’t tell the truth. I’ve been here what? Two days? You insult me, lied to me and,” my voice cracked, “You used me. Go away, Poseidon. Just… go. I’m going to go for a walk.” I turned my back on him, holding it together until the door closed behind me. At that sound, my heart broke. Tears flowed down my face as my body curled up into a ball on the floor. Two days. Two days was all it took for my emotions to get shredded and tossed to the sharks... again.

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Chapter Ten

Leaving the bungalow by the back doorway, my feet took me through the lush vegetation surrounding the small hut. My wandering took me down a small, almost non-existent path. Mentally and physically exhausted, I wanted to be left alone to figure things out, not caring where the path took me. Just so long as it was away from them. Men! Always thinking with their second head! “Boil em in oil and feed em to whatever hungry piece of slime comes calling!” I groused as I walked. Soon enough, the lush vegetation parted to reveal the empty stretch of white sand before me, ending at the waterline. Nothing else there. Taking off my shoes, my feet sank into the soft sand near the edge of the palm trees. For some odd reason, this certain spot did not give me the shakes, or make my hear trace. The ocean breeze combined with the hypnotic sound of waves hitting the beach was rather relaxing. Finding a soft place to sit with my chin on my knees, my eyes followed a flock seagulls flying high above in search of a meal. Several moments later, I knew company had arrived. If it were one of the guys, my ears would have picked up the approach down the path or seen them coming down the beach. “Which one of you is it this time?” I sighed, keeping my eyes on the water fowl

A familiar voice spoke, “Someone from your dreams, Jamie. One who is truly sorry for the things she has done and the pain she caused.” Aphrodite strode into view and took a seat next to me on the sand.

I grunted. “You do realize what all of you are asking me to do?”

She sighed and nodded. “I know. I also know part of your heart is out there where the attack was. I can also see the rest of your heart has been torn asunder here through this tragedy.”

I snorted, “Tragedy? Woman, you have no idea.” anger burned away the apathy, numbed the pain. “One, you call me, drag me here to face this without telling me why. Two, suddenly I need to accept everyone popping up on this island is either a God/Goddess or, in some way related to the Pantheon on Olympus. Then… then... if that’s not enough. You’re asking me to do something that may very well drive me insane. All because of Poseidon’s mouth and your emotions!”

She gave me a dark look and opened her mouth to speak. I held up my hand to stop the words.

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You’re the Goddess of Love.

You’ve ruled with emotions all your life… or

immortalhood? I don’t know. But you let Poseidon’s ego get the better of you.” I glared at her. “He’s taken responsibility for what he’s done. But you… You’re still putting the blame on someone else’s shoulders and possibly causing more harm than healing.”

Aphrodite was livid. “How dare you...”

I chuckled. “You look cute when you’re pissed. Like a kid with the little curl in the middle of her forehead.” She didn’t get the reference, but I went on, “Go away, Goddess. Go home and think about the past thousand years or so. If you come back, make damn sure you know where part of the blame lies!” She huffed, bounced to her feet like a temperamental child, then poofed into thin air. Now I could lay back on the sand and laugh until my sides hurt. “Oh this is too funny,” I said, aloud to the forest, “This whole Pantheon is too easy to annoy. They’re like brats who throw a tantrum every time they don’t get their way.” I laughed some more at the image of Zeus bent over a huge knee while his ass got blistered by a giant paddle. I’m feeling sadistic. Try and sue a pissed off mortal on the verge of taking a nice long sabbatical into insanity. Be nice!

A high-pitched scream of distress interrupted my sadistic fantasy, making me jump at the sound. I looked up and down the beach to see what in hell could make such an awful noise. A little way down the beach, a clump floated, surrounded by fins. Fins! Oh shit. Not really thinking, I ran to where the lump bobbed on the surface. Skidding to a halt at the water’s edge, my eyes looked on in horror. A dolphin calf, somehow, got tangled in an old fish net. Surrounding him were half a dozen or so fins. Two of them were dolphins by the look of their heads when they came up for air. I wasn’t too sure about the rest. It tore at my heart, causing tears to course down my face, to hear the piteous cry of distress coming from the trapped calf. I went to my knees, shaking violently and trying to fight the panic attack. My heart began to thunder in my chest, as if it trying to tear itself free from it’s moorings. Another pounding invaded my senses about then, the sound of hooves beating an angry tattoo in the sand. Turning my head enough to see Pegasus arrive, whinnying in response to the distress, gave me the strength to fight back the panic. “Get them, friend. Tell them.” He bobbed his head, taking off like a shot. I quickly stripped to the skin as I stared at the water, not completely sure this was a good thing or not. “Damn… If I start thinking about this, I’m going to be in a world of hurt.”

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On my way into the water, I scooped up a piece of what appeared to be volcanic glass and dove in. Coming up for air and treading water, there wasn’t time to panic because the insistent sounds in front of me became desperate. Quickly swimming over to the net, my mind prayed to whoever listened to such things to get me out of this in one piece. I suddenly found myself in a thrashing, frothing, squeaking, crying riot of water filled with fins. It was pure luck, managing to get a grip on the net before the mass of fins, overwhelmed me. I turned my head slightly to come eye to eye with a bottle-nosed dolphin. Nearby, in the water, a tiger shark coasted the outer perimeter of the forest of fins. “Gods!” My body began to shake. “Not again” I whimpered to myself. Fighting the shakes, my attention went back to the task at hand, carefully cutting through the net. Squeals and thrashing water sounded off behind me as my knife slowly parted the rope. The calf’s movements began to weaken. It’s cries becoming forlorn clicks and squeaks. Gritting my teeth against the waves of panic threatening to drown me along with the baby, my fingers fumbled to get a grip on some of the lines closest to the youngster’s skin. My eyes watched more and more of the net float free. With each piece gone, a bit more of the dolphin became visible. Now came the dangerous part as the net began to drag the youngster under. Fighting the screaming torment ringing in my head, I dove under the water to get to the calf. After a few disorienting moments, I managed to get the young one free after two dives. I managed to make it back to the surface, in time to get rammed in the ribs by a tiger shark. “Oh no you don’t” I screamed. “You are not going to kill me like your brethren did my partner!”

Determined defend myself and the calf, I tried to take the attack to the sharks, but got shoved back by a flotilla of dolphins. Wait… flotilla? I paused to look around as the pod surrounded the calf and myself. The sharks still lurked in the water, hoping for another try would be my guess, but they kept getting the crap smacked out of them by angry dolphins. All except for a couple enthusiastic adolescent dolphins, who insisted on dunking me. When I came up, spluttering indignantly, the sharks left and the rest of the pod began chattering excitedly. The noise prompted a few aerial displays as they leaped into the air. I shook my head, dropped the glass, and started treading water again. Concerned for the baby, my hands ran over it’s skin, checking for any injuries. Finding none, I finished, he turned and squirted water in my face before diving under the water. Hopefully back to mom. Eventually, two of the bigger males came up on either side of me and gave me a tow to shore. Clicking and chattering happily, they deposited me in shallow water where I could stand and get to dry land.

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Looking back at them, I smiled, “Thanks you two.”

They squeaked and did tail stands all the way back to the pod. If I didn’t know any better, they learned those from one of the Sea Parks in San Diego or LA. The thought made me smile. Once out of the water the cooling breeze reminded me of my naked state. Looking around, I caught a glimpse of my clothes disappearing into the forest by some mysterious means.

“Hey…! Come Back Here…!” I started running after clothes that suddenly took on a mind of their own.

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Chapter Eleven

Pounding down a jungle path in pursuit of animated clothing is not my idea of a good time for a morning. First, it began as Greek Deities. Second, a baby dolphin stuck in a net. Now… now my clothes were running away from me all on their own. I winced as my foot came down on a sharp stone, but I was not…I repeat not… going to let my clothes get the better of me! “When I get my hands on you, I’ll…” A flying leap landed me on my pants, at least. My pants emitted an indignant squeak and much wriggling commenced, making me wonder just what, exactly, made off with my stuff. While one hand still wrapped around the pants, I sat up carefully. Gently, my hands began to unwind the legs and the waistband from around my squeaking prisoner. Looking up just in time to see my shirt halting its headlong flight by accidentally thumping into a tree, causing me to grin. My shirt began to suddenly do a frantic version of a Flamenco dance on acid.

I moved over to the tree, sitting down near the gyrating fabric, and looked at the bundle in my hands. The bewhiskered face of a sea otter looked indignantly at me from the waistband of the pants. Twitching it’s whiskers, it gave an imperious chirrup-barking noise, and squirmed out of the pants to land on my shirt. The resulting squall of outrage from inside the shirt caused the one on top leap in the air startled. Then began a wrestling match through my shirt. A shirt, that soon became tattered with the claws they were using. That did it. The scene was too hilarious and I held my ribs, laughing hysterically. “Hey you two. Let me get that shirt out of the way before one of you gets hurt on it.” My hands moved quickly around the two as they chittered and chirruped at each other. They dove in to swat at one another when finally freed of the confining fabric. “There, now go play and quit stealing people’s clothing!” I gently scolded them both. They looked so endearing as they looked up at me. The moment soon passed as one suddenly decided to nip the other on the cheek, and off they went. They disappeared down the pathway leading back to the ocean.

“They do tend to get pretty pesky every now and again,” said a familiar voice by my ear. One that set my heartbeat racing and goosebumps running up and down my arms. “But they are endearing.”

I stood up slowly and turned to look at Vasilios, aka Poseidon. “I sent the horse to you so you

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could get your ass down to the shoreline and help out. Where were you?” I demanded.

He blinked at the vehemence in my voice, “I arrived just in time to see you barreling off, butt naked, into the treeline.” he looked me in the eyes, “But the dolphins told me what happened and I am happy you’ve conquered your fear. And the first time out too!”

I balled up my fist and fought with my emotions. Must… Not... Hit... Must…Refrain… is what my mind was saying to my impulse to wipe that smile off his face. What I said was, “Don’t get yer hopes up too high, friend. The only reason I made it that far is because of the calf. If I hadn’t gone in, the little one would have drowned and made a meal for the tiger sharks that the pod was fighting off.”

He ran a hand along my jaw, then swooped in and stole a kiss. “But the fact is, you did it. It’s a start at least” he murmured and nibbled my earlobe.

Groaning, my body melted at the sweet torment it was receiving. “The only reason I didn’t have a panic attack afterward is because TweedleDee and TweedleDum stole my clothes.” His lips worked downwards to taste my collarbone. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck. “You are making me crazy.” I protested.

“Exactly!” he said into my neck, “I plan to make you totally insane with desire for me. That way you won’t think about what you did. Maybe we can cure this without even leaving the bedroom.”

His words kick started my brain into action. This is the same person, who planned to use me for his own ends. Lied to me and now attempted to turn my brain to mush, still wanting me to go get his items for him. Those thoughts became ice water on my heated body, causing me to stiffen in his arms.

Poseidon noticed the change and looked up with confusion, “What’s wrong?”

I stepped out of his arms and backed away from him. The effect was mind clearing. “You are not going to use me again, Vasilios. Or is it Poseidon now? Does this entail groveling at your feet, kissing them? Or should I find one of your temples and make an offering to appease you.” The words escaped my mouth with all the feeling of hurt and pain in my soul.

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His face was one of utter disgust at the thought, “You do any such thing, Jamie Lakewood, I will be very pissed off” He looked me up and down and took a step closer to me. “Think about it, Jamie. If I poofed into your cabin in Greece, told you who and what I was, then asked you to come out to this place and go diving, you would have either shot me, stabbed me, or called the authorities.”

I glared at him, hating it when men were right, but letting him off the hook that easily was a no go. “You want your godhood back. Fine. But have you thought about the consequences? I’m a mere mortal. If I allow, and that’s a big if right now. If I allow myself to become involved, what happens to me? Are you going to fuck me and leave me by the wayside to go gallivanting off back to Olympus in triumph?” Damnit, tears were already starting to fall from my eyes. I’d let my guard down and he’d already slipped inside my soul in the space of less than a week. This was going to hurt, and hurt bad. The mistake was I let myself care.

Poseidon looked away. “I don’t know what will happen after I get my reignments back. It’s been so long since I’ve been a god, I…really don’t know.” He looked at me and stepped forward to wipe away a tear, “For you, however. There is something that I can do, if you want. I can ask one of the gods to erase any memory you have of what happened, even take away your fear of water so you can resume your work. You will be able to keep this island and everything on it, should you decide to. Please, “he whispered as he gathered me in his arms, holding me tight. “Don’t cry. Please.”

“Damn you.” I whispered brokenly, “You’ve broken down all the walls I kept around my emotions and found a place only you can hurt.” I buried my face in his neck as he swept me off my feet. “Don’t hurt me, Poseidon. I don’t think I could stand it if someone I care about, left me again.”

He paused in his strides, “Again? You’ve had this happen another time? In the past?” he looked concerned, and a bit angry. Not at me, but for the other person.

I placed a hand on his chest. “What about Zeus and Adonis?” I asked

He grunted, “They’re both involved in cheating at poker and chess. They’ll be at it for hours. Trust me.” he peered closer at me, “And you’re avoiding the question.”

I closed my eyes and sighed, steeling myself for the painful memories. “I was diving in the waters

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around the Greek islands. I had fallen in love with a man who was heading the underwater archeology team, and he with me. I was helping him evaluate the ruins down there.” I closed my eyes. “The whole team approved of the pairing.”

He began walking again. “The hot springs what we need at the moment. Don’t stop talking.” he urged.

“The day ended and we were on our way to the surface when it happened. No warning sounded. Nothing. Not from the boat above or from the visual check underwater. I’d kept a keen watch for the rare Great Whites, the locals said ran in the waters there.” I began to shake. “Little did I know that Stephan had cut himself on a piece of coral and was bleeding profusely in the water.”

Poseidon hurriedly slipped me into the hot, bubbling water of the thermal spring behind my home. Stripping, he slipped in and maneuvered himself so that my back was against his chest, the silver rings lightly rubbing my back. “Tell me more.”

I sighed, the water and his protective arms helped to ease the shakes a bit. “It happened so fast. A Great White appeared out of nowhere and began to tear Stephan to bloody strips of meat, bone, and internal organs. His dying screams still haunt me to this day. The image, branded into my nightmares for all time. I could hear his dying screams underwater. “I gritted my teeth and fought down the nausea, “The resulting blood fest drew others into the vicinity. That’s the reason they attacked me. The one on my side almost crushed my ribs and the one on my shoulder severed the neck artery. I was glad the crew on the boat got me out and to the hospital as fast as they did.”

His hands massaged my neck and shoulders. “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s in the past. You’re okay now. I’m here.” he hugged me to him.

“The guys visited me at the hospital and told me he had planned on proposing the moment we both left the water.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “The guys brought the ring to the hospital. It’s back at my house in a pouch somewhere.”

He sighed and kissed me on the back of the neck, then stretched me out so I was floating over the bubbles. “Sleep, Jamie. Sleep and forget, forget your troubles for the rest of the day.”

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With the bubbles caressing my skin and the hypnotic voice of the sea god lulling me into a state of unconsciousness, I went under and surrendered to the black void, my destination for the rest of the day and night.

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Chapter Twelve

The feeling of a nice warm blanket, wrapped around me turned into a welcoming experience to wake up to. Actually, it made me snuggle closer, not wanting to wake up at all. However, my body began making demands. Ones I needed to take care of. Slowly, like a cat, I stretched each individual limb. Microbursts of pleasure accompanied my return to the waking world. A groan of pure bliss escaped my lips as my back popped and the limbs stretched to their utmost limitation. Allowing my eyes to open after the stretch. Draped, nonchalantly, over my stomach and chest were the two sea otters who stole my clothes the day before. I smiled as they squirmed slightly in their sleep. My gaze slowly swept the room to find it empty. Moving as slowly as possible, I moved out from under the covers, making sure not to wake up the two adorable critters. The moment I stood up, the two rolled against each other, wriggling around till it was hard to know which paw attached to which animal. A small gurgle from my stomach announced it wasn’t a happy camper, being without food for most of yesterday. First order of business, soothe the savage stomach before any work today.

Softly I padded down the path on bare feet. The sand beneath my feet felt almost sensual, almost like walking on finely sanded wood, caressing my feet with each step. For all I knew, the whole island was perfection. Once on the verandah to the main house, I saw that the door propped open. A heavenly scent greeted my nose, until I heard the shouting coming from off to my right, behind a pair of swinging doors. My hand actually touched the door handle to check out the commotion when someone grabbed me from behind. Reacting on instinct, my body squirmed and tried to kick, but my captor took appropriate measures to avoid injury. Andre’s voice whispered softly in my ear, causing me to stop struggling.

“Jamie. Hang on. Stop.” his voice held a tinge of amusement, “You have got to see this.” he chuckled when I turned to look him in the eye. “Be quiet or you’ll miss something truly unique. Think of this as blackmail material for the next hundred years on both of them.” he motioned for silence when I wanted to ask the obvious. Moving to the swinging doors, he pushed them open a crack, then moved to make room for me to see what was going on.

The sight in front of me almost caused me to howl in laughter! There before me, in all their

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magnificence, were Zeus and Poseidon. One on either side of the kitchen, covered in flower, pancake goo and, I think, into the eggs as well. Two tables, upturned, were used as protection by one of the brothers. Laughing, one would pop up, hurl an insult and an item of food at the other. Then the other one would. Sometimes a missile would hit it’s mark. More often than not, it hit something else. Like the walls, windows, and floor. I looked around the kitchen and noticed one amazing thing. The stove stayed sparkling clean, gleaming pots and pans bubbled or sizzled merrily away in the middle of the chaos surrounding it. Even if food came close to touching it, the item in question either disappeared, hit an invisible barrier, or got diverted to other places around the room. One such diversion, a combination of pancake goo and Ketchup from the looks of it, came winging it’s way towards our hiding place.

I managed to duck in time, but Adonis behind me squawked in indignation. “Hey!” He yelled, causing the two Gods to jump and look extremely guilty as they looked at the door

It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Scooping up a pair of unbroken eggs, I dove through the door onto the slick floor. Sliding into the middle of the chaos, I winged one at Zeus and the other at Poseidon, yelling “Think fast” The eggs found their marks with pinpoint accuracy on both faces. Startled, both bore identical expressions of surprise. They never got the chance to react. I lay there, rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. Still laughing, bombarded with flour-bombs, pancake goo, strawberries, and all manner of things. It became a glorious free for all. After fifteen minutes of chaotic food fighting, I called a truce. “Okay guys. I need food and we need to clean up.”

Zeus waved a hand and everything returned to it’s pristine condition. “Not a problem” he grinned boyishly.

Poseidon waved a spatula and our clothes’s, including Adonis’s, returned to their formerly pristine state. Except for one tiny piece of eggshell hanging off his Zeus’s nose.

I nudged Poseidon, giving him a pointed look. Sighing, he gazed at me as the eggshell floated off his brother’s nose and zipped its’ way into trash can. “Now, I’m hungry and in serious need of coffee. Why you suddenly felt like having a food fight before the morning caffeine ritual, is beyond me” I turned

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and, grabbing Adonis’s arm, walked out the door.

I heard Adonis laugh. “That was so much fun!” he grinned, “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen any of the Pantheon let their guard down actually deign to cook, then get into a food fight!” he winked. “Too bad we didn’t have a camera available.”

I sat down next to the dusty tomes that were still sitting there. Only a few days ago, in this same room, my journey into a world where myths and legends were real began. I shook my head and sighed, “Do either of them know where the location of Poseidon’s stuff is? Or do I have the fun of boring them with such mundane things as trying to work through some mysterious quote in a dusty old tome?”

“Both” came Poseidon’s voice from behind me. Hands caressed my shoulders as he said it. Just his touch turned my insides to molten lava instead of blood. My world contracted down to the feel of his hands on my shirt, above my collarbone. “We have some of the clues, but only a Mortal can decipher the rest.”

My head turned to nibble the knuckles of his left hand. The sound of a sharp inhalation of breath told me all I needed to know “Two can play the game, sweetie.” I grinned. “I need food, though, before anything else.” On cue, food floated out of the kitchen and set themselves down on the table. Shortly afterwards, a huge coffeepot with cream and sugar bowls came out. I chuckled. “You’d put the special effects guys out of business in the movies if you could market that skill.”

I waited for Zeus to join us for breakfast. When he didn’t, I looked the other two men. “He’s gone back to Olympus. He only stays for a short time, before he needs to get back to work.” Adonis explained. “He said to tell you he’d explain about me at a later date.” he shrugged. “I’d tell you, but it’s better if you hear it from him.”

I nodded and looked up at Poseidon, sucking in my breath at look in his eyes. It made the butterflies in my stomach start doing acrobatic tricks. Those eyes devoured me as he lowered lips towards mine. Seconds separated us from a meltdown of passion when a soft sound saved us from embarrassing Adonis. He cleared his throat.

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“I think I’ll go and...” Adonis looked around and grinned, “Do laundry.” And made a hasty exit out the back door.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, “Damn you.” I told the powerful man in front of me. “You should be outlawed or locked up, with me holding the key,” I growled as his hands pulled the shirt out of my pants while nibbling his earlobe.

“The only person I want having keys to buildings where I’m locked up, is you, Jamie Lakewood.” he said, running his hands up and down my ribcage.

Frowning slightly, my fingers traced the outlines of his soft lips. “Please.” I whispered. “Please don’t start to care for me. It’s going to hurt bad enough letting you go when the time comes.”

He sighed and nibbled my fingers as they made another pass. “I can’t help myself, Jamie. In less than a week, I find myself wanting you. The thought of you not being around...” he shook his head and bent to sample the sweet spot just below my earlobe.

A quiet, yet insistent, interruption sounded off in the midst of him nibbles, and m moans. A soft gurgle, growling complaint centered in my stomach area. I chuckled. “I haven’t eaten yet.” I said with a sheepish grin.

He said nothing, yet the twinkle in his eyes warned me he was up to something. He sat down in one of the massive chairs and settled me onto his lap. A movement of his fingers brought all the food to within range of his fingertips. “Then we shall feed you in a way you have never been fed before, “he whispered into my ear, causing goosebumps to chase themselves up and down my arms.

He brought a chunk of melon to my lips, coated them with the sweet juice before gently feeding it to me. After I swallowed, he leaned over to lick my lips for me, making sure he never missed a drop. Each piece of fruit coated different sensitive parts of my upper body with the juice, before being able to eat. As I did, he licked the liquid, causing a flame to ignite within my body. My hand reached back for a strawberry to put between my teeth. Leaning forward, I fed him some of his own medicine. As the strawberry dissolved, our lips met and the kiss deepened. Our world narrowed down to the here and now. The world be damned.

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Poseidon pulled back first and smiled. “Stand up a moment” he said. When I did, he removed my pants and laid me on the table in front of him. The plates obligingly moved out of the way. Smiling at the movement the plates made, I saw him reach for the container of maple syrup. The thought alone made me gasp at the imagery his actions caused in my head “Now it’s my turn to eat.” he grinned mischievously. “Then we’ll have coffee.”

He poured syrup over my chest, making a line to my bellybutton, filling the tiny reservoir. Slowly, he moved lower, to the glistening lips between my legs. He coated the entire area with the sweet sticky stuff using his fingers. He grinned at me and said, “Now, my sweet, you may guess what I am about to do next.” he bent and began feasting on my nipples, “Or you don‘t get to guess at all.”

The torment Poseidon worked on me, became exquisite. When I tried to run my hands through his hair, urging him on, he grabbed my wrists in one hand. The touch of his hand gripping my wrists only added fuel to a flame that was burning out of control. The touch of his tongue was electrifying as he feasted on the syrup coating my flesh. He moved lower on my belly, each lick an agony of waiting, making sure to savor every sweet drop coating my flesh. None of my squirms or moans had any effect. Arriving at my bellybutton, he spent a long while there. Each lick sent shooting darts of pleasure straight to my aching clit. He looked up at me as he began licking his way lower still. His eyes, a swirling mass of aqua green and turquoise blue, caused me to fall into them, hard. My emotions mirrored in his gaze at the same moment his tongue touched my clit, biting down gently. I screamed incoherently as a thousand bright suns detonated within my body. Liquid fire ran through my veins as the massive orgasm wracked my body. It seemed every nerve center melded directly into one, pleasurable spot where his lips, tongue and teeth worked their torment. His mouth was simply magical as he proceeded to get every drop out of me, going deeper for more. He took me to the heavens with ecstasy, showing me the universe. All in one moment of sheer, unadulterated, pleasure. Never giving me a chance to come down, he let go of my wrists, pulling me off the table. I straddled his lap, letting his hands direct my movements. Somehow, during his feasting, his clothes disappeared, leaving us both buck-naked.

Desperate to ease the ache between my legs, I sank down on him, letting out a lust filled groan as he filled me. His hands helped me to find the rhythm, moving me up and down on his hard cock. My lips

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crashed down onto his, tasting the sweet addiction of passion, maple syrup, on his tongue. Addicting enough to make me want to stay like that forever. We pulled back to gazed into each other’s eyes as the tempo picked up. He wrapped his powerful arms around my waist as his lips began to nip and lick the puckered scar tissue on my neck, adding fuel to the flames. A fine sheen of sweat coated both our bodies as we frantically began to move in a rhythm as old as time. My moans and occasional cries of approaching orgasm mixed with his gasps and growls, could be heard as even the morning air seemed to still, awaiting what would come next. Even the sun seemed to halt above the horizon, as if trying to illuminate the explosive moment for all time. Fireworks burst behind my eyes as Poseidon came off the chair with a shout of release. Together, frozen in time, the whole world seemed to stop to allow us our moment of fulfillment. An eternity later, we both collapsed in an exhausted heap on the chair. I got my breath back and giggled, looking him in the eye. I said, “Now that is what I call a morning Breakfast.”

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Chapter Thirteen

I yawned and rubbed my eyes. Mid-afternoon and I still sat at the massive breakfast table. Only, instead of fruit and pancake syrup, a pot of coffee with all the fixings sat in their place. A bowl of cookies sat off to one side as well, in case I got the need for a small snack. Dusty tomes in ancient Greek and ancient scrolls in classical roman covered most of the table. Modern day archeological magazines and several books on Poseidon and the dilemma added to the chaotic pile. I’d been reading and making notes for the entire morning and most of the afternoon. A break sounded good.

Standing, my body stretched and groaned as my muscles and joints popped, releasing the tension. Finally, turning my back on the whole thing to gaze out at the beach. It was an amazing view. What was even more amazing was the fact, a bunch of dolphins played in the lagoon in the exact location the boat plane dropped me off at. Curious, I left the house and wandered down the path.

A pair of chirruping squeaks interrupted my walk. I turned to see the sea otters scampering down the trail after me. Grinning and kneeling so they could see me on their level, I got a very hefty greeting from them as they proceeded to climb my clothes, making themselves at home wherever they could find a flat spot. Curiously enough, they used only the tips of their claws for gripping.

Laughing I said, “Ok, Ok… let’s go find out what the Sea God is doing at the lagoon”

Standing slowly, I made sure both of them had good purchase on my body before moving again. It was only a short walk to the beach, but it was worth it. Pausing at the treeline, I waited for the panic attack to set in. When it didn’t, I began to move farther out onto the sand until the water lapped at my feet. My eyes finally spotted Poseidon out at the end of a floating dock. With a mighty leap, he dove into the sea, barely making a splash as he did so. Swallowing the sudden pounding of my heart and the beginnings of a sweat, my passengers and I slowly walked out to the end of the dock. It was no easy task.

As if sensing my mood, both sea otters began nuzzling me and pat-patting my face with their paws as if to say, ‘it’s okay. You can make it.’ Finally, with a little emotional support and the happy noises of

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the dolphins surrounding the dock, the covered end of the dock became my final destination. I sat down slowly and began to work on fighting the impulse to run for the shore and hide. The otters came down off my body and slid into the water with a natural grace that always astounded me. I’d seem them at several potential sites and always smiled at their timeless grace in the water. Some of the most beautiful animals in the world, in my opinion, lived in the water. The dolphins approached the edge of the dock where I sat. My eyes were shut so tightly, I didn’t notice their approach, concentrating on keeping the shakes under control. A splash of warm water hitting me in the face alerted me to the fact that they wanted my attention. Startled, I opened my eyes to find several unrepentant mammals watching me. “You rang?” I asked.

A hearty laugh coming from off to one side caused me to turn slightly. The mere sight of him in his own element took my breath away. From the waist up, he was bare to the elements. Sunlight glinted off the nipple rings, enhancing the copper tan color of his flesh. My mind happily took a nosedive into the dungeon level and presented me of a delicious image of what lay hidden below the waterline. My imagination clarified itself as Poseidon spoke.

“Why don’t you join us, Jamie? The water is warm and I promise. No sharks.” he grinned boyishly.

Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t think so.

It was hard enough getting out here without

panicking.”

He pouted. “You came out and dove for the dolphin calf.” he looked at me with wide innocent eyes. Innocent my ass, I thought and pulled the one line which made all other thoughts go out the window. “If you love me, you’ll come out and join me.”

I opened my mouth to reply when it seemed all the other marine life in the area turned to look at me with an identical, appealing, and innocent look. Looking out over the assembled dolphins, sea otters, seals and sea lions, I hung my head, “You guys never play fair.” I grumbled.

In the end, the calf I had rescued the day before sealed the deal. He did a typical flipper thing. Tail walked in the water before diving and coming up right between my feet, which were dangling in the water. He laughed at me before splashing water all over the place, getting me thoroughly soaked. The

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rest of the pod joined in. Soon the dock, the railing, and the rest of the above-water surfaces were totally and completely awash in water.

All this time, Poseidon waited, a knowing smile on his face. I stripped off the now, soaked pants, revealing a pair of sweat shorts underneath. Without another thought to what my mental state would be after leaving the water, I took a running leap and dove into the clear waters of the lagoon. It was so unlike the darker waters of the Mediterranean around Greece, my brain did not associate it to the tragedy. Once underwater, my body reacted to the liquid environment, thrashing around and becoming disoriented. Fortunately, for my own piece of mind, a pair of dolphins swam under my arms and hauled me to the surface. Air, blessed air. I hauled it into my lungs and fought back the shakes and the nightmare.

Immediately, Poseidon appeared at my side, gathering me into his arms. He placed kiss on top of my head and asked the obvious, “Are you okay?”

I debated on whether to give him the silent treatment for his blatant usage of the guilt trip eyes, or just telling him off. In the end, I smiled. “I’m fine.” Then slipped away from him to roll onto my back and tried to relax in the water. After that first episode, my determination to enjoy the water and conquer my fears became foremost. “So, what form of help can I get from you for the book? Not much, I suspect. Considering the two goddesses we’re dealing with, I bet they went PMSy and put a few barriers in my way.”

He laughed at that. “You’re right. They did get, as you say, PMSy. I’m not allowed to fully help you in this, but I can give you hints and, or tell you if you’re going in the right direction.” He smiled lamely.

Hrrmming, I looked around the place. “Well, I’ve spent most of the morning eliminating the books that have proven to be either erroneous, fake, or the person who wrote the damned thing was so closed minded, he should have been a Catholic Priest.”

That got a burst of laughter from him. “You got to read Joseph Miriano’s journal, didn’t you?”

I nodded. “Wasn’t he the one that published a dissertation in the 17th Century claiming that

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Paganism was a mental aberration? That it could be cured with the correct application of, “I frowned as I tried to remember the exact wording, “Gentle Persuasion?”

He nodded. “That’s the one.” he grinned. “I believe, if the rumor is correct, the Spaniards got a hold of him during one of his little forays into insulting people.” He shook his head. “It was a painful ending for him”

I chuckled. “Probably one he deserved. I really was getting angry with his words.” I grinned impishly, “I wanted to do to him what I threatened to do to Zeus.”

“Ah Well,” he said. “He’s not here and we have a problem to solve if I’m going to ever feel whole again.”

I looked up at him and arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” I started treading water while the aquatic life swam and played around us.

He looked at me with sad eyes. “This, “he used his hand to encompass the water, “Is my Kingdom. I belong here. It is where I feel at home. Right now, though, the closest I can come to it is talking with these who still come and visit.” he reached out to rub the belly of a sea otter that swam close to his leg.

I moved closer to him and sighed. “You really miss all this, don’t you.” I made it a statement. Not a question. “Being part of the sea for so long, then being denied it’s majesty is hard to deal with.” I reached out to a baby dolphin, which swam under my hand. “At least you have these faithful who talk to you.” I paused, “They do talk to you, don’t they?”

He nodded. “I still retain some of my Powers, such as talking to the animals in my realm. But, with each passing century, less and less of my friends come to visit.” he shrugged, “I guess it’s like visiting someone who is in prison for a very long time. You visit faithfully, but over time, you want to get on with your life. Or you don’t want to deal with the uneasiness that comes from banishment.”

I ducked my head and swam underwater for a bit, then came up for air. “In the mortal world, if someone had been a loudmouth and boasted of his sexual conquests, women would be repulsed. Most

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women I know avoid people like that. No woman wants to be another notch on the bedpost.” I shook my head. “Most women would not strip a man of their worldly goods and strand him on a place without anything except for one other.” I grimaced. I sounded about to go into PMS mode myself. Or maybe it was just the need to get even with Aphrodite and Ate for what they‘d done to Poseidon.

He nodded. “I’ve been duly punished for pissing off the goddess of love, Jamie. I just want to go home. I want to see the Merfolk again. I want to know that my kingdom is doing okay.”

I tilted my head, “Who is running the show while this is going on?”

He grinned, “My brother, Neptune.”

I gaped at him. “But...aren’t you...” My attempts at getting the actual question out of my mouth brought a hearty laughter from him.

“We’re exact Twins, Jamie. There is a tiny little secret some of us have and it’s really quite silly. You see, when the Romans decided to stick their noses into Greek culture and decided to be a pain in the ass, they tried to usurp the Greek gods as well, by renaming them.”

I tilted my head, “But... that’s impossible. What in hell happened?”

He swam towards the dock and hoisted himself up onto the wood. I sighed in relief as my mental fantasy suddenly sprouted a baggy pair of cutoff denim shorts. “Well, I don’t really know how it happened. On most of the Gods, it didn’t work. But for some odd reason, I suddenly had a brother with the same attributes and identical looks as I do.”

I shook my head. “And he’s been ruling your kingdom for how long?”

Poseidon shook his head. “Thousands of years? I don’t know really. Time does not have any meaning for someone who watched the battle of Troy and got yelled at by their brother for interfering.” The hint of despair in his voice made me frown darkly.

That did it. I swam over to the shallows and bulled my way through the water towards the shore.

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Once on dry land, pausing only for a moment to get my temper under control. My gaze went out to the animals that kept Poseidon company for so long, then at the man himself. Dammit I thought in agony, I’m falling in love with him.

“Where are you going, Jamie?” came the faint voice from out on the dock.

I turned to smile ferally at him. “I’m going to find couple pieces of Hardware, Sea God. Then I’m going to work on making sure that I don’t shave Aphrodite and Ate bald and make a necklace out of the strands!” I stomped towards the path that took me up to the house. Each step tore at my heart, knowing that, in order to get this done right, my love would get stomped on, shredded and laid out like a feast for people to talk about. I was going to do it though, out of love.

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Chapter Fourteen

Two months later, I almost decided to find both goddesses and give them a taste of what Poseidon endured throughout his imprisonment. After the day with the dolphins and the sea otters, my mental scars were healing slowly. The physical ones would always be there, but I didn’t mind. Neither did Poseidon.

I looked up at the only wall in the dining room that didn’t have an opening on it. Like wallpaper from floor to ceiling, a wall map, drawings, photos, and post it notes decorated it‘s entire surface. Stretching I went over to the wall with a dark red marker and crossed out yet another place on the world map where the Crown and Trident should be. Andre and Poseidon took the sailboat out into the bay so the sea god could talk to more of his friends. I elected to stay at the house and do more research. Grabbing another mug of coffee on my way back to the chair, my lips curled up into a smile. Coffee. It was the one thing in the world more intimate with me than the man I loved.

I moved my things into the main house to be closer to the action if an idea popped Into my head. Sighing, I sat down to contemplate the mountain of books awaiting my attention. A sound intruded on my senses while I drank my coffee. Looking frantically around the room for the source of the sound. Suddenly, the sound started getting closer. Sure enough, Rus, one of the sea otters, squirreled his way into the room and up the leg of the table. Held gently in his mouth, the cell phone I brought with me. “Thank you Rus. I promise to find some hard boiled eggs for you and Vas as soon as I get done with this call.” Rus showed his pleasure by bat batting my hand and ran off to parts unknown. Or wherever it is they go to get into mischief. I looked at the phone and sighed. The phone Aphrodite sent me in her guise as Sara Tamist. Shaking my head, I flipped it open to hit the Receive button. I said, “Hello?”

My mother’s voice came over the earpiece. “I’m standing in the middle of the cottage your father and I gave you before we took off for a site in Japan a while back. The village people said you had become a recluse and seldom seen except for the occasional run for supplies.”

I smiled, “Sorry Mom. Believe it or not, I’m actually working on a mystery out here in the middle of nowhere.” A small lie, but I didn’t want my mom to think some strange thoughts about my location .

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Even more, I so did not want my mom involved with the Greek Pantheon. My dad, well, He died a while back in a cave in, helping to document an underground monastery in Kazakhstan. An earthquake turned the whole area into so much rubble.

“I understand hon. I just wondered where you had gone. You’ve done wonders with the view and the grape vines.” I heard the smile in her voice. Then I heard her pick up something. “Jamie Lakewood, I am staring at a necklace made up of several large shark teeth! What in hell happened to gain you this many teeth?”

I winced, my mother almost never swore unless upset, and sighed. No one told my mom about the shark attack, trust my friends to take me literally while in pain. “A local fisherman gave them to me, Mom. He said it would protect me against shark attacks if I wore them while swimming.” I fibbed and grabbed a cookie from a bowl nearby.

A sigh from her end. “I never did put much belief in the local lore.” she said, “But the man who made this necklace is pretty talented.”

I smiled, the image came to mind of her standing in the middle of the cottage, examining the workmanship. Thinking for a moment, and grinning, I asked “Mom, Do you know a company called Trident Shipping? Owned by one Vasilios Okeanos?”

She laughed, “Of course I do, Jamie. He’s funding some of the research we’ve been doing around the world. Rumor has it he’s a recluse and lives out on a remote island he owns. According to what’s been said, he does all his business by computer and videoconferencing. Very rich, Very powerful.”

You don’t know half of it, Mom. I thought. Asking instead, “You’re the leading person to ask on Greek Legends, Mom. I need a fresh view on a problem I’m working on.”

“Fire away, dear. I’m willing to help out if I can.” she said.

It took me about an hour to lay out what I had, legend and all. I gave her the short story of what books I had, the info I’d gathered, and most of the rest of the story. “So, in effect, we’re looking for Poseidon’s Crown and Trident. I’ve eliminated a few major and obvious places. But I’m in need of a

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little more insight.”

A pause over the phone and mom came back with, “You have a map in front of you?”

“Yeah. A big wall map like the one we used to have at the house.” I looked up to see the handsome hunk of my wet dreams, stroll into the room clad only in a towel. I swallowed hard and turned to concentrate on the map.

I heard the sound of pages turning and a mumbling sound. “Was there a riddle attached to the Legend?”

“Hang on mom, I’ll ask.” I covered the phone and looked at Poseidon. He swooped down to give me a passionate kiss before we both came up for air. “Mom wants to know if there is a riddle attached to your little,” I winked. “Problem.”

He thought a moment. “There is.” he looked at me and said, “To reach the center of the maze, you must face your fears before they blaze. Once triumphant, now brought down, you must face the Goddess for the crown.”

I related the riddle to my mom. “Now we know what we’re looking for. A Maze.”

My mom, suddenly suspicious, asked, “Who is with you, Jamie? You’re not being held against your will or anything, are you?” Trust my mom to think the worst things.

Knowing how acute Poseidon’s hearing is, I grinned. “Would you believe I’m doing private Consulting for Vasilios Okeanos?”

Poseidon’s arms wrapped around me and held me tight as I waited for the inevitable. It wasn’t long in coming.

“Jamie Lakewood! How many times do I have to tell you about telling stories to me. You’re what? 26? You should be more grown up than that.” Came the stern, yet motherly, voice.

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I laughed. No way could I fight down the giggles. It took me several moments before my voice was under control again, “Mom, calm down. I assume you know the sound of Mr. Okeanos’s voice, yes?”

A heartbeat, “Yesss...” she sounded suspicious.

I handed the phone to him. “You want to tell her?”

He laughed and took the phone. “Yes, Mrs. Lakewood. What can I do for you?” He listened for a moment. “Yes, Mrs. Lakewood, I understand your concern for your daughter. But she is in fine hands. Now. Tell me about the dig. Did you find anything interesting...” and off he went on a tangent, making sure she knew that he is a person who, while funding the projects mom did, also cared about what happened to the workers and the equipment used.

He placed a kiss on top of my head and then moved off to one side so I could shuffle through the books and pull up the notes on mazes from around the world. The research captured so much of my attention, making me forget, for the moment, about Rus and Vas. That is, until small claws made themselves felt on my calf. I looked down. Sure enough, two very demanding sea otters looked up at me impatiently. “You’re either one of two things. You’re bored and want to play or you want your treats.” At the word treats, they started their figure eight routine around themselves, looking hopeful.

I looked up to find Poseidon still in conversation with my Mom. Probably getting the third degree as to why I’m at his private island. I psst’d him. When he looked up, I pointed to the two fur balls at my feet, then at the kitchen door, arching an eyebrow in question to him. He shook his head and went back to the discussion at hand.

I smiled at the two eager otters and walked into the kitchen. I was hungry as well, spending minutes putting together some lunch, chopping up veggies for a nice salad, accidentally dropped some of the food on the floor for the crumb patrol. Handing each a hard-boiled egg, after finishing everything else, for them to take off to their normal hidey-holes and pig out.

I came back through the door, lunch tray in hand, to find Poseidon looking at me in a strange way.

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The phone held as far away from him as possible. My mother’s angry voice still audible even at a distance. I groaned. “You told her about the shark attack, didn’t you?” I muttered.

He looked sheepish and handed the phone to me by the antenna. As if he held a disgusting dead mouse, he picked up by the tail and wanted to get rid of it as fast as possible. “Sorry. I didn’t know she was ignorant of that fact.” He made a hasty exit after that. I say hasty because he walked so fast I got a good look at those taught ass cheeks as they peeked out from under the towel.

“Jamie!” the shout startled the phone from my hand. Thankfully, I caught it before it smashed on the floor. My mother could go operatic when she wanted to. I put the phone to my ear. “Yeah, Mom. I’m here.”

I spent next hour, calming mom down, answering all her third degree questions. Then, making all the soothing noises that mothers want to hear from their daughters. Catherine Lakewood may be one of the top archeologists in the field, but sometimes the mother part came first. Finally, we got back to the original topic of discussion. “Okay Mom. I’ve got a few underwater maze sites. You’ve heard the riddle. I’m thinking there’s either a thermal vent in the middle of this thing. Or we’re looking at an underwater volcano. Perhaps an underwater cave?”

The sound of shuffling of books came from her end, along with a sigh. “I think we’re dealing with that, or some form of thermal anomaly.” More muttering and a grumble in several different languages. “Most of the mazes that are documented are in the Mediterranean. At least the underwater ones. I think there’s an untouched site off the Island of Kassos. Somewhere in that straight.

I excavated my laptop from underneath a bunch of books and ran a search on the Island chain. “I’m going to say duh! Right now, Mom. I just brought up the Arial photos of the Greek islands.”

I heard mom work on her laptop. “Okay, I probably have the same photos as you do. What do you see?”

“Find Naxos, then draw a straight line down to Anafi. Okay! Now, find Ios and draw a line to Amorgos. You following me?” I didn’t wait for her to answer. “Check out those three islands in the middle of that small area.” Grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper over to draw and sketch, the image

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became clearer with each line drawn.

My mom made the connection the moment I finished the drawing. I heard a long drawn out groan. “It was right under our nose all this time.”

A few keystrokes later, I nodded to myself. “Looks like a shallow water dive.” My mind started going over the list of things needed for this, besides a calm mental state to deal with whatever was waiting for me. “You know the guys I work with, right?”

“Yea. Iaon, Stephen and Dimitri, right?” she asked.

I winced at the mention of Stephen’s name, “Iaon and Dimitri will be fine, Mom.”

“But....” came her voice.

“Mom,” I said in a strangled tone, “Stephen was in the water with me when the sharks attacked. I was lucky, I came out of the water. They couldn‘t find enough of Stephen to bury.”

I waited for the hysterics to start, but all she said was, “I’m sorry.”

“Not to worry mom. I’ve gotten a head start back to mental normalcy. Just give Iaon and Dimitri a call. Tell him to put my gear on standby and charge up the bumblebee.” I smiled.

“The what?”

“Mom, it’s an underwater propulsion unit. It’ll give me more time underwater to get this whole thing done and over with. Remember the Jacque Cousteau movies? The little thing the divers held with the fan on the back?” I chuckled mentally. My mother was a Land Archeologist, just like dad was. Diving in the water never attracted them. However, both of them enjoyed watching it on TV.

“Oh... that thing. I’ll tell them. When do you want to do this?” she asked all business.

A small sound from the hallway made me look up to see Poseidon standing in the doorway. From

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the looks of it, the man just finished tying his hair held back into a ponytail. Bare to the waist and showing off a good expanse of tanned muscle caused me to squirm in my seat, looking lower. A pair of cutoff jean shorts hung low on his hips, showing off more than it covered. Grinning, he began stalking towards me. His bare feet made no noise as he moves over the hardwood flooring.

“Jamie!” came the loud voice in my ear.

Jumping I grabbed the phone and said, “Okay Mom. I’m here…I’m here.” My brain fed me more delicious fantasies, until my self-control was back in control once again.

“I asked you when you wanted to do this,” she demanded.

I hrmmmed. “Ten Days. Give me ten days to get my stuff together here and I’ll arrive on Naxxos. Okay? Oh, and bring the necklace.”

“Okay, Jamie. Take care and I love you. But tell Mr. Okeanos he’d best behave himself or else I’ll be over there in a heartbeat to give him what for.”

“I love you Mom. See you in ten days.” I hung up as Poseidon wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close to his massive chest. “You fiend. You know I can’t think of anything but sex when you get this close to me.”

He smiled and placed a kiss on my neck. “So, did you have a nice chat with your Mom?”

I caressed his arm and said, “Come over to the map wall with me. I have something to show you.” I kept my voice calm, while my body wanted to do the bump and grind on the table.

Once we got to the map, I put my hand over Greece. “We’ve found your stuff, my love.” I said softly.

He tensed and turned me around to stare into my eyes. “You mean it?”

His blue eyes looked more aqua, as if the entire ocean flowed in those eyes. I looked away. Ten

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days. “Yes. I mean it.” I took the marking pen and drew out the trident on the map, then used a second color to circle the point where the haft met the base of the fork. “Here.”

He caressed my shoulder and said, “That’s not what I meant.” he whispered in my ear. “Do you love me?”

I closed my eyes and my throat clogged up. Dammit, I tried to fight the tears that threatened to fall. Yet my body betrayed me by the fact teardrops rolled down my face. “Yes,” I moaned. “I do love you. Almost from the day I met you.”

He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. “May the Fates be kind to us both, Jamie Lakewood. Because I love you too.” He turned me around and kissed the tears off my face, then proceeded to kiss me senseless.

But, as usual, something made us separate. This time, a coffee pot floating in and set down on the table with a soft thump. Followed by a bucket filled with ice floating over to land between us.

That did it! Being horny, pissed, and soon to be heartbroken, I did not need invisible things flying around suggesting other things. Stepping away from Poseidon, I faced the room. “Okay, enough of this shit! Zeus! Aphrodite! I don’t care if you’re in the shower or what. Get your asses down here, now!” I looked around the room. “And whoever else you want to bring is fine by me. Because I know some of the others are more than slightly pissed at me as well!”

A blinding flash of light that made me cover my eyes. When I could see again, all I could say was, “Oh shit”

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Chapter Fifteen

To say I landed in trouble would be an understatement. The whole Pantheon staring me in the face added a capital T to the word trouble. A quick look around told me I no longer stood on Poseidon’s island. My feet were set upon the flagstones of Olympus. Home of the Greek Pantheon.

As I looked around, I noticed two absent faces. One was Poseidon. The other was Ate. Because no one in front of me fit her description. Fine. Fed up with the whole mess. I watched everyone, watching me.

“You’ve got a mouth on you, mortal. Someone needs to shut it for you.” I looked over and made eye contact with Ares. At least he kept up with the fashion trends. He looked like a biker.

I shook my head. “Thankfully, I do have a mouth. And I like to open it every once in a while. But the fact is, when I do, usually it’s because I don’t have to deal with two heads while I’m doing it.”

I kept my eyes on Ares as he grew red in the face. Having several of the goddesses snicker, turn to the side and have sudden coughing fits didn’t help things any.

“Why you...” he strode forward. I’d insulted his manhood and his temper got the better of him. I saw the all too mortal emotion of anger and the need to avenge the insult.

I turned my body slightly to one side to center myself, crouching almost to my knees. A position all too familiar to at least one of the group in front of me, but my eyes locked only on Ares as he charged me like a bull seeing a red cape. I was scared, yes, but fully willing to scrap it out with him. It never got that far.

“Enough!” this from Zeus. Which made everyone flinch, even myself. Ares looked at the Boss and backed up.

Zeus looked at me and arched an eyebrow. “Last time we met, you threatened to cut off certain parts of my anatomy for startling you like that.”

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I grinned and stood up, relaxing my stance. “Well, it was your fault, dammit! You poof into existence at the foot of my bed and yell at the top of your lungs.” I looked him up and down. “I don’t do very well when I’m startled, Zeus, as you well know. And your comments after the fact did not make any brownie points with me.”

Everyone gaped at me as if I had just committed the mortal sin of all time. Zeus grinned and Hera slapped him upside the head with her hand. “Touché “was all he said.

Hera looked at me and grinned, “You were in your rights to do so. Adonis told me the whole story. It makes for a lot of good laughter when we women are together.”

I winked at her, then looked at the assembled people around me and sighed. Back to the serious reason why I was here. “Okay. Let me get this whole story straight.” I found a bench and sat down. “Poseidon, Sea God, and Zeus’s brother. Runs his mouth about his sexual liaisons and boasts about his Macho Manhood to everyone who will listen.” I arched an eyebrow at Zeus. “Must be hereditary from all the myth’s I’ve heard about the brother.” He blushed and I turned back to my story.

“Aphrodite here gets tired of said boasting because there was no love involved. Or mainly because she’s just tired of his mouth, period. We don’t know. Personally, I don’t care.” I looked at the Goddess of Love, “Said goddess then conspires with Ate, the Goddess of Mischief, Rash Decisions and even rasher consequences, to steal Poseidon’s crown and trident.” I glowered at her. “Stop me if I’m wrong .”

When no one spoke, I continued. “Ate is given the task of hiding the reignments somewhere in the world. Poseidon, apparently, banished to a special island off Bora Bora. He’s stuck there. He can’t age, he can’t leave except for a specified distance out to sea to talk with those faithful who still visit. The only other friend he has with him is Adonis. Who, apparently died a long time ago and had been held in the Underworld.”

I looked pointedly at Zeus, “A tale which I am still waiting to hear about.” He had the good grace to hang his head and not make eye contact. Hera, on the other hand, glared at her husband and I had a feeling that those two would have a lot to say to each other when this whole fiasco ended.

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“Anyway, he’s stuck on the island with minimal powers and no one to talk to except when you guys deign to drop in. When you do make the rare appearance you either, A, Talk civilly to him and be nice to him or B, act as if he has some sort of disease or he’s a prisoner. Or maybe you guys don’t like to loose your powers the way he has. From what I’ve seen, you guys loose your most of your god or goddess hood when you poof in. And get them back when you poof out.” I snorted in disgust.

There was much grumbling and shame faced people around the forum. Some of them even gave me looks that, if they were daggers, I’d be a pincushion. Zeus had the grace to look embarrassed. “We thought...” He started to say, but I held up my hand, cutting off the protest.

“You didn’t think, that’s the problem! You Gods measure millennia the same way we mere mortals measure an hour. Do you realize that thousands of years have passed? Give me a break people, He’s learned his lesson.” I stood up, “I’ve found his damned equipment and in ten days, I’m going to go get them!” I couldn’t stand it any longer. All the time they’d been silent. I was right and by Gods they were going to hear the rest of it. I stared at the entire pantheon and sighed. “I’m sorry to rain on your parade. But I’m going to help Poseidon get his kingdom back.” I looked at Aphrodite, “And if any one of you harms the man I love before I get back after I get his hardware, I’ll be less than happy.” I looked at Zeus. “Believe me, you do not want me unhappy at this point and time.” I stood there, making eye contact with each person in turn. Waiting patiently for the collective outbursts, and not getting disappointed either. The cacophony of noise became almost overwhelming, but I stood my ground and ignored the whole thing.

“You dare?”

“Who are you to tell us Immortals what to do?”

“I’m going to turn you into a toad!”

“No, I get her first!”

And so on and so forth, yadda yadda. I let that whole thing slide off me as if it were nothing but water sheeting into the ground. Learning patience at a very early age was a plus in my profession. Verbal

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aikido 101, I like to call it. It’s the ability to ignore threats and derogatory comments from idiots like this. Go figure. Either way, it felt good to have my words validated. I think it hit home with Aphrodite too, because she looked around and saw how they reacted. Then she saw my reaction, and shut up herself.

Soon, however, a voice from in the back of the crowd was voiced, “I will help her retrieve Poseidon’s lost crown and trident! Just to shut up this whole crowd of gods…” a pause, then her voice dripped sarcasm, “Pardon… Brawling spoiled brats would be more appropriate at this point and time.”

The crowd fell silent as a slender teenager walked through them. Dressed in well-worn jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, she had the typical teenager look down pat. Her dark brown hair hung to her shoulders as she walked up to me, then stood at my right side. “This woman just gave the best display on how to ignore irritating and boastful people.” she looked around the place, pinning even the mighty Apollo with a piercing stare. “My sisters, the Litai, will assist this woman so you people can get your acts together.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks for the help.” I murmured.

She chuckled. “It’s worth it to see all these stuffed shirt types get taken down a notch. But hey, someone needs to bust their bubble once in a while. So, you love the big guy, eh?”

I watched the pantheon break up and walk away, but not before sending dark looks in our direction. “Yeah. Seems I’m sort of a sucker for men in need. Especially one that looks like a Chippendale’s dancer. But hey, looks are just the icing on the cake.”

Laughing, “Bout damn time he fell in love. Poseidon needs someone to keep his mouth in line and his ego under control.” she grinned ruefully.

I laughed and told her what happened the first time he tried anything. That caused her to fall down laughing hysterically. I giggled and then told her what I did to Zeus. Soon, we were laughing insanely there in the forum. “Oh… it was too funny, the look on his face when I threatened him.”

She sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes, giggling. She opened her mouth to say something when she looked over my shoulder. I turned and there stood Aphrodite, looking fairly well shamefaced.

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“Care to join us?” If nothing else, I can be polite.

She nodded and sat down, Litai sat with her back to the bench on the ground. “I… I just want to apologize, Jamie. I got angry with you for words that day on the beach. You are right, I am part of the problem.” she sighed. “Your actions today proved beyond a doubt, Ate and I acted irresponsibly. I just wish I knew how to fix things.”

I winked at Litai. “Just keep Poseidon out of trouble or harm’s way. And when I get back, I would ask that you craft some token for the two of us so when he goes back to his Kingdom, we won’t forget each other and the time we shared in each other's arms.”

Litai nodded, “It’s the least you could do. Think about what’s going to happen after he gets his stuff back. He has no choice but to return to his people.”

Aphrodite shushed, Litai, “I know all that already.” she smiled fondly at the girl. “You and your sisters have offered to help and I am grateful. Jamie, you can trust these little miscreants. They are Ate’s Sisters. No one is exactly sure how many of them there are, but when they offer to help, accept it.”

I nodded. “I’ve already accepted her help. And my request to you?”

She smiled and regained some of her old self. “I am the Goddess of Love, after all. How can I refuse such a request that comes from the heart?” With that she moved off and disappeared into the white mist that was forming around the perimeter of the forum.

I looked at Litai. “I need to get back to Poseidon now and spend some time with him before I get this thing done. I hope you can figure out a way through the maze around Ate’s lair.

She laughed outright. “Oh come on, you think I don’t know the ways to her place?” she winked. “I’ll get some help for you. Don’t worry.”

I stood up, “Cool. Now. How do I get back to the island?”

Litai did the waving of the hands thing and the flash of light blinded me once again. When my

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eyesight returned. I was back at the house with Poseidon staring at me with concern. I sighed. It was good to be home again.

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Chapter Sixteen

The airboat landed in Naxos, ten days later. A little worse for wear, all things considered, but I made it without sedation

Poseidon and I spent the last ten days doing nothing but making love,

swimming with the dolphins, feeding each other sweets. The rest, well, Adonis returned just as Poseidon and I said our goodbyes on the beach. Tears made tracks down my face as I hugged Adonis, then Pegasus. The winged horse arrived and dropped the disguise, displaying his beautiful plumage for me. Rus and Vas had to be removed from the stuff I planned taking with me. Their pathetic whines and squeaks had me in tears all over again. I’m never this weepy! I thought to myself. Damned emotions. Can’t they stay put just for one moment? I finally grabbed my duffle and ran for the dingy.

Fortunately, the weather co-operated and I passed back through Greek customs without any strip searches this time. Iaon waited for me at the gate. He smiled and took my duffle and led me to the jeep he was driving. Shaking my head and smiling, I looked over at him.

Iaon noted the smile and said, “American made. It reminded me of you. Always ready to rock and roll when it came to rough roads. It is good to see you smile again, Jamie. We feared you would be gone from us forever.” He pat patted me on the arm.

I thumped him on the shoulder. “C’mon you, time to go find the hardware for Vasilios Okeanos. Is everything set?” I asked as I hopped in the jeep.

“We’re anchored off the three islands in the area. The powerboat is fueled and ready to go. Your mother is already on board and fussing like a mother hen about to hatch eggs.” He grinned.

I laughed outright. “Oh the imagery, Iaon! Stop… just get me to the boat.”

With that, we took off across the island. The breeze cooled the sweat on my face and made my short hair fluff as if someone zapped it with static electricity. I buckled in. It would take about an hour to reach the other side of the island. Then the home stretch across the water to where we were going to be diving.

Times like these when my body is still and but the mind was active, when I didn’t want to think of

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it, but it came to mind anyways. How could it not? The man I lost my heart to, would be gone from me forever the moment his relics were back in his hands. “If you love something, set it free,” I murmured.

Iaon looked at me, “You okay?”

I sighed, “Just a touch of melancholy. It’s been a long time since my feet planted themselves on that boat and I don’t know how they’re going to react at getting back into the water again.”

He nodded and pat patted my knee. “You’ll be fine. Dimitri is working on keeping an eye out for the toothy ones.” he arched an eyebrow. “You sure you don’t want one of us in the water with you.”

The thought made me twitch and the blood drain from my face, “No!” I said forcefully. Then managed to get my breathing and my heart back down to normal. “Iaon, I just need everyone to do shark watch topside.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but I beat him to it, “When we get in the powerboat, ask Dimitri to rig up the mask with the microphone attachment inside, then have him on standby if I run into trouble, Okay?”

Iaon nodded, then pulled into a parking spot near the dock. “I’ll agree, but your mother won’t.” he grinned. “She’ll want someone down there to take care of her little bambina.”

I laughed. “Mothers. Always refusing to let their children grow up.” I untied the bowline as he got behind the wheel. Jumping in after tossing the aft line into the boat, chuckling, “I can handle my Mom. But… a word of caution. If you see or hear anything strange during the dive. Like me talking to someone or anything like that. Don’t worry. I have friends in very low places.”

He arched an eyebrow, then kicked the outboard motor into high gear, heading for The White Lady, sometime research ship and fishing vessel. He got on the radio and relayed the instructions I asked for. Dimitri and Iaon are my best friends. We had been this way ever since I joined the underwater team during my training time with another archeological team.

In next to no time, my feet touched the teakwood planking of The White Lady to smiles and

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backslapping of the rest of the crew. I traded a few friendly insults with them before checking the time, then looking up at the sky. Noon. Sighing, my gaze wandered around the place and found who I was looking for.

“Tito, you old pervert. What have you got for me?” I grinned.

Tito Santini looked more like an aged pirate than anyone else I’d ever seen. Complete with peg leg and shocking white hair, all that was missing was the parrot. “Jamie! You little brat! You dragged me away from Debbie Does Dallas for a simple dive!” he harrumphed and tossed a folder in my direction. “You owe me for this, woman. Steak and Lobster tails at Yari’s place.”

I groaned and shook my head while the rest of them grinned. “Okay, but if you guys get drunk again and play juggle the Ouzo bottles, I’m sticking each of you with the tab!”

That got a laugh out of everyone, except one person. She stood five foot four to my five foot eleven and looked like one of Zeus’s little thunderclouds about to spit lightning bolts at everyone. I started the mental count down.

Three... Two... One…

“Jamie Lakewood! I deserve an explanation for this. And your language!” came the expected workings of a mother worried sick about her baby.

Liftoff!

I turned to look at her, not missing the wink of teasing Tito threw my way. As my attention took in my mom, my hand snuck behind me and flipped him off. “Mom!” I did the one thing to catch her off guard. Pardon, the one thing she wasn’t expecting, quickly gathering her into a big hug. “It’s been a long time, Mom! Where have you been and what handsome workers have you met up with?”

Spluttering indignantly, but definitely softening, “Jamie you know I don’t do stuff like that.

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Especially on a dig.” she blushed bright red. “But we’re not talking about me, here. We’re talking about you.” She gave me ‘the mom’ look. You know that look, people.

The one your mom gives you when you’ve done something

phenomenally stupid. The one that hits you from around corners and makes you want to shrink down and hide between the cracks in the floorboards? Yeah, that one. It works, trust me, even on grown men, judging from the cringing looks prevalent all around the boat. I looked my Mom in the eye, trying not to cringe along with the rest of the crew. “Did you bring me what I asked from the cabin?”

She sighed and handed over a box. “I don’t understand any of this, Jamie. I’m just…”

I answered for her, “You’re just being a Mother concerned for her child, Mom. I love you for that.” Setting the box and the readouts on the table, I gathered her into another hug. “But, just this once, trust me. I need to do this. If only to heal over the mental wounds. If I don’t do this now, I’ll be letting myself, and my friends, down.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, I thought to myself.

She smiled and then reached into the box on the table and put the shark tooth necklace over my head. “You’d better have a good explanation for all this when you get back.” she tried to look stern again, and failed, “Otherwise I’ll have to foot the bill for these louts,” she said loudly. The whole crew laughed.

I kissed Mom on the cheek, then stepped back to sit at the table. “Okay, Dimitri, is that diving mask ready?” At his nod, I looked down at the chart. “Good, depth is at sixty feet. No need for special mix tanks.” I frowned as I looked at the pictures.

The crew gathered around, “Damn,” came Tito’s voice, “Underwater cave. Not good Jamie. Don’t like it.”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry, Tito, I’ve studied this specific place. I know what’s in there. Time enough for a fifty minute dive to find the items, then come back up to the surface.”

Iaon, “I got your radio tuned to the shipboard radio.”

I nodded to him, then studied the layout one last time before pushing them aside. Reaching for the

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box, I took a quick peek into the box and laughed. “Oh this is going to get a good reception,” I said.

“Why do you say that?” Mom said.

“I’ll explain later. I want this box vacuumed sealed in a bag so it’s waterproof and ready to go. Okay?” I looked around at the crew who nodded. “Then let’s… what in hell?”

A cacophony of clicks and squeaks erupted from one side of the boat. Looking over the side, my jaw dropped. There, before me, several noisy dolphins waited. One of them looked familiar, but I couldn’t have been too sure. When they saw us looking at them, they leaped and played like happy children. I held out my hand to them and they rose up to touch me before splashing back into the water.

I smiled and looked at everyone. “I told you I’d have help. Okay, let’s do this.” I headed below deck to get dressed, hoping no one noticed the tears on my face.

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Chapter Seventeen

“Three…Two… One… Dive!”

I hit the water amongst the pod of dolphins. Raising a hand, Dimitri handed me the bumblebee. My fond nickname for it. Taking one last look at everyone before going under to follow the buoy rope down. “Check, radio check. Is this thing on?” I said as I went deeper into the water.

“Got you loud and clear, sweet cheeks. Clear as a bell.” came Tito’s voice. In the background, I heard my mom, “You pervert! Stop calling her names!”

I would have laughed if I could, but all I said was, “behave, Tito, or I’ll tell my mom what you said about her while I was in the hospital.” Grinning at the image of Tito’s face at that moment was priceless. “Payback’s a bitch, Tito. Especially when you’re dealing with a woman.” I checked my depth gauge, “Approaching the fifteen foot mark for the three minute safety check.”

At the mark, I paused and tied a bright orange streamer to the buoy line to mark my safety check on the line. The dolphins swam around me, nudging me on occasion. Almost as if, they were reassuring me and being protective. I offered belly rubs to those that came close. Each offer was eagerly accepted.

“Three minutes is up, Jamie. The clock is running.” This was mom’s voice. I heard the worry underlying the professionalism. “And be careful.”

At her words, I flipped on the motor to the bumblebee. It’s thrusting power took me down to sixty feet in half the time it takes for me to do it by swimming unassisted. Once there, I looked around and sighed, “I’ve always loved how beautiful it can get down here. Lots of color and coral to stare at.”

The dolphins moved ahead of me then paused, looking back. I nodded and started following them. They led me to a cave opening. Almost like a temple opening with the coral so perfectly placed. “Okay, we found it. The opening looks almost arch like. As if someone had braided the coral in to a doorway.” Keeping a running dialog kept my Mom from getting her feathers ruffled.

“We? Whose we?” came Iaon.

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“The dolphins, kiddo. They seem to be escorting me and keeping an eye out.” I could just see the disbelief cross their faces. “Answer me this, did they disappear the moment I hit the water?”

“Yes, they did.” Surprise colored their voices.

“Bingo.” I angled the bee towards the opening and headed in. “I’m heading in. Transmission may get a bit fuzzy.”

I passed through rough the opening and entered the maze. Amazing, dozens of tiny crystals studded the walls, lighted my way. I looked up at the ceiling and took comfort at the sight of the surface above me through large holes.

“Jamie? Talk to me, kiddo.” came Tito’s voice

“You’re a bit fuzzy, Tito. I’m in a maze. The walls are covered in crystals while the ceiling of this place has holes in it so I can see up.” I kept up the running dialog for those listening. But concentrated more on the dolphins in front of me. Two of them came in with me while the rest waited outside. Double-checking the time left on my watch, I had forty minutes left on the timer. I looked up in time to see the dolphins turn left. Following their lead, I relayed the descriptions to the topside crew. A right, a left, then another left again, then two horseshoe right-hand turns, later, the knowledge that being hopelessly lost was an option to consider. “Where are you?” I muttered to myself.

“We’re here, Jamie…” came the increasingly static noisy transmission.

“I was just talking to myself, guys. If you hear me doing that, or possibly talking to someone else, ignore it. I’m just talking myself through it.” I hastily explained. Just in time to, because the Litai appeared in front of me with a grin. I shut down the bumblebee and tie it to a piece of coral when one of the dolphins took it out of my hands, then towed it back down the tunnel.

“Follow me, Jamie. Do not be afraid. You’re doing fine. Let the dolphin guide you.” I heard the words as clearly as if spoken above the water.

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I nodded and grabbed the dorsal fin of the one in front of me. “Here we go.” I muttered.

In next to no time, we surfaced in a massive underground cavern lit with thousands of candles reflected the crystals and gemstones that were imbedded in the walls. The dolphins towed me to shore where I could stand up and get out of the water.

“Jamie? Jamie!” came the faraway voice in my ear. “Talk to us.”

“I’m fine guys. Just shut up. I’m in a huge cavern with an air pocket in it. It’s breathable air, so I’m going to shut down the tanks and get ready to go hunting. Give me twenty minutes.” I said

“Okay, but if you’re not back on the horn in twenty, we’re sending a rescue team down there.” That was Dimitri.

Shutting down the tanks and unloading the hardware, I took a deep breath, “Let’s do this.”

Litai appeared at my side, holding out the plastic bag I had brought with me. She grinned mischievously, “Have faith, Jamie Lakewood. You’ve got more people at your back than you know.”

I pondered that thought as we walked away from the water and into a tunnel leading into Stygian darkness.

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Chapter Eighteen

The world came alive minutes later in a blinding flash of bright light. When sight returned, my eyes had to adjust to the décor. A huge chamber that looked as if it belonged to a punk rocker on acid assaulted my eyes. The colors clashed so much, I thought my eyes were going to bleed. Finally resorting to look at my feet, and regretted the moment my eyes looked down.

I stood on a Plexiglas bridge over some sort of moat. A pair of full-grown Great White sharks swam directly below me. Great, I thought as my fight or flight instinct tried to get me to run the other direction, just great. A goddess who likes to torment people!

A hand touched my shoulder. When I looked, one of the Litai smiled encouragement. I forced myself to continue the rest of the way over to the other side of the bridge and stand in the glaring majesty of a very perverted mind. A movement in the corner had me turning in that direction. A woman in a peacock blue half-tank and black BDU pants came forward. She wore pink bunny slippers on her feet. Her piercing green eyes looked me from head to toe, then turned her back on me. Her black hair hung down to her ankles. When she spoke, it was a fight not to burst out into laughter. It was a voice I had heard plenty of times during the Halloween season, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She had the mannerisms and the voice down pat. I bit my lip and forced myself to remain neutral.

“Honey, you just do not have the figure for that wetsuit! But your eyes look fabulous!” She waved a hand, and a mirror appeared before her.

I watched her face in the mirror. “Goddess Ate, I presume?” Politeness is a virtue.

“Yes, dearie. And you’re Jamie Lakewood. I know who you are and what you want. But what are you willing to give in return?” she dropped the accent and the walls finally dimmed their sickening radiance enough so I could see the trident and crown hanging from the wall by spiked outcroppings.

I opened up the box I had brought and grinned. “I took the time to ask your sisters what you were missing in your place. Fortunately, I had a few things that you might like.” I pulled out an amber and jade necklace. “Excavated in the mountains of China.” I pulled out a few bags of herbs. “Heather and wild roses from the mountains of Scotland and Mint tea from my own herb garden along with a jar of

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sage honey.”

I looked up as each piece joined the others on a nearby table, watching her eyes. She nodded. “Go on.” I fought down a grin. She acted like a child trying to be patient when being presented with surprises. There were four items left in the box. I hoped my choices were on the mark.

“I really wasn’t too sure if you liked to read. But I brought you the Iliad and the Odyssey. In Modern English, no less.” I grinned and added the two paperbacks to the table.

Her eyes sparked with a glimmer I hoped was surprise and pleasure. “I’ve been meaning to find a copy of those,” she murmured. “Just to see what you mortals have been doing with Homer’s epics.”

I laughed. “Well, Goddess. they’ve turned the Odyssey into a movie.” I winked. “Handsome men and all.” Then I played my trump cards. The Litai said she adored colors. When I told one of them I had a coloring book and crayons, she fell off her chair laughing. “However, I have heard from several sources that you adore color and beauty. So I brought you this. I laid the prizes on the table.

“Oh wow!” Ate said, then looked at me, then at the coloring books and crayons. “Maybe I can actually do something about this décor now.” she paused. “I can do Black Light and get away with it! Very cool!” she looked at me and arched an eyebrow. “Do you love him?”

I gulped and nodded. “I love him, Ate. And I’m willing to set him free to prove it. It’s going to tear my heart apart to watch him leave me. But I know it is for the best.”

Ate looked over my shoulder at the Litai. I turned slightly and saw half the room crowded with identical copies of the girl I met in Olympus. “It’s time, Sister.” they all said, “Balance the scales and let the Sea God return to the Sea.”

She sighed, then looked me in the eye. “I hate it when they pull the multiple personality thing on me.” she grumbled, then she pointed. I looked across the room. “Do you see that lever?”

“The one that looks like the symbol Prince supposedly had tattooed on his ass in the eighties?” I asked.

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She looked at me, astonished, “That is the first time someone got it right! I’m amazed.” She then turned serious. “Pull it and release those two lonely boys back to the ocean, would you? They’ve been cooped up here without company for a while now.”

I looked at her. “Your word that they won’t attack the dolphins outside the maze or anyone near the boat above us? Your word as a Goddess, Ate. If you can talk to them, tell them to go out to the deep ocean and play with the fish out there. But leave those within range of this cavern alone.”

She nodded. “You have it. As a Goddess and a woman who knows when to bow to the inevitable.”

I pulled the lever down and, with a grinding noise, one of the slabs of stone in the moat rose up. The two sharks quickly made their exit with much splashing and mess making. One of Ate’s designer pillows got washed into the moat and quickly soaked. I had to laugh.

Ate, however, was outraged. “You Ingrates!” she yelled at the departing dorsal fins. “That was my favorite pillow! I got it from… from.” She paused to think, “Somewhere! You owe me!”

I chuckled. “Okay, fess up, Ate. Why is the hardware in your house rather than some remote place in the world? Isn’t that what Aphrodite wanted you to do?”

She flopped back into a clashing cloud of glaring neon orange, electric pink and violent yellow pillows. “Yeah, I know. That was what she wanted. But,” and she waved a hand in the air to encompass the room. “It looked way too cool to have them decorate a blank wall with. So, I kept them here and made sure I left clues for the right people to follow.”

I nodded. “The right person is here now, Ate. In the name of love, let me return Poseidon’s trident and crown to him. And, in turn, give him back his Kingdom.”

She nodded. “In the name of Love, I return that which was taken from him. Now, tell him this. If he ever runs his mouth again, I’m going to...” She looked at me and we grinned. “Never mind. I’ll let you handle him.”

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She waved a hand and the two pieces of hardware came off the wall and shrank down to miniature size. She put both on a silver necklace and fastened it around my neck like a choker. When she stood back, the shark tooth necklace was in her hands.

“If he truly loves you, all he has to do is take the charms off the necklace. Only then will his kingdom be returned and he will be free of that island.” she smiled. “Now get out of here and let me have fun with the crayons.”

I turned, and remembered. “Oh, one more thing.” I held up a Rubik’s Cube. “I believe you’ll find this a very addicting item. No fair changing the sticker dots and no throwing it against the wall in frustration.” I stifled a laugh. “I’m sure if you find a mortal you truly love, he’ll have the instruction book handy to keep you from going truly insane.”

Totally forgetting about the coloring book, she snatched the cube out of my hands. “Oh wow! I’ve always wanted one of these! Thanks!” She gave me a hug and a kiss. “Now get going before your topside friends begin to worry. I’ve had them on hold for the last five minutes.” she winked, then settled back into her colorful horror and began working the squares around.

I turned and there was only one sister waiting for me. Together, we both took off for the main cavern at a dead run. I grinned like an idiot the whole time.

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Chapter Nineteen

I heard the radio seconds before we both re-entered the cave. My time was up ten minutes ago. I looked at Litai and dug under my wetsuit for one more gift. “Litai, I’m not sure how to thank you for what you’ve done because I only have this.” I handed over the coin to her. “It’s all I have left and I want you to keep it for me and share it around with your sisters. Okay?”

She smiled and nodded. “Now get going, before they try and rescue you.”

I nodded and buckled on the tank, fighting my way into the rest of the gear. I activated the radio. “Do not… repeat Do not dive! Tito, Mom, Iaon, Dimitri! No one gets in that water. I’m on my way out!”

“Where the hell have you been?” came Mom’s voice a little louder than necessary.

“Out of contact range, Mom. And stop yelling. I’m on my way out.” I put the mask on, got air flowing through the regulator, and dove into the water. Thankfully, there was a dolphin waiting the moment I needed it. The timer read thirty minutes of air left. “If anyone still wants to hit the water, I’d like to let them know there are two very hungry Great Whites heading out to sea, looking for a meal. So be nice, listen to your favorite diver and stay the hell on the boat!”

I kept a grip on the dorsal fin under my hand as we took some of the turns at high speed. The words got clearer as we got to the entrance of the maze. “Oh shit… and she’s down there all on her own. Jamie, get yer ass up here ASAP.”

“I’m okay, Tito. Just make sure I have a dry pair of clothes, a mug of coffee, and an open pathway to the head. And if my mom gets hysterical one more time, you’ve got my permission to tranq her until we make landfall.”

A combination of laughter and indignant spluttering came over the headphones. “Okay, I’m out. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes. I’m going to take the slow ascent upwards. And before you bitch about the sharks, remember I have friends down here...”

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A chorus of squeals and clicks greeted my appearance, not a few of them came to me for nuzzles and affectionate nudges. I pat patted my chest and nodded. They began what looked like underwater acrobatics, the display made me dizzy from just watching them perform. I waved at them, then headed for the buoy line.

One of the dolphins brought my bumblebee, but I pointed at the surface. He disappeared upwards with it as I said, “Guys, there’s a dolphin on it’s way up with the bumblebee. Just relax, I’m at the rope and coming up.”

I approached the fifteen-foot marker and spent the full three minutes enjoying the view, and delaying the inevitable. I had no choice. I had to do it. Fighting back the tears, I headed for the surface.

Once onboard the boat, I ran for the bathroom, nearly breaking my neck in the process. I left a trail of wetsuit and clothes in my wake, not caring who saw my bare ass. Once in the shower with the water on, my body welcomed the warm spray on my flesh. It also washed the tears from my face and gave me a chance to get my nerves under control. Finally, I quit shaking and crying long enough to wash my hair and get the salt off my body.

When I opened the door, someone left a set of clean clothes on the chair and a large mug of coffee in a holder, then closed the hatch to upstairs. I smiled, the guys were so sweet. Dressing in dry clothes was heaven. Everything else went back into my duffle bag. After a moments thought, the laptop came out. A few minutes with the internet and a link to my bank account, made my entire crew a bit wealthier than they started. I knew at least a couple of them had families and that the income would help them out more than normal. My gift to them for being around when I needed them, even if we only hung out at a dockside bar for hours on end trying to make each other believe the lies one told. After shutting down my computer, I sipped it my coffee. It tasted like my mother’s favorite Jamaican blend that my mother loved so much. Immediately after the first taste, honey and cream got added to the dark liquid. My mother considered any additions to the coffee tantamount to blasphemy. But hey, it was my coffee mug, I’m putting whatever I want in it!

Soon, however, it was time to go topside. Touching the silver necklace at my throat, I knew there would be questions. Things that couldn’t be answered and still considered sane. Taking a breath, I

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dogged the hatch and climbed up to the deck. All eyes turned to me as I sat down on one of the benches.

“Okay, spill it you guys. What do you want to know?” Mouths opened and I said, “Within reason you beasts.”

“What happened down there?” came one voice

“Did you managed to find anything interesting?” came the second voice

My mom crowned it all by asking, “Are you alright?”

“I found the maze, the cavern, the trident and crown of Poseidon. I managed to get back out without having anything crown my head in the process.” I looked at them, “And no, I’m not going to tell you where they are and why I didn’t come back with them. There are some things best left to a mystery.”

I turned and looked at Tito, who was always interested in treasure, or interesting things I grinned, “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you the truth. Let’s just say there are a lot of interesting things in that cave, but you have to know the maze to get to them.”

To my mom, I got up and hugged her close. “I’ve been better, Mom. But I’ve been worse as well. Now, however, “I stepped back and looked at Dimitri and Iaon, “Get me back to Naxos. I have a plane to catch.”

Everyone scampered to get the boat underway while my mom took my hand and led me down below to a comfortable place. “Your crew told me what went on with you and Stephan, Jamie. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know him”

I sighed, “Stephan is dead mom. I loved him. The guys said he was going to propose.” I shook my head, “I need to get on with my life. To do so, I need to face my fears and risk getting hurt again.”

She peered at my face, then grinned a sly smile, “Tell me truthfully, are you in love with Vasilios Okeanos?”

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If she only knew, I thought. “Yes, mom. I am. Deeply. This is why I am going back to the island. I’m not sure how this is all going to turn out, but you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”

She gathered me into her arms and hugged me tight, “I have a feeling it will. I don’t know how, but you’d better call me the moment it does! Or…I’ll be very upset with you!”

After that, the trip to Naxos was pure pleasure.

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Chapter Twenty

It hit me like a massive version of déjà vu, standing on the same beach where I first met Poseidon in the guise of Vasilios Okeanos. With one major difference to the whole thing. An audience escorted the dingy to the shallows, thoroughly soaking me in their enthusiastic welcome. There, on the beach, the man I loved waited for me with Pegasus and Adonis on either side of him. I took all this in as my feet carried me across the sand and into the safety Poseidon’s arms. A second set of arms and a big nose shoved against my cheek, indicated everyone tried to hug and nuzzle me at the same time. I grinned. “You guys are squishing me.”

Poseidon let me loose long enough to give Adonis a hug, then Pegasus. “I missed you guys.” I received a horse murmur and the brush of feathers against my cheek when he fanned the wings. Adonis gave me a bone-crushing hug. “Missed you too.”

The next thing I knew, a pair of Tasmanian devils attacked me. Squeaking indignantly and demanding attention, were trying to race each other up my body for their favorite handholds on my shoulders. Vas and Rus made it known, how dare I leave and not take them. Then came the pet us noises. When I did they chirred happily. Once back into Poseidon’s arms, I drew his head down to mine and captured his mouth, eagerly kissing him. Soon, his hands cupped my face and the world went away as we were helplessly lost in the moment. I took his hands, slowly drawing them down towards my neck. The time had to be now, I would never get up the courage to let him go if this moment passed.

He drew back from the kiss at the same time his fingers touched the necklace. The knowledge burst into his eyes and he tried to pull back from the moment, but it was too late. The necklace disintegrated and both crown and trident appeared before him in their original sizes. “No,” he whispered.

I looked at him and caressed his face, “I love you. Whether you are a god, or just an arrogant immortal, or just plain you. In the name of love, I’m giving you your freedom” tears streamed down my face. “If we made love today, I wouldn’t have the courage to do this.”

I took the crown out of the air and put it on his head. I picked up the trident and said, “Aphrodite, you are needed.”

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“I know, Jamie. I’m here.” Her voice came first, then she appeared in a dazzle of sunlight. She looked saddened by the events, then approached Poseidon. “First, I want to apologize for what has happened, Poseidon. I… I was wrong and I want to make things right between us.”

I stood next to the man I loved, holding on to the trident with a white knuckled grip. It’s power coursing through me like an electric current. “Time, Aphrodite. This thing is making me feel like I stuck my finger in a light socket.” I tried to smile, but it was just not there.

Poseidon stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around me once again. The moment his skin touched mine, the sensations faded and I could think straight with one exception. My body was very much aware of the man behind me. “You’re forgiven, Aphrodite. You, of all people, should know that, like water, emotions are not lasting.”

I heard the tremor in his voice and kissed his forearm. Aphrodite did too. “Jamie has asked that I make a token of love for the two of you in remembrance of this love. And so I shall.” with a wave of her hand, I saw two sets of hair dance towards Aphrodite. “With strands of hair from both of you, I bind you to a love that’s true.” The hair began to braid itself into two loops. “By fire and embers to keep in your heart, that each of you remembers.” With that, I saw fire opals appear out of nowhere and imbed themselves in the weaving. “Always remember what you mean to each other and you will overcome anything.” With that, she disappeared in a glittering sunburst that melded with the evening sun.

The rings floated towards us. As it did, I saw them turn to silver. One slipped itself onto my finger, the other made it onto Poseidon’s finger. I looked and Adonis was gone and Pegasus was nowhere in sight. We were alone on the beach. Turning in his arms, I looked up at him.

“It’s time, my love.” I said. “Go, now, before I fall apart and beg you to stay.”

He leaned forward and put his hand on the trident, just above my hand. “The island is yours, Jamie. Please, stay here, move your things into the house. Sell your cabin in Greece and base your operations out of this place.” he kissed my neck, then my earlobe. “I won’t loose you. I promise. “

He captured my lips one last time and I let go, leaving me kissing empty air. The realization hit me like a blow to the stomach, causing me to collapse on to the sand, giving in to the grief tearing me

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apart inside. Nothing mattered anymore. I buried my face in the sand and cried until there were no more tears to offer the land.

It was dark when I finally roused myself enough to make my way up the trail. Fortunately, Vas and Rus stayed with me while my footsteps made the final two steps up to the veranda and into the main front room. It was so quiet. Every room where we had made love, laughed, argued, or simply sat watching the skyline. All empty. I ran my hand over the ring on my finger and made a decision. Grieving would come later. I reached into my duffle, pulled out the cell phone, and dialed a number.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mom? Listen, I need a favor or three. Listen, “and I explained what I wanted. Then I told her the real story, all of it. From the beginning.

When I finished, she never said I was crazy. Just said to expect her and my crew in a few days. She hung up and I smiled and kissed the ring. “Yes, my love, I will make this my home.”

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Epilogue

A year to the day later, I lay in a hammock strung between the railings of a brand new floating dock, wearing a dark green sari-like top and a pair of Bermuda shorts in a dark blue. I smiled, a video conference with the crew of The White Lady over a shipwreck they had found in the water off of Varna on the Black Sea caused them a bit of excitement. Poor guys. They watched too many Dracula movies.

Suddenly, my phone rang. Sipping my tea, I hit the speaker system. “Yes?”

“Ms. Lakewood? This is the Wave Dancer out of Bora Bora. I’m Captain Morrigan.” came the commanding, yet gentle voice,” I hate to bother you at this moment, but I have a passenger here who wishes to speak with you. But I need permission to dock on your island before anything else.”

Curious, I said, “Of course. Please, there is a dock on the northern end of the island. You can identify it by the blue and white flag above the thatch roof. When can I expect you?”

There was a pause, “Ten minutes, Ma’am. And thank you.” there was a dial tone and they were gone.

I hit disconnect and got out of the hammock. “So much for a relaxing afternoon, “I told the two piles of fur sleeping in the sun. Vas and Rus never left even during all the new activity on the island.

The moment I hit the beach, I heard a trumpeting neigh and the thunder of hooves. Spinning slightly, I turned to look down the beach, and rub my eyes to make sure it wasn’t sun dazzle. A horse, minus gear, galloped up, skidded to a halt next to me, and gave me a major shove with his nose.

“Pegasus!” I whispered, “Is that you?”

At his bobbing head, I threw my arms around his neck. “I missed you!”

He turned sideways in a clear invitation to mount, then stamped a hoof in impatience when I hesitated.

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“Ok, ok,” I laughed and leaped onto his back. I had barely enough time to make myself comfy when Pegasus took off like a bat out of hell. The scenery went flying by, causing me to grab the mane to keep it from whipping my face raw. Seconds later, our destination came into sight. The north dock was a new addition, but it was big enough to hold the big yachts that some of Mom’s group had for extended sailing into remote parts of the world. We rounded the bend just in time to see the Wave Dancer, a seventy-five ft Fleming yacht, tie up to the dock.

Pegasus stopped right in front of the planks, rearing slightly before settling down. Mom appeared from the treeline to join me. “I see your friend found you well enough.”

I dismounted before Mom’s words penetrated and turned slowly to face my mother. The look on her face told me she’d been up to something and wasn’t going to tell me. “Mom, what have you been up to and what do you know about this?”

She pointed, “Take a look at what colors she’s got on the fly bridge of the Wave Dancer” she grinned.

I turned slowly. There, flying above the bridge, were the colors I had come to recognize as the Trident logo. Yes, it’s a real company. My heart began to pound as I watched a ramp come down to the dock and an achingly familiar body stepped off, followed by a secondary figure.

“Mom,” I whispered, “If this is some sort of joke.”

“If it was, I’d be threatening to castrate a few of your favorite Gods myself and let Hera deal with Zeus in her own PMSy sort of way.” she growled.

Startled, I turned and looked at her. “Mom? There something you want to tell me?”

She blushed and looked beyond my shoulder, “I… well… umm.”

“Oh let me, will you?” Adonis brushed passed me, gathered mom in his arms, and gave her a very intense kiss. “Your mother, after hearing your story, managed to get in contact with a few minor deities,

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who put her in touch with those in the know. Seems she tore strips off everyone and guilt tripped Thanatos into giving me my freedom. Aphrodite made sure that I had legal mortal status in the world. I’m Andre Morrigan. Butler and gofer for one Vasilios Okeanos.” He nodded over my shoulder before going back to nuzzling and kissing my mom.

I turned, hoping it was real. Poseidon, now Vasilios Okeanos, stood before me in dark blue jeans and a white shirt stretched so tight over his muscular torso, even his nipple rings were visible, outlined by the material. “How? What? Where?” My eyes filled with tears. “Is this a dream? Are you real?” I took a step forward, hand outstretched.

Vasilios took my hand and gathered me into his strong arms. “It’s me, honey.” he caressed my face with one hand before claiming my lips with his own. I gave myself wholly in to the kiss. Fireworks went off behind my eyes as the reality of the situation sank in. He leaned back and scooped me up in his arms. Looking over at the other two lovebirds, “If you’ll excuse us, we have some catching up to do!” with that, he carried me into the woods. Soon enough, we were at the hot springs.

Setting me down, he all but ripped my clothes from my body, sending them flying in different directions. I did the same thing with his clothes, craving contact with his flesh like a thirsty person needs water. I ran my hands all over his body, groaning at each familiar ridge of muscle and ripple of flesh.

Vasilios ran his hands over my body as well, dropping to his knees to place a kiss on my belly, then suddenly picked me up and jumped into the water. “I want you, Jamie. Here! Now!” he growled in my ear.

“Yes, oh gods yes!” I spread my legs, then leaned up to take his face in my hands and place kisses all over his face and neck. “It’s been so long.”

Not one to hesitate, he thrust deep, causing us both to cry out in relief. We began to move frantically. Each trying to get inside the skin of the other. His powerful thrust and kisses drove all sane thoughts from my head.

Raining kisses all over my body, he suddenly rolled so that he was sitting and impaled me on his

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cock. I sank down it’s length just in time to scream as an orgasm ripped my sanity to shreds, tossed it into the air like confetti and re-assembled itself into a limp noodle while my body rode him hard, clenching him tightly.

Vasilios leaned up, took one of my nipples in his mouth, and bit down lightly causing little darts of pleasure racing around my skin. His growling and moans increased in volume when I reached down to tug on his rings, then reached back to caress him. “Woman, if you don’t stop.”

I looked at him innocently. “Stop what?”

He rolled me over so that I was on my stomach, half in and half out of the water. He never wasted a movement. He bit down on the back of my neck and thrust in to the hilt at the same time. “Yes… oh yes… fly with me, Jamie... “He said between the teeth in my flesh. His hand reached down and caressed my clit.

I screamed and arched into his cock, casing him to shout out himself. We both remained that way, locked in our orgasm until it spent itself. Only then did we both collapse into boneless heaps in the water.

After a few minutes, we discovered some mysterious person had left cold drinks. I handed Vasilios his and took a sip of mine. Something that tasted suspiciously like Pina Colada mix with mango juice. Very delicious, even if it was made with Captain Morgan‘s Spiced Rum. But time to enjoy that later, “Okay, my love. Spill the beans. You’re supposed to be ruling your kingdom, not coming back here to rip my clothes off and make mad passionate love to me.

He laughed, then pulled me into his arms. “It’s actually simple. I got what I wanted. My kingdom, my subjects, my godhood back.” he sipped his drink while settling me across his lap so he could hold me with one arm. “But something was stolen, something… irreplaceable. So significant was it that I gave up everything…” he grinned, “With a few exceptions, to go find what was stolen from me.”

I sipped my drink and listened to his story, not daring to believe what he was saying. “What was stolen this time, my love?”

He set aside his drink and stood, setting my glass beside his. He looked at me, staring deeply into

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my eyes. “My heart, love. I have lost my heart.”

I smiled slowly and wrapped my arms around his waist, “Then we will just have to find it again, my love. And I think I know just where to start.” With that, I drew his face down to mine and slowly kissed his lips. Slowly, we sank into the heated water of the hot springs for another round of sensual delights.

After all, we had to make for the time when he lost… Poseidon’s Heart.

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