Goddess Read Online Free PDF

to Arturo and Vitoria, where I could admire their daughter’s olive skin and peaceful smile. While we ate, the conversation shifted from Chinese movies and a Korean pop star I’d never heard of to various esoteric archeological theories. Despite being a first year Ph.D. student, Elena held her own in discussions of a Neolithic boat found in South Korea and speculation on the footwear worn by Tianyuan 1, the oldest modern human discovered in East Asia. I found the subjects fascinating, but could add little other than a few questions. Matt said nothing, but I could tell by the way he slumped into the sofa that he was bored and ready to leave.
    Why had I come here? Did I really believe that the great Dr. Stewart was going to swoop in like a wise sage and offer me enlightenment about my tattoo and my dream man? I looked at Nina, but she only offered me an apologetic smile.
    Matt leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Do you think I could fake a seizure and get us out of here?”
    “A half hour,” I said. “Then we can take off.”
    I wanted to blame Van for talking me into coming, but the reality was, the handsome, enigmatic man I saw on Wikipedia intrigued me. Tonight had felt like a way to satisfy, if only for an evening, the confounding itch I’d been experiencing lately. I wanted my chance meeting with Nina to be a door to something new, perhaps even unconventional, in my life. But the only thing I’d discovered is that Dr. Stewart was a rude and probably arrogant professor.
    I squeezed Matt’s hand. “I’ll be back in a minute. Then we can go.”
    “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked Nina.
    “Just down the hall.” She pointed me in the direction.
    Matt frowned at me. “I won’t desert you,” I said.
    What the hell was I thinking? I reprimanded myself as I walked back in the direction of the kitchen. This wasn’t an adventure; it was a waste of time. I would make an excuse, just in case Nina urged us to stay. The baby sitter had called. One of our kids wasn’t feeling well. It was time to forget about my tattoo and Magoa and return to my real life.
    I found a door near the kitchen. It was closed. Inside, I could hear Thomas Cheng’s out-of-tune voice warble what I guessed was one of the K-pop songs the group had been discussing. He was so quiet I hadn’t noticed him leave the room. I considered waiting until we got home but decided instead to go in search of another facility.
    I spotted a narrow staircase past the kitchen door. It was probably once a servants’ stairway. Even that night, long before I was aware of my repressed desires, I couldn’t lie to myself about why I checked behind me to make sure no one was watching and then slipped up the steep wooden steps. Something about this man I had never met and his improbable connection to a tattoo and a dream man I had almost forgotten made me want to meet him.
    I reached the second floor and found myself at the end of a dimly lit hallway. The walls on both sides were lined with framed, ancient maps. I could hear an old fashioned clock ticking in a room somewhere. I knew Dr. Stewart must be up here.
    But I had promised Matt I wouldn’t be long and there was a part of my subconscious that was already setting out warning buoys. I turned back to the stairway and stepped on a loose floorboard under the hallway rug. Its creak was amplified by the stillness.
    A male voice, calm, controlled, but commanding, spoke from somewhere down the hall. “Now that you’re upstairs, I suggest you come in.”
    I was tempted to run down the stairs and out the door, never to return. But I was a grown woman, not a frightened little girl. I moved towards the room where I thought the voice had emanated and pushed the door open decisively.
    The large office felt heavy and masculine. Hunting trophies would have been more appropriate than the delicate Asian art hanging on the walls. The furniture was made of darkly stained teak. The moon shone brightly outside a tall window