The Goddess Read Online Free PDF Page B

asked.
    Darius stood before a massive gilt-framed entrance mirror, inspecting the figurine
     yet again.
    “The foundations predate the start of the Roman Empire,” he said absently. “It’s been
     refurbished many times. Some of the original stonework remains.”
    She swallowed against a dry throat. “Do you have anything to drink? I’m bone dry.”
    He looked up, and his tense look melted with apology. After coming to stand before
     the bar, he paused and glanced around. Gingerly, he set the figurine on a massive
     wooden table. When he was certain she was steady, he saw to drinks. They downed two
     glasses of water each before he filled goblets with wine.
    “I’ll leave you for a moment,” he said, and nodded at the figurine. “I need to put
     her away.”
    In a vault, locked away for safekeeping? What a waste. But, sure. None of her business.
    Once he was gone, Helene drifted around the room. Like he’d said, much of the villa
     and its contents dated back years, in some instances centuries, but touches were contemporary.
     She noticed a stereo and CD system. In an adjoining room, a laptop sat on a massive
     wooden desk.
    A portrait of the Tierenias royal family hung on the main wall. The late king’s hand
     rested on his wife’s shoulder as she posed on an ornate chair with two teenage sons
     and a younger daughter clustered around. Darius had said that after his father had
     passed, his mother had died of a broken heart. Having grown up appreciating that kind
     of bond, he must want that for himself and his own children. Helene certainly did.
     She only hoped that when she found the right man, he wouldn’t be taken away early
     like her father had been.
    Yawning, muscles aching, she found a bathroom and washed up. When Darius still hadn’t
     returned to the main room, she drifted out onto the balcony. Looking out over the
     ocean, she stretched arms high and breathed in the heady scent of briny air while
     two wrens darted, chasing each other an arm’s length away from her.
    “It’s like standing at the beginning of time,” she murmured, soaking up the glittering
     azure waters, the sun-drenched open space. Her thoughts turned to the figurine and
     her fate, which equated to an eternity of being penned in, locked up. Certainly a
     block of stone had no feelings. Still, Helene couldn’t help but sympathize. Why exist
     if you couldn’t breathe and have your freedom?
    She wandered back inside. Her untouched goblet waited, but wine would only make her
     eyelids droop more. She walked around a comfy-looking sofa and sat down. Setting an
     elbow on the armrest and her cheek in her palm, she settled in and yawned again.
    …
    Darius allowed himself time to admire the figurine and dwell upon their lucky escape
     before he carefully placed her in the vault. Now he needed to make that phone call
     and have his adventurous guest taken away. No more surprises or distractions. However,
     for all the drama that seemed to surround her, he wasn’t angry. Or, at least, he wasn’t
     angry anymore. She felt bad enough. He simply couldn’t afford even one more mishap
     this week.
    There was a phone extension in his bedroom, but he preferred to use his cell, which
     he’d left on the balcony before rushing off to find Helene.
    Moving through the main room, he stopped when he spotted his guest. Helene was passed
     out on the sofa—eyes closed, mouth open. Her breathing was deep and regular. Asleep
     she looked as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. He pitied the poor guy who fell
     in love her. But, hell, he envied him as well. The man Helene Masters married was
     in for an eventful life.
    As the palm holding up one cheek began to slide, Helene’s head lowered, coming to
     lie on her forearm hung over the armrest. Darius fetched a pillow and a light throw-over.
     After carefully slipping the pillow under her head and covering her, he stood back
     and ran a hand through his hair. She was as peaceful as an angel