The Nymph's Curse: The Collection (3 page)

Stavros stood up from his desk and buttoned his gray suit jacket over his flat stomach. He pulled his sleeves down and walked to the door with a smug grin. Opening the door, he motioned for Bunny to leave.

Walking out, Bunny looked over her shoulder and directed a sultry smile back at him.

Ariadne rolled her eyes.
Really? It isn’t like Bunny needs to broadcast their affair.

Stavros turned from the door and smiled. “Aria, I’m glad you stopped by.”

Of course he wouldn’t say anything about what just happened.

“Hi, Stavros.”

He looked Ariadne up and down with his brilliant green eyes. “You look exquisite today.”

Without waiting for her to respond, he walked across the room to her. He smiled and brushed his thumb over her cheek, then leaned in for a kiss. She let her lips touch his, but she felt nothing, just a stagnant familiarity.

Forcing a smile, Ariadne walked away and sat down in the leather guest chair. “Well, Stav, I need a little favor.”

Stavros walked to the small mirrored tray that sat in the corner of the room. He lifted up a crystal decanter and poured himself a drink. Taking a sip, he turned back and walked to her side. He put his hand on her shoulder and gulped the clear liquor. “Like?”

Reaching up, she put her hands on his. “We have a bit of a problem. An American archeologist is too close to the Labyrinth. We need to shut him down before he finds anything
inconvenient
.”

“Hmmpf.” Stavros pulled his hand from her shoulder.

He walked over to the other side of the desk and sat down. His glass clinked as he plopped it on the wood of his desk.

He wasn’t going to go along with this, but she needed to try.

“First the protests and now this. How much is this problem
we
are
having going to cost me?”

“It’s not a money thing. I just need you to put a stop on the project.”

Stavros’ manicured brows rose. “Which one?”

“There’s an archeologist, Dr. Beau Morris, working in Gournai. I went there to stop him last night, but I think this is beyond my … ability.”

Killing was best left to the wicked.

“Oh, come now,” Stavros said, his eyes straying down to Ariadne’s breasts. “You have
ample
abilities.”

Of course Stavros would think it had to do with her ability to seduce. He would think Ariadne would turn to sex to handle every problem. “So you are saying you want me to
use my abilities
?”

“Hmm … ” He smiled. “It is nice. This
thing
we have. Hate to change up a good thing.”

He took a long drink. Leaning in, she let her cleavage spill over to sweeten the deal. She took the glass from his fingers, took a drink, and slid it back toward him.

“Look Stav, we both know what he will find if he keeps digging. You need to stop the work.”

He sat the glass down on a little round coaster. “Aria, have you talked to Kat about this?”

“Kat thinks it’s best. She was the one who sent me here. We don’t want anyone snooping around the group right now.” Her heart leapt into her throat as she thought about Kat. If Kat found out she had resorted to using Stavros to handle the problem, there would be hell to pay. “We can’t risk exposing ourselves or the magic of the Labyrinth. What happens if someone figures out you have an island filled with nymphs?”

“One thing is for sure, it would increase tourism. The money would come piling in.” Stavros’ eyes gleamed with greed.

“Yes, and you would risk yourself and everyone
different
just to make money. You know how humans react to things they don’t understand. Besides, there are better ways to draw people to the island, less dangerous ways.”

“Like what? The economy is struggling. We need something big, shake things up a bit. Get our economy running strong again. Think about it. We could draw millions with just the headline, ‘Mythological Seductresses Exposed,’ or even better, ‘Labyrinth Found Filled with Priceless Treasure.’” Stavros laughed at his sick joke.

“You know we can’t do that, Stavros. We can’t let Dr. Morris find the Labyrinth.”

“Just because he finds the Labyrinth doesn’t mean he will expose nymphs. Just — ”

“No,” Ariadne said, cutting him off. “If Epione’s crystal staff is found, that’s worse than nymphs being exposed. At least we would stand a chance. We could disappear. But if you give the power of the staff to humans, you would start something none of us could hide from.”

Stavros shook his head. “You’re right. I’m just throwing ideas around here.”

“Tell me you will shut down the site.”

He took a long swig from his glass. “I can’t shut it down without a reason, Aria.”

She smiled wickedly. “The reason will be exposed soon enough. I’ve already made sure.”

A black-haired teen coughed into his elbow as he sprawled across one of the museum’s observation benches. The sound echoed through the empty exhibition space.

Ariadne pulled down her sleeves as she walked up to the young man. With an acknowledging nod, she sat down. The teen pulled his hood off and looked at her with curious brown eyes. “Hey.”

She smiled. “Hello. What’re you doing?”

He pulled his arms more tightly across his chest. “Nothing,” the teen said in an American accent.

Pain radiated from him. His loneliness and anger were palpable. “How do you like the museum?”

“Fine.”

In front of them sat a rock crystal rhyton. The pitcher was one of the most beautiful things in the museum, yet the boy didn’t seem to notice. “Did you see the double-headed axe when you came in?” Ariadne asked, trying to force him into a conversation.

The boy shrugged.

“What’s your name?” Ariadne tried again.

“Kaden.”

“Well, Kaden, my name is Ariadne Papadakis. I’m the curator for this museum. And I never want to see someone not enjoying themselves in such a magical place.”

“I’m okay.”

She smiled at his obvious lie. “How long have you been in Crete?”

“A couple days.”

“Is this your first trip?”

Kaden nodded.

She looked around. The museum was quiet today, as it had been for the entire summer. “You’re lucky you get this place all to yourself today.”

He looked around with a bored expression. “Yep.”

She loved the museum, but she felt for the lone teenager who was stuck in a place he didn’t want to be. “You wanna see something cool?”

The boy’s eyebrows rose. “Like?”

“This place is filled with secrets, some for visitors and some just for staff. If you would be interested I could show you one of the secret rooms.” Ariadne tried to bait his curiosity.

The teen looked around the room. “Sure. Let me just tell my dad, okay?”

Kaden stood up and as he did, a brunette man with a V-shaped torso walked into the room from the hallway. Ariadne’s jaw dropped.

What is Beau Morris doing in the museum?

Beau looked her up and down with his alluring milk chocolate-colored eyes. A smile crept over his face. “Hello, Miss … ” he said, gazing down at her chest. He pointed at her nametag. “Uh … Ariadne?”

She nodded, trying to hide her shock at seeing the archeologist again. His face was clean-shaven and his hair less disheveled than a few nights before. He had been handsome before, but now he was almost irresistible. No wonder she hadn’t been able to kill him.

Beau walked closer to them and stopped next to Kaden. “Thanks for watching my kid.” Beau reached up and put his arm over the boy’s shoulders.

Kaden looked uncomfortable as he wiggled out from beneath the man’s touch. “She was going to show me the most secret room in the museum.”

Oh, not the most secret room. There is no way they could see the real treasure that sat beneath them.

Ariadne’s cheeks flushed. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to notice.

“Do you mind if I tag along?” Beau’s eyes lit up.

From the way his voice vibrated with excitement it surprised her that he hadn’t drooled at the prospect.

Ariadne looked at Kaden and then back at Beau. There was a striking resemblance between the two men. Except for the dyed black hair, Kaden was just a smaller, less eager version of his father.

The best thing she could’ve done was to say no, but seeing the way Beau looked so hopeful, she didn’t have the heart to refuse him. Besides, there would be nothing beyond a quick trip to the storeroom.

Ariadne tried to smile. It was nice to have someone that truly appreciated history. So often the museum was filled with vacationers who came simply to point and laugh at the bare-breasted sculptures and the murals of the bull leapers, but why did the person who finally cared have to be the archeologist she had sworn to stop?

“Let’s go.” Ariadne pointed to the door to their right.

Beau ran his fingers over his sexy, disheveled brown hair and his hand came to rest on his tanned neck. “You sure? I mean I don’t want to get you in trouble or anything.”

She looked at him with a sideways glance. Kat had made him sound like he was a vicious predator, but the man that stood before her seemed far from the type. Instead he seemed humble and almost a bit beaten down.

“You’re fine. I run the museum.” She walked to the side door and led them to the back store room.

“It must be nice not having to answer to anyone,” Beau said in a tired voice.

Ariadne smirked.
He doesn’t know anything about me.

The temperature-controlled room was muted by the roar of the industrial fan. In the center of the room sat a large lab table and on top, the ceramic statue of her goddess, Epione, stood bare-chested, with a sacral knot at the center of her chest. She wore a floor-length skirt covered with a short apron and snakes wrapped around her elegant limbs as they extended toward the heavens.

“This is the Minoan snake goddess. Science doesn’t know much about her, but I have to admit that she is my favorite piece. There are so many stories that can be assumed by her appearance.” Ariadne looked over at Kaden, who stared at the figure. “Kaden, what do you think?”

Kaden stood silently for a moment and then looked up at her. “This’s your favorite?”

Ariadne nodded.

“Why?” he asked, confusion in his voice. “I mean, why would you pick this old dirty woman? Here you got gold and silver … you know, priceless shit.”

“Kaden, watch your language,” Beau growled.

Kaden rolled his eyes and continued. “Besides from being old, she’s kinda … well, ya know, boring. Why’d you pick her?”

Ariadne glanced over at Beau, who was staring slack-jawed at his son. “Well, Kaden,” she started, “sometimes the things we know the least about are the things that most impact our lives.”

Kaden shrugged. “I don’t get it. I mean I guess she’s great and all, but still.”

“I think she’s exquisite.” Beau moved his hand toward the goddess and stopped short of touching her. His eyes were bright with wonder and reverence.

Something shifted inside of Ariadne as she stared at the handsome man, but she tried to force the feelings down.

Beau walked around the table as he studied the statue. “Do you mind if I ask to see what else you have from the Minoan era? I’m an archeologist. I think this type of thing is fascinating.”

“An archeologist, huh? Where are you working?” Ariadne turned away in an attempt to hide her face.

Walking over to the wall, she pulled a bin from the shelf. He would like it, but in it he would find nothing she would worry about him seeing.

“Gournai.” Beau grabbed the container from her and placed it on the lab table across from the snake goddess.

“Are you working near the palace of Knossos?” She tried to sound curious, though she knew the answer.

“No, a bit outside of the palatial zone. I’ve researched the area and, well, I found some interesting peculiarities.” He chewed at the corner of his lip like a guilty child, trying to hide a secret.

“So how is the dig going, Beau?”

“Good. Today my assistant is having my students catalog last week’s finds. Normally I head it, but I’m taking a few days off so I can show Kaden around the island a bit.”

“That’s really sweet.” Ariadne looked over to Kaden, who was picking at his nails.

“Have you found anything of significant interest?” Her mind wandered to the tiny bones she had held in her hands a few nights before.

“We’ve found quite a bit. We located a previously unknown villa, but inside we’ve found only ceramics and a few pieces of bronze.”

It was more than a villa. Was he being vague, or did he really think that it was just a simple home that he had stumbled across?

Beau looked away from her, picked up a vase from the container and rotated it in his fingers. On its surface was a painting of a bull and woman. He stared at the image and then looked up at her. “This woman looks like you.”

Ariadne reached over toward the object and touching his hand, pulled the artifact into her view. She couldn’t focus on the image, only on the warmth of his flesh beneath hers. The simple touch made her stomach clench. She dropped her hand. “Oh.”

Why did I touch him?

Looking up, he was staring at her, his eyes wide.

Ariadne looked away. “So, what is, uh, the goal for your project?”

Beau flushed for a moment and sat the vase back in the container. “I think there’s more to the Minoans than what we’ve found. Everyone talks about the Palace of Knossos, but the Minoan’s left behind legends that there are other places yet to be found. And I think all legends have some basis in fact.”

Ariadne smiled. “Which legend, exactly?”

“One that involves your namesake,” he said, looking pleased with himself.

“The Minotaur and the Labyrinth?”

His face twitched at her question. Even if she hadn’t already known, his tell was obvious.

“You know that’s only a myth, right? You can’t believe everything you hear.”

A half-grin flickered across Beau’s tanned face, making him look incredibly sexy.

“That’s a nice vase.” He motioned to the container. “We’re finding similar works at the Minoan level, but nothing that well-preserved.”

Does he really think he is hiding something?