Louisa Neil (19 page)

“Why?”

“Because they’re not costume jewelry, Diana. The set is original, an antique set. The stones are quite old and rare.”

“So you tracked me down to what…steal my antique earrings?” She shifted in her seat and put the coffee on the table beside her.

“I’m not going to steal your earrings, rather let you understand a bit more about them.” He watched her closely. Now she was weary of him, probably second- and third-guessing her choice to come home with him, and calculating her escape. “I’m familiar with them, Diana.” He stood and walked to a side table. From the small drawer he withdrew a slim black leather box. Turning, he handed it to her. “Go ahead, open it.”

Sloan watched Diana inspect the box before carefully lifting the lid. When she saw the contents, she pulled a breath. “Yes, it’s the match to your earrings.” He moved before her and took it from the silk, encircling her wrist and locking the clasp in place.

“It’s beautiful,” she mumbled. “You’re right, it does match. How did you get the bracelet?” Diana tentatively touched the stones wrapped around her wrist. The gold beads were elongated as were the ones on her earrings. The green stones separating them were a bit bigger in size but absolutely a match. She hesitated, touching the stones framing her face. There was no need, for she knew they were a match.

“I wore these earrings the night of the housewarming. Neither you or Dane mentioned them.”

“Too many prying ears,” he said with a smile. “This information is for you, me, and Dane to understand.”

“What if I hadn’t worn them tonight?”

“I’d still have shown you the bracelet. You would have known immediately they were a match.” He rose and turned the bracelet against her skin, placing it so the clasp fell behind her wrist. “It’s a piece that was in Dane’s family for generations.”

“Then are Dane and I some kind of long lost family or something?”

“Something, but not in that direction.” He settled back in his seat while she continued to examine the stones. “A long time back, his ancestor gave that bracelet to the man she loved when they were being separated by outside forces. All through the ages, every generation in his family has looked for the owner of the earrings and necklace.”

“So you believe in some past century we were lovers?”

“No. She gave it to her love because he helped her slay the monster that roamed the caverns under Crete. Are you familiar with the myth of the Minotaur?” Sloan watched as she repositioned her legs and gave him her full attention. She scrunched up her nose and he saw she was completely ill at ease. He continued before she could interrupt him. “The short version of the Greek myth goes along the lines that Minos ascended to the throne after competing with his brothers to rule. He prayed to Poseidon for a sign of support in the form of a white bull. When he got his wish, he was supposed to kill it to honor Poseidon, but he didn’t. He couldn’t kill the beauty. Having failed the test, Poseidon turned to Aphrodite to punish Minos.

“She, in turn, made Minos’s wife, Pasiphae, fall in love with the bull. She became obsessed with the animal and turned to Daedalus, a craftsman, to create a hollow wooden cow. She used the false cow to trick the white bull into mating with her, climbing inside and copulating with bull. But she hadn’t realized she was a pawn in Poseidon’s game and under his spell. The Minotaur, half man with a bullhead, was born of that coupling.

“As soon as she gave birth, Minos understood Poseidon had bested him. They raised the infant as best they could, but it grew ferocious, and normal food would not sustain it. After consulting the gods, Minos had Daedalus build the labyrinth of stone tunnels under the city to house the monster. After all, he saw the irony of Daedalus building the labyrinth that would imprison the beast because he was the same man who built the wooden cow used to mate with the white bull that created the monster.” Sloan paused and sipped at his cooling coffee. Glancing to Diana, he decided he had her rapt attention. After another sip, he put the cup on the side table and continued with his story.

“Minos still had to feed the creature, but his only nourishment became humans, and he didn’t want to sacrifice his own people. The Athenians were unhappy sending seven young men and seven young women each year to feed the monster, all being locked in the labyrinth until the Minotaur found them and feasted.” Sloan paused for a breath and watched Diana for several seconds before continuing. “This is where Theseus comes in. He was an Athenian who offered himself as food for the Minotaur to save another’s life. He met Ariadne, one of Minos’s daughters from a previous wife, and they fell in love. She told him of her feelings of love, but they would never be consummated as he was to become food for the Minotaur. Together they were able to solve the maze of the labyrinth, and Theseus slayed the Minotaur. However, Ariadne had held the Minotaur in regard as a man she was unable to save. As he lay dying from her helping Theseus, she placed her necklace of fine gold and stones around his neck as an offering to the gods to save his soul.” He watched Diana’s face for any sign of recognition but got none.

“Don’t stop now. You’ve got my attention. Tell me how I figure into this.” She shifted in her seat and waited patiently until he continued.

“Theseus was now out of the mercy of Minos, so he was banished for the slaying. Ariadne knew they couldn’t be together, so as a parting gift of love she gave him her bracelet, one that matched the necklace she gave the monster. She kept the earrings as a remembrance of her lost half-brother and lost love.” Sloan sat back and watched Diana carefully.

“I’m confused. You’re saying my earrings were originally Ariadne’s, and the bracelet was from Theseus. How could you know this?” Diana let out a nervous laugh. “So are we related or star-crossed lovers?”

“In a strange way eons ago, if you believe in the myth and fate. But not in reality.”

“Where is the necklace, then? Who holds it?”

Sloan stood and walked to the same table, opening the drawer and pulling out a second, much larger leather box. He handed it to Diana and went back to his chair, watching her intently as she turned the box in her hands before finally placing it on her lap.

“Do you really expect me to believe the necklace is in this box?”

“Open it,” he said, reaching casually to take his coffee cup. “Go ahead. You’ll never know unless you open it.”

He noted her fingers shook as she reached to open the box. When she did, she let out a gasp. Sloan watched her reaction to the necklace of rare gold beads strung together with green stones lying on the satin. She reached to touch the beads and pulled her hand back sharply.

“Now I’m just confused.” She shut the box and put it on a side table while shaking her head. Her fingers started fumbling with the clasp on the bracelet he’d wrapped around her wrist as if it would scar her skin. Sloan stood quickly and covered her hands with his, stopping her motion.

“Leave it on, Diana. Hear me out.” He saw the confusion in her eyes, the total distrust of his being. “I believe centuries ago, my ancestor was the mother who bore the monster. That a part of me is the spirit reincarnate of the Minotaur. We, Dane and I, believe he’s a long lost descendant of Theseus, and you a descendant of Ariadne. That’s why you have the earrings, Dane the bracelet, and I the necklace.”

Diana sat staring at Sloan across from her then back to the bracelet. “To believe your story, I’d have to believe in the myth of the gods. I’m not sure I believe they were real, rather, stories made up to scare the masses into a specific way of life, a way the original storytellers wanted their citizens to act. Fear is a powerful motivator.”

“Many years ago, I would have agreed with you. It wasn’t until the necklace was handed down to me that I began to research the myths. That was my motivation for becoming a historian. To be able to spend my time finding out the truth. This is the truth I’ve come to believe and live.”

Sloan watched her chest rise and fall as she took several deep breaths. With each one, her breasts moved under the material, her nipples hardening. He had to make a conscious attempt not to let his fingers rub against themselves as if he were twisting them. And he wanted to twist them, to suck them until he made her come. He also knew this wasn’t the moment to make his move on her. She’d come to him when she was ready. He noted how she squirmed on the sofa and wondered if she was creaming yet. Sloan desperately wanted to taste her but refrained, knowing his reward would come with patience.

“What do you know about my dream lover? How could you know?”

“Because once Dane and I found you, we put the suggestion of the myth before you.

“You what?” She stood staring at him as if he were the monster reincarnate.

“Please sit down and let me finish explaining. We prompted your subconscious to remember things buried for centuries. Why else would you not fear the monster?”

“Using that logic, if I made love with the monster, I’d be having sex with my brother.”

“No, that’s where you’re wrong. Ariadne was a daughter of Minos, yes. But Pasiphae was not her mother. There is no direct blood line between us.”

“Us? Are you supposed to be the monster reborn? Do you really believe that?”

“You tell me. I’ve seen you look at me and think something was different, as if you saw an image you didn’t believe. I’m of Greek heritage. If you went back far enough, you would find you are, too. Dane has an Athenian background.”

Diana stood and paced for a few seconds. She reached to the necklace box and, opening it, studied it under the table lamp for a long time. Sloan noted she still didn’t dare touch it. When she closed the box, she placed it back on the table. Then she calmly worked the clasp on the bracelet and took it off, carefully placing it in the other box. Diana didn’t resist running her finger along the length of it. Sloan knew her body heat was still held by the jewels, and she looked saddened to leave it. But she was a smart woman, and he understood there was a lot more to what he and Dane had in mind than finding her a match to her earrings. While unspoken or acknowledged, Diana knew it, too. He could see it on her expression. One part of her wanted to believe him, and the other side found it hard to accept his tales. She stood to her full height and looked directly at Sloan.

“I’m not sure what you think to gain by all this. I’ve not money to speak of, and it would just be cruel to choose me as an object of your and Dane’s games.” She reached for her purse, adding, “I’m leaving now. Whatever my nightmares are, I don’t believe it was you masquerading as the monster to gain my trust. Or that Dane and I were lovers centuries ago.”

“Give it some time to settle, and think about it. Ariadne had an unrequited love for the monster and a real life love for Theseus.”

“You once told me you were a historian. I think you’ve let history get under your skin. Thank you for supper and the story of the myth.” She turned and left Sloan sitting in the library.

Diana was relieved he didn’t follow her but somewhat annoyed the town car was waiting to take her home. Halfway there, she had the driver turn back. She was confused and wanted answers. When she arrived at Sloan’s home, she walked directly inside and to the library. He still sat in the same chair where he’d been when she left.

“You have questions?” he asked, his tone not obnoxious as she’d assumed.

“Of course I have questions. You can’t drop this mythical creature in my lap and not expect me to have questions. Or to tell me you’ve been playing in my subconscious mind. Do you and Dane have your own mystical powers to invade my dreams and thoughts?”

“No. No mystical powers.” He shook his head from side to side. “Let’s just say with time we’ve come to understand how the mind works. Most people are easy to manipulate once you know what they truly want. And before you go there, we have no supernatural powers as you might think. We simply think about situations from different perspectives than most. You yourself have at one time thought you had a sixth sense. Some would call it their gut talking. Everyone has intuitions. It’s how we consider them and use them that separates us.”

“So you feel it’s okay to manipulate people to your liking?”

“We’re talking in extremes, Diana. In everyday life, every person manipulates others in their ways of thinking. Whether you smile at the man sitting on the bus who then gives you his seat or it’s the mother who distracts a child with her shiny car keys while the doctor gives it an examination. Both are intuitions that lead to manipulations.”

“Whoa, would you listen to yourself. You truly believe it’s right to manipulate others to your convenience if your intuition tells you to?”

“I think we’ve become a bit too literal.”

“I think you and Dane have latched on to some remote connection, and you bonded over it. When you discovered the myth, putting yourselves in those places continued your bond and the
game
you’d created. What I don’t understand is why you chose to involve me. Did you see me on the street one day or just randomly pick names from the telephone book?”

“Do they still print telephone books?” Sloan stared at her with a flat expression.

“You arrogant asshole,” Diana fumed. She was beyond exasperated now. “You stupid son of a bitch. I didn’t give you permission to include me in your games. I had a life I enjoyed before you two came along.”

“All was predetermined by history. Don’t you realize that there have been generations of our families who never understood the connection. Never realized there was another life calling to them for completion.”