Chapter Eleven

Kas didn’t speak much as they left the house—actually, a three-story mansion in Italian Revival stucco with limestone railings and pediments. There were two large outbuildings and a four-car, detached garage with what appeared to be second-story apartments. Gravel and flagstone walkways connected the mansion to these outbuildings and a few of the walkways disappeared into the woods behind the mansion’s patio and pool area.

Kas pointed at one of these gravel paths that led through a thicket of oak trees. He seemed to observe how Spartacus was glued to Athena’s side, his tongue flopping out happily, and his tail wagging excitedly.

“We’re pals,” she said.

Kas led her down the back terrace steps to the gravel path behind a row of shrubs surrounding the pool and patio. They’d have to cross twenty acres—about a half-mile, Kas said—to the family’s boat dock.

“I know,” she said, “Alex already took us out in the boat.”

Kas gazed at her with a speculative look. “Women like Alex. He’s the family charmer. Guess he stole your heart, too.”

“Hardly. I’ve grown wary of men who’re too charming.” Athena smiled, bent over and rubbed behind the German shepherd’s pointed black ears until he almost purred with pleasure. Kas looked surprised.

“He usually takes a long time to warm up to people.”

Athena scratched under the German shepherd’s long jaw. “Like his master, I suppose. We became friends yesterday during the ski boat ride. Spartacus told me a lot about you and how he feels about you. You’re his sun and moon, his alpha and omega. He showed me all the things you do together.”

Kas halted on the path. “You read my dog’s mind?”

She didn’t mean for her tone to be so defensive, but out it came. “Well, yeah. It’s what I do. I was holding him in the boat. He doesn’t think in words, of course, but the visual imagery and feelings were there.”

He shot her a crooked smile, then slapped a palm against his thigh, a signal for Spartacus to heel at his side. The dog looked over at his master, back at Athena, gave a whine, and reluctantly moved away from her.

He mock-growled at his dog, which caused Spartacus to perk up his ears. Something was going on with these two-legged humans but the dog didn’t know what.

“That’s for being a traitor, boy. Telling this girl our secrets.”

Athena grinned. “Don’t worry, he didn’t reveal secrets about any of your girlfriends. I don’t think Spartacus knows or cares about that.”

“C’mon, boy.” Kas beckoned as Spartacus rubbed his fur against his master’s leg. “You’re something else, Athena,” he added, “You’re here three days, and already stealing my dog. But you don’t want Alex? Most women I see hate my dog but crush on Alex. You’re a strange one.”

She almost tripped. Somehow his words both pleased and stung her. “Strange, huh? Well, I don’t think I want to be friends with you after all.”

He snorted but kept on walking, leading her down the path. “No danger of that happening. I don’t make friends with tall, pretty blondes, especially if they have ESP.”

He thinks I’m pretty. That thought unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.

“Because of your mother’s precog dream? You’re bothered because she saw you ending up with a tall blonde?”

“Maybe. She said the tall blonde would have the gifts of the ancient Greek priestesses. That kind of narrows it down, doesn’t it? But hell, no one tells me what my future’s going to be, not even my own mother.” He stopped and fixed his gaze on her face. “Anyway, by strange I meant unique, special. What you, your mother, my mother have—this bloodline of females is extraordinary. You need to be protected.” He looked away and continued walking. “Alex and I do what we can for Mom. We guard her secret. We don’t let the outside world exploit her. Your mother has her husband. I suppose you’ll have to find a protector, too.” Kas looked down at Spartacus, who was trotting alongside. Athena heard his implied message: Don’t expect me to be him.

“Yes,” she said, her chin up, “perhaps. Right now I can protect myself.” She wanted to change the subject. “Alex told us he’s engaged. What’s she like? He just said her name was Nicole and she’s the daughter of your father’s business partner. Another Greek-American.” She was forced to speak to his back.

“Nicole Theopoulis. A GAP, Greek-American princess. She’s beautiful. Spoiled, shallow, and she’ll make him happy in the short-term, miserable in the long run. But there you have it. No accounting for taste.”

His frank reply caught her off-guard. She stared at his profile as he slowed down and let her catch up. They walked alongside each other in silence for a while. Maybe there was more to this guy than she realized. Kas wore faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt that stretched over his chest and back. He walked with a strong, relaxed gait and exuded a quiet self-confidence. Like he knew who he was and didn’t pretend to be anyone different. What you see is what you get, kind of attitude. Take it or leave it. With a heavy dose of cynicism and a hefty chip on his shoulder.

Athena had slung on black sweat pants and a black, v-necked T-shirt over her solid black bikini. She wore no makeup and had hastily pulled up her hair into a ponytail. Her usual look but not her best one. Oh, well. Inside her chest, her heart pounded. What’s going on? Is this a panic attack? Why should I care how he feels? Didn’t I just tell him I didn’t want to be his friend? Why was I so rude?

A flash of insight struck her.

“Kas, are you afraid of me?” She expected an outburst of mockery or ridicule.

He laughed shortly, but it was a self-deprecating laugh. “A tall, pretty blonde who reads minds? Who’s supposed to come along and save my sorry ass, somehow, some way. And I’m supposed to save her? Now why should I be afraid of that?”

She chuckled, too. “No reason, I guess. Not if you don’t believe in your mother’s predictions.”

That sobered him quickly, although he continued to wear an ironic expression.

“Y’know, we wouldn’t have all this, if it weren’t for my mother’s powers. When she and Pop first got started, she’d see a vacant field in the middle of nowhere and say, ‘Buy that field. In a couple of years, a big highway will come right through here.’ So Pop did, and that started the whole ball rolling. We always take her to a location that we’re thinking of developing. She tells us if it’s go or no.”

Surprised, Athena said, “I didn’t know that. I wish Mum would have visions like that. She sees other things, creepy, ugly things. Killers and rapists.”

“So I hear. We—my father, Alex and I—protect my mother from people who’d try to exploit her. Is there anyone protecting you and your mother?”

More than a little surprised, Athena halted. “Not really. Father pretends we’re normal, and I suppose Chris does, too. Mum and I—we keep our clairvoyance a secret from everyone. Everyone except the police, that is.”

They’d come to a fork in the path. Ahead of them, through a thicket of oaks and pines, Athena could see the lake glimmering in the sunlight. Kas took the path to the right. “Follow me.” He headed for the boathouse that she could now see about fifty yards away. “We’ll have to wear wet suits. The air’s warm, but the water’s snow melt.”

“I live in D.C. so I can handle it. I can read minds but can’t do weather forecasting. Go figure.”

Kas harrumphed. “I hear you work part-time at a coffeehouse. Seems like you could make more money doing psychic readings. But then, you’d have to expose yourself and your secret.”

“Yes, that won’t do. I guess it’s safer this way.”

“I know, my mother feels the same way. There’s a history of the bloodline having problems when people find out the truth. There’s always a group in society that doesn’t understand, people who take advantage or exploit them, or use them as scapegoats. I guess that means there’s been some witch-hunting in the past, burning at the stake, that kind of thing. The Romans would kidnap soothsayers and hold them as slaves. I’ve heard only the Temple seers in Greece were off-limits. Even so, the Temple priestesses had Guardians assigned to them day and night.”

She looked at him. He wasn’t joking. The protective side of him was rearing up. “I’ve heard that, too. I thought it was just nonsense, Mum trying to scare me into keeping it secret.”

“Can’t be any harm nowadays.” He glanced back and grinned. “Now, if your secret came out, you’d get celebrity status and your own reality TV show.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Not interested.”

“Well, whenever you want to read me, go ahead. No skin off my nose. I’m sure that what you see will either turn you off or bore you to death.”

“Then I guess you’re different from all the other men I’ve known,” she tossed back. “Even my father doesn’t like it. Men like their secrets.”

“All the other men?”

“Figuratively speaking,” she said wryly.

He frowned and ran his gaze over her. “Chris filled me in about you. You’re nineteen. An art student. Single. He says you had a hard time when you were younger. With your clairvoyance, I mean. Trusting people, making friends. Sorry for my blunt speaking, but this is who I am.”

“It’s okay. When it first came on, yes, I had some hard times. Now I manage it. I keep it under control.” She shrugged and added, “I’ll be twenty, December first.” Now she wondered what else Chris had told him. Probably how she couldn’t get a boyfriend if her life depended on it. That she was a virgin desperate for love. God, no wonder Kas was put off.

“Don’t believe everything my brother tells you about me,” was all she could think of to say.

He said nothing as he entered the boathouse. Inside, he rummaged through a big plastic bin full of water ski paraphernalia, grabbed two wet suits, two pairs of goggles and booties.

“You’re Leon’s size, I think. We only have men’s wet suits, so this might not fit exactly, but it’ll have to do.” He handed her the smaller of the two and began to strip off his clothes until he was down to a small, black Speedo. Unable to stop herself, she stared at his wide, muscular back, his narrow waist and tight, rounded butt. She tried not to look at the bulge filling out the front of the Speedo.

When he looked back and saw that she hadn’t moved, he frowned. “What are you waiting for?”

She scurried to shed her sneakers, sweat pants and top. Standing in the cool air in just a skimpy bikini, she took hold of her wet suit by its shoulders. The long zipper ran down the back, wouldn’t you know. She struggled with the legs and arms, pulled and yanked, tugged and twisted, while Kas sat on a plastic chair and watched her, an amused grin replacing his initial show of impatience. There was no gruffness in his voice when he said, “Here, let me help.”

He tugged the top part of the wetsuit until it covered her almost naked breasts, then tackled her back.

“You’ve got the body of a competitive swimmer.”

“I used to compete in high school. Freestyle and backstroke were my specialties. Now I just paint.”

He tucked the gold chain underneath the wetsuit before zipping her up the back. She felt his hands rest on her rubber-clad shoulders, began to pick up an image, but immediately quashed it and turned off her clairvoyant flow. Out of respect for his privacy, she told herself. In truth, she was afraid he’d find her severely lacking in feminine allure.

For his sake, she said, “Don’t worry, I’ve turned it off. I’m not reading you.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want to shock your nineteen-year-old sensibilities.”

She blurted out, “I’m not easily shocked.” Oops, that sounded like an invitation. Embarrassed, she bent over and slipped on the rubber booties. Silently, he left her and went over to the far side of the boathouse, where a Jet Ski, and a large, three-person SeaDoo, hung on wide, nylon straps.

“We thought we were finished with it for the winter.” Turning the crank manually, he winched down the Jet Ski until it sat in the water. He unlatched the straps, checked the fuel gauge, then pulled a key on a floater chain out of a side compartment. “C’mon, get on behind me. Ever ride one of these? If you don’t want to fall off, hold me tight around the waist but keep your weight centered. Move with me. If I lean left, you lean left. Got it?”

“Got it.” She slowly mounted, excitement and fear surging through her. He counter-balanced her weight while she settled in back and clasped her arms around his waist.

“What did you think of your portrait?” She’d given the painting to his parents the night before and they’d hung it over the fireplace mantel after much ado.

He was silent as he backed up the Jet Ski and maneuvered a turnaround. He pointed the bow toward the open water. Before taking off across the lake, he worked the throttle a bit to juice up the engine. Then he turned his head to look at her. His guard was down. No stone wall this time.

“I liked it. You captured a side of me that I forgot was even there. I looked young, idealistic. I’d forgotten I was like that once. You’ve got a lot of talent, Athena.”

She’s a girl but looks like a woman. What would it be like to make love to her? She could even be the one Mom has foreseen in my future, or maybe not…don’t even go there, just Mom’s fantasy dream, wants me to settle down…Never mind, it’s all nonsense, even though it’s superstitious of me to refuse to ride in a car with Alex, my own brother…just bullshit the way Mom manipulates us…Might as well not tempt fate, she tells us…she’s right most of the time. Is this pretty girl my fate? Hell, if I know…this girl, Athena, she’s like a magnet, no doubt she has a powerful pull on me…I’ve got such a hard-on for her. Oh, well, the cold water will take care of that soon enough. I’m a big boy, I can resist her if I want to….

Do I want to?

His thoughts and feelings revealed so much more than what he said. Now she knew he liked her. Very much. As much as she liked him.

She liked him very, very much.

Athena inwardly sighed with pleasure and satisfaction as the wind whipped her face. The spray from the lake made them wet. She squealed with delight, and Kas laughed out loud.

“Good, you’ve got good balance. Put on the goggles, we’re going to get wet. Let me know if you get too cold.”

The way Athena was feeling at that moment, blood pounding in her veins and arteries, her face flushed and her insides warm and liquidy, she didn’t think she’d ever feel cold again. Immediately she changed her mind and decided to peek into his thoughts.

“Hang on, I’m going full throttle.” He turned the Jet Ski toward the concrete dam wall. Her thighs pressed against his hips as she clung to him. His broad back buffered some of the cold spray, but wanting to look at the monolithic structure, she rested her chin against his shoulder. He turned his head and leaned it back so that the top of her head touched his temple. It was his first gesture of affection.

He was telegraphing something to her. An invitation to visit his man cave, the apartment he kept above the mansion’s detached garage, later that night.

Come and see me. Later tonight. We’ll have some fun.

Had she read him correctly? He smiled and turned his head away as the dam loomed ahead. Then he smoothly veered away, leaning into the turn. She leaned also, not fighting the tilt of the Jet Ski. She trusted him and what his body could do. She trusted his mind, too, strange as that seemed. She barely knew him, and yet the man she’d captured on canvas was the real man all along. Maybe a little bruised and battered by life, but still there.

When they straightened and sped away from the dam, Athena suddenly realized what she was going to do.

Their mysterious attraction to each other wasn’t going to do them any good, she realized. No good at all. They had different mindsets, different paths, too much baggage. She was too naive, he was too cynical. Almost twenty and twenty-eight were a lifetime of experiences apart.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to take him up on his invitation.

She had to start learning some time.