Deeper Than the Ocean PP 1 by Dee Carney Read Free Book Online Page A

beach and scanned the horizon. Had she really heard…
    "Aphrodite!"
    The wetsuit tumbled from her hands, but she didn't care. As if in a dream, Di ran toward the water, slowing once inside and only when the drag against her legs forced her to do so.
    "You have it, Aphrodite," Danyl called when he broke from the waves again, his voice tremulous with excitement. A span of no more than ten feet separated them. "You have the key I seek!"
    *
    It had been a hunch. Just a niggle in the back of his neck. But thank the gods, he'd picked up the slate almost immediately upon locating it and tracked the key's location…
    Right back to his goddess.
    "We've got to put some clothes on you before someone sees," she muttered as they waded ashore.
    Danyl didn't know about that. He'd gotten used to the slow crawl of her gaze on his body every time he approached her au natural. With every inch she took in, his body warmed in gradual waves, stopping when just short of combustion. Now that he'd also gotten used to this cock he'd been equipped with, he kind of liked its reaction too. The pulse of need, the lengthening and gentle ascent. He had to fight every urge to throw her down against the sand and plunge himself into her wetness again. What an amazing sensation!
    Reason took over and he shook his head. "It doesn't matter because I'm heading back out as soon as you give the key to me. I'll be gone before anyone sees." She stiffened beside him and he grimaced. In retrospect, that sounded bad the way it came out. "Di, I need the key."
    She guided them inland, stopping in between brush that would provide adequate cover on three sides. "I don't have a key, Danyl. I don't know what you're talking about."
    "I've tracked it to you more than once. I thought it was on the boat, but when I just checked again, it tracks to you. Are you sure?"
    She shifted her gaze away and asked softly, "What does it look like?"
    Something about her look, her tone made him wary. "It's a flat disc. Etched with a face on one side, writing on the other. It's old and…" The way she crossed her arms, hugging herself, still unwilling to look him in the face was all too familiar. His goddess edged away, a complete turnabout from earlier. His voice dropped low and even he heard the anguish in it. "You know what I'm talking about now, don't you?"
    "Why do you need it?" Challenge peppered every syllable in her question.
    Before he could catch himself, he threw back, "Why do you ?"
    Her eyes shone when she looked at him at last. "The coin is all I have," her voice grew bitter. "No job. No boat. No money. Just this coin."
    "No family. No honor. No future. Just a key to regain a little bit—just a hint—of that back," he retorted, staring her down. Fuck . Something inside him died with each second he stared into her water-filled eyes, but he couldn't back down. Not about this.
    "But you still haven't said what you need it for." Her entire body shook.
    His upper lip curled into a snarl. "To avenge my mother's death. To gain entry to where my father lives and kill him for murdering my mother. What could you possibly want it for?"
    "To take back my life," she sobbed. "I have nothing without this coin. Can you understand that? Nothing!" The tears tracking down her cheeks ripped his heart from his chest.
    Gods, they stood at an impasse. He couldn't move on without the damned key and obviously, neither could she. Unclenching his jaw, he pushed back mounting anger and frustration. Her body was rigid when he pulled her into his embrace. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry. We'll work it out."
    When she unfolded her arms and wrapped them around his waist in return, he released a relieved breath. They rocked together, holding each other tight, until at last his roiling anger settled and he could talk to her without attacking like a shark after blood. Di ceased trembling a few minutes later.
    "What you said is horrible, Danyl. Are you sure it's him? Will you really kill your father?"
    He