The Colossus by Ranjini Iyer Read Free Book Online Page B

cheeks felt hot. She knew she was blushing and she wished she wouldn’t. Blood rushed to her cheeks, giving her a patchy, wine-stained look.
    But it couldn’t be helped. Dr. Julian McIntosh was very, very good looking. His eyes were somewhere between green and hazel, and they were large. His mouth was full, and yet there was nothing feminine about his lips. He had a bluish shadow of stubble on his chin, and his auburn curls were unruly. Just begging to be played with. Max felt her breath catch at her throat.
    He got up from behind his computer, leaned back against his desk, and smiled. His slender body was dressed in a crumpled white linen shirt and narrow chocolate corduroy pants. On any other man, his slight frame and narrow pants would have looked silly. But given his professorial aura; his deep, rather unexpected voice; and his office decorated with haphazard piles of books and papers and a half-dead potted plant, it was rather perfect.
    “You have questions about the Indus Valley,” he was saying. “My area of expertise is East Asia.” Max suppressed a groan of disappointment. “But as it turns out, the Indus Valley is an area of private interest—a hobby, if you will. Oh, sorry. Julian McIntosh.” He extended his arm. When he said “Julian” in his rather unusual accent, Max blushed once more. What a wondrous name, she thought. What a glorious accent! What a killer smile!
    Max managed to take his warm grip and gave his hand a good shake despite her ruminations. She opened her mouth to say her name once more, but that ground had already been covered. She was glad she could recall that much, despite the tingling sensation in her ears.
    She gave her head a quick shake to clear it. “Thanks so much for seeing me. Um, I was hoping you could take a look at this.” She opened her grandfather’s diary and showed him the embossment.
    “Is this an imprint of a seal from the Indus Valley?” he asked eagerly.
    “An imprint of a copy of an Indus seal. It’s amazing that I remember, since my grandfather told me all this years ago,” Max added with a laugh. “The original belonged to a man they called the Colossus. My grandfather was given a copy when he visited a dig at the Indus Valley.” She took out the plastic bag the seal was in and handed it to Julian.
    Julian pulled out the seal and studied it. “When was he there?”
    “1935.”
    Julian turned his eyes to the ceiling. “The first expedition when they discovered the Indus civilization was in the early twenties.” He wrinkled his nose. Max noticed a dusting of light brown freckles on the bridge of his nose and cheekbones. “He was there not long after. How interesting.” He went to his bookshelf and pulled out a book. He flipped a few pages and handed it to her.
    Max looked at the picture of the seal in the book.
    “The picture in the book is of the most common type of seal found in the valley,” he said. “Your grandfather’s seal is similar—it has the unicorn. Well,” he smiled, revealing dimples. Could he be any more perfect? “We call it that. But it’s most likely an ox.”
    Max peered at the picture and the Colossus’s seal. Julian stepped closer to show her the unicorn in both. He was wearing a glorious cologne that was soft, peppery, and yet so masculine. She found herself sniffing at his curls.
    “Look,” he said. “The second horn is probably just behind that horn there—one-horn unicorn, hidden horn—voila, just a plain old ox.” Julian rubbed the space between his eyes. As if addressing a class, he went on, “Indus seals were usually square, about three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a quarter. Yours is unusual—it is round. Most have animals—oxen like this one or elephants, tigers, crocodiles even. What else…hmm…some have shown prototypes of the Hindu God Shiva—the Indus Valley may have been the cradle of Hinduism. There are usually inscriptions on seals, but we don’t know what theysay, sadly. Some say the