Read Online The Penance of Black Betty by Kelli Maine - Free Book Online

Its name translates to little hands because of the red handprints on the inner walls.”
                  She followed along, listening, marveling at the knowledge of the ancient Mayan site pouring from Alistair’s lips.
                  An incredibly hot man was one thing. An incredibly hot actor was another. An incredibly hot, intelligent and articulate actor was on a whole different—much higher—level.
                  How did she end up with this man? She couldn’t stop staring at him, his dirty blond hair glinting with golden streaks in the bright sun. His dark eyes flashing. She was suddenly struck by inspiration. “I need to leave a sacrifice,” she said, interrupting whatever he’d been saying that she’d not heard for admiring him.
                  Alistair stopped and turned to her. “A sacrifice? Not me I hope.” He laughed.
                  “No. Not you.” She peered around, looking for wild flowers, a uniquely shaped rock—anything. “Help me find something.”
                  They walked the path around the ruins searching the ground and coming up empty. “We could buy something from the souvenir shop,” he suggested.
                  “No, it has to be something special.” She didn’t know what had gotten into her, all she knew was the urgency she felt to make an offering to Ixchel.
                  “Want me to catch an iguana?”
                  She grinned. “Think you can catch one?”
                  “Sure. How fast can they be?”
                  Bethany hooked her arm through his. “No human or lizard sacrifices.”
                  “Alright then. I have something.” Alistair reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver half dollar. “It has my birth year on it. My grandfather gave it to me when I was little and I’ve carried it in my pocket ever since.” He took her hand and placed the coin in her palm.
                  Bethany looked down at the shiny silver half-dollar, her heart melting. “I can’t, Alistair. It’s too special to you.”
                  He closed her fingers around it. “You wanted special, now you have it. And anyway, I have you. Who needs a coin in their pocket when they have a woman worth more than truckloads of coins—bank vaults filled with coins—an entire universe of coins?”
                  “But, your grandfather gave it to you.”
                  He waved a hand. “I was like five when he gave it to me. I’m sure he thought I’d lose it in an hour.”
                  Bethany rubbed the coin with her thumb. “You didn’t lose it though. That’s why you should keep it.” She held it out to him.
                  “I’m not taking it back. This moment is the reason a five year old me didn’t lose it and haven’t lost it all of these years. I needed it for right now to give to you. It’s fate. Don’t argue fate.”  He took her hand and made sure she held tight to the coin. “Now, come on. You have a sacrifice to give Ixchel.”
                  Bethany loved the feel of his warm, strong, protective hand around hers, the way he insisted she take what he knew she really wanted, the way he provided for her. At the same time, she knew her feelings had to be at odds with who she’d become over the past ten years. She had an inclination that the real Bethany would hate who she’d become, or rather reverted into.
                  There was no help for it though, she was who she was.
                  At the base of the pyramid, Alistair pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I’ll leave you alone with Ixchel for a couple minutes.”
                  She watched him walk away and find shade under a nearby tree. He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against it,