Read Online The Oracle of Delphi (Greek Myth Fantasy Series) by Elizabeth Rose - Free Book Online Page B

her feet and kissed her on the forehead before walking back to the fire.
    “Not bad for a virgin,” he remarked. “But I can see I have a lot to teach you.”
    She did not like to be treated like an immature child. She may not be experienced in the art of making love, but she knew for certain that he was aroused by their encounter.
    “I do not need a teacher,” she said walking up next to him. “I need a warrior. Now, if you are not man enough for the job then I guess I will have to look elsewhere.” She played off his vanity and hoped it would work. If he called her bluff, she didn’t know what she would do or where she would go. No normal man in the whole of Greece would be able to kill off a sea serpent sent by the gods.
    “I beg to differ with you on the teacher part,” he told her. “And if you are trying to snare me into helping you by that comment, then I must inform you - I am not as vain as you think.”
    He walked over to the saddlebag and started digging through it. He pulled out items to use for a meal, including bread, cheese, fruit, and a flask of ale.
    “You are welcome to stay around for a bite to eat before you go,” he told her.
    So, she thought. He did not want her after all. He was releasing her. He really wasn’t going to help her.
    “No, thank you. I think the sooner I leave the better.” She hadn’t meant to test him this time. She really meant to leave, but he stopped her before she could mount her horse.
    “I’ll wager you don’t get half a day’s ride from here before you’re overtaken by ruffians. After all, a princess on her own suffering from weak knees is easy prey even for the saddest excuse of bandits.”
    “I made it to Delphi on my own just fine. And there’s nothing wrong with my knees.” She mounted the horse. “I don’t need you to tell me I’m not capable.”
    “I will escort you home if you tell me where to find the land where men eat not Demeter’s golden grain, but only acorns.”
    She smiled inwardly. So, he needed her help after all. He would not let her go without getting the information he wanted first. She saw a perfect opportunity to join him in his sly game.
    “I am not in need of an escort. I am in need of a warrior to slay a sea serpent.”
    “So you have already mentioned.”
    His cheek twitched a little when he looked at her. Then he looked away, busying himself with spreading the food on a blanket upon the ground. Her stomach ached from hunger, and watching him seat himself next to the meal, purposely holding the grapes high as he dropped them into his mouth one by one, was more than she could handle. She needed food desperately but wasn’t willing to give him his answer until she received a commitment from him in return.
    “So,” he said, breaking off a hunk of bread and holding it in front of him as he spoke, “what is your answer?”
    She dismounted and made her way over to the fire. She tore the bread from his hand and ripped off a hunk with her teeth. His eyes watched as she chewed and swallowed. Then she picked a grape off the bunch, licking it with her tongue. She couldn’t help but hear the intake of his breath and see the extended blink of his eyes as she did so. Pursing her mouth, she used two fingers to place the grape directly between her lips. His eyes fixed on her mouth - just the attention she wanted. She quickly sucked the fruit into her mouth, a wet popping noise announcing its new home within her body. He squirmed on the blanket, throwing down the hunk of bread he held in his hands. She smiled inwardly, chewing and swallowing the grape in triumph.
    “You kill the sea serpent and then I will tell you what you want to know,” she said in a sultry voice.
    He picked a long blade of grass from the ground, running it up the back of her leg. The intimacy brought a surge of life through her; her knees once again grew wobbly beneath her. Her strength was not yet fully regained from her ordeal with the oracle. Her legs gave way