Catching Moonlight (Man Season) Read Online Free

night in your arms! If you’ll have me …”
    “I’ll take as much of your love as
you offer! Kiss me!”
    She eagerly obliged. One kiss led to
three, then six, and they were well on their way to heaven again when a voice
struck the air like a clap of thunder.
    “ Dio ! Come out! I know she is in there!
Come out, now!”
    It was Aella ;
she sounded in a furious state. Toby jumped, glanced round for something to
sheathe her – her poor sundress was dry but hard and caked with mud.
    “Here,” Dio helped her slip her arms into the jacket. It was thankfully long enough to
cover any embarrassing flesh. She scraped mud from her legs, tried to grab hold
of some kind of dignity before Aella entered. Dio dressed quickly; tidied up the area so it looked
undisturbed.
    “There you are! You had me worried
sick! What’s been going on here?”
    The woman glanced with angry eyes
from Dio’s face to Toby’s; her former likeable
persona disintegrating into the scowls of a harpy.
    “I slipped off the cliff after the storm
began,” Toby stated, “and Dio saved me. My dress was
ruined so he offered me his jacket. I was a bit shook up. We decided to stay
here until the sky was clear.”
    Aella put a hand to her mouth, physically
trying to calm herself before speaking again. She sighed, “I am sorry. I worked
myself up into a frenzy . Kosmas will tell you it’s a
flaw I have.”
    “I can tell you, too,” Dio smiled, hoping to diffuse the tension in the air.
    “That you can, dearest! Forgive me, Toby, I don’t know what
I was thinking. Let’s get you up to the house so you can shower before dinner. Dio , I’ll bring yours directly.”
    “No hurry, Karthoula Mou .”
    Aella’s eyes watered. “You haven’t called me
that in a very long while, Dioscuri . Come, Toby.
You’ll catch a chill in the night air.”
    She scooted Toby out of the temple
and up through the olive grove. Toby cast her head back, catching moonlight
from Dio’s eyes. He was standing in the doorway of
the structure, glowing like some ethereal being - as beautiful as the moon
itself, and just as ageless. Maybe it was true. Maybe the dream was telling her
what she needed to know to save him.
    “I’ve set you out some towels and a
robe,” Aella said quietly as they took the stairs to
Toby’s room.
    They entered; Toby was silent, lost
in a thousand new feelings and thoughts and desires. It made her head swim,
trying to take stock of it all.
    “Stephan Cristos rang up earlier. He invited himself to dinner. I think he has what you
Americans call a crush, on you. Do you like him? He’s very handsome.”
    “Oh, yes, I guess he is. Aella , what did Dio say to you?”
    “It’s nothing, just an endearment.”
    “Please, tell me.”
    “It is Karthoula Mou . It means my little heart. He used to call me
that a very long time ago.”
    “But he’s so young. Oh …” It hit Toby
then that if Dio had been there so long, Aella must have known him since she was a child. “ Dio is … old for his age, isn’t he?”
    Aella glared at her strangely. “I don’t
know what you mean.”
    “I think you do.”
    “I don’t. Take your shower now.
Stephan will be here soon.”
    She left without another word. Toby
dropped Dio’s jacket and stood naked towards the open
windows. The cool night wind bathed her in goose pimples. She breathed deeply,
letting the wind tickle her nipples. It was almost like Dio was there, touching her. She looked at the moon, realized that the light from
it was pouring in on her. It caressed her, invaded her; sent her into delicious
shivers. She glanced down at the temple. Dio stood
there, gazing up at her window. Could he see her? Could he tell how much she
needed him, wanted him? If only the cold hands of the moon were his. But were
they? Was it him, invading her like the very essence of the moon? Was that
possible? Or was she dreaming again?
    He entered the temple. Toby felt as
though the moon had gone out. She stepped into the bathroom,