Chapter Twenty-one – Gold dress

"Now, you may not know, but quite a few buildings here were dedicated to the Goddess Athena; the Parthenon was the biggest. This," he said as he led them around the other side of the building, "is called Erechtheion, or the Porch of the Caryatides, it's the oldest temple and there was said to have traces of the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of the city of Athens." Jeanette opened her eyes wide, her gaze looking over the building.

      "Is it breath taking right, glykos (sweet one)?" Jeanette lifted a brow, not knowing what he said but figured it some kind of endearment. Ramon was right; Palo was laying on the charm.

      "Yes, it is." They continued walking as Palo went on giving out brief history lessons. And while she enjoyed it, and it was obvious in the tone of his voice that Palo loved his heritage, it wasn't like being with Ramon. You could hear the love, the fondness when he spoke, not just a history lesson.

      "And then, over here," he said, stopping at yet another building and pointed, "is the Temple of Athena Nike. And rumor may have it that Poseidon would have raped the famed and gorgeous Medusa on these steps, right in front of the Goddess herself." 

      "Why this temple?"

      "Athena was the Goddess of Athens and this would have been built at the time. Of course, history books simply say at a Temple of Athena." Palo smiled at her and placed a hand over his heart. "I would be careful, yperochos (gorgeous), you are just as beautiful and you might tempt the Gods." She blushed but shook her head.

      "I'm not that beautiful. I've had friends who could though, like my old friend Sapphire, but not me." Palo shot his gaze to Ramon over the top of her head, asking in Greek where he found someone like her.

      "Would you believe, Palo," Ramon said, stepping up to Jeanette and taking her hand, "I ran into her at the airport, literally." Palo watched his friend and nodded, seeing a whole lot more that wasn't spoken. Palo let her go, Ramon tucking her safely by his side as they walked along a little bit more.

      45 minutes later, Palo led them back down to the car.

      "Cara mia, I am going to have the car take you to the hotel, and I will meet you there when we are done, okay?"

      "Wait, I won't get to see her pretty face for lunch?" Ramon sent Palo a glare, which made Jeanette smile. 

      "Sorry Palo, I guess that's a no." She threw a smile his way before turning back to Ramon. "That's fine, gives me a bit to rest, change, and go through my photos." He leaned close to her ear and the breath he released fanned over it and she shivered, the tingles racing down her spine and over her arms.

      "We will be going out later and there should be a gift for you; it would make me grin a whole lot more if you wore it, dolcezza," he whispered, pressing a few soft kisses along her neck. 

      "O…okay…" she stuttered out, causing him to chuckle lightly.

      "Feel free, cara mia, to order room service for lunch." He gave her a quick kiss as the car pulled up to a small restaurant and both him and Palo climbed out. Minus going to bed alone, this was one of the few times she was solo on any part of this vacation; and part of her didn't like it.

      Two hours later, she walked out of the bathroom; the towel wrapped around her and made her way to the bed. She saw the box on the bed the moment she walked through the door, but hadn't opened it yet. Knowing Ramon, she was scared to. It was obvious his tastes ran higher than hers, but she was also very curious. And yet, she still hadn't opened it. By the size and style, she knew it was more than likely a dress for tonight, but what kind was the big question.

      She took another drink of her water and sat the glass back on the lunch tray and then stuck the tray outside the door. And when she turned to walk back into the room, her eyes travelled to the window that had a view that was over looking Athens. Yes, Greece was a beautiful country and she was glad she at least got to see a little piece of it before she went home.

      She sighed and walked back to the bedroom that housed the box and finally took off the lid. Her breath caught as she stared at the beautiful gold color and lifted the dress out. The fabric was smooth and Jeanette quickly eyed the label. Yeah, silk wasn't in her closest, but she knew Ramon and if he bought this, he wasn't going to allow her to give it back. She let out another sigh, held the dress up to her body and her eyes opened wide at the length. Well, with the heels, she will for sure not be looking like her normal self. And with those gold heels resting in the box as well, she also knew this dress was going to be far shorter than anything else she had.

      "Jeanette?" She sat the dress down and poked her head out of the bedroom and smiled at Ramon.      

      "In here." He turned and walked in to the room, smirking at her in nothing but the towel. 

      "I could get used to this amazing view."

      "Stop; you're just as bad as Palo." Ramon shrugged and headed into the bathroom. "Did everything go well?"

      "Yes it did. Let me take a quick shower."

      "Take as long as you need, I already took mine."

      "Yes," his eyes roamed over her again and she felt the blush creeping up over her exposed skin, "I can see. And again, I rather like it. Sembri estremamente sexy proprio così (you look extremely sexy just like that)." Jeanette didn't need a book to explain what he said, the fire in his eyes gave everything away and it only brought to mind her desire even more.