"To be perfectly honest, no. I think it only fair to warn you that I've assaulted over two hundred innocent virgins right here on this very spot." Pitt's humor was overly forward, but he knew it was a good system for testing a female's personality.

"Oh blimey, I would dearly love to have been number two hundred and one, but I'm not an innocent virgin." There was enough light now for Pitt to see the white of her teeth arched in a smile. "I certainly hope you won't hold that against me."

"No, I'm very broad-minded about that sort of thing. But I must ask you to keep secret the fact that two hundred and one wasn't pure as the driven snow. If it ever leaked out, my reputation as a monster would be ruined."

They both laughed and sat down together on Pitt's towel and talked while the hot sun reluctantly began its climb over the Aegean Sea. As the blazing orange ball threw its first golden rays over the shimmering horizon, Pitt gazed at the woman in the new light and studied her closely.

She was about thirty and wore a red bikini swimsuit. The bikini was not the exaggerated brief kind, even though the lower half began a good two inches below the navel. The material had a stain sheen to it and clung tautly to her body like an outer layer of skin. Her figure was a beguiling mixture of grace and firmness; the stomach looked smooth and flat and the breasts were perfect, not too small but not too large and out of scale. Her legs were long, creamy colored and slightly on the thin side. Pitt decided to overlook this faint imperfection and swung his eyes to her face. The profile was exquisite. Her features possessed the beauty and mystery of a Grecian statue and would have rated near perfection except for a round pockmark beside her right temple. Ordinarily the scar would have been covered by her shoulder length black hair but she had thrown her head back as she watched the sunrise and the ebony strands angled back behind her shoulders, touching the sand and revealing the thin blemish.

Suddenly she turned and caught Pitt's examining stare.

"You're supposed to be watching the sunrise," she said with a bemused smile.

"I've seen sunrises before, but this is the first time I've ever come face to face with a lovely, genuine Grecian Aphrodite." Pitt could see her brown eyes flashing with enjoyment at his compliment.

"Thank you for the flattery, but Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, and I'm only half Greek."

"What's the other half?"

"My father was German."

"In that case I must thank the gods that you look after your mother's side."

She gave a pouting glance. "You'd better not let my uncle hear you say that."

"A typical kraut?"

"Yes, indeed. In fact he's why I happen to be on Thasos."