Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

P ersephone

The sun is high in a cloudless, blue sky. Sweat coats my skin, dripping down my spine. I fear my blood is a degree from boiling. Every grain of sand that touches my oversensitive skin feels as though it's electrically charged.

I'm hot, but I have a feeling it's not entirely the fault of the sun.

I've been bothered since this morning with Hades.

Even though it's been hours, I've been unable to shake the aching need within me. The cord of want he struck has been humming deep all day, setting me on a frequency of annoyed arousal that I've never before played.

I want it to stop. I want to make it stop. To respond to it with what it wants. What it needs.

I'm in a mood because of it, and Addison's relentless flirting is only making things worse. I'm not used to men flirting with me. Or really showing me any attention at all.

Back at home, I was the weird girl who, for the most part, failed to make friends. I was always a loner in school, focused more on my studies than I was on making connections. I attended church, and was polite to those who spoke to me, but the conversations I did have were mostly tag-along conversations my parents had already begun.

I was always just there .

I'm beginning to see that I was never really present. Behind my parents, I was simply the shadow. The extension of them.

But here in Greece, I stand on my own. I'm forging friendships, nurturing relationships, and learning the intoxicating blend of what it means to be a desirable young woman who has needs and wants of her own.

I am awakening.

Or that's what it feels like. I feel like I've lived my whole life without ever really experiencing anything. Maybe it was because I'd never really been free to experience.

Now, Mom and Dad aren't here to stop me. I haven't been hearing the voice, either in sleep or awake to deter me. Finally, for the first time in my life, I feel as though I'm a girl like all the others.

"Persephone," Beth calls from where she works under the big white tent. Even with the distance between us, I can see the sheen of sweat on her tan skin. She waves me over. "Come here. Addison, too."

"What do you think we did?" Addison asks low.

I look at him, and he chuckles at my frown. "Nothing."

He drops his pitch to a whisper. "I think we're in trouble."

"For what?"

"Maybe we'll get detention together."

I scoff. "As if."

"Or maybe it's just you who is in trouble. You're hardly ever at the house. Always seeing to the needs of the rich dude at his. And you were almost late this morning." Something like fear spikes inside me. I was almost late. For some reason traffic had been bumper to bumper. Probably because it's been an off day, and an off day always ends up being the one where all the stuff goes wrong.

"I have a job, Addison. Some of us don't have rich parents that can support our every whim," I snap. "And if I'm in trouble, what did you do to be in trouble with me?"

Okay, I'm prickly. The heat must be getting to me.

Addison leans close. "I can be bad, Annie. "

I roll my eyes. "I'll bet."

"I can show you." He slides closer. My skin heats when he challenges, "Just say the word."

From not too far away, Minthe's chime-like laughter shatters the tension. "She's not into you, Addison."

I blink and give my head a confused little shake because what the hell? I pack up my tools and crush Addison just a little when I mutter, "I'm good."

I don't look back as I move from where I'd been dusting the base of what we suspect was another temple, now in ruins. Under the white tent, ancient artifacts we've unburied lay on clean white linen covered tables.

Beth smiles, her eyes drifting over my shoulder where I sense Addison is now standing close. "You guys need a break from the heat." She points to one of the tables. "You can start cleaning there. Of course, be careful."

"These hands know how to be gentle, Beth." I don't know how Addison can make everything sound so sexual. Most of it should be cringe, but everyone—literally everyone swoons.

Even now, the red in Beth's already heat-stained cheeks deepens. She giggles. "I have no doubt." Her eyes get big as they land on me and she breathes, "Have fun."

I smile, though it's a bit forced. Pulling my hat off, I fan my face as I take a seat at the table. Addison sits across from me and I can feel the way his bright blue eyes roam my face as we settle in to cleaning centuries old debris from the ancient artifacts.

"It doesn't work on you, does it?"

I lift my gaze to meet his. "What?"

"Flirting."

My lips part. Something in my belly flutters when his eyes chase my tongue as I wet them. Nervously, I shake my head. "Not really."

"Why not?"

I shrug, feeling awkward. "I think I might miss some of it."

He frowns. "What?"

"It just goes over my head a lot of the time." I peek at him and explain, "The flirting, I mean."

He sits back in his chair, studying me. "How so?"

"I've never been the girl guys flirted with. So now that it happens, I guess I just—it's just not something I expect."

"You've never been the girl guys flirt with?" His brows are arched high, like he doesn't believe me.

I don't know why he wouldn't. "That's what I said."

"How is that possible?"

I shift in my chair. There is a bubble of annoyance swelling inside me, because now I think he's playing with me. I don't like to be played with.

I sigh, lowering my tools to the table. "Addison," I start, but shake my head. He's watching me curiously, waiting attentively. I don't understand the game he's playing. "Do I feel like an easy mark to you?"

He looks taken aback. His chuckle is nervous, touched by wariness. "What? No."

"I am genuinely confused how I can go from living my whole life without a single boy being interested in me only to come here and be surrounded by men who—who?—"

"Who what?"

"Who—" God, my face is burning. I feel hotter than I did under the sear of the sun. " Argh . I don't know, Addison. I don't know what you want from me."

He says nothing for a solid moment. He simply watches me, studying me with those intense blue eyes. He really is handsome. I can see why Claire thinks he's the hot one. There's an intensity to Addison that feels massive and ancient, like he's played this role a thousand times and honed it to perfection.

It's a crazy thought, but apparently, I'm full of them.

He finally speaks. "The guys in your hometown are stupid. That or they're blind."

Or they know I'm crazy and they're smart enough to stay far, far away.

My phone rings, saving me. At least, that's what I think until I see the name. With a sigh, I swipe to answer. Mom's smiling face fills the screen, and with years of practice, I replicate it. "Hey, Mom."

"Annie! Finally. You haven't been answering your phone at night."

Addison raises a brow, settling in to eavesdrop on my conversation. "I told you I got a job."

"Yes, but you don't work all night." Mom gives a condescending laugh. It's the one that's supposed to make me feel guilty. The one designed to make me do what she wants. Say what she wants. Be what she wants.

I don't know why it's not working now. It's always worked before.

Reigning in my annoyance, I explain, "I'm tired when I finally get to bed."

"Too tired to call home?"

"Actually, yeah." Mom blinks. There's a moment of alarm before her face smooths and she laughs again. "Oh, Annie. If your father can work all day in the fields and still make time to talk to you, I think you can play in the sand, cook a few meals, and do the same for him. Don't you?"

Addison huffs across the table and my eyes flit to him. He looks annoyed. His jaw grinds, but he remains silent.

I hide my frown behind a smile. "Sure, Mom. I'll try harder."

"Good. Then we'll talk tonight, with your father." Mom grins her megawatt grin. It's the one that says she knows she's won .

She always wins, though. In every area of her life, against every opponent.

"Sure."

"How is the cooking job going?"

"Good." I told her I was cooking. She thinks I'm in a restaurant. I haven't corrected her. "I like it."

"You've always enjoyed cooking."

"How's the farm?" I don't want to talk about my life here. It feels bad, but I know she isn't supportive. Her questions lack a genuine interest and that makes my reply feel like filler.

"It's hard here, Annie. It's the worst year we've had since as far back as I can remember."

I hum. "Must be the heat."

"And the lack of rain." She frowns. "Your father thinks you're a lucky charm. I'm inclined to agree. Everything grows better with you around."

"Mom." I just keep from rolling my eyes. Just. "I'm not a charm."

"I'm serious, Annie. Even the flowers in the shop have noticed your absence." She pushes her hair over her shoulder. "It'll be nice when you come home where you belong."

I don't belong there. "I miss you too, Mom."

"You know," Mom starts. "I was talking with Pastor Tanner—" Mom leans in to the phone as she would if I were home for the gossip. "And he said they're very lax about the age of intoxication there in Greece. Is that true?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking me."

"Have you been in those clubs, Annie?" Her eyes narrow. "Have you been consuming the alcohol?"

Across the table, Addison chokes on a laugh. I let my eyes drift heavenward before looking back at my waiting mother. "No, Mom. I haven't."

"That's good. Very good. Because you know what they say about that kind of girl. The girl that drinks and entertains boys." Mom lowers her voice, but not low enough. "They're loose and used. I don't know why I let your father make me worry, though. We raised you to know right and wrong, to keep your legs closed and your sensibilities intact. You're not a whor?—"

"Mom!" I can't even make myself look at Addison.

"I'm just saying. You know you have a nice church boy waiting here for you when you come home."

"There's no one waiting there for me." Where she comes up with this stuff, I'll never know.

"Nonsense! Mrs. Opal's grandson?—"

"Annie." Mom is cut off by Addison's deep, firm voice calling my name. "Personal calls are for personal time."

Mom looks like she's about to give Addison a piece of her mind, but I hurry to say, "Sorry. Gotta go, Mom. Love you."

I don't wait for her reply before I disconnect. I drop my head into my hands and groan. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"That was awful."

"Yeah, it was," Addison agrees soberly.

"Thanks for saving me."

"Sounded like you needed saving." I've never heard Addison talk without that playful lilt. Even when he's goofing around with Theo, that boyish charm is there in his voice, his eyes, the movements of his body. He's charm personified, but right now, he's—well, I think he's angry.

"Sorry," I say again.

He rolls his lips. "Does she always talk to you like that?"

I wet my own lips, nodding slowly. Hesitantly. "I think so."

"What do you mean, you think so?"

I wince. "Mom has always been—she's always been her . I don't think I really realized it though because I was always there. Always living it. She loves me. I know she loves me. But she's—well, she's opinionated."

"She's a manipulative narcissist." His brows rise and fall like he's surprised by his own words. He mutters under his breath, "That's saying it nicely."

I twist my lips to the side. "Maybe."

"She is, Annie. I'm telling you; she is."

I shrug a helpless shrug. "She's my mother."