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Thalia
Thalia couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on Pirithous’s face when he called her back. Like a deer in headlights until she’d flipped the light on and showed him how to flush the toilet and run the water. Of course she should have realized he’d need a tutorial. Bathrooms were by no means universal, and the differences internationally could be pretty baffling. She’d learned that the hard way herself, during spring break one semester.
He still looked at her with confusion when she left him the second time, pulling the door shut, but she had faith that he could figure out the rest by himself. Or at least, she didn’t have any intention of holding his hand through the process.
She shook her head, going back down the hall to the kitchen. Nikki was on the phone with Alex in the living room. She’d probably called him the minute Thalia had left the room. Two weeks with her best friend, like old times. That was what this was supposed to be. Before her best friend became her sister-in-law and Thalia officially became the third wheel. She sighed. To think she’d been thrilled when Alex and Nikki had started dating. What girl didn’t dream about her best friend becoming her sister? Until Thalia had realized it meant she’d be playing second-fiddle to her brother until death did they part.
As if Alex hadn’t already taken enough control of her life, once Nikki started seeing him, he’d had her wrapped around his finger too. Every time she tried to talk Nikki into going out, or did anything even slightly irresponsible she got chapter and verse about how much Alexandros worried about her, how hard he worked to take care of her, how grateful she should be that her big brother bothered trying to fill in after their father had died.
Thalia pulled out wine glasses, along with the corkscrew, going to work on the wine bottle she’d brought up from the basement and grateful to have a focus for her frustration. Because it wasn’t that she was ungrateful. She’d loved having her big brother around to scare off jerks as a little girl, but the older she got, the more he smothered her. He didn’t just scare off the jerks, he started scaring off the guys she really liked, too, and grilling her about everywhere she went and what she did while she was out. And ever since their mother had gone to Greece to take care of their grandparents, he’d been even more overbearing than usual.
Her brother needed to get married and have his own kids so he’d be too busy with them to keep acting out his overabundance of father-figuring on her. She’d had enough and then some, and there was no way in hell she was going to put up with Nikki if she kept trying to mother her, on top of it all. She already had a mother, and her mom didn’t care who she brought home as long as she wasn’t planning on marrying the non-Greeks. Of course, her mom still thought she’d never had sex, too. Alexandros knew better. More than likely because of Nikki.
Pulling the cork out, she poured two glasses, then took a good drink of her own before topping off the glass. She should have known Nikki couldn’t go back to being the fun-loving and just-as-rebellious single woman that she’d been before she’d gotten serious with Alex. Even if it was just for two weeks. And Pirithous hadn’t done anything to her outside of a few polite requests.
Thalia bit her lip, thinking about the feel of his lips on her neck. God. She should have slipped right out of his reach the moment she felt his breath against her skin. Instead she’d not only let him kiss her, she’d stood there and encouraged him afterwards. Granted, the things she’d said to Nikki were mostly just to piss her off, but the temptation to turn into his arms and let him kiss her properly had been strong. And not just for the buzz it would give her to really tick Alex off, either.
A hand at the small of her back made her jump, and the warmth sent a tingle up her spine to the place where lips brushed against the bare skin of her shoulder. She bit her tongue on a yelp. The last thing she needed was Nikki to come running, thinking she was right.
“Forgive me,” Pirithous murmured against her neck. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Thalia threw her elbow into his gut, a warning to keep his distance. He caught the blow with a hand cupped around her arm and chuckled.
“Careful,” he said into her ear, his thumb caressing her skin. “I would not wish you to do yourself harm.”
“If you really cared you wouldn’t be taking advantage of me the minute my back was turned.” But she was only half-serious, and from the way his hand slid up her arm, he knew it. She turned her head, hoping he didn’t feel her shiver when he kissed her shoulder again. “If Nikki sees you, she’s going to lock you out of the house and you’ll have to make your bed up a tree.”
“Is that all?” She was sure he was smiling. “I thought she said she meant to leave you behind to my mercy?”
“Believe me, Pirithous, if she leaves, the good time won’t last. She might even be telling Alexandros about how I picked you up off the side of the road right now, and when my brother finds out we’ll both be sorry.”
His hand fell away from her arm, though his touch hadn’t been at all demanding. She could have leaned forward and been free of him. If she’d wanted to be. As it was, she gave herself credit for not hustling him back down the hallway to make out.
“This Alexandros, is he a warrior?”
She laughed. “No, not a warrior. Unless you count boxing, but he only does that for fun. He’s just a ridiculous overprotective big brother who doesn’t like the idea that strange men are manhandling his little sister. He’ll probably have you arrested for trespassing or something just as unreasonable to get you out of here.”
“What is your brother, if not a warrior?”
She could feel him still, behind her. Just a few inches closer than he had any right to be. She could just imagine him leaning against the counter. “An architect.”
“Architect?”
“He designs buildings.” She kept forgetting about his English, but he seemed to know what she meant most of the time, even if he didn’t catch her words. And he spoke it easily enough, his accent softer than she would have expected.
“Ah.” He shifted slightly, and she half turned, leaning against the counter where it jutted out in a peninsula. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning back against the same counter beside her. His gaze dropped to her lips for just a moment, but Nikki’s voice rose and he met her eyes instead. “Is that an influential position among your people?”
She shrugged. “I guess it can be. He’s not famous or anything, but the firm he works for gets a lot of big names for clients. Who knows what kind of connections he’ll make.”
“And Alexandros is your guardian? He stands in place of your father?”
She sighed, crossing her own arms. “He likes to think he does. Why?”
“Because if he is a man of little consequence, and you are not his to protect, then I need not worry what he thinks when he learns you have allowed me here as your guest. I would not give your people any reason to war against mine, but I would prefer not to sleep in the trees this night, since you have been so generous as to offer me something better.”
She tried not to smile, but it was hard. “Are you really worried about causing some international incident by spending the night here?”
“Wars have been fought over less.” He said it with a completely straight face, and she had to admit even to herself that he was dead serious. “Nikki wishes me well away already. If she speaks against me to your brother, you say it will mean trouble. It would be a poor way to repay your hospitality.”
“Alexandros does not know the right people to start a war over the fact that you might have hit on his sister, Pirithous.” She bumped her shoulder against his, trying to lighten his mood. “And I can handle my brother. You haven’t done anything wrong yet, and I’m sure Nikki will let us both know loudly if you do.”
He snorted, his head turning toward the muffled sound of Nikki’s voice. Just like Nikki and Alex to make the poor guy think their issues were his problem. And no matter what Nikki said, he wouldn’t be worrying about it at all if he weren’t essentially a good person.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek and hoped to God he wasn’t too good. Too considerate was almost as bad as being completely inconsiderate, as far as she was concerned. So far, she wasn’t sure which camp he fell into. Sure, he’d invaded her personal space, but not in any way that she felt threatened or trapped by him. Just enough to prove that he knew he was sexy as hell and let her know he was interested and available. And if he was royalty on top of having the body of a god, he was probably used to women throwing themselves at his feet.
All the more reason not to throw herself at any part of his body, no matter how tempting.
It was a second longer before she realized he was watching her again, his gaze tracing paths she’d love to feel his mouth follow. He devoured her, piece by piece with just his gray eyes, making her skin burn. God, but he looked starving.
“Oh!” She jerked away from him at the reminder, crossing to the fridge before she did something even more questionable, like invite him to keep looking. “I was supposed to find you something to eat. Um. Let’s see. What do I have that goes with red wine besides pizza.”
She opened the fridge, but she already knew what was in it. Nothing and more nothing, besides the leftover pizza. They’d planned to go shopping for groceries tomorrow. She drummed her fingers against the door handle and stared at the expired condiments, then shut the door again and turned back to him.
“I hope you like saltines.”
***
HE ATE A WHOLE SLEEVE, swallowing them down with healthy swigs of wine. When his glass was half-empty, he asked for water, and she watched dumbfounded as he used it to top off his wine-glass. But if he was drinking it on an empty stomach, she supposed she couldn’t blame him. If only Nikki had been there to see it, she’d have had to give up on the alcoholic theory. What kind of alcoholic watered their liquor down to keep from getting drunk? Of course, if Nikki had been there, she wouldn’t have been able to talk to him freely, and translating through Nikki when they weren’t speaking the same language would get old fast.
“Are you sure you don’t want the pizza? Was it the toppings you didn’t like? I could pick the mushrooms off...”
His lips twitched. “You’ve already provided me with a better meal than I would have had if I’d spent this night in the trees.”
“My mother would never forgive me if I put you to bed hungry.” Apparently she’d been culturally programmed that far, even if she wasn’t compelled to marry some nice Greek boy and start having babies. “It’s just not done.”
“Does your mother plan to arrive?”
She grinned. “No. She’s in Greece. If she manages to get back for my brother’s wedding, it will be a miracle.”
“Ah. So Alexandros will marry Nikki, and then you will live with them?”
“Not in this lifetime.”
His forehead creased. “Then you will go to your mother in Greece?”
“Not while I’m still single, I won’t.” She suppressed a shudder. “Nikki and Alex are bad enough. If I show my face in Greece at twenty-four without a husband, my grandparents will have men lined up around the block.”
The creases turned to furrows. “You are not honored so many would come to win you?”
“I’m not interested in getting married right now. I have things I want to do, still. Places I want to go. Marrying a nice Greek boy is all well and good, but once I get married I’ll be lucky if I have a year before the pressure is on to have kids, and I’ll be honest with you, Pirithous, the idea of having a baby terrifies me.”
She’d been flicking bits of salt and cracker off the table, not particularly wanting to see his response to her confession—men never understood, or made excuses about how childbirth was natural and what was she so afraid of? Why she was even telling him any of this at all...
His hand covered hers stopping her fidgeting, and he ducked his head, his fingers tightening around hers.
“There is no shame in fearing childbirth,” Pirithous said, and the seriousness of his tone made her look up. His eyes were dark with emotion and warmth. “I have never known a woman who did not wonder what waited for her at the end of that journey. Even men fear it when they love their wives.”
“It just feels like it will be the end of my life,” she admitted. “I don’t want to be tied down with a kid and a husband. I’m too young.”
He smiled at that. “Where I come from, you would be very old now, for marriage. You would have four children at least, by your twenty-fourth summer.”
“Ugh!” She laughed, twining her fingers through his and squeezing before pulling her hand free and crossing her arms over her chest. “See! That’s exactly what I don’t want. Why is it that all you men care about is babies? I thought that was supposed to be a girl-thing. Biological clock, ticking away. But men are so, so much worse.”
He leaned back, a slow grin spreading across his face that made her want to invite him to share her bed instead of sending him to sleep on the couch. “If I had left my lands without an heir, my neighbors would turn my people into slaves. A strong son will keep them safe. Is that not an honorable reason to desire children?”
“That is not why people want children here.” She poured herself more wine. Talk about exaggerating the issues. Slavery! As if. “Not even close.”
“Will you wait until you are too old to bear children before you marry, then?”
“If I wait that long I don’t think I’ll have much in the way of options about getting married at all. No. I just... I just keep hoping that I’ll meet someone who isn’t obsessed with settling down and having a family. You know?”
“Mm.” He finished what was left of the wine in his glass and studied the bottle for a moment. It was still half-full, but he didn’t reach for it to pour himself more. He still looked hungry, and there was no way crackers and wine had filled his stomach.
“Are you sure you don’t want the pizza?”
His gaze shifted back to her face and he smiled. “If it will give you peace, bring it out and I will eat. If it is as foul as that black drink you offered me earlier, at least I will have wine to wash it down.”
“Thalia!”
Ugh. Nikki. Thalia grimaced and pushed her chair back. At this point, she almost wished she’d go back to Alex in the city and leave her alone. Especially if she was just going to spend hours on the phone with him anyway. What was even the point of any of this?
“Coming,” she called back. But she made sure she dug out a slice of pizza for Pirithous before she left the kitchen. If there was one thing Greek women had gotten right, it was that a man with a full stomach was much, much easier to handle. And a lot more likely to stick around, besides.
Not that she cared whether Pirithous hung around or not.
Did she?