Knocking on the door gently, he waited for an answer, but there wasn't one. Finally, he opened the door and stepped inside.
Ariane lay on her bed, asleep. Looking closer, Aric saw the empty scotch bottle on the floor near her outstretched hand. Some had leaked onto the floor, indicating she had dropped the bottle as she passed out. When he knelt to pick it up he saw another empty bottle a few inches away under the edge of her bed.
"Dear God," he murmured, "did you drink both of these?"
In her sleep she mumbled something. Leaning closer to her, he could barely hear his name escape her lips.
"Hey, Ariane, wake up," He spoke softly, but firmly, so as not to startle her. The golden head moved slightly.
"Ariane," He shook her gently by the shoulders. Her blue eyes opened and she smiled sleepily at him.
"Lie with me," she murmured. Aric sighed.
Regression when she was drunk was normal, he had learned in college. One night, after not scoring highly enough on a test, she had drunk herself into a stupor and he had rushed her to the hospital after finding her lifeless body. This time there was no hospital nearby to take her to.
"Ariane, wake up," When she didn't, he removed her shoes and pulled the blankets over her. For an hour he stayed at her side. Her breathing was normal, as was her skin tone. She didn't look ill at all. On his way out he turned off the light. By morning she would be sick to her stomach from liquor and have one hell of a hangover.
* * *
Aric knew he was correct when Ariane didn't show in the morning. Dena told the crew her exhaustion had caught up to her.
Aric didn't mention the previous night to anyone. After the crew retired to wait out the heat, Aric happened to glance up as Ariane left the trailer. Quickly he followed her. Behind her trailer she sat in the sun, holding her head.
"Feeling any better?" he asked.
"Go away." She started coughing. He sat next to her on the hot sand.
"You're welcome for the blanket."
"It was you?"
"Yes. I stopped by to talk to you."
"Well, lucky for me I was incapacitated," she snapped. "Unless you're as lecherous as your brother and enjoy taking advantage of women."
Aric let the remark go. "Ariane, I'm not here to fight with you."
"Then what are you here for? Just the sheer pleasure of making me look like a fool?" she demanded. Aric stood.
"You know that's a lie."
"I don't know anything about you, other than you stole the one thing that mattered to me."
"Ariane, are you listening to yourself?" he demanded. "Do you hear what you're saying? You've convinced yourself of this bullshit to the point you think that's how it really happened?"
“Leave me alone, Aric."
"When are we going to settle this?" he demanded, his blood boiling.
"There is nothing to settle, Aric Wolfe! Just get out of here and leave me alone!"
Climbing to her feet, Ariane stumbled. Reaching out he caught her easily. Black clouds were massing above them.
"This isn't over, Ariane. There are things we both to need to say."
"I have nothing to say to you!" Pulling away from him, she quickly walked away.
For a moment Aric stood still, then his fury boiled over. Running after her, he grabbed her by the arm and spun her around to face him.
"I've had it with your attitude!" he yelled. "When are you going to realize that what happened was not my fault? When are you going to remember that you wanted me to enter that contest! I didn't want to! You talked me into it, dammit, Ariane, and it's your own damn fault!"
Lightning cracked through the sky, followed by thunder. From nowhere the storm clouds had gathered. The crew paused in stretching tarps to watch the spectacle.
The crash of thunder woke Quinn with a start. Down in one of the holes he had pulled a muscle in his shoulder. Courtney had graciously massaged it for him, but it still ached. Worn out, he had returned to his trailer for a nap.
The tarps! he thought. Jumping up, he threw on his jeans, shirt and boots. Outside he was greeted by the face‑off between Aric and Ariane.
"Get out of my face, you son of a bitch! No one wants you here! Let Thomkins get rid of me! Fine! I don't care! This will be shut down next week and you'll have your dream of watching me look like a fool again!" she yelled.
Another crack of the lightning lit up the sky. Quinn signaled the crew to forget the tarps. There was nothing to be saved.
"Get out of my way! I have to save the site!" she yelled. The sky opened and poured water down on everyone.
"There's nothing there, Ari; face it," Quinn intervened. He was ignored.
"I can save this, Aric Wolfe, you just watch me!"
Turning she signaled the crew to start spreading out the huge sheets of plastic.
"Ariane! Stop it! You're mad!"
"Go to hell!" she screamed, running towards the workers. A wave of mud slid under her feet, pulling her down into it. Aric grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Forget it! It's gone! We have to wait it out!" he yelled.
"No! You just want me to fail! You won't stop me!" She was fighting, trying to hit him as he wrestled her to the ground.
"Yes, I will! I care about you, Ariane!"
"The only thing you care about is your reputation as a great archaeologist! You'd do anything to get that fame!" she shoved him off her and scrambled to her feet, rain pouring down over her, hair sticking to her face.
Aric reached out for her, but she slugged him, sending him backwards. Sliding in the mud, he fell into it. Quinn helped him up. Ariane was trying to drag a sheet of plastic out, alone, her chest heaving. Aric knew she was crying. Court stood under one of the shelters, watching with Dena. Aric went after her. The crew stood silently, not sure what was happening with their bosses.
"You're still as ignorant as you were in college!" he yelled. "Naive and ignorant! You think I cheated to get that grant? You think I used you and I didn't! I didn't even want to enter! You talked me into it, remember? You picked the topic, you did the research, you wrote the paper! You thought it would be funny to submit two papers under different names! It was a total fluke that I won that grant and you know it! You knew it then! But you couldn't handle me winning! I tried to give it back. I did everything I could to give it back and they wouldn't accept it! I did everything I could to get you back and you refused! You just vanished, without any explanation. nothing! You just disappeared on me! Do you have any idea what that did to me? Did you care? Did you even care you broke my heart and then just vanished? I even told them you wrote the paper, but they didn't believe me because they knew we were supposed to get married!
"The mail, Ariane! You sent my fucking ring back through the mail!! Do you have any idea what that did to me?" he shouted.
Ariane stared at him, as if seeing him clearly for the first time. Rain had soaked them both thoroughly, and she didn't know how to react to him. The workers, Quinn, Courtney and Dena stood watching in silence.
Fear had frozen Courtney. What had she done by bringing the twins here? She had caused both Ariane and Aric to relive the past, and they were both suffering because of her selfish manipulations.
The rain stopped.
“I tried everything I could to give it back! You were what mattered to me, not a stupid grant. You're so damn stubborn and hot headed you wouldn't give me the time of day to talk to you! You slunk off into the world and holed up in a museum in Greece! Yes, I knew where you were! I followed you through various contacts, just to make sure you hadn't killed yourself because I loved you!" he screamed, his hair plastered down by the rain, eyes flashing with rage and pent up anger.
"Then that was your mistake," Ariane said coolly, before she walked away into her trailer.
* * *
Within thirty minutes Ariane was completely drunk. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she took long swallows from the scotch bottle, not bothering with a cup. Outside it was quiet. The men were confused and had returned to digging in the mud. Before alcohol took over her brain completely, Ariane guessed Dena and the twins were in the other trailer, arguing about what to do next.
Opening the next bottle, she noticed with dismay her supply was dwindling. Was she really drinking that much?
Shouting outside distracted her from her next drink. Or was it in her head? She lay back on her bed, sleepy. Aric's voice kept screaming at her, pounding in her head. The torment in his eyes, years of pent up rage at her had finally burst forth. Ariane had no clue how she had held her composure through it. When had she become so cold, so unfeeling? When he betrayed her by taking that grant, she realized.
The door was flung open. Dena stood over her.
"Get off your drunken ass and pull yourself together. The men have found the temple," Dena said coldly.
* * *
By the time Ariane pulled herself together to get outside, the workers had uncovered part of what they were sure was a wall. Climbing into the mud carefully, Ariane inspected it.
"This is it," she murmured. "It's the temple. Let's dig it up."
Over the next few days, the workers moved fast, scraping away mud. Within a few hours they had uncovered most of a wall. The rains had been a blessing in disguise, washing away multiple layers of dirt, helping them get further down into the earth.
"Morning," Quinn lowered himself into the trench by a rope. Ariane grunted a reply. They had been working on the wall for several days.
“I brought you something to eat. I have yet to see you ingest anything."
Ariane paused, took the muffin he offered and studied him.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. How long till we unearth this thing, you think?"
"I don't know. I don't know how big it is. If we keep moving at this speed, we should have a good idea of how big it'll be."
"I'll help."
The crew woke and waited for Ariane to address them. She had Quinn do it. They had found something all right. Because of the mud, everyone was to proceed with caution. Ropes were to be tied around the waist, anchored securely. Ariane was positive it was the temple.
"Tell your brother to call his buddy Thomkins and get us some more money and equipment,"Ariane told him. Quinn let the comment slide.
"Let me scrape while you eat," he offered.
Silently she handed him the scraper and leaned back against the wall of mud, biting into the muffin.
Within a few minutes a pattern was revealed, etched into the stone. Carefully Quinn started carving out the mud to reveal the pattern. Ariane stepped closer to see it.
"I think it's a stag head," Quinn mentioned.
"The stag was sacred to Artemis," Ariane said. He nodded.
"I've got the men digging on line, a little further down, following this wall. I expect by noon they'll have found the corner of the temple, unless it's really big."
Ariane nodded. Quinn glanced over at her, watching her push loose hair from her eyes. Mud had splattered on her cheek, which was flushed, probably a combination of heat and alcoholism, he figured. But she was lovely, nonetheless. The blue eyes glittered with fever and obsession. Quinn knew she was pushing herself too hard. Ariane ran her hand over her forehead, adding another smudge.
“Hey, look at me," he said. Surprised, she looked up. Stepping closer, he stretched his arm out and brushed the fresh mud from her cheek. Their eyes met and they both paused, eyes locked. Quinn's hand rested against her cheek.
Blinking rapidly, Ariane stepped backwards. Her foot slid in the mud and she fell into a little hole. Grinning, Quinn reached down and helped her up.
"Now you're really muddy," Mischievously she grinned back.
"So are you!" She threw a handful of mud at him.
Laughing, he grabbed a fistful and threw it back. Instantly she pounced on him, shoving mud into his face. Laughing and shouting they playfully fought in the mud, until Quinn's foot slid and they both tumbled down into the mud, Quinn pinning Ariane down. Quickly realizing how close to kissing they were, Quinn leapt to his feet. Ariane scrambled up to hers.
"Hey, guys, I wanted to‑" Dena appeared above them and stared. "Did I interrupt something?"
"Not at all. Just relieving a little tension with a mud fight, right, Ariane?"
"Right, Quinn," she replied coolly, picking up her scraper.
"Right," Dena muttered, leaving. Surely there couldn't be something developing between the younger twin and her best friend. Was there?
"You know, that hole could get dangerous," Ariane knelt to take a closer look where she had slid earlier.
"I'll get some rope down here and advise the men to tie them to their waists. It looks like we'll get more rain," Quinn's head was titled back, watching the clouds gather.
"Damn! Let's get this area secured before those clouds pop."
Quinn climbed up from the hole and helped Ariane out. They made a sight for the workers, covered in mud. Ariane was aware of what they might be thinking . . . especially if their laughter had been overheard. Calling out to them in Greek, she ordered them to cover up the parts of the temple that were revealed. The water could damage it badly.
Ariane was reeling from how fun it had been to horse around with Quinn. It had just . . . happened. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Maybe she had the brothers reversed . . . maybe Quinn was the good one.
Quickly she helped the workers tie down the tarps, which hopefully the mud would run over, not under. Then they could simply lift the tarp and keep working. "I think you and I should be the only ones down here crawling around like this. For safety's sake."
"Okay," Quinn was floored. Ariane had suggested that they work together??? He glanced up to the sky, expecting to see a pig soaring past. Just dark clouds.
"Let's hurry," he said.
* * *
Ariane watched the sky anxiously. Everyone had gathered around the nightly bonfire for more stories of Greek lore, told by the workers. It had turned cool with the cloud cover; Court and Quinn sat close together. huddled in a blanket. Dena and Aric talked quietly off to the side. Ariane retreated to the trailer for rest. She was exhausted and dehydrated.
Inside, greedily, she gulped down water. Next to her bed was a bottle of scotch, half empty. Picking it up she removed the cap, then paused. She had gone all day without any. Setting the bottle down again, Ariane realized how much she had been drinking. No wonder Dena had called her a drunk earlier. Stepping over to the mirror, it sunk in that she didn't recognize the woman looking back. Black circles rimmed her eyes; her skin, though tanned, had an unhealthy yellow, sallow tinge to it. Ariane could see her collar bone poking through her skin and when she raised her arm, saw the bones through the almost transparent flesh. With her hollowed cheeks and dim eyes, Ariane thought she was looking at a corpse.
Trembling, she fell on to the bed. What had happened to her? Her father drank scotch all the time; she had started sneaking it at thirteen. He never locked the liquor cabinet. As a youngster, Ariane had idolized her father and followed in his footsteps. Now she wondered if he drank this much? Even at her boarding schools, liquor was easily obtained, especially in Europe, where the drinking age was fourteen.
Boarding schools. Courtney. Was Courtney into drinking? Had she fallen in to the footsteps of her sister? There was no way to know without asking her. What if she did? What if Courtney was watching Ariane and imitating her?
Get a grip Ari, she thought. Her hands were shaking. Somehow she had to get rid of the scotch. Without telling the others she had a problem. If there was one thing Ariane didn't want, it was their pity, especially Aric's.
Aric. Her torturer, her lover. In her dreams, she relived their life together, always wakening in terror. Was he here just because of Thomkins?
Head swimming, Ariane lay down and closed her eyes. Mouth cottony and dry, she reached for the scotch bottle, knocking it over onto the floor. Swearing, she realized she couldn't reach it. Finally she lay back on her bed and drifted off into sleep.
* * *
The sky was clear in the morning, no more rain had fallen. The tarps were lifted quickly and the crews returned to work.
Court avoided her sister. Ariane had been passed out when she returned to the trailer very late, but guilt hung over the eighteen year old. Quinn had finally expressed feeling for her, but was fearful to act on the feelings. For one he feared Ariane’s temper, for two, the nine year age difference bothered him.
With Aric outside talking to the workers, Court and Quinn were alone in the twins' trailer. Watching him be edgy all night, Courtney finally asked him what was wrong.
"It's complicated," he replied, sipping his tea.
"Try me."
She tilted her head to one side and Quinn was struck by the resemblance between the sisters. Courtney looked so much like Ariane when he had first met the older sister it was frightening. But Courtney had an innocent glow that Ariane had never worn. The face of an angel and a heart to match was Courtney. And innocence.
"It's just boring, old people stuff," He smiled.
"Old people? In other words, I'm too young to understand, right? Stupid, little Courtney, can't tell her anything," Court snapped. Quinn gently pushed her back into her seat.
"Now listen to me. Every time your temper flares like that, people see you as a child," he said. Court's eyes widened, shocked at his words. "You are young, Court, but that doesn't mean everyone sees you as a girl."
"Do you?"
"I'm not the subject at hand," he dodged the question. "Your sister doesn't know how to relate to you, so yes, she treats you like a child. And little temper tantrums like that don't help."
Court rose again. "But you don't treat me like that. Neither does Aric."
"If I was your sister, I would be the same way. Ariane doesn't know you and having you around disturbs her. It makes her realize she doesn't know her family anymore. Ariane was never a teenager, she was an old woman trapped in a teenage body. 'Fun' isn't in her vocabulary."
"You seem to know her pretty well," Court observed.
Quinn sat on the edge of the bed, trying to keep physical distance between them. With her hair down, wildly curly, and a snug tank top, he refused to let his hormones get the better of him. Her beauty wasn't unnoticed and ignoring it was difficult. Especially when she seemed intent on driving him crazy! Her clothes seemed to have gotten more revealing lately. That one night when he had been drunk, he had confessed to wanting her. Since then, it was like wherever he went, there she was, revealing her young, curvaceous body, smiling at him suggestively, those big green eyes on him constantly.
"Ariane is a difficult woman. But I've met women like her before," he eyed the girl as she sat on the bed, drawing her long legs up under her. It didn't escape him she had moved closer.
"She's a bitch, it's pretty simple."
Quinn looked away for a minute, choosing his words carefully, setting his cup on the table. When he looked back at her she was closer to him.
This is crazy, he thought A grown man being seduced by a young girl . . . Or am I seducing her?
"If I ask you something will you give me an honest answer?" she asked.
"I always do," he replied, candidly. Without warning, she moved forward and kissed him. Quinn pushed her back.
"That wasn't a question."
"You said one night you wanted me. Do you care about me?" she asked.
"Of course I do."
"Like how?"
"What do you mean 'like how'?" he stalled.
"Quinn, please don't be coy with me. Just answer," Court was annoyed and close to tears. Finally he set his cup down and put one arm around her.
"I think you are a beautiful person, inside and out. I'd love to get to know you better and I would love to have a relationship with you." His blue eyes met her green ones. "But I can't."
"Why not?" she asked.
“Courtney, think about it. Look I don’t remember exactly what I said to that night but think rationally. You're eighteen. I'm twenty‑eight. That's a lot of years between us, practically an entire generation. I'm a year older than your sister. It's . . . wrong."
"Why? If you care for me, and I know I care for you, why is it wrong?"
"Court, there are rules . . . in society‑" Quinn grasped for the right words.
"You're not afraid of what society thinks, you're afraid of my sister," Courtney said. Quinn sighed.
"That, too. You don't know what your sister is capable of, Court. She could and would kick my ass all over the place if I even think about you in anything other than a brotherly way."
"Why does she have to know? Doesn't that make it more fun?" she challenged him. Quinn groaned. This battle was as good as lost. Never had he been able to resist a beautiful woman. Her innocence only made her more desirable.
“Court, I don't think‑"
"Then don't," Court moved forward and cut him off with a passionate kiss. Quinn pulled away quickly.
"Court, this isn't a good idea."
"Yes, it is." She tossed her hair back. "Besides, you want me."
Quinn's mouth fell open.
"You're too perceptive."
Court's heart soared. That statement had been a gamble.
"Court, you're a virgin, aren't you?" he asked. Court was silent. "That's what I thought. I am not going to take advantage of you simply because we're stuck out here in the desert."
"I don't think you would do that anyway," she said.
Quinn groaned. "You don't know me, Court. I'm a letch. I really am."
"I don't care."
"Ask your sister."
"I don't want to. Dena thinks you're a good person."
"I hurt her, too."
"Everyone gets hurt. Dammit, Quinn, stop backing away from me. I know you want me and I want you."
"Ok, hold it right there." Quinn put one arm up to keep the distance. "Court, I really care about you. Which is why I refuse to do this. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Why? Because I'm just a kid?"
"You're not a kid. You know I don't see you that way," Quinn ran his hands through his hair, wishing they were anywhere but out in this desert.
"Then prove it!" Court resisted stamping her foot. That wouldn't help.
"Look, Court, either way I'm screwed. Either you hate me for not giving in or your sister hates me and kills me for giving in; I can't win."
"Then you might as well enjoy it and give in to me," she purred, trapping him on the bed.
Quinn laid back against his pillows and held her close against his running his hand through her wild curls.
"Look," he sighed, running his hands through her silky hair, "things have to move very slowly. If your sister even has a hint of an idea about us, we're in trouble."
"She won't. I can be discreet," Courtney snuggled against the older man, running her hands over his well toned chest.
"Court," he said softly, "I am not going to take your virginity in this trailer. I refuse. It's absolutely wrong."
"Okay, okay, I get the point. Sheesh," Court sighed. "We can go slow."
Quinn's mind reeled. As long as Ariane didn't find out, things would be okay.
"This is just really awkward, Court. I think you're a beautiful person, inside and out, and yes, I do care about you and yes, I do want you physically. But I really need some time to think this through."
Court nodded slowly. "So you're not rejecting me?"
"Not in the least," he chuckled. "But I need to think a few things over before something gets started that can't be stopped."
"Okay," she said softly. Quinn leaned over and kissed her gently.
"Go back to your trailer before something else happens. I'll see you in the morning."
Quinn had lain awake for hours afterward, thinking. Even he couldn't bring himself to take advantage of this lovely girl, and he certainly couldn't deflower her out here. And yes, the thought of being the center of Ariane's rage terrified him. Dena wouldn't be thrilled either.
The main concern of Quinn was that he would use Court. There was no telling how much longer they would be out here, and Quinn adored the girl. How could he get involved with her and then break her heart? He needed to talk to Dena, but she was nowhere around, neither was Aric. Earlier that day he and Ariane had almost formed a bond. The tension between all of them was thick and heavy, and Quinn didn't want to add to it. The rest of the night he tossed and turned, dreaming of Ariane trying to kill him for seducing her sister.