Page 100

Persy laughed, the sound airy. “I moved ahead of Emre? You’re too kind.”

Adrian laughed casually, clearly comfortable enough to let his guard down. “You always were. But if you keep teasing me, I’ll switch you with Dad so you end up in third place.”

“Please don’t do that to me,” the former Lord Jupiter said, his laugh weathered and well-used. “I’m more than happy to be the last resort.”

I closed my eyes while I took a long gulp of wine, dread and terror and pain pouring into every corner of my body.

Before, I could feign ignorance. Ignore my duty and desire to protect my family by telling myself it would be stupid to press Adrian for answers.

But now I knew. Iknew.

Adrian trusted me enough that the information came out as banter with his family, not even considering that anyone at the table might use it against him.

I wouldneverbetray him.

But if Sebastian held a knife to my mother’s throat…I didn’t know what would happen.

When dessert was done, I stood, insisting that I help with the dishes to thank Mila and Cassius for a lovely dinner. I would have, anyway. But I needed toget away from the group before my silence moved from contentment to something worse.

Two seconds into soaping up a dirty dish, the fear turned into anger. Vicious, hot anger that made my eyes water with frustrated tears.

IhatedSebastian for putting me in this position.

I hated that I couldn’t tell Adrian.

I hated that I didn’t know what I would do with the information.

I hated that this stupid fucking fake relationship had turned into something that made the thought of betraying Adrian, even to protect my family, send nausea so powerful through my body I had to grip the sink to hold back my vomit.

I felt someone join me in the kitchen and I blinked rapidly to clear the tears from my eyes.

“Thank you,” Mila said softly, placing a kind hand on my shoulder. I turned to face her, forcing a smile on my face. None of them deserved this. As I dried my hands off with a towel, I followed her gaze to their open living room.

Cassius, Persy, and Adrian were all seated on the plush furniture. Persy with a cup of tea and Adrian and Cassius with a glass of whiskey I was sure was more expensive than half the art in the house.

“You make him happy, you know,” Mila said when Adrian smiled casually at something Persy said. A distant part of me wanted to quip that I wasn’t sure Adrian was capable of happiness. Since that would be an emotion and he didn’t do those. But I knew that wasn’t true. He just had to put the entire world before himself.

“He makes me happy, too” I said, my throat tight with the brutal honesty of that statement.Whydid I have toknow? Why didIhave to be the one who threatened his rule and his life with what I knew?

I was in a daze the rest of the night, something Adrian seemed to pick up on. “Tired?” he asked, smoothing his hand down my back as I sat on the couch with him.

I nodded, scared of what would come out of my throat.

But based on Adrian’s grin, he thought I was tired because we’d spent most of the night fucking.

No, no. I wasn’t tired. I was furious.

The sated feeling in my limbs had been chased away by frustration and I was feeling jittery and flighty and like I was about to crawl out of my fucking skin.

By the time Adrian called it a night for both of us, walking us out after deep hugs with his parents and a promise to see them soon, my heart was pounding so fast I felt like I could run for an hour without breaking a sweat. If I stopped for a second to think about the situation I was now in, I’d break down in tears that wouldn’t stop until morning.

Stepping off his parents' front porch, Adrian pulled us through a portal into his bedroom.

And I promptly attacked him.

My hands flew to his shirt, going right for the buttons and fighting against the beautiful pearl clasps. They were in the way of his warm skin.

Adrian looked shell shocked for a second, but then his body took over. His hands slipped under my sweater and up my back, going right for the clasp of my bra. His mouth pressed down to mine in a hot, fevered kiss.