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We’d been stopped by pretty much everyone we passed. Some were nosy and inquiring right out of the gate and a few others took the time to act like they were simply catching up before sneaking in a question about our relationship. Regardless of the method, it was clear that we’d fully commanded the attention of everyone in the room.

Adrian and I were seated to the left of the stage,positioned so that we were in view of everyone. He grabbed my hand again on the way over, in what was likely just for show.

For me it was equal parts that and a much needed anchor, holding onto his strength while we broke away from those hounding us.

And when we got to our table and I saw Corinna Aphrodite bouncing up to us, her voluminous red hair flowing behind her, I was thankful that his hand was in mine so I could squeeze the living shit out of it.

“Reyna,” Adrian growled in warning. I didn’t stop my assault on his hand, instead just looking up at him with panicked eyes.

Unless she mistook the rapid beat of my heart as attraction instead of anxiety, we were screwed.

Adrian didn’t seem remotely phased. In fact, he looked like he’d just been presented with a delicious challenge.

He used the hand connected to mine to pull me towards him, rough enough that I was knocked off balance and tumbled into him on uneasy legs.

He twisted our hands behind my back, securing me to him with the strong band of his forearm. Our eyes were locked in an equally stable hold, caging me in with a dark, stormy expression.

I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing, only to be cut off when his hand lifted to my face, fingers lightly tracing the perimeter of my temple and cheekbone, before pushing a stray curl behind my ear.

“Was there something wrong with my hair?”

Adrian’s eyes flashed, his nostrils flaring the barest inch. “Only that every time I’ve felt it brush over my skin tonight, I’ve had to resist the urge to wrap it aroundmy fist.”

My face flooded with warmth, hot and urgent. I lifted my hand up to his chest and patted twice. “The fact that you had the urge would be showing too much emotion, don’t you think, sweetie?”

Adrian’s hand squeezed mine, playfully chastising me with a touch to compliment his words. “You may be tempting that conviction.”

Pride hit my chest like a lightning bolt, satisfied that I was the one to break his control.

“Adrian Juptier, I should kill you for this,” a sultry voice said to my left. I whipped my head around, to find out whothe fuckwas speaking to Adrian with that much innuendo in their tone, only to find Corinna staring at us with a cocked hip and her arms crossed over her chest.

My smile fell an inch before I caught it and plastered it back on.

Right, she’d been approaching. Which was why Adrian did and said everything he just had.

My heart was still pounding, beating against my chest in a steady drum, just not from anxiety anymore.

“And what wouldthisbe?” Adrian returned, with an equally teasing lilt to his voice. I hadn’t spoken to Corrina that often, not enough to tell if she and Adrian had a uniquely flirtatious dynamic or if simply speaking to the goddess of love imbued your tone with something light and flirtatious.

For all I knew, the gods hooked up all the time. Hell, two different pairs of them had gotten married over the last year.

I twisted out of Adrian’s hold, but held onto his hand. His grip tightened in one, inquiring pulse but I ignoredit.

I couldn’t let him see any of the jealousy, because it was out of place andwrongconsidering we were nothing to each other but a transaction.

Corinna pursed her full, red lips in a pout. “You would think that as the goddess of love, I would be entitled to some inside information about your relationship status. Especially with the first one you’ve shown publicly.”

Great, so she was privy to his private relationships, too.

“And as a friend?” Adrian said, saying the wordfriendwith a force that made me think it was a boundary placed for my benefit.

But friends could easily cross the line into something more. Maybe it had with them, if the gleam in Corinna’s eyes was to be believed. “The fact remains, Adrian, it would have been nice to be warned.”

Warned? Excuse me?

“A warning?” I said, smiling wide and creasing my brows. There was a clear threat in my voice, but I wanted to see if she had the gall to explain what she meant.

Corinna stumbled back a step, grabbing a chair to steady her. “For exactly that reason,” she said, smoothing her hair out of her face. “I wouldn’t be drinking wine if I knew I was in for a different type of buzz.”