Page 56

Thank goodness I did, because two middle-aged women, who looked like they loved to spend their days gossiping over wine, were standing there with slack jaws, staring at me and Adrian.

Adrian moved me in front of him, pulling me close to his chest and I caught a yelp at the last minute. With him pressed along every inch of my back, I could feel how hard he was. A blotchy, scandalized blush started crawling its way up my neck and cheeks and Adrian said, “Apologies for the shock, ladies. I was simply stealing a moment of privacy with Reyna.”

The woman on the left snorted and muttered something under her breath that I was sure was something likeI’m sure that’s what you were doingbut opted to plaster a smile on her face and say, “Weapologize for interrupting.”

I peeled my hand off Adrian’s forearm and waved it in the air in dismissal. “No apology necessary. We were just about to…” I trailed off as I looked up at Adrian, at a sudden loss for words.

What were we going to do?

Adrian’s hand squeezed my hip, and I wasn’t sure if he was praising or chastising me for my stumble. His lips turned up into another confident grin and turned back to the women. “Best we get back to our date,” he said, his hands still pressed into my shoulders. “I assume we can trust your discretion with our little…excursion?”

The ladies nodded quickly, mischief lighting their eyes. Despite their agreement, they had no intention of staying silent.

Adrian’s words were the same as someone telling you not to touch a hot stove. The second the warning was placed, your desire to skate your fingers over the burning surface only grew.

And those women wouldcertainlybe telling anyone who would listen that they’d interrupted a sunset tryst between Rome’s favorite couple.

I had to force myself to think of it as a good thing, the distraction we needed, instead of an invasion of privacy.

With knowing nods, they walked past us, too distracted by us to connect that we were far too close to their meeting place to draw suspicion. If they were involved at all.

One of the women was in a sleeveless shirt, no tattoo in sight. But the other was in long sleeves like the rest of them.

After they rounded the corner, I realized that Adrianwas still pressed soundly to my back.

More importantly, however, he was stillhardagainst my back. A shiver flew across my limbs, making me jerk in his arms.

“This was your idea,” he said, growling the words right into my ear. “Handle it.”

“I’d like to handle you,” I shot back, realizing too late the retort didn’t hold near the amount of fire I’d intended.

I could feel Adrian’s mouth pulling into a grin against the shell of my ear. “Want to try that again?”

I twisted out of his hold, bringing my elbow down at the same time. Trying to aim for the far-too-large length of him, if only to distract from the memory of it.

Because of course he did, Adrian grabbed my elbow before it could get anywhere near him, using his grip on me to drag his palm down my fevered skin to secure my hand in his.

It wasn’t until he pulled me after him through yet another portal back into his office that I realized I’d barely registered the stomach drop, the windswept feeling of stepping between worlds.

Before I could question, then panic, about the growing feeling of comfortability, Emre walked through Adrian’s office door, somehow already attuned to the problem at hand.

“What do you need?” he asked Adrian, brutally efficient.

“Athena. Now,” Adrian ordered casually, the only indication that he was anything other steady was the hard pressure of his hand in mine. It took me a second to register that we—he—had more important things to focus on than that clearly ill-advised kiss. “And Persy,”Adrian added, punctuated by a stiff nod from Emre as he left to go fulfill Adrian’s request.

I looked up at him, my eyes centering on the hard muscle pulsing in his jaw. “Adrian, this might be a good thing. You have more information now.”

Adrian scratched his hand over his jaw then down his neck. “We have more information, yes. But all that does is point to higher level of organization.”

Daphne appeared through a portal right outside Adrian’s open office door a second later, running a hand to smooth her already perfect waves, pulling them in front of her shoulder. She walked briskly through the door, giving me a small smile before focusing back on Adrian.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, turning right as Persy appeared in the spot she’d just occupied, like she knew she was going to be there.

Daphne and Persy shared a look, but exchanged no words. Persy walked over to one of the couches, leaning back and crossing one of her long legs over the other. Daphne opted to stand, turning back to us—Adrian was leaning against his desk and me standing next to him.

And then I watched it happen. Watched Daphne’s divinity pour over her. Her already observant hazel eyes took on a more open, poignant glint, able to catch onto tiny changes in her space. Her shoulders settled back with the confident grace of someone who knew they were capable.

But even as a goddess, you could see the slight tinge of anxiety woven through her. Through the way she brushed her hair back over her shoulders. Adrian’s thigh stiffened where it was pressed to mine. He saw it too.