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I couldn’t be near him, couldn’t look at him, even across a crowded room. I found Eleni and stayed plastered to her side until I physically couldn’t anymore.

“Speech time,” she said, smiling and squeezing my forearm.

“Go.” I nodded, pushing her lightly toward the front of the room. “Thank you.”

Eleni stood on the few steps separating the two levels of the ballroom, gathering the attention of the small crowd with just her presence alone.

“Thank you all for being here today.” Eleni smiled warmly, her inviting energy casting the room in a soft glow. “I, along with Lord and soon-to-be Lady Poseidon, feel it's important to recognize what a special opportunity this new season brings.”

The mention of our wedding turned my back to steel. Did Lukas even want to get married anymore?

I snuck a glance over at him and he was looking at Eleni, or somewhere behind her, with a hard jaw.

“It’s also important to remember that in times of change, things may look a little different. Nature reacts to change, bends to the gods that fuel it. But this change is a wonderful one.”

My throat was tight, my chest heaving as I fought off a wave of emotion. The side of my face sparked with attention, only the type Lukas could evoke, but by the time I’d turned, his eyes were on the floor.

“Lord Poseidon and Lady Athena’s union represents a monumental change. While their ancestors may not have gotten along,” Eleni continued. That was a nicer characterization of our torrid past. “It is a blessing that the two lines have chosen to peacefully merge, strengthening House Poseidon and supporting House Minerva.”

Our marriage was the right thing to do. But even if it was world-ending, I’d still want it. Want Lukas.

Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop it. It was in our blood to hate each other, and yet, somehow, we’d found a friendship in it all.

Found a lot more than that. Before it fell apart.

Everyone’s attention was pinned to Eleni as she said, “A beautiful thing, isn’t it?”

I thought of Lukas again. I couldn’t look at him. I knew exactly where he was in the room, but looking at him would ruin me. Absolutely gut me.

I fought against it, held on for dear life, but my body knew what I wanted. What I needed.

I looked up at the same time he did, our gazes colliding.

Lukas’s eyebrows were pinched together, his mouth slightly parted when he looked at me. And then he noticed the tears. All the muscles in his face went slack, and even from afar, I could see the blood drain from his face.

So I stopped hiding it. How deep I was in this. I was sure I looked dumbstruck with love. Sure that he was seeing it for the first time in its full form. All I could do was let my eyebrows lift in the center and shake my head. Without speaking, he knew what I was saying.What, Luke? I tried to tell you.

And then everything shifted. I could see the exact moment he snapped, his restraint broken by the love he saw in my eyes.

Lukas took in a weighty breath through his nose, flaring his nostrils a little and his head cocking to the side. His eyes dropped to the deepest part of the ocean, the dark blue opening a window in everything he was thinking. I watched as the anger bowed to a much more powerful emotion.

Raw, desperate hunger.

Through a hoard of people, the invisible connection between us went taut, tension reverberating down the line. A spark flashed down my spine, settling low in my stomach.

And even though my heart was kicking up speed, my breathing growing quicker, my mind felt calm with realization.

Because Iknew.

We were going to have sex.

Now. As in right now.

Almost peacefully, I turned to set my glass down. I didn’t even bother to excuse myself, just walked out the door into the empty, dark hallway. I started toward our quarters, only looking over my shoulder when I heard the click of a door.

I sucked in a breath at what I saw. Lukas looked almost feral with need, his chest heaving.

Oh, he was going to wreck me. The thought sent a single bolt shooting from my chest to my core, spurning me down the hall.