Page 21 of For the Gods' Sake

The snap of a portal opening and closing yanked me out of my head, making me jerk sharply.

A warm, large hand that took up the space from my lower back all the way to where the dress dipped under my shoulder blades steadied me. It should have been comforting, but a spark ran in both directions along my spine.

“First,” I said, addressing the god in my living room, “How did you get in my house? And second, I thought Persy was grabbing me.” I turned to face Adrian. I didn’t realize how close he was standing, our faces mere inches apart.

“I knew what your front door looked like after I dropped off that dress from dinner. I just came inside this time,” Adrian explained, his voice skating over my skin. “And change of plans. It made more sense for me to come to you.”

“Well,” I said, clearing the odd flash of disappointment in my chest. I’d been to Olympus before, but I assumed when I went with Adrian, I’d get a peek of his life there. “Another time, then.”

“Oh, there will be.” Adrian grinned wickedly, the space between his lip and cheek creasing with a long dimple on both sides of his mouth. “In fact, we should probably discuss you spending the night on Olympus.”

My mouth dropped open a inch in shock, but Adrian pushed right through it, like what he said wasn’t off-the-walls insane. “Are you ready?”

I had to forcefully blink away the fog in my head. “What?”

“Are you ready?” He repeated. And damn him, he was fighting a smile.

That made my competitiveness flare. Enough of him making me flustered. I agreed to this. I could handle it. It was time for him to get a taste of his own medicine.

I took a small step away, but moved my hand up to curl around his arm and grip his bicep.

Ignoring the fact that he was clearly hiding a sheet of metal under his suit, his muscles were just that solid, I gave him a slow pass over with my eyes. I took in his tux—a black so deep it rivaled even the darkest of nights. His hair—the longer strands pushed back and looking like he’d gotten a fresh cut. His face—clean shaven and far too perfect.

And whatever aftershave he was using needed to be studied for its brain-altering affects.

“You approve?” I asked, with a slight raise of my eyebrow and tilt of my head. I wasn't supposed to give two fucks what he actually approved of. I just wanted to force him to look at me so I could see if he was feeling even an ounce of the disrupting energy I was.

Adrian did that thing I was starting to learn was a habit of his, where he pressed his tongue into his cheek, then moved it over his teeth in a slow move of assessment. His eyes dragged slowly down my body as he did it. When he spoke, I made no move to hide my smile. His voice sounded rougher than normal. “You look beautiful.”

After he said it, his mouth stayed slightly open, like he was going to add something, before closing with a hard clench of his jaw. Again with that cold control of his. “Would you like to take a portal in or take a car?”

“Which do you think will be most dramatic?” Adrian normally arrived by portal right onto any steps leading into buildings. Not that I was paying attention to that.

Adrian ran his hand over his jaw, looking at me with an openly intense expression. “Pulling up in a car would certainly attract attention. But I think a portal packs thepunch we need it to.”

“Portal it is then,” I said, trying and failing to hide my glee. I didn’t know any humans who’d had the pleasure of going through a portal with a god.

“But,” Adrian carefully peeled my hand from his arms, linking our fingers together and gripping tightly. “You have to hold on to me for dear life. I’m not having a picture of you bloody and bruised in the papers tomorrow.”

Something close to nausea passed over his features, but I was too busy trying to subtly shake my arm to dispel the tingling sensation shooting up it. I didn’t have this type of physical reaction to people—ever.

It was just his power, I told myself. Of course, I’d never felt something like this before. Because I’d never held hands with thegod of the fucking skies.

The ridiculousness of the situation aside, I stepped into Adrian’s side. “After you.”

Adrian looked at me skeptically and before he could back out and insist we take a car, I pulled on his hand a little. “It’ll be distracting and dramatic. That’s what we want, right?”

“Right.” Adrian swallowed hard, like he was trying to clear a stone from his throat. He muttered something under his breath that sounded a whole lot likelosing my damn mind, but before I could needle him and ask him to speak louder, a gust of wind swept through my living room as Adrian gathered a portal.

Against my better judgment and desire to act calm even if I was freaking out internally, my hand gripped his tighter, pulling our bodies flush together.

“Just step through with me, honey,” Adrian said low, like it was just for the two of us. Even though there wasno one else in the room. “Just one step.”

I nodded and let him pull me through arip in the motherfucking fabric of space and timelike that was a normal thing for me to do on a Sunday night. Maybe it was, dating a god and all.

The rush of adrenaline that whipped through my body as my living room disappeared and the bottom step of one of Rome’s most ancient museums appeared was hot and urgent. It raced through each of my limbs before pooling in my left hand. The one intertwined with Adrian’s.

I looked at our hands, momentarily transfixed by the contrast of my bright red nails to Adrian’s tanned skin pulled over strong bones and thick veins. The moment was interrupted, however, by what could only be described as a shriek.

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