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He raised an eyebrow at that. Thankfully, he didn’t push it. “Perrie, us fighting isn’t going to make this work. The quicker we get our quota and we can do this without you, the quicker you can go back to your life and get a proper job.”
“You assume I haven’t been trying? Like I said, not all of us want to sell our bodies.”
“But you do.”
“Doing and wanting are different things. Sometimes I let my kid eat cookies for breakfast. Doesn’t mean I want to let her.”
His lips twitched as we pulled into the hotel valet area. “If we can’t get along, our cover is blown. To convince people we’re a couple, we have to pretend to like each other at the very least.”
“But I don’t like you, and I don’t want to like you.”
“I’m not that bad once you get to know me.”
I blinked at him. “I would rather get to know a scorpion poised to kill me than get to know you.”
For some reason, that made him laugh. A deep, husky laugh that sent shivers up my arms, making the hairs stand on end.
“God. You’re so adorable.” He got out of the car before I could process his words. “Yes, thank you,” I heard him say to the valet as I got out and shut the door.
Adrian held his arm out for me.
I stared at it and then him.
“Take my arm,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.
The eyes of the valet hovering on us questioningly made me move. I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow, standing as close to him as I could bear.
Which wasn’t very close. Anyone watching us would think—
Never mind.
Adrian closed the few inches between us and leaned his head down as we walked into the air-conditioned lobby of the hotel. “Nobody here knows who we are,” he whispered, his mouth almost touching my ear. “Swallow your annoyance for a damn hour and pretend, would you?”
“I don’t want to.”
“Tough shit.” He held his arm closer to his side, trapping my hand against him. “You agreed to this, regardless of how you think I made you do it. The other option is always available to you.”
“You’re a bastard.”
“Only when I’m dealing with a stubborn, insufferable woman.”
“Thank you. I take great pleasure in knowing I’m pissing you off.”
He laughed again. “Keep that pleasure for the next hour and people might believe that you’re my girlfriend.”
“Idiots,” I muttered, glancing around as we entered the casino.
My eyes took a moment to adjust to the smoky, stale air that enveloped us only a few steps inside the vast area. I coughed as the thickness jolted me for a moment. Adrian rested his hand over mine on his arm and guided us away from the worst area, over to where the bar was surrounded by clearer air.
“Worst part of this job—going home smelling like an ashtray,” he said under his breath.
I wasn’t going to argue it. But if that was the worst part of his job… “I’d say getting a load full of semen on your face beats that.”
He froze.
I froze.
Whoops.
I didn’t mean to say that.
He blinked his bright eyes at me for a moment before he smirked. He let my arm go, only to wrap his around my back and grip the edge of the bar, trapping me right against him. “Think about this on the bright side,” he said into my ear. “The worst part of your job tonight is that you’ll go home smelling like an ashtray.”
“Stop talking sense.” My face dipped down, my head tilting toward his. “It doesn’t suit you.”
He laughed, lifting his head and flagging the bartender. “One Budweiser and a virgin strawberry margarita, please.”
She nodded. “You got it.”
I leaned back, which unfortunately was onto his arm, and looked at him. “You remembered what I drink.”
He winked. “Mine is the same.”
“Same what? A margarita in beer bottle?
“No. Non-alcoholic.”
“But you just—”
He pressed a finger to my lips and bent down once again. “The bar workers all know us. If I ask for a beer, they know to bring me a non-alcoholic one.”
“So, the one you had when you saved my ass from the asshole tender…”
He nodded, pulling back. “It’s also why he shut up pretty quick.”
Our drinks were brought over. Adrian paid, then grabbed a bar stool for me to sit on. I perched on the edge of it as he came and stood behind me, coming in close and resting one arm along the bar between my glass and me.
My spine straightened.
“Relax,” he murmured in my ear. “I need you to be able to see the casino floor. I need people to think we’re together. I promise I won’t touch you inappropriately.”
Not that it would be a hardship.
Wait. No. I wasn’t thinking about that, not even with his hard chest pressed against my back and his breath fluttering across my cheek.
