Once I’m back on my feet with a blush staining my cheeks, I turn to the guys, pretending nothing clumsy just happened. They catch on fast thankfully. “You look….” Ty begins, “Stunning.” Seth says at the same time Kier says, “Like a Goddess.”
I clutch my hands to my chest and growl, “Fuck you! That’s not even close to being a compliment. All you Gods and Goddesses are dicks with ugly hearts and souls.”
“Don’t sugar coat it or anything. Geez, words hurt you know.” Kier hangs his head before lifting it and smirking at me as he leans right into my face, “You could kiss the hurt away.”
“Urgh!” I shove him away from me with a hand to the face and turn to Ty, “If I have to have an escort to this stupid thing, then you’re it.” I brush past him and pull the door open. “Keep your hands to yourself and your eyes above the neck.”
I glance back over my shoulder to find three sets of eyes glued to my ass. “What did I just say?” I snap, drawing their gazes back to my face.
“I don’t see any lines.” I hear Ty whisper a little too loudly. “Mustn’t be wearing-.”
“Not another word or I’ll find Tanner and he can be my escort for the night.”
“Low blow.” Ty mutters barely loud enough to hear as he and the other guys take the lead. I pretend I don’t hear him, because let’s face it, I’d rather these three hanging around than Tanner who’s been pestering me practically nonstop over his Goddess theory. Besides, even I have to admit, the three of them clean up nicely, those black suits make them look the part at least. I stumble once more over the hem of the stupid dress as I crane my neck to get a better look at their tight asses in their suit pants.
Of course my shoe just happens to get caught in the grass of the courtyard we’re crossing. Kier’s quick reaction time prevents me from face planting into the dew-covered grass and ruining the pretty, but way too overpriced, dress.
Note to self, don’t ogle the Gods-in-training and walk at the same time. It’s bad for your badass reputation to always be falling on your face.
Ty steps up to the door of the hall and holds his arm out to me. With another eye roll, I link my arm through his and together we step into the room.
It’s hard not to groan at the sheer arrogance of the Gods, they’ve decorated the entire room with gold. Wispy fabric hung like drapes, tables set along the edges with, you guessed it, gold table cloths and plates, goblets and candles dotted along the surface. Even the damn lighting casts a golden glow. “This is-.”
“Magical?” Ty suggests when I can’t find the right words to describe the idiocy of so much opulence.
“You could feed an entire nation off the cost of just one of those plates.” I growl. I know I shouldn’t take my mood out on them… actually scratch that, they deserve it.
And my night wouldn’t be complete without the assholes of the hour making an appearance….
TWENTY-ONE
KIER
My Angel is far too beautiful to ignore. Hell, she outshines every Goddess here and I’m not the only one staring at her with stars in my eyes. Every single God or fledgling God is staring right at her. Even the Goddesses look like they want to claw her eyes out. Although now that I think about it that’s probably a bad thing.
My point is, she outshines everyone.
“Hello, my dear. May I have this dance?” Ares asks, touching Ryxa on the arm lightly. I want to kill Ares. There is no other way to explain it. I straight up am going to kill him for so much as touching my girl.
“No.” Or maybe I’ll just stand back and watch my girl eat him alive.
She looks fierce as she glares the elder God right in the face and tells him, “I don’t dance. Not with you.” My smirk grows bigger at the look of utter shock on Ares’ face. I move up to her side, placing my hand on her hip, nudging Ty out of the way. She turns those breathtaking eyes on me, “And not with you.” My smirk drops, right along with my heart.
“Come on, Ty.” I watch with the same look on my face that Ares had as she walks away from me, tugging Ty onto the dance floor. He just stands there like a statue, so she grabs his hands, placing one firmly on her hip and the other on her shoulder. I can’t hear what she’s saying from here, but he nods and smiles softly. He’s as lost in her as I am. Anyone can see that. It’s the way she looks up at him that has me wanting to punch my own brother though.
And then Zeus ruins the moment, “Welcome ladies and gentleman, I hope you’re all having a wonderful night so far. We have some very special guests with us this evening. Our very first quadruple. Kier, Ty, and Seth Typhon, with their partner Ryxa Day. Please welcome them to the stage with a big round of applause.”
We didn’t warn Angel about any of this, in hindsight, we probably should have, but it didn’t seem important. Normally the announcement is made at the end of the night, but apparently Zeus thought it was a good idea to change things up a bit. Angel’s face is bright red as she struggles against Ty’s hold.
Worried she’ll try and bolt, I cross the room and grab her arm, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “Play nice now, Angel, we wouldn’t want to anger the man who can turn you into a zombie, now would we?”
“I’ll play nice, so long as I don’t have to say anything to the asshole.”
“Come on then. Let’s get this over with so we can go back to your room and eat an entire tub of ice-cream and watch movies for the rest of the night.” I cross my fingers behind my back, hoping it’s enough of a reward to make her behave.
“It better be chocolate mint with M&Ms on top.”
“I’ll make sure it is.” I smile for the benefit of the crowd, but inside I’m fighting back a tremor of desire. I’m pretty sure I’ve just found the way to Angel’s heart and it makes me feel powerful. I don’t get to savour the feeling for very long. We step up onto the stage as a group and despite Ryxa’s defiant gaze, we appear to be a united front.