Page 92 of Dirty Little Saint

“Look at you,” Atlas coos. “You’re in heaven.”

Villette chuckles. “This is Tenebrose. We go all out.”

I grab a pink flowery teacup off a tray with more excitement than necessary. I take a sip and almost orgasm. “Why does whiskey taste better in this?”

Val snorts. “Did you just curtsy?”

“Maybe I did.” I smile coyly.

Felix drapes his arm around my neck. “And here I thought you were opposed to polite society.”

“Are you calling me a heathen, Professor?” I tease.

“You are the company you keep.” He sneaks a playful jab at Riot who always manages to look relaxed and on edge at the same time.

Despite my state of bliss, his apprehension hasn’t gone unnoticed. I watch the way he scans the room, taking note of every single person here.

Val and Atlas are on high alert as well; they’re just better at hiding it. But Riot is always one step closer to turning feral. And he doesn’t give a fuck who sees. Sometimes, I think that smiling causes him actual physical pain. But it’s my favorite thing about him.

Villette loops her arm through mine. “Dance with me?”

She shrieks as I drag her to the dancefloor in response. We laugh. We twirl each other. We make a spectacle of ourselves.

I grab a glass of champagne this time as she spins me out and back, giggling like a teenager as I almost spill half of it.

We dance and drink like this for hours, oblivious to the haters who gawk at us. Felix was right, they’re all just jealous. I pay them no mind as I continue to make a fool of myself with Villette.

When the music shifts tempo, I pause our dance to catch my breath and grab another whiskey. Over the rim of my purple teacup, I catch sight of the guys over by the bathroom. Riot, Atlas, and Felix surround the door, their shoulders squared and stances wide, jaws clenched. They look like fucking guard dogs.

My stomach knots.

“What is it?” Villette asks.

I shake my head. “Maybe nothing. But let’s go find out.”

She trails after me as I dash toward them. “What’s going on? Where’s Val?”

Riot puts his hands up to block me from charging into the men’s bathroom. “He’s fine, Maur. He’s just having a little chat with his uncle.”

Fuck.

My heart hammers in my chest. I look back and forth between them, the looks on their faces telling me everything I need to know. The room starts to spin as panic grips me, sucking all the joy from my lungs like a vacuum from hell.

I clutch my chest. “It’s tonight, isn’t it? The meeting of the elders.”

Riot’s eyes darken. His fingers tremble around my wrists. “Yes.”

Atlas

I’ve been preparing for this for weeks, knowing that any second, we’d have to act. The look of dread on Maureen’s face kills me, though. She looks so pretty in her gown at her little garden party.

“I’m sorry, love, but we have to go now,” Riot tells her.

Val gives his uncle a nod as they exit the bathroom. “It’s confirmed. All three elders will be there. All three of our fathers.”

“I’ll have the limousine take me back to Nocturnus so I can get what we need. You all wait here. Villette, I can drop you back off at the Nest along the way.”

Her cheeks flame. “Oh, hell, no. I’m coming with you guys.”

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