Page 130 of The Wildcard

“What?” she said just as Verana started from beside her,

“Well, that went well.”

Angel shrugged at her question but then turned to Kyle as he responded with a smile Ray didn’t believe for one second,

“Just three more hours of this mess,” he said, and Ray scoffed softly.

She moved so she wasn’t pressed between Angel and Kyle anymore,

“Just thirty minutes until the entire world knows.” She amended and heard the groan reverberate from Kyle’s chest as he moved as well.

“So what now?” Luke asked, a smile on his face as he sipped his drink and eyed Ray. She arched a brow, because Lukeknewthe answer to that question. Was just goading her to get a reaction out of her.

Ray gave him none.

She turned to Kyle briefly, the question on the tip of her tongue as Kyle read her expression. His eyes brightened, his entire composure lifting as he realized what they had to do next.Thiswas Kyle Larsen, the boy with a purpose. The boy with a snake’s mind and a sweet tongue. He used it now, just as Ray turned to face Angel as well, a serene smile on her face as she extended her gloved hand forward.

Angel watched her with a concentration that had a shiver crawling up her spine. He tracked her every moment. From the step ahead to the hand she extended. Auselesspart of her couldn’t help but revel in that attention. But she made sure to keep her mind on track as she blinked and tipped her chin to look up at him,

“Now, we give them a show.”

She said softly and smiled at the surprise in Angel’s amber eyes,

“So Raven, are you ready?”

Before he could respond, Kyle was stepping ahead and asking Mia Andrews the same question, his green eyes twinkling as he eyed the girl. Mia gave him nothing as he extended his hand and said softly,

“Care for a dance?” he asked, and Ray saw Mia’s body gravitate forward in sheer interest, her eyes shining with a crazy sort of gleam as she muttered her response.

On Ray’s opposite side, she saw Luke laugh softly and take step in Verana’s direction.

She must not have been expecting it, because the girl stumbled back a step, her eyes wide in offense as she scoffed at the question Luke hadn’t asked yet.

“I’d rathernot–”

“I haven’t asked yet, Verana.” Luke said smoothly, his grey suit rustling as he stepped closer. Ray watched with the quirk of her lips as Verana straightened her shoulders and faced him dead on. Luke would have denied it, but Ray saw the way his eyes lit up when he looked her. Saw the way his eyes snagged on every inch of her body and thatdress.

Evenshe’dbeen rendered speechless when she’d seen Verana Smith in that beautiful burnt orange ballgown. It was off shoulder like hers was, with a deep neck. It curved perfectly around her chest and swayed below – with only a slit between the length of the dress.

Somehow, it had suited the other girl in ways Ray hadn’t been able to describe.

“Eyes on me Storm,” Came Angel’s voice, a simple purr that woke goosebumps on her arm.

She snapped her head in his direction and saw his amber eyes on her shoulder. Herpatched upshoulder that had effectively covered the wound perfectly. Ray could still feel her entire body throb in pain when she moved around, but it was something she’d gotten accustomed to.

He noticed her attention on him and looked away from her shoulder, his amber eyes burning as he took a swift step closer. Ray tipped her chin as Mia and Kyle walked away hand in hand to the dance floor.

The music arose like a sudden storm, awakening all the people around them.

The fools turned their eyes to Kyle, the boy who walked with Mia Andrews – Angel’s sister.

The clever stayed back and watched carefully as Luke swept a complaining Vera away to the dance floor. Jack and Christina cleared away as well, giving the entire crowd a way to the actual show. Ray smiled, a dangerous tilt to her lips and Angel mirrored her actions.

Her body swayed with the way of the piano behind them, with the bass reverberating from the ground to her toes and all the way up her spine.

Everyone watched them.

Therealfaces who held this show. And it made everything in her mind all the more clear.

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