Page 33 of The Devil and His Goddess

In my haste to get to the restrooms quickly, I rounded the corner of the hallway and nearly smacked into a hard torso.

“Woah,” Perseus said, holding my upper arms to steady me. He grinned and teased, “Where’s the fire?”

I must’ve been doing a shitty job at keeping my emotions off my face, because as he looked down at me, his smile fell, morphing his features into that of concern.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned immediately.

“Nothing,” I answered too quickly as I held the ruined leotard further behind my back. I shook off his hold without meeting his eyes and mumbled, “Excuse me.”

He didn’t stop me as I passed him to finish my brisk walk to the restroom. I could’ve tried telling him what happened, but I’d learned a long time ago that doing so did nothing. I had no proof Mandi ruined my stuff. Yes, I had the pissed on garment, but nothing to back up my claim thatMandidid it. So why would Perseus believe that a twenty-one year old adult would do something as petty as piss on their coworkers clothes? It was too wild, even for me, and Iknewit was true. I didn’t expect anyone except Aiysha, Katerina, or Elijah to believe me.

I got into the bathroom and threw the ruined leotard away with still trembling hands. I went to tug on my hair out of frustration but quickly remembered they were wet with urine—Mandi’sfuckingpiss.

I ground my teeth to keep from letting out a bitter yell and immediately turned the sink on as hot as it would go. I scrubbed my hands with soap three times before I finally felt free of the disgusting fluid, but in that window of time, I realized that pee-soaked leotard had been in my bag for who knew how long with all of my other dance stuff.

I reached back into the bag and actually did let out an angry groan when I found the substance soaked into my pointe shoes, elastic work-out bands, the exterior of my toiletry bag, and all over the inside of the dance bag itself.

With aggravated tears lining my eyes, I threw everything away that had no hope of being salvaged, and I washed off what could be saved. When I was done, I gripped the edge of the sink in white-knuckled fists and reminded myself that I wasfine. My stuff was ruined, butIwas okay. I was stronger than Mandi’s twisted games. And I refused to let her have any more sway over my emotions.

Grabbing the few items that I’d managed to save—which unfortunately, didn’t include the white and pink dance bag itself—I held my head high and left. This little stunt might’ve shaken me, but itwouldn’tbreak me.

Chapter 13

Harper

MUSIC PULSED FROM THE SPEAKERS set up on the first floor of the home. As Aiysha had hoped, the house was packed with people from Silverlight, old friends, strangers, and people from the university Aiysha attended. You couldn’t walk through the house without nearly bumping into someone, but that was how Aiysha liked her parties.

Go big, or go home.

“Excuse me, Miss Ma’am.”

Speak of the devil.

I smiled and stopped my trek to the kitchen. Turning, I found Aiysha. Tonight, she’d let her curly black hair fly free around her head in a beautiful dark halo. She’d opted to wear a purple bralet and leather pants this evening, showing off every curve. Her shiny red lips widened, and she held her hand out for me. I took it, letting her hold it high so she could spin me in a circle, looking me over from head to toe.

“You still look as put together as you did when this party started,” Aiysha stated with mock outrage.

I ran a hand over my curled hair, which fell past my barely concealed breasts. The corset-style top and tight pencil skirt was, in fact, as pristine as when I’d first put it on.

“Your point?” I asked with a smirk.

She gave me an obvious eye roll and said, “You aren’t letting loose. If you’re still letting what Mandi did ruin your Saturday night, you’re going to force my hand.”

I hated to admit it, but an hour into the party and I was still wound up over the crappy ending to my workday. No amount of mingling or small talk was helping distract me from the messy situation.

Aiysha, reading me like an open book, pulled me flush against her and leaned in to whisper, “I think the perfect solution to your problem just arrived.”

I didn’t need her to clarify or elaborate. The amused, teasing lilt in her voice told me everything. Heart jumping into my throat, I slinked through the crowd with Aiysha right on my heels.

Sure enough, Perseus stood near the front door, and it seemed everyone else was trying to beeline from wherever they’d been in the house to the front of it. Perseus and the group of guys with him were being ambushed from every angle, and for the first time, I realized that Perseus—my boss,Peasant—was famous. Really famous. And these guys with him? They were the notorious Sinners Do It Better.

I recognized Zagan, who smiled at the people approaching, though I also noticed a slight edge to the grin as he tried to shield a brunette girl behind him, who had even more girls behind her. Perseus and two other guys with him beamed at the crowd of people begging for photos and autographs, while one lone guy in the group stared blankly at those who approached.

“We didn’t think this through,” I said with a sigh as I continued watching the celebrity-obsessed mob.

Aiysha laughed and nursed her drink. “No. But I’m sure it will calm down at some point. Honestly, I’m waiting for a chance to slip in and make a move myself.”

“On which one?”

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