Page 24 of Shattered By Grace

She stepped closer to Taylor, deliberately closing the gap. "I just thought this was going to be a girls’ night."

At that moment, Tyson and Tristan moved toward them, their strides predatory.

Tyson’s gaze flicked over Victoria before he spoke, his tone calm but laced with authority. "You don’t have to worry about us tonight. We have other obligations."

He barely spared Tristan a glance, tapping him on the chest before adding, “Come on. We’re going to be late.”

Without waiting for a response, Tyson turned, his departure as smooth and effortless as ever, vanishing into the club’s shadows like he had never been there at all.

Tristan lingered for a beat longer, his gaze locking onto Victoria’s. “I’ll see you around, Grace,” he murmured, his voice a tantalizing mix of allure and intimidation. The way he said her name sent a wave of heat through her, both unsettling and magnetic. With a nod to Taylor, he followed his brother into the darkness, leaving Victoria to catch her breath.

Taylor spun around the second the twins disappeared, her eyes gleaming with pure, unfiltered curiosity. “Oh, hell no. You’re explaining. Right now.”

Victoria scoffed, feigning nonchalance as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear—hair that wasn’t even in her face. “There’s nothing to explain.”

Taylor’s brow shot up. “Nothing? Babe, you looked like you forgot how to breathe for a solid ten seconds. I thought I was gonna have to resuscitate you.”

Heat crawled up Victoria’s neck, and she swore she was turning five shades of scarlet.

Damn it. Was I really that obvious?

She hated that Taylor had noticed, hated even more that she wasn’t wrong. The last thing she wanted was to let Tristan get under her skin. He was dangerous, toxic, and everything she should be running from. And yet, here she was, practically vibrating from the lingering tension.

“It was nothing,” she insisted, waving a dismissive hand. “Let’s get a drink.”

Taylor crossed her arms. “Oh, we’re deflecting now?”

Victoria didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, she swayed dramatically to the beat of the music, arms up, moving like she was already having the time of her life. Too busy, too carefree to be interrogated. If she kept moving, if she kept distracting, maybe…just maybe…she could outrun her own feelings.

Taylor laughed, shaking her head as she looped her arm through Victoria’s. “You’re such a bad liar. But fine, drinks first. Explain later.”

She wasn’t lying about one thing. Shewasn’tready for what would happen when she started playing back.

The club pulsed around Victoria, the bass vibrating through the floor, traveling up her legs like a current. The air crackledwith energy, thick with the scent of spiced cologne, alcohol, and expensive perfume.Deep crimson and moody violet lights strobed over the crowd, making the world feel both surreal and intoxicating.

She moved with the rhythm, letting it guide her hips, her body flowing in sync with the music. Beside her, Taylor twirled, lost in the moment, laughing freely. Victoria tried to match that carefree abandon, but Tristan’s voice still clung to her skin, low and dangerous.

Damn him.

Tossing her hair back, she forced herself to focus. She was here to have fun, to forget. But even as she danced, the pull of danger still lingered, waiting for her to slip.

The bass thrummed in her chest, each beat drawing her deeper, helping her push away the weight of everything, if only for a little while.

“Hey, I’m going to get a drink.” Taylor’s voice was thick with laughter, teetering on the edge of recklessness.

“I’ll come with you,” Victoria offered, already moving to follow.

Taylor shook her head, mouthingnoas she gestured, somewhat clumsily, toward the bar. Victoria followed her gaze to a tall, muscular guy standing there, the kind of handsome that screamed trouble.

A smirk tugged at Victoria’s lips. Averyhandsome bad idea, if she ever saw one.

“Are you sure?” Victoria’s protest was half-hearted as she watched Taylor practically sprint across the room, nearly colliding with the guy. Neither of them seemed to mind. Their laughter carried over the music, all easy grins and instant chemistry.I’ll have to ask her about him at work soon,Victoria mused.

With Taylor preoccupied, the bass was inside her, pounding in time with her heartbeat, drowning out every rational thought. Victoria moved to the music, her body lost in the rhythm, each roll of her hips a surrender to the dark, sensual energy of the club. The heat of bodies pressed around her, but none of them mattered.

She felt him before she saw him. Strong, sure hands sliding over her waist, fingertips grazing the sliver of bare skin between her dress and her thighs. A touch so undeniably his that her breath hitched.

“If I haven’t told you tonight, you look absolutely ruinous.” Tristan.

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