Page 24 of Vicious Titan

17

Elliot

Breathtaking. She’s absolutely breathtaking as she enters the room, her red hair arranged in a loose but elegant bun at the nape of her neck, baring the silky skin of her shoulders in a navy gown that looks like it was designed especially for her.

Mostly ignoring my presence, she glances around before asking, “Where’s Asher?”

I don’t reply, but I respond by moving across the room and stepping in front of her. The way her body tenses isn’t lost on me as I reach forward, cupping her hand in mine, and bring it to my mouth, brushing my lips over her knuckles. “Magnificently gorgeous, Victoria.”

She jerks her hand out of my grip, rubbing it across the satin material of her gown as she takes a step back. “I can’t do this right now. Where’s my brother? We’re already late.”

“Everything can wait.”

Her annoyed eyes glare at me as she folds her arms across her chest. “You’re already drunk, aren’t you?” Shaking her head, she presses her fingers against her temples.

Yep. I’ve had a few too many swigs already. How else am I supposed to get through the night while watching her proudly hang on the arm of Dickie? “Don’t be a buzzkill. That’s Asher’s job while he’s pining away for Quinn.”

“Where is he?”

Oh. She’s mad. And it’s refreshing. She’d been distant all week, barely responding to my petty, boneheaded attempts to make her life miserable. “He’s in the bathroom.”

She moves to the door leading to his bathroom, banging on the door as she yells her brother’s name.

“Or he might be in the closet.” Smirking, I watch as she furiously stomps to the closet door, cursing me in the process. Pounding her fist against the door. “Or he might be downstairs. I can’t really remember. Things are a little fuzzy at the moment.”

“I don’t have time for this. The driver is waiting with the limo outside, and we need to get to the fundraiser now.” She yanks the closet door open, peering inside.

“Found him!” I brag when Asher steps back into the room.

Victoria is less than enthusiastic about my discovery as she takes in her brother’s wardrobe. “Why are you not dressed? It’s time to go.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

“Yeah. No. That is as ridiculous as your idiotic sidekick driving.” Victoria flicks a finger my way before heading into the closet. She exits with a suit and lays it across the bed. “Get dressed. Now. I’ll be back in three minutes if you’re not downstairs, dressed, and ready to go.”

“Dang, she’s bossy,” I tease, enjoying that she’s finally letting me push her buttons and I plan on hammering down on them tonight.

“Right.” Asher moves to the bed, stripping off his clothes. Victoria takes that as her cue to leave and I follow behind her. She’s aware I’m behind her because she mumbles a foul-mouthed parting shot at me under her breath.

“Ready to go?”

The voice of the arty dick puts a major damper on my buzz as I watch his eager eyes take her in as we walk down the staircase.

“Almost,” she breathes, stepping close to him as they begin chatting about something. What, I don’t know because I’m too busy watching his seedy fingers stroke up the soft skin of her arm as they talk, and my ears fill with a static hum.

Just in the nick of time, Asher descends the staircase saying, “Let’s go.”

“It’s about time,” Victoria mumbles with Dalton’s slimy hand on the small of her back.

Literally every muscle in my body contracts and it takes every ounce of strength I have not to pry his measly hand away from her. Hurrying around them, I make it to the limo and motion for Dickie to enter first. “We’ll sit towards the front since we don’t have a fluffy dress to climb over.”

He looks less than enthusiastic but climbs in as I follow, thankful to put space between them. As we sit towards the front, Asher and Victoria drop into the rear seat. She’s still not far enough from the twatface, but it’ll do for now.

If she isn’t pissed at me already, she’s about to be very shortly. Reaching into my jacket for the flask I keep tucked inside for emergencies, I pour a shot because this qualifies—I won’t get through the night if his hand touches her one more time.

Victoria continues reading her brother the riot act before flicking a finger at me, because obviously I’m on her shit list too. I grin and throw my arm over Dickie’s shoulder as I say, “You might want to drink up if you’ll have to deal with that all night.” Passing him the shot glass, it’s thrilling when he downs it immediately, further enraging her. She’s pissed as she starts nagging me, but she just needs to wait … not too much longer and she’s going to be livid. It’s a price I’m willing to pay in order to ensure her date crashes and burns.