Austin was far from in an old suit. He was decked out in a custom tailored tuxedo, his dark hair slicked back and his face freshly shaved. Hell, even his shoes were polished to the point of reflective, and he smelled divine. I, meanwhile, was in nothing but a strapless lace corset, matching thong, and a couple of empty weapon holsters.
“Are you just going to stand there and gawk at me, or are you going to help?” I demanded in my very best sassy tone, flicking the knife at him and snapping him out of the stare down he’d been giving my tits.
He sneered, catching the knife by its blade between the flats of his palms and tossing it to hold the handle. “Didn’t Caleb ever tell you not to throw a blade unless you’re trying to hurt someone?”
“Who says I wasn’t?” I challenged, lifting my foot to place it on the chair I’d been sitting in. “Actually, pass that one back. I don’t need your help securing that.”
The sheath for that knife was strapped to my inner thigh, so I really needed no assistance putting it away and held my hand out to take it from him.
Green eyes blazing, Austin stalked across the small room to me, then ever so slowly dragged the knife tip up from my knee to the top of the sheath before carefully securing it and adjusting the Velcro straps holding it to my thigh.
“Wouldn’t have wanted you to cut yourself, Princess,” he murmured, his face unreadable as he held my gaze a long, tense moment.
“Five minutes, then we leave,” he snapped as he spun and disappeared out of the dressing room, leaving me pressing my palms to my hot cheeks, cursing myself. Just a quick glance in the mirror showed how worked up he’d just gotten me, and I desperately prayed he wasn’t yet in tune with my emotions enough to have read that from me.
“Vixen,” Cole called out, tapping lightly on the open door before entering. “You need help?”
“Um, yeah,” I huffed, trying to gather my scattered thoughts from the wake of hurricane-Austin. “Yeah, I just need help with getting this thing to sit right.” I held up the mesh and Velcro contraption that would sit just below the waistband of my dress and store both ammunition and a handgun without being obvious.
Cole nodded silently and took the harness from me, deftly strapping it around me and sliding all the correct items into their homes. He then held out my dress for me to step into, and zipped it up, his finger brushing up my spine and making me shiver.
“Seems strange,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on the back of my neck, “putting clothes on you. I can’t wait to take them off again later. Although I’m still not happy that you’re going without a disguise.”
“Cutie,” I growled, spinning in his embrace and wrapping my arms around his neck. “We’ve been over this, and I won. No disguise. Gray isn’t even in town tonight, remember? He’s been seen in Miami just this afternoon, and your guys have eyes on him as we speak.”
“What if one of his friends is there and recognizes you?” He scowled. “This is too risky.”
“If anyone does, then good. I hope they fucking-well tell him that his Foxy Girl is the one who ripped him off yet again.” My jaw hardened in stubborn determination, and Cole frowned. “Besides, you guys will be there as backup, so I’m not alone. And don’t forget I am a supernatural badass.”
“How could I ever forget,” he groaned, then kissed me lightly so as not to upset the makeup Elena had so painstakingly applied to my face. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful?”
“Cutie.” I grinned. “When am I not careful?”
“Run me through it one more time,” I demanded, snagging a glass of champagne from a passing server and sipping it. Not because I needed to drink but more as something to do with my hands.
“No. I have run through it maybe four times since we arrived here, and I don’t even know how many times before tonight. You know the plan.” Austin was pitching his voice low, maintaining a polite, calm expression that contradicted his frustrated tone of voice.
Over the countless test runs and simulations we had done in the past few weeks, Wesley had eventually concluded that Austin and I held the most relevant skills for the job, so while Cole, River, and Caleb were in attendance as waitstaff, Austin and I were running point.
“All okay down there?” Wesley’s voice crackled over the little earpiece I wore, and I smiled at his concern. So far the most exciting thing that had happened was some old drunk grabbing my ass. Hopefully things would stay that way, too. Nice and boring.
“All is fine, Wes,” Austin responded quietly, letting the little microphone pick up his voice, and I heard Lucy’s distinctive laugh in the background.
The gala was being held in a staggeringly ostentatious mansion on the outskirts of Toronto, so Lucy, Elena, and Wesley were back in our hotel room listening in and generally just backing us up in case we needed tech help in a hurry.
“So?” I prompted Austin, and he gusted a long sigh.
“As soon as Caleb sets the diversion, you make the switch with the rings, and I activate the illusion spell. Simple as that. Should take no more than a few seconds at most.” He raised an eyebrow at me in a vaguely condescending way. “Do you have it now? Or shall I repeat myself? Again.”
“No need to be an asshole, Austin,” I murmured, smoothing a hand down the bodice of my dress and feeling the comforting outlines of my knives under the fabric. Not that I should need them, but it never hurt to be prepared.
“Oh, fucking seriously?” Austin snarled. “What the fuck is he doing here?” His gaze had locked on someone behind me, so I turned to see who it was. A slow smile spread over my face as I locked eyes with the granite grey ones staring back at me.
Vali was also immaculate in a tuxedo with his shoulder-length hair pulled back into a short ponytail and his usual stubble shaved clean off. He looked like utter sin, and my nipples tightened with desire just from looking at him.
“Let’s see what the hell he’s playing at and make sure he knows not to interfere with our mission,” Austin muttered, placing a strong hand on my lower back just above my Glock and steering me through the crowds toward my Romanian bad boy. As we came closer though, Vali held my gaze and gave a tiny, barely perceptible headshake, which I knew was him telling me not to approach. Clearly, whomever he was here with, they weren’t people Vali wanted me meeting.
“Actually, darling,” I said in a louder voice, turning to Austin and placing a hand on the front of his shirt. “Why don’t we dance a little? We always come to these things, and you never dance with me.” I pouted like a petulant trophy wife, and Austin’s emerald eyes widened a fraction. He flicked a lightening fast glance from me to Vali and back again before sinking into the character he was playing.
“Well, sugar pea, that’s because you can’t dance,” he responded, loud enough for the men standing near us to hear and chuckle a little.