And I blinked, realizing he was right; thatwasMaddie’s proposal. My brows went up. “I only skate for fun now.” I’d moved on to making my father look good in different ways. “It’s been years?—”
“You are famous in this area, Lila,” Maddie said sternly. “Youknowmost of the girls who sign up for lessons here want to be the next Lila Fairbanks, a pretty princess on ice.”
That had been the nickname the media had given me, and at the time, it had made me proud to be called such a thing.
“Still, I?—”
“You can still skate, Lila,” Maddie interrupted my protest. “You are still incredibly talented, poised, and beautiful. This is a PR dream, trust me.”
The chance to skate again? To do what I loved, while wearing another sparkly costume made just for me? I glanced down at my gray pencil skirt, suddenly realizing how much I’d missed that aspect of floating around the ice.
Despite my worry that too long had passed since I’d last danced with a partner, I could feel excitement building in my blood.
My father, on the other hand, was more practical. “And her partner? You said you’re going to pair her with a hockey player, right?Primal chaos, you called him. I assume you’re talking about one of the players? The captain, Bardon, maybe?”
Maddie was already shaking her head as she typed. “Inorder for this to bereallycompelling, we need to pair Lila with someone as different as possible.”
“Assuming she even agrees to do it,” Daddy cut in, then gentled his voice when he spoke to me. “You don’t have to do it just because it’ll look good, Pumpkin.”
Don’t be silly, of course I have to do it.
Besides… I took a deep breath. Iwantedto do it. “It would be fun. I’m used to pressure, and although I’ve never worked with a hockey player, I know they’re good skaters. We could work up a simple routine—I do a few jumps, no throws.”
“The costumes are what will sell it,” Maddie murmured, still bent over her computer. “An orc in a sparkly figure skating get-up? Backers will come just to see that. And to see if he falls on his face attempting the more technical spins.”
Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure about this idea. I forced my fingers to relax as I felt my stomach begin to sink. I didn’t want to humiliate anyone, and I didn’t want to be humiliated.
But to my surprise, my father spoke in support. “Lila can teach him what he needs to know to knock the backers socks off. She’s wonderful at choreography and can organize the hell out of anything.”
Flattered, I felt my lips curling softly.
He wasn’t done yet, though. “So you pair her up with someone as big and brutish as you can imagine, she’ll have him doing loop-de-loops or whatever before the big performance.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Maddie finally looked up with a satisfied nod. “Because Lila’s only half the equation. Our hockey player needs to be just as beloved, and just as desperate to look good.”
It was something about the way she said it…something which made me think of the Teal Terrors’ disastrous last game, and the reason for that final goal. My stomach sank all the way.
With a flourish, Maddie turned the laptop to show us the screen. “We need a player with a reputation for primitiveness even in the OHL, so people will pay an arm and a leg for the chance to see himcivilized.” She grinned down at the screen. “And I have one who thinks he needs to find redemption, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”
I stared, wide-eyed, at the publicity photo on the screen. The teal jersey with the wide-mouthed wicked leer, the gloved hand gripping the stick, the gleaming tusks. The ridged tongue.
Kardok.
Chapter Two
Kardok
Our postseason had begun earlierthan it should have, and it was my fault.
The Terrors had a team psychologist, and Coach Ellis had made it clear he wanted me to make an appointment…but I’d been avoiding it. I didn’t need a doctor to tell me I’d fucked up, or to help me deal with my anger—disappointment—bitterness—shame.
I had myKteerto do that for me.
All orcs are born with this primitive survival instinct, leftover from the times when we huddled in caves and hit things with sticks and stole our Mates from neighboring clans. It kept us alive and urged us to reproduce before the next freeze, or whatever, but these days, most males I know find it a massive pain in the ass, always getting in the way of their hearts or brains.
Not me, though.
I suppose it was because I’d managed to find a career where I…well, where I hit things with sticks.
