They were elegance and grace; we were brute force and primal violence.
Maddie, however, was nodding. “You’re going to be brilliant, Kardok. People will pay a ridiculous amount per ticket, ostensibly to help the youth league, but really to see you out of your element, doing something so very different from your reputation.”
“So they can mock me?” I kept my tone even, as if the thought hadn’t made my stomach curl.
She shook her head, reaching for her laptop once more. “They won’t dare because you’re going to kick ass. You have four weeks to rehearse, and the choreography will suit your skills—Lila isn’t going to ask you to do something you’re not comfortable doing.”
Lila.
The image of that tight skirt clinging to her delicious curves popped into my head again. If I agreed to this, I’d be able totouchthose curves, hold her.
Whoa, whoa, you don’t even know for certain that’s her.
Right, I was just assuming. And distracted as hell by a tempting female.
“Kardok?” Maddie prompted, turning the laptop around so I could see the screen. “This is from her last competition.”
She pressed play on a muted video, and I leaned forward, my claws threatening to dent the table as I gripped it too hard to hold myself steady.
It was her.
A younger her, yeah, not as curvy, but I’d recognize her anywhere. She wore a pale pink, sparkly dress of some sort, and flowed across the ice like she was some sort of mythical creature.
Elegant. Graceful. Refined.
Everything I wasn’t.
I swallowed. Maddie—corporate?—thought I could pull this off, but I was significantly less certain. Negative certainty up in here, really.
But it would mean redemption. I could do this, make a fool of myself, for the rich backers who were willing to fund our youth league. If that humiliation was what it took for the team—thefans—to forgive me, then I would do it.
And who knows, maybe I would learn some restraint and control while I was at it.
As if it could read my thoughts, myKteergave a little rumble of dissatisfaction, and I cursed myself for listening.Feeling. I lived in the human’s world now, and I needed to be able to control my instincts.
Or I’d end up causing the team more harm.
So I took a deep breath and lifted my chin, meeting Maddie’s concerned gaze. “I’ll do it.” I could claim it was just for a chance to get to touch Lila Fairbanks, but I knew better. “For the PR.”
She nodded firmly, a knowing glint in her eyes telling me she’d seen through my act. “For the PR. For Fairbanks Enterprises, for the Teal Terrors…and for you.”
Chapter Three
Lila
Our meeting was at four.I, of course, was there by three-thirty. One of the tutors Daddy had hired for me when I was a little girl had drilled punctuality into me, said it was the manifestation of good manners. But in this case, I wasn’t early to be polite…
I was here so I could feel in control.
Not that I needed to reacquaint myself with the ice; this wasmyice, where I’d grown up skating and practicing—feelingfreeas I glided, twirled, leapt.
I also knew the facility well enough to know what we needed. This was the smaller rink, the one usually used for private practices or pairs. Mornings—especially the hours before school—were usually packed with skating rehearsals. Then during the day, the Terrors took up the ice with their practice and individual drills. By four in theafternoon, most of the guys should be off the ice, and we’d have it to ourselves before the evening rush of youth hockey began.
So yes, I booked this time and place yesterday, guessing at what was necessary. But I suppose my position in the company could have worked in my favor there, too.
I took a deep breath, rolled my shoulders, placed my notebook and binder on the bench, and stood. I’d already stretched before putting on my skates, and now I paused at the edge of the rubber matting to inhale the scent of the ice.
Here in Colorado, summer was a few glorious months of desperate growing, bright sunshine, and all the mountain biking anyone could stand. But here inside the Bramblebluff Ice Complex, it was always winter.
