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Chapter Nine
“Try to stop me.” Shemoaned the words out just before knocking her head against the table. Thrice. “What the heck was I thinking, saying that?”
Yuri had no answer. He was too busy laughing.
She glared. He was Yuri Athanas. He was supposed to be everyone’s knight in shining armor. He was supposed to help her,notlaugh at her.
When he finally recovered, Yuri saw that MJ was giving him a nasty look. With her shoulder-length hair tied back in pigtails – her payment for losing a bet to his younger sister – she looked more like an angry preschooler than someone who had been able to enslave one of the world’s most popular and hottest bike racers.
“I’m sorry.” His lips twitched as he spoke the words and he had to stop, feeling like he was about to be overcome with laughter once more.
MJ knocked her head against the table for the fourth time. “What am I going to do, Yuri? He hates me even more now, and it’s all your fault.”
The childish accusation only made Yuri smile. It had been a long time since he and the others were exposed to such innocence. Even Hallie was not this open or honest, and it was probably why his sister was just as fond of MJ as the rest of them.
“It’s not my fault and you know it.”
“He thinks you’re my secret crush.” MJ was able to say it out loud since she and Yuri were alone in the garage. The rest of the club was out racing.
“You should have told him the truth.”
“No way! Can you just imagine how he’d react?” She mimicked Helios’ perfectly clipped tone as she said in a gruff voice, “Who the fuck do you think you are? I. Am. Helios. Andreadis. The President. El Presidente. Shachou. Zong Tong. Il Presi—”
Yuri shook his head and said severely, “You are making fun of him now. Are you truly sure he is your secret crush?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. Whenever Yuri allowed his guard to be completely down, his English would go from casual to formal, his accent thickening. It was quite cute, really.
Yuri frowned. “And now you are laughing at me.” He gave her a gentle nudge on the shoulder. “Enough wasting time. Go practice.”
“Tyrant,” she mumbled even though she was already heading back to Yuri’s bike. She had woken up early this morning with a brilliant idea: she would conquer her fear of bikes andthiswould be her big love confession to Helios.
But now that she was here, having to actually ride a bike, it didn’t seem that brilliant of an idea.
“Whatever you are thinking right now, stop it,” he commanded firmly. “You are the master of this beast, not the other way around.” He forced her hands to grip the handlebars. “Keep your hands there until you are used to all the sounds and vibrations this beast is making.”
Looking at MJ tremble as she tried to stay calm on an unmoving bike, Yuri acknowledged the fact that she was not, at first glance, what would seem like the perfect companion for Helios. He knew that by letting her into their club, he had taken a huge risk. If she ended up hurting Helios for whatever reason, Yuri would never forgive himself.
But what if it was the other way around? The chance of MJ healing the wounds in Helios’ heart was a risk worth taking, surely?
“I want to puke,” MJ whispered.
“Control it.” He knew he was being too tough on her, but he had a feeling it was the only way to help her get past her fears. She looked terrified now. Vulnerable. At that moment, it struck him that he was also taking a risk with her. What if Helios ended up hurting MJ? Was he doing the right thing, pairing someone so innocent with someone made dark and bitter by the past?
Did MJ even know who Helios Andreadis really was? Yuri wondered. Did she truly understand what kind of man Helios was, even when he was still a boy, to have found the courage to move halfway across the world and build a billion-dollar empire all on his own?
Looking at MJ, Yuri knew that it didn’t really matter. MJ understood Helios in a way that none of them did, and she had a connection with the president that none of them could ever have. The only thing they had to work on was making Helios accept that MJ would not weaken him. Rather, she would be his greatest strength.
Easier said than done,Yuri thought a moment later when a customized silver Icon Sheene came roaring in, with a cold-looking Helios at the helm. A moment later, a bright pink Hubless Harley Davidson shot inside the garage, its driver expertly showing off as she made a 360-degree twist in the air before parking next to Helios’ bike.
Yuri slowly released his hold on MJ’s hands.
This...was not going to be good.
