Vicious Rebel (82 Street Vandals #2) - Heather Long Page 0,40
and led me back out into the garage. The cold air hit me in a rush, and without the sweater or the overalls, my nipples went on point and so did all the hair on my body.
After he snagged some heavy black coat off a hook, Rome led me right out another door I hadn’t seen in the far back of one of the bays. It went into a utility area and then out into the violently bright light of day. After the muddy light inside, it made my eyes water.
I was still shivering, so I didn’t complain when he draped me in a heavy jacket that threatened to swallow me whole. He zipped it up, and then he put a helmet on my head.
“I’ve never ridden a motorcycle,” I confessed.
The blue bike was the same one Liam had used to follow Doc and me when I got away.
“Just hold onto me,” Rome said as he straddled the bike. “Put your feet here and here, wrap your arms around me, and hold on. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He didn’t have a helmet. The giant one he’d put on me smelled like Liam—mint and cloves. I straddled the bike behind him, threaded my arms around him, and leaned into his back.
As soon as I was secure, he walked the bike back, and it rumbled to life, vibrating beneath us like a growling tiger.
“Hold on, Starling,” Rome called back to me, and then we were racing forward. He didn’t even slow before he turned out into traffic, weaved through the intersection, and whipped away.
Somewhere back there, I’d left my frantically beating heart as the bike continued to accelerate.
Then we were flying.
First Impressions
Emersyn
“Emersyn!” The snap of Marta’s demand cut through my focus like a heated blade. I swore the woman did it on purpose. I had not mastered the latest series of movements for the “Pride of Giselle” that I was supposed to perform on opening night.
Dimitri Vankovich was one of the best choreographers in the country. The show was lucky to have him. I was a most fortunate girl to get to earn his tutelage. But he was also an asshole who changed his mind repeatedly, and every day, there’d been a new segment of the routine. He’d either removed something or added it.
I wouldn’t fail.
“Yes, Marta?” I faced the company manager and my chaperone, who spent more time scolding me than she did managing anyone else, as she stomped toward me. A man followed in her wake, his stroll far easier than hers. If anything, he looked amused.
I couldn’t stand the woman. But no one asked me about whether I wanted her to be my chaperone. My fourteenth birthday, she had allowed the company to give me a cupcake with no frosting on it and to sing me happy birthday.
I wasn’t actually allowed to eat it, because she thought my weight was already too much. I’d lost ten pounds since then.
“Your new partner has arrived.”
My new what?
“Emersyn Sharpe, this is Eric Arlington.” The blond giant behind her offered me a smile as he moved toward the stage I’d been working on. My practice room was too small for the leaps, and we were going to be adding silks to the choreography as soon as the techs got them added out here.
Dimitri had been apoplectic they weren’t already available.
With ease, Eric hoisted himself on stage and held out his right hand to me as he approached. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re a gifted dancer.”
I raised a brow and then clasped his hand. He squeezed mine, and his smile deepened. He was tall. My head didn’t quite reach his shoulders. His hands swallowed mine. I somehow didn’t think lifts were going to be a problem.
“You should get changed, Eric,” Marta said in that waspish tone of hers. “Then return here. Emersyn can run you through the program so far. He will be dancing Giselle with you. Dimitri will adjust the choreography later today.”
“Sounds good,” Eric said, giving her a salute, then winking at me when his back was to her. It would be nice to have an ally here. He held my hand a moment longer, then released it before he strolled toward offstage to where the dressing rooms were.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Marta scolded, reminding me that she was still present. “He’s a grown man and you are still a little girl. If you are dancing together, I will be here for every moment.”