Page 89 of Ice Rebel

His smile was smug, not joyful.

I threw myself into the music, moving toward the edge of the stage. With the lights following me, a portion of the audience was illuminated. That’s when I noticed Samantha, who was sitting on the edge of her seat. But she wasn’t alone. Just before I was to make a signature jump, my gaze landed on the seat beside her.

Where Roy was seated.

My Roy.

The moment I noticed him, I instantly froze, which wasn’t supposed to happen. I stood taller, taking a couple of deep breaths while he tilted his head until our eyes locked.

While the music continued to pulse through me, I took a deep breath. He was here. Even after I’d pushed him away. For whatever the reason, a locked-down set of emotions hit me. I scuttled backward on the stage, throwing my arms out.

And without missing a beat, I not only felt the music, the pain of losing someone you cared about with all your heart, I felt it deep within my core.

So deep it felt as if I was flying.

The steps were easier, the jumps higher, and the spins with more rotation. I was breathless, happy, and full of despair all at the same time. There was no one else in the theater except for myself and one member of the audience.

A wolf.

As the music rose into a crescendo, I realized tears had formed in my eyes. That’s how heartfelt the piece had become. Once again, as I collapsed to the floor in almost the same place as when Roy had seen me dance what seemed so long ago, I was thoroughly spent.

And completely thrilled with my performance.

Whether or not I’d been seen by anyone of any importance I might never know. What I did know was that Cole Kendrick had made it his business to come to my performance. Maybe not such a bad guy after all.

No, in fact, he was amazing and I couldn’t wait to have him in my arms.

As the audience erupted in applause, I felt my usual sense of relief that always accompanied me when concluding a performance. My body should feel exhausted instead of feeling more exhilarated than normal. With everyone standing, I was also slightly embarrassed. I’d experienced cautious if not obligatory applause and this wasn’t it.

The reactions were everything I hoped for, but right now, I was searching for Roy’s face. I still couldn’t find myself longing to call him by his real name. Roy had been the hot hockey man to encourage me.

He was on his feet, his hands in the air still clapping, but his eyes were directed at me. Before I took a bow and left, he nodded to the other side of him, grinning as he did.

Had an asteroid just crashed into the earth? My brother was sitting next to him. In the same theater, two guys I was certain would end up killing each other. Not only were they sitting side by side, but my brother had also come to see me dance.

Miracles would never cease.

And my brother was just as thrilled, yelling almost the loudest of anyone.

My gaze drifted back to Roy, my body tingling and not only from the heavy dose of endorphins. There was something about the powerful dark-haired god that kept goosebumps popping across my skin and my pulse racing.

It was at that moment I realized with every movement the leotard dragged over my painfully sensitive nipples. During such a potentially important moment, I was having an attack of horniness. What a ridiculous reaction, but as I’d experienced when dancing, there was no one in the room. Not a soul.

Just the two of us and my raging hormones.

Roy offered a salacious smile, which I’d come to realize he was very good at and moved past Jagger toward the aisle.

Before I jumped off the stage, I backed away as the lights faded.

“That was incredible, Chelsea. People,” Jasper called. “That’s how it’s done. Every emotion. Passion. Yearning. Intense desire. Anguish from a painful loss. Brilliant. You should be proud of yourself.”

I was jarred by his praise even while catching Tori’s comment. “She’s nothing special.”

Maybe she was right, but at this point, I didn’t care.

“Yes, Tori,” Jasper corrected. “She is.”

She turned in a huff, which I had to admit made me a little giddy.