“Pretty nervous, aren’t you?” A tall, thin woman dropped a hand lightly onto Harmony’s shoulder. Looking up, she met the icy gaze of the glossy, tanned superstar standing beside her. Long black hair flowed over her shoulders, with bold red streaks that eventually bled into the ends of her hair. The streaked-to-ombre effect was stunning.
“Yeah, a little,” Harmony said quietly. “It shows that much, huh?”
Looking anything but nervous, the woman stood strong and confident in miniscule black shorts that hardly covered much of anything. Raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow, she peeked out from beneath a sleeveless, faux leopard hoodie that was woven and laced intricately over her front and down her ribs. The fuzzy top somehow kept her covered while still revealing everything, and she was as intimidating as any of the other women in the room. “A little,” the woman laughed. “But hey, now you’ve got one less to worry about. I’m not exactly here to compete for the job.”
Harmony watched as the other woman twisted slightly, her body moving gracefully, her muscles shifting sinuously as she pulled a stool closer and perched one hip lightly on the seat. A familiar pattern of leopard spots climbed up her right hip, disappearing around her side and reappearing again at her left shoulder, trailing down and around her right arm in a tattooed sleeve that surrounded the delicate structure of her wrist. It was the tattoo that made Harmony realize who she was.
“I’m Minx,” the woman said, nodding slightly as she extended her hand.
“Right, I’ve seen you on the show before,” Harmony said as she took the other woman’s hand, completely intimidated by the confident grace of the terrifying woman in front of her. “I’m Harmony. And from the looks of you, it’s no wonder I’m nervous.”
Laughing slightly, Minx settled back, crossing her arms over her meager chest. “I was nervous too, when I first got here. I was smaller than anyone in the room, less curvy, less muscular, and not nearly as athletic. I was a model before I came here. But then I learned that all you have to do is study hard, train hard, be a bigger bitch than anyone else, and you’re in the clear.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure that means I’m screwed then,” Harmony laughed. “I can probably do the training hard and studying hard parts ...”
Minx laughed. “Don’t worry too much. You look cute and sweet and innocent, and bitches like me need fresh meat from girls like you all the time. You’ll be just fine, Harmony, just use what you already have. If there’s no bitch in you, take your character in another direction.”
“Another direction?”
“Sure,” Minx answered, shifting her weight on the stool and crossing one long, lean leg over the other. “Innocence and sweetness can sell, too, just as well as the scary bitches. The viewers like things to be balanced.”
“Hmm. I guess we’ll see,” Harmony murmured, skipping over the boundary of intimidated and approaching the threshold of downright terrified.
“I guess we will. You’re up,” Minx answered, pointing to a screen in the corner that blazed with Harmony’s name, only seconds before the summons crackled through the loudspeaker. “When you go out, take the hallway to your right. There will be a guy there that’ll walk you down to ringside. And don’t fall in those heels; if you do, they’ll send you packing just for choosing something you can’t walk in.”
Harmony laughed nervously. “It’s not the shoes I’m worried about.”
“Just be careful, okay? The ramp is steeper than it looks. And when you get there and the practice match is on in the ring, do your best to look concerned when your guy is losing, happy when he’s winning, and like a crazed cheerleader if the match starts to get a little boring. It hypes the audience and keeps them interested. That’s your role as an escort.”
“Um, thanks for the tips,” Harmony said, scrambling off of her stool and checking her face one last time in the mirror. She took the sparkling bangles from her table and slipped them over her shaking hand, stacking them up her forearm as she turned to go.
“Hey, Harmony?” Minx called. She waited for Harmony to turn back again, and then said, “They just want chemistry. You don’t need to be perfect, you just need to pretend it’s real and that there are millions of people watching you every second that you’re out there. The audience has to believe it’s real.” Tipping her head in dismissal, she smiled again, making Harmony’s stomach twist and pull in the pit of her abdomen. “I won’t tell you to break a leg, honey … just give them your best.”
Nodding silently, Harmony turned to the door. Alone in the hall, she looked left, along the corridor she’d followed the other women down when she’d arrived. It wouldn’t be too hard to just leave right then, to just walk away and let it go. But then she looked down the short length of the beaded gown Whitney’s father had paid for, his gift of faith in her.
“No turning back,” she sighed. She turned to the right, gathered what little confidence she had, and stepped into the darkness of the hallway.
As she walked, Harmony could see the muscular back of the man who waited for her. In the low light, she couldn’t tell the color of his skin or hair, but he was a giant man, chiseled and shining in the low light of the hallway. The muscles in his back rippled as he hopped lightly from one black booted foot to the other. As he turned, Harmony could see the glowing orange of flames, licking up the sides of his boots. The same flames wrapped around black trunks, encasing his narrow hips, emphasizing the muscular buttocks and wrapping around to end just below the firm planes of his stomach. It was The Dragon. Xander.
As Harmony reached the end of the hallway, Xander stepped forward, a closed, almost bored expression on his face. Harmony knew the moment he recognized her; he stepped into the light at the end of the hallway, his blue eyes wide, his full lips spreading into a surprised smile. “Harmony?” he laughed. “Well, you – uh, you look –“
“Ridiculous?” Harmony asked, looking up into his face. As she moved into the light and stepped closer to him, Harmony was exposed to the bare expanse of his chest for the first time, the round muscle and shocking size of his upper arms, covered all the way to the shoulders in the same flame tattoos that licked down to just below his elbows.
“Ridiculous is not exactly the word I was looking for,” he murmured, taking her hand and looping it easily through the curve of his elbow. Smoothing her fingers over the muscle of his forearm, he looked down at her and winked. “You look amazing, Harmony.”
“Thank you,” Harmony answered, the heat of his skin burning through her fingers, up her wrist.
“You ready for this?”
Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, Harmony took a breath. She closed her eyes, gathering her courage again and stamping down her nerves before emptying her lungs in a whoosh air. “Okay, I’m as ready as I’m getting,” she whispered.
“Don’t be afraid, it’s really simple,” he teased. “Just pretend that you’re desperately in love with me and that you’re concerned for my welfare, and –“
“Have you forgotten our history?” Harmony interrupted. “We don’t even like each other. And I’m supposed to be in love with you?”
“Well, let me help you get into character,” Xander murmured, looking over her shoulder as he swept her in front of him and settled his hands on her hips. “Imagine that when we met, I didn’t act like a jerk, and you didn’t act like a shrew.”
Harmony’s eyes lit with anger, and she opened her mouth to argue, but he brought the back of his hand slowly up the curve of her stomach and over her chest before pressing two fingertips to her mouth. “Imagine that we met under better circumstances, and that you make my blood boil with lust,” he said, moving his fingers from her lips to trail lightly over her cheek and into her hair. “And imagine that you feel safe, and confident, and secure, right here,” he finished, sliding his hand down her back, planting both hands firmly on her hips again as he pulled her close against him.
Harmony swallowed, feeling the slight curves of her body pressing flat against the hard
muscle of Xander’s stomach, his arms strong and sure around her. Closing her eyes and swallowing against the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, she took a deep breath before looking up at him. “I bet you ask all the girls to imagine that,” she breathed.
“No, just you,” he breathed, lowering his face slightly, smiling as he watched her eyes widen. He moved still closer, pressing her still more firmly against his body, his smile growing wider as her breath quickened. “I don’t know why, but you are completely under my skin,” he said. He tipped his head, and just as Harmony’s eyes fluttered closed, he brushed the tip of his nose against the tip of hers ... and stepped away. When her eyes opened again, he said, “Think you can pretend to like me now?”
“Hmm, we’ll see,” Harmony whispered, her body bereft at the loss of his warmth. “Think you can keep being that enticing?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he winked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “In the meantime, we have to get out there, I’ve heard our cue twice. So remember, you’re in love, and I’m your hero, and you really, really want me to win the fight. If you can pretend that’s the only truth you know for right now, then the rest comes easily,” he said.
“Okay, right,” Harmony said quietly, lengthening her steps to keep up with him as he guided her toward a black curtain on one side of the room.
“This is it. You sure?” Xander asked.
Taking a deep breath and wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue, Harmony stared at the curtain. This was her chance to finally make something of herself; this was her chance to be a star. And if she could pull it off, she might have a chance at something much more romantic than a job.
Looking up at Xander, she smiled brightly, allowing her attraction to him to bloom, allowing it to come to the forefront of her mind. When she saw his eyes widen and noticed that his breath had caught in his throat, she knew the time was right. “I’m ready,” she breathed, her voice low and full of meaning as she forced herself to run her free hand down the bulge of his flame-covered bicep. “But don’t make me look bad by losing, okay?”
Laughing, Xander nodded, his eyes heated as he looked into hers, and then he turned as they stepped toward the curtain.
By the time they emerged onto the stage, he had rearranged his expression; his eyes were icy, his mouth was tight, and he looked terrifying. Pretending not to notice, Harmony petted his arm, batted her lashes, and swiveled her hips as they paraded down the ramp toward the ring, the raging sound of The Dragon’s entrance music pounding through the arena.
Another man awaited them, leaning carelessly against the top rope of the ring as he leered nastily down at Harmony, watching her slender legs as she moved. Flinching away from the predatory look in the man’s eyes, Harmony dug in her heels, dragging Xander to a halt just before they reached the ring.
“Harmony?” he asked, barely moving his face as he took her hand and forced her into a spinning dip, pretending to show her off as he covered her hesitation.
“Sorry, he freaked me out,” she whispered, her face hidden close to his chest as he held her. She looked up at him, her body bent backward over his arm, the heat of his palm cradling the back of one thigh.
His eyes were blazing, his chest heaving against hers as their breath mingled. “If you don’t tell me to let you up, we’re going to blow this when I let you down right here on the floor,” he said.
“Let me up.” Harmony breathed. She waited until Xander brought her upright again, pressing two fingers to her lips and then pressing them to his. She grinned as his lips twitched against her fingers, and he shook his head as he released her. “Go get ‘im, Dragon,” she said.
The rest of Harmony’s audition was smooth. She moved around the edges of the ring as Xander slipped beneath the ropes and onto the mat, rising effortlessly to his feet. She cheered when he slammed his opponent to the mat, smiling brightly at him whenever he turned her way. She scowled when he took a fall, banging her hands against the edge of the ring in a pretense of great frustration. And when Xander lay on his back, The Dragon seemingly unconscious as his leering opponent climbed the ropes and prepared to leap onto his prone body, Harmony turned to the fifteen-person executive audience, raising her hands and shouting, begging them to shout with her, begging them to encourage her man.
She beamed when, at the last moment, Xander rolled out of danger, allowing his opponent to leap to the empty mat. Watching earnestly, Harmony waited as the man clutched his stomach and rolled around in pain, cheering again when Xander dragged the man to his back, pinning him to the mat while the referee counted the win. Jumping up and down, she clapped her hands, still cheering happily as the referee raised Xander’s hand, declaring him the winner.
It was only as the losing opponent left the ring and began to approach her that Harmony realized her audition was not over. Opening her mouth to shout, Harmony backpedaled, scooting away from the man until she was sandwiched between his body and the padded barrier that surrounded the ring. “No, please,” she squealed, holding her hands defensively in front of her face as she slid her body along the barrier. She hoped for sake of the audition that she looked as terrified as she felt as the man stalked her, his body moving with the smooth grace of a practiced predator.
A horrifying roar sounded, and suddenly the man was on the floor, wriggling for purchase as Xander pounded him with a meaty fist, the blows glancing theatrically over his face and slamming loudly into the padded barrier. Fascinated, Harmony completely forgot to act, standing motionless beside the men, her mouth falling open as she watched them work.
“Uh, Miss?” one of the men from the audience called. Harmony turned to him, guilt twisting her stomach. She’d just blown it. She’d gotten out of character; she’d screwed up after having tried so hard!
“Yes sir?” she asked, meeting his gaze nervously. He smiled softly, looking down at the clipboard in his hands before looking back at her again.
“Think you can pull of something like that?” he asked, indicating Xander and his opponent with the wave of one hand.
“I don’t know,” Harmony answered. “I’ve never been in a fight before, real or otherwise.”
“Can you learn?” the raspy-voiced woman from the dressing room asked, peering out from behind the man who’d spoken first.
“I’m a quick learner with an athletic past,” Harmony said. “I’ll be honest when I tell you I’ve never done anything like this before. But I’m interested, I’m easy to teach, and eager to learn. If someone is available to teach me, then I can pull it off.”
“You’re a very small woman. Are you aware of how dangerous this job is?” the woman rasped, tipping her head slightly as she spoke. “We regularly have injuries; no matter how safely you practice, sometimes an injury simply cannot be prevented. Most of them are only minor injuries, a bruise here, a bruise there. Sometimes a pulled muscle. But we have real injuries, too. Broken bones, torn tendons, torn muscles. Dislocated joints.”
“I was informed,” Harmony said, looking into the woman’s eyes.
“And you want to subject yourself to that?”
“I want an athletic career that I can be proud of,” Harmony answered simply, aware that Xander had stepped up to stand beside her. “I want a job that allows me to use the skills I already have, while continuing to teach me new things. I want a chance to make a difference, but I can’t if no one knows who I am. And as for injuries, they are a regular part of the gymnastics world, too. Any athlete knows that they take risks with their bodies, ma’am.”
“I see,” the woman answered. She nodded to Xander, who took Harmony’s hand.
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll take you back up there to wait for word.”
Allowing him to lead her away from the ring and up the ramp, Harmony chewed her bottom lip. “I didn’t blow it out there, did I?” she asked.
“Not yet, but you can’t forget your character. They liked you, and that’s a good thing. Diane – that’s the one you were talking t
o just now – I think Diane will jump to give you a shot, especially after that little speech you just made,” he answered, leading her through the curtain and to the other side of the little room. Opening the door, he gestured for her to enter the room, saying simply, “And now, you wait.”
Chapter Fourteen
“So how did the audition go, Harmony?” Eva asked, looking at her daughter from the other end of the patio table. Harmony and the other women of her family were lounging on the shaded back porch of the Kingsley house, watching as the Kingsley men played together in the afternoon sun.
“It went pretty well, Mom,” Harmony answered, ignoring the rush she felt as she remembered the few private moments she’d had with Xander. If that’s what she’d been missing by staying away from the dating scene, then she had to admit Whitney was right – she did need to get out more.
“Just pretty well?”
Laughing as Mac lunged for a Frisbee and missed, falling into the late summer grass, Harmony turned to look over at her mother. “Yeah, it was good. I did feel a little weird though. I mean, sure, it’s athletic and all, and if I do well in training, then I’ll eventually be a wrestler, I guess. But right now, I’d basically be an actress. And that’s not something I ever saw myself doing. I’d have a part to play that might be completely different from who I am. So that’s really odd for me.”
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