Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

so he could see her expression. 'I'm a Drake. We're not normal. I read people through touch, which is why I'm so careful to rarely touch any of you. I don't even have to touch Nikitin to feel the violence and evil in him. ¦ Don't be dumb, Brian, stay away from him, and keep our boys away from him, too. He'll chew you ] up and spit you out and not even think twice about ] it. And you can take that to the bank.' She closed the door on his shocked expression.
    Chapter Three
    Her palm itched. Really itched. Joley rubbed her hand up and down her denim-clad thigh, clenching her teeth together, all the while trying not to reach out with her mind to find - him - Ilya Prakenskii. Looking out the open door of her dressing room backstage, she could feel the energy in the arena, swelling and rolling like waves on the sea. Ten thousand restless people, excited, waiting, anticipating her performance, yet she knew - absolutely knew -that Prakenskii was somewhere in that vast crowd.
    Adrenaline raced through her system, adding to the excitement and the building waves of sheer energy the crowd produced. Heat rushed through her body at the thought of the Russian bodyguard. She couldn't get near him without sizzling chemistry arcing between them. Sometimes, like now, she swore she could still taste him in her mouth. She touched her fingers to her lips, pressing hard, trying to erase the memory of his kiss. He ran in her veins hke a drug, a bad habit she couldn't kick, no matter how hard she tried.
    'Joley? You up for this? It's crazy out there.' Brian shot her a grin. His eyes were shining and he looked as sexy as hell, just the way the females in the crowd liked him. Tight-fitting jeans, shirt open to his flat stomach, chest showing and black hair tousled. The women would go wild when he took the stage.
    She stepped into the hall and matched his grin. The rush of the crowd was exhilarating, but it was the music that always moved her. She thought in music -actually could see in music. Sometimes she could smell and taste it. Notes and melodies floated through her mind when she was talking casually to others. She heard music in the rhythm of the world around her, and sometimes, in silence, she found the most perfect songs. But now, when the energy was so powerful, she saw musical notes dancing in front of her, in colors, like tiny fireflies flashing in the air around her.
    One of seven daughters of a seventh daughter and endowed with special gifts which could be both blessing and curse, when she opened her mind, she could feel the hopes and dreams and disappointments in the lives of her audience. She rarely sought out and touched a single mind, rarely invaded privacy. But sometimes she interspersed melodies and slower ballads between the foot stomping, get-up-and-dance rhythms of the rock and roll she was so famous for, in order to bring peace and contentment to any troubled people she sensed in her audience.
    'Good choice for a warm-up band,' Brian said. 'They have a way of getting the crowd going.'
    'Yeah,' Joley agreed, T really like them. And they're not bad to travel with.'
    'Chicago is great,' Rick Henderson, the bass guitar player, announced. He came up behind Joley to air hug her.
    Although he hadn't even brushed against her, she moved forward, an automatic response from childhood. She rarely touched anyone other than her sisters. It was a good way to ruin friendships. Fortunately her band had been with her a long time and they respected her personal space.
    She spun around and smooched the air at Rick. 'Chicago is awesome. I love it here.' To be honest, she was just a little nervous. After the Nikitin party in New York she was somewhat depressed. She had a few enemies and the threatening letters had been more plentiful than usual lately. The Reverend and his followers were protesting her concert and she knew they would be trying to cause a scene here as well.
    'Chicago always has a good crowd,' Brian agreed, high-fiving Rick. He flashed another smile at Joley. 'You aren't worried are you, hon? Seriously, we have extra security everywhere.'
    'That whack job Reverend RJ is here,' Joley said, and bit down hard on her lower lip, wishing she hadn't mentioned him. She'd done a stupid, stupid thing, challenging the perverted man in front of the television cameras, but worse, she'd used her voice on him. He had enough charisma to gain followers, but Joley's voice could make men obsessive.
    She'd been careless, and she knew it. What was