Free Rebel Souls by D.L. Jackson

Brodie had, for her. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
    “Why? It’s yours by birthright anyway.”
    “Because it could get you killed.” They stopped at a narrow alley. Brodie looked both ways before guiding her into the alley. He picked up the pace and drew her around a corner to the rear entrance of an abandoned warehouse. He pressed his palm against an electronic pad. It flashed and the lock popped. The door yawned open like a giant ready to devour them. Ava grabbed Brodie’s arm and peered around his shoulder, staring into the dark. “We could get arrested….”
    “It’s mine. I bought it.” He turned and grinned, nodding toward the door. “Welcome to my home. I’m going to turn it into a club someday.”
    “That’s the craziest thing I think I’ve ever heard you say, Brodie. Did you steal the money from my grandfather to purchase this, too?”
    He tugged her inside the dark warehouse instead of answering her question, locking the door behind them, leaving her without a doubt he’d financed his new enterprise as she suspected.
    “Dance with me.”
    Laughter bubbled from her lips. “Dance? Here? In the dark?”
    “Then not in the dark.” Brodie’s jacket rustled and objects that sounded like small metal marbles pinged against the floor as he tossed them. “Activate fire globes.” Hundreds of clear balls lit and hummed as the nanites inside mixed chemicals. The thin membranes that surrounded them swelled from the heated air.
    “They’re beautiful.” Ava gasped as the orbs took flight like a field of fireflies, spinning and swirling around her head. She whirled around three hundred and sixty degrees, stopping as she came face-to-face with him again. He stood not five feet away, watching her, intensity in his eyes. Ava batted a globe, now the size of her fist, toward Brodie. She smiled. “You didn’t have to go to this trouble.”
    “No.” He flicked it with the tips of his fingers, sending the glowing orb back in her direction. “But I wanted to.” Brilliant light whirled inside the lamps, casting a warm glow across Brodie’s face, making his eyes sparkle. He extended his hand. Ava stared at his open palm.
    “There’s no music.”
    He took three steps and stared down into her eyes. Only a whisper of space stood between them, sending a wave of energy washing over her in a tsunami of heat. Brodie swept his arm around her lower back and tugged her hips to his. His hand grasped hers gently, guiding it to rest over his beating heart. “Here’s all the music we need. Someday I’ll have more, but tonight it comes from my soul.”
    “Smooth.” She laughed out and tried to pull her hand away. Brodie held it tight and gave a slight shake of his head. No wonder he had a reputation. If she were anyone but his friend, who knew him better than most, she’d fall for his seduction.
    “Is it?” He swung her around the floor.
    “I know what you’re about, Brodie Mark.”
    “What am I about?”
    She stumbled but he caught her, guiding her in the alien waltz as if he were born to dance. Ava tipped her face to the ceiling. “Where did you learn…?”
    “Strippers downtown.”
    She giggled. “I’m serious, don’t tease.”
    “So am I.”
    She laughed. Only Brodie. Stars twinkled through the massive crystalline dome that sat overhead. The special glass opened up to allow ships to dock, and was clear enough to let light through, but opaque enough to keep the contents inside hidden from view. On the outskirts of the city, on the edge of the docks, was the only place the domed structures could be found. Combined with the floating globes and otherwise pitch-dark room, it seemed as though they danced in space.
    “It’s amazing,” she said as he swung her around. Who would have thought an old star port warehouse could be so romantic. All it needed was lovers.
    “You’re amazing.”
    Ava’s heart danced in step with Brodie. Perhaps she dreamed? He drew her tighter to his body. Hard, warm