Interlude (Rockstar #4) (5 page)

Watching Sera turn
on the runway, the scent of her perfume drifting over me, has my heartbeat picking up. The long, pale green gown flows perfectly with the lines of her body, flaring out to curtain her feet, gliding along like a silken cloud.

She's beautiful, beyond beautiful. At twenty-one she's gorgeous. They've put her hair up in some fancy twist, curly tendrils framing her heavily made-up face—too heavily. I prefer Sera when she's just her. Natural. She doesn't need all those cosmetics to make her stunning—it's simply Sera.

She spots me on the side of the runway with Giovanni and sends us a smirk and a wink. I'm tempted to wink back, just to see what her reaction would be, but I'm afraid she'd stumble out of shock. Here is not the ideal place to give her a hint as to my feelings for her.

"She's unaware of why we're here," Gio tells me.

I nod. "I know."

"Those fucking Manzinis need to watch themselves. They mess with my family and we will destroy them."

I merely nod again. "They come anywhere near Sera and I'll take them all out myself."

Gio smirks. "Are you ever going to tell her?"

I shrug. "In time."

He nods.

"How did you explain the extra security to Lucy?" I ask.

"I just mentioned it was coming up on the anniversary of Lily and Tommy's death," he informs me.

"Enough said."

"Exactly. But our Serafina, she's not so easily convinced. She knows when something's amiss. She gets that from Carlotta. They both know too much all of the time," he scoffs.

I grunt. "Nana Russo's mojo."

Gio looks at me, amused. "What?"

"Nana Russo's mojo. That's what Lucy and Sera call it."

Gio lets out a laugh. "That's perfect."

"And accurate," I say with a lift of a brow.

Gio nods. "Too true. The woman is amazing."

"And now that's passed on to Sera," I murmur, not sure if it's a blessing or a curse.

He laughs again. "Good luck, Nickels. You're going to need it."

Of that I've no doubt.

Lucy and Sera are
on the set for Crashed's latest video—the ladies' first—and they're both nervous as hell. I hide my smirk.

"Ladies."

"Hi Cage," Lucy says.

"I'm so nervous," Sera confesses. "This is
Crashed
. God. It's so surreal!"

"You'll both be fine," I reassure them. "Just do things how we discussed and you'll be great."

Lucy blows out a breath and nods. Sera clutches my hand like a lifeline and I wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my side and kissing the top of her head. She smells so good, like coconut and pineapple.

The guys walk on stage and after brief introductions, we get underway. I laugh to myself when I see Sera and Lucy singing the song out loud, the guys from Crashed watching them with amused stares. When the two girls start dancing, grinding, and jumping around, I knew I was right. These two girls are perfect for this video.

When the music stops the guys clap, and Sera and Lucy blush and cover their faces when they realize what they just did. They both look to me. I'm sitting in a chair, my elbow propped on the armrest, my index and middle fingers sliding up my face while the others are curled beneath my jaw. Their fear is palpable. They think I'm going to be upset. These two. Such great women. Who can be mad at them for enjoying themselves? That's what the music videos are about.

"Oh my God, Cage," Lucy begins. "I'm so sorry."

Sera just groans and bites her lip. I'd like to do that for her. One day.

I get up out of my chair and walk to where they're fidgeting. "What are you sorry for?"

They both look confused, the band still amused.

"You've no reason to be sorry. Your enthusiasm and love of music is why you were chosen for this video. While you did get a bit carried away," I say with a grin, while the band members chuckle, "some of that will make good footage."

Lucy grins. "Yeah?"

I nod.

"Well then." She jumps around and hugs Adam Bentley, the singer of Crashed.

"You two are a breath of fresh air. No more uptight models who want nothing more than to claw their way to the top, thinking fucking us will get them there. You two are sensational," he tells them with a wide smile. "Cage, you did good."

I nod. Of course I did. I know my girls and I also know I wouldn't put them with just anyone for their first shoot. I considered putting them with Falling Down, considering their meeting in Chicago and the affect it had on both of them, but she's still too young and Jesse needs to find his way out of the hell the band has found themselves in as of late. I have faith he will, and when he does, then it'll be time to put the two in the same place at the same time.

"Places and let's go again," I tell them, and Sera smiles at me. My heart leaps. I give her a wink and her eyes widen, along with that beautiful smile.

She adds an extra sway to her hips and I catch the guitarist checking her out. When he looks my way I narrow my eyes and he nods in understanding.

This time when they start up the song, the girls are on their marks, but their enthusiasm is still off the charts. This video is going to be a killer.

After the filming of
the video is finished, I don't see her for a while—nearly a month. She's been working and we've been holding the Manzinis at bay. We've formed a truce—which will be temporary, of course. The Manzinis never hold true to their word.

She doesn't deserve that last name. She's so much more than that name implies. Serafina Manzini. She's beautiful with her long dark hair, dark eyes, and pretty pink lips—lips that were made to be kissed. By me.

She's standing in the rain—correction: she's crying in the rain. I'm unsure if I should approach her or not, but when she sees me, her eyes widening, I know I have to go to her.

She's furiously wiping at the mascara-smudged trail of tears on her cheeks. I reach for my handkerchief. She just stares at me, while tears continue to fall unchecked from her eyes. I reach out and gently wipe away the makeup from her face, even as more tears stream from those gorgeous brown eyes.

"What's hurting you, Fee?" I ask, saying aloud the nickname I use in my mind. She looks at me confused for a second, then a small smirk forms on her lips. Thank God. I hadn't meant to say that, but seeing her distressed brought out the need to nurture her. The need to hold her close is strong, and if I could get away with it without there being any awkwardness afterward, I would do that very thing.

"I—it's the anniversary of my parents’ death," she sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Sera," I murmur. I should have known what today was, but I'd gotten distracted by business. I look to her, hurting so deeply, and then I say fuck it, and pull her into my chest. She wraps her arms around my waist, fisting her hands in the back of the jacket of my suit. She pours her soul into this purge of pain. I feel the grief releasing from her slender body as she weeps with a heart-wrenching, body-shaking intensity that has me holding her up when her legs buckle beneath her.

When her sobs die down to soft hiccups, I continue to stroke her hair and murmur nonsensical comforts to her, even as the rain cascades at a steady pace from the sky.

She begins to shiver and I lift her into my arms, carrying her to my car. I put her into the passenger side, buckling her seatbelt, then I head to the trunk for the blanket I store there. I return to her shaking form and cover her, tucking the blanket around her trembling form.

I hurry around to the driver's side and turn the car on, turning the heat up as hot and high as it goes. It doesn't matter that it's in the seventies in California and I'm sweating. All that matters is Sera. Whatever she needs, I will give her.

Instead of taking her back to Lucy's house, I take her to mine. Her head is still bowed, her hair hanging in wet strings, blocking my view of her pretty face. I pull to a stop, then make my way to her side of the car. I open the door and unbuckle her seatbelt. When I go to lift her into my arms, she immediately wraps her arms around my neck—that's when I know, without a doubt, I made the right decision.

I greet the guard at the door and tell him, "Not a word of this to anyone," and he nods his assent.

I carry my sweet Fee to my room, then make my way to the bathroom. I stand her up and she stays clinging to me.

"Fee, you need a hot bath so you don't get sick from standing in the cold rain for so long. We have to warm you up," I tell her. "I'm just going to turn the water on and I'll help you, okay?"

She looks up at me with those eyes that now resemble the color of cinnamon, her lips trembling, her face red from crying. She is, quite simply, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

"Okay?" I ask again and she nods slightly.

I turn on the bath water and remove my suit jacket that's dripping all over the floor. I toe off my shoes and slip off my socks. I remove my tie, unbutton my shirt, then roll up the sleeves before approaching her.

"You should change," she whispers. "So you don't get sick either."

I study her closely, and see within her the same thing within myself, and that tells me I should change so she doesn't feel guilty or worry about me. All that matters is her.

I nod. "I'll be right back."

She sits on the bench in the corner and slips off her shoes.

By the time I return to the bathroom in a pair of pajama pants, it's only been maybe two minutes. I hadn't even bothered with a shirt, but Sera's managed to undress herself completely by that time. Her jean shorts and halter top in a heap on the floor, along with her lacy undergarments.

Hell. If I'd seen her in just those lacy underthings… Then it hits me. Fuck. She's naked under that towel. I grit my teeth and strengthen my resolve. This isn't about sexuality or attraction right now. It's about friendship and comfort and my dick will just have to accept that fact.

I check the water and hold my hand out for her.

She reaches out for mine, grasping it firmly, the other hand going to the knot in her towel, undoing it and letting it drop to the floor as she walks up the three steps to the Jacuzzi. I can't help the breath that stalls in my lungs, but either she doesn't notice it or pretends not to, as she steps to the Jacuzzi platform, then slowly, as her fingers continue to hold mine, she steps into the warm, bubbling water. When the water swallows her body and I can no longer see that perfection, I breathe a sigh of relief.

I note her hair dipping into the water and I walk to the cabinet in the hallway. I grab some of Joan's hair things and walk back into the bathroom where I find Sera watching the door wide-eyed and afraid. When I enter the room, her eyes droop in relief.

"Hey, hey," I murmur as I approach her. "I was just getting some things for your hair." I hold out my hand where pins and rubber bands and I don't even know what else are sitting.

Her eyebrows pucker into a frown. "You have women's hair pins?"