Chapter 7

7

K ade wasn't in his cabin. In fact, three days later, I still hadn't had a glimpse of him. In the meantime, I'd smoothed things over with Rory. He swore the door had been unlocked and there'd been no sock. So weird. Even weirder—when I pulled the prop coin out of my pocket to add to my other coin, I couldn't find the original. Maybe someone was pranking me? Trying to freak me out. The weirdest part, though? Every morning a different animal slept on our stoop. Only ours. We'd asked around. One morning it was a doe and her faun. Another day it was a family of red fox. This morning an enormous owl perched on our railing, but when a raven squawked from a nearby tree, it launched straight toward the sound and scared the shit out of me and Rory.

On the bright side, my days were busy. Between hair, makeup, wardrobe, and some of my first scenes, I didn't have too much time to dwell on Kade. And Rory and I had a routine where we had breakfast and dinner with Poppy and Alistair. They were turning out to be my first real friends in a long time. Alistair even asked me more about Only Fae. Thought he might like to have his own channel at some point. Vampires didn't have their own platform, and as near as I could tell, he suffered from ennui. Being over two hundred years old could do that to you . . . though he was cagey about his true age.

When not in costume, I continued to practice riding and archery, and it turns out I rocked at both. I'd given up telling anyone that I was a novice since no one believed me.

On the not so bright side, still no food service, and two days ago, the Portage Lake Lift Bridge opened to allow a large container-boat through and got stuck. Open, of course. We were essentially trapped on this peninsula until they could fix it. And our new food providers were stuck in Houghton until they could get across the bridge.

To make matters worse, most of my first scenes involved Hyde, and he wasn't growing on me. The first day in makeup had been a nightmare. We'd both been sitting in neighboring chairs when Bradley, one of the makeup artists, said, "You have to be the easiest client I've ever worked on. You have flawless skin—almost unreal—so I only have to make sure the camera picks up the highlights. And let's be honest, the camera loves you."

Before I could thank him for the compliment, Hyde snorted next to me. "He just wants in your pants. Easy is as easy does."

Bradley flushed and proclaimed, "I'm married. I didn't mean it to sound like I—"

"Please don't apologize. I didn't take it that way. Some people have very dirty minds and can't imagine someone being kind without wanting something. Their loss."

"Yeah, that's what it is." Hyde knocked aside his personal makeup artist's hand as they touched up a blemish. "It's fine."

We, unfortunately, had our wardrobe fitting at the same time, too. He got to wear, well, what you'd expect an elf to wear in an epic fantasy—a jerkin, tunic, and dark trousers, with soft knee-high boots, and leather bracers. And they matched his wig as closely to my hair as possible. He hated it and stormed off the set for a bit when they'd first shown him the wig. I wanted credit for not flaunting my glee in front of him. I kept it professional. Admittedly, Hyde was hot with long hair. Not even flowing locks could disguise his ugliness on the inside or his viperous tongue.

"They should just paint whore on your chest," he sneered when he first saw what I'd be wearing. "How fitting."

Worst part, I couldn't even defend myself because, yeah, he was right. You know the costume Princess Leia wore when Jabba the Hutt captured her? The gold bikini? It covered more than my costume did. At least Leia got a top. Mine was basically a gold and green version of the bottom of Leia's costume, with a lot of gold ornamentation on top. They'd left in my nipple rings, running a chain through them and attached it to a thick gold choker. I did get a pair of knee-high boots, but that was the most fabric on my entire costume. Well, in fairness, they'd told me I was there for eye candy. Wonder if they'd mind if I used it for an Only Fae shoot? Bet it would gain me a ton of new subscribers.

To add insult to injury, Hyde's and my scenes together were excruciating. Hyde butchered the British accent, while my lines were minimal and limited to sexual innuendo or threats. Mostly we did promo shots and small bits. We'd had to stand shoulder to shoulder for some early release photos. At least we didn't have to pretend to loathe each other. That came through, loud and clear.

Fortunately, tomorrow or the next day, we'd start filming with the entire cast. Which also meant I'd finally see Kade again. Nope, no butterflies in my stomach about that. They'd moved to my lungs and when I thought about our first meeting, made it hard to breathe.

When Jabril showed up to direct a short exchange between my character and Hyde's, he complimented my outfit—what there was of it—all but ignoring Hyde. Jabril gave me an uncomfortable once over, pausing on my clavicle for a long moment.

"D-Did you want makeup to cover my birthmark?"

His gaze snapped to my face. "Never. It's perfect."

Hyde just huffed and muttered, "Probably fucking him, too."

Once I finished for the day, I ran into Rory, Poppy, and Alistair in their costumes and makeup, and they all looked fabulous. Rory had the least adornment, though they'd given him hair flowing to his shoulders and a teal and brown jerkin over a tan tunic. They'd even strapped a small hurdy gurdy to his back like a quiver.

Poppy wore a hot as hell–true in both senses–catsuit that they'd added some leather detailing to on the shoulders and a hood that only emphasized her sharp cheekbones. The dagger strapped to her thigh added an extra measure of hotness.

Alistair was barely recognizable, wearing a jerkin with "metal" points sticking out from the fabric and shoulder armor that resembled skulls. They'd given him long black hair, contact lenses that gave his eyes an almost a reptilian cast, and added horns. He sported long black talons that I'm pretty sure were his actual nails when he vamped out.

"Well, I see they were subtle with your costume," Ali quipped. Because for some reason, I'd befriended the jerk. He ran a finger over my birthmark. "Nice. Is that yours or did they paint it on?"

"It's his," Rory answered before I could.

"Ooh, and I thought my costume was playing up my sex appeal by vacuum sealing me in this monstrosity." Poppy gave a little twirl. "I might actually hate you. How am I supposed to keep the prince's attention when you're dressed like that?"

"Undressed, you mean." Ali gave me a once over, like I hadn't noticed that I was practically naked. Because Ali had to be a smart ass.

"You're going to ride a horse in that?" Rory asked.

My bestie, always the practical one. I flipped them all off to much laughter.

Later that afternoon, Alistair showed up on my doorstep.

"Let's go see Kade, so we can put you out of your misery," he said.

"You really think that's a good idea?" Enough time had passed that maybe he'd forgotten all about it. It could happen. Right.

"Would you rather see him on set and gamble on his reaction?" Ali lounged against the doorframe like it didn't make a bit of difference to him.

He couldn't fool me. He loved drama. Shared Hollywood scandals from the 1920s, '30s, and '40s like they were yesterday. Perhaps to him they were.

"Fine. Let's go." My voice came out a little weak. I talked myself up as we walked to the cabins. If Kade couldn't see the humor in the situation, not my fault. Right? This was no big deal. Sooo not a big deal. Unless he made it one. Except why would he do that? He wouldn't. Unless he did. Right.

As we approached, I drew in a deep breath and marched to Kade's door and knocked. And then I might have inched behind Ali because courage took a lot out of a guy.

The door swung open to a gust of warm air and the smell of pine. Figures they had heat, while Rory and I made due with a rickety space heater. I locked my knees so I wouldn't be tempted to retreat. Somehow, as time passed, it made the situation loom larger than warranted. Who hadn't walked in on someone masturbating? No biggie. Still, I pushed Ali forward a little.

Kade Savage seemed even bigger up close. He cradled his cell to his ear, his face set in a scowl. His golden gaze hit Ali first but zeroed in on me in a split second. I froze. Wolf shifters were historically predators, though this was the first time I actually felt like prey when one looked at me. I . . . kind of liked it.

"Kade, good to see you again. My, my, haven't you grown into a Big Bad Wolf?" Alistair said. But did he leave it there? Nooo. "I brought Little Red Riding Ho. Sounds like you two need to clear the air."

I elbowed Ali aside. "Wow, thanks for that introduction. That doesn't make it more awkward or anything." I stood to my full height—which didn't seem all that impressive next to Kade—and tipped my chin up to meet his gaze head on. I held out my hand. "Hi. I'm Teremie. I had hoped our first run-in wouldn't have involved me holding my dick but can't undo the past, so I'm here to introduce myself so that things aren't weird. Or weirder."

Kade just stared at my outstretched hand. He didn't think I'd washed it since our last encounter?

"Nora, I need to call you back. Mmhmm. Fine. Just give me a few. Duty calls." He hung up and stuffed his phone in his form-fitting jeans, his hair falling over one eye.

Fuck me, how could anyone be this handsome? My mouth felt dry, and I kept my hand out since I seemed to forget how to control my limbs.

"That's quite the introduction, Teremie. I'm Kade." His voice came out in a warm rumble that made me instantly think of sex.

"I know. I-I mean, of course I know. Who wouldn't know? I used to watch you. Oh, wow, that makes me sound like a stalker. Heh. I'm not, I swear. I just used to watch you. Y-Your show. You were so good. I mean, the show was. And you were, too, obviously. I had a big crush on you. For years. You were my first." Oh my God, someone please stop me .

Alistair snickered. Jerk.

"I think what my precious is trying to say is that he's embarrassed about how you met and would like to wipe the slate clean."

I nodded, clamping my lips shut so I wouldn't make an even bigger fool of myself.

Kade's lips turned up in the hint of a smile, and he slowly reached out and took my hand—which I'd left out there! Fuck! He was probably hesitant to touch the rando who'd just spilled his guts.

As our palms touched, I gasped. Being struck by lightning couldn't have been more electrifying. The hair on my arms stood on end, and I shivered, full body.

Kade whipped his hand from my grasp, his eyes wide in horror. He took a step back and glanced at his palm like I'd burned him.

Ouch.

"Something wrong?" Ali looked between us.

"N-No," Kade stammered. "I, uh, need to go."

He slammed the door in our faces.

"That went well." I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

Alistair's brow furrowed. "Huh. Not how I expected that to play out."

"No, it was about what I figured." Because of course the first guy I was seriously attracted to since Matt hated me. Not that I'd hit on a straight guy, especially one with a girlfriend, but still. I must have done something terrible in a past life.

"I wonder . . ." He tapped a finger against his chin and called through the door, "Hey, Kade, a bunch of us are going to The Copper Barrel tonight for dinner and drinks. Come on by."

I scoffed. Yeah, I'm sure he'd rush right out.

As we began to walk away, my least favorite pain in the ass, Hyde Hatcher, shoved past me, bashing against my shoulder, and headed straight to Kade's door. He glared back as he knocked. When the door swung open, I heard Hyde say, "I see you met the resident cheater. I told you he's bad news. You've seen the memes, right?"

My face fell. Of course.

Alistair spun so fast on his heel he was a blur. I grabbed him and shook my head. One thing I learned from all the "Teremie the Cheater" memes was that anyone who didn't take the time to get to know me wasn't worth my time.

And it looked like that included Kade Savage.