The Last Time

by Elodie Parkes

  Bethany watched him realize it was his cell phone, reach for it, and shut off the alarm call.

  He looked at her and smiled.

  “You made me sleep properly for the first time in months.”

  He got out of bed. Grinning, he turned toward the bathroom. “I need to shower. Please be here when I get out.”

  Bethany grinned back at him. “I will be. I hoped you could have breakfast with me.”

  Seth looked back around the bathroom door before sliding it closed.

  “That will be great.”

  Chapter Ten

  Bethany checked Seth’s full schedule on her phone again while she waited. It was punishing for a few days and then evened out.

  When she looked up, Seth stood before her in his faded denim jeans and a black T-shirt. His hair was wet and looked as if he had simply run his hands through it.

  He grinned. “I have to be unshaven today and for the next two days. If you think I look scruffy, it’s for the movie.”

  Bethany looked at him; her blue eyes held a slight edge of amusement.

  “I think you look anything but scruffy,” she said softly.

  Seth’s expression changed. He looked longingly at her lips and Bethany knew her eyes mirrored his need as she looked back at him.

  Seth moved to her quickly, took hold of her face, and kissed her.

  Bethany felt an immediate wave of melting sexual response and put her arms around his waist to hold him close. She kissed him back until her nipples hardened and then she moved gently away.

  “You’ll be called any minute, I guess. Do you want to have coffee or something?”

  He smiled and ran a hand through his hair, making him look even sexier. Bethany swallowed.

  “I’d like the ‘or something’ but coffee will have to do. Yes, the runner will be here at my door shortly in the buggy to get me onto set.”

  He turned and made coffee.

  Bethany stood close to him so she could drink in his masculinity. She wanted to run her hands along his shoulders but kept them behind her back.

  “They use horses to travel around The Village?” she asked innocently.

  Seth smiled. “The buggy is actually a very small, open Jeep. Sorry, we call them buggies because they bump around so badly. Some of that is the terrain, I guess.” He turned back to her.

  Bethany liked the way he said the word ‘terrain’ and smiled at him.

  Seth looked down and then into her eyes again, seeming a little uncomfortable.

  “What happened last night…I have to tell you, it was—it was special to me.”

  Bethany felt a glow of happiness. “To me too.”

  Seth opened his arms to her and she went into them.

  They hugged each other silently for a few seconds.

  “I really like you and want to get to know you properly. I’m suddenly pleased you will trail around after me.” Seth’s voice was soft and low.

  It sent shivers of anticipation down Bethany’s spine. She hadn’t hoped he might actually want something with her. She suddenly wanted it badly.

  “I’d like for us to get to know each other properly too.” Naturally, she meant other than the immense amount of knowledge about him she would have at her fingertips by the end of that day.

  She watched Seth close his eyes as he bent his head to hers and kissed her again. It was tender. As she kissed him back, she knew he was already special to her.

  Bethany stopped the kiss and nodded toward the coffee, going cold.

  “Last night you said something that I want to clarify with you. How about you drink the coffee you made and I’ll do a little of my real job?”

  He let go of her reluctantly, picked up a cup of coffee, and handed it to her before taking the other himself.

  Bethany put the coffee on the table beside her.

  “You said you were the only one receiving the letters now, but that’s not true—someone else is. Why do you think it’s just you?”

  Seth swallowed the sip of coffee he had taken and raised his eyebrows.

  “There’s someone else? Who? Sara said it was just me now. She used that fact to have a go at me about my non-existent womanizing.”

  He looked worried and emphasized the word ‘none-existent’. Bethany gave him a sympathetic look. She wanted to kiss his little frown away but stayed professional.

  “This is important. Why would she say that? Is there still something between you? Does she still want a relationship with you, because she’s acting as if she does? She’s acting jealous. Am I right?”

  Seth shrugged. “She dumped me months ago. I finally got over it, although there was some residual pain there. She insists I had affairs when we were together. That truly is bullshit. I didn’t. I’m actually a faithful type.” His voice wavered with emotion.

  Bethany couldn’t help it. She put her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him. “I believe you.”

  Relief flooded his eyes.

  “Do you think she wants to get back together with you? Her motivation for telling you no one else gets the letters is not very clear,” Bethany repeated.

  Seth shook his head. “She doesn’t want me back and I’m thankful. She was just punishing me. It’s her way. I don’t know why she chose to believe I was unfaithful to her, but she did.”

  “Is there another woman who wanted your attention and split you and Sara up so she could have you?”

  Seth grinned. “No one. Seriously, I’m not surrounded by adoring women.”

  Bethany smiled. “I don’t see why not.”

  He continued to grin and took her hands.

  “Who is it that gets the letters besides me?” he asked and brought her fingertips to his lips.

  She watched him kiss her fingertips and a wave of complete love for him washed over her. It scared her. It had been a long time since she loved anyone except her brother and that was different.

  Bethany decided to tell him who else received the letters.

  “It’s a makeup artist who also gets the letters. Do you know any of them personally?”

  Seth still held her hands. “No. The one who does my makeup is Gina and Sam does the hair.” He gave a shrug of disbelief and then added, “Gina and Samantha are not likely to do this.”

  Bethany silently decided to investigate them anyway.

  Seth’s eyes filled with lust as he gazed at Bethany. “It will be hard not to touch you in public.”

  Bethany whispered, “I feel that way about you.”

  Seth covered her face with little gentle kisses.

  “When we made love, you talked about liking to touch a man’s body—could it be any man?” His voice was soft and his lips were still close to hers.

  She realized he was affirming if what they shared in the night was more than sex and special in some way.

  “I do like to touch and I like sex—a lot—but last night was extra good.” It was all she could say right then.

  She would always appreciate a man’s body, but if she fell in love, it meant she might look but never touch another. She closed her eyes for a second and felt scared again. In the few hours they had known each other, she might have fallen in love with Seth.

  Abruptly there was a loud honking outside and Seth grinned. “The buggy’s here.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Bethany was going too and she waited until Seth got in the back seat and then climbed in. He tried to get her to go first but she resisted. There was a man already sitting in the front seat of the Jeep. He turned around to talk with them as they got in.

  “Hi Seth; got a full day ahead of us.” He looked at Bethany. “Hi. Sorry, we haven’t met. I’m Jonathan Barry.”

  He smiled at her, obviously appreciative of her looks.

  Bethany never really noticed this stuff when she was working. She did catch the pointed look Seth gave Jonathan.

  “This is Bethany. She’s my personal trainer.”

  Bethany nodded at Jonathan Barry.

  H
e grinned at them both, in turn. “It seems a tad unusual for a personal trainer to come on set.” His tone of voice was laden with amusement, interest, and innuendo.

  Bethany smiled at him in a professional and friendly way.

  “Maybe to the untrained eye, Mister Barry, but I need to see what Mister Carbery does physically on set, in order to write him a valuable program of fitness.”

  Jonathan Barry raised his eyebrows at Seth, who smiled and shrugged as if he was an innocent party in the said fitness regime.

  They talked about the film shoot.

  * * * *

  As the vehicle turned the bend in the road and the set came into view, Bethany gasped. There, before her lay what looked like a real medieval castle surrounded by a moat. In various places dotted around the fields were other sets—a village street, a strange half-town with fronts and no backs. Another castle, rather slighted with great holes in the walls, loomed further away. A camp of medieval style tents with colored pennants and banners flying in the breeze was a little further away, Bethany saw people standing around there.

  They drew up some way off at a marquee. Both Jonathan and Seth got out of the Jeep as the driver turned off the engine. Bethany looked around at the sets, which were even more intriguing up close. Seth turned and reached out a hand to help her, when she jumped down on the other side of the vehicle and walked quickly around to his side.

  He nodded slightly at her and she followed him into the marquee.

  He walked straight to a deck chair and sat down. A motherly woman came along with a painter’s palette in her hands and a belt around her ample waist, containing slots with brushes. She and Seth exchanged greetings.

  Bethany watched as the woman skillfully and very quickly put makeup on Seth’s face. Bethany frowned, puzzled. She couldn’t see much difference, just a hint of dark shadows under his eyes, eyeliner, and his lips were a tone more pink.

  Another woman came along and ruffled Seth’s hair forward with some kind of setting product she sprayed onto her hands. That was it. He stood up and walked to Bethany.

  “Wardrobe,” he said and smiled.

  Bethany followed him further into the marquee where it seemed all hell had broken loose. People frantically dashed up and down rows of cloaks and outfits. A young man with his long hair held back by a red, polka dot Alice band came to Seth at a run. She noticed he wore an all-in-one denim jump suit.

  “Black outfit in the first cubicle, Seth.” He looked Bethany up and down with a calculating expression.

  “Sorry. I have no instructions about you.” He turned to get help for her.

  “No, it’s okay. I’m not an actor,” Bethany told him as she fished her pass out of her pocket and waved it at him.

  The young man nodded and walked off. Bethany watched him go and then looked around. In that short space of time, Seth vanished. It occurred to her if anyone really wanted to harm him, they easily could.

  Bethany thought about what Jake said. She thought about the letters. Both Seth and the makeup artist received the same letter. She recalled the exact wording. You are close to the end. I will get you when you least expect it.

  It sounded menacing enough, but for them both to get it and have no close connection was weird. Bethany wondered how Jake was feeling. She needed him to investigate. She wished she had brought her netbook.

  She looked along the side of the marquee where a rail was set up. Curtains on silver rings divided the area into what the wardrobe assistant referred to as cubicles. Seth appeared from behind a curtain close by and Bethany broke into a smile.

  He was dressed head-to-foot in black. His knee length boots and even his weapon scabbard was black. His already lovely green eyes, enhanced by makeup, looked a bright, flashing, emerald. He walked quickly to her.

  Bethany scrutinized his eyes, noticing the very fine line of black kohl along the bottom lash. “Seth, your eyes.”

  He nodded and smiled so that she needn’t finish speaking.

  “Contacts…I just put them in. Well, I didn’t; Paul did. I can’t do it.” He grinned and waved a hand at an older man who was going into another cubicle carrying a white tray with little plastic boxes and small bottles rattling around. Disposable gloves stuck out of his back pocket.

  Bethany smiled. “It’s like a factory—put the person in one end, another comes out at the end of the line.”

  Seth nodded. “Yeah. Okay, I’m reporting to the AD now and that’s it. You won’t be able to come on set with me. I’m in the main castle and you’ll be over a hundred yards away.”

  Bethany nodded and disappointment washed over her.

  Seth’s features softened.

  “I would love to kiss you right now.”

  She smiled. “I’d like to kiss you.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Bethany sat watching the distant filming for more than two hours. It was past midday and she hadn’t glimpsed Seth at all. She had no idea what was going on and decided there was no way she could protect him from anything. She stood up and walked around the row of deck chairs positioned under a tree. There were people all over the place doing various things like setting up equipment stations, erecting little platforms, and laying rope lights along them.

  A small, blue van drew up nearby. It had pictures of piping hot food airbrushed on the side panel. It was not as big as the catering truck Bethany saw parked at a distance from another set that served food from a counter window. People converged on it as the driver got out and opened the doors wide at the back.

  Bethany watched realizing they were getting drinks and snacks. She got up and wandered over there to ask for coffee, if it was available. It was. She got some, along with a Danish pastry, suddenly feeling hungry when she saw the array of snacks. Iced doughnuts, pastries, and cupcakes were arranged on a tray along one side of the pull out trestle. In a heated cabinet with a glass door, sausage rolls and small pies were lined up, giving off a delicious smell.

  She sat back down under the tree with her coffee and thought about Seth. She knew he hadn’t eaten that morning and wished she could take something to him. She ate half the pastry and drank her coffee. She wrapped the other half in her paper napkin and left it on the empty seat beside her.

  Bethany sighed, thinking she should get a panic button attached to Seth somehow. Maybe she could ask the AD if there was a video stream of the filming she could watch somewhere. This whole thing would be harder than she had thought. Unlike most of her clients, so far, she could not be with Seth all the time. She could hear the action even from this distance. There were intermittent explosions and what she guessed was the sound of swords against each other.

  She checked her phone again, then emails, and messages. It was approaching 1:00 p.m. and Bethany decided to call Jake. He picked up on the sixth ring.

  “Hi, Jake. I’m on set, miles away from Seth and wondering what to say to Brandt when Seth gets killed and I was unable to stop it. How are you feeling?”

  Jake sniffed. “I feel ill but the headache has gone. I called Brandt and told him I’m sick. I laid it on the line because seriously, this bug knocks you down. I’ll stay here today and I’ve started a bit of research for us. What exactly do you mean? Do you think he’s in mortal danger on set?”

  Bethany grinned. “More than likely, judging by the explosions and the clang of weaponry over there. I don’t know what we can do, other than try to get work as an extra. Even then, the work may not be within sight of Seth. We need to talk seriously because I’m unhappy with Seth’s protection so far. I’m doing nothing.”

  Jake sighed and then answered, “I’ll come over and bring a computer. We’ll talk.”

  Bethany was about to protest but Jake already ended the call.

  The catering van trundled off closer to the set. There was less action over there. Someone spoke through a microphone and all the action stopped immediately. Bethany watched as the fifty strong swordsmen, or women, since she couldn’t tell, stood around or sat down on the grass. One or
two wandered toward the catering van, now set up close to a line of deck chairs.

  Bethany could see some of the technical equipment was attached to computers. Other than that, she had no idea how they were really filming. It looked digital but she was so far away, all she could do was guess.

  She stood up and began to walk over there, but changed her mind when she saw Seth walking swiftly toward the riverbank. The same river that wound all the way through The Village and on past the sets. It was incorporated into the town set. A man followed Seth with a rather large video camera and a man with a large fur-clad microphone on the end of a very long pole. He had a big box-shaped piece of equipment strapped across his back and ear phones around his neck.

  Bethany watched, fascinated as Seth reached the river and, without hesitating, leaped in. She gasped and ran as fast as she could toward the place. It just never occurred to her that it was part of the movie until she saw him climb back out of the river just a few yards from where he jumped in. After running around the man with the camera, Seth shook his hair, ran his hands through it, and leaped into the river again.

  Bethany stopped running and looked around her. She was on the other side of a line of tape and didn’t know if she should duck under it and carry on to get to Seth, or if she would cause trouble for him. She stood there and watched as Seth, the sound person, and the cameraman walked over to a group of trees on the riverbank.

  To Bethany’s surprise, two people appeared and handed Seth a towel. He dried his hair and stripped off his black jacket and trousers. He wore nothing under the jacket, but had long, close-fitting pants under the trousers. He took them off and stood there toweling his hair for a moment.

  Bethany wanted to hold him. She thought about how his body felt when she cuddled up to him the night before. He didn’t know she was there at a distance.

  One of the people with him handed him clothes and he put them on. Soon he looked the same as when he had jumped in the river. One of the makeup people she saw earlier was down there, putting color on Seth’s lips. He laughed and then walked off in the direction of the castle again.