Facade (9 page)

After snatching up the envelope, the blonde went to her band and hugged them. Ahead of the rest, she charged backstage, basically heading right toward them, even if she didn’t know it. “See? I told you I didn’t need any backup, especially some washed-up singer from a coffee house.”

Washed up? Wait until this one got an earful of true talent, but until that time arrived, maybe someone needed to realize they needed to watch their step, especially around him. In a flash, he grabbed Nash’s cane, and right as she walked by his hiding spot, he jutted the cane in her way.

“Ah!” The singer tripped and ran forward, falling several feet away from them.

“Hey, are you okay?” The one Erik recognized as the lead guitarist dashed over and helped the girl up.

“I’m fine.” She swatted him away and got up. “I told you we would get the audition.” Again, she flung her hair around and sashayed away.

Nash took his cane back. “She’s sort of horrible.”

“By sort of, you must mean completely.” Erik returned to watching.

After several more acts, both he and Nash were fidgeting.

“I hope she comes on soon.” His friend groaned.

Erik nodded and watched another woman have her hopes dashed and then a band who actually wasn’t half bad.

Nash elbowed him. “That Chimera’s Dungeon almost reminds me of us.”

“We had more finesse.” Erik huffed. There would never be another Spectre.

Then at last, Christine came up on the stage.

“There she is.” Nash stepped forward.

Erik joined him. Even though he was off to one side, he could make out her pale complexion. It almost looked as if she had been through something. Her hair was a bit of a mess, her dress had some dust on it, and she seemed out of sorts. “Quiet.”

She went to her mark in the center of the stage, she grabbed the mic and her music started.

He tapped his foot with the beat and got ready for Christine to begin.

Her cue came and went.

“Sing.” Erik balled his hand in a fist. “Christine, sing.” He tried to transfer any strength he possessed to her.

“She needs you,” Nash whispered.

“She needs to sing.” Erik held his breath. The moments seemed to pass like hours. Christine would never forgive herself if she messed up her audition, and he never wanted her to live with any regrets. If she wanted the world to hear her sing, then he would do whatever it took to get her there. Though not sure exactly what he would do, he primed himself to act, even if it meant going out there to get the notes out. She already missed her first cue, but if she played her cards right she could come in right about…

At last she began to sing.

Her voice came out weak, a struggling sapling wanting to sprout from the hard earth. She appeared as if she wanted to wilt, and it was his job to support her. He had already watched the so-called judges knock people out of the running with less than a line. She needed him, and he had to be there, but he could do it in his own way. Since he wasn’t all that far from her, he could help. He cupped his hand around his mouth and threw his voice, praying it landed exactly where he needed. “Sing Cricket, I’m here.” At least he was too far away from the audience for them to hear.

His action must have had the desired result because suddenly, she straightened up and the voice he knew she had within her took over the entire theatre.

The sapling blossomed, grew and dare he say, thrived.

Her voice was more than perfect and laced with a bit of longing much more apparent than when they practiced on their own.

In a word, she was spectacular, and he dared anyone in the audience to come to any other conclusion.

She made it through her first verse, and he didn’t move a muscle as she went into the chorus. The piece was challenging, but would also show off her range if she hit it.

Her voice heightened and when she reached the note, he practically cheered.

Nash slapped him on the arm him. “Holy shit.”

“Damn right.” He leaned back on his heels and watched the rest of the performance. No one else he’d observed had made it to the end of their song, and when at last her last note faded, everything went silent.

This was the silence of success.

After the audience seemed to take a collective breath, the one female main judge stood. “Well, Ms. Day, do you think you can contain your nerves enough to be on our show?” The woman held up a thick envelope and the rest of the people in the audience applauded.

“I made it?” Christine clasped her hands together.

Erik nodded at the confirmation she did indeed pass the audition. Their hard work paid off.

“That you did.” The woman went to the stage and handed her the necessary documents.

“Incredible,” Nash whispered.

Erik pointed at him. “Will you get the car ready?”

The woman shook Christine’s hand. “Go backstage and check in, welcome to
Stage of Stars
.”

“Thank you!” She pressed the envelope to her chest.

The woman nodded and returned to her seat. “Good work.”

“I’ll be outside. How will Christine find you?” Nash asked.

He stepped back into the shadows. “She’ll have to find me.”

Christine turned and exited the stage opposite from where he stood. A vantage point he probably needed to get used to now that she was going to be a star.

* * * *

In a daze, Christine walked backstage to a table set up for the winners.

“Congratulations. Make sure you read all the paperwork. You will be back here in a week. Your selected musical genre is inside on a blue card. We will need your song selection in two days. Everything else you need to know is in the envelope. Do you have any questions?”

Honestly, she barely heard the man and she shook her head.

She won.

Yes, she won.

She was now going to be on the
Stage of Stars
.

Before she smiled, spoke or did anything else there was one person she needed to share this moment with, and she had to find him.

“Follow the darkness.” Her treasures clutched in her hands, she stepped away from the table and turned around. If the darkened theatre was too light for Erik, she needed to delve deeper, into his world.

First, she looked up. Every time Erik seemed to hide on her, he appeared from the flies, but in this theatre everything was lit.

People and action were all around her. Light and life. She turned around and out of the corner of her eye caught a pocket of darkness.

At the moment, she could only go with her instinct and trust he would be there, so she snuck passed some people, dodged some props and went into the way back of the theatre where the light faded with every step she took.

Since she was a child, darkness and despair came hand in hand. Rooms were dark when there wasn’t enough money for electric bills or when someone was sick. Out on the streets, the darkness was when the bad things happened, unwanted pests scurried about invading her space, she was at risk and left alone waiting for light. The darkness was the unknown.

Still, she couldn’t stop herself from heading straight into her nightmare, because maybe, just maybe, this time it held a dream. “Erik?”

Only the far off sounds of people in the theatre echoed around her. Another song started, and she continued to step into the darkness. All she could hear was Erik calling to her during the performance, reassuring her he was there. It had to be him because she couldn’t have made it up in her head. She had to believe in him. “Erik.” She stopped when she banged something hard. “Erik?” Her voice came out more of a plea.

“Do you trust me?” Out of nowhere, his voice encompassed her, a combination of a warm blanket and a sharp sizzle.

“You know I do.” She bit her lip.

“Then take three paces back and know I’ll catch you.”

Catch her? She had already fallen for him and without question, she obeyed.

One step, then the second step and with the third she fell into nothingness.

In that second, her heart seized, but then as he promised, he caught her.

At last, she was finally in his arms.

“You’re here.” Carefully, she touched the side of his face not covered by the mask. A bit of stubble tickled her fingertips.

“Where else would I be?”

Even though she couldn’t see him, she could feel him staring down at her. “Sometimes I wonder.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Then I need to do my job better.” He went to put her down.

Not wanting to be set aside like his student, she held him tighter.

“Playing prima donna tonight? I suppose you earned it.” For the first time ever, he gave into what she wanted and kept her in his arms, wrapping his coat around them both, then carried her through the back of the theatre.

The way his arms held her, firm yet gentle, the way his chest moved with his breaths, his earthy scent that swirled around her all combined to give her a heady feeling. By the time the cool night air hit her, and he placed her inside the magical waiting car, she almost forgot she’d earned a spot on the show. Her only concern was what she’d earned with Erik. He still hadn’t mentioned what happened on stage.

Without a word, he positioned her on his lap and hit the divider between them. The car began to roll, and he looked out the window. The sun had gone down quite some time ago.

“Erik?” As the streetlights illuminated the interior of the car, she tried to take him all in, but no matter what, she didn’t think she would ever be able to absorb everything that was him.

At her uttering his name, he turned away from the window toward her.

Mixed messages. Erik was nothing, but mixed messages. On one hand she was on his lap, his hand combing through her hair, while on the other, he wouldn’t say anything about her, the performance, anything. “What did you think?”

Rather than say a word, he took her hand that still held the cricket. He tilted his head and gently pried her fingers open.

At the sudden pain, she sucked in her breath. The cricket had dug into her hand and her palm was covered in blood.

“What on earth?” He shook his head.

She tried to pull her hand back, but he held it fast. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.” The words left his mouth as the limo pulled up behind his theatre, his home, their home? She didn’t know anymore.

Still keeping her in his arms, he managed to get out of the car. He never even bothered saying goodbye to whomever drove them, and he let them inside.

“I want you to rest your voice. We will review the documents tomorrow.” He went through the back, set her down on the stage and took the paperwork from her.

Like a fool, she stood there as she watched him remove his coat and place the documents on a side table. He smoothed his hair back and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

“I won a place on the show,” she whispered to no one.

“You nailed it tonight. You looked beautiful. I know you were nervous, but I was there. Did you hear me?” Making her way across the stage, she spoke to herself, saying the things Erik should have said, or what she wished he said. With a sigh, she turned on some music. “I want you to rest your voice, but we don’t need to talk anyway.” In her mind’s eye, she pictured him kissing her.

The music washed over her, and she allowed the notes to carry her away. Doing what no one else would, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and swayed with the rhythm.

“You were incredible tonight.” Erik’s voice echoed behind her.

She froze.

“I know you heard me call to you. I know you needed me. Never doubt again that I’ll always be there.”

Now she forced herself to turn around.

He put the cup aside and approached. “In my whole life, I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman grace any stage, anywhere.” Once again, he took her hand. This time he wiped away the blood with a damp towel, then he leaned down and kissed her palm.

She couldn’t take her eyes off him. No one ever touched her with such caring before. “Oh.”

“There’s something I would much rather do than talk.” With a bit of possession, he wrapped his arms around her.

Her stomach tightened in anticipation. “You never seem close enough.”

“Let me rectify that right now.” He held her tighter and lowered his mouth to hers.

If the man didn’t have her under a spell already, the moment their lips touched, she was gone, captivated and entranced in less than a second.

His kiss was soft, full of the longing and yearning that always seemed to accompany Erik. Even more incredible, she didn’t feel the mask, it just melded into Erik, was part of him.

The second he opened his mouth, her heart and body both took off. Their tongues tangled, creating shivers throughout every part of her.

He let out a moan and skimmed his hand down the side of her breast, to her waist and then her hip.

Her mind clouded with pleasure, and her entire body seemed sensitized as if each inch of her waited in anticipation of Erik’s touch. “Oh.”

He skimmed his lips down to her neck, nipping and sucking the soft flesh there, and his hands cupped her backside.

With his lips and hands freely roaming over her body, it was finally her chance to do the same, and she ran her fingers through his hair, grazing the elastic that held Erik’s mask in place.

In an instant, he lifted his head and she gasped, the fire in his eyes was apparent. What happened now? It was only an accident.

He took her shoulders, squeezing a little too hard. “Christine.”

No way could she lose the magic between them, not when they’d came this far. “I want you.” She panted her plea.

“I have never wanted anything more than you.” Rather than push her away, he kissed her and picked her up, heading straight for the stairway that would take them underneath the stage.

Normally he lit the way for her, but as he climbed down, he snuffed out the lights and once more Erik led her into the darkness, but this time she let it consume her. With him kissing her, touching her, dare she say worshipping her, the darkness wasn’t an unwanted lightless void, instead she was encompassed in a welcoming black veil where only she and Erik existed. This darkness was that of desire, where she didn’t need light to see what she wanted, he was right here.