Sera
As she dressed in her Halloween outfit Sera wondered if she was insane. She had somehow volunteered to chaperone Levi so he could trick or treat, but then she had to go and change her outfit at the last moment. She had planned to go old-school Halloween and dress as a witch or vampire. It would’ve been easy – all she had to do was channel her high school emo/gothic days when she believed she was going to become the next goth punk rocker to rival Avril Lavigne. Her father and agent both promptly put a stop to that quick smart. But no, she decided that since Levi was going to dress up as the Lion from The Wizard of Oz, it would only be fitting for her to dress in theme. They all were actually. Teddy was dressing as the Tin Man, Juliette was coming as Glinda and Anna would be Dorothy.
For Sera there was only one choice. She would go as the witch Elphaba from the musical Wicked. Sourcing the costume was easy. She had one back in her apartment in Sydney and after a call to Elyssa, her assistant, it was couriered to her within a day. Sera knew she was lucky she was even allowed to walk away with one of the costumes after her stint on the Australian tour of Wicked, but she never thought she’d be using it as a Halloween outfit. Wasn’t it a little cheeky? Well, whatever it was, there was one thing she knew for sure – she was certifiably insane in the membrane. How else could she explain the ungodly flip-flops her stomach was doing at the remote possibility that she would see Mayor Patrick Shepherd tonight? Yes, he was working, but after the trick or treating she would be taking Levi home and presumably, not long after, the mayor would be home. That was what was causing her stomach to knot. It wasn’t the reason she’d put her hand up to chaperone him tonight. The kid was amazing and when she heard that Patrick wasn’t able to take him trick or treating, stepping in seemed like a natural thing for her to do. Besides, if her aim was to catch the eyes of Ellesmere’s mayor, dressing as Elphaba with a face full of green wasn’t the way to go about it.
After surveying herself in the mirror and happy that her outfit was authentic as possible, Sera made her way down the stairs and was greeted by what could only be described as a divine smell. Juliette was baking. It was what she did best. Not a morning passed without that sweet aroma of coffee and the latest of Juliette’s tempting confections breaking her slumber. For the first few days it was heavenly, but as the days rolled into weeks and she was now almost a month into her stay at Ellesmere, the cracks were beginning to show. Fatigue was setting in as the normally happy-go-lucky Juliette was starting to show signs that the illness was getting the better of her. It only made the search for the elusive Noah more urgent.
The search for the book had been fruitless so far, and with the nurse Lucy Hale still on leave, they were running out of options. Anna’s idea to look for Noah via searching the nearby high schools’ websites had only brought up executive profiles and head teachers, none of which were Noah. She had to admit, the idea, despite not getting a result, had been a good one. She and Anna were trying to work together and, to her credit, Anna was pulling her weight.
Sera even tried to probe Tilly for information – asking her how things were last time Juliette was sick, if she’d met any of the friends that Juliette had made during her chemo treatment. She even asked if Juliette had known anyone by the name of Noah, but Tilly had never heard of him.
They needed another lead – something to go on without blatantly asking Juliette, but the question was: how? How did they get more information and how much time did they have left? Sera was still shuddering, thinking about the ticking time bomb, as she entered the kitchen.
‘Wow. Look at all this!’ Sera marvelled at the spread before her. Juliette looked up from the cupcakes she was icing and offered a smile despite the fatigue in her eyes. ‘You think it’s enough?’
‘Enough?’ Sera guffawed. ‘I haven’t seen this much sugar since Mrs Sullivan’s cake stalls at the Summer Fair.’
‘Mrs Sullivan…’ Juliette paused and put down her piping bag as a wistful look floated across her face. ‘She made the best lamingtons. I never got her recipe down pat before she passed.’
Sera shook her head. It shouldn’t surprise her that Juliette’s thoughts went straight to Mrs Sullivan’s lamingtons. ‘Well, they were something else. As is all this.’ She nodded towards the kitchen bench where a visual feast of ghoulish treats lay before her. Sera spied chocolate cupcakes that were topped with very intricate and real-looking spiders, another lot of vanilla cupcakes with black icing and white fondant moulded into realistic skulls and bones, cookies that were shaped as ghosts and strawberries that were dipped in chocolate and decorated in Halloween themed colours. Next there was a massive pumpkin cake that had no less than thirty spooky good golly eyeball cake pops poking out of it, but the last lot of cupcakes caught her eye.
‘Now these are my favourite.’ Sera admired the cupcake as she picked it up.
‘I thought you might. What’s Halloween without a witch or two?’
They were witch cupcakes, or more specifically wicked witch cupcakes. Sera gave the one in her hand a little twirl so she was able to see it from all angles. The reddish tinge gave away that it was red velvet. It was topped with a generous amount of green frosting out of which two black and white striped legs complete with red slippers were sticking out. Even the trademark hat that was perched on the side looked remarkable, but then again she didn’t expect anything less from Juliette. ‘I love them.’
‘And I love your outfit,’ Juliette said as she surveyed Sera’s costume. ‘You look exactly as you did onstage.’
Sera put down the cupcake and shot her friend a puzzled look. ‘Did you see photos of the production?’
Juliette shook her head as she iced the last cupcake. ‘I came to Sydney and saw you.’
Sera felt her jaw drop. She had no idea. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
Juliette shrugged. ‘I was in the middle of my treatment and not looking my best. If I told you I was coming you would’ve asked to meet up. I guess I didn’t want to worry you.’
Tears threatened. It was just like Juliette to think of others over herself at a time when she was going through what Sera would imagine to be hell.
‘You were brilliant as Elphaba. You really are a triple threat. Have you considered pursuing Broadway?’
She had, but instead of saying yes, she found herself giving Juliette a dismissive wave. ‘No. It was just a one off.’
The whole time she played Elphaba in Sydney all she could think of was playing the same role on Broadway. When Wicked finished up in Australia she headed to New York and tried her luck and made it as far as the understudy. But then her dad had a heart attack and despite his protests not to come home, she did. Did she regret leaving? A small part of her did. But a larger part of her knew that coming home to be with her dad was more important. He was her only family and she was his.
When Kyle found out he told her she was an idiot, that she’d thrown away her last chance. At the time she believed him, but last month her agent had contacted her with the possibility that they wanted her in for the next Australian tour in Melbourne next year. A couple of months ago, reprising the role would’ve been a no-brainer, but now being here with Juliette, being here for her, was far more important than a role in a musical. Even if it meant giving up her last shot at her dream.
‘Well, you should think about it. You were a natural up there and your voice is something else.’
‘As is yours, Jules. Dave said they are starting karaoke nights at Elle’s this week. Maybe we could go and belt out a few duets.’
‘Sounds like a plan. Now help me get all these packed so I can get all dolled up too.’
‘Ha. You call this dolled up? I’m green, Jules.’
‘Honey, You’re Seraphina DiMaggio, men drool over you no matter what colour you are. You’ve always needed to beat them off with a stick.’
‘Hardly.’ Sera laughed off Juliette’s compliment. Besides, there was only one man she wanted and she was almost certain he wasn’t interested. ‘Now scoot along and get dressed, while I load these into the car. We have a party to go to.’
* * *
Patrick slammed his front door with a little more force than required and headed straight for the fridge. Twisting the top off a bottle of beer, he stood at the open fridge and guzzled half of it in one go. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but the icy-cold pale ale had never tasted so refreshing. It had been a standard council meeting, one that should’ve run smoothly, but thanks to Maurice Moody, Patrick felt like he was a criminal on trial. The man didn’t like him. He got that. What he didn’t get was how he seemed to want to throw away almost ten years of work serving Ellesmere by undermining every decision Patrick made regardless of what it was. At first he thought it was sour grapes, with Maurice bitter at losing and missing out on a ten-year tenure, but Patrick was beginning to think it was more than bitterness.
He closed the fridge and flicked on the television as he flopped onto the couch and that’s when he choked on his beer, which then developed into a coughing fit.
Seraphina DiMaggio.
The woman was everywhere. Every morning when he walked into The Bookworm for his first dose of caffeine she was there. If he happened to be walking through town at some point during the day you could bet he would run into her. And now at the end of a massive working day, when all he wanted to do was wind down and catch a moment of peace before Levi was back, no doubt hyped up from all the sugar eaten while he’d been trick or treating, it seemed there was no way of escaping her because there she was on the bloody TV.
He should switch the channel. It was a simple thing to do as the remote was in his hand. Instead he sat transfixed, staring at her on screen. He wasn’t sure what was going on as he didn’t have the volume turned up, but there was a small child on screen, a little girl probably about Levi’s age, and there was a look on her face, one of adoration. He silently watched the interaction between Sera and the little girl who he now worked out was meant to be her daughter. The little girl had long brown locks and dark chocolate eyes, just like her mother. Then a man walked in. Tall, blond and wearing a suit, some kind of professional. The little girl ran to him and embraced him the way Levi always did. The camera panned out and showed an exchange of glances between Sera and the man. The look launched a shot of jealously through his veins and Patrick felt like he’d just been punched in the guts.
Sera walked over to the man and wrapped her hands around his neck as he dipped his head to meet her lips.
Patrick drained the last of his beer as the punch in the gut intensified and the jealously working through his blood kicked up a notch. As he watched their passionate kiss, all he could think of was how she was kissing the wrong man. It should’ve been his lips she was kissing, his neck she was gently caressing. The whole scene was completely wrong.
A clap of thunder broke his trance. Patrick blinked and then a commercial flashed on screen. His jealously quickly subsided and turned into embarrassment. You fool. She’s an actress. He couldn’t believe he’d been sucked into watching a soap opera and mistaken it for reality. It was a momentary lapse of sanity.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the living room. Seconds later thunder clapped again and the unmistakable sound of raindrops hit the roof. Slow and steady at first, but in less than a minute the rain was pelting down.
Shit, Levi.
He wasn’t sure where Sera had taken him to trick or treat but they would most certainly be caught in this thunderstorm. While he had noticed how ominous the sky looked when he was coming home, the only thing he’d thought of when he saw the sky was how the thick grey clouds matched his mood. He hadn’t even thought of Levi and how a possible storm would affect him. He was racked with guilt as he dragged a hand through his hair. Some father he was. Even though he had no idea where to start looking he grabbed his keys and headed out. Ellesmere wasn’t that big, but in this weather it wasn’t going to be easy to spot them, especially since he didn’t know what Sera was dressed as. He was going to have to look for a small lion and hope that no other kid in Ellesmere had decided to go dressed as the lion from The Wizard of Oz. He made it halfway up the garden path before he saw what looked like a very soggy lion and a tall, black figure, which he deduced could only be Sera. He ran toward them with his golf umbrella to shield them from the rain.
‘Too late.’ Sera shook her head and she and Levi giggled uncontrollably. ‘We’re already beyond drenched.’
Still, he held the umbrella so they were covered and they all scurried to the back porch and it was only then he realised that Levi had formed a human shield around his trick or treat bounty. The plastic pumpkin bucket was full to the brim with sugar and chocolate confections and he was protecting it as if it contained the code for nuclear warheads.
‘Hey Dad, I had so much fun!’ Levi enthused as his soggy outfit made a pool of water on the wooden decking. His eyes were wide and bright with excitement and droplets of water continued to run down his face, smudging what he could only assume was rather intricate lion face paint. He should’ve asked Sera or one of the other girls to take a photo of him before he got drenched. Since his divorce he was increasingly aware that besides school and Santa photos, he really didn’t have that many pictures of Levi. He needed to make an effort and change that. Levi looked kind of cute all wet and soggy so he could only assume the cuteness factor would’ve been kicked up a few more notches, at least.
‘And look!’ As his son proudly thrust the plastic bucket in his hand upward it swung from side to side, the bounty threatening to spill. ‘I have, like, a thousand chocolates and lollies in here!’
‘I can see that.’ Patrick gave a chuckle as he wiped water off Levi’s face. ‘Now let’s get you out of this wet outfit.’
‘I should be going.’
Patrick looked up to see Sera removing her witch’s hat and scrunching it up to wring the water out. Her make-up, like Levi’s, was smudged because of the rain, but even with washed-out streaks of green face paint, her outfit was undeniable. She was Elphaba from Wicked, the purported wicked witch, but anyone who had seen the musical would know that Elphaba was anything but wicked. She was the outcast, the one who wasn’t beautiful, the one who was made out to be evil and wicked only by dubious circumstance and even, some might say, propaganda.
Her outfit surprised him. It wasn’t what he had expected her to wear for Halloween. Had he expected flashy? Yes. He also expected vampy with sensual undertones. Elphaba wasn’t that. At all. Yet, looking at her, face smudged, hair sopping wet and clinging to her face in clumps, Patrick couldn’t help but think that she still looked beautiful and vampy and sensual and…he didn’t want her to leave.
‘You can’t leave,’ he said a little too quickly and hoped the desperation in his voice wasn’t obvious.
‘I can’t?’ She blinked, looking slightly baffled.
‘Ah, no. It’s…not safe with the storm,’ he said, cringing at his words.
Sera opened her mouth to reply, but before she did, a bolt of lightning flashed behind them, promptly followed by the clap of thunder.
‘Argh!’ Levi exclaimed. ‘I didn’t even get a chance to start counting between the lightning and the thunder! That means that it’s really close and my dad’s right, it’s not safe to go out there.’ His little face was so serious but the look on Sera’s face made Patrick want to burst out laughing. Her mouth was agape and her eyes wide.
‘Levi. You’re five, how on earth do you know that?’
Levi shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. ‘Dad.’
Sera’s gaze moved to him and he shrugged, mimicking Levi’s move. ‘He’s got an inquisitive mind.’
‘So you’re staying for dinner, aren’t you, Stella?’
Shit. He hadn’t thought that far in advance. Patrick did a mental check of what was in his fridge. He was sure he recalled Mrs Vaughn saying something about putting lasagne in the fridge. All he had to do was warm it up.
‘We have lasagne.’
‘You made lasagne?’ He didn’t miss the surprise in her voice.
‘Well, not me, Mrs Vaughn made it. I have it on good authority that she makes a mean lasagne.’ He wasn’t sure why he was selling it to her, why he wanted her to stay so badly, but he felt more than relieved when Sera gave a shy nod. A look that he’d never seen crossed her face.
‘Okay. But I’m soaked through. You don’t have any trackies and an old top I can borrow?’
Patrick tried to refrain from running his eyes over her body and imagining her in his clothes. The mental image of his baggy Bonds track pants and jumper shouldn’t be a turn on but on Sera it would look goddamn sexy.
‘Umm…’ Patrick swallowed with great difficulty as his brain scrambled to put together a cohesive sentence. ‘There’s a shower in the laundry. I’ll bring you a towel and some clothes. I’ll just take my soggy lion in there first so he doesn’t leave a water mark through the house.’
As he went to scoop Levi up, his son yelped in protest. ‘Hey Dad, be careful of my lollies!’
‘Sorry,’ Patrick grumbled as he hoisted Levi onto his shoulder. There were two things in his mind that required addressing. Firstly, how was he going to pry Levi’s bounty away from him before he consumed a year’s worth of sugar? And, secondly, how on earth was he going to get through dinner without thinking about Sera DiMaggio naked in his shower?
* * *
Sera stepped underneath the stream of steaming water and enjoyed the feel of the hot water warming her frozen skin. She tried to block out that she was having a shower in the mayor’s house. Technically she wasn’t in his house, she was in the laundry off the back veranda, but no matter which way she looked at it, she was in his shower. And she was naked. And she was insane for agreeing to have dinner with Patrick and Levi.
What were you thinking, Sera?
Clearly she wasn’t. She couldn’t stay and as she dried herself off and dressed in Patrick’s grey track pants and tightened the adjustable cord, Sera was adamant she was going to walk inside, excuse herself and be on her merry way. The rain had probably stopped and the walk back to Ellesmere House was probably ten minutes, tops.
She finished dressing and caught sight of herself in the mirror. The good news was she no longer looked like the love child of the Green Goblin and Morticia Adams; the bad news was, she looked like Morticia Adams with a hangover. Not a pretty sight, which was even more of a reason to bail on dinner. It was rare for Sera to let anyone see her without make-up and it was more than a vanity thing. Her make-up, especially her lipstick, was her armour – without it she felt as if her guard was down, she felt vulnerable, and she definitely didn’t want to feel unguarded with Patrick. But her options were limited. It wasn’t as if Patrick kept a stash of make-up in his laundry so she used a trick her Nonna Rosa taught her as a young girl – she pinched her cheeks and bit her lips until blood rushed to the surface. Apparently it was something all the young girls did in her grandmother’s village when they were growing up. Her face was so pale she had to pinch and bite for an awful long time for it to have even the slightest effect and boy, did it hurt. Beauty really was a pain.
Wrapping her wet clothes in a towel, Sera headed into the house and was immediately greeted by a familiar smell that took her back to her childhood. A smell that evoked memories of family, love and laughter. It might have been Mrs Vaughn’s lasagne in the oven, but if she closed her eyes and went by smell alone, she could’ve been in her Nonna Rosa and Nonno Paolo’s house on a rainy night surrounded by all those she loved. Of course that would’ve been before that summer, the one that changed everything.
She knew that her parents were not the first to divorce, nor was she the first child from a broken home. But the divorce broke her family and had a ripple effect on the extended family and friends around them. After the shock and anger of her mother’s betrayal, grief had set in. Despite the circumstances surrounding her parents’ marriage, her father had deeply loved her mother. It was heartbreaking to watch him sometimes. Her grandparents were also badly affected. Their inner western Sydney suburb was a hub for Italians, and the older generation of Italians from from the old country thrived on the DiMaggio scandal. After years of being on his own and only casually dating, her father had only recently found love with someone else.
‘Hey, Stella, come sit next to me.’
As Levi patted the seat next to him, Sera blinked and pulled herself into the present. She looked at his excited, adorable face and felt like a total bitch even thinking of leaving. Plus her stomach was growling and there was no way it would forgive her for leaving; she suspected that Levi wouldn’t be thrilled either.
Would Patrick care? She wasn’t sure. He did ask her to stay for dinner but it was probably because he felt sorry for her and she looked like a drowned rat. Or like a witch drenched in water. Right now he was eyeing her carefully with those tiger eyes of his and, as usual, she couldn’t read them.
‘Wine?’ He poured a glass for himself as he waited for her to respond.
‘Yes, thanks.’ Sera took a seat next to Levi as Patrick handed her a glass and was thankful that the jumper was baggy enough to conceal the fact that she wore no bra. Hopefully he didn’t notice.
‘I had such a great time trick or treating with you, Stella.’
Sera ruffled Levi’s hair, still damp from his shower. ‘You mean until we got caught in the rain.’ She sipped her wine and watched Patrick over the rim of her glass as he moved about the kitchen. He had changed into jeans and a T-shirt that showcased his tanned biceps perfectly.
She was staring. Her mouth was dry so she took another sip, then a gulp of the wine as if she was trying to tame a fire within but all she did was fan it. Isn’t that what alcohol did? She needed a distraction, a task to keep her wandering mind, and eyes, not to mention libido, in check.
‘Can I do anything to help?’
‘Nope, we are all set. Lasagne is just cooling and then we’re ready.’
‘I set the table, Stella,’ Levi proudly announced and Sera noticed that for the first time since Levi had decided to call her by her character’s name, Patrick hadn’t corrected him.
‘You’re a pro, you’ve must’ve set the table for your dad hundreds of times.’
‘Yeah, but it’s the first time I’ve set the table for three people, normally it’s just us two.’
‘That’s not true, Levi, Jack was here the other night.’ Patrick placed the lasagne on the table and took a seat.
‘Yeah, but we had pizza and we ate on the couch,’ Levi said, looking at his dad as if he was insane. ‘And Jack’s a boy, we’ve never had a girl here before. You’re the first, Stella.’
‘Jesus!’ Patrick muttered in mortification and Sera suppressed a giggle as she watched him squirm.
Did she find Levi’s reveal interesting? You bet. Was she going to jump in and change the subject to ease the obvious discomfort the good mayor was experiencing? Not a chance.
‘Let’s eat, okay?’ Patrick grumbled as he served Levi some of the mouth-watering lasagne before turning to serve Sera. She lifted her plate up to make it easier for him and as his fingertips grazed her hand, Sera felt her cheeks flame.
‘Thanks,’ she managed and as she flickered her gaze towards Patrick she noticed his eyes on her. The heat in her face intensified. At least that took care of her pasty complexion.
What the hell was wrong with her? She didn’t blush. Men usually blushed over her and she certainly didn’t recall blushing at any look Kyle had ever sent her way, but there was something about the mayor that made her insides liquefy. And it had all started when he made her change seats on the plane.
But she knew Patrick wasn’t interested. It was clear by watching him with Levi that his son was his first priority. Hell, Levi spilling the beans that he’d never had female company in his home while his son was present gave Sera a clear picture of the man he was. A dedicated father and a hard-working mayor. That’s it. There wasn’t room left for anything more.
She tuned back into the conversation as Levi was now telling Patrick how before they headed off to trick or treat Sera had helped him make beach jack o’ lanterns, explaining to his father in detail that beach jack o’ lanterns differed from normal jack o’ lanterns because, instead of the normal scary face, they’d carved crabs and lobsters instead.
‘We did the seaside animals ’cause we’re near the beach. It was really awesome, Dad, you missed out.’
‘Yeah, I’m sorry I did.’ The regret in Patrick’s voice was obvious.
Levi shovelled a forkful of food into his mouth and shrugged. ‘It’s okay. I’m spending Christmas with you right? We can go to the carols by candlelight together.’
‘We sure can,’ Patrick answered.
‘You’ll come too, won’t you, Stella?’
She’d been so focused on the interaction between father and son that Levi’s question caught her off guard. It was probably just under eight weeks until Christmas but it might as well have been a lifetime away. How would Juliette be by Christmas? Would she even see Christmas? Slowly, as the weeks passed, signs that the cancer was taking her were becoming more and more evident. Juliette had a crazy notion that she was going to last until the Summer Fair, that they needed one last summer together. She wasn’t sure if Juliette would make it that far. She hoped for as much time with her friend as she could get, but one thing she was sure of was that she wasn’t going anywhere. She was going to stay in Ellesmere for as long as Juliette needed her, until the very end.
‘Levi, I’m not sure Sera will here for Christmas. She probably needs to get back to Sydney and back to work.’
Although the statement was directed at Levi, Sera couldn’t help but wonder how much was actually aimed at her. The day they had met, Sera had told Patrick she was in town for a while, had he forgotten?
‘I’ve taken a leave of absence from the show and I’m planning on staying in town for a while, and although I cannot promise I’ll be here for Christmas, I will promise that if I am I’ll go with you. How does that sound?’
Levi replied with a massive yawn. The poor little thing looked pooped.
‘Come on, bedtime.’
Levi was already protesting as Patrick slid his chair back. ‘But I’m not even tired,’ he reasoned with another yawn. ‘See my eyes are still open.’
They were, but only just.
‘Bedtime.’ Patrick repeated in a don’t-mess-with-me voice and Sera covered her mouth to hide her smile as Levi rolled his tired little eyes.
‘Say goodnight to Sera.’
Levi hopped off his chair, came over and wrapped his arms around her.
‘Goodnight, Stella, and thanks for taking me trick or treating.’
‘You’re welcome, honey, goodnight.’ She hugged him back and gave him a little squeeze. ‘I should be heading off, too.’
‘No. Stay.’ Patrick used the same authoritative tone he’d just used with Levi.
What? She almost fell off her chair at his response.
‘But it’s getting late,’ she feebly protested.
‘Stay. I’ll be down soon. I want to thank you for tonight.’
‘Are you going to give me a hug too?’ she asked cheekily.
Patrick scooped up an almost asleep Levi and gave her a wink. ‘If you’re lucky.’
Sera gulped the remainder of her wine and, for the second time in as many minutes, she almost fell off her chair.
* * *
He found her cleaning up. Standing in his kitchen wearing his clothes, her wet hair slicked back, her face without a scrap of make-up. He’d never seen a more sexy and beautiful sight in his life. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stood at the foot of the stairs watching as she finished stacking the dishwasher then turned and spotted him.
‘You didn’t need to clean up.’
Sera shrugged and brushed a loose strand of hair off her face. ‘It’s the least I could do after you clothed and fed me.’
‘Well, thank you, and thanks for taking Levi to the party and trick or treating. I don’t think he would’ve forgiven me if I made him stay home and spend the evening with Mrs Vaughn. He had a blast, he was still gibbering about it as he drifted off to sleep.’
Sera chuckled. ‘It was my pleasure. I’m glad he had a great time. I did too. I have some photos on my phone of him before we got wet. I can send them to you if you like.’
‘Yeah, that’d be nice.’ He caught her gaze and felt the undeniable stir of arousal. Patrick wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. He was breaking every single rule he’d enforced since his divorced. Never let a woman into Levi’s life unless he was on the verge of marrying her. It was all about ensuring Levi had consistency in his life. The last thing he wanted was to bring someone into both of their lives, deal with Levi either loving or hating her and then needing to possibly pick up the pieces if it didn’t work out. He always thought things through, always. But right now – he wasn’t thinking with his brain. Maybe it was because he was going through a dry spell, maybe it was because of the beer and wine, or maybe it was because from the first moment he met Sera he had thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She infuriated him but no matter how many times he tried to stop thinking about her, he couldn’t and it was driving him insane.
‘I’d better get going.’ Sera didn’t break the gaze or make any attempt to leave.
‘Thanks again.’
She let out a soft chuckle. ‘You’ve already thanked me.’ Her soft, luscious lips were inviting and while he normally saw them painted red, seeing them bare, seeing her face bare, well it only made him want to see the rest of her…bare.
He felt his lips upturn. ‘Yeah. So I did.’
‘Well, I’d better get going,’ Sera repeated.
Patrick closed the distance between them. ‘You’ve already said that.’ His words were like a dare and her eyes registered his challenge.
‘Then I’d better do as I say and leave.’ But all she did was lean back against the kitchen bench.
‘You could do that,’ he placed his hands on either side of her ‘…or you could stay.’
Her eyes sparked and her voice taunted him. ‘For what?’
‘For a trick or treat.’ He dipped his head and heard her breathing slow. He was so close, just a whisker from her lips and it made him ache. Yet, he waited a beat before asking. ‘So what will it be? A trick or treat?’
Her heart was beating out of control, so loudly that Sera was certain it was about to burst out of her chest. His lips were so close, all she had to do was move a few inches and they would be on hers.
She licked her lips before answering. ‘Treat.’ Her voice was so faint she wasn’t entirely sure she had spoken at all.
But a second later as his lips crushed hers, there was no confusion. Patrick was kissing her. She was kissing the mayor. And it wasn’t a cursory, perfunctory, run-of-the-mill thank-you kiss, no. This was a toe-curling, knock-your-socks-off and liquefy-your-insides kiss.
His body pressed hard against hers, deepening the kiss. Her hands released the death grip she had on the kitchen bench behind her and moved up to the back of his neck. The storm had ended long ago, probably moving out to sea, but when a rogue lightening bolt flashed outside it might as well have struck indoors. The air was full of electricity. If she was unsure of his attraction before, she was no longer unclear. It was palpable.
He broke the kiss and every inch of her being protested. He looked at her through heavy lidded eyes, his breathing languorous as he cupped her chin and brushed his thumb along her cheek. The caress was light, mesmerising, and by god, she almost swooned. His touch was teasing. She craved more. She needed to taste him again and, to her relief, he dipped his head once more and satisfied her need, taking her lower lip and sucking it. His first kiss had been hot, fast and full of hunger, and while this one conveyed just as much need, the pace was slower, torturous.
His hands skimmed her sides ever so slowly before inching under her jumper and as his thumbs began stroking her skin, Sera felt a shiver of pure pleasure scuttle down her sides and pool at her core.
She threw her head back and moaned. Fuck, this was insane. She wasn’t a moaner nor was she in the habit of swooning but this guy was certainly good at getting her to do things she wouldn’t normally do.
He took advantage of her exposed neck and began planting kisses downward and deft hands wandered upwards towards her breasts. He cupped them, hands splayed expertly across each of them and as he brushed her hard nipples with his thumbs she all but lost her mind.
And then the pace took a turn. In an instant her top was off and he had hoisted her up onto the kitchen counter.
‘Take your shirt off,’ she instructed. If she was topless it was only fair he was too. He obliged and even though she could’ve guessed the sight of him shirtless would be a very pleasing one, he took her breath away. Taut and muscular, he really was eye candy.
‘Not bad,’ she observed and was rewarded with a chuckle.
‘You’re not too bad yourself.’ He flicked a gaze over her breasts and she felt her nipples tighten.
Sera cleared her throat. ‘The jeans,’ she said boldly.
He raised an eyebrow and faked confusion. ‘The jeans? What about them?’
‘Off,’ Sera demanded. ‘Now.’
Patrick said nothing as he undid the button and slid down the zipper. He was taking his time, making her wait, making her crazy. She squirmed and he seemed to revel at her impatience.
‘Just get the damn things off, quick,’ she said urgently.
‘Do men always do what you ask them to?’ He shucked off his jeans and underwear all in one go, leaving her completely lost for words.
The complete package was impressive, to say the least. She gave him one of her come-hither looks. ‘Always.’
‘Well, not this time.’ His voice was commanding. ‘This time I’m going to tell you how it goes.’ And Sera felt compelled to obey.
‘First, we take these off…’ He reached for the cord holding up her track pants and as he loosened it he might as well have unravelled her self-control.
He discarded the last of her clothing and reached down to pull a condom from out of his wallet. When he was ready he nudged her legs apart, the tip of his erection teasing her as he nipped at her earlobe. ‘Wrap your legs around me.’
She did as she was told and felt him fill her. His slow and rhythmic thrusts seduced her body. She bowed towards him, pressing against his chest and matching his pace. His hands wandered down her sides, over her breasts then to the top of her buttocks. She moaned, tightening the hold she had over him and the pace kicked up a notch. The faster he went, the more she wanted him. It felt like an unsated addiction.
Her body went into sensory overload as taste, touch, smell collided and her vision blurred as her orgasm consumed her. She was still going when she felt Patrick stiffen and join her freefall into oblivion.
She wasn’t sure how long they stayed there in the aftermath, but when she could manage to speak again there was one word that came to mind. ‘Wow.’ Sera blinked and tried to get her focus back.
Patrick chuckled and planted a kiss on her lips. ‘You can say that again.’ He pulled her in for a deeper kiss, but a few seconds later he dropped her like a hot potato.
‘Dad!’ Levi’s voice drifted from upstairs.
‘Shit.’ Patrick began scrambling for his clothes, throwing the jumper and track pants at her as he went. She’d never seen a man get dressed so fast after sex. Then again she had never had sex with a single dad before. She was almost dressed when Patrick spoke over his shoulder as he made a dash for the stairs.
‘You’d better leave. This shouldn’t have happened.’
Sera froze and felt her stomach drop. Her body was numb. She’d gone from the heights of euphoria to the pit of humiliation in sixty seconds flat.
She knew that Levi was his first priority. She got that. She knew that he probably didn’t want to have his son walk downstairs and see him screwing a small-time soapie star on the kitchen bench. She got that too. What she didn’t get was how he could say it shouldn’t have happened when his dick was probably still hard from banging her. That she didn’t get.
She was mad, that was a given, but what she felt most of all was cheap.