And waited.
And waited…
He knocked again, louder this time.“Scarlett?”He called her name as he glanced at Titan.The big man didn’t even seem to blink, his stare on him was so focused.
When there was no answer yet again, Titan shifted in his seat to bring Seth’s attention fully on him.“You’ve got one more try then you get back to the front of the goddamned plane.”
Seth started to protest, to tell the big man he’d keep pounding on the door until she either answered it or he broke it down, but something in Titan’s eyes told him the other man wasn’t fucking around.He would take matters into his own hands if he had to, and he wasn’t letting him disturb Scarlett if she didn’t want to be disturbed.
Once more, he pounded on the door, this time more forcefully.“Come on, Scarlett.Open up.”
There was a pause, then the door was yanked open.Scarlett didn’t face him, only turned her back and headed into the en-suite bathroom without a word.Before he could catch himself, Seth glanced back at Titan.Then scowled.“Don’t think I need your permission to talk to her,” Seth said, his chin going up.“I don’t.”
“Keep telling yourself that, pretty boy.”
“Why?”Seth asked, truly perplexed.“You’ve never been like this before.She’s traveled all over the world with us doing pretty much as she pleased.She can take care of herself.”
Titan stood, advancing slowly on Seth so that Seth took an involuntary step backwards.“Because, until now, there’s been no one who could truly break her heart.”Titan held Seth’s gaze, probably to let him realize just how serious he was.“Don’t do it, Seth.If you don’t want her, stay the fuck away from her.”
“But how --”
“You make this right,” Titan growled.“Then you get the fuck out.”
All Seth could do was nod before entering Scarlett’s room and closing the door.So much for his cocky demeanor.The thing was, it wasn’t Titan he was worried about.It was Scarlett.And not because he thought she’d stab him or anything violent, though that wasn’t out of the question.No.For the first time in his life, he was afraid he’d hurt someone he truly cared about, and that was unacceptable.
“Scarlett?”He approached the bathroom.Heard the shower going.“You can’t hide in the shower all the way to Las Vegas.It’s over an hour, and you’ll run out of water.”
Immediately the water shut off.She jerked the towel from where she’d hung it over the enclosure then stepped out, towel wrapped securely around her.Her hair hung in a wet mass down her back, and she immediately reached for a comb to untangle it.
“I’m not hiding from you, Seth.”Her voice was even, and her movements didn’t betray any anger, but Seth could tell she was seething.“I’m washing off the sweat and makeup and hairspray.Which I would have done before you barged your way in here, but there wasn’t enough time.Next time you think it’s a good idea to invade my privacy after a show like that, give me at least an hour to get myself together.”
“Look,” he started, not wanting to beat around the bush.“I’m sorry for the way I handled the press back there.I didn’t mean to imply you’d never play with us again or that you weren’t important to the band.You are.”
She shrugged as she twisted her hair up in a towel.“No biggie.”Though Seth could tell it was.He’d managed to cut her to the bone with his careless words.
“I just want you to know how sorry I am.I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She spun around, reaching for and throwing her hairbrush almost in one motion.He barely managed to duck, batting the thing away so it slammed into the door.Which made him cringe because Titan would probably be busting through that door any second now.
“Fucker!”Scarlett spat.Then she seemed to make a visible effort to control herself.Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths before turning back to the mirror.She squirted a small amount of hair gel into the palm of her hand before rubbing her hands together and smoothing it through all that dark auburn hair, then fluffing it up to separate the strands a little.
When she turned back to him, all the anger had evaporated from her face as if it had never been.Instead, she had a pleasant smile plastered on her lovely lips.“No need to worry about it, Seth.It’s me who should be thanking you for the opportunity to play on such a grand stage.”She strolled past him into the main part of the bedroom and found underwear, which she slipped on under her towel.One of Arsen’s T-shirts followed, then she let the towel drop.“I’ve been getting calls from all over either wanting me in bands or wanting me to form my own band, which is why I hadn’t already showered before you nearly beat my door down.Again.I got one from Soul Reapers.You know they lost their lead to a motorcycle crash a few months ago.They have a style and sound similar to SnowFyer’s, and think I’d be a great fit.”
Seth knew Soul Reapers.No way he was letting Scarlett anywhere near any of them.“Like hell,” he growled, lunging for her.He snagged her arm and pulled her to him, his arms closing around her to hold her to him tightly.“You belong here.With me.”He stopped, shaking his head slightly before stammering.“Err, with us.”
“Let me go, Seth.”Her voice was calm, her gaze level and steady.
“Not until you swear you aren’t leaving.”
“Not making that promise.After tonight I realize I don’t want to be behind the scenes anymore.Arsen will be back by the next tour.I’ll stay until the charity concerts are done, but then I’m leaving.If not for Soul Reapers, then someone else.I might form my own band and see how it works.Either way, I’ve got a shot to make it on my own.”
“You don’t need to make it on your own.You’re part of us now.Everyone knows the success of this last show was because of you.That will only grow stronger after we’ve had a chance to actually practice together.These charity shows will be perfect for showing off what you can do.”
“And when the new wears off?”She shook her head.“No, Seth.I won’t disappear into the background again.”
“What the fuck, Scarlett?”Seth shoved her away from him.Not hard, but enough to convey his frustration.“You never mentioned wanting out front.”
“I didn’t, then,” she agreed, shrugging.“Now I know what I was missing.I like it.”
