From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10)(27)

That was what she would remember when she looked across the crowded dungeon and caught a glimpse of him with his superhot brother and whatever gorgeous things they attracted. She would remember that she was peanut butter and didn’t require chocolate to be awesome.

“Hey, Charlotte’s got me rounding everyone up. She’s giving them all the ‘don’t drool on the Hollywood star because it makes the other Doms feel bad’ lecture.” Serena Dean-Miles was not dressed for play. She was in a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt, her brownish blonde hair swept back in a ponytail. “I wanted to catch you first. How is Kai? You have to know I didn’t have any idea they were related. I also didn’t have a lot to do with the casting.”

She needed Serena to understand something. “The absolute smartest thing you can do is to take whatever money they’re offering you and run. Don’t look back. Films tend to wreck books for the most part. The smart author giggles all the way to the bank and leaves the agony for the screenwriter.”

Serena went pale. “I am the screenwriter.”

Oh, that poor girl. Kori nodded. “Then forget everything I said and know that you are the best person for this job and it’s going to be so much fun. No one knows your characters better than you do.” Or was as close to them and reluctant to cut out the parts that needed to be cut because no film could do a four hundred and forty-nine page book in an hour and a half. “You’re going to be great.”

Tears shone in Serena’s eyes. “It’s horrible. It’s so awful. I thought I would come down here and maybe sitting in the locker room would bring on some inspiration, but I have no idea what I’m doing. We’re supposed to start filming in a couple of weeks and I’ve got a bloated script and the director hates it, and if I don’t fix it he’s going to bring in a screenwriter whose last project was something about cars turning into aliens that eat the planet.”

Yeah, that sounded like a lot of Hollywood types. For some producers, screenwriters were easily replaceable. They wouldn’t think past their bottom line on a production. Oh, there were some great producers out there who understood the need to find the right screenwriter for every story, but many had their pet writers and didn’t care that the man was likely some twenty-something who knew nothing about the lifestyle and cared very little about the nuances of romance. It was why Kori preferred her romances in novel form. The impulse to help Serena nearly overwhelmed her. She’d always wanted to try a romance. She’d mostly written horror and supernatural thrillers with strong female leads, but she loved Serena’s books. She could do them justice on the screen. She could find that delicate balance between the story and the characters that was required for a film.

“I could read it for you.” She couldn’t come out and tell Serena the truth. Too many questions. She could help though.

Serena took a long breath. “I would love that. I’ll e-mail you a copy. You’ve been in the lifestyle for a long time. I would love your opinion. I think I’m trying to explain the lifestyle too much.”

And that was a mistake. “The lifestyle is in the story. Worry about that and not making sure the viewer understands every bit of protocol. I’ll let you know what I think, but I’m sure it’s fabulous. And Kai is all right. Well, he’s grumpy but it’s kind of cute on him.”

“Hopefully it’s not too much of an imposition.” Serena put a smile on her face, but it was easy to see she was frustrated. “Watch out for him. I know sometimes family can be difficult, to say the least. I’m glad Adam and his brother are in a good place. I wish I could say the same for Jake. I don’t think he’ll ever be close to his biological family again. I think in the end we make our own families.”

And Kai was like her brother. Yeah. Her non-blood between them, really wished he would slap her ass hard brother. There wasn’t anything weird about that. She gave Serena a big hug. That was one of the gifts Sarah had given her. She’d never been a hugger. When she’d come to Sanctum, there had been a bitch of a sub who loved to screw with everyone. Sarah had joined and Maia had told her Kori loved to be hugged.

She hadn’t been quite able to shove the girl away, and over the years she’d not only gotten used to random acts of affection from her friends, she’d come to crave them.

Another gift from Sanctum.

“It’s going to be awesome, Serena. You’re going to be awesome.”

Serena squeezed her tight. “Thank you. I needed that.”

And that was a gift from Kai. She’d watched him help people for years and one of the things she’d learned was sometimes people needed to hear that they could do a thing before they believed it themselves. It was all good and great to be able to look in the mirror and be confident without outside voices, but sometimes it was also good to hear that people were behind you.

Withholding that affection had been the norm where she’d come from. It felt so good to let it flow now.

Like that moment when she’d wrapped her fingers around Kai’s hand and she’d felt him sigh in relief. He’d needed her and that had been a revelation.

She watched Serena walk away, likely back to the lounge section of the locker room where she and Avery O’Donnell kept a couple of comfy chairs. Serena would sit with her computer in her lap and type away.

And she would watch Kai with his brother and wish for that moment when he needed her again.