Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 08

"Honestly, there are a couple of reasons. I didn't want you to try to influence me to lessen your role. I know how modest you are. You're going to be the star, pure and simple. You'll become the most famous actress in the world, if you aren't already. I know you, and this part is going to be easy because it's you.

"The other reason I didn't tell you is that I had no idea how it would be accepted. I had the fear of rejection. Now that it's becoming a reality, I feel even more nervous. If this project tanks, I'll never live it down."

The next week found Gwen, along with her sisters and girlfriends in L.A. preparing to film 'Rise of the Queen'. They were all anxious and eager to start. The night before filming was to begin; they all met in Gwen's room and excitedly discussed the movie and their roles in it.

"I can't believe that I'm going to be cast as a 'beautiful female warrior', at least according to the description. I was thinking of myself as an ugly freak before I met Steve, Jordan, and Gwen," revealed Becky with emotion. "Steve wrote this really cool part for me. I even tell Gwen what an amazing lover he is, after she sends me to murder him and I can't do it. I hope that means I get a love scene with him in the second movie, if you're okay with that, Gwen."

"Of course I am," replied her amused friend. "This is acting, so you'll just have to pretend that you enjoy kissing the guy and having him make passionate love to you. Steve must think you're up to it."

"He'll be 'up to it' if I have my way," laughed Becky. "You two have such a great way of looking at things. You don't feel jealous when he does love scenes with other women? The ones he did with Jordan in 'Midnight Lights' were really hot. I wonder if he'll want me topless."

"Steve wouldn't insist on anything that you were uncomfortable with," assured Gwen. "As much as he'd like to have your girls smashed up against his chest, he'd let you make the decision, no matter what the scene called for in the script. I'm sure of that."

"Maybe I should rephrase that," grinned Becky as she looked around at the other girls. "I sure hope he wants me topless!"

"I get to do a love scene with Charlie in the third movie. Steve told Charlie about it and he's already nervous and super excited about everything," giggled Jordan. "It's not like we don't practice all the time. I keep telling Charlie that all he has to do is act naturally. He's a very good lover. Is that too much information?"

"Not at all," chuckled Gwen. "I was surprised to see that I have a couple of love scenes with older guys. I'm supposed to be a queen in the making that will do anything for her people, including a couple romps with some older, less attractive guys. I complained to Steve about it, but he said the scenes are essential to show the audience the depth of my commitment to the survival of Sparta. Then he told me I was supposed to act like I didn't enjoy it. I told him that shouldn't be too difficult. I'm nervous about being with someone besides Steve, even if it's just acting."

"How come Stephanie and I don't have any love scenes with Steve?" complained Kate. "He made my character kind of shy and reserved. I wanted to be one of those bad girls that are so good at being bad."

"That sounds like my part!" laughed Nadiya. "In the first movie, I'm the queen of a different state, scheming to gain control of Sparta. Near the end, I refer to Steve's character as my lover, so I'm hoping I'll be the one having the big love scene with him. My father will have a coronary if I take my clothes off, but my mother told me that if it's with Steve, I should go for it! Imagine your own mother telling you that."

"I'm not one to tell stories out of school, or to break confidences, but Steve let me look at my part in the second movie and I do get some action with Steve," admitted Naomi. "Remember these movies are set in ancient times. People didn't live too long and they were more open about sex. Monogamous relationships were not as common as we might think. Steve's going to be a warrior and the leader of men. He'll have a strong appetite for sex. If he didn't, his men wouldn't respect him. My job in the movie will be to help him gain and keep the respect of every man close enough to hear my screams of pleasure."

"Now that I think about it, since Steve wrote these movies and he's in them, he'll probably make love to everyone of you at least once," mused Gwen. "Charlotte and Ashley, will you have any scenes with Steve?"

"Maybe one or two, but my clothes will be on most of the time," teased Charlotte. "I'll tell you this. If he gets his head under my skirt like he did yours in the last movie, I'll probably hold him there for a few days, or possibly even strangle him to death."

"I'm not sure how many love scenes Steve and I will have, but he did write the movie, so it'll probably be a lot," reasoned Ashley. "Maybe I'll be Becky's stand-in, or body double if she chickens out. Seriously, if he has love scenes with Becky and none with me, he'll hear about it!"

"Not if I have my thighs wrapped around his head!" promised Charlotte.

That was the beginning of one of the best times Gwen ever experienced. She and her friends spent every day together for a month. They were often in the same scenes, or at least some combination of the friends would be in most scenes. Steve and the other men arrived near the end of the last week of filming for the final scene. It was a defining moment, a scene that would live forever in the minds and memories of movie lovers.

At the end of 'Rise of the Queen', Steve, the warrior, learned of Queen Nadiya's treachery and deceit. He then led his men in a titanic struggle against the superior forces of Nadiya's much larger army. The ineffective Spartan army had already been routed. Gwen and the other women of Sparta watched the battle rage just outside their city. With their army destroyed, it was very apparent that the two sides were battling for control of Sparta and its people.

After a very hard fought and bloody battle, Nadiya's army finally fled in disarray. Steve proudly marched his men into Sparta, and directly to the Queen's residence. With no army to protect her city, the Queen quickly decided that she must do whatever she could to save her people. She bravely walked out to meet what she believed to be uncivilized, barbaric mercenaries.

She and Steve faced each other in the last scene, finally meeting after each hearing so much about the other. Gwen was far more beautiful than what Steve had imagined. Steve was obviously stronger and more virile than any man Gwen had ever seen. Finally, Gwen took a step forward. Then she released the catch that held her robe together. It fell to her feet as she knelt before the Barbarian, naked but for a necklace that rested between her firm breasts.

"If you will spare my people, I will do your biding," promised Gwen as her subjects, and Steve's soldiers looked on. "I ask nothing for myself, but I beg you to be merciful to my people."

Steve slowly took in her beauty. After nearly half a minute, he finally spoke. "We are men with no home. We are warriors with no cause. When we die, we have no one to mourn us. I cannot honor your request, but I make one of my own in its place.

"Allow my men to remain in Sparta. Grant them full citizenship as Spartans. Let them keep their weapons. Allow them to live peacefully when possible, but to fight for Sparta when necessary. Grant us this, and we will pledge our loyalty and fidelity to you, our Queen. Deny it, and we will march away, never to trouble you again," promised Steve as he removed his own cloak and gently placed it on the shoulders of the stunned queen.

As Gwen slowly stood, she gathered the cloak around her body, collected her thoughts, and then commanded, "Give me your sword, Barbarian!"

Steve stood before her, bare-chested and with numerous scars and cuts on his ripped torso. He unsheathed his heavy sword and spun it around so the hilt was facing the Queen. She reached out with both hands and accepted the heavy weapon before issuing her next order.

"Kneel before your Queen!"

Steve and his men dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. Throughout the film, the Queen had insisted that Sparta could not be safe as long as the Barbarian leader drew a breath. She feared his skill as a warrior and his influence as a leader. She had sent Becky on a failed mission to kill him. Now she held his sword in her hands as he kneeled before her. As she slowly raised the sword, the movie faded out.

The second movie, 'Rise of the Warrior' was all about Steve becoming the leader of an army of mercenaries with no home land. It ended with exactly the same scene. Needless to say, the public was extremely anxious for the final film of the trilogy to be released. In the year that 'Rise of the Queen' was released, Gwen was nominated for, and won, an Oscar for her performance. Steve won for screenplay and Jordan and Charlie took home the Oscars for best original sound track and best song.

The first movie was a huge success and it set the table for the next two parts. 'Rise of the Queen' was released Labor Day Weekend. 'Rise of the Warrior' came out the same weekend as the Academy awards, with 'Rise of the Empire' later in the spring. It was still showing in theaters when the group traveled to Kiev and decided to build the hospital. The success of the trilogy brought in over a billion dollars to Lady in Red Productions and catapulted the careers of Gwen, Steve, Jordan, and Charlie to new heights.

"Gwen! Are you ready to ride?" asked Steve as he sat on his motorcycle and called to her. "Everyone's ready to roll."

Gwen suddenly realized that she had been lost in her memories formed five years ago when she was filming one of the most successful movie franchises ever. She quickly climbed on the bike behind Steve and forced herself to focus on the present.

Late afternoon saw friends and family gathered at Paula and Ted's place for a spur of the moment pool party. Ted had just opened the pool that morning.

"This is probably the last time Dad will have to open the pool," began Gwen as everyone sat at picnic benches with their full plates. Last night Steve suggested that we buy a tract of land to build homes for all of us. This morning, Ashley made an appointment with the realtor that has the Van Wyck estate listed for sale. They work holidays and weekends, especially for the sort of commission this will bring.

"She should be back any minute with the paperwork. It's a full price, cash offer, so I can't imagine it not going through. We'll be breaking ground within a week of closing on the property," predicted Gwen.

"Excuse me?" interjected Paula. "Why do you think Ted and I want to move? Why that property? What's behind this sudden idea?"

"We thought you'd like to live in a new home close to your daughters and grandchildren in a gated and patrolled community with no reporters, tourists, stalkers, or salesmen bothering you. Did I misjudge your feelings?" asked Gwen with a slight smirk.

"I didn't say that we didn't want to be near the grandchildren, or be away from reporters and tourists," replied Paula quickly. "Just explain what's going on."

"Lisa, Kate, and Charlie have agreed to join the company as equal partners. We've all agreed with Steve that we should have a safe haven where all our extended family can live. Lady in Red Productions is going to buy the Van Wyck estate and build log cabins on the hills around the lake. There will be a perimeter fence, a manned gate, cameras, and state of the art security everywhere. We want you and Dad smack in the middle of it all."

"I was concerned about safety after the attempt on Kate the other night and thought this may be a reasonable approach," added Steve. "Lisa's having her baby soon and many of the rest of us will be following suit in the next few years. We'd be living in a place where we knew and trusted our neighbors, had no unannounced visitors or press, and would feel comfortable that our loved ones were safe."

"Well, since you put it that way, I think Ted and I would certainly give it strong consideration," allowed Paula. "Thanks for including us in your plans."

"Mom, these guys all have fantasies about you. I don't know if you'd be safer there or not. You should hear the things they say!" stated Kate as she glared at the men sitting at the tables.

"I think they were teasing you, Kate. These young men all have very beautiful ladies. They wouldn't be wasting time and energy thinking about a woman my age," laughed Paula modestly.

"Oh yeah?" retorted Kate. "Tell the truth. How many of you guys have fantasies about my mom?"

The guys looked around at each other, undecided as to just how serious Kate really was. Then Steve slowly raised his hand and the rest quickly followed suit. Paula's eyes grew wide in surprise and then she turned a bright red.

"See! That's why it wouldn't be safe in Asgard for you," reasoned Kate. "These guys are all perverts. They have the hots for my mother!"

"Just a minute," interrupted Steve. "Let's tell the whole story. How many guys have fantasies about Kate? Okay, how about Gwen? Jordan? Lisa? Ashley? Naomi? Charlotte? Old Mrs. Smith that lives across the street?

"There you have it. These guys appreciate beauty and harbor fantasies about the beautiful women around here, with the exception of Mrs. Smith. Even Ted raised his hand once we got away from his daughters. We men aren't perverts. We're completely normal males. Ted wouldn't be happy with a woman that other men found repulsive. Paula's beauty was a big reason for that stupid rumor about us having an affair. Men really aren't very complicated.

"But, and I stress this to all of you, none of these men will ever knowingly do anything to make you feel uncomfortable, or unsafe. You can skinny dip in the lake all day, every day. You will cause a lot of natural male reactions, but not one of these men would ever do anything inappropriate. That's why I feel this would work so well. We'd be our own best line of defense. If I'm gone and Gwen is sunbathing naked, she'll be safe, although there may be a few binoculars and telescopes trained on her cute little tush, or in Billy's case, on her big, ripe..."

"Okay!" interjected Gwen. "We get the picture. Men are perverts, but that's why we love them. We can trust these guys to somewhat control their perving. They won't touch, but they're going to look every chance they get. They all have some sort of "mommy" issues, so Mom has to be careful, and Dad needs to be vigilant."

Before anyone could respond to Gwen's statement, Ashley emerged from the house and joined the group. She was all smiles as she sat down on Steve's lap.

"Since Paula is being so shy with her boyfriend in front of Ted, I thought I'd take this empty spot. Maybe the next rumor will be about me and Steve. Mom would be so happy for me!" laughed Ashley. "But Becky would be jealous.

"I just got back from seeing the realtor. We submitted a full price offer. It'll make the realtor's year if this goes through, and I don't see any reason why it wouldn't. I told him that we'd close as soon as the title work was done. As long as we get clear title, we can have it surveyed when we lay out the roads and building sites. This is extremely exciting. In fact, I think Steve's getting excited right now," teased Ashley as she wiggled her ass on Steve's lap.

"Mark, you'll have to get used to this kind of joking and flirting if you find yourself around us very much," explained Jordan. "We have a strict rule about no jealousy, and men don't touch the ladies, but the ladies can take some liberties with the guys. However, we are monogamous, and faithful to our boyfriends, husbands, lovers, or significant others. In my case, it's now my fiancé! Steve gets the brunt of the attention, but Jared, Charlie, and Jason have been the objects of some serious flirting at times. None of us dare flirt with Billy, as he's a real perv."

"Hey, I resemble that remark," grinned Billy. "You can't upset me no matter what you say. Not since that July Fourth bike ride and the hot tub in that log cabin. I'm a happy man, and I'll die a happy man. There was some seriously big, prime..."

"Okay! We get the drift, Billy!" warned Charlotte as she grinned sheepishly. "He's been living in fantasy land for a few years now, but at least he's a happy camper. I think it's one of the reasons he so excited about Asgard. He'll be surrounded by some of the most beautiful women in the world. If they happen to prance around in swim suits, or even au natural, he'll be in heaven, which I guess is what Asgard is when you think about it."

"One thing I want to mention while everyone is here is how much I appreciate the trust you all have in me," stated Ashley seriously. "You sent me out to spend a few million of your dollars. You've given me an unlimited credit card and access to your accounts. You never second guess or criticize me. It just makes me try harder to be the best assistant I can be."

"You wouldn't have the responsibility if we didn't have complete trust in you, Ashley. It also takes some of the pressure off Mom," responded Gwen. "The fact that I'm not upset that Steve has you snuggling on his lap is all the proof you need that I trust you. You've proven yourself too many times over the years for us to even question your actions. You're one of us, part of the extended family, and a very capable person."

Just then, Mark Neary's phone began ringing. He excused himself and walked a short distance away. He was only gone a short time before he called back to the group.

"Lieutenant Hammer! Please come over here!" was all he said as he held his cell phone up.

Everyone suddenly stopped talking as Steve gently place Ashley on her feet and immediately stood. He hurried over to accept the phone from the Captain. Gwen saw Jason and Chip exchange knowing looks, which made her begin to worry.

"What could this mean?" demanded Gwen. "Why do you and Chip know about this?"

"Nothing definite," responded Jason. "It's just that Mark suddenly went back into officer mode, so he must have been called by a superior. That superior wanted to speak to Steve right now. It's Monday evening on a long holiday weekend. Steve's just returned from a very dangerous and difficult mission where he received several injuries. This call isn't to wish him a happy holiday. Something's up. It doesn't have to be anything bad, or dangerous, so please don't start worrying."

Everyone watched Steve as he conversed on the phone. Then he grimly nodded his head as he agreed to something and turned the phone off. He then looked toward those seated by the pool and made a slight movement with his head. Chip jumped to his feet immediately and walked quickly over to his friend.

"Look at those two guys!" marveled Kate as the two friends stood close together, having a private conversation. "They're all tanned and tough looking and really serious about something. I have a bad feeling that this may be some SEAL business or something equally tough."

Suddenly the conversation ended and the men returned to the group. Steve reached down for Gwen's hand as he ignored the obvious question that was on everyone's mind. Chip took Kate's hand and led her toward a quiet area off to the side. Once Steve had guided Gwen far enough away that the others couldn't hear, he spoke quietly and calmly.

Everyone could tell that something had happened. The entire mood had suddenly changed as they watched the two men speak privately with the sisters. Kate stood very still before suddenly throwing her arms around Chip as she cried out.

It was only seconds later that Gwen did very much the same with Steve, but she spoke loud enough for the others to hear. "If you have to go, promise you won't be a hero again. You just do what you have to do and come home to me. Do you promise?"