Page 3 of Ruthless Passion

"May I see that?" Tall-and-handsome asks.

Daphne hands him my headshot which has my limited acting experience printed on the back. The air of danger around him draws me in as he walks behind the table where two chairs are set up beside a tripod. There are stacks of other headshots and resumes in various piles.

The second man in the room says, "I'm Austin with casting. You spoke to me about a week ago. Let's get started, shall we? Please stand on the mark. We'll do your slate and then you'll read your lines," he says, nodding toward a piece of hot pink tape on the floor. That must be the perfect spot for the camera to capture my audition.

"What would you like for the slate?" I ask as I stand on the mark. My eyes quickly glance down to make sure my fly isn't open and my shirt isn't tucked in awkwardly.

Tall-and-handsome keeps quiet as Austin speaks. "Name, location, a fact about yourself, and the role you'll be reading for. Camera is rolling. Whenever you're ready, Jo."

I nod at Daphne and Austin as a sign I'm starting, but I have to stop my eyes from immediately shifting toward Tall-and-handsome standing behind them.

A deep breath helps me keep the anxiety, and my breakfast, in the pit of my stomach as I speak. "Good morning, my name is Jo Hansen. I live in San Francisco, and a fact about me is that I do freelance market research for corporations between gigs. I'll be reading for the role of Amber."

"I'll read with her." Tall-and-handsome glances in my direction, then shifts to the script in his hand before pushing himself away from the wall.

"Page ten, Mr. Devlin. You'll start, and Jo, follow his cues," Daphne tells us with a smile.

So Tall-and-handsome is Mr. Devlin, someone of importance to the other two. He nods and stands about three feet from me. The way he gently touches my elbow urges me to pivot so I can face him but still have the camera capture my facial expressions.

"Amber, you can't leave. Not with those monsters out there." Mr. Devlin reads the line.

I want him to touch me again. Gentle, but there's a rough side to him that comes across in the way his thick eyebrows knit together as he skims the script.

The lines flow out of me exactly as I’d rehearsed. "Look at you, Bryan. You can't even walk. It has to be me. No one else can make it."

"But I'm scared you won't make it back," Mr. Devlin replies from the script, and takes it a step further. He moves in close to me as if we're acting out the scene on a live set.

"Do you mind if I touch you?" he asks, breaking character with a tip of his head toward my core. All I can do is nod. The way his arm wraps around my waist when he tosses the script onto the table shows me, he's a quick study. Mr. Devlin continues with the scene. "I don't want you to leave without telling you…"

"Telling me what, Bryan? How you feel? It's too late for that. It's too late for this." I gently nudge him away with my hand against his chest. It's muscular under his shirt and I want to feel all of him. I hate that a simple scene can get me all hot and bothered. This is supposed to be a horror film audition, but it feels like a romance.

"Don't push me away, Amber," Mr. Devlin says, pulling me back into him. My body fights a ripple of lust as his scent wraps around me with notes of mint and cinnamon. The scene calls for a kiss and I'm curious to know how far he is willing to take it.

"Don't you get it, Bryan? There's nothing left for us if I don't come back here with supplies. You'll all die if I don't go. I don't have time for this."

"Make time," Mr. Devlin replies, lowering his mouth to hover above mine before he stops. I feel like he has my heart in his hand. He flashes me one hell of a smile that makes me forget this is only an audition. My ego and lust deflate the moment he releases me, taking a step back and turning to Austin and Daphne. They're in shock, mouths open, looking to say words but not speaking.

"That's real good, Jo," Daphne finally says, "and thank you for that masterful read, Mr. Devlin. Jo, if it's alright with you, would you mind doing the kiss scene with Mr. Devlin? I'd like to see your body language against your scene partner."

"Yeah, sure, that's fine," I agree, almost too eager for my liking. I can't deny how badly I want him to kiss me.

Daphne whispers something to Austin before speaking. "Let's take it from 'You'll all die if I don't go’. Action!"

I take a deep breath, getting myself back into character to read my lines. "You'll all die if I don't go. I don't have time for this."

Mr. Devlin's gaze pierces into mine, making us feel like the only two people in the room as he says, "Make time."

When his lips brush against mine, it's tentative at first until I nudge my tongue against his mouth, opening the pathway for lust to take over the moment. Mr. Devlin gets into it, into the kiss in such a personal way that my muscles clench, waiting for it to go beyond this. His tongue enters my mouth, tasting me while I taste him. The prickly hairs of his close-shaven beard tickle my chin as I tip my head upward to give him more access to me. When I unintentionally moan, I feel the low vibration of his own, suppressed in his throat as he finally pulls away.

"Wow, yes! Thank you so much for that Jo, Mr. Devlin. That chemistry is exactly what I want to see. It's a shame you're not playing the role of Bryan, Mr. Devlin." Daphne chuckles and makes notes on a page in front of her.

My eyes are glued to Mr. Devlin, wondering what comes after this.

"We're going to do three more takes, if that's okay with you, Miss Hansen?" Mr. Devlin says with a crooked grin and a wink. My god, he's sexy. Power screams from every pore of this man, and the respect he commands is like nothing I've seen before. Doing that kiss over and over again couldn't make this day any better.

"I'll do anything you want, Mr. Devlin."

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