Dirty Read Free

for the day."
    "You needn't trouble yourself. I can catch a
ride with one of the crew on their way out. I'd also like to borrow
someone to run lines with me tonight." He turned to Marielle.
"Would you be available, Ms. Fairchild?"
    "Yeah, I can give you a ride." She checked
her clipboard. "We have a couple of actresses on call, so I can ask
one of them if they could stop by -- "
    "No need. You'll do very well on both
accounts," Raven said.
    Marielle stared at him, her mind and
heartbeat racing as she imagined being alone with the handsome
actor. Was he kidding? He had to be kidding. "I'm sorry but I'm not
the one you want."
    "Of course you are." His voice sounded
reassuring but his eyes were saying something very different. "It's
not difficult. All you have to do is read from the script, listen
to me do the same and tell me when I screw up." He tilted his head.
"Unless my little ruse has made you despise me?"
    Despise him? She was half in love with him
already.
    "Fairchild will be happy to run lines with
you," Vanessa said before Marielle could reply. "Just make sure
she's back on set by six a.m."
    Marielle felt a thrill surge through her.
"When you're ready to leave, just grab me."
    Raven left the trailer.
    "Alright, Goldilocks," Vanessa said. "What is
going on between you and my star?"
    "I just met him this morning. Honestly, at
the time I didn't even realize who he was. Maybe he wants me to
help him rehearse because I treated him like a normal person this
morning. I'm guessing he doesn't get a lot of that."
    "We'll give him what he wants but I don't
like that it's you," the director said. "You keep it strictly
professional or I'll boot your ass off this film so fast your
ponytail will scorch. Understood?"
    "Yes, ma'am." Cringing a little, Marielle
picked up her clipboard. "I'll go see what Wardrobe will need to
start Mr. Raven's fittings."
    What she needed was to get away from the
director and her suspicions and clear her head. As a P.A., Marielle
constantly worked with powerful and important actors but rarely
attracted any genuine attention from them. She'd grown so
accustomed to being ignored that it made James Raven's attention
seem almost too personal.
    Is that really why he wants me to go home
with him? Does he think if he gets me alone I'll just fall at his
feet like a fan girl and beg him to take me to bed?
    Not that it would be all that difficult for
Marielle to offer herself to Raven, she thought as she walked out
of his trailer. Without the beard hiding his face he was stunningly
handsome. His strange, beautiful eyes seemed utterly mesmerizing.
He was much bigger and more muscular than men she usually found
attractive but as petite as she was she didn't find his size
intimidating. Even in the trailer, when she hadn't known who he
was, she'd felt safe with him -- and very attracted.
    But why pick me? Marielle stopped outside the
garage that Wardrobe had occupied and looked over at Raven's
trailer. And why do I like it so much that he did?
    * * *
    Marielle kept busy until sunset, when Vanessa
called it a day and sent the crew home.
    "Be sure he knows the first bondage scene,"
the director said. "And remember what I told you."
    "Yes, ma'am." She tried to sound cheerful but
after spending the day trying to deal with Vanessa's quest for
perfection in all things she was tired, unhappy and worried -- and
now she had to cope with James Raven.
    Marielle went to the actor's trailer and
found him sitting on the steps, reading his copy of the script.
"Ready to head out?"
    "As long as you know where this house is," he
said. "Van neglected to mention the address."
    "I've got it." She glanced at her watch. "Do
you want to stop for dinner first?"
    "My dear, I'm the star," he told her. "Which
means there's always a feast waiting for me. Depending on the
movie, sometimes there’s some company, too."
    "Do you think they'll tidy up, too?" she
joked as she walked down to the parking lot with him. "I hate
washing dishes."
    "So do I. I