Exposing Alix Read Free Page A

into an armchair covered with faded
yellow-and-blue-flowered upholstery. “Script? Lighting?” she said, steeling
herself for what she knew was coming. For some reason she felt compelled to
make him say it. “What did you see? What am I the best at?”
    “The best at sex,” he said impatiently. “Gunther showed me Candy Fever and Through the Window . Of course, I’d heard of them
but never got around to seeing them before. Not really my thing, you know.”
    “Of course not,” she mocked. “How could it be?”
    “I didn’t mean any offense.”
    Alix narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t tell whether the
sincerity in his voice was real. That was an occupational hazard of dealing
with actors—you couldn’t trust a word they said. “Look, I’m not sure what
Gunther told you, but that was a long time ago. I don’t make movies anymore.”
    He waved as if he expected her to protest. “ Through the
Window was released two years ago. That’s hardly a long time.”
    “It’s a long time to me.” She avoided his gaze, staring
out the window to the tall grasses waving on the dunes that flanked her house.
The sky had filled with clouds and the light inside wasn’t the best, but Alix
refused to remove her sunglasses. “To be honest, I only made those movies for
the money. It’s not something I ever intended to make into a career.”
    He looked around the house and raised a curious eyebrow.
“Really? And you stopped making them because you don’t need the money
anymore?”
    She bristled. “I had loans. Debts I needed to repay. I’ve
got other priorities now.” She glanced away, unable to keep from looking toward
the table.
    Ryker picked up on the movement of her head immediately.
“Priority one?” he asked. Without a glance in her direction, he jumped up and
prowled to the table, his body moving like a cat on the hunt.
    Damn it, why did he have to be so observant? She hurried
to follow. “This is private, Mr. Valentine.”
    He fingered a black-and-white picture of a naked woman
mounting an equally naked man. The woman had long hair that draped over her
breasts. Her partner looked up at her with a mixture of intense lust and
complete adoration.
    Alix snatched the picture from Ryker’s hand. “I’m working
on a collection of photos, but they’re not ready for viewing just yet.”
    He leaned back, a smirk crossing his lips. “You’ve
progressed since your movies. Was the R rating too confining? Is that why you
quit?”
    She straightened her back. “I always preferred
photography, Mr. Valentine. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of money to be
made in photography. But don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my movies. I made
movies about women and men who loved each other. Having sex was an expression
of that love. That’s why women enjoyed my movies—because they celebrated
something beautiful, sensual, and real.”
    “Right,” he said, yawning, “real love. That’s what they
all say. Tell me, Miss Zahn, if you’re not ashamed of it, why does everyone in
this town think your name is Daisy? Which, by the way, is a stroke of genius.”
He gave a short, mirthless laugh. “No one would ever connect a director of sex
movies with the name Daisy.”
    “They weren’t sex movies. They were love stories. And my
first name is Daisy.” She gritted her teeth. “Alexandra is my middle
name.”
    “Someone actually named you Daisy?” he said incredulously.
    “My mother had an unfortunate obsession with the flower—yet
another reason why fifteen-year-olds shouldn’t have children. You think I would
make that up?”
    “I suppose not.”
    “It doesn’t matter. As you just demonstrated, people make
assumptions about my films, Mr. Valentine. I prefer not to have those
assumptions applied to me in person.”
    He leaned forward, close enough that she could feel the
warmth of his breath. “That’s too bad. Frankly, I would have been more
impressed if you could have just owned up to the whole thing.”
    Alix closed