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performance in the upcoming scene.
    They were on the set of the gleaming silver and
    black command center that was the Collar Crime
    HQ, crammed full of high-tech computer screens
    and gadgets - although it looked a lot more
    impressive on TV than it did in real life.
    He was relieved when Rick returned a short
    while later, dressed in character as Agent Tanner,
    with a plain black collar fastened around his neck.
    He was six feet four of such ludicrous good looks
    that Matt wondered how anyone could have been
    put together so well and still be human. He had jet-
    black hair; tanned, golden skin; a perma-stubbled
    jaw; and a pair of broad shoulders that looked
    fantastic showcased in the tight tee shirts the show
    liked to put him in. His long legs looked equally
    good in the jeans his character habitually wore too.
    His most beautiful feature was his liquid-green
    eyes; they looked out of place with his tanned skin
    and dark hair, but they had a depth and luminosity
    that the camera loved.
    He ran across the set, sank gracefully to his
    knees on his mark at Daniel's feet, and looked up at
    him through his thick eyelashes, instantly in
    character.
    "Hmmm… don't you look like the perfect
    sub," Daniel commented, glancing at his script and
    then down at Rick again.
    "I know; I'd fuck me, for sure!" Rick winked,
    and Matt rolled his eyes.
    "Let's get started!" the director bellowed, and
    Matt took his position and tried to get into
    character as the rookie young field agent, Ben
    Harris.
    Ben came from a strict Lenkan family who
    had disowned him because of his decision to join
    the collar crime unit. They liked to keep their subs
    sheltered and arrange jobs and marriages for them
    inside their own community. An outcast from his
    own people, Ben was always searching for a place
    to belong.
    Rick played Agent Alex Tanner, the wayward
    sub that Chief Christie had tamed during the first
    season of the show. He was a maverick ex-army
    ranger, who'd received a dishonorable discharge
    and was living on his wits on the streets when
    Christie had seen something in him and recruited
    him to work on the newly formed collar crime unit.
    The unit was a specialist task force charged
    with investigating crimes involving collars, in
    cases ranging from domestic abuse and employee
    harassment to international espionage. Alex was
    famously naughty, getting into all kinds of scrapes
    that earned him a punishment from the tough,
    totally toppy Chief Christie every few episodes.
    "So, what stupid stuff has Alex Tanner been
    up to now?" Rick asked, glancing at the page in his
    hand.
    "Damn it, Rick - don't you even know which
    scene we're filming?" Matt snapped, his nerves
    frayed by the late start.
    "As I'm on my knees, I'm guessing it's one
    where Alex gets what he deserves. Again." Rick
    grinned.
    "If only life imitated art," Matt muttered under
    his breath.
    Rick shot him a wounded look. "Was there
    something you wanted to say to me, Matty?"
    "Yes! You waltz in here, hours late, and you
    don't even know what we're filming. It's not just
    Alex Tanner who deserves a punishment, you
    idiot."
    The room went silent, and everyone looked at
    him. Matt bit on his lip and started counting down
    from 1000 in his head, which usually calmed him.
    "I know which scene we're filming, Matt,"
    Rick said quietly.
    "Good - so could we damn well start filming
    it then!" the director yelled.
    Rick was word perfect in his scene, which
    made Matt feel terrible about his outburst. They
    shot several takes, but each time he put in a
    flawless performance.
    Right at the end of the final take, Daniel
    opened the prop file that was supposed to contain
    their mission for the week, while Rick and Matt
    looked over his shoulder at the contents as they'd
    rehearsed…only to find those contents had been
    replaced by a recent edition of Show Scoop
    magazine. The front cover showed a big photo of
    Daniel, sitting bare-chested in a hot tub, under the
    headline: Hot Tops in Hot