“Quiet on set!” the intimacy director calls. “Sound?”
The sound technician flashes a thumbs up. “Okay, roll sound!” Cameras get the same check, and then it’s our turn.
“Actors?”
Red and I both call out that we’re ready.
“Let’s keep it loose and warm. Doesn’t matter if we don’t get it on the first try.” The woman’s advice encourages me, but honestly, I just want to please Red.
“Roll camera!”
An assistant reads out the scene and take number and claps the movie marker, and then the intimacy director’s voice floats into the car. “We’re rolling! And . . . action!”
Nerves jump in my belly now that we’re starting. I lean forward and turn the car off, since according to the scene I just drove Ashana home from the hospital after her fall at the starting gates. She releases her seatbelt, the retraction motor noisy in the silence.
I swivel in the seat, turning to look at my passenger. “You know, you really gave me a fright today.” Not today, but all the days when she went into heat, disappeared, traveled alone, or testified.
Red—Ashana—tosses me a lopsided smile. “Hey, I even scared myself a little. I imagined getting my head crushed among those hooves.”
My heartbeat flutters. I’ve already faced losing my omega too many times, so I know how the character feels.
“I couldn’t bear losing you,” I say, a little breathless. Reaching out, I cup her smooth cheek, and she stares up at me like I’m the only man in the world, lips parting. Unable to help myself, I lean over and draw her face to mine. Our lips touch with the faintest of hesitations, me giving her the chance to pull away. I won’t ever try to force her choices again.
Red leans in, fragile but certain. She wants me. Subtly, she tilts my head to the correct angle but I barely notice because I’m lost in her kiss. Our lips slant together, hungry but gentle, like this is their most natural position in the world.
Her breathing quivers, dusting my cheeks with her desire. I deepen the kiss, knowing I only have a moment and not wanting to waste it. The omega sighs as she pulls back, deeply satisfied. I stroke her cheek with my thumb and then release her.
The omega nods as if confirming something to herself and rests her hand on the door latch. “Um . . . thanks for the lift home.”
“Any time,” I say, voice straining at the realization she’s leaving. The kiss wasn’t enough.
Her body rocks forward, and her fingers twitch, half-opening the handle. Suddenly she stops and looks back over her shoulder. “Want to come inside?”
My heart leaps. “A-absolutely.” Fuck, I stuttered, but even if I ruined the scene, I can’t look away from her. I swallow hard, the excitement gathering in my throat.
Her face softens with amusement. “Well, you’ll have to get out of the car then.”
Shit. Heat floods up my neck, and I throw my door open. How could I get carried away so much that I forgot my actions?
“Cut!” the director calls, shaking me loose from my daze.
Red smirks at me over the car roof.
The intimacy director runs a hand through her silver hair. “Okay, wow. That—”
I grimace. “Sorry. I stuffed my lines.”
She shakes her head. “Actually, that was super cute, and your chemistry is off the charts.” She hums and leans in to rewatch the scene on the screen. “I’m going to shoot this off to Valencio and see if he likes the ad-libbing.”
“I liked it,” Red says, her grin blazing white in the shadows.
The director clicks her fingers. “Okay, let’s reset for take two.”
I slide back into the car, heat lingering in my cheeks. Red opens the door and sticks a long leg in, her pants molding around her ass as she sits. Damn, she’s beautiful. I drag my eyes away, rich emotions splashing through me. In the shadows surrounded by cameras, everything melts with blazing clarity.
I love this woman.
So much I’d die for her. I’d spend the rest of my life walking the globe to find a pretty rock she wanted or work my ass off to give her the world. I’d stay home and change nappies forever so she could go back to work. Anything she wanted, I’d do.
