There’s something in his eyes that draws me in and steals my rational thought. Minutes later I find myself in his Bugatti, speeding down the highway and back to the event center that held the fashion show. It feels like a dream, or maybe it’s the two glasses of champagne in fake crystal flutes that I consumed. But this whole thing feels as if it’s happening to someone else. He flips on a few lights in the auditorium, then holds my hand while I step up onto the runway…and stand there, waiting for his instructions and trying not to pinch myself to see if this is real.
I’m doubly glad I’m still in the designer dress, because never in my life did I expect to have an immediate audition with my dream agency.
Luka takes a seat right next to the stage and sets his cellphone on his lap, gazing up at me with a serious expression.
“Let’s have you walk to the main stage and then back to me, please.”
I swallow hard, hoping like hell that I don’t wobble in my heels, and then do as he asks. I make a tight spin when I turn back toward him, one hand on my hip, my other arm moving just right as I strut. I clear my mind, stare into the distance, get in the zone. Even with the champagne making my movements a little loose and languid, I know I’m on point. My heels are loud in the empty room.
“Good. Good.” He pauses and I hope he can’t hear how hard I’m breathing. “Do one more turn for me right here.”
I turn, knowing full well that he’s getting a front row view of my ass from where he’s sitting, but too caught up in the audition to worry about it. He snaps a picture. “That’s perfect. How about both hands on your hips?”
I do as he asks, and he takes more pictures. As he waves me back down the runway, I get little direction, so I help him out—pausing at intervals for photos and flashing my subtly amused half-smile, my sultry scowl, my look of otherworldly distraction. I’ve been doing this for years, and I have all my looks down pat.
Even so, I’m getting the impression that he’s not well-versed in auditions. At least, I’ve never been bumbled through one quite like this before. When I stop before him again, he runs a hand through his hair and looks up at me.
There’s a pause that makes me nervous. Is this real, or was he simply baiting me to get what he wants?
“Do you want my vitals?” I suggest. When he hesitates, I clarify, “My measurements.”
His face lights up. “I do. Yes.”
I give them to him as he types the numbers into his phone. “Anything else you want to know? My resume, where I live?”
He circles a hand in the air. “All of it. Yes. Of course.”
I give him the rundown and cross my arms as I speak. My hopes are getting dashed by the second—it’s obvious I know more about the business than he does, and that says a lot, considering that he’s aZoric. But then he comes up on the stage and takes my hands in his, a confident smile robbing my breath. His cologne smells amazing and I imagine myself pressed up against that hard chest, running my hands inside his tux.
“Brooklyn Moss, there is no doubt in my mind—everyone is going to know your face. And your name. If you sign an exclusive contract with KZM, I’ll make your career.” His voice is strong and even and he sounds sincere. “I’m not just saying that to get in your pants, either.”
Holy shit, he’s giving me a contract! I touch his chest, lay my palm flat against it as if I’m compelled. “So you’re saying you don’t want to get into my pants?” I say.
He grips my wrist gently and my body breaks out in shivers. “Oh no, I definitely want to have sex with you. But that’s absolutely beside the point.”
“Well then, Luka Zoric,” I say, our eyes locking. “I think you’d better take me home.”
Brooklyn
Chapter 3
Three Years Ago
Luka takes me to his million-dollar penthouse in River North and all I can think of is how nervous I am.
I’m no innocent, but the truth is, I’ve never had a man of his prestige and stature interested in me. Sure, I attract men. Some older, some wealthy. Some young and dirt poor. But I’ve never felt such an enigmatic pull to any man the way I do to Luka Zoric. Maybe it’s because he’s going to launch my career—finally! Maybe it’s because he’s pure masculine perfection, or because of the way he’s had my pulse racing since the very first words that came out of his mouth. I don’t know. All I know for sure is, I don’t want to overthink this or talk myself out of it.
I want this. Even though I’ve never gone to bed with a man I’ve just met, and certainly not after I’ve been drinking. There’s no denying the sparks flying between us, the way he can’t keep his hands off me, how wet I am thanks to him squeezing my thigh the whole drive here.
I barely get a decent glance at the upscale building before he zings the car into his private underground garage. Lights pop on as we enter, illuminating a pristine space with a polished concrete floor and stark white walls, three bays housing three different candy-colored sports cars. I’m awed for about two seconds before he whisks me through a door and into an elevator.
Luka spins me as the elevator begins to rise, pushing me against the mirrored wall and taking my lips with his. He’s a little rough with me, and I like it. I gasp into his mouth as he fists my hair, tugging and then relaxing, over and over as he kisses me, sending tingles from my scalp to my toes. I’ve never had my hair pulled like this before, and the line between pleasure and pain has me breathless. I slide my hands across his delicious pecs as he meshes his mouth perfectly to mine, hungrier than before, and I can feel my nipples going hard and achy against the fabric of my dress. I reach for his belt, wondering how much longer we’ll be in this elevator, my mouth already watering in anticipation, but then he’s pulling away from me as the car comes to a stop.
A whimper escapes my throat, making Luka laugh.
“There’s no need to rush, Brooklyn,” he says. “We have all night.”
He taps a code on the keypad and the doors open to reveal a short hallway that spills into an airy room with a wall made of windows overlooking the city. It takes me a second to realize that he has an elevator opening directly into a hallway in his home.
