“No, you won’t,” he cut me off in a gravelly voice. Though his jaw was stern, his eyes were kind. Holding the door open, he gestured for me to enter, leaning in to whisper, “And … you should embrace that nervousness. Especially for a role like this one.”
Jude placed a hand at the small of my back and guided me into the room. The heat of his touch permeated my clothing and I took another sip of water to calm the flush of heat spreading across my cheeks. Never in my life had I been starstruck—and yet, around this man, I became a stammering idiot.
Wait a minute. He was coming into the audition with me? Why would he be doing that unless he was involved in casting—
“Sorry, everyone,” Jude announced while entering the room, “I was trying to get a bottle of water when one of those backlot tours came through. Thank God for this girl—she saved me from an onslaught of selfies. Threw herself under the bus for me.” He offered me an encouraging smile before taking his chair at the long table of people ready and willing to tear my soul apart.
Though the table of people acknowledged me, said hello, and welcomed me, there was an energetic wall. A wall that separated them from us—it was an unspoken audition rule that yes, they speak to you, but no, you are not on equal ground. And yet, Jude got me water. He helped me through my panic attack and I repaid the favor in the face of the crowd. And now, he sat at the table of power. He was both my peer and my superior. Both peasant and king. He knew how it was on both sides of the aisle and his kindness, his humbleness touched some flame deep inside me that I’d been almost positive Hollywood had long ago tamped out.
A woman stood at the end of the table and held out a hand. “I’m Nicole Stevens,” she said, then quickly directed me to another man who stood from behind the table.
He took my hand and offered a lopsided grin, curly red hair flopping over onto his plastic rectangle glasses. “I'm Seth, an executive producer. This is Ash Livingston—he'll be directing the film.” He continued down the line of people, introducing them one by one until he finally reached Jude. “And of course, I'm sure you know Jude Fisher already. He'll be playing the role of Leo.”
Jude hadn't torn his eyes from me since we had entered. I felt his stare, heady and electric through every handshake and pleasantry. And now we were face to face, shaking hands. While every other member at the table sat behind their glass wall, he sat on top, teetering over the edge. I swallowed and it felt like a ball of yarn going down a sand paper tunnel. “Yes, of course. Thanks again for the water.”
“Here you go,” Seth handed me the audition sides. “Jude will be reading opposite you today.”
I gulped and my knees locked. Jude terrified me in a way I couldn't describe. Our chemistry was as palpable as an active volcano and I was the lava, ready to erupt at any moment.
Seth continued, walking around the table and taking his seat. “Today's audition is just all about the chemistry. We want to see you—well, Holly, submissive to Leo. We want to see sparks.”
Sparks? The way I was feeling inside, I could give them a freaking Fourth of July fireworks display.
Seth grinned. “And … off you go.”
Thank you…
To my amazing husband, Sean, for unending support and love.
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To my beta readers and ARC reviewers for amazing notes and feedback throughout the process.
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To my editor, Marla Bazan for your hard work and enthusiasm for this little read.
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To my friends, fellow authors and other industry people, including, but not limited to Melissa Rheinlander, Anissa Garcia, K. Larsen, Becca Mysoor, Krista Amigone, and Derek Bishop.
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To my reader group, Kat’s Kittens, for being so damn awesome and helping keep me sane during releases! You all are the best!
Other Books by Katana Collins
MAPLE GROVE (SMALL TOWN ROMANCE)
Meeting You (Free!)
Capturing You
Healing You
SILHOUETTE STUDIOS (MOVIE STAR BDSM ROMANCE)
Callback
Role Play
Famously Bad (Short Novella, Only .99 cents!)
SOUL STRIPPER (PARANORMAL EROTIC ROMANCE)
Soul Stripper
Soul Survivor
Soul Surrender
WICKED EXPOSURE (EROTIC SUSPENSE)
Wicked Shots
Wicked Exposure
Wicked Release
THE HARRISON STREET CREW (DARK ROMANCE)
Ex-Con
Outlaw
Enforcer
Blind Spot (New Adult Romance)
About Katana
When Katana Collins was younger and stole her mother’s Harlequins to read beneath the covers with a flashlight, she wanted to read about the tough as nails heroine. The perfectly imperfect girl with quirks and attitude and sass. And the anti-heroes who were anything but “Prince Charming.” Forget the knight on a white horse... she wanted the bad boy on a motorcycle.
So, now, she writes those romance novels she craved to see on the shelves all those years ago— the sassy heroines. The badass heroes. She penned her first romance novel back in 2012 and now, a few years later, she is an international author with 15 published books, in a wide range of contemporary romance genres (Paranormal, New Adult, Small town, Erotic Suspense... you name it!).
She lives in Portland, Maine, with an ever-growing brood of rescue animals: a kind of mean cat, a doofy lab, a very mellow chihuahua, and a very not mellow cairn terrier puppy... oh yeah, there's a husband somewhere in that mix, too. She can usually be found hunched over her laptop in a cafe, guzzling gallons of coffee, and wearing fabulous (albeit sometimes impractical) shoes.
She loves connecting with book lovers like herself, and fellow sassy storytellers, so feel free to drop her an email or visit her on her website. She also loves connecting on Instagram/Twitter or Facebook or in her reader group, Kat’s Kittens!
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