Page 113 of His Leading Lady
“There was no way I was going to work with Max and if I’d stayed on it’s unlikely they would’ve pulled him. There’s a bright side, though. Remember the futuristicPride and Prejudiceremake you were so excited about?”
I gasped. “Are you going to be Darcy?”
“I am. They’ve delayed the start of production a little bit so I can do it now that I’ve got time.”
“I can definitely help you to rehearse for that one. I got all hot and bothered just reading it. I know it’s not Lucas Steel, but I have a hunch it’s going to be phenomenal.”
“And what about you? Did you walk away from the dungeon because of me?”
“Not because I thought you wanted me to, but in a way it was partly because of you. Doing that stuff with clients takes a certain mindset and it was like the switch had flipped and I just didn’t want to be a blank canvas for other people to project their fantasies onto anymore. I don’t want to fake it anymore. I don’t regret any of the time I spent doing it, but I think it’s time for me to move on before I start to resent it.”
“I support that decision and if you ever want to go back to it, I support that too.”
“Thank you.” I tilted my head up to kiss him gently. “I bitch about psychologists not properly understanding the nuanced complexities of fetish, but I could be doing something to fix that. What good is my knowledge if I don’t share it? Therapy was my first love, so I think I’d like to find a way to get back there on my own terms. I can still be part of the BDSM community and have a positive impact, but pivot in a new direction and use all my experience for something different. I think it would be fun to coach couples or something too.”
“You would be amazing at all of that, but you should take your time and find something you really love.”
“Besides you?”
He chuckled. “I mean if you want to do nothing but stay in bed and let me spoil you, I won’t complain, but you’d get restless without an outlet for that clever mind. And if you can’t figure it out, you’ve always got Elena: Sex Psychic to fall back on…”
I laughed and shook my head.
He said, “Being with me will have challenges. When I’m shooting something, I might have to work crazy hours or be gone for a few months at a time, and you’ll have to deal with the fame and everything that goes along with it. But if you give me a chance, I’ll spend every day trying to be worthy of my Wicked Queen.”
“You’re mine already. I don’t know why you’re still acting like it’s up for debate. You fuck it, you keep it. Sorry, it’s just the rules.”
He laughed, but got quiet again. “What about Max? I hate the idea of you all having to go through the emotional toll of a lawsuit. God knows how long he’ll drag that out for, but you know I’ll support whatever you want.”
“About that. I can’t play it for you right now because my phone is somewhere in a pile of clothes downstairs, but Melody was wearing my key and pushed the panic button when Max came into her trailer. He didn’t get physical or expose himself this time, and she’s okay, but he did berate her, vocally confirming that he’d gotten physical and inappropriate with her and that he had assaulted me and other ‘ungrateful bitches.’ But with significantly more colorful language. The key recorded all of it.”
“So you release it and he’s done. Is it enough to pursue criminal charges?”
“I don’t know. We’re going to see.”
He tensed and pulled away to look at me. “I’m so sorry, Elena. I don’t know how I couldn’t have seen him for what he is.”
I took his face in my hands. “It’s not your fault either. We’re going to get through this and put him behind us. I won’t let him steal any more of our joy.” I reached a hand over and cupped between his legs. “What I’m mostly wondering is how long I’m going to have to wait to be convinced that fucking on the bed is better than the floor.”
“My Wicked Queen is so demanding. I think I’ll need to remind her who’s in charge…”
I was still laughing when he pinned me to the bed and started to kiss me.
Epilogue
Elena
Two Years Later
We were sittingin the audience of the Dolby Theatre for the Oscars, decked out in finery I was mostly excited to peel off when we got home. When I’d attended the ceremony as Alex’s date last year, I’d been overwhelmed to actually be in the audience with all the beautiful famous people, even though many of them were now friends.
This year, I wasn’t fazed by the Hollywood glamor, but Alex was nominated for his role as Darcy and I was nervous because he badly wanted to win. He deserved it, not only because I thought he deserved everything he wanted, but because his performance had been outstanding.
He’d brought gravity and depth to a part that had already been beautifully written. I’d like to say it was his phenomenal acting that had fans going to see it over and over again at the theatres, causing it to smash all kinds of box office records, but it had a lot to do with how mind-blowingly sexy he was in the role.
We’d put in lots of “hard work” rehearsing for those sexy scenes, so I’d been sad when filming was over. That is until he started his next role as a Viking, which opened up a whole new set of delicious role-play for us. Being Alex Chase’s girlfriend wasn’t such a bad gig after all.
He leaned closer and asked, “Thinking about school?”
