Stripped Love #4 (BBW Alpha Male Romance) (2 page)

It had been a long time since I’d had a boyfriend. Dimitri
came the closest to fulfilling that role, and we had certainly done a lot of
kissing, but before him I hadn’t kissed a guy in nearly a year. I’d taken
several acting classes since coming to California, but stage kissing was never
anything I felt really comfortable with and I tended to skip class on the days
when I knew that’s what we’d be doing. Something about kissing a stranger on
the lips for the entertainment of others felt dirty or wrong. And yes,
stripping was difficult too but I needed the money bad. Still, if I wanted to
be a professional actress (and I really did) then I would have to get over my
squeamishness when it came to onscreen kissing. It looked like there would be
no better time to do that than today.

A sudden knock on the door broke me from my thoughts
and I realized that Maude had pulled the dress over my body and was stitching
it with a needle and thread with impressive speed and skill, making sure it fit
my body to perfection. It was quite low cut and showed more cleavage than I was
used to showing off outside of work. Still, it made me feel sexy and alluring;
which I knew was what a cologne commercial was bound to be all about.

“What?” Maude yelled at whoever had knocked on the
door with an impatient bark.

“The crew is ready to adjust the lights,” a male voice
called politely through the door. “Is Miss Phillips ready?”

“Almost! I will sew while they work!” Maude shouted
back. Then she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me down the hall to the main
studio stage. I caught a glimpse of Shawnee standing by the Kraft food services
cart flirting shamelessly with a handsome looking guy in skin tight jeans and a
white T-shirt pulled taut over bulging muscles. I smiled, knowing that she
would be distracted for the rest of the shoot, and nearly tripped on some kind
of orange cord strewn across the floor.

“Shit!” I cried out and caught my balance just in
time. Cameras, lights, extension cords, microphones, monitors, and people were
crammed together around a small stage with a large green screen behind it. Pieces
of masking tape marked the floor and I was directed to stand with my toes on
one and not to move.

Maude continued to stitch and sew on my dress, making
sure the bust line wasn’t too tight or too loose, as the lighting crew and
camera-men made the appropriate adjustments with their equipment. I knew from
watching productions where I was an extra that setting up could take a long
time, so I requested a copy of the script and a bottled water from a nearby
intern. He was gangly and kind of nerdy, with thick glasses and spiky hair and
I knew at once that he was the kind of boy who would focus on doing things
right and not just flirt with me.

“There, all done. The dress is perfect,” Maude
declared. Then she saw the nerdy intern approaching me with the bottle of water
and snatched it away from him almost violently. “No! No spilling water on the
dress. Even the smallest drop could leave a water stain and ruin it!”

Maude stormed off angrily with the water like it was a
deliberate attempt at sabotage, leaving us both gawking. The young man smiled
at me and pulled another bottle of water from out of his pocket and handed it
to me along with the script. Smiling widely at me, he said, “Here you are Miss
Phillips. Don’t worry about Miss Maude, she’s always like that, but I’ve been
instructed to make sure you have everything you need while you’re here. I’m
your assistant, Steve.”

“Thank you Steve.”

I took a long, refreshing swallow of the cool water
and then asked him, “When they’re done setting up, do you think I could get a
chair to sit in while I read this? These shoes Maude put me in aren’t the most
comfortable things in the world.”

“Absolutely Miss Phillips. I have a chair ready for
you right over here. Go ahead and have a seat. It looks like the lights and
cameras have already been calibrated, and I can have an intern stand in for you
if they need to make any more adjustments.” Steve shepherded me to a
comfortable chair and waved at a girl passing by, saying to her, “Joyce, go get
Miss Phillips a different pair of shoes! These hurt her feet!”

“Of course. Right away Miss Phillips.”

The girl hurried away and I felt my chin lift just a
little bit with my newfound status. So this is what it felt like to have a crew
of interns and assistants at your beck and call. It was just as wonderful as I
imagined. I glanced over at Shawnee and saw that she was running her fingers
through the hair of the Kraft Services hunk, and decided to concentrate on
memorized the script. It was simple enough dialogue complimenting the man who
would be pretending to be wearing the cologne, and telling him how much it made
me want him. Then we kissed passionately and I said the name of the cologne, “
Star, for men.”

It sounded easy enough, and fun. I knew I could do it
and I was excited to begin. I scanned the studio with my eyes, trying to
identify who my costar might be so I knew who I would be kissing.

My heart skipped in my chest when I spotted a group of
incredibly handsome men clustered together on the far side of the stage talking
casually. It would be an easy task to have to kiss any one of them; but what
startled me was the poster hanging on the wall behind them. It was a picture of
the cologne in a glass bottle with the silhouette of a man on the front, and
that silhouette was clearly and distinctly Dimitri Morrison.

Steve arrived to tell me it was almost time to begin
and grabbed him by the sleeve a little more roughly than I intended to and
asked, “Was Star Cologne created by Dimitri Morrison?”

“Yeah, he’s come out with his own line of men’s care
products. Didn’t you know?” Steve said and looked at my fingers clutching his
shirt with worried frown. Realizing what I’d done, I released him quickly and
smoothed his shirt with my hands, as if I’d just been brushing away a piece of
lint or fuzz. Steve nodded his head towards the door of the studio sound stage
and said, “Here he comes from the makeup room now.”

I turned around in my chair and saw that Steve was
right. Strolling into the studio looking like a million bucks was Dimitri
himself. Everyone greeted him with gleaming smiles and the director called out.
“The star of
Star Cologne
is ready.
Let’s get rolling!”

Chapter
Two

Everyone came to life as soon as the director called
us to our places and I was quickly shepherded back onto the tiny stage. Dimitri
strolled up to me with a casual gait and stood on the mark right next to me. He
looked sexy and handsome in a midnight blue suit from Dolce and
Gabanna
, a white shirt, black tie, and black leather shoes.
His dark wavy hair was slicked back for a sophisticated look and his ocean blue
eyes twinkled with charisma.

“It’s good to see you. I was worried you might not
show up today,” Dimitri whispered low and grazed my arm tenderly with his
finger.

“Of course I came. I’m a professional actress with a
job to do. Now please let me concentrate.” I pulled my arm back and glared at
him with what I hoped was an air of cool detachment, but inside my heart was
flipping cartwheels just at the sight of him. Even now, after everything we’d
been through, I still couldn’t convince my heart to hate him. I knew that no
matter what, I would always want to be his. I also knew that I must never let
him know that or I would be nothing more than his plaything.

“I’m sorry about the way we parted. I wanted to call
you, but I was afraid you’d just hang up on me.”

“Well that’s the first intelligent thought you’ve had.
Perhaps you should just call Suzanna Blaze instead, I’m sure her standards are low
enough for you.” I knew I was being petty and mean, but I wanted to hurt him
like he’d hurt me. He nodded quietly as if he’d expected as much from me, and I
was embarrassed. I stuck to my façade of cold anger however, desperate not to
let him know how much I still cared for him.

“Can we go someplace private and talk for a moment?”
Dimitri pleaded with his eyes and I almost broke.

“No. I think we said everything there was to say the
last time we saw each other.”

I forced myself to shake my head. My dignity and my
pride were all that I had left in the wake of being told that he didn’t love me
enough to commit to me exclusively. It was a wound that went deep and I had to
protect myself from further pain by refusing to let him into my heart any
further. “We have a job to do today; let’s just get through it.”

Just then the director, Pete, approached us and
Dimitri and I both tried to look as professional as possible, even though we
were both distracted by each other. He was in his early fifties, wearing a
designer jogging suit and sunglasses. He stood between us and said, “Okay kids;
it’s a star filled night. You’re standing on the roof of a tall building with
the New York City skyline all around you, thanks to the miracle of green
screen. The night sky is filled with stars and the cool breeze is making your
hair flow back seductively. You pick up a whiff of
Star Cologne
in the breeze and it draws you to walk the five steps
across the roof top where you find Dimitri wearing
Star Cologne
. It mesmerizes you and fills you with desire. You say
your lines and encircle your arms around his chest. Don’t look at the camera
when you do this; look only at him, the object of your desire thanks to his
incredible cologne. Then Dimitri pulls you into his arms and the two of you
kiss, a smoking hot kiss filled with passion. Then the two of you pull slowly
apart, look deeply into the camera and say, ‘
Star for Men
.’ Any questions kids? No? Good! Let’s do this!”

I took my mark on the stage. The director called for
wind and the large fan was activated, making my hair flow back gently as if on
a breeze and my already clingy dress fluttered sexily against the curves of my body.
I felt my nipples constrict and pucker under the blowing breeze and knew that
they must be visible through the thin fabric. I also knew that’s probably what
the director wanted. Cologne commercials weren’t just selling scented oils;
they were selling the idea of sex.

“Action!”

Pete pointed at me and I strode forward, swaying my
hips as I moved sensuously across the stage to stand beside Dimitri. I
encircled him with my arms and started to say my lines, but he yelled stop
before I was even halfway through and I knew I was in trouble. My stomach
roiled with nerves and I had to blink back tears as Pete hollered at me, “Stop!
Tell me, do you find this guy attractive or annoying, because the look you’re
giving him suggests the former and I don’t think that’s going to sell a lot of
cologne! Do you?”

“I’m sorry. The lights were in my eyes, that’s all,” I
stammered and turned around to walk back to my mark.

Before I could leave, Dimitri gave my hand a quick
squeeze and said to me, “You can do this. You’re a terrific actress. Even
though you hate me, you can make the audience believe anything you want them
to.”

Then he released my hand and let me. I was in shock. As
much as I’d been trying to hurt him, he still wanted to lift me up and make me
feel good about myself. It pained me to know that I had succeeded in convincing
him that I hated him, but at the same time it boosted my confidence too. I was
a good actress. If I could make the man I loved think that I hated him, I could
do anything. I could even make it through this job and do what I had to do to.

Standing on my mark I nodded at Pete, indicating to
him that I was ready, and he called for action. I sauntered across the stage to
Dimitri, not looking at the cameras or anyone else in the room, but keeping my
eyes fixated on him like I was drawn to him with lust. It was an easy role to
play, I just thought of the way I felt about him every time he walked into a
room. Gazing at him with my breasts heaving with desire, I wrapped my arms
around his strong chest and spoke my lines. He grabbed me, swift and hard, and
pulled me into his arms with the same intensity as when we first made love in
my apartment. Then he put his lips on mine and kissed me: forcefully, urgently,
and with such passion I felt my knees weaken.

No! I had to keep strong and keep away from him! I
couldn’t let myself be drawn back in by his overpowering charisma and the
chemistry that we shared. I pushed him back with almost violent force and
glared at him for making me want him like that when he knew I had told him I
never wanted to see him again. Everyone in the studio gasped and that’s when I
came back to my senses and realized we were actors playing out a scene and I
just ruined it.

“Cut! I thought you said this girl was good, but she
can’t even follow simple directions!” Pete shouted out, this time directing his
irritation to Dimitri. “Maybe we should get someone else.”

“No, she can do it. She’s really good. I just slipped
and bit her lip during the kiss, that’s all. Let her do another take.”

Dimitri was defending me and I could hardly believe
it.

Fortunately, the director bought his lie without a
doubt. He sent my assistant over to me with a cup of ice and asked me, “Are you
all right? Did he injure your lip?”

“No, I’m fine. Let’s do another take,” I said and
Sabrina ran up to quickly powder my face and freshen my lip-gloss.