“Already planning for the second season?” She would be the one to set the tone of this conversation, thank you very much. “That’s fairly premature, isn’t it? Considering you haven’t wrapped the first week of preproduction on season one.”
“I don’t do anything prematurely, Katarina,” he said in his deep, resonant voice, the kind of voice that brought to mind furs spread before a fire and naked bodies entwined on top of them.
“Innuendo?” She kept her tone bored, ignoring the part of her that kept noticing how his accent made everything he said sound sexy as hell.
“No innuendo, just the truth.” He offered another easy smile. Did nothing irk this man? “This audition was for a different project starting production in a few months.”
“Don’t tell me, it’s called, Real-Life Ways to Bed a Bimbo,’” she replied dryly.
“The girls aren’t bimbos.”
“Right.” Kat rolled her eyes.
“And I would never be so derivative.” He smiled and his eyes did a sexy squinty thing that made her stomach flutter.
Focus, Kat! Fewer sexy thoughts, more ball-busting ones!
“So what’s it about?” Kat had to know what kind of reality show “audition” ended with three mostly naked girls in the executive producer’s bed.
“If I told you,” he said, with a wink. “I’d have to kill you.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a joke!”
“I don’t do jokes,” she said, cheeks heating.
“Oh please, Kat—”
“You can call me Ms. Masterson.” That was good, keep the exchange formal, businesslike.
“You can call me Sergei, or Serge if you prefer.”
“I don’t prefer either, Mr. Sokolnokov. I’m here to talk business, and I think you’ll find it in your best interests to listen closely to what I have to say.” Kat forced her tone to remain even and firm, though this man wasn’t at all what she’d expected.
Sergei Sokolnokov was—in a word—magnetic. Though not much taller than her own five foot eight, he had the kind of thick, barrel-chested build and strong, muscled arms that made her thighs tingle inside her sensible black skirt. His eyes were a darker, more piercing shade of green than her own, and his salt-and-pepper hair was thick and short enough to be sensible, but long enough to be sexy.
All in all, he was her dream guy…if he weren’t a total sleaze.
But sleaze or not, Kat couldn’t keep from imagining what it would feel like to thread her fingers through his hair, to feel his thick arms around her as he hitched her up around his waist and screwed her senseless against the nearest wall.
“Katarina?” A smile danced in his fantastic kelp-green eyes.
“Y-yes?” She flushed, unable to believe that she had missed whatever he’d just said. She didn’t have the luxury of letting her thoughts drift off into a lust-induced fantasyland, especially when the man she was fantasizing about was the definition of Mr. Wrong.
“I asked if you’d like something to drink.” He stepped close enough for her to smell the musky scent of his aftershave and to realize that her nose was level with his lips. She would be able to meet his mouth with only the slightest tilt of her head.
“No thank you.” Kat swallowed hard, fighting to keep her wayward thoughts on track. “Now why don’t we talk about what I came for? And what it will take to convince me to keep quiet about your real identity and all those strip clubs you own.”
“I know what you came for. And I promise you, you’re going to get it.” He stepped even closer, until her breasts were inches away from his chest and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. “But I won’t be bullied or manipulated. Do you understand?”
She shivered, her body suddenly awash in a potent cocktail of her own horm
ones. Her lips parted as she struggled to put aside the rush of mental images that flooded her mind—Serge with his lips at her throat, his hands ripping at the buttons of her blazer, her nails raking over the bulge in his impeccably tailored pants before she dragged his zipper down.
Good god, what was he going to do? Was he going to kiss her? Or just talk very sternly to her in that sexy voice of his? The uncertainty was terrifying and terribly, terribly exciting. Her sex grew slicker, her body voicing its appreciation for everything Serge had to offer.
She wanted him so badly it was shocking.