Ricochet (29 page)

supposed to mean?"

"Matt - until a few weeks ago you'd never

even experienced your own sub-space! I don't

know what kind of boring sex you've been having

all these years, but it sure as hell wasn't anything

that really turned you on!"

"This isn't about me! It's about Ben!"

"Is it?" Rick asked quietly. "Why are you

freaking out about this so much, Matt? I get that it's

your first real sex scene - and it's an explicit one at

that. I can understand you being nervous - but

freaked out like this? What's that really about?"

Matt glared at him mulishly.

"Talking about it might help," Rick suggested.

"I just don't understand why Ben would do

something so stupid!"

"Because you wouldn't?" Rick raised an

eyebrow. "We might have some superficial aspects

of our characters in us, Matt, but you're not him,

and he's not you. Ben is going on a journey. He's

escaped from his Lenkan upbringing and is starting

to question what his parents taught him. He joined

a federal agency and is doing a job that requires

him to run around with guns being brave and

throwing himself into danger. He's got guts, and

he's starting to grow in confidence from being

good at his job and learning from his team-mates."

Matt nodded eagerly. "Yes, I can see that."

"So, that gets him thinking about his sexuality,

and he brings his new confidence to that too. He's

never been with a dom, but he's curious, and then

suddenly Jason Jarvis smarms his way into his life,

and he's a good looking dom, hell-bent on seducing

Ben, so…"

"I get that!" Matt snapped. "I get all that, Rick,

but…" He trailed off with a moody shrug.

Rick could understand the problem; Matt was

the most rigidly controlled person he knew - no

wonder it was hard for him to get his head around

Ben's behavior in this scene. Rick also suspected

that Matt was angry with Ben for confronting the

issue of his sexuality head on when Matt couldn't

find a way to do that in his own life.

"Hey - remember what you told me about

what drew you to acting?" Rick said, nudging his

friend with his knee. "How you liked being

someone else - someone who isn't you? That's

what Ben is here - he's doing something you'd

never do. That means you get to walk on the wild

side without actually having to do it yourself."

"I guess," Matt muttered. "It's not just the

scene though." Matt hunched his shoulders

miserably. "Have you seen who's directing this

episode?"

"Steve Chang? What's the problem? He's

okay."

"You would say that - you're a dom. All the

doms love him and all the subs hate him. Ask

Estelle or the twins! They hate him too. He's such a

bastard - he's always picking away at us. He made

the twins cry once."

Rick frowned. "When was this?"

"Last year - me and Estelle went to their

trailer afterwards because we knew he'd upset

them. We didn't want to make a big deal out of it,

but we all felt the same way. He needles away at

us until we react, but nobody ever sees how he's

been picking on us first - they only see the

reaction, so we come over as hysterical idiots."

"Honestly, I've never seen it. Sure, he can be

tough, but I think he just wants to get the best

performances out of us."

"He's a bully. Of all the directors we could

have had for this particular episode, it had to be

him!"

Rick considered that for a moment. Chang

was a fantastic director, one of the best Rick had

ever worked with, but he was an irascible, ego-

driven dom who pushed them hard. Petra always

gave him the most important episodes to direct

precisely because he was so good. He brought out

the best in them, but he wasn't always very nice

about it, and Rick could see that for Matt, already

feeling insecure about his ability to get the scene

right, finding out he'd be working with Chang was

the final straw.

"You have to let his comments slide off you -

don't take them to heart," he advised.

"I can't do it. He'll pick at me until I crack and

then I'll lose my temper and go off at him, and

Petra will be called on set, and the scene will end

up being total crap," Matt predicted gloomily. "I'll

be a laughing stock and never work in this town

again."

"Hmm, y'know, I don't think we should have

shelved that spanking this morning. I think you

need one today," Rick said, poking Matt in the

thigh with his finger.

"What?" Matt shoved his hand away

impatiently.

"Seriously, Matt - you're working yourself

into a spin over nothing. You're a fantastic actor -

this is just nerves. You're too much in your own

head."

"You don't get it -"

"I do get it. Look, I spoke to Karl last week,

and he's going to help out by doing some extra

rehearsals, so we can make you more comfortable

with this. A few nerves are fine - they'll help your

performance - but don't become paralyzed by them.

That won't help anything."

"Right, and now I suppose Karl thinks I'm

putting on some big, attention-seeking, wilting sub

routine, demanding all this special help, doesn't

he?" Matt said gloomily.

Rick reached out, grabbed hold of Matt's

wrist, and yanked him over his knee. Matt gave a

startled squawk, and Rick pulled his pants down

and delivered a few swift, hard swats to his

backside, before flipping him back onto the couch

beside him again.

"That was… you are… how dare you!" Matt

blustered, looking torn between fury and that flush

of pleasure he always got from being spanked.

"You're welcome," Rick told him firmly.

"I'd forgotten how much I hate you!"

Rick grinned. "Uh-huh."

"You are so smug and annoying and so…"

Matt waved his arms in the air. "Big!" he finished.

"Big? That's a really crappy insult, Lake.

What happened to you? You used to come out with

such good ones. Maybe the spankings have addled

your brain. Who knew you kept it in your ass?"

"You are not welcome here now! Please

leave!" Matt got up and flung an imperious arm in

the direction of the door.

"Sure. Anytime. No need to thank me." Rick

grinned, getting to his feet lazily. "I'll see you in

the rehearsal room at twelve-thirty to go through

the scene."

Matt's face dropped. "So soon? I mean, I think

I need some time to prepare first. I know I'm going

to fuck it up and -"

Rick didn't give him a chance to complete that

sentence; he simply put one foot up on the couch,

swung Matt over his leg, yanked his pants down

again, and smacked him a few more times, before

depositing him back on his feet.

Matt stared at him for one long moment, and

then he crumbled. "I was being negative again,

wasn't I?"

"Yup - and defeatist. One more 'I'm crap'

comment out of you, and I'll swat you again."

"You're right." Matt stood up straight and

squared his shoulders. "Twelve-thirty. Right.

Okay." He nodded furiously. "I'll be there!"

"Good." Rick grinned and tousled Matt's hair.

"My little wilting sub," he crooned.

Matt jerked his head away irritably. "You

really are very big!" he yelled, as Rick departed

the trailer, laughing to himself.

Matt feigned a confidence he didn't feel as he

entered the rehearsal room a few hours later, script

clutched tightly in his sweaty hand, to find Karl

and Rick already there. Rick was lounging back on

a chair, his long legs resting on the table in front of

him and his hands clasped behind his head,

whistling tunelessly. Karl was leaning against the

wall, looking very unlike evil Jason Jarvis in a

pair of black-framed reading glasses, silently

studying the script.

Matt's heart skipped a beat as he realized he

was about to rehearse his first really explicit sex

scene with two of the most attractive doms on TV.

One sub, two doms, and a scene requiring him

to writhe around faking sexual ecstasy… Matt

almost turned around and walked straight back out

again, but it was too late: Karl glanced up and

smiled at him.

"Hey, Matt. I've been reading through the

scene again and it's good stuff. If we do it right

then this whole plot line could be a ratings

winner."

"Yup!" Rick stood up and stretched, and his

black tee shirt rode up to reveal an expanse of

golden stomach covered in fine dark hairs, which

he scratched, absently. "I read it earlier - it's not

only hot, it's also really edgy. There could be an

award nomination in this for you guys if you really

sell it."

"Yeah, right." The sarcastic words were out

before Matt could hold them back, and Rick

glanced meaningfully in the direction of his ass.

"Don't think I won't spank you in front of

Karl," he said, with a wink that left Matt confused

as to whether he was serious or not.

"Really? This sounds like fun!" Karl raised

an enquiring eyebrow.

"Matt and I have a deal - he's not allowed to

be negative about the scene or his talent, or I swing

him over my knee and give him a few swats," Rick

explained.

"Matt, you're a great actor, relax!" Karl said,

patting his shoulder. "It's a big scene, so I can

understand why you're nervous, but you'll be fine."

"C'mon - let's get to work," Rick said, taking

charge. Matt opened up his script, but Rick

grabbed it and threw it to one side. "No scripts -

improvise if you can't remember the lines. Let's

aim for the emotion first and everything else will

slot into place after that. The table can double for

Jason's scary bed of doom."

He pushed the table into the center of the

room, and Matt and Karl took up their positions as

Ben and Jason.

"
So… I'm here. I came,
" Matt parroted,

eyeing Karl nervously. "
This is your place? Wow -

what an amazing house,
" he gabbled without even

looking around, wanting to get through this whole

thing as fast as possible. "
I love the décor; it's

beautiful, Jason -
"

"Stop!" Rick interjected, coming to stand

behind Matt. He put his hand on Matt's belly.

"Slow it right down, Matt. Do it like Ben. He's

walked into this dom's amazing place, he's about to

get laid for the first time, and he doesn't know if

this guy is the dom of his dreams or not. He wants

to believe, but he's not sure. Close your eyes and

take a couple of deep breaths with me."

Matt did as he was told, tuning in to the sound

of Rick's heartbeat thrumming steadily behind him.

He counted the beats absently, allowing the

familiar coping mechanism to soothe him. The

warmth of Rick's big, solid body slowly seeped

into him, and he felt himself relaxing.

Rick moved away, and Matt opened his eyes.

Karl moved in close and took hold of his hand.

"
I didn't invite you here for small talk, Ben,
"

he murmured, in a voice as smooth and dark as

molten chocolate. He'd taken off his glasses and

didn't look like Karl anymore. He was Jason

Jarvis, looking so sincere as he seduced Ben into

his little trap.

"
I know,
" Matt replied, and it came out as a

gulp. "
I know why I'm here, and you should know

that I've never done anything like this before,

Jason.
"

"
Are you worried I won't respect you in the

morning? That's not a problem,
" Karl replied,

and there was a cruel smirk tugging at the corners

of his mouth.

"
No, it's not that. It's… just… I've never…
"

"
Never what?
"

"
Been with a dom,
" Matt said quietly.

Karl pulled back. "
You're a virgin?
" There

was something dark and intrigued about Karl's

expression as Jarvis realized how sweet this

conquest was going to be.