Anita Bunkley - Spotlight On Desire

Jewel frowned. The knock sounded too damn familiar. The fact that she now recognized it as Taye’s bid for entry into her dressing room—and that it sent her heart into a spin—was ridiculous!

Without asking who it was, she finished wiping off her makeup and flung open the door. Taye stepped in, closed it and simply stood and watched her. Jewel glared at her visitor, not sure where to start, her careful analysis of the situation suddenly evaporating.

What should I do? Play a role or play it out for real? However she didn’t have time to speak, and didn’t resist when she saw the flicker of desire in his eyes and felt his grip on her upper arms as he swept her flush against his chest.

“Everyone’s gone,” he murmured.

“Why did you come here?” she groaned against his shirt, knowing she had lost her battle of wills.

“Thought you might need a little more coaching.”

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is an author of seven successful mainstream novels and three novellas. A member of the Texas Institute of Letters and an NAACP Image Award nominee, she lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Crawford.

An avid reader all of her life, she was inspired to begin her writing career while researching the lives of interesting African-American women whose stories had not been told. A strong romantic theme has always been at the center of her novels and now she is enjoying writing true romance for her many fans.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my husband, Crawford, with love.

Dear Reader,

Turn off the TV and enter the soap-opera world of Jewel Blaine, the sexy lead actress on The Proud and the Passionate, as she falls under the spell of her handsome director, Taye Elliott.

Jewel has risen to the top of her game by playing and living by a strict set of rules, but once Taye steps onto the set, her code to live by is quickly forgotten.

The fast-paced world of daytime television is the perfect medium for Taye—a stuntman turned director who has a lot to prove and a serious secret to hide. But as you know, Hollywood is not a place where secrets stay hidden for very long. As Jewel and Taye dodge prying eyes, they soon discover that there is no escaping the spotlight that shines on their emerging love.

Enjoy! If you want to drop me a line, please e-mail me at arbun@sbcglobal.net.

Read with love!

Anita Bunkley

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Galveston Island

“Come home with me, baby. Tonight.”

“You know that’s impossible.”

“Nothing’s impossible, Caprice. Not if you want it badly enough, and if you loved me half as much as you say you do, you’d leave this island tonight and come home.”

“But, Darin…we can’t return to Elm Valley together. Think of the scandal. It’ll be better if you go ahead, and then I show up. I’ve got too much…”

“Cut!” A voice burst from the dark edges of the brightly lit patch of beach. Although the sun had set more than two hours ago, dissolving into Galveston Bay like a ball of liquid gold, huge overhead lights flooded the shoreline and created an island of activity in the otherwise-deserted cove.

Immediately, a fussy wardrobe attendant rushed onto the set and wrapped a thick white robe around Jewel Blaine, who smiled her thanks and closed it over her tiny gold bikini. The actress who played Caprice Desmond on The Proud and the Passionate (P & P) was petite, dark haired and flamboyantly attractive. At thirty-two, she had starred in the groundbreaking African-American soap opera since it debuted on TV five years ago.

Now, Jewel tilted her head, lowered her chin, widened her luminous brown eyes and spun around to face Brad Fortune, the man who called the shots on the set of P & P.

If we have to stay here all night to get it right, we will, she vowed.

As lead actress, Jewel felt personally responsible for the success of each episode and during her tenure on the daytime drama had won two Daytime Emmys, a BET Achievement Award, NAACP Image Award and many critical reviews.

Brad Fortune stopped less than a foot from where Jewel was standing, placed a slender hand on his right hip and narrowed his aquamarine eyes at his star, giving her one of his trademark extended moments. A confirmed bachelor who enjoyed the companionship of a male live-in friend, Brad possessed an instinctive awareness of his actors’ needs and used this insight to gain their respect and trust. With twenty years in daytime television, he was a talented man who knew what audiences wanted and made sure his cast delivered.

Now, the sound of waves lapping at the sandy shore and the rustle of palm fronds filled the night air as everyone waited in respectful silence for Brad to speak. “Not quite enough confliction, Jewel,” he said, his high-pitched voice lower than usual, his tone resolute. He swept a stray clump of reddish-brown hair back into his ponytail, cocked his head to one side and moved nearer to his star. “Infuse more worry into that line. Give me regret, some guilt. But hold firm! Remember, Caprice led Darin to believe that she’d do anything for him. Anything. And now she’s reneging on her promise to go home with him. She’s gotta sound conflicted. Understand?”

Jewel nodded. Brad was a pro, knew what he was after and she trusted him completely. No way would he put film in the can unless he believed the scene was the best that both he and his actors could deliver.

“Right, Brad,” Sonny Burton interjected. “I agree completely.” Nineteen years older than Jewel, Sonny Burton was well cast as Darin Saintclare, her mature on-screen lover. When CBC, the network that owned P & P, first lured handsome, charismatic Sonny Burton away from his popular daytime talk show to become a major black soap star, his national audience had cheered the decision. He was sexy and suave, with a fan of gray at his temples, a generous, welcoming smile and an easygoing style that contrasted sharply with Jewel’s methodically organized approach to her work. However, despite their differences, the two stars created magical on-screen chemistry that drove their fans wild and, so far, pleased the executives at CBC.

Sonny cleared his throat, eyes shining with resolve, clearly wanting to please his director. “I know exactly what you’re after. You want a real sense of Caprice pulling back from Darin, but at the same time…”