Prologue

Alex

This is a nightmare.

The screen blurs before me, the flickering images dancing hazily before my tired eyes. I try to fight off the dull ache creeping in, but it's a losing battle. I've been staring at my computer screen for a solid five hours, of course my system is threatening to shut down.

I find it hard to focus, the warmth from the crackling fireplace inviting comfort into the room and with it, sleep. It would be easy to lay my head down and get an eye shut but dammit! I can't afford to drift off.

"No, you can't stop," I mutter to myself and straighten up on the couch despite my body begging for a moment of rest. I tap the screen to check just how much longer I need to be up, groaning when I realize I have three hundred more audition tapes to get through.

Fuck! Maybe I should have let my team handle this for me. That would have been the easier route to take but I am a perfectionist if nothing else and I wanted to be the one to pick the actress. I just never thought it would take me this long to get through the audition tapes.

For the past three days, I have been watching audition tapes of young beautiful women from all over the world trying out for a chance to be featured in my music video. The ladies I have seen so far are very beautiful, I'll give them that, but none of them feel right for my song. Perhaps I was expecting to feel some kind of connection with a girl on the screen but… It's stupid of me to expect to feel some kind of connection with a stranger from a three-minute clip. I just need to pick a girl at random and hope she's a good enough actress for what I am looking for.

Fuck, this is hard!

I comb my fingers through my hair in frustration knowing full well that I can't simply pick an actress at random. I've been through hundreds of audition tapes and now I only have a couple of hundred left. I'm not much of a believer in fate, but a part of me can't shake off the feeling that maybe the gem I am looking for is in the remaining tapes.

With a sigh, I reach out for my glass of wine to fuel me when I realize it's empty. I don't remember going through the entire thing, but I must've been here longer than I thought. I should probably get a refill; it's going to be a long night.

With another sigh, I force myself off my couch and start for my bar, hoping to grab something stronger this time. Whiskey or a shot of vodka to snap me into focus. Maybe I should lay off the booze if I don't want to deal with a hangover and make myself a coffee instead. I drag my feet away from the living room and that's when I hear it – her.

I freeze on the spot, standing rooted in place as a feminine voice washes over me. It's gentle and sweet, soothing like a gentle breeze on a hot summer day. It's delicate – pure. She's talking, introducing herself the same way I've heard hundreds of other girls introduce themselves, but her voice enchants me.

"Hello, my name is Mina Hendricks. I'm twenty-one years old, originally from Texas but I now live in LA. A little about me, I love acting and singing, although I can't hold a note to save my life," she giggles, the sound light and airy. "I love cooking too but acting is my real passion. I've wanted to be an actress forever and I hope to be selected for your project. Thanks."

I whip around so fast that I almost give myself a whiplash, rushing back to the couch in time to catch the girl on the screen before it can move on to the next actress. I click pause on the video as my eyes lock on the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen.

Long auburn hair fans her small face but it's the larger-than-life hazel eyes staring right into me that send my heart thumping in my chest. I replay the video, watching the way her lips move and when she smiles, my heart races in my chest at the sight. My gaze shifts from her pouty lips and to the little starlike specks sprayed over her nose.

After looking through videos of hundreds of beautiful actresses with clear skin, I find myself drawn to this freckled angel. There is something pure and unfiltered about her and I want her in my music video.

Mina Hendricks is the one.

I press play just so I can hear more of her voice. It's soft and pure with sultry undertones and the way she giggles… fuck! The longer I look at her and listen to her, the more I want her. I find myself replaying her video over and over again, craving more of the girl.

Ten years in LA and nothing has felt as pure as this girl, and it does more than tug at my heartstrings. My eyes cross over her light flushed cheeks and lightly golden hazel eyes, my pulse drumming louder the longer I stare into the girl. When I feel the tug in my sweatpants, I look down in horror at my stiffening cock. Shit! This is not good.

"Hello, my name is Mina Hendricks. I'm twenty-one years old, originally from Texas but I now live in LA. A little about me–"

I should probably shut off the darn thing and let my team know I've found the right girl for my music video. This should be the end of what would have been a long night.

"–I love acting and singing although I can't hold a note to save my life."

Need claws my chest the longer I stare at the angel, her pouty lips parting in a beautiful smile, seducing me through the screen. My hand drops to the painfully stiff bulge outlining my sweatpants before shamelessly slipping inside. I know deep down that this is not right. I should not allow myself to do this, but the pressure is too intense to resist.

Shut off the computer. Take a cold shower!

Jesus Christ, this is beyond perverted. In a few days, I am going to hire this girl as an actress in my music video and the last thing I need is to look at her and remember this moment.

"I love cooking too but acting is my real passion."

Why the fuck is her voice so perfect? Forget the music video, I want to find this girl and kiss the little specks of stardust under her eyes. I want to brush my lips over the beauty mark above her lip before sweeping those lips in a kiss.

No, I want her spread eagle on my bed, legs parted for me to bury my face between. I need to see those eyes blinking and her flushed body trembling hard against mine as I lap at her sodden sex. I bet I could make her wet, leave her begging for that sweet release.

My hand is moving, up and down as I stroke my cock. It's too late to go back now. There is so much more in my head than the beautiful face staring back at me. This time, I can almost imagine her breasts in my calloused fingers. Years of playing the guitar will do that to you.

"I've wanted to be an actress forever and I hope to be selected for your project–"

I want to see that mouth part in more than a smile when I run my fingers over her body. Those eyes will graze over when I slam my cock into her tightness. My name on the angel's lips as I take her on this very couch, in front of the fireplace.

Mine!

I hit replay, clutching hard on the table as I fuck my fist, eyes locked on the angel that seems to have woken something possessive inside of me. Something dark and dangerous. Her voice washes over me as I stroke my cock faster, the will to stop in tatters.

I can't stop to save my life–

Mine!

All I know is her name and hobbies… and the way she makes me feel. I need to have her! In my music video, in my bed, I need her in this very house. I want to take her on every surface, worship her body until those pretty eyes see nothing but me.

Until her heart beats for only me.

I hit the replay button once more when the video ends. Stroking my cock violently with my eyes locked on the beauty until I feel a familiar tingle at the base of my spine. My hand moves faster and it's her name on my lips when the muscles of my abdomen tense up. I come with a roar and I grip the table hard as violent jerks rock me forward and spray my fist. I even get some on the computer screen and on the face of the pretty girl staring back at me before I slump back on the couch. My breath comes in short pants as I watch the video come to an end. With what little strength I can muster, I reach forward and hit the replay button.

"Hello, my name is Mina Hendricks. I'm twenty-one years old, originally from Texas but I now live in LA. A little about me, I love acting and singing although I can't hold a note to save my life," There's that sound again. Light and airy when she giggles. A slight flush climbs up her cheeks which are now stained with my come. "I love cooking too but acting is my real passion. I've wanted to be an actress forever and I hope to be selected for your project. Thanks."

As her voice trails over, I don't replay her video. Instead, I turn off the computer, my mind already made up.

Mina Hendricks is who I want in my music video and in my life.

I will make her mine!