Free Her Leading Man by Alice Duncan

it was his production company behind the
picture. It
was kind of nice that he tried to put out a good product, even if
they were only talking about moving pictures.
    Shaking his head and looking peeved,
Martin stalked over to her, dragging the costumer with
him . Taking Christina by the right shoulder, he turned
her as if she
were a department store mannequin. Christina didn’t hit him or anything
because she liked him, even if he was treating her like a doll at the moment. She
understood.
    “ You see this fabric?” He lifted the long,
trailing thing drifting from her shoulder to several feet
behind Christina. “This is a print calico, for God’s sake!
We need
something light and filmy for Egyptian pictures.”
    “ Hmm . Yes, I do understand
what you’re saying.”
    The costumer, Karen Crenshaw, had worked on pictures with which Christina
had been involved before. She was good at her job, and Christina was
surprised she’d made this gaffe. “I think this particular costume is left over
from Mutiny
on the Bounty ,” Karen went on to say. She grinned.
    Martin didn’t. He seemed to be in an especially grouchy mood this
morning. Christina wondered if he was still worried about the camels. Because
she didn’t
think costumes were that big a deal, she said, “I’m sure Karen can come up with
something more filmy without much trouble, Martin.”
    His head snapped up, and he scowled straight at her, pinching his
lip and looking worried. Christina maintained her own serene expression for a
second, then
turned her attention to Karen. “I’ll be happy to help, Karen, if you
need me to stand for fittings.”
    Karen, who had been concentrating so
hard , Christina could almost see smoke coming out
her ears,
shook her head. “I don’t think that will be necessary, Christina, but thank
you This fits you well so I can use it as a pattern.” She turned to
Martin. “Is
the style all right?” She gestured at Christina . “That
off-the-shoulder style with the cord twisted between the
breasts?”
    Martin lifted his eyes to stare at Christina’s
breasts, and
for perhaps the first time in her life Christina was embarrassed by a
man’s scrutiny. Men didn’t generally gape at her bosom the way Martin was
doing. She
told herself it was all in the line of duty, and that he wasn’t looking upon
her as a woman but as an item on display, but it didn’t help much. She discovered within herself a deep, deep desire to
have Martin
looking upon her not merely as a woman, but as an alluring
woman .
    Whatever was the matter with her? She’d better snap out of it, or
she’d be in trouble in no time at all. She had to keep her education in mind
and not allow
herself to get sidetracked.
    “ Yes.” Martin licked his lips, which had
evidently gone dry
    Christina gazed at him sharply, wondering if the sight of her
scarcely covered bosom had affected him in some way. She hoped so.
    “ The pattern will do. Get the fabric right,
though, all right?”
    “ Sure,” Karen said. “Will do. You want to
step out of that, Christina? I’ve got to pull the seams
apart and use
it as a pattern to cut a new one.”
    “ Sure.”
    Christina was used to stripping and dressing in front of all sorts
of men; it was part of the job. There was nothing in the least modest about
acting in motion pictures. Anyhow, she’d read the shooting schedule, and she knew full
well there was going to be that shocking naked-bosom scene coming up
soon . Shrugging out of her gown, she told herself she
might as well
get used to it .
    A funny gurgling sound came to her ears as she was in the process
of pulling the costume over her head. It wasn’t until she’d stepped out of
it and handed
it to Karen that she realized the sound had come from Martin, who was staring at
her with his eyes fairly starting from their sockets. She reached for her silk wrapper
and put it on.
    “ What’s the matter, Martin? Surely you’ve been
to costume fittings and seen women in their