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building in her chest. “It’s
    okay, Gwen. Your secret is safe with me.”
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    She wondered about his words and then she considered her response to them. God help her if she was
    right about his intentions, because she had no doubt he wouldn’t rest until he’d uncovered and physically exploited every damn imperfection in her character. Until he’d dragged every cursed, unspeakable desire to the forefront.
    And then what? He was an actor. Hell, he was fucking Ty Ransome, the movie star every man wanted
    to be like and every woman wanted to sleep with. How would he feel when he learned just how dark and
    deep her needs ran? How would he react when he discovered pain wasn’t just her fantasy, but a need? What would he say when he realized bondage wasn’t a sex game for her, but a necessity?
    For years, she’d managed to suppress the dark and dirty secret because she knew society wouldn’t
    approve, wouldn’t understand. The whole reason she’d created Michael Haynes was so she could write the story of her heart, so she could put her surreptitious longings on the pages of “The Darkest Night”. Just as he’d discovered her pen name, Ty had pulled off the veil she’d been hiding beneath. She shivered at the thought and felt his arms tighten around her. He would open up the vault she’d kept securely locked inside her soul. She’d protected her secrets for a lifetime, but Ty had the power to uncover and exploit all of it.
    God help her, she’d be a willing victim, if the past few minutes were any indication of his power over her.
    “Trust me,” he whispered.
    Trust. If only she could.

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    23
    Chapter Three
    Getting into character
    “I don’t understand why you’re wasting your time on this film, Ty,” Bernie Rather said on the other
    end of the line. The man was one of the top agents in Hollywood, but that was only because he played by Tinsel Town rules. It was his consistency that kept him afloat, not his creativity. Ty was amazed the man had managed to walk down the aisle four times, as marriage certainly held a level of risk he’d never seen Bernie take on a professional level. Of course—considering the fact he’d ended up in divorce court four times—perhaps it was best Bernie stuck to the tried and true on the business front.
    “We’ve been through this a thousand times, Bernie. I want to do something different, something of
    substance. I’m getting too damn old for the action hero shit.”
    “The only problem with you is pride. Break down and start using the stunt double and you could keep
    doing action movies until you’re eighty. Look at Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis.”
    Depression overwhelmed Ty at the thought of chasing bad character actors through various cities
    while the special effects people blew up everything in sight. There was no way he could continue to play those roles until he retired.
    “No thanks. I’m ready to try a more serious role and Evening Songs is the perfect story. Oscar material for sure.” He didn’t dare admit to Bernie that his desire to make the film was two-fold. While he hoped it would break him out of his stereotypical roles, he also wanted to see the stories told and shared with a broader audience because they spoke to his heart.
    “You realize it will be both of our asses if this thing flops. Your star power will only take you so far, Ty. Add in your rather volatile public persona and you’re a ticking time bomb facing complete
    annihilation.”
    He sighed and closed his eyes. He’d heard that line a thousand times from Bernie and he knew exactly
    how much was riding on this project and his plans for the future and his career.
    “I know that. It won’t fail.” He delivered the line with as much conviction as he could muster, praying his agent couldn’t hear the underlying anxiety in his voice. Gwen had signed the contracts. She was now legally bound to work on the screenplay with