Her heart fluttering, Miriam opened the door wider and closed it behind Derrick. "I thought you'd never ask." She said.
FIFTY FIVE
Miriam and Derrick finally get physical
Miriam stood at the closed door and looked at Derrick. He was partially in the shadow, giving his features more definition. She found her gaze being drawn down to his chest, remembered the feel of him above her and shivered.
"Are you cold?" Derrick asked.
"A little," Miriam said.
"Let's see if I can warm you up." he said, smiling. He sat down on the bed and patted a spot beside him. Miriam went to him and sat down, feeling the bed move under her weight.
Derrick smiled and popped open the bottle of champagne and Miriam watched it fizz. Derrick spilled some of the white fizz on his chest and he dragged a finger through it and licked it off his fingers. Miriam wished it had been her mouth around his finger. She was ready for this, she was. She just had to keep telling herself that.
"Is that for me?" she asked, pointing at the rose.
"Yes," Derrick said, "a single rose for a flower just as beautiful."
Miriam blushed. "That's so sweet."
"I'm very attracted to you Miriam." He turned towards her, gave her a glass of champagne and handed her the rose. "You are possibly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I want to make love to you right this time. I want to do it right, with no interruptions."
Miriam could barely find her voice. "I'd like that." she whispered.
"Good," he said, "Good." He held up his glass to hers and they clinked glasses. "To us." he said.
"To us." Miriam said. Was it getting hot in here, or was it just her?
"To be honest," he said after they had both taken a sip. "I was afraid that you wouldn't want to try again."
"Why would I not want to?" she said. "Do you not find me attractive?"
"God no," he said "I find you hopelessly attractive. Just after what happened last time..."
Miriam flashed on the man in the basement, the assassin sent to kill her. "Let's not think about that now, I don't want to think about that now. Just..." she gathered up all her courage. "Just make love to me, Derrick. I've wanted you to since the first moment I saw you."
"Oh god," he breathed and took her face in his hands. He kissed her, crushing his mouth to hers with a heat that both scared Miriam and excited her.
She felt the fire building in her belly and this time, instead of being afraid of it, accepted it, embraced it. She kissed him back with equal force, equal passion and heard Derrick moan.
"God, you make me crazy..." he breathed in her ear. "Miriam, I don't think I can be gentle this time, I don't think-"
"Than don't think." she said, standing and taking the silk teddy off slowly, letting it fall to the floor. "Just take. Just take, Derrick."
He buried his face in her breasts, kissing her between them, tweaking a nipple in his fingers. Miriam moaned out loud and ran her hands down his body, his rock hard body.
He was hard in another place too and she wrapped her hands around his penis. Derrick moaned again, matching Miriam's moans and soon the boxers were gone and they were naked, pressed together, their bodies hot and sweaty.
Derrick's mouth found her other nipple and he bit it softly at first and than harder, making Miriam cry out. She positioned herself below him and nibbled on his earlobe. "Now, Derrick, I can't wait any longer, please now..."
With a slow and teasing thrust, he pushed himself inside her and she moaned, feeling him inside her, on top of her. They began to rock in a slow rhythm as if they had done this before, as if they were meant to be.
Too quickly, they both reached their climax, riding wave after wave of bliss. Sweaty, Derrick lay on top of her, smiling down at her. She could feel him growing hard again already.
"I'm sorry," he said "I'm sorry that was so fast."
"That's okay." Miriam said, tweaking one of his nipples and making him grunt. "We have all night. Make love to me, Derrick. Let's take this night for ourselves."
As Derrick slowly began to move inside her again, Miriam pushed aside the thought that too soon, when morning came, the peace they had found tonight would be shattered.
Miriam closed her eyes and made love to Derrick, knowing that when the morning came, reality would once again rear its ugly head.
FIFTY SIX
they arrive at the gates of hell
The morning came quickly. Too quickly for Miriam's tastes. She snuggled closer to Derrick, relishing in his warmth. He groaned, rolled over and draped his arms around her.
"Is it morning already?" He asked.
"Fraid so." She studied his face while he still had his eyes closed.
He had the most gorgeous eye lashes. They fanned around his eyes and reminded her of feathers.
"Come here," he said, pulling her closer. He rolled on top of her and than opened his eyes, the gray/green of them startling. "Hello beautiful."
Miriam blushed. "Hello."
"Hmmm, let's work on that, shall we? Let's try again. Hello beautiful."
Miriam giggled. "Hello sexy."
"Ah, that's better. You know what I love about you?"
Her heart fluttered. "What?"
"That you'll let me do this in the morning without brushing my teeth." and he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. "and that you don't mind my dragon breath."
Miriam giggled again. "Silly man."
"Ah, but even so, you know you want me."
"True," she said, smiling. "I can't deny it."
"Did you want another go before breakfast?" Derrick asked. She could feel him growing hard against her and she felt fire in the pit of her stomach.
"Just try and stop me," She said and crushed her mouth to his.
*
After a quick breakfast of eggs and toast, they were all in the limo. Miriam was in the back seat of the limo with Susan and Naomi rode up front with Derrick. Miriam felt a little uncomfortable being in costume again, but this had to be done.
Her very life depended on it.
"Miriam?" Derrick said from the front seat. "You alright?"
"Yes." she said. "I'm alright. I'm a little nervous." Her voice was like smoke.
"You remember what Susan told you?"
"Yes." she said. "This is an audition for the role of Felicity, Sylvia's distant cousin who has come home to run the family home. She is my age and hated Sylvia with a passion. I'm to audition for Howard Kowalski." Miriam shifted uncomfortably at the mention of his name. She associated him with evil. "When will we be at the studio?"
"We're there now." Naomi said.
They looked out the window. The studio with the words HOPE FALLS were written on the side of a big brick building. It reminded Miriam of a prison and she shivered.
"Okay," she said. "Let's get this thing over with."
FIFTY SEVEN
Miriam goes into the belly of the beast
Susan and Miriam stepped out of the car. Before they exited, Derrick turned and touched Miriam's cheek. "You going to be okay, Miriam?"
Miriam nodded. "Yeah. I can do this." She took a deep breath. "I can do this."
Susan took Miriam's hands in hers, squeezed them gently. She turned to Miriam. "All set, hon?"
Miriam nodded but said nothing.
Once they were out of the car, Susan tied her hair up in a bun and put on the dark glasses she had selected for this role. She put herself in the mind frame of Edith Head, famous costume designer for Alfred Hitchcock.
She always wore blue tinted glasses so that others could not see her eyes, so that she would be intimidating. Susan hoped her own dark purple tinted glasses would have the same effect.
She pulled her curly hair into a tight bun at the back of her head. Curls escaped anyway and fell behind her ears, at the back of her head. The look made her seem regal and very professional. She was dressed in a tight rust colored top that showed off her curves. It was made from brushed cotton and match
ed the gold colored skirt that ended just above her knees. She looked like an autumn Goddess.
She turned to Miriam, who was dressed in a tight knee length black cotton skirt that didn't leave much to the imagination. It had a slit up the side and she wore five inch black stiletto heels that added to her height, making her an impressive six foot four. Her red hair had been tinted with brown and black, so that her hair was a trio of colors. Her lips were painted a sultry red and her eyes had been given a smoky make over by Susan.
In short, they were dressed to kill.
Susan turned to Miriam. "You ready for this?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, honey." Miriam said.
"You're going to do fine. You've done so many other things, this'll be a breeze."
"It's like make believe, how hard can it be?"
Susan held her tongue. Being an actress, she knew how hard it was. But she didn’t want to deter Miriam before they began. Instead she smiled sweetly. "It's a piece of cake."
"Good, I like cake." Miriam smiled.
They headed inside and stopped at the front desk. Miriam let out a breath she had been holding in. The receptionist wasn't Louise; she wouldn't recognize her.
"Hello," Susan said in a deep voice, "My name is Sandi Candi, Agent to the stars. I'm here with Sabrina White, she's auditioning for the new role on Hope Falls."
"Lovely to meet you." The receptionist said. "Take a seat, I'll tell Howard that you're here."
They sat in the waiting room in two comfortable leather chairs. All around them, pictures of actors and actresses from Hope Falls looked down at them. Susan hated how Soaps always put pictures of their actors in the hallways. It always reminded her of a creepy hall of mirrors in a fun house, actors faces made up in perfection for all of
time.
She heard the click of heels on the floor and squeezed Miriam's hand before she looked up. The receptionist smiled down at them.
"Howard is ready for you now. You can follow me," she motioned to Miriam, "You can wait here. I'll get you a coffee...what do you take?"
"Double double." Susan said. She turned to Miriam. "You're gonna do great. Break a leg."
"Thanks," Miriam said. "I'm going to need all the luck I can get." squeezing Susan's hand back, she rose and followed the receptionist to her destiny.
FIFTY EIGHT
Howard falls for Miriam's deception
Miriam stepped into Howard Kowalski's office and the receptionist closed the door behind her with a soft muted click.
Howard looked up from his desk where he had been working. He was an ugly man with lank brown hair and piggy blue eyes. His chin was non-existent, and he looked like a St. Bernard after a hard night of drinking. Miriam shivered inwardly. She knew that he had set her up and she planned to do all she could to get this part. Her ability to spy in the station would help all of them get away with their lives.
Howard looked Miriam up and down and a smile appeared on his face. It did not reach his eyes. "Hello." he said.
"Hello." Miriam said, her voice all low and smoky.
Howard's smile became more predatory. "Are you here to audition?"
"Yes," Miriam said. "For the part of Felicity, Sylvia's distant cousin."
"You've been briefed by your agent I see."
"Yes, that's usually what agents do."
Howard smirked. "You have a good sense of humor."
"I'd like to think so."
Howard came around from behind the desk and took her hand. His eyes were looking at her breasts, not her eyes. "What's your name?"
"Sabrina White."
"Do you know much about how women behave on these shows, Sabrina?" Howard leaned forward and lit a cigar. It made Miriam want to vomit all over his cheap, shiny suit.
"I wouldn't know, I don't watch soap operas."
"You don't?"
"No."
"Then why are you auditioning for one?"
"Just because I don't watch soap opera's doesn't mean I can't audition for them." She smiled sweetly. "I am an actress after all."
Howard chuckled. "My, you are feisty, aren't you? Well, how about we get you reading. Did you want to take a seat on the couch?" he pointed to a long leather couch that took up almost one full wall of his office.
Miriam had told her what Howard liked to do on that couch, about the woman he seduced there. "No thank you." she said, "I prefer to do things standing up." she winked at him.
Howard's smile returned and he chuckled. "What other things do you like to do standing up?"
Miriam laughed softly. "Oh, just you wait and see." She pointed to the pages on his desk. "Are those the lines you want me to read?"
"Yes," he said, handing them to her. "Just take it from Felicities monologue at the top of the page."
Miriam cleared her throat and began. "Why, Anastacia, how gracious of you. But I can carry my own bags...why the house hasn't changed much has it? That damn Sylvia, she stole this house, the husband, from me. I wanted Jack for myself, but she wanted him more. Now they're both dead." Here, Miriam stopped and fluttered her eye lashes, squeezed her breasts together so her cleavage showed. Did you want me to continue reading?"
Howard's face was flushed. "No, no, you're perfect. You start Monday." He came closer to her. "If there's anything I can do to make your stay at Hope Falls more...satisfactory...let me know won't you? I'll let Louise know out front that you got the part. She'll give you the forms to fill out."
"Oh!" Miriam exclaimed, jumping up and down, so that her breasts bounced up and down in front of Howard's face, "That's wonderful! OH, HOWARD! Thank you!" She kissed him quickly on his cheek. She would have to wash her lips later. "I'm going to love working here!"
With a breezy little giggle, she let herself out of the office. She wanted a shower and a vodka. A big stiff vodka. And some chocolate.
FIFTY NINE
Miriam is secretive
Miriam refused to say anything to Susan until they were in the limo with the others. They all looked at her. "Well?" Susan prompted.
"You're keeping us in suspense," Naomi said as Derrick drove away. "Did you get the part or not?"
With a big grin, Miriam said simply "I got it."
Naomi went ballistic. "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!" She screamed.
"There she goes, orgasming again." Susan said.
Naomi ignored her. "I KNEW you would do it!" she turned to Derrick, "Didn't I tell you that I KNEW she would do it?!"
Derrick smiled. "That you did. Nice job Miriam."
She smiled. "Thanks. You too hot stuff."
Derrick blushed. "We didn't do anything. It was all you."
"What time to you have to report to the station?"
"Tomorrow morning, so that I can pick up my script and find my dressing room. I'll be in my old dressing room."
They were quiet for a moment before Susan squeezed Miriam's hand. "You did good."
"Thanks, so did you."
Susan fluttered her eyelashes. "I do what I can."
When they arrived back at the farm house, Miriam headed upstairs, after telling them that she would like lots of chocolate and vodka when she came back down.
"Why don't we make it like a party?" Naomi said. "We could order some pizza?"
"Good idea, Nai." Susan said. "You treat this round."
"Why do I always have to pay for the food?" she said, wailing slightly.
"Because you're the one who always thinks about it." Susan said with a smirk.
* * *
When Miriam came downstairs, her hair was freshly washed and she was dressed in a lose cotton robe. She felt better than she had in a long time, as if she had slept for days. Her body felt reenergized.
She was greeted with cheers and plenty of vodka when she entered the kitchen. She was wolfing down her second slice of pizza when the telephone rang. They all looked at it. Finally Susan spoke. "My house, I'll get it." She cleared her throat and picked up the phone. "Sandi Candi Talent Agency. How may I direct your call?" she said in
a sweet sing song voice.
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