Command Performance Read online

  “That’s it. You’re fucked.” He tickled her until she screeched and begged for mercy—so much for keeping down the noise. Then the lights clicked on again and the torch songs resumed from the radio on the kitchen counter.

  Miri gazed at the man lying beside her on the floor, his lips forming hopelessly garbled attempts at the French words. He sang to her even though he wasn’t quite in tune. In fact, he was way off-key.

  Non, je ne regrette rien.

  Car ma vie, car mes joies, aujourd’hui, ça commence avec toi...

  The caliber of his singing didn’t matter in the least to her. His voice was still the most beautiful sound on earth.

  Epilogue: Two Years Later

  Miri took one last look at her makeup in the mirror. As for the rest of her, well...she’d done the best she could with the help of her long-suffering stylist. She opened the door to find her husband sprawled across the bed with a massive bouquet of flowers lying beside him.

  “Oh, baby,” he sighed. “You look beautiful.” He held up the bouquet. “Wanna go to the prom?”

  Miri laughed. “Do I have a choice?”

  He stood and crossed to her with the flowers, taking her in his arms. He pressed a careful kiss to one meticulously made-up cheek. “No, you don’t have a choice. Attending the Golden Globes as a Best Actress nominee is one of those things you can’t blow off.” His hands slid lower, to caress her hugely distended belly. “And since you probably won’t make the Oscars...”

  “Argh. Your fault! If you hadn’t gotten me pregnant with twins, I wouldn’t look so ridiculous in this circus tent of a gown.”

  “It doesn’t look like a circus tent.” Mason traced the ornate braiding of the amethyst-colored, fitted bodice that cinched just beneath her breasts, then flared out over her bump. “It looks beautiful on you.” He shot a look down her cleavage. “And I have to say you fill the top out nicely.” He couldn’t resist a pat and a grope.

  “I fill the bottom out nicely too,” she grumbled. “But if you think I look okay, I’ll take your word for it. At least I don’t have to wear any of those space age mega-cinchers around my waist.”

  “I doubt they make them big enough.”

  She beat him with the flowers until blooms carpeted the floor.

  “I was joking, honey,” Mason yelled, ducking away from her final swat. “Anyway, you’re having twins in a month. This is how you’re supposed to look. And it’s absolutely beautiful.” He pulled her close, soothing her, stroking her coiffed hair and the jeweled necklace standing in tonight for her collar. “You’re the most beautiful, most talented woman in the world. I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud to be your husband and stand by your side.”

  Miri rested her head against him and relaxed into his embrace, at least as much as her belly would allow. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too, baby.”

  The door flung open and Ava barreled in, Greta at her heels. Their daughter snuck in between them, hugging their legs, before she noticed the flowers littering the rug.

  “Oh, Mommy, Daddy, it rained flowers!”

  “No, honey,” said Mason. “Mommy beat Daddy with a bouquet.”

  Miri shushed him but Ava had already tuned them out, collecting colorful blooms by the fistful. “Be good for Greta tonight,” Miri said. “Mommy and Daddy will be home very late, so you’ll have to let Greta brush your teeth and read your bedtime story.”

  “Mommy! I like it better when you read to me,” Ava whined.

  “That’s because Mommy is an award-winning actress,” said Mason.

  Miri glared at him. “I haven’t won yet. You just jinxed me.”

  “What does ‘jinx’ mean?” Ava asked. Before anyone could answer she galloped around them with her flowers chanting “Jinx, jinx, jinx, jinx.”

  Greta swept her up in her arms and smiled at Miri and Mason. “Good luck tonight. We’ll be watching the broadcast.”

  Miri kissed Ava’s forehead, brushing back her messy dark locks. “If Daddy’s jinx didn’t work on Mommy, I might be able to wave at you from TV, okay? But then it’s going to be bedtime.”

  “Okay. Bye, Mommy. Bye, Daddy.” Ava tucked one of the flowers into Mason’s lapel as he gave his daughter a kiss. Out in the limo he looked down at it and smiled.

  “It doesn’t look half bad. That girl’s got style, I’m telling you. And she didn’t get it from me.”

  “You look very handsome,” Miri argued, turning her clutch over and over in her lap.

  He took one of her restless hands. “Don’t be nervous. Whether you win or lose, you did an amazing job on that movie. You did what you wanted to do. You proved to everyone that you’re talented and absolutely fearless”—he kissed her palm—“which I always knew.”

  She blew out her breath in an attempt to settle her racing pulse. “Maybe that’s why I’m so nervous. Such a big success right out of the gate. How am I going to top it?”

  He grinned and leaned back. “I don’t know, but you will. And I, for one, am looking forward to watching you try.”

  *** *** ***

  Mason was on edge whenever he took her anywhere these days. She seemed so vulnerable with that big belly. He was at her shoulder the whole way down the red carpet, holding her arm in case she fell off balance or tripped on her voluminous gown. He felt better once they were seated at their table. Nell and Jeremy were at the same one—enough time had passed since the sex scandal that even Shane Greenberg agreed they could be seen together. Anyway, Mason was a family man now.

  Twin boys on the way. It would be a fun ride. Nell fussed over Miri’s baby bump and then the women were off talking about babies and childbirth—Nell and Jeremy had just welcomed a baby boy the year before. Rhiannon was a doting sister and Nell assured Miri that Ava would love her baby brothers too. During a lull in the conversation, Jeremy congratulated Miri on her nomination. He was nominated too this year for a competing film. There had been lots of playful trash talking in the weeks leading up to the awards season, but Mason’s money would always be on Miri. He was so proud about the success she’d found since they returned from their trip around the world a couple years ago.

  She hadn’t ridden his coattails. He hadn’t taken her to parties or begged his friends for roles for her. No, she’d gone out on her own and found scripts she was passionate about. She’d ingratiated herself with directors and producers she liked and networked with other actors until she got in on the projects she was interested in. Within the first year, she’d landed a leading role and knocked it out of the park. Now scripts were delivered every day, even some they could work on together. Acting with his wife...hmm.

  But then, he’d done that before. Sometimes they watched that scene in Revelation together—usually down in the dungeon, before they acted out a play-rape scene. Perverts, both of them. In the end, it was nobody’s business but their own.

  They’d come a long way since their first trip to the Golden Globes, survived a lot of heartache and pain. By the end of the night, Miri emerged victorious—and Jeremy too. As Mason watched his wife up on the stage accepting her award with such joy and graciousness, he thought it had all been worth it. Not this, not the fame and success and her golden statuette.

  It was Miri who had been worth it. Innocent, girl-next-door Mireille Durand, who’d started as a PR stunt and ended up transforming his life.

  A Final Note

  I hope you enjoyed this fourth book in my Comfort series. I’ve had a blast following these characters and their changing lives, and I’m so grateful to all of you who have taken the journey with me.

  If you haven’t read the previous books, here’s the rundown. The series begins with Comfort Object, Nell and Jeremy’s dramatic love story (to include the shooting mentioned in this book!) It also features scenes from earlier in Mason and Jessamine’s marriage. The second book, Caressa’s Knees, tells the story of Kyle (Jeremy’s former assistant/bodyguard) and his cellist-prodigy charge, Caressa. Jeremy and Nell play a
minor part in their tale. Kai and Constance’s story is told in the third book, Odalisque. Besides the main lovers—Kai and Constance—you’ll also see The Grays, Mason and Jessamine, and Satya.

  You may have noticed other familiar faces in the pages of Command Performance, namely Dr. Rob, young Keats, and Keats’ unnamed parents at the wedding reception. Since I published Mercy back in 2008, I’ve had many requests to know what happened to Matthew’s friend and Lucy’s orthopedist, Dr. Rob. You can rest assured he is happily married to Satya now, and that Matthew and Lucy are still contentedly together as well.

  At this time I’d like to thank everyone who’s encouraged me with kind letters, advice, reviews and recommendations online. Special thanks to Audrey, my editor, and Kati, Doris, Linzy Antoinette, J. Luna Scuro, and Lanie Flin, my beta readers. If you enjoyed the Comfort series, please spread the word to other readers of BDSM romance!

  If you’d like to learn more about my other books and series, you can visit www.annabeljoseph.com, or find me on twitter (@annabeljoseph) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/annabeljosephnovels). Thank you for all your support.

  Other erotic romance by Annabel Joseph

  Mercy

  Cait and the Devil

  Firebird

  Deep in the Woods

  Fortune

  Owning Wednesday

  Lily Mine

  Comfort Object

  Caressa’s Knees

  Odalisque

  Cirque du Minuit

  Burn For You

  The Edge of the Earth (as Molly Joseph)

  Erotica by Annabel Joseph

  Club Mephisto

  Molly’s Lips: Club Mephisto Retold

  Coming in 2013:

  Disciplining the Duchess

  Waking Kiss

  About the Author

  Annabel Joseph is a multi-published BDSM romance author. She writes mainly contemporary romance, although she has been known to dabble in the medieval and Regency eras. She is known for writing emotionally intense BDSM storylines, and strives to create characters that seem real—even flawed—so readers are better able to relate to them.

  Annabel Joseph loves to hear from her readers at [email protected].