The Brother’s Muse

The night I bombed an audition for a bit part, two men chose me at once.

First, Edward Blake eldest son of a family that owned one of the world's great entertainment empires. Black suit, dark hair swept back cold, eyes like blue glass. Not a line of him out of place as he held out his card. "What you need is an opening. I'm the one who can give it to you."

Then another man stepped in, smiling. Leon Blake. Edward's younger brother. Shirt loose, blond hair damp, a dangerous curve to his mouth. He looked easy, gentle but the way he watched me ran openly hot. "My brother will make you a star. The kind of woman no one would dare touch." He pressed his card into my hand and leaned in, close enough that I could feel his breath.

"But don't forget whatever my brother wants, I start wanting to take."

Both of them offered to put their names behind me, to build a career out of nothing and turn me into the face of their studio. Too desperate to refuse. Too dangerous to accept. The next morning my photo was everywhere. A new rising star the Blake brothers' latest muse? And that was when I understood. This was never about a contract. In the war between two brothers, I was the prize they had chosen.