Master of Her Virtue - By Miranda Lee Page 0,47

flashy private investigator as well as a playboy—was murdered. To solve his murder, the accountant steps into his brother’s shoes, aided and abetted by the pretty receptionist in his office who’s always had a thing for him, despite his being married. Unhappily, of course.

‘Damned by faint praise,’ Leo said drily. ‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘Not a lot. The plot’s original and the main two characters are very engaging. I was really drawn into their journey and wanted things to turn out well for them. Which they did, thank goodness. An unhappy ending wouldn’t have done at all.’

‘You still haven’t said what’s wrong with it.’

‘It’s the sex scene which bothers me.’

‘The sex scene!’ No doubting Leo’s surprise. ‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘A lot. Firstly, it’s very in-your-face. As it stands, it would lift your censorship rating, which I don’t think would be good for the film’s release, commercially speaking. Far better it was lower rated.’

‘Lots of sexy films do very well at the box office,’ Leo argued. ‘Sex sells, Violet.’

‘Look, you want my opinion, don’t you?’

‘Yes, yes, go on.’

‘Okay. Aside from the fact that I think the sex scene is way too explicit, it is way too early in the story. Positioned where it is, it will totally destroy the delicious sexual tension which is built into the plot and which should be allowed to continue for a lot, lot longer.

‘On top of that, at this point in the story, the hero is still living in the marital home. Okay, so his wife is cheating on him and the audience knows that. But if he sleeps with the heroine before he confronts his wife and leaves, he becomes less of a hero. Yes, he’s tempted; of course he is. Yes, he should definitely kiss the girl. But he should not go all the way at this stage. That should be kept for the denouement. Even then, it would be best implied rather than shown.’

‘For pity’s sake, Violet, I thought you liked raunchy sex scenes.’

‘Only in books,’ she said.

When Leo gave a rather frustrated-sounding sigh, Violet felt terrible.

‘I’m sorry, Leo, but you asked me for my honest opinion. There’s nothing worse in a romance than to destroy the sexual tension too early. And your screenplay is a romance as well as a thriller.’

‘Unfortunately, I think you could be right.’

‘You agree with me?’

‘Only with regards to this movie. I can see that this particular scene is somewhat gratuitous. I’ll have the screenwriter change it to a passionate kiss, followed by our noble hero backing off. Though it’s not the sort of thing which would happen in real life. In real life, no red-blooded, heterosexual male would back off from that situation—especially when the girl in question is beautiful and sexy and has made it obvious that she wants the man.’

‘I...er...suppose not.’

‘There’s no suppose about it,’ he stated firmly. ‘Lust will have its wicked way, believe me. So, is that it with regard to the screenplay? You have no further criticisms to make?’

Dismay hit Violet as she realised Leo was bringing their conversation to a close. She raked her mind for some other small criticism to make, but really there was none.

‘No,’ she said, her voice sounding as flat as she suddenly felt. So much for her finding some way to convince Leo to keep on ringing her.

‘Good. Time I let you go, then. Thanks a lot, Violet. I... Oh damn it, damn it, damn it!’ he exclaimed suddenly and very heatedly. ‘This just won’t do. I’ve tried to resist you. I really have. But I guess, in the end, I’m not that noble. I knew I was in trouble the moment I broke things off with Mandy.’

Violet was stunned by Leo’s sudden outburst. ‘Er...who’s Mandy?’

‘Just a friend. Don’t worry, she wasn’t in love with me or anything like that. We had this...arrangement. Strictly sexual. Mandy’s divorced. Anyway, I rang her soon after I got back. I thought if I had sex with her I’d stop wanting you. But the moment she answered the phone, I realised I couldn’t do it. Because I didn’t want her. I wanted you, Violet.’

‘Oh!’ Violet gasped.

‘You do still want me, don’t you?’ he demanded with the most corrupting passion in his voice.

Want him? She wanted him so much that it was a fierce ache in her heart. There was a fierce ache in her body too, one which she’d feared would never go away.

‘Yes,’ she confessed shakily. ‘Very much so. But Leo—’

‘I already know all the buts,’ he broke in.