The Corset Maker, volume two: The Corset Maker, #2

By K.T. Frederick

When it comes to Julien, Amelia doesn’t know what’s really going on between them. Friends with benefits? Client with benefits? All she knows is she’s being blackmailed out of her company by her ex-boss, Derek Wiggleby, even as he tries to ruin her chances of being Julien’s lover.

As for the hot movie director himself, Julien, Amelia feels like nothing more than a reprieve, a place to unleash and find comfort after a long day’s work. Yet there are moments when he opens, revealing a vulnerable interior that offer glimpses – and hope – that their affair may mean something more to him.

In the end, Amelia is forced to make a decision, will she choose to keep her company and a roof over her head or lose the man she has yet to admit she’s fallen in love with?

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.T. Frederick
• Release date: Dec 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9780994930712

Book preview

Chapter One

Amelia? Julien stands haloed in the doorway to the boardroom’s washroom. His one hand extends toward me.

My gaze drifts from my phone to him, and back again. I switch it to silent.

Is everything all right?

It seems I’ve dropped the curtain on my sunny demeanor. Yes, I’m good. Not really.

Are you coming? Julien’s face falls and his voice is hesitant.

My eyes trace up the length of his arm, from fingertip to shoulder. It’s a fine arm. Congruent with the rest of him: strong, confident, and sure. And he reaches for me like a lifeline I so desperately need right now.

I clear my throat and straighten my spine. Yeah, I’m coming. I’ll be dammed if I let Derek Wiggleby’s threats ruin this dream of mine.

I bury my phone in my bag and sling it on to my shoulder. It seems ridiculous bringing my bag with me to shower with Julien, since all my clothes and corsets are sitting in a suitcase just beneath the bathroom sink’s counter. But if I’ve learned anything this last week, it’s never to leave anything behind. I glance at the boardroom’s main door leading to the busy mezzanine of the hotel. Is the door—

It’s very much locked, Julien says.

Of course. Julien had to lock it so he could test my corsets. Chloe and I needed to prove we could weaken the garments in such a way as to make them true bodice-rippers. I want to check the door again, but doing so would just seem paranoid.

I take his hand and stand just under his nose. The heat and scent of his body is familiar, but his eyes have darkened with worry. He doesn’t ask about the phone call and I’m relieved. It’s not like I can tell him I’m losing my company to save our reputations.

Julien runs his fingertips along my cheekbone. Are you on birth control, Amelia?

It’s a little too late for that question don’t you think? I poke his ribs making him laugh. Of course, I am.

Never in my life have I had sex without a condom.

I expected as much. Julien’s a calculating man with too much at stake to risk his health. I step closer and run my nose up the veined column of his neck. I place my hands on his hips and slowly inhale. My eyes slip shut and I savor the heat of his skin.

His body, hard and cut with muscle, finally goes lax as he lets out a shuttered exhale. What are you doing to me?

Short of the obvious, I’m not sure what I’m doing, or what this is. Friends with benefits? Client with benefits? It doesn’t matter. What matters is Julien’s coming unhinged and the idea thrills me. I look up, and my joy stops short. His angular jaw is clenched tight like it might break. I touch it with my fingertips, but it doesn’t give.

It dawns on me; Julien doesn’t share my excitement of this love affair.

I take a small step back. I suppose neither of us should get too excited about this thing between us. I may have landed in Julien’s arms, I may have landed the costume deal, but my old boss is likely going to take it all away.

Suddenly I feel a familiar desperation, just like the night of the film festival. Every time things go horribly wrong, all I can think about is how I want to lose myself in this man.

I run my hand up the other side of his neck, but it’s stiff. Julien’s mind is somewhere else, but I won’t have it. I may lose my company to Derek, but I refuse to miss the opportunity to make love to Julien again. My tongue darts out and traces the line of his clean-shaven jaw.

His hungry groan cuts the silence, and before I can gasp he takes my face in his hands and slants his mouth over mine. Our tongues fight for dominance, and in a rush my hands fist in the bottom of his dress shirt, untucking the back tails from his waistband. He growls, stating claim over my lips, and I acquiesce. My fingers slip through the holes in his belt loops to pull him deeper into this moment with me. Urgent hands run down the front of my torn corset, which still hangs frayed and torn. I let out a breathless shriek when he gives a soft tug on both my nipples.

Please, I moan against his lips, relishing the decadent sting.

His hands are a flurry, sliding over my hips and cupping my ass. I jump up and wrap my legs around him. His sex is hot and hard and I rub myself against it to ease my ache.

Goddamn, I want you again, he says in a frustrated tone. I open my mouth to tell him I want the same, but his tongue silences me. Julien’s passion obliterates my thoughts as he carries me into the washroom. When he kicks the door shut, I tighten my legs around his midsection like a vice. I’ve affected this man, and though I won’t gloat, I couldn’t be happier.

In my glee, I pull my mouth from his and playfully bite his bottom lip. He pulls out of my hold and grazes his lips against mine. When he pulls away,

Christ, he utters, and then his lips are on mine again. Seconds become minutes and our labored breaths echo against the tiled walls. We paw at one another, and with a firm tug the remains of my corset fall to the floor. When Julien drops to one knee, I think he’s going to pick it up. Instead he slips the flowing skirt over my hips and lets it pool at my ankles.

My black-laced thong, caught in the earlier crossfire, hangs in shreds from my hips. A shadow crosses Julien’s eyes, and I know he recalls how he savagely ripped it in the midst of our screen test. He goes to remove what’s left of the mangled mesh with a remorseful expression. I still his hands and give them a soft squeeze.

It’s okay, Julien. I regret nothing. Making love to him is a tornado of ecstasy. My department-store thong is just collateral damage. I lift his chin, so his eyes meet mine. Those silly panties had no right being there any way. I wink.

He laughs and I bend down to kiss