I could do the obvious. A straight up, "you messed up and now I'm punishing you" spanking. Followed by wild sex, of course. That was a given. But there was another scenario that popped into my head and just wouldn't leave. But it might be too much, especially considering the source of her anxiety and what she'd just gone through with her last audition.
Still, it was worth a try.
"Would you be willing to try an experiment with me?" I asked, finally.
She nodded, eagerly.
"Here's my idea," I began, taking a deep breath. "I want to roleplay. But it's going to be easy. You'll just be yourself. I'll be a casting director. You're coming in to read a scene in which a husband spanks his wife, for disobeying him." I heard her breathing quicken, saw her eyes widen slightly. "But he doesn't find your read convincing enough. However, he likes you...so he's determined to raise the stakes until you can prove that you're right for the part." I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was her rapid breaths. She sat up straighter, pulling her shoulders back so that I had no choice but to notice her arousal through the thin fabric of her shirt. Outwardly, I stayed calm, but my fingers gripped the edge of the mattress.
"I think you forgot one character detail," she said, at last, with a secretive smile. "The casting director...does he wear Magnum XL condoms?"
"If you play your cards right, maybe you'll find out." I felt a rush of relief, then excitement, anticipation zinging through my veins.
"So." She was biting her lower lip, a little gesture that I normally found endearing. But now, it went straight to my dick.
"You need a safe word," I said. "To end it, if you need to. At any point."
She frowned. "If I use it, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose?"
"No. Jenna, listen - it's important that you understand what this is for. I'll push your boundaries for you, but I'll never break them. You have to respect your own limits, so I can respect them. If you feel a little uncomfortable, if you feel nervous, that's one thing. But if at any point in time you feel like you can't continue, like you need to stop - that's what it's for. To keep you safe. To keep both of us safe."
I could tell she didn't really know what I meant by that, but the beginnings of understanding were dawning across her face. She still didn't look happy about it, but I knew if things went too far, she'd be happy we had this conversation.
"So, how do you pick a safe word?" She licked her lips, and I had to resist the urge to kiss her.
"Any word is fine, as long as it's something you wouldn't say naturally during the encounter. Mostly it's meant to take the place of 'no' or 'stop,' in case it feels right to say those things as a part of the scene."
She smiled faintly, her eyes darkening a little in a way that made my pulse quicken in response. "Do you think that's going to feel right to say those things?"
"Maybe," I said.
It seemed wrong to wink, although she certainly looked intrigued by the idea.
"I like...caramel."
She grinned.
"Oh, very funny." I lifted her chin with a firm hand, reminding her who was in charge. "Is that caramel with a K?"
"If you want." She fluttered her eyelashes. "Anyway, it's not going to matter. I won't use it."
My grip tightened, ever so slightly. "Promise me that you will, if you need to."
"Fine." She took a deep breath, and I finally felt she was serious. "Fine. I'll use it if I need to."
I nodded, letting her go. "So, go out into the hallway. Give me a few minutes, then come up and knock on the door. From that point on, unless you need to safeword, we don't know each other. You're Jenna Hadley, aspiring actress, and I'm Benjamin Chase, casting director. That's Mr. Chase to you, of course."
She stood up, arms folded, gnawing on her lip again. God damn it, how was I supposed to focus on my role when she was driving me to distraction, just being her?
"Can I ask you for a couple more notes, before we start the scene?" she asked.
I had to laugh a little bit at the double meaning of scene. "Sure."
"Should I pretend like we're in a normal casting office, or...?" Her eyes flicked to the bed.
"I'll leave that up to you." Smiling, I gestured towards the door. After a moment's hesitation, she went.
A few minutes. Not that she was going to count - and she was probably going to give me a lot less than one hundred and twenty seconds. That would feel like an eternity to her, waiting out there. I could use some time to gather my thoughts, to prepare a real performance, but I didn't have it. Not now. Hell, I had no guarantees she was even coming back in the room.
In the end, all I did was tuck my hard-on up under my belt so she wouldn't be distracted.
Showtime.
Right on cue, she knocked. I put on exactly the kind of smug expression that I imagined casting directors wore all the time, which wasn't too much of a stretch.
"Welcome," I said, looking down at an imaginary clipboard in my hand. "You must be...?"
"Jenna Hadley," she said, with a pretty blush and bright, eager eyes. I shook her hand, letting the skin contact linger just enough to remind her what we were doing. "It's so good to meet you. I didn't get any script or materials ahead of time, but your assistant told me -"
I silenced her with a raised hand. "Yes, that's fine. We'll go over all of that in a minute. Please, sit down."
She looked around the room as if she'd never seen it before. "Um...sorry, did you want me to sit on the bed, or...?"
"Wherever you like," I said. "I know this setting is a little unorthodox, but I find it helps people relax. Give a more...natural performance."
Her face scrunched up a little bit, in that wonderful way of hers. "Oh...okay. I guess, um..." She perched on the edge of the mattress, and I took the chair on the opposite end of the room. All I wanted to do was close the distance between us, pop the button on those not-quite-Daisy-Dukes and feel exactly how excited she was for myself. But I had to do this right.
"So...what am I reading?"
I cleared my throat. "It's very simple, you won't even need a script. I'm more interested in your reactions, and your ability to ad-lib in a scenario so it seems natural. Most of the film will be scripted, but it's easy enough to find somebody who can parrot lines like they mean it. I want to make sure you can bring something special to the table. Not just the ordinary stuff."
"Okay." Her whole body was practically humming with nervous energy, and I wasn't sure how much of it was put-on. Either way, I could hardly wait to kiss her breathless while our bodies crashed together on that very bed where she was sitting so primly.