The Spiral Path by Mary Jo Putney Page B

being distracted by
heroes and Hollywood and just do the job. Be Mustafa instead of a nervous
actor."
    "Right.
But I'm not 'sir.' I'm a swine. An arrogant unbeliever--and I definitely don't
belong on a pedestal."
    "Yes,
si... Sir Swine." Sharif smiled. From now on, he would regard Kenzie as a
fellow actor, not a paragon.
    Kenzie
clapped the young man on the shoulder. "Let's go back and try it again,
and this time, send chills through John Randall's unimaginative heart."
    Take
eighteen was filmed without a hitch.

----
    CHAPTER 8

    A fter the
final scene of the afternoon, Rainey rolled her tight shoulders. It had
been a long day, but a good one. After filming the close-ups of Randall's first
meeting with Mustafa, they'd gone on to an earlier scene where Randall risked
his life to save one of his men from a poisonous snake.
    Kenzie
had been wonderful--tight-lipped, fearless, utterly competent. She hoped there
would be room for the incident in the final cut because it demonstrated
Randall's courage, his marksmanship, and his dedication to his men. Since
Randall's rigid world view might be hard for modern audiences to relate to, it
was important to show that by the standards of his day, he was an exemplary
officer.
    Walking
up to Kenzie, she said, "You're doing great."
    Looking
tense and tired, he unbuttoned his heavy red wool uniform tunic, revealing the
very modern white T-shirt underneath. "This is only my first day. It's
going to be a long couple of months." Rubbing at the red marks left by his
tight collar, he headed for his trailer.
    She
followed, stretching her steps to match his. "Thanks for settling Sharif
down. Since you talked to him, he's been terrific."
    "He's
very talented. The perfect blend of danger and disturbing appeal."
    "The
tension between the two of you is complex enough to make everything that
happens later believable."
    She
was about to say more when Kenzie paused, tall and intimidating in his uniform.
"Is there a good reason why you're following me around?"
    Rainey
stopped in her tracks, flushing scarlet. "As ... as your director, I wanted
to see how you're doing."
    "As
your soon to be ex-husband, I find too much proximity exhausting."
    She
felt as if she'd been slapped. "I ... I thought we were getting along pretty
well. I'd hope we could work together as friends."
    A
muscle jumped in his cheek. "Friends: A woman's idea of a good solution,
and a man's nightmare. You are not my friend, Rainey. You are my wife, at least
for now. While you're thinking amiability, I'm thinking how much I enjoyed
sleeping with you. I can't help it, I'm a man and we're made that way. Usually
we hide our base natures, but when I'm making a movie, I haven't much energy
left over for maintaining a civilized facade. Not where you're concerned."
    "You
think only men obsess about sex?" she retorted. "How very
retrograde."
    His
brows arched. "Is that a declaration of interest?"
    "It's
a declaration of memory." She sighed. "We both knew this would be
difficult. I didn't mean to make it worse by following you around. I'm just
worried. About you, the movie, everything."
    He
gave her a wintry smile. "A little worry is useful, but too much is
destructive. Don't overdose on anxiety before we even get to England."
    "You're
right, of course, but relaxation is hard to do on command." She saw a
gleam in his eye and belatedly wondered if he was going to suggest that sex was
a famously effective stress reliever--one that he'd used with her in the past
when she was tied in knots.
    A
memory seared through her of the two of them lying in bed together after making
love, a pine-scented candle burning on the bedside table. She couldn't even
remember where they were--an inn on the coast of Brittany, maybe, because waves
had been crashing on the headlands outside. But she remembered how she'd felt:
utterly tranquil, her busy brain almost still. So this is peace, she had
thought with wonder.
    Kenzie
had been equally relaxed, his arm around her and his