Once A Bad Girl by Jane O'Reilly Page A

interesting to do, and I’ve seen your bed. It’s not up to it.’
    ‘Josh, we’re not sleeping together again. I don’t want to get tangled up with anyone right now, least of all you. And this is for the auction. That’s all. Once that’s done, we won’t be seeing each other again.’
    A moment of silence. Then, ‘Agreed.’
    Lottie forced the first shoe on. She could feel his gaze sliding over her skin, feel the impact of having him so close in every sensitive part of her body. Her nipples chafed against the fabric of her dress as she pressed her knees tightly together, capturing her fingers between her thighs. She felt utterly confused. He’d told her what she wanted to hear. There was no reason to feel disappointed. She patched herself up with a big dollop of common sense and a sideways glance at the neat row of self-help books sitting on the shelf. ‘That’s sorted then,’ she said brightly.
    He held out one big hand, the slash of white cuff emphasising his tan. ‘Come on, the limo’s waiting. We need to get going.’
    It would be nice if he at least tried to change her mind, though. Not that he could change it, obviously, but that wasn’t the point. Men were supposed to be sex mad, weren’t they? Lottie shook her head. Silly girl. Of course he wasn’t going to fight about it. He didn’t have to. There would be a million women willing and ready to slide into bed with him. He had it all; the looks, the money, the heritage, whereas she epitomised ordinary, with her tiny flat and normal, unglamorous life.
    There had been a point in her life where she’d believed herself destined for something more, but those had been the dreams of a selfish adolescent who didn’t care who she hurt. Until her brother David had died, and she’d promised herself she’d never make that mistake again. He would never have been on the road that night if it wasn’t for her, and if he was still here and running the auction house like her parents had always wanted, they wouldn’t be in such a mess. David had been far too smart for that.
    She had to remember that. She had to be strong. She would attend this premiere with a face-busting smile, and she would sell this non-relationship for all it was worth. The contract between Marlene and Spencer’s was almost finalised, so Josh had kept his promise, now she had to keep hers.
    She let Josh lead her out to the limo and made what she hoped were all the right noises, gushing over the plush interior, the state-of-the-art sound system. When he flicked on the in-car TV and tuned it to some sort of extreme sport involving motorbikes and riders with a death wish, she took the hint and stopped talking.
    He put a friendly distance between them, not too far away but not close either, and in no time at all they arrived at Leicester Square. This was it.
    Lottie felt the scratch of anxiety as the driver opened the door and the sound of a thousand screaming girls crashed into the small space. She froze in her seat, heart pounding furiously as her eardrums threatened to burst.
    Josh winked at her, then unfolded himself from the car. He turned round and beckoned. ‘Moment of truth.’
    Lottie grabbed the edge of her seat with both hands and held on for dear life. ‘What is that racket?’
    ‘By the looks of it, the teenage female population of London has turned into a hysterical mob and has descended on Leicester Square, hungry for flesh.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Are you chicken, Lottie?’
    Her insides twisted and turned, as panic warred with excitement. She was a step away from walking the red carpet at a film premiere. She’d be mingling with the stars. When would she ever get an opportunity like this again? The memory of the last time she’d had that thought threatened to resurface, but she shoved it right back down. No-one was getting naked. No-one was going to get hurt. ‘No,’ she snapped out. ‘I’m just waiting for the right moment.’
    Which, hopefully, would be along any minute