Once A Bad Girl by Jane O'Reilly Page B

now. She was still gathering her courage when Josh reached across, locked strong fingers round her wrist and tugged. She zoomed forward and fell out of the limo.
    Straight into his arms.
    A roar went up from the crowd. Those big hands clamped round her waist and held her steady, his fingertips grazing over sensitive slivers of bare flesh. She shivered. ‘Remember,’ he murmured, dark brows flicking up, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth, ‘as far as everyone here is concerned, we’re together. Very together.’ He slid one hand up from her waist, stroking past the curve of her breast, then lifted her hair back over her shoulder. ‘We want them to think we can’t keep our hands off each other.’
    Each caress lit a fire inside her, made the noise around them dial down a little more. Lifting her hands, Lottie set them on his wide shoulders. He smelled warm and clean, just as a man should, and she couldn’t stop her hormonally charged body from curving into him. But it was okay, she told herself. She was selling it . As long as she didn’t sell it in private, she was doing nothing wrong.
    ‘Perfect,’ he said, flashing a wicked grin that made her legs wobble. ‘Now, we’re going to walk the red carpet. We’ll do a 30-second photo call at the far end.
    ‘We should probably kiss for that,’ Lottie heard herself say. ‘I think if we’re going to do this, we should really sell it.’
    He slid his hand back down her arm then linked his fingers through hers. ‘Oh, absolutely.’
    Every part of her brain told her this was a bad, bad idea but her body was ready to sprint to the finish line to get a taste of him. This is for the crowd, she told herself firmly, as they strolled along the carpet. This is what you agreed to. It would be a quick peck, nothing more. What could go wrong?
    Cameras flashed, as shouts of ‘this way!’ and ‘over here!’ battered her senseless. Josh tucked her tightly into his side as they approached the end of the runway. Moment of truth, she told herself firmly. Sell it, Lottie. Tipping her head back, she gazed up at him.
    He was smiling at the crowd, but something about it was off. Maybe it was the way his dark lashes were half lowered. Maybe it was the way his jaw was set a little too hard. Maybe it was her imagination, but she didn’t think so.
    ‘Here we are,’ he said. ‘You ready?’
    Just for the cameras, she told herself, as she lifted onto her tiptoes, remembering the hot slide of his tongue against hers, how shameless his desire for her had been. How good he had tasted. Her mouth hovered inches away from his. Everyone was watching, waiting, expectation heavy in the air. It would be easy. So why was her heart hammering so hard?
    One large hand curved over her backside and squeezed. ‘Breathe,’ he murmured, dipping his head.
    He was going to kiss her. Here, in front of all these people. Lottie dropped her heels to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut. ‘I can’t do it.’
    ‘Inside. Now.’
    The hand gripping her backside slid round to her hip, and she half-walked, half stumbled as he shepherded her inside, her chest heaving inside the too-tight dress. She couldn’t cross that line. She couldn’t tarnish the private, intimate things they’d done a week ago with meaningless play acting. Some things, she thought, should not be for sale.
    Her vision blurred as he led her up a flight of stairs and into the VIP-packed foyer of the cinema. He spun her into a corner, his big body blocking her view of the room. She could practically feel the tension radiating off him. ‘What the hell was that?’
    He was crowding her in, and she should have hated it, but it felt hot and sexy, and that, she realised, was the crux of the problem. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I panicked. It won’t happen again.’
    Long fingers touched her chin and gently tipped her head up, forcing her to meet his gaze. He searched her face, those bright blue eyes fierce with what she could have