Free When She Was Bad... by Louise Bagshawe

ran a sink half-full of cold water and dropped them in there. ‘After work tomorrow, maybe we’ll go to Bloomingdale’s and get you something to put them in. But don’t stare at them all night. We’ve got places to go.’
    He tugged her after him out on to the street. He slipped her into a cab - for some reason she’d expected him to come in a limo, but this was refreshing. Maybe he was just trying to show her he was a regular
    guy. In the car, Rupert turned to her admiringly.
    ‘You’ve got real style, Lira,’ he said.
    ‘Style is my business,’ she said, basking in the compliment.
    He took her to Tavern on the Green and ordered caviar and blinis, which she loved, and a chilled bottle of champagne.
    ‘You shouldn’t spend so much money on me,’ Lira protested. Rupert took her hand, turned it over in his, and kissed the back of her palm, slowly and deliberately. She felt herself instantly slick up between the legs and pressed them together.
    Not on the first date. Not if you’re playingfor keeps, said the little voice in her head. Her mother’s voice.
    ‘You’re worth every cent, and more. Besides…’ he gave her a wink ‘… it’s all on expenses. The ad is testing wohderfully. You’re going to be a huge star.’
    ‘So what are you doing in America, Rupert?’ Lira asked.
    He smiled.
    ‘Would you believe that I’m marking time?’
    She blinked. ‘You’re a major executive at B.enson Bailey.’ ‘That’s true,’ he said smoothly. ‘But I have interests in England.’ ‘With that title, you must be rich,’ Lita said, then regretted it. She didn’t want him to think she was a gold-digger. Silently she thanked God that the Costa 1Kica campaign was paying her two hundred thousand, all in. She had money of her own. Not in his league, of course, but enough to differentiate her from all the other hippy chicks and fortune-hunters that Bill said liked to hang on his every word.
    ‘There’s more to it than money. I have a place, a family house. It’s belonged to the Barons Lancaster ever since King James I gave us the title.’
    His face darkened.
    ‘So … that’s good, isn’t it?’
     
    42
     
    ‘It would be, if the house were in my hands. There’s a small legal problem. But I’m having it resolved.’
    ‘That’s why you flew back to New York?’
    ‘Exactly.’ He ran his manicured thumb lightly over the palm of her hand. Lita’s nipples tightened instantly. She shifted forward, hoping he
    hadn’t seen it, but P,.upert’s dark gaze was fixed on her chest.
    ‘It’s cold in here, huh,’ she said.
    ‘No,’ 1Kupert said, grinning. ‘Not particularly.’
    Quickly she took a gulp of her wine, covering herself.
    ‘But let’s not talk about me. I’d much rather discuss you and your brilliant prospects,’ he said.
    ‘But I want to talk about you, P,.upert,’ Lita said earnestly.
    Hell, she’s young, he thought. She made him want to lick his lips. What a glorious body she had. And almost certainly untouched. She was for too uptight to ever have gotten properly laid.
    1Kupert was bored of the skinny-minnie coke junkies he took home from all the nightclubs. No tits, no ass, and nothing to say. This one was reasonably intelligent and, more importantly, was eminently pliable. Just eighteen. She carried herself well, too. He thought with a wardrobe from Chanel, some proper clothes from Dior, a string of pearls or two, nobody would really notice her background. She looked exotic, and wasn’t that all the rage in London at the moment? Of course, he’d have to get her voice coaching. But that would be easy to arrange. She had money, and the house - once he got it back - would need fixing up. He could parlay his grace and favour Benson Bailey job into four or five campaigns for Lira, get her into the multimillions, and then marry her. She’d get a title and he’d get mney, not to mention the finest ass he’d seen in five years.
    It would be a lot easier because she worshipped him.