Free Playboy's Lesson by Melanie Milburne

clad. ‘You won’t be seeing me. It’s a girls-only event.’
    ‘Aw, don’t be a spoilsport.’ He gave her a sexy smile. ‘Can’t I have a private audience with you before the party kicks off?’
    The rattle of the dinner trolley arriving was never a more welcome sound to Lottie’s ears even though her appetite was non-existent...or at least her appetite for food. A hunger of an entirely different sort was gnawing at her now. She felt it pulling at her low and deep in her belly. A soft, insistent tugging sensation that made her insides feel hollow. Her skin felt too tight for her body, her senses too aware.
    The air contained a silent note of anticipation.
    If only he hadn’t kissed her!
    Then she wouldn’t be feeling this wretched sense of emptiness and longing. Kissing him had been like tasting the highest quality chocolate for the first time. She would never forget the warmth, the melting smoothness and the seductive, addictive taste of temptation going head-to-head with years of temperance. Temperance didn’t stand a chance. It was like a moth trying to fight off a mammoth.
    That wicked glint in Lucca Chatsfield’s eyes had lured dozens of women into his sensual orbit. She would have to fight with every atom of her being to not become yet another one of them. He was so practised at seduction. Even the way he spoke was like a caress—the deep mellifluous voice with its well-bred English accent that now and again betrayed his half-Italian heritage over certain words. The way he slipped endearments in so casually, the way he smiled with that sexy tilt of his mouth, the way his touch was so electric and exciting.
    Lottie allowed him to seat her at the table but tried desperately not to show any sign of the impact his presence had on her. She had dined with numerous guests at the palace over the years. She knew how to get through a meal without spilling food or wine or leaving ghastly silences unfilled. But something about sitting opposite Lucca Chatsfield was another story entirely. His knees were almost touching hers underneath the table. She had tucked herself well back in her chair, and had even surreptitiously edged it back a little farther from the table after he had seated her, but even so she was aware of those long, strong, lean legs just inches from her own.
    She picked up her wineglass with the tiny measure of wine she only ever allowed herself. ‘What do you do in your spare time, apart from partying?’
    ‘Not much.’
    She searched his features for a moment. His eyes had shifted from hers as he reached for his glass and raised it to his mouth to take a sip. ‘Don’t you ever get bored with doing nothing other than spend your family’s money?’
    ‘It’s my money too. I can’t help if it I was born into a wealthy family. I just take what I’m given and make the most of it.’
    She frowned at him. ‘But don’t you want to do something with your life? Something meaningful?’
    He gave her another one of his devil-may-care smiles. ‘Like what?’
    ‘Study. Train for a career in something. I’m sure you’re not without a brain. You could do something, surely? What about volunteer work? Work for a charity? Set up one like your brother has.’
    He gave a negligent shrug. ‘I tried studying but I got kicked out of Cambridge during my second semester. I won’t tell you why. It’d make you blush.’
    Lottie blushed anyway as her imagination ran riot. She didn’t like to think what sort of stunt got him expelled from one of England’s finest universities but she had a pretty fair idea it would have had something to do with his prolific sex life. ‘Are you good at anything? I mean, other than seducing women?’
    He averted his gaze as he twirled the contents of his glass. ‘I have a few hobbies. Nothing too serious or strenuous. I didn’t inherit the ambition gene in my family.’ He put the glass down and levelled a look at her. ‘What about you? What do you do apart from smashing