Free Playboy's Lesson by Melanie Milburne Page B

out a disparaging laugh. ‘You’re mistaking disgust for lust. I loathe you. You’re the total opposite of the sort of man I would consent to sleep with.’
    ‘Describe him to me.’
    Lottie beetled her brows. ‘Describe whom to you?’
    ‘Your fairytale lover. Your dream date—’ that wicked gleam danced in his eyes ‘—the man you’d drop your granny knickers for.’
    Granny knickers? Did he really think...? She might lean towards the conservative side in her clothes but her underwear was another story. What she wore underneath her clothes was her private indulgence and there was nothing whatsoever grandmotherly about it. She chewed at the side of her lip, eyeing him suspiciously. ‘Why should I tell you that?’
    He lifted a shoulder in one of his careless shrugs. ‘I could help you find a suitable candidate.’
    Lottie recoiled in alarm. ‘You mean like set me up? Matchmake? A blind date or something?’
    ‘I know a lot of people. I have connections. I’m sure I could find someone to fit your exacting standards.’
    ‘Please don’t put yourself to any bother. I’m perfectly capable of finding my own lover, thank you very much.’
    ‘You don’t seem to be having much luck so far.’ He picked up his wineglass and deftly twirled it by the stem. ‘Your sister told me you haven’t got laid since—’
    Lottie got up from the table so abruptly the crockery and glassware rattled. ‘My sister has no right to tell you anything about me. I know you probably think I’m an uptight prude who is secretly desperate for a bit of passion but you’re wrong. I’m perfectly happy with my life the way it is.’ She put her napkin down on the table with unnecessary force. ‘Enjoy your dinner. I hope it keeps you up all night with indigestion.’
    ‘Aren’t you going to show me the dungeon?’
    ‘Ask one of the footmen to show you.’
    ‘Frightened to be alone with me, little princess?’
    Lottie turned to glare at him. ‘I’m not frightened of you. I’m disgusted.’
    He laughed as he raised his glass in a toast to himself. ‘To pissing everyone off.’ He knocked back the contents and then grinned at the empty glass. ‘My favourite pastime...apart from sex, of course.’
    Lottie could not believe he didn’t care a jot for other people’s opinion. Surely there was some small part of him that wanted validation. How could he possibly live his life so uselessly, so pointlessly? Was his life really about nothing but sex and sin? Surely he wanted more than that. Sex was good fun and all that but it didn’t satisfy the greatest yearning of all. To be loved and accepted, to be cherished and valued.
    He repulsed her and fascinated her in equal measure. He was everything she most loathed in a man. Reckless. Morally corrupt. Enslaved by his senses. Out of control. Dangerous.
    But he made her laugh. He made her feel feminine and desirable. He made her feel .
    She straightened her shoulders. ‘I’ll show you the dungeon if only to prove how unsuitable it is for hosting a party.’
    His dark eyes gleamed. ‘Will you hold my hand if I get scared of the dark?’
    Lottie wondered if there was anything that truly scared him. He had such a fearless devil-may-care attitude to life, which—if she were to be perfectly honest with herself—she privately envied. She had let herself go just the once and it had backfired on her. Lucca let himself go all the time and didn’t seem to care what the fallout was. He seemed to revel in causing as much of a stir as possible. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘We have electricity down there. It was installed ten years ago.’
    He smiled that sexy trademark slant of his. ‘If it fails, at least we have backup.’ He glided an indolent finger across her cheek as if to prove it.
    Lottie brushed his hand away but her skin was still tingling when they got down to the dungeon via a service lift that only palace staff had access to.
    The door was locked but she knew where the key was