The Virgin's Price Read online

  Mia felt her heart give an extra beat. ‘The papers?’

  ‘Yep. Journalists love this sort of stuff. Celebrity playboy meets perfect match.’ He smiled a white-toothed smile. ‘But we can go along with it for a while. What do you think?’

  ‘I think you’re a jerk, that’s what I think. I lost my job because of you.’

  ‘I told you you’re wasted in the café; you could do much better than that.’

  ‘Not the café, although that was bad enough,’ she bit out through clenched teeth. ‘I was dropped from Peach Pie Productions this morning. Theodore Frankston saw your review and decided to pull me out completely. Then I spoke to my agent who told me she was too busy to represent me properly but I know it was because of your stupid review.’

  ‘Too bad.’

  ‘It’s worse than bad. I have bills to pay.’ And I need a heck of a lot of money to get my sister out of trouble, she wanted to insert but stopped herself just in time. ‘I’ve not long moved into a flat with a friend. How am I going to meet my commitments when I no longer have a job and no agent to find me a new one?’

  ‘Ah, but you do have a job,’ he said. ‘I just gave you one.’

  She frowned at him in confusion. ‘What are you talking about?’

  He leaned forward in his chair until his knees were almost touching hers. Mia hadn’t realised how very dark his eyes were until that moment and she felt her tummy do a funny little moth-like flutter as she was pulled into their deep, ocean-blue depths.

  ‘I want you to act the role of my devoted fiancée,’ he said. ‘I would have settled for girlfriend but, since you mentioned the M word in front of two-point-four million listeners, I’m afraid we’ll have to run with that role instead.’

  ‘Your fiancée?’ She gasped. ‘You want me to pretend to be your fiancée?’

  He flicked a glance at the monitor and pressed another button before he sat back in his seat. ‘You’re an actor, right?’

  She gave him a resentful look. ‘Yes, but according to this morning’s paper not a very good one.’

  ‘Here’s your chance to prove me wrong,’ he said. ‘If you can convince the Press and my listeners that you are indeed in love with me then I’ll take back everything I said. I’ll pay you, of course. What was Frankston’s company giving you?’

  She told him and he gave a snort. ‘What a joke. No wonder you didn’t put your heart into that role. I’ll pay you four times that much, plus expenses.’

  ‘Expenses?’

  ‘Hang on a minute.’ He turned his headphones back on and began to speak on air. ‘You heard it first on Hot Spot FM. Bryn Dwyer the confirmed bachelor is in love with a little lady who has promised to be his wife. You know the number. Give me a call to congratulate me. This is one very happy man.’

  Mia sat silently fuming. This was getting ridiculous. Surely he didn’t expect her to take him seriously?

  She chewed her lip for a moment.

  It was a lot of money he was offering. Besides, it might only be for a week or two, maybe a couple of months at the most. And it would certainly solve Ellie’s problems, which was her biggest priority right now. And she was an actor, so it shouldn’t be a problem playing the role, but still…

  She stole a covert look at him as he chatted with another caller. He was smiling, which made his eyes crinkle up at the edges in a rather attractive way.

  ‘So what do you say?’ he said as he went off air again.

  ‘What if I don’t agree to this?’ she said, not wanting to feed his ego by sounding too keen.

  He shifted his lips from side to side as if he was thinking about a suitable plan of action. Mia felt distinctly uneasy. She felt as if she was now under his control and she didn’t like it one little bit. She had come storming to the studio to tell him what she thought of him but somehow he had turned the tables on her.

  ‘There were witnesses to your assault on my person this morning,’ he said into the little silence. ‘And, like you, I have a lot of friends, several of them with impressive law degrees. All it would take is one phone call and you could be in very hot water, even hotter than the liquid you tossed in my lap.’

  Mia’s throat moved up and down. Surely he wouldn’t press charges if she didn’t fall in with his plans?

  She met his midnight-blue eyes and swallowed again,

  Yes. He would.

  She lowered her gaze. ‘You mentioned something about expenses…’

  ‘Yes. You’ll need to have nice clothes and get your hair done occasionally. I don’t expect you to pay for that out of your own pocket. I’ll make sure you have a substantial clothing and grooming allowance. So have we got a deal?’

  ‘How long do you expect me to play this role for you?’

  ‘Not long; a week or two, maybe longer.’

  She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘How much longer?’

  ‘What say we give it a month at the most and then we’ll call it off?’

  ‘What will happen to your ratings then?’

  He gave her another grin. ‘They’ll probably increase due to my heartbroken state. Everyone will feel sorry for me being dumped.’

  Mia rolled her eyes.

  ‘I’m off air in thirty minutes,’ he said, flicking another switch. ‘Wait for me in the cafeteria and we’ll go somewhere where we can have another chat about the deal. But in the meantime, don’t let the cat out of the bag. I don’t want anyone at the studio to suspect this is a stunt.’

  ‘What about your publicist?’

  ‘I’ll tell her only what she needs to hear but no one else is to know, not even your family and friends.’

  ‘I can’t lie to my family and friends!’

  ‘You’re not lying, Mia. You’re acting. There’s a difference.’

  She opened her mouth but he went back on air before she could get a single word of protest out. She blew out a breath of frustration and, snatching up her bag, made her way to the cafeteria she’d seen on her way in.

  CHAPTER THREE

  MIA was almost relieved when Bryn finally joined her half an hour later. She’d been practically besieged by staff rushing up to congratulate her on her impending marriage to Sydney’s crown prince of the airwaves.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ he said as he led her to an office down the hall. He smiled at her as he pushed open the door marked with his name. ‘See what a sensation you’ve caused?’

  ‘I’ve caused?’ Mia swung around to glare at him once they were alone inside. ‘If you hadn’t rubbished me the way you did none of this would have happened.’

  ‘You were the one who told everyone we were engaged,’ he pointed out.

  ‘I only did that to get back at you for saying we’d fallen in love this morning.’ She gave him a disparaging glare and added, ‘As if I’d ever fall in love with someone like you.’

  ‘I don’t know why you’re so upset,’ he said. ‘Your season with Theodore would have ended in two weeks anyway—then what were you going to do? Wait on tables until something else turned up? I’m doing you a favour, Mia. I’m giving you the sort of exposure most wannabe actors would give a right arm for. Your face will be on every national paper tomorrow. The Press will want interviews, magazines will carry your picture on their covers and before you know it every film or theatre producer in town will be begging you to audition for them. You’ll have agents falling over themselves to represent you.’

  Mia frowned as she thought about it. It certainly would get her name out there, but at what cost? How would she ever explain it to her family?

  ‘I don’t like the idea of being used as a marketing ploy, especially without consultation with me first,’ she said. ‘And I don’t appreciate being blackmailed.’

  ‘Yes, well, I don’t appreciate having my groin soaked with hot coffee,’ he returned with a glint in his eyes.

  Mia’s eyes went to his groin. He was leaning against his desk, his long legs outstretched, the fabric of his trousers pulled tight over his…

  She wre
nched her gaze away and forced herself to meet his laughing blue eyes. ‘I’m sure no permanent damage was done and even if it was I’m sure the rest would do you good. It’s a wonder it hasn’t dropped off by now from overuse.’

  ‘Maybe you should check it out just to make sure it’s still on active service,’ he suggested with a lift of an eyebrow.

  She gave him a withering look and folded her arms across her chest. ‘I don’t think so.’

  He laughed and pushed himself away from the desk to stand right in front of her. He tipped up her chin with one long finger and looked into her eyes. ‘You’ve got such an expressive little face. I can’t stop looking at you. Those big grey eyes of yours remind me of a stormy afternoon sky, one minute dark and brooding, the next flashing with lightning sparks of fury.’

  Mia held her breath as he began to trace his thumb across her bottom lip, back and forth, back and forth until she could feel her mouth tingling. She knew she should have at least made a token effort to move out of his reach but somehow his touch was totally mesmerising. Her heart began to hammer behind her chest as he placed his hand on her hip and brought her even closer.

  ‘Wh-what are you doing?’ she croaked.

  He held her firm, his long fingers splayed over the slim curve of her hip, his mouth tilted in a little smile. ‘I thought we should get this bit over with in private. That way when we have to do it in public it won’t feel so strange. It’s like a rehearsal, if you like.’

  ‘A rehearsal?’ She gave a quick nervous swallow. ‘A rehearsal for what?’

  His head came down, hovering just above hers, his warm, hint-of-mint breath brushing over her lips as he said in a deep, spine-tingling voice, ‘We need to rehearse the kiss scenes we’ll be expected to play in public.’

  Her stomach gave an unexpected lurch. ‘K-kiss scenes?’

  His mouth moved a little closer, his chest so close now she could feel the deep rumble of his voice against her breasts when he spoke. ‘Yes, you know—where I put my mouth on yours and you kiss me back.’

  ‘I know what a kiss scene is but I—’ Mia began but before she could get the full sentence out, his mouth had come down and settled firmly on hers.

  It was a shock to feel his lips moving over hers so persuasively. She’d had every intention of fighting him but somehow as soon as those firm, warm lips connected with hers she felt an electric charge rush through her as if some sort of visceral energy was passing from his body to hers. Before she knew it she was responding to him, her mouth opening at the first sweep of his tongue. He entered her mouth with a toe-curling thrust that sent a riot of sensations through her body from her breasts to her thighs. It was madness but she just couldn’t help it. She kept reminding herself how much she hated him but what she was feeling in his arms took over the rational, cool-headed, thinking part of her brain. Every part of her body reacted to him. She could feel the prickling tension in her breasts as he brought her even harder up against his chest and deepened the kiss. She could even feel her inner thighs quivering at the thought of what was pressing so insistently just above them. She had never been so thoroughly kissed in her entire life and this was just a rehearsal! God knew how she would cope with the real thing.

  But none of this is real, she told herself sternly. It’s an act, a publicity stunt for him to increase his ratings. It has nothing to do with reality, nothing to do with real feelings and responses.

  It was an act.

  Bryn lifted his head and looked down at her flushed features. ‘Wow, I think I might have to take back everything I said in my column. That was an Oscar-winning performance. No one would ever think you weren’t in love with me after that.’

  Mia eased herself out of his hold, her eyes flashing with rage. ‘If you think I’m going to be manhandled by you whenever you feel like it then you’re in for a big shock.’

  ‘It’s only a performance, just like any other,’ he said. ‘Besides, you kissed the leading man last night, not very convincingly in my opinion, but then maybe he had bad breath or something.’

  ‘He did not have bad breath.’

  ‘Then what was the problem? Didn’t you like the guy?’

  ‘Actors don’t have to like the person they’re playing opposite, which is just as well, as I can’t think of a person I hate more than you.’

  ‘What a professional challenge this will be for you, then,’ he observed with a mocking smile playing about his mouth. ‘Convincing the public you’re in love with me when all the time you really hate my guts.’

  ‘I can do it,’ she bit out with pride-fuelled determination. ‘I’ll show you I’m not the inexperienced, pathetic actor you apparently think I am.’

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘We’ll start with public performance number one this evening. I’ll send a car for you at seven. Wear something glamorous and sexy.’

  ‘I don’t have anything glamorous and sexy.’

  He reached for his wallet and, opening it, peeled off a thick wad of notes and handed it to her. ‘Buy something.’

  Mia stared at the money without touching it.

  ‘Go on,’ he said. ‘It’s part of the deal, remember?’

  ‘I don’t want your disgusting money. I’d rather wear rags than take anything off you.’

  He tugged her towards him and with a deftness that left her completely breathless he tucked the wad of notes down the front of her cotton top right between her heaving breasts.

  ‘When I say go and buy something sexy and glamorous I mean it, Mia. Got that? You’re playing a role for me and I expect and indeed am paying you to give a brilliant performance.’

  Mia gave him a fulminating glare as she retrieved the money out of her top and stuffed it in the back pocket of her jeans. ‘I might have to act my heart out in public but when we’re alone I’m still going to hate you with every bone in my body. Got that?’

  ‘Loud and clear,’ he said, holding the door open for her. ‘Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.’

  ‘I can find my own way.’ She made to brush past but he put out an arm to stop her. She jerked back from the feel of his muscled arm against the softness of her breasts.

  Her eyes locked with his and her heart gave an extra beat at the diamond-sharp glitter in his dark gaze.

  ‘Don’t fight me, Mia, because when I fight, I fight dirty. You’d be wise to remember that.’

  ‘Tell me something I don’t already know,’ she tossed back. ‘You’re an unscrupulous playboy with nothing better to do with your time than manipulate people to do what you want. How pathetic.’

  ‘I’ll tell you what’s pathetic,’ he said, a thread of anger beginning to tighten his voice. ‘Your little attempt at pay-back this morning was a childish impulse that clearly demonstrates how ill-suited you are for anything other than those ridiculous toilet-paper ads you’ve done in the past.’

  Mia clenched her fists by her sides. ‘Why don’t you just go ahead and sue me? Go on. I dare you.’

  ‘Don’t tempt me, little lady. How long do you think it would take you to find another job if I tell the truth about what really happened this morning? There isn’t an agent who would take you on and you damn well know it. You reputation as a hot-headed little prima donna would make anyone think twice about representing you.’

  Mia tried to outstare him but something about the rigid set of his jaw warned her against pitting her puny strength against his. He was a man used to having things his way and anyone in the way would be ruthlessly disposed of with whatever means he had available. She knew she would never find work in the industry again if he put his mind to it. He had connections and in the acting world that meant everything. One bad word and her reputation would be ruined. One bad review was enough. How much worse would it be if he took it into his mind to totally alienate her future career prospects?

  She lowered her eyes and though it irked her intolerably she made no demur as he took her hand and led her out of his office through the building and the grounds until they came to her car
.

  ‘See you tonight,’ he said, stepping back from the car as she started the engine.

  ‘See you in hell,’ she muttered darkly as she backed out.

  Bryn watched her roar away in a clang of clutch and gears, her smooth cheeks still bright pink with outraged colour.

  Once she was out of sight he ran his tongue over his lips. He could still taste the summer-strawberry flavour of her soft mouth where it had been pressed against his. Even his chest felt as if she were still up against it, her slender curves fitting so neatly against him as if she were tailor-made for him. Holding her close had triggered a deep pulse of desire that even now he could feel thudding insistently in his blood. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so turned on by a woman.

  He gave himself a mental shake. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. He didn’t believe in romantic love at all. The term ‘love’ was all too often used when the word ‘lust’ would have been much more appropriate. Lust at first sight; now, there was a concept he could get his head around.

  He was in lust with Mia Forrester.

  That was more like it.

  Lust he could handle.

  But even so, a tiny frown closed the distance between his eyebrows as he turned and walked back to the studio building.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘OH, MY God, is it true?’ Gina gasped as soon as Mia walked through the door of their tiny flat in Neutral Bay. ‘I listened to you on the radio. Are you really engaged to him?’

  ‘Um…well…you know…I…it…we…’

  ‘It’s just soooo romantic!’ Gina gushed. ‘I thought you hated him and now you’re going to be married. Talk about a whirlwind affair. Can I be bridesmaid?’

  ‘I’m not…sure what plans we will be making about that just yet,’ Mia said, hating Bryn all over again for making her lie to her closest friend. ‘It’s all happened so fast. My feet haven’t touched the ground yet.’