The Naughty Girls Book Club. Sophie Hart

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      ‘Will do,’ Selena smiled, then turned and walked out into the hallway. ‘Oh, I nearly forgot,’ Reggie heard her shout. ‘Something arrived for you from Amazon today.’

      She came back through to the kitchen, holding out the distinctive brown package. ‘What is it? Ten Sweet Lessons?’ she teased.

      ‘No, of course not,’ Reggie panicked, almost snatching it out of her hand. ‘It’s … something very serious and academic.’

      Selena pulled a face. ‘Rather you than me. See you later,’ she called over her shoulder.

      Tucking the parcel under one arm, and grabbing his dinner firmly with the other hand, Reggie sprinted upstairs to his own room, locking the door behind him.

      He sat down on the single bed and placed the package on the far corner of the duvet, eyeing it warily as though it was a bomb that might explode at any moment. Then he switched on his laptop, loaded up an episode of Game of Thrones, and slowly ate his meal.

      Fifteen minutes later, Selena called out, ‘Bye Reggie,’ and the front door slammed.

      Reggie paused his laptop and sat for a moment, listening intently, but the house was silent. Cautiously, he eased himself towards the parcel. The bed springs squeaked and Reggie froze, guilt surging through him, before he told himself not to be so ridiculous. Recovering himself, he leaned over, grabbed the cardboard package, and swiftly tore it open.

      There it was. The oh-so-familiar book cover he’d seen everywhere recently – in the window displays of Waterstones, in the number one slot at WHSmiths, even on the shelves of his local supermarket. It had been discussed endlessly on TV talk shows, the subject of innumerable newspaper features and magazine articles.

      It was dark grey, with a single red ribbon snaking across the front: Ten Sweet Lessons by CJ Jones.

      Reggie realised he was holding his breath as he stared at it, unable to shake the feeling that he was doing something very naughty. Then he reached forward and picked it up, flipping it over to read the blurb on the back.

       When innocent university graduate, Christina Cox, lands a job as PA to reclusive millionaire Alexander Black, she imagines a boring role looking after an elderly invalid all day. She doesn’t expect Alexander to be a handsome and charming bachelor barely older than she is, or the intense sexual attraction that develops.

       It soon becomes clear that Alexander has a much darker, more dangerous side than Christina could ever have imagined, as she finds herself drawn into a world of desire and depravity that’s impossible to resist …

       As Christina pushes her female sexuality to the limit, has she fallen too deep into seduction and does she have the power to surrender?

      ‘Jane Eyre re-imagined by the Marquis de Sade’ – The Independent

      ‘Erotic literature has come of age … The Story of O, brought skilfully and scandalously into the twenty-first century by CJ Jones’ – New York Times

      Casually, Reggie flicked though the book. Words seemed to jump out at him: tongue, licking, wetness, hot.

      Heart pounding, Reggie snapped it shut. This was far too embarrassing. There was no way he could do this. To put himself through the mental torture of reading such … trash, and then to go back to the book group and discuss it with those gossipy women … No. That was simply not going to happen.

      Reggie hadn’t even made up his mind about whether or not he would return to the Cafe Crumb book club. The previous meeting had been excruciating enough, without adding a sex-fuelled novel into the mix.

      He jumped up off the bed, opening his wardrobe and taking out the bottle of wine he’d stashed there (Reggie had learnt the hard way not to leave any alcohol in the communal areas of a shared student house). He poured himself a large glass and took a calming sip of the rich, fruity Shiraz, closing his eyes as he savoured the flavour.

      When he opened them again, Ten Sweet Lessons was sitting right where he’d left it, like a piece of evidence from a crime scene.

      Stop being so ridiculous, Reggie told himself sharply. It was just a novel, like any other. Okay, so it was erotica, but so were works by Chaucer, DH Lawrence and Anaïs Nin, all of which he’d come across during his undergraduate degree in English Literature. There was nothing at all to be ashamed of.

      Whether or not he decided to attend the next meeting, he might as well read the book now that he’d bought it. Just for research purposes of course. He would think of himself as an impartial investigator, detaching himself from the content and examining the novel from a purely academic point of view.

      Yes. That’s what he would do.

      Reggie opened Ten Sweet Lessons and began to read.

      5

      ‘Come on, Joe! That’s it – run! Come on, come on … hit it … Yeah! Goal!’

      Estelle jumped up and down on the freezing touchline, whooping loudly as she threw her arms in the air. She was barely recognisable, buried beneath layers of clothes to combat the crisp, early morning air, as she watched her son tear around the football pitch. His teammates jumped on him triumphantly, wrestling him to the ground, and as Joe eventually climbed out from underneath the pile of bodies, his long, skinny legs coated with mud, his mop of dark hair mussed untidily, he smiled shyly, and Estelle could tell he was thrilled.

      ‘Yay, go Joe!’ she shouted again, cupping her hands around her mouth like a megaphone.

      Turning to her side, she high-fived her ex-husband, Ted. She was proud to say that the two of them had remained friends after their marriage had broken up, and often turned out together to support Joe. They liked to present a united front for the sake of their only child, and knew how important his football was to him.

      Joe played with a local team every Sunday morning and, without fail, Estelle would go and watch him. Cafe Crumb was closed on Sundays and, whether it was just a regular practice or a home match against another team from the youth league, Estelle would trek along to the local park. The weather this morning was particularly bitter, as the first days of March brought a final blast of winter. The bare trees were stark against the slate-grey sky, and the ground was frozen in parts, muddy where the grass had been rubbed away.

      The referee blew his whistle, and the teams ran back to their places.

      ‘Isn’t he great?’ Estelle said proudly.

      Ted nodded, putting his hands back in his pockets to keep warm. ‘Ah, he’s grand. One good thing we did together, eh?’

      Estelle nodded, surreptitiously looking over at her ex. They’d known each other for almost twenty years, and time had taken its toll on him – as it had done on her. Ted’s hair was thinner, and almost fully grey now. His face was lined, with deep creases that formed when he smiled, and his jowls had started to sag. But he was still a handsome man, and the roguish charm she’d originally fallen for was very much in evidence. Ted possessed a natural Irish charisma, twinkling blue eyes, and a melodious accent that brought to mind the green hills of Connemara where he’d been СКАЧАТЬ