Thrill! - Couverture rigide

Chapter One
Lara Ivory stepped carefully toward the camera, managing to appear cool and collected under the crushing weight of a heavy crinolined gown, her slender waist cinched in to an impossible seventeen inches, lush cleavage spilling forth above.
Lara's fellow actor in the shot, Harry Solitaire -- a young Englishman with tousled hair and droopy bedroom eyes -- walked beside her; delivering his lines with an enthusiasm that belied the fact that this was their seventh take.
It was eighty-four degrees in the south of France garden setting, and the entire crew stood silently on the sidelines, sweating, as they waited impatiently for Richard Barry, the veteran director, to call cut so they could break for lunch.
Lara Ivory was, at thirty-two, an incandescent beauty with catlike green eyes, a small, straight nose, full, luscious lips, cut glass cheekbones and honey-blond hair -- right now curled to within an inch of disaster. She had been a movie star at the top of her profession for nine years, and miraculously the fame and glory had never changed her. She was still as likeable and sweetas the devastatingly pretty girl who'd arrived in Hollywood at the age of twenty and been discovered by director Miles Kieffer. She'd come in to audition for a minor role in his new film. Miles took one look and decided she was theactress he had to have to play the lead. Gorgeous and fresh, she'd portrayed a naive hooker in a Pretty Woman-style movie -- beguiling everyone fromthe critics to the public.
From that first film, Lara's star had risen fast. It only took one specialmovie to grab the public's attention. The trick was holding on to it.
Lara Ivory had managed it admirably.
At last, Richard Barry called out the words everyone was waiting to hear. "Cut!Print it! That's the one." Lara sighed with relief.
Richard had been a successful director for nearly thirty years. He was a tall, well-built man in his late fifties; he had even features, a well-trimmed beard, longish brown hair; flecked with gray at the temples, and crinkly blue eyes. He also had dry humor and a sardonic smile. Women found him extremely attractive.
"Phew!" Lara repeated her sigh, her smooth cheeks flushed. "Someone get me outof this dress!"
"I'll do it!" Harry Solitaire volunteered with a lascivious leer, flirting as usual.
"That's okay," Lara retorted, smiling because she liked Harry -- and if he wasn't married he might have been a contender. She considered married men strictly off limits and refused to break her rule for anyone -- even though she hadn't had a date in six months, ever since she'd broken up with Lee Randolph, a first-assistant director, who, after a year of togetherness, had been unable to take the pressure of being with so famous a woman. The sad truth was that for a star such as Lara, no relationships were easy. What man enjoyed being background material? Relegated to second place? Attacked by crazed stalkers and fans? Referred to as Mr. Ivory by waiters and limo drivers?
It took an exceptionally strong man to cope with that kind of life -- a man like Richard Barry, who'd handled it admirably for the four years he and Lara had been married.
She and Richard had been divorced three years, but they were now good friends -- all three of them, including Richard's new wife, Nikki, a costume designer he'd met while shooting a movie in Chicago.
Nikki was dark-haired, feisty and extremely pretty in a gaminelike way. She also knew how to bring out the best in Richard. Early on in their relationship, she discovered that, like most men, he was a lot of work. Before she entered his life, he'd been a smoker; a philanderer and a heavy drinker; plus he expected to get his own way at all times, and when he didn't, he sulked. Nikki had taken stock of his strengths and weaknesses and decided he was worth the effort. Somehow she'd calmed him down, fulfilled all his needs, and now his biggest vice appeared to be work. He was a bankable director; much in demand, whose movies always made money -- and in Hollywood that's all that counts.
Lara considered Nikki her closest girlfriend. Right now they were all enjoying working together on French Summer, a beautifully scripted period film that Richard had been passionate about making. The three of them were sharing a rented villa on the six-week location. Lara hadn't wanted to intrude, but Nikki had insisted, which secretly relieved Lara, because she sometimes found it hard to cope with the loneliness of being by herself.
"That last take was magical," Richard said, coming to her side and squeezing her hand. "Definitely worth waiting for."
Lara frowned; she was her own sternest critic. "Do you think so?" she asked, worrying that she could have done better.
"Sweetheart," Richard assured her; anticipating her concerns because he knew her so well. "Seventh take perfect. Nothing to improve."
"You're just being kind," she said, her frown deepening.
"Not kind -- truthful," he replied sincerely.
Her disarmingly honest green eyes met his. "Really?" she asked.
Richard regarded his exquisite ex-wife and found himself wondering if her painful insecurity had contributed to the demise of their marriage.
Maybe. Although catching the makeup girl giving him head in his trailer had been the final nail in the coffin of his infidelities -- that was one he hadn't been able to talk himself out of.
For a year after their public and somewhat acrimonious divorce, they hadn't spoken. Then Richard met Nikki, and she had insisted in her usual no-nonsense way that it was crazy they couldn't all be friends. As usual, she was right. The three of them had gotten together for dinner and never regretted it.
Nikki strode over; looking to Lara enviably cool in baggy linen pants and a yellow cotton shirt knotted under her breasts, exposing her well-toned midriff. She was in her early thirties, shorter than Lara, with a lithe, worked-out body, cropped dark hair worn with long bangs, direct hazel eyes and an overly ripe mouth. Nobody would guess that she had a fifteen-year-old daughter.
Richard enjoyed the fact that Nikki was smart and sassy, and most of all that she wasn't an actress. After losing Lara, he had considered never getting involved with a woman again, because there'd never be another woman who could live up to her. Nikki and her fresh upbeat ways had changed his mind.
"Get me out of this dress!" Lara implored. "It's cutting me in half. Worse torture than being married to Richard!"
"Nothing can be worse than that!" Nikki joked, rolling her expressive eyes.
"Wasn't Lara great in that last take?" Richard interrupted, putting an arm around his current wife, trailing his fingers up and down her bare skin.
"He's just being kind," Lara said with one of her trademark deep sighs.
"I know the feeling," Nikki responded crisply. "That's exactly the sort of thing he says when he praises my cooking."
Lara widened her eyes. "Don't tell me you cook for him?" she exclaimed. "I never did."
Nikki pulled a face. "He forces me; you know how persuasive he can be."
"Oh, yes," Lara agreed, as the two women laughed conspiratorially.
Richard frowned, pretending to be annoyed. "It's really irritating that you two are such good friends," he said. "I hate it!" Truth was he loved having both women in his life.
"No you don't," Nikki retorted, looking at him with the kind of expression a woman gets when she's totally sure of her man. "You get off on it."
With an amused shake of his head, he walked away.
Nikki signaled one of her wardrobe assistants to follow them to Lara's trailer. "For a grown man, Richard can be such a baby," she remarked.
"That's why our marriage didn't work," Lara said lightly. "Two giant egos fighting for the best camera angle!"
"And one of them screwing around like Charlie Sheen on a bad day."
"You've cured him of that."
"I hope so!" Nikki said forcefully. "The moment he points his dick in another direction, I'm gone."
"You'd leave him?"
"Immediately," Nikki said without hesitation.
"I bet you would," Laura said, wishing she had the inner strength her friend possessed.
"Hey, listen," Nikki said, wrinkling her freckled nose. "I'd expect him to dump me if I screwed around, so why shouldn't the same rule apply?"
Lara nodded. "You're absolutely right."
Why didn't I do it? she thought. Why didn't I tell him to take a hike the first time l suspected he was being unfaithful?
Because you're a pushover.
No. I simply believe in second chances.
And third ones and fourth ones...Richard hadn't known when to quit.
They'd met when he'd directed her in her third movie. Although by that time she was a star; she was still impressed at meeting the great Richard Barry -- a man with quite a reputation. He'd moved in on her immediately. She was twenty-four and by Hollywood standards a total innocent. He was forty-six and difficult. Their wedding at her agent's house in Malibu made headline news, with helicopters hovering overhead and paparazzi lurking in the trees. It was a media circus, which pleased neither of them. The divorce had been even worse.
"We're going to Tetou tonight," Nikki announced. "I hear the bouillabaisse is to die for."
Lara shook her head. "I can't. l have lines to learn and sleep to get, otherwise I'll resemble an old hag in the morning."
Nikki raised a disbelieving eyebrow. The irritating thing was that Lara acted as if she looked like any other mere mortal, even though she was certainly the most beautiful woman Nikki had ever seen. "You're coming," Nikki said determinedly. "I've already checked -- you have a late call tomorrow. It's about time you forgot about this damn movie and had some fun."
"Fun -- what's that?" Lara said innocently.
"Exactly how long is it since you've gotten laid?" Nikki asked, cocking her head to one side.
"Too long," Lara muttered.
"It doesn't have to be a big deal, y'know," Nikki offered. "How about a one-nighter? There's some hot-looking guys on the crew."
"Not my style," Lara said softly.
"You gotta have a man's mentality," Nikki said, with a knowing wink. "Fuck and run. I used to -- before I married again."
Richard was Nikki's second husband. She'd wed her first -- Sheldon Weston -- when she was sixteen and he was thirty-eight. "I was searching for a father figure," she often joked. "And I got stuck with an uptight shrink." They had a fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer, who lived in Chicago with her dad.
"You're different," Lara said. "You can do that and get away with it. I can't. It has to be a committed relationship, or I'm not interested.
"Whatever," Nikki replied vaguely, not understanding at all. "But you're definitely coming tonight."

Copyright © 1998 by Chances, Inc.

There have been many imitators, but only Jackie Collins can tell you what really goes on in the fastest lane of all. From Beverly Hills bedrooms to a raunchy prowl along the streets of Hollywood; from glittering rock parties and concerts to stretch limos and the mansions of the power brokers -- Jackie Collins chronicles the real truth from the inside looking out.
Jackie Collins has been called a "raunchy moralist" by the late director Louis Malle and "Hollywood's own Marcel Proust" by Vanity Fair magazine. With over 400 million copies of her books sold in more than 40 countries, and with some twenty-seven New York Times bestsellers to her credit, Jackie Collins is one of the world's top-selling novelists. She is known for giving her readers an unrivaled insiders knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives and loves of the rich, famous, and infamous! "I write about real people in disguise," she says. "If anything, my characters are toned down -- the truth is much more bizarre."
Jackie Collins started writing as a teenager, making up steamy stories her schoolmates paid to devour. Her first book, The World is Full of Married Men, became a sensational bestseller because of its open sexuality and the way it dealt honestly with the double standard. After that came The Stud, Sinners, The Love Killers, The World is Full of Divorced Women, The Bitch, Lovers And Gamblers, Chances, and then the international sensation, Hollywood Wives -- a #1 New York Times bestseller, which was made into one of ABC's highest-rated miniseries starring Anthony Hopkins and Candice Bergen.
The Stud, The World is Full of Married Men, and The Bitch were also filmed -- this time for the big screen. And Jackie wrote an original movie, Yesterday's Hero, starring Ian McShane and Suzanne Somers.
Readers couldn't wait to race through Lucky, her next book -- a sequel to Chances -- and the story of an incredibly beautiful, strong woman, another New York Times number one.
Then came the bad boys of Hollywood in the steamy Hollywood Husbands -- a novel which kept everyone guessing the identities of the true-to-life Hollywood characters.
Jackie then wrote Rock Star -- the story of three rock superstars and their rise to the top, followed by the long-waited sequel to Chances and Lucky -- Lady Boss -- tracking the further adventures of the wild and powerful Lucky Santangelo as she takes control of a Hollywood studio.
Both Lucky and Chances were written and adapted for NBC television by Jackie, who also executive produced the highly successful six-hour miniseries Lucky/Chances, starring Nicollete Sheridan and Sandra Bullock.
In 1992, she produced and wrote the four hour miniseries, Lady Boss, which became another huge ratings success for NBC. Lady Boss starred Kim Delaney. Next came American Star, a love story, which the Los Angeles Times described as "classic Collins."
And then the dangerously close to the truth Hollywood Kids -- a story of power, sex, danger and ambition among the grown offspring of major celebrities.
In 1996 Vendetta - Lucky's Revenge was published -- and became an immediate New York Times bestseller.
And then in 1998, Jackie hosted her own daily television show, Jackie Collins Hollywood. A combination of fun, style and interviews, Jackie talked to everyone from George Clooney to Jennifer Lopez.
After that she wrote L.A. Connections -- a four-part serial novel published one per month -- Power, Obsession, Murder and Revenge.
In 1999 came Dangerous Kiss -- the return of Lucky Santangelo in a bestselling novel about relationships, addiction, fear and lust.
In the year 2000, Lethal Seduction became the first bestseller for Jackie Collins in the new millennium. This tale of erotic suspense and glamorous intrigue featured Madison Castelli, a character first introduced in the L.A. Connections series.
Hollywood Wives - The New Generation became a blockbuster bestseller in 2001, following in the footsteps of the original Hollywood Wives. Hollywood Wives - The New Generation featured a brand new cast of characters and a totally fresh perspective on how women pursue power, love, sex, and success in Tinsletown today.
In 2003 Jackie produced the TV movie of Hollywood Wives - The New Generation for CBS. Wives starred Farrah Fawcett, Robin Givens, Jack Scalia and Melissa Gilbert.
In June 2002, New York flash, L.A. trash and a Mafia don meet head-on in Deadly Embrace. This sexy tale of dangerous passion and suspense features heroine Madison Castelli and is both a prequel and a sequel to her adventures in the bestselling Lethal Seduction.
In 2003 came the bestselling Hollywood Divorces, the story of three very different women. Followed in 2005 by Lovers and Players -- a story of family conflicts, three brothers and their billionaire father, a beautiful heiress, a hip-hop mogul, Russian call girls, illegitimate children and two murders. This all takes place over seven days in New York, and is another New York Times bestseller.
Drop Dead Beautiful -- The Continuing Adventures of Lucky Santangelo was published in 2007. Lucky came back with a vengeance -- bolder and more beautiful than ever! In Drop Dead Beautiful Lucky meets old friends and enemies, and deals with her wild sixteen-year-old daughter, Max, who is as stubborn and strong as her mom. Lucky plans to return to Las Vegas and build an amazing billion dollar hotel complex. But when she does... the trouble really begins...
Next came Married Lovers, a powerful look at the ins and outs of marriage in L.A. It's also the story of an under-age Russian girl who becomes involved in the sex trade, and eventually arrives in Hollywood and causes major trouble.
Poor Little Bitch Girl is Jackie's latest book to be published February 9, 2010. The story of three very different women who all went to high school together. Denver Jones - a twenty-five year old kick ass associate lawyer in L.A. Carolyn Henderson - assistant to a powerful married Senator in Washington. And Annabelle Maestro - daughter of movie star parents, who has carved out a niche for herself as a much in demand New York madame running call girls.
And then there is Bobby Santangelo - Lucky's hot sexy son, with mucho style, looks and money.
Everyone wants Bobby... Throw into the mix a raunchy agent, a sixteen year old gangbanger's girlfriend, an older superstar on the prowl, and a lethal murder...
Poor Little Bitch Girl. A guilty pleasure.
Ms. Collins lives in Los Angeles, California. Her hobbies are soul music, taking photographs and driving to exotic locations so that she can write about them later.
Jackie Colllins is currently working on a new novel, Goddess of Vengeance, the return of Lucky Santangelo. And she is also writing a play, Jackie Collins Hollywood Lies.