Bargaining for the Billionaire Read Online Free Page B

damned.
    His fingers shook with a heady mix of adrenaline and arousal as he punched in a reply.
    BookNerd: Sweetheart, I’ll admit that little tidbit has me harder than a brass rod. No fair teasing with comments like that. ;) But I think we should take this one step at a time.
    He meant that. He had no desire to scare her off before they’d even begun. That her reply once again popped up seconds later, however, didn’t help the snugness of his pants.
    MadHatter3000: Please don’t tell me you’re a traditional guy.
    Grayson dragged a hand through his hair. Christ. At this rate, he’d never get any sleep tonight. He’d hoped to loosen her up. Never in a million years had he expected her to respond. What the hell did he say to her now?
    He drew a deep breath and released it as the answer hit him. Honesty. As much as possible given the circumstances of this charade, honesty was always the best policy.
    BookNerd: Actually, I am. But I meant that I don’t want you to think this was my entire plan, to seduce you. That’s not who I am. I’m kind of going with the flow. Though, truth be told, I’m enjoying this.
    MadHatter3000: Me, too. So tell me what you look like. Christina was vague on the deets.
    Another knot formed in his gut as the answer to her innocent query flitted through his mind. Christina was vague on purpose.
    BookNerd: 6’3”, brown hair, brown eyes.
    That was the truth, at least.
    BookNerd: Your turn.
    MadHatter3000: Workout?
    A soft laugh escaped him. Apparently, she intended to torture him before she told him what she looked like. Oh, he knew, had long since memorized all the lines and angles of her face, all the natural hues in her hair, and the little gold flecks around her pupils. But he was curious as hell what she’d actually tell him. This was a bold side of Maddie he’d never seen before. It both intrigued and saddened him. What had she been through in the last three years that she’d decided to jump in feet first?
    During an intimate conversation late one night three years ago, she’d told him the exact opposite about herself. He’d been lying in the dark on his bed, staring at the shadowy ceiling above him. Her voice had been a bare, vulnerable whisper along the phone line.
    “I have some ugly things in my past, Gray. I don’t just hop into bed with guys on a whim. Not anymore.”
    “You won’t get any pressure from me, sweetheart. I’m quite happy waiting for you.” He meant that. He was an old fashioned kind of guy at heart, and he’d fallen for her. Hard. Maddie was worth waiting for.
    “Thank you.” She drew a shuddering breath, a nervous tremor to her voice as she spoke again. “I was a lot more carefree in college. I went to a lot of frat parties, enjoyed my sexuality. But I got hurt. These days, I have to trust a man before I’ll even think about sex.”
    Grayson shook off the memory, refocused on the computer in front of him and set his fingers to the keys. Fun and flirty was definitely the way to go. He hoped she’d understand how he meant his next comment, that he attempted to set her at ease.
    BookNerd: No fair evading the question. ;)
    MadHatter3000: Do you?
    BookNerd: 5 days a week like a good boy.
    Working out was where all his excess energy went. On days when he couldn’t forget her, when the need to storm her apartment and force her to listen made him crazy, because his life was empty without her, he went to the gym. Pushing his muscles to the limit left his mind blissfully blank. Nights and weekends, however, were harder. Even the pull of a good book lately couldn’t drag his mind from the fact that Maddie essentially lived right around the corner. Her apartment downtown was ten minutes from here, five in good traffic.
    He typed in an additional message, aiming once again for a playful tease. Hell, it had worked so far.
    BookNerd: Would you like proof?
    MadHatter3000: lol No pictures. I’m new to this and that’s an aspect I’m not quite ready for. Yet.
    He