Bargaining for the Billionaire Read Online Free
Author: JM Stewart
had developed expensive tastes.
As expected, she laughed, light, airy and amused. “Honey, I’ve got my own pockets. He just needs to have stamina.”
Grayson laughed, and the door closed behind her. Alone now, he returned his attention to his laptop, reading Maddie’s message. Christ, he’d missed her. She had passion. Technically, they’d never made love, and if all went according to plan, they wouldn’t anytime soon. At least not yet. He had plans to sweep one Madison O’Riley clean off her stubborn heels. He wanted her trust first. Then he planned to make love to her long and slow. But the thought of her at home, flirting with him, was enough to light his fire.
MadHatter3000: is this your idea of an A-game? Flowers are really cliché, you know.
Grayson grinned. Two days had passed since their first chat. He hadn’t spoken to her since. Meetings and book releases had kept him busy. Today, he’d decided to take the charade one step forward. He’d sent her flowers. He was leaving breadcrumbs. By the time the auction came, she’d have enough pieces to put together the puzzle. The first one was, of course, his Gchat username. He’d chosen it on purpose. The second? He’d sent her white lilies. The exact kind he’d given her for her birthday when they first started dating three years ago. Mixed in, of course, were some brighter tones so it wasn’t too easy for her to guess.
BookNerd: Flowers are classic. If you ask me, they’re never cliché or out of style. Are they too much?
Seconds passed in silence. Having to keep himself in check was killing him. He wanted to ask her what she was wearing, what she was doing, what perfume she’d put on this morning. None of which he could, because she had no idea who he was. He was essentially a stranger to her. It drove him nuts, and yet lured him at the same time. He couldn’t wait to get to know her again, to open her up. Hell, simply being able to talk to her at all made him want to beat his chest.
A full minute passed before her reply popped up.
MadHatter3000: No. They’re beautiful. Thanks. I’m not sure what to say, though. I didn’t expect it. How’d you know where to send them?
BookNerd: I asked Christina to send.
That, at least, was true, though mostly because Maddie could check if she chose to.
Her instantaneous reply filled his mind with visions of her. Seated on that God awful purple couch in her living room. She was on her laptop for sure, because she spelled out her words. Maddie tended to revert to what everyone else did when texting. He loathed text shorthand. It also didn’t look good coming from the CEO of a publishing company.
MadHatter3000: That explains how you knew my favorite flower.
BookNerd: I asked her to send you something beautiful. But you probably get flowers all the time.
MadHatter3000: LOL. That would require me having a man. Which I don’t.
That made him grin in spite of himself. The thought of her making love to another man made him want to dent something and filled him with a crushing regret. The first year after their break up, he’d lamented that the most—that she wasn’t his anymore.
He might not have a chance in hell of winning Maddie back, but this, at least, gave him hope. That she’d even agreed to this blind date meant she wasn’t seeing anyone, now at least. He shouldn’t ask, and although curiosity might very well have killed the cat, he had to know.
BookNerd: May I ask why not?
Grayson waited for what seemed forever, and her lack of answer grated on his nerves. Had he pushed her too hard? Damn it all to hell. He hated pretending he didn’t know her. There were so many things he yearned to tell her.
Finally, her reply popped onto his screen.
MadHatter3000: What, no comment about this being your lucky break?
Grayson grinned. Unless he was mistaken, she was flirting with him. That was a damn good sign.
He drew a deep breath. Play it cool, Lockwood.
BookNerd: Nope. Figured that was a given,
As expected, she laughed, light, airy and amused. “Honey, I’ve got my own pockets. He just needs to have stamina.”
Grayson laughed, and the door closed behind her. Alone now, he returned his attention to his laptop, reading Maddie’s message. Christ, he’d missed her. She had passion. Technically, they’d never made love, and if all went according to plan, they wouldn’t anytime soon. At least not yet. He had plans to sweep one Madison O’Riley clean off her stubborn heels. He wanted her trust first. Then he planned to make love to her long and slow. But the thought of her at home, flirting with him, was enough to light his fire.
MadHatter3000: is this your idea of an A-game? Flowers are really cliché, you know.
Grayson grinned. Two days had passed since their first chat. He hadn’t spoken to her since. Meetings and book releases had kept him busy. Today, he’d decided to take the charade one step forward. He’d sent her flowers. He was leaving breadcrumbs. By the time the auction came, she’d have enough pieces to put together the puzzle. The first one was, of course, his Gchat username. He’d chosen it on purpose. The second? He’d sent her white lilies. The exact kind he’d given her for her birthday when they first started dating three years ago. Mixed in, of course, were some brighter tones so it wasn’t too easy for her to guess.
BookNerd: Flowers are classic. If you ask me, they’re never cliché or out of style. Are they too much?
Seconds passed in silence. Having to keep himself in check was killing him. He wanted to ask her what she was wearing, what she was doing, what perfume she’d put on this morning. None of which he could, because she had no idea who he was. He was essentially a stranger to her. It drove him nuts, and yet lured him at the same time. He couldn’t wait to get to know her again, to open her up. Hell, simply being able to talk to her at all made him want to beat his chest.
A full minute passed before her reply popped up.
MadHatter3000: No. They’re beautiful. Thanks. I’m not sure what to say, though. I didn’t expect it. How’d you know where to send them?
BookNerd: I asked Christina to send.
That, at least, was true, though mostly because Maddie could check if she chose to.
Her instantaneous reply filled his mind with visions of her. Seated on that God awful purple couch in her living room. She was on her laptop for sure, because she spelled out her words. Maddie tended to revert to what everyone else did when texting. He loathed text shorthand. It also didn’t look good coming from the CEO of a publishing company.
MadHatter3000: That explains how you knew my favorite flower.
BookNerd: I asked her to send you something beautiful. But you probably get flowers all the time.
MadHatter3000: LOL. That would require me having a man. Which I don’t.
That made him grin in spite of himself. The thought of her making love to another man made him want to dent something and filled him with a crushing regret. The first year after their break up, he’d lamented that the most—that she wasn’t his anymore.
He might not have a chance in hell of winning Maddie back, but this, at least, gave him hope. That she’d even agreed to this blind date meant she wasn’t seeing anyone, now at least. He shouldn’t ask, and although curiosity might very well have killed the cat, he had to know.
BookNerd: May I ask why not?
Grayson waited for what seemed forever, and her lack of answer grated on his nerves. Had he pushed her too hard? Damn it all to hell. He hated pretending he didn’t know her. There were so many things he yearned to tell her.
Finally, her reply popped onto his screen.
MadHatter3000: What, no comment about this being your lucky break?
Grayson grinned. Unless he was mistaken, she was flirting with him. That was a damn good sign.
He drew a deep breath. Play it cool, Lockwood.
BookNerd: Nope. Figured that was a given,
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