Page 7 of Good Girl Gone Bad

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“What do you mean, he’s not available?” Lily asked after a woman with a clipped voice had picked up the cell phone number Marco had given her.

Shit. In less than forty minutes his offer would expire. Why was he playing hard to get now?

“Mr. Giordano is in a meeting. He asked me to tell you you’re welcome to wait in his office,” the lady with a British accent continued. “I’ll give you directions to the VIP parking lot.”

Lily barely registered the woman’s instructions, but somehow, she managed to remember them half an hour later when she pulled into the garage. The Giordano Tower was an impressive building, and she had driven by it many times without knowing a thing about its owner.

She marched through the fancy lobby, and when she showed her ID, one of the clerks took her to the elevator himself. How confident was Marco that she’d accept his offer? Very. She doubted he’d set all this up if he thought she’d say no—she could decline over the phone. It’d have been easier. Cleaner.

Her heart thumped at each footstep she took once she exited the elevator on the top floor. She finally met the woman she’d talked to on the phone, Claire, an elegant lady in her fifties who kindly showed her in and offered her refreshments.

Alone in Marco’s office, Lily skimmed the enemy’s territory. A floor-to-ceiling glass wall brought in natural light and showcased Manhattan’s financial district. An enormous leather chair, empty, and dark wood furniture screamed money. A couple of black sofas and several newspapers from different parts of the world were neatly stacked on the coffee table. To the right was a wet bar. She didn’t miss a closed door, possibly a bathroom. This was the office of a man who moved millions every day. The office of a man who wanted to screw her for money.

Heat coiled low in her stomach, like a simmering fire waiting for the fuel to burst out in flames. A part of her hated him for thinking he could buy her, and another part of her hated herself for wanting to fuck him anyway.

When the door swung open, she spun on her heel in a mix of dread and anticipation. When this whole situation ended, she’d look for a counselor. There had to be a reasonable explanation for her crazy behavior.

“Lily.” He locked the door behind him and walked to her with a wolfish grin.

She curled and uncurled her fists, worried her nerves would get the better of her. To get through this, she needed to exercise the self-control she didn’t have. “Marco.”

“I’m glad to see you. Please, have a seat,” he said, pulling a chair for her.

She sat, and soon he made his way round the desk to sit in front of her. How did these negotiations take place? She decided on, “I have a counteroffer for you.”

A slow smile curled at his lips.

She straightened her shoulders, proud of her external calm. “I’ll be yours for a month. In return, you’re paying all my debts and I’m keeping my beauty salon. I don’t mind if you’ve already bought the other spaces around me, but you’re not turning the strip mall into a fucking garage.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh of annoyance. “Are we back to square one? How come your proposal gets you a lot more than before, and I don’t get the valuable piece of property my company needs?”

Not my problem.“You’re a resourceful man. If you look hard enough, you’ll find another solution or another place nearby to ruin and get your goddamn garage,” she said. If he said no and she lost her suite, she’d lose everything and be in debt for life. But she had to stand her ground and give her business a shot. If he wanted her bad enough, he’d do it.

“You’re smart, and I appreciate your persistence. However, I need that space and you know it. Are you willing to lose my generous offer and the opportunity for us to fuck each other’s brains out for a month?”

She stood, remembering what she had mentally rehearsed. Growing up, all her friends had been a lot more sexually aggressive and sassy than she’d ever been. She’d been a slow learner, a late bloomer, but at the same time, she’d heard a lot of stories on how to seduce a man. I hope they’re all handy now. Otherwise this is embarrassing.

“You’re missing the point. You’ll be missing the chance to fuck me for a month,” she said, and pulled her shirt over her head. She wished she had something sexier on, like hot pink lingerie and a suggestive trench coat. For now, her jeans and shirt had to do. “Do you know I haven’t slept around a whole lot in my life? Had a couple of long relationships, but that’s it,” she said, staring at him square in the eye. She didn’t miss the way his Adam’s apple moved, like he’d swallowed hard. His gaze held hers, and a delicious strand of female empowerment traveled down her spine. “I never even tried anal sex. I suppose it can be fun with the right partner, but the pastor’s daughter in me always thought that’s too much of an indulgence to try with a man you’re not married to.”

He rocked back in his chair, shifted in his seat, and from where she stood she saw the hard-on burgeoning in his pants. “Keep talking.”

“So I’ve never experienced butt play, or sex toys. Besides mediocre vaginal sex, I’m the next thing to a virgin.” She unclasped the hook of her bra and let it fall off her arms to the floor. During high school, she’d tried to minimize her DD cups as much as possible, to keep from getting too much attention.

He licked his lips, and a charge of heat bolted down her core. Shit. She hoped she pulled this off. What if he threw his head back and laughed, kicked her ass so she’d leave crying with her clothes in her hands? “Wanna see something cute, Marco?”

He gave her a slow nod, his eyes darkening.

She pulled down the top of her hipster underwear, showing him the tattoo of a blue butterfly she’d gotten when she’d been seventeen. Her quiet, small act of rebellion. “I love butterflies, so I got this done. I guess it’s the bad girl in me wanting to get out.”

His gaze slid from her breasts down her belly until he saw the small tat under her waistline. “Take it off,” he said gruffly.

She pulled up her underwear, hiding her butterfly from view. “See, I’d love to, but I can’t. Not until I have your word.”

With a sigh, he surged to his feet, thrusting his fingers into his hair. She didn’t move an inch, resolute in not giving in. She’d thought this through during her drive from visiting her mother. If he’d wanted her badly enough, he’d go the extra mile. All or nothing.

“When we settle everything, I’ll do my best to give you a worthy performance and take all my clothes off. Hell, I’ll even dance for you. What is it going to be, Money Pants?”

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