Never Been Ready Read Online Free PDF Page B

learning there were many sides to Leah Morgan.
    I'd never felt so angry, frustrated, and more turned-on in my entire life. No? What the hell? I couldn't leave, but I couldn't stay. I'd practically thrown my hotel information at her before walking out the door. As the door had clicked into place, I'd heard her curse in frustration, and I'd known that this wasn't over.
    She was playing me or simply delaying the inevitable, and it would only be a matter of time before she came knocking on my door, begging me for more. I just had to wait it out. She'd be crawling back to my hotel, begging me to take her, in a day, two tops. I couldn't contain the all-out grin I had spread all over my face that night as I'd driven back to my hotel.
    But now, it had been a week —a motherfucking week. I didn't play games, and I wasn't a patient man. This cat-and-mouse game was making me restless, but I still couldn't back down. No matter how many women passed me in the hotel lobby, giving me a shy smile and wave, I couldn't give in. Even a blatant invite from my costar to visit her trailer had gotten nothing in return. I couldn't do it. I had unfinished business, and it demanded closure.
    But now, it had been a week, and I felt like a fool. Did she think this was funny? Was I a fucking joke to her? Did I misread the signals? Maybe she wasn't coming at all.
    Declan James wasn't some pussy who waited around for a woman. Women waited around for me, and it was time I got back in the game. This addiction or infatuation I had would cure itself over time. Screw this. I was done waiting.
    After giving myself a pep talk that even I didn't believe, I made about fifty laps around my room trying to get my head in the game. Then, I threw on my leather jacket and stalked over to the front door, setting my sights for the hotel bar. It was an upscale hotel, and single women were always mingling around, hoping to score a lonely rich man on a business trip. Feeling much less excited than I should be, considering I was headed downstairs to pick up an easy lay, I opened the door and nearly ran headfirst into a stunned Leah, who had her fist raised in the air like she was about to knock.
    "Holy shit! You just about killed me!" she yelled.
    I steadied us both in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
    The look on her face abruptly changed from stunned to pissed, and I realized my question sounded more than a little rude.
    "Sorry. I meant to say, how did you get up here, alone?"
    I had left instructions with the front desk not to let anyone up without calling me first. I was booked under an alias. It sounds crazy, but there were all kinds of new requirements in the shitty life I'd acquired.
    Leah grinned widely as we walked into the room.
    "Men," she answered. "I can pretty much talk them into doing anything. And it just so happened that men were working the front desk, and they were very accommodating when I told them I wanted to surprise my boyfriend with an impromptu striptease, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise with a call."
    "That's bullshit. That seriously didn't work," I countered.
    "Oh, but it did. All I had to do was say the word striptease , and I had them eating out of my hand."
    Much like I had done at her house, she settled herself on the sofa, making herself comfortable without asking permission. She had her spunk back tonight. Dressed in a low-cut black sweater, a short pink skirt, and heels, she looked fierce and very tempting. The flustered girl I'd walked in on last week was gone, and Leah, the firecracker I'd met in bed all those months ago, was back. Having met both sides of her now, I couldn't decide which I liked better.
    "So, when exactly do I get my striptease?" I asked.
    "Well, that's up to you, Hotshot."
    "Hotshot?"
    "Yep. Cocky attitude, arrogant disposition, and sexy as fuck —it's a good nickname."
    "All right, so what are your terms, Leah?"
    I fought back the urge to touch her. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I paced the