The Billionaire's Bargain Read Online Free PDF Page A

was
conventional. How old are you?” He held her bag out of reach.
    She moaned in frustration then
stared at him.
    “I’m twenty-three,” she said.
    “Are you going to invite me in,
Tess? That’s a usual polite response when a person shows up at your door.”
    “You’re not the normal kind of
person who shows up at someone’s door,” she said.
    “I’m your fiancé.”
    She stared into his mocking eyes,
taking in the slight lift of his lips showing his amusement.
    “Why should I let you in?” she
asked. Tess glared at him. She was tired of men trying to control her. Tess
folded her arms under her breasts. She hated feeling like this. She’d only
known him a few short hours. But her body had other ideas. She felt her nipples
getting hard. Her mind was shutting down to common sense. Her body responded to
him even though she didn’t like him very much.
    Attraction has nothing to do with liking him as a man .
    “Tess, we’re to be married. We
should get to know each other, and to do that we need to be allowed access into
each other’s lives.”
    His argument sounded good to her,
but she was still reluctant to allow him in her home.
    “You know you didn’t give me a
choice. I either marry you, or my father goes to prison.”
    “And you don’t think he deserves
it?”
    “I don’t know what to think,” she
said to him. All argument left her. She stared at him a few more seconds. He
watched her with his dark, intense eyes. Tess didn’t want him in her small
apartment. She knew he’d dominate her space. Her apartment was her own, the
small piece of heaven she’d carved out for herself.
    Seeing no other choice Tess gestured
for him to enter her small living space. Tess no longer had the willpower to
keep him out.
Duncan
had stopped by for a reason. Trying to stop him would use all of her reserve
energy, which she needed to keep preserved in order to deal with him.
    “I thought your secretary was
sorting everything out,” she said to his back as she closed the door behind
him.
    “I changed my mind. Is Tess short
for anything?” He moved into her living room. The quaint room had two small,
fluffy chairs. She couldn’t afford a sofa. A sofa wouldn’t fit in her small
place anyway. Before he walked round her small room she’d never had a problem
with her lack of furniture. Now she felt embarrassed.  
    “No, just Tess.” She moved a stray strand of her
wild hair out of her face removing the clip in the process. It had been useless
to try to contain her hair.  
    “Strange.” He continued to walk
around the room looking at her books and then at the pictures dotting the
surface by her fake fireplace. She had central heating but liked the look of
the small fireplace in her sitting room. One day she hoped to have a proper
home with a full open fire and a family of her own.  
    “What? My name is perfectly normal.”
    “Not your name. I expected some
stuffy, pretentious apartment, but it’s quite nice. A bit
small for my tastes, but convenient in size.”
    Tess didn’t know whether to take
that as a compliment or as an insult.  
    “Thank you, I think.” She was really
confused. “
Duncan
,
why are you here? And how did you know where I lived?” Tess wanted to say so
much more. She kept it locked inside.
    He turned, putting his hands in his
jacket pockets which reminded her she hadn’t offered to take his coat. He
looked out of place in her small apartment.
    “If you came by to see if I was
responsible for my dad taking that money then you’re wrong. This is it.” She
raised her arms to emphasise her point. “I can’t afford a car or the money to
buy this place. I pay rent. Whatever he spent the money on, I don’t know.”
    “I didn’t come here to find the
money. I’ve sorted everything out with regards to your father.” He stared at
her, his gaze unwavering. How did he manage to affect her with simply staring
at her?
    “Then why did you come here?” she
asked.
    “I came to bring your