Free The Bad Boy Billionaire's Girl Gone Wild by Maya Rodale Page A

guy.”
    “He left,” she said. And then, glancing around to ensure no one was listening, she said, “And I’m leaving in a few minutes.”
    “Want to split a cab home?”
    “You’re so sweet, but no way,” Roxanna said with a wicked grin. “I’m not going home.”
    “I guess your night is only just beginning,” I said slyly. “Now remember, tonight is a school night.”
    Roxanna laughed and said, “Talk to me for ten more minutes and then I’ll make my exit. And what will you do?”
    I glanced into the crowd. I saw Duke. He saw me. Our gazes locked. For a moment I didn’t notice anything else—not the other people, or the city skyline all lit up. For a moment I felt like one of my heroines. Shy, always standing off to the side, and oh-so-tempted. And also stuck between my own desires, the “right” thing to do and what everyone would think.
    “I’m going home, too,” I told Roxanna. A little bit later, I was just about to leave when I noticed my name. They were projecting tweets about the party up on the windowless wall of a nearby building. On another wall, they were projecting a live video stream of the party. Both were so big and bright they could surely be seen by everyone at this party as well as everyone on the street, and anyone with a view of those walls.
    It was the tweets that caught my attention.
    At #GawkerRoof party with @DukeAusten and his “fiancée” @Jane_Sparks. Waiting to see if sparks fly.
    Amused watching @DukeAusten and his girl try to avoid each other on the #GawkerRoof.
    I turned around, back to the wall. And then I saw Duke. He was leaning against the railing with the New York City skyline illuminated behind him.
    There was no denying it: The sight took my breath away. There was no one like him and nothing like this city. Together they were an intoxicating combination.
    I strolled over. I blamed magnetism.
    “What if I changed my mind?” Duke asked.
    “Did you?” I asked.
    “Did you ?” He echoed.
    “I’m writing another book,” I told him.
    “What’s this one about?”
    “Another wallflower. She’s been far too good for far too long. It’s gotten her nothing but this awful fiancé and she’s trying desperately to get out of the engagement.”
    “Why would she want to do that?” he asked softly. We weren’t just talking about my characters anymore.
    “Because she wants real love,” I explained. “True love. Shout it from the rooftops love.”
    “Given that we’re on a rooftop, is that a hint? Should I shout out my love from you from this rooftop, right now?”
    “Only if you meant it. Or else if you didn’t . . .”
    “You know, I’ve been working like crazy. We’ve started prepping for an IPO.”
    “Congratulations.”
    “You don’t get what that means, do you?” There was a spark in his eye that made my heart beat faster. “Once the bell rings at the stock exchange, I don’t have to worry about what anyone thinks anymore.”
    I got it. Oh, I got it. Once that bell rang, he’d be a billionaire. He’d have broken the curse. He’d be free to do whatever he wanted—like be with me. For real.
    “And then what will you do?” I asked, linking my finger around the belt loop of his jeans.
    Duke lowered his head. I turned my face up to his. His lips claimed mine for a delicate, tentative kiss.
    If I grabbed a fistful of his Chartbeat T-shirt and pulled him closer . . .
    If we didn’t have to worry about what people thought anymore . . .
    I’d feel his rock-hard body against mine.
    If I felt his body against mine, I’d start to lose my mind and everyone at this party would start talking about it. There would be a video online of me losing control and I’d never live it down.
    Duke cupped my face in his hands, holding me gently like I was the most precious thing in the world. My hands slid down the length of his chest, down along his back to rest against his ass. Urging him against me I felt just how much he wanted me. I sighed, desperate