Read Talking Dirty with the CEO for Free Online

attention snagged on the stereo unit against one wall. Something sleek and white and seriously sexy.
    Her eyes widened. Was that a Karlsson Series 6 ?
    One of the guys at the magazine had gotten the chance to review a Karlsson a couple of months ago and had raved about it. Everyone else, Christie included, had been full of tech envy. The brand was just about the best in the world. Not something you could pick up for a couple of hundred dollars at your local appliance shop. The receiver alone cost thousands.
    Christie crossed the room and bent to examine it. Oh yeah, it was a Karlsson all right. Beautiful. She reached out a hand.
    “Please don’t touch that.”
    Christie frowned. Her hand dropped and she turned around.
    Joseph stood just behind her, carrying a couple of glasses of wine. “It’s a very expensive stereo.”
    “Hey, I get it.” She straightened. “A Karlsson Series 6. Voted hi-fi system of the decade by Pure Tone magazine last year. Currently delivers one of the lowest levels of distortion ever recorded. It has sixteen separate transformers, high-speed rectifiers, also ultra-low filtering impedance capacitors. Essentially its excess noise cancellation abilities are the best in the world. Only twenty were ever made and it’s now a collector’s item.”
    He stared at her as if she’d just grown another head. “I guess you’ve seen one before, then.”
    Christie grinned at him. “Are you kidding me? I love stereos.”
    Unexpectedly, Joseph grinned back. “So do I.”
    And for a second a small moment of connection passed between them. A moment when they weren’t anonymous strangers who’d met in a chat room. A moment when they understood each other as if they’d known each other for years.
    “You want to know something?” He put the glasses down on a nearby coffee table. “You’re the first woman I’ve had here who’s even noticed my stereo.”
    “Oh, uh, really?” Discomfort twisted inside her, the moment of connection fading. Perhaps because it made her think about just what kind of women a guy like him dated.
    Supermodels probably. Or rich heiresses.
    Or blonde ad executives if you’re Greg.
    Definitely not geek girls who found dates in online game forums.
    Christie swallowed. A lump of something heavy sat on her chest and she felt sick.
    Joseph frowned. “Are you okay?”
    “Yup,” she said, lying like a rug. “Um, c-can I use your bathroom for a sec?” She wasn’t running away. Not at all. She just needed some space.
    “Sure. Down the hallway on your left.”
    Christie walked down the hallway, trying to calm the sick feeling.
    This was crazy. Where had this awful discomfort come from? It didn’t make any sense.
    The bathroom was a temple to hygiene, all pristine white tiles and chrome fittings, but she barely noticed, the heavy thing sitting in the center of her chest getting heavier.
    Crossing over to the vanity, she put her hands on the marble and closed her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths.
    God, who was she kidding? She wasn’t Naughtygirl. She wasn’t naughty in any way, shape, or form. She was a tech hack who liked computers. And here she was with the hottest guy on the planet, all set to “explore their chemistry,” and where was she? In the bloody bathroom feeling nearly ill with doubt.
    Man, what was wrong with her?
    Christie opened her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror. Color burned on her cheeks, so intense her freckles turned pink. Her hair had started coming out of the messy bun and now looked like a bird’s nest. Her mascara had smudged, too.
    You’ve never been very good with men, have you? Helene’s voice whispered inside her head, insidious.
    Christie scowled at herself in the mirror.
    No. No way. Her mother didn’t know jack. And she hadn’t spent the last eight years making her own life, living on her own terms, just to fall back into old patterns now.
    She’d sworn this date would be amazing. That this date would be for her.
    She was