Seduction (16 page)

“Not to worry, I have several sets, as well as video footage of me sucking your dick.” Unbeknown to Mason, Rico had set up a camcorder in Heather's apartment and recorded their head games. It was Rico's practice to videotape most of his sexual encounters and sell them to the freakiest bidder. He used the money from the X-rated tapes to subsidize his tuition. Fortunately, he had held on to the tape of Mason, because that was his favorite and he kept it in his private collection.

Missy continued. “Now if it was anyone else besides Terra Benson, the tobacco heiress, all of this would be irrelevant. But you know how hungry the press is to bite into her personal life. That's why I called the tabloids the moment I saw you go into Hotel Gansevoort. I had a feeling that Terra was inside. You managed to dodge them, but you couldn't hide from my trusty camera”—Missy smiled snidely—“and I think they would just eat this information up, don't you?”

The panic returned, rendering Mason speechless. He had finally found the woman of his dreams. Now that dream was being threatened by an ugly nightmare. “I have money. Just tell me how much you want,” he said, wanting all of this to go away.

“I don't want your money. I want Terra's. She must be worth a few billion, and all I'm asking for is a measly million,” Missy said in a deadpan tone, and then turned the corners of her mouth up into a sly
Cat in the Hat
–type grin.

“You must be crazy!” Mason shouted. “How am I supposed to get my hands on her money?”

“I don't care how you do it, just do it. You have until next week, and if I don't have a certified check in my hands for one million dollars, then the pictures, as well as the videos, will be all over the news,” Missy said, and strutted away.

Mason wanted to run after Rico, throw him down, and wring his scrawny neck, but a murder rap was far worse than incriminating pictures. He needed to come up with a plan, and soon, because if he wanted to keep Terra, he had to protect her from this crazy blackmail scheme.

“
HOW CUTE
is this?” Terra asked, holding up a short cashmere midriff sweater. She and Lexi were shopping at the Prada boutique on Fifth Avenue.

Lexi lightly fingered the soft material. “It's all right,” she said, barely giving the sweater any attention. Earlier, Lexi had asked Terra what she did after she left the Black Door, and Terra had been extremely vague. Now Lexi was irritated because she knew that her friend was hiding something and she wanted to know what it was. “Put that sweater down and tell me what happened the other night,” she demanded.

Terra hadn't told Lexi about her rendezvous with Mason because that night and the next day had been a magical time for the two of them, and she wasn't ready to share their private moments for fear that talking about it would ruin the spell. Seeing the sour look on Lexi's face, she realized that if she didn't give her friend blow-by-blow details, their friendship might be ruined instead. Terra glanced over her shoulder making sure that no one was within earshot, and then told Lexi exactly what happened that night. “Girl, the next day was so perfect that we hated to leave each other. It felt like we were in one of those corny romance movies, where the two lovers can't stand being apart,” she said, her eyes glazing over with a dreamy look.

After hearing the entire story and seeing the look of love on Terra's face, Lexi was sorry she'd asked. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that Terra was in love. Thinking that she should have been with Mason instead of her friend, a twinge of jealousy shot through Lexi. He was her type of man, and besides, she had seen him first that night at Pravda. But Terra had won by default since she'd bumped into him at the coffee shop. In any event, it didn't matter, because they were in love. “So”—she gave Terra an all-knowing look—“it sounds like you're in love with this guy.”

Terra blushed and her cheeks turned candy-apple red. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yep, it's all over your face, but are you sure you're not taking this too fast?” Lexi asked in a slightly discouraging way.

“I realize we just met a few weeks ago, but I feel so comfortable with him. It's like we've known each other for years. Usually I'm more reserved, but there's something about Mason that makes me want to be a wild woman. He's broken down all of my inhibitions, and—”

“I thought Professor Langston did that,” Lexi sniped.

“David taught me how to fuck, but Mason has taught me how to make love, and there's such a distinct difference,” Terra replied with that dreamy-eyed look again.

Lexi had never been in love, so she couldn't understand exactly what Terra was saying. “What's the difference?”

“When you're deeply in love with someone and he feels the same way, sex is not just an act, but an extension of the love you feel for each other. And every time you make love, your feelings are magnified a hundred times.”

Listening to Terra's words, Lexi knew that she had never really made love. “You make it sound so romantic.”

“It is. Just wait until you fall in love and then you'll know what I truly mean.”

Hearing her friend sound so elated, Lexi couldn't help but feel happy for Terra even though a tiny part of her still felt envious. “Well, when I meet Mr. Right, I'm sure the sparks will fly just like with you and Mason. So, now that you've found Prince Charming, what are you going to do about Sage?” she asked, changing the subject.

In her current state of bliss, Terra had forgotten about hatching another plan to star in Sage's first production. “Trying to seduce him is completely out of the question now that I'm involved with Mason. And it's not like that plan was working anyway. Maybe I'll take your suggestion and have my agent set me up with a screen test.”

“If you get the part, just remember to give me my twenty percent consultation fee.” Lexi laughed, returning to her old self.

“Twenty percent? You're too damn expensive! I think I'm going to have to find another consultant.” She laughed too. Then Terra's phone rang.

“Hello?” she said, once she fished the gadget out of her purse.

“Hey, sweetheart, it's me,” said Mason.

“Hey, yourself.” She smiled into the tiny phone.

“Where are you?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“At Prada on Fifth Avenue with Lexi. What's going on? Why are you whispering? I can barely hear you.”

“I'm not whispering,” he said, raising his voice a decibel, trying to sound normal. “Are you busy tonight?”

“Busy seeing you,” she teased.

“Can you meet me at my apartment around nine o'clock?” he asked, dropping his voice again, as if someone might be listening.

“Sounds like a clandestine rendezvous,” she said, picking up on his lower register.

“You remember where I live, don't you?” he asked, ignoring her comment.

“Yes. I'll see you at nine!” she said excitedly.

“Okay, see you then,” he said, and hung up.

She walked over to Lexi, who was looking through a rack of black dresses. “That was ‘my man.'” She beamed. “He wants me to come over tonight.”

“I see you're claiming him already,” Lexi commented, her jealousy returning.

“Yep, I sure am,” she said, clueless as to her friend's true feelings. Terra held up a skimpy black dress with leather spaghetti straps. “This is perfect for tonight.” She bounced to the register and gave the saleswoman her black AmEx, without paying any attention to the fifteen-hundred-dollar price tag.

Lexi followed close behind, and bought a similar dress and matching shoes. Once outside, the women hopped into Terra's waiting Maybach, and headed downtown to Helmut Lang's flagship boutique. They were like kids in toyland inside the gallerylike space, and the hours flew by as they tried on piece after fabulously designed piece. With armloads of skirts, pants, blouses, and jackets, they handed over their plastic with ease, paid for their treasures, and returned to the car.

“Once I drop you off, I'm going to take a nice, long, hot bath, put on my new dress, and go see my new man!” Terra gushed.

“Ask Mason if he has any available friends,” Lexi said, realizing that jealousy would do nothing but burn a hole in her stomach, so she decided to join the “lovers' club,” and find a man of her own.

“I'll ask him. I hope he does, and then we can double date. Wouldn't that be fun?” Terra was so happy that she nearly sang her words.

“Yeah, it would be. Call me tomorrow and let me know what he said. If he doesn't have any available friends, I think I'll join one of those online dating services, because I'm not meeting any mature men out at the bars. They all seem to be young and silly.”

“I thought you liked them like that.”

“I thought I did too, but they don't have any couth. All they want to do is fuck, which is fine for the first week or two, but then I want some substance. After hearing about your gallery-hopping lunch date, it made me realize that I need a more mature man,” she confessed.

“Don't worry, Lexi.” Terra patted her friend's leg. “We'll find you a good man, like Mason.”

“Thanks, Girl.”

Terra dropped Lexi off at her apartment, and told Leroy to wait out front once he pulled up to her building. She went upstairs, spread her new outfit on the bed, and took a long soak in her spa-type tub. After her rejuvenating bath, she smoothed Molton Brown's rich emollient all over her skin. Terra had a tiny waist, slender hips, and a cute bump of a butt. Unlike the rest of her diminutive body parts, her breasts were large and looked fake, but were supple, unlike false boobs. She loved her 36Cs, even though she rarely showed them off. Usually she hid her voluptuous rack underneath support bras and loose shirts, because she didn't want to cause any unwanted attention. But not tonight. Tonight, she wanted all of Mason's attention.

She walked out of the adjoining bathroom, into her bedroom, and slipped into her new Prada dress. The sensuous jersey fabric clung to her body and showcased her favorite asset. Terra stepped over to the mirror and admired how inviting her nipples looked through the thin material. She turned to the side and checked out the profile of her tiny tush. She patted her tight butt and felt extremely sexy, since she didn't have on a stitch of underwear, not even a thong. And to cap off the sexy number, she slid her feet into a pair of rhinestone Choos.

Terra walked back into the bathroom and fluffed out the curls in her hair. She dusted her face with a light translucent power, applied a layer of cherry-scented gloss to her lips, and sprayed her neck, cleavage, and wrists with her signature perfume. She opened the medicine cabinet, took out a travel toothbrush (for in the morning), and put it in her evening bag. She took one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs to her waiting car.

Mason's apartment was just a few blocks away, and she could have walked but wanted to arrive in style. Besides, she didn't have on walking shoes. She introduced herself to his doorman, and waited while he called up and announced her arrival.

“Damn, Baby.” Mason stood back and took in her new look. She looked completely different from the other day, when she had worn jeans and a blazer. “You look scrumptious.” He hadn't expected Terra to show up looking like she just stepped off the pages of
Black Tail
. He'd invited her over to talk, so that he could get a feel of whether or not he could tell her the truth about his past. He was in love with Terra and didn't want any secrets between them. Secrets were like dormant cancer cells, waiting to strike when your defenses were down. He was experiencing a serious bout of detrimental secrets and wanted to stop the cancer before it spread, but watching her stand there with her nipples poking through the dress, all he could think about was making love to her.

She turned around so that he could get the full view. “You like what you see?”

“Like?” He pulled her to him. “I love!”

Terra wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her titties into his chest. “Good. I bought this dress just for you.”

He leaned down and put his lips dangerously close to hers, so close that he could smell the fruity scent of her lip gloss. “You wore this for me?” he asked, nearly touching her lips with his.

“I sure did,” she said softly.

Mason moved his lips to her neck and took a deep whiff. “Did you wear this intoxicating perfume for me too?”

“Uh hum,” she moaned, unable to get out a proper sentence because he was mesmerizing her with his subtle seduction.

Mason pressed his groin into her crotch. “What else did you wear for me?” He rubbed her ass through the dress and didn't feel any thong or panty lines.

The sexual tension was building and Terra felt herself getting moist with every word he spoke. “Nothing. Just the dress.”

“So, if I reached my hand underneath your dress right at this very moment, I would feel nothing but your sweet wet pussy?”

“And how do you know it's wet?”

“Because my dick is like a Geiger counter, and gets hard once it detects heat from a wet pussy,” he said, ever so slowly lifting the hem of her dress.

“So your dick is hard?” she asked, moving her hips into his rising erection.

“As Chinese arithmetic.” Mason rubbed her smooth outer thigh, moved his hand around to her ass, and softly rubbed each cheek. He watched Terra close her eyes, and knew she was putty in his hands. He was slowly seducing her and though he was enjoying every minute of their verbal foreplay, he was ready to feel his dick inside of her warm pussy before he exploded inside his pants.

“I'm really good at math,” she said, opening her lustful eyes.

Mason moved one hand around to her manicured triangle, found her clit, and began stroking the tiny piece of flesh with his index finger. “How good?”

“Good enough to solve this extremely hard problem,” she said, reaching down and massaging his balls and firm cock.

Her touch almost made him cum right then and there, but he restrained himself. Instead, he scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. The room was dark, except for the glow of the streetlights streaming through the slits of the miniblinds. Before laying her on top of the comforter, Mason pulled the dress over her head, exposing her perfect body. He then took off his jeans, underwear, and T-shirt, and laid his naked body next to hers.

Mason's eyes traveled the length of her body from the curls in her hair to the polish on her toes. He drank in her beauty like a man dying of thirst. He lightly ran the palm of his hand over her honey-dipped skin. “I love you, Terra.” He finally verbalized the words that were in his heart from the first day he laid eyes on her.

“I love you too, Mason,” she confessed, to him as well as to herself.

Her words reverberated through his mind, drowning out the unsavory thoughts of Rico and his blackmail scheme. Mason was happier than he'd ever been in his life, and he wanted to savor every second of his newfound bliss, so he dismissed his plan to tell Terra about his past and instead made love to her, because at the moment that was the only thing that mattered.