My Bad Boy's Secret: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (54 page)

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mason said as he walked in.

“Leaving,” I said as I turned to him. I was naked and feeling vulnerable and angry. I grabbed the sheet off the bed and covered myself.

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said as he moved toward me smiling.

“And it’s something you’ll never see again, now if you’ll get the fuck out I would like to get dressed and get on a plane back to Paris.”

“No,” he said as he casually leaned against the wall with that devilish smile. I narrowed my eyes at him and then he said, “Why do you want to leave?”

“You know why. Now leave me alone. I’ve had enough of you.”

“Because I was flirting? I told you before Alicia. I am not your boyfriend.”

“Yes, I am very aware of that, but that kind of behavior when I am your date is unacceptable to me. I’m sorry that we didn’t go over the exact rules of how I would be treated, but I didn’t think it was necessary. You are a scoundrel!” I yelled. He only laughed. Then he got quiet and sat on the edge of the bed. “I am sorry, you are very sexy when you are angry. But you are right. There’s a reason I was flirting with the Viscountess. A reason I don’t think you would understand.”

“Try me?” I said folding the sheets around me as I sat down.

“It was punishment.”

“Punishment? For what? You mean to punish me? What did I do?” I said, confused and angry.

“I didn’t like seeing you flirt with that guy. The art class guy,” he said.

“Are you kidding me? Okay you must be insane. You fuck lots of women and constantly tell me not to feel anything and then you see me flirting with one guy and I have to be punished! This is insane. I’m leaving.”

“It is true. I can’t handle seeing someone else kiss you on the cheek like that.”

“I don’t care if it is true,” I said feeling even angrier than I was before he explained to me why I was being punished.

“Just stay, please. At least stay for the ball. You never have to talk to me again, but when will you have the chance to go to a masquerade ball in Venice again? I promise to behave. Just think about it,” he said as he walked out and closed the door.

I was so angry at him but he did have a point. I would not have another chance to go to a private masquerade ball again. Damn it! I sat there fuming and thinking about what to do. I suddenly realized that I was pleasantly happy that Mason had showed up so quickly after I arrived back at the palazzo. That means that he must have followed me out or was close behind. In other words he didn’t carry on his flirting with the Viscountess, or fuck her. That made me feel sort of happy, but not enough to excuse his behavior. Then my phone beeped. I dug through my purse and found it. There was an email from Andres, my new art teacher. He was asking if I wanted to get dinner after class the next day. I smiled remembering how cute, funny, and nice he was. He was very down to Earth and seemed normal and I needed a good dose of that at the present moment. I was so deep in this strange world of billionaires and sex games that I forgot what normal was like. I was in a world that felt like it was the 18
th
century. Seeing his email was a good dose of normalcy. But I knew already that I was going to stay and go to the ball. I wanted to go to the ball. However, I was really excited to hear from him. I wanted to see him again. Plus it also gave me a good feeling to know that Mason was now not the only man in my life. Now I had options and that felt good. I replied to his email letting him know that I had to miss class because I was in Venice but that I would love to get coffee when I returned. I smiled as I sent it. Mason meant nothing to me now, or so I was telling myself as I exchanged emails with Andres.

MASON

I had just left Alicia in the bedroom and called my assistant. I whispered into the phone, “Yes, get it on my private jet as soon as possible. Have my security escort it to me until they place it in my hands. Tell them not to let it out of their sight for even one second,” I said.

I was arranging for Alicia’s reward to be brought to me here in Venice. I was going to wait to give it to her when we returned to Paris, but I felt that I needed it now.

“Yes, that works just fine,” I said as I hung up the phone. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat by the fire. I didn’t know why I thought the reward could maybe fix things, but it might.

It was an expensive reward, and I knew that I had fucked up so I needed to make up for it. I only hoped that she liked it. I felt bad that I lied to her but I had to lie because I could not tell her the real truth. When she asked why I was punishing her by flirting so blatantly with the Viscountess, I told her it was because I wanted to punish her for flirting with the artist. Although it was true that it did make me jealous, that was not why I was going after the Viscountess, it was for another reason that I did not want to admit to myself. I did it because I was trying to distract myself. I was starting to have feelings for Alicia, which was against everything that I stood for. I was not to mix my emotions in this. I was with Alicia just for the fun of it. We were only to enjoy each other’s bodies, not our hearts. It was on this trip that I started to realize just how much I cared for her. First seeing her with the artist, did piss me off. I didn’t want her to be with anyone else and I didn’t want to lose her to some poor starving artist. The fact that I was feeling that way made me feel terrified. So I did the only thing I knew how to deal with it, I took on more lovers. I added more women to my roster of sex partners. So when I saw the beautiful Viscountess and saw that she was flirting with me, the arrogant asshole in me wanted to prove to myself that I was a playboy and could take this woman right under Alicia’s nose. Because those are the types of things I did. I did what I wanted, and I did them when I wanted.

I threw the wine glass into the fireplace and it shattered. I was so fucking pissed off. This did not happen to me. There was something else plaguing me now. I had hurt her, and I never wanted to do that.

When she caught me in the courtyard with the elegant woman, it only made me feel like shit. Even though she wore a mask I could see the hurt on her face and it broke me a little. What had I done? It was wrong to do it. I knew that, but there was some raging wild man inside of me that rebelled whenever my lifestyle was being threatened, and my new feelings for Alicia was that new threat. I hoped that I had convinced her to stay for the ball tomorrow. For now, I would give her space. I walked back up to the room and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” I heard her say.

I opened the door and saw that she was smiling while she typed something on her phone. I wanted to know immediately who or what would make her smile like that, but I wouldn’t push it.

“I owe you an apology, so I am sorry my American sketch artist. I will sleep in the room next door. I hope that will help you to stay for the ball tomorrow. Then I will take you back to Paris. For now, I will leave you to yourself. But knock on my door if you need… if you need anything or need me,” I said as I winked at her and closed the door. She had a look of shock on her face and I realized that she was not expecting me to not be sleeping with her this night. Good, I thought. Maybe that will show her that I do in fact respect her.

That night I laid in bed trying to read, but I kept replaying the image of her sucking on my cock over and over. It made me hard just thinking about it. I wanted that again and again. Then another image would enter my mind that would turn me off, her face when I hurt her at the dinner with the Viscountess.

“Damn it Mason,” I yelled at myself. I could have Alicia in my arms right now, have my cock deep inside her making her moan and wiggle, but instead my ego got in the way and fucked up everything. I was angry and I threw the book against the wall. It was the second thing that I had thrown that evening, it was so very unlike me. I was usually calm and cool and let very little get to me. I looked at my door every now and then imagining her coming through it and crawling into bed with me.

I was hoping that she would come to me of her own freewill in the middle of the night, but she did not. I had to admit that it did bother me that she did not. I wanted her to need me. Somewhere while imagining her coming to me, I fell asleep. I dreamed about her and her laughter.

The next day I stayed away from her as much as I could. It was a lesson in restraint. I made sure that breakfast was brought to her but late so that she could sleep in. Then I had the seamstresses deliver her ball gown and help her get ready for the ball. I wanted to keep her happy and occupied. But most of all I wanted to keep her excited about the ball so that she wouldn’t leave me and Venice. I stayed in the Palazzo all day waiting for my security to show up at my door. Finally they came.

“Did you have any problems?” I asked as they handed me the small black velvet box.

“No, it all went smoothly,” the men said.

I opened the box and smiled. It was perfect. “Excellent, you did well. Thank you. You will each get a fat bonus for your extra care. I’ve arranged for dinner and the night’s stay in a hotel. My assistant will send you the details.”

“Merci,” the men said as they exited the Palazzo and left me with Alicia’s reward. I took it up to my, now separate bedroom, and got dressed in my costume for the ball. An hour later I waited in the sitting room for Alicia. When I heard the flurry of the seamstresses as they descended the stairs I knew that she was finally ready.

“Did everything go well?” I asked them.

“Yes, she looks so lovely. Have fun, she deserves it,” they said as they gathered their items and left. I held the box in my hand and waited for Alicia. When she descended the stairs I was frozen. I had never seen anything more beautiful. She stood at the top of the stairs and smiled at me and then walked down slowly and seductively. Her crème colored silk dress and matching white-feathered match made her look like a beautiful swan. She was perfect. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she gave me a slow twirl as if to show off her outfit.

“You are perfect. I have never seen anything so beautiful,” I said as I moved toward her.

“Thank you, I mean merci,” she said as she curtsied.

“But it is missing something,” I said as I walked over to her slowly. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and kiss her hard, but I assumed she was still pissed off at me. The only reason she was agreeing to go with me was because she had never been to a ball before.

“Here,” I said as I trailed my finger over her collarbone and down to her cleavage. She sighed a little and I saw some of the Alicia that I knew, the sexual woman that reacted softly to my touch. “Here, this is what’s missing. It is your reward for passing the last test,” I said as I handed her the black velvet box.

She gasped, “For me? I thought I wasn’t getting a reward until we returned?”

“Yes, but I had my security men fly this over on my jet so that you could wear it to the ball, and as part of my apology for my behavior.”

She smiled and the opened the box. Her eyes grew wide and she nearly fell over at what was inside.

ALICIA

I had spent the night emailing with Andres and giggling at his responses. It was refreshing. If I had not had that distraction, then I probably would have found myself slipping into Mason’s room. I was surprised and shocked when he said he would not be sleeping in the same bed. I guess he really did feel bad about what he had done, but it was too little too late. I was only staying because I wanted to go to the ball. Mason would have to deal with that. He, in my mind, had lost my companionship as a lover. No more tests and no more sex. I was done playing with him. Once we got back to Paris I was going to tell him this. For now I would just enjoy the rest of my stay in Venice in this amazing Palazzo, in which I now had privacy. I would enjoy getting dressed up for the ball and I would dance with as many masked men as I could. I wanted to fill my dance card so to say. I finally fell asleep with my phone in my hand and woke up very late. It was almost noon when Mason’s butler knocked on the door and pushed in a cart filled with breakfast and coffee. I was glad that it was not Mason, but also a little surprised. I grabbed the tray off of the cart and then ate in bed watching some Italian television. It was cozy and delicious to spend the morning this way, without a care in the world. This was the stuff of the European easy life. I liked the pace of life in Italy and in France. It was slower and nicer. It was less stressful. After I ate my breakfast and laid in bed some more I finally took a long hot bath. Then I sat at the window watching the energy of the canal as small gondolas went by. Then I sat reading a book. I didn’t mind staying in the small suite all day. There was plenty of room, it was like a small apartment, and I enjoyed the space. I had been with Mason constantly and it was nice to be on my own for a time. Then there was another knock on the door in the later afternoon.

“Come in,” I said expecting it to be Mason, but it wasn’t. It was the seamstresses from the plane. They came through the door in a flurry carrying a massive ball gown and various bags and boxes.

“Oh mademoiselle, good you have showered. Now let’s get started on drying and fixing your hair,” the woman said as they escorted me to the vanity and sat me down. I was suddenly in a whirlwind of activity for the next two hours as they prepared me. First they dried and curled my hair into rollers. Then they prepared my skin with lotions and perfumes. Then, next came the make-up, which was applied to go well with my mask. My mask would only cover my eyes and the bridge of my nose. Then they stood me up and helped me into the garter belts and stockings. Then the corset was laced up tight up my back. Finally, they pulled the gown out of its case. I gasped when I saw it. The crème colored silk was soft and shimmery and it billowed out in layers. The corset was decorated with lace and glass beads. The women pulled it over my head and tied me into it. It was a perfect fit.