Winner Takes It All by Karen Mason Read Free Book Online Page B

Jackson
is.’
    ‘ That’s a
shame. But even so, you have aristocratic blood in you. That’s
amazing. My grandfather was a Swedish sailor who came to England in
the War and married the daughter of a postman. There’s no titles
for us to inherit.’
    ‘ Titles are
unimportant Sadie,’ he said, trying to sound wise. ‘It’s the person
you are that matters.’
    By the end of the
evening, Tom had warmed to Sadie a little. She was edgy and snappy
and totally obsessed with money and status. But under the prickly
surface she had a great sense of humour and was a good listener. So
when she asked if he would like to go home with her, Tom didn’t
hesitate. He wondered if he would have pulled such a girl had he
turned up tonight looking as he had earlier on. He seriously
doubted it.
    They all left the club;
Jackson and Lisa catching a cab to take them back to Jackson’s
apartment. He made Tom promise to get home early the next day as
they were lunching with their grandmother. This was still a
prospect Tom hated the thought of and tried to put it to the back
of his mind. Sexy Sadie was just the sort of distraction he
needed.
    She occupied a penthouse
quite similar to Jackson’s. It belonged to her father’s company but
she had free reign of it whenever she was in New York. The moment
they got in the door she offered Tom some cocaine, which he
refused. He’d tried it a couple of times and didn’t like the way it
made him feel. She asked him if he minded if she partook and he
told her to go ahead. He stood in the middle of her lavishly
decorated living room, trying to take in that this was his new
world. The windows were panoramic, and outside New York twinkled
like a elaborately decorated Christmas tree. When Sadie returned
from the bathroom, she pointed a remote control at the wall, and to
Tom’s surprise, the lights came on, but in dimmed red, giving the
room a seedy feel.
    Sadie walked closer to
him and he saw she had changed into a black corset and black, silk
French knickers. This certainly wasn’t the usual attire of prim,
privately educated English girls. In fact, back home, Tom could
only ever dream of getting with a girl like this.
    Without saying a word,
Sadie pushed him by the shoulder and he fell back onto one of the
sofas. Both aroused and terrified, he half lay, motionless,
watching as she stood over him, looking down at him with that mean
look in her eyes.
    ‘ I like you
Tom,’ she said softly. ‘I can tell you’re different.’
    From out of nowhere, she
produced a pair of handcuffs and brandished them at him.
    ‘ I think you
and I are going to have such fun.’
     
    ***
     
    The next morning Tom
stumbled back to Jackson’s house feeling rather like a man who’d
found a lottery ticket in the street only for it to go on and win
the jackpot that evening. He’d come to New York expecting it to be
horrible, and like some sort of Cinderella, he suddenly had a
wardrobe full of snazzy clothes and more to the point, last night
he’d had the wildest sex of his life with Sadie. She was
unbelievable and to his delight, she wanted to see him again. Back
home, where he was ordinary Tom Montague, someone like her would be
out of his league. But now he was in Jackson’s exclusive gang, it
seemed he could have whomever he wanted.
    Jackson was in the
kitchen drinking some wheatgrass, looking as immaculate as ever. He
smiled slyly on seeing his dishevelled cousin.
    ‘ Good night
was it?’ he said.
    ‘ Unbelievable,’ Tom sighed. ‘Sadie’s amazing.’
    ‘ Glad you had
a good time old chap. But you need to smarten yourself up now;
we’re off to meet the folks.’
    ‘ I’m
knackered.’
    From his inside pocket,
Jackson got a small bag of cocaine and threw it across the table at
Tom.
    ‘ Have this,
it’ll pep you up.’
    ‘ Coke just
turns me into a moron,’ Tom said. ‘I’ll leave it
thanks.’
    ‘ Well at least
shower and tidy yourself up,’ Jackson scolded. ‘We want you to
create a good impression