Evie

 

I wake up in a bed that's definitely not mine. That isn't saying much, as I haven't woken in my own bed in weeks, but this bed is different. It's warm, soft, and it smells like a man. A man that's pressing close against me and behind me.

 

Tony's arm encircles me and his face presses into my neck. It warms me low in my belly, but I roll over, not wanting to get too comfortable with this. I've broken from my father's attempt at hiding me—but now what? Tony seemed so carefree last night as he was talking about bringing me here, about our child, and about all this. It was exciting, thinking about finally leaving that horrible home my father had put me in. Now I wondered if I'd jumped the gun too soon.

 

"Tony?"

 

He grumbled in his sleep, muttering. It was kind of cute, if I had to admit it. I didn't want to, but just ...God. Mafioso was waking up like a child would.

 

"Five more minutes."

 

"Come on Tony ...it's morning. We should wake up and talk."

 

He grumbled again and blinked his eyes at me. I, embarrassingly blushed. I cleared my throat.

 

"Tony. Please?"

 

He blinked some more, tilting his head. He sighed.

 

"Mkay."

 

I smiled at him and disentangled myself from his arms. I was still in my clothes from the night before, and I desperately needed a shower to wake up. I slipped out of the bed, stretching.

 

"Do you have a bathroom I can use? I'd like to take a shower and get dressed."

 

He sat up, running his hand through his hair. He was bare-chested and had an intricate koi-fish tattoo on his chest. I found myself staring; I hadn't gotten to see him naked when we'd had our one-night stand. I hadn't known that he had ink, but it was beautiful, especially on the darkness of his skin. I'd always been interested in tattoos, but my father would have killed me if I'd ever gotten one.

 

"Evie?"

 

"Huh? What?" I had gotten a little distracted. He laughed.

 

"Bathroom is that way. Towels and stuff, too. Your suitcase is over there."

 

I nodded, blushing some more, and grabbed an outfit from my suitcase before heading to the bathroom.

 

Tony's room was, in a word, huge. It wasn't anything I wasn't used to; father loved living lavishly and over-the-top. But there was a different kind of opulence that filled up Tony's space. It was all deep, dark colors, hints of bold and rich reds. Modern. I liked it, and I loved the bathroom when I entered. There was porcelain, marble, and chrome everywhere. What drew me, though, was the huge shower with several different water speed settings.

 

"Oh my."

 

I undressed quickly, turning the water on. It was so hot when I got in, but I loved my water scalding. I sighed and stood under the hard and soothing spray, enjoying how it rolled over my body.

 

"Oh, Evie. What are you even doing?"

 

I selected a soap from the few bottles of liquid and lathered up. The scent was soft and clean, relaxing me further with the aid of the heat of the water on me, as well. As I washed, I idly wondered what the day had in store for me, or what the next day would. What Tony planned to do with me now that he had 'freed' me from my father's clutches.

 

When I was done showering, I got out and dried off. Tony had these huge, impossibly-plush towels. They were thick and soft, and if I hadn’t known any better, I'd have just walked around in one all day. Instead, I pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, brushed out my hair, and went back into Tony's room.

 

"Oh."

 

He was naked, pulling on a pair of boxers. I couldn't help the out-loud comment, but hell if it wasn't embarrassing to have burst out like that. He raised a brow, looking over his shoulder. His head tilted and he smirked as he slid his pants on next.

 

"Like what you see?"

 

I had enough shame to scoff indignantly.

 

"Well, I won't complain, but that's the only bone you're getting," I told him.

 

"Shame. I was hoping for a little more than just that for a bone."

 

I felt myself flush more under the implication of his words and shook my head.

 

"You're impossible."

 

He smirked.

 

"Come on. I wanna show you around. Apparently, my father left early for business, so we have some time before he comes around again."

 

He pulled on a simple tank and held his hand out to me. I looked at it hesitantly before reaching out to slip my fingers into his. His hand was warm and soft. And—dear Christ—was that my heart fluttering?

 

Probably just remembering what those nice, soft hands could really do when given the chance.

 

I fell into place beside him easily, and he led us hand-in-hand out of his room. It seemed that he had a complete wing to himself, and he pointed out various rooms.

 

"I have a couple of guest rooms that way.” He gestured down the opposite end of the hall. "In case we have any parties and there are crashers. Then I got the game room that way, the piano room—"

 

"You play piano?" I asked, a bit surprised. I could play. It was one of the few things my father had gotten me into that I had actually enjoyed and done because I liked it, not because he thought that I should like it.

 

Tony laughed. "Hell, no. I don't have a musical bone in my body. It used to be my mother's. She could play."

 

"Used to be?"

 

"She passed a few years back."

 

"Oh, I'm sorry." I regretted asking about it, but Tony surprisingly shrugged.

 

"Don't worry about it. We knew it was a long time coming. She went happy, enjoying her family and what it had built over the years."

 

"That's lovely."

 

"It was. Ah, and here's the main part of the house."

 

Tony showed off everything, telling me about art pieces that his father had bought and about furniture that had been important. Oddly enough, he talked about it all from the perspective of his father's possessions instead of things that were his own as well. I wondered how much he and my father were alike, but didn't ask.

 

"And out here ..." He led me out the front. I gasped a little, not having expected the sprawling grounds. There were several additional buildings dotted here and there, spreading over the property. "Out here is everything else. I could show you to the pool or even to a couple of the 'guest' homes. Those closest to the family live in those."

 

"Wow," was all I could say. It was a little overwhelming. I felt Tony squeeze my hand and pull me a little closer.

 

"You good?"

 

"Yeah, I'm good," I said. "I just. Ha. I thought my father had it made."

 

Tony grinned.

 

"Your father wishes he had it this made. Come on. Pool."

 

We passed by a few people walking the grounds, here and there. Some were in suits with earpieces—obviously security of some sort. Others were more casually dressed—men of the Esposito employ, perhaps? Their eyes turned on me curiously, some lustfully. It made me press closer to Tony, and oddly enough, doing so made me feel a little safer, especially when we came close to what I assumed was the pool house; I saw that there was a tall, ominous-looking security fence, and as I followed the line of it, I realized that it enclosed the entire property.

 

I felt a little uneasy at that. Would I be trapped here too?

 

I filed that away with things to ask Tony when he wasn't obviously intent on showing me around.

 

I heard laughter and voices coming from the pool area. Splashes, too. Tony pushed open the gate leading us into the enclosure. The same man from the night before and another I hadn't seen before were fooling around in the pool, tossing a ball back and forth. The one from last night looked up as Tony led us in.

 

"Aye, Tony! Evie! You two are up. What's up?"

 

"Just showing Evie around. Evie, this is Allan. You met him last night. He's my boy. This is Peaty. He's a bit of a son of a bitch, but he's a damn good shot and can outdrink an alcoholic."

 

"He is an alcoholic—"

 

"Shut your shit, Allan. Aye, cuteness." Peaty, a good-looking man, though definitely thinner in frame than Tony, treaded the water over to us. He grinned. "Tony being nice to you?"

 

"As nice as I think he can manage," I said with a small smile. Peaty laughed.

 

"Ha! Girl got some jokes. I like her already, T. I like her already."

 

"Yeah, well, you better not get any bright ideas," Tony said with a pointed look. Peaty waved him off.

 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep your dick in your pants. I'm not dumb."

 

I blushed at the implication.

 

"Aye, so, Evie, you wanna join us or something? Ain't shit going on the rest of the day—"

 

"I'm still showing her around the compound," Tony said. "Maybe later." Allan pouted.

 

"Maaaan. Don't keep her all to yourself! She seems nice. Oh. Oh! Papa G said be ready for him this evening. He wants to, ah, talk to the both of ya'll." Allan nodded as if that was that and pushed off back into the water, going to dunk Peaty under it. Tony shook his head.

 

"I'm sure that will be fun."

 

"Does your father not want me here?" I asked, curious.

 

Tony shrugged.

 

"I hadn't actually asked him."

 

"What?"

 

He rolled his eyes and walked us from the pool house, back towards the main home. "I don't need his permission—"

 

"Tony, we can't just do rash things like this—I can't just do rash things like this."

 

"Listen." He closed the front door of his home and turned to me. "I told you I would get you out of that shit hole your father was hiding you in—"

 

"And I'm grateful for that."

 

"And I told you that baby is my responsibility. You think I was just bullshitting you or something?"

 

"No, that's not it."

 

"Then what is it, Evie? What is it?"

 

I sighed. It was a lot of things. I thought, finding my words.

 

"I just don't understand. We were just a one-night stand. But you risk yourself, your men, and your standing with your father just to help me when you could have easily just let the problem go to someone else? You could have left me to my own devices to figure this out on my own."

 

"I'm not that kind of man, Evie," he said. "I told you—that kid is mine. I'm gonna have a say in what happens to it."

 

His conviction, I think, was what surprised me the most. I had no idea what to make of that. Men like him ...did they have convictions? Morals? Did they care about the children they put in this woman and that woman's belly? I hadn't thought so. I had only called Tony as a courtesy to him to know he had a child, not thinking he was actually going to take responsibility.

 

"I—thank you, Tony," I said. I placed my hand on his cheek. I didn't know what else to do other than show my gratitude in a soft way—a way that seemed to make the most sense. His hand covered mine, his fingers warm.

 

He leaned forward, pressing me back against the door as he kissed me.

 

It was like a romance. Two wayward souls, young, dumb, making bad choices, and facing the consequences of their actions together. He tasted like cigarette smoke, and damned if the weight of him and how solid he was didn't make me quiver.

 

"Tony ..." I breathed against his mouth. My hands found his shoulders, clinging to him and drawing him closer. I needed the contact. I was desperate for comfort. And that ...itch that had been there since the first time I had let him take me was there. That fire that burned—

 

His hands came to my ass and jerked me to him as he ground his cock against my middle. I rolled my hips against his, moaned again, and tugged his lip. Only when I felt his hands come around to the front of my shorts and move to pop the buttons did I have a small amount of sense come back to me.

 

We couldn't do this. This temporary comfort wasn't what I needed. I needed answers. I needed to know I wasn't just here for this—he talked so much about taking responsibility, but I heard how he had spoken about what was his. Did this baby make him think he had claim to me too?

 

A dirty part of me hoped it did. The logical part of me knew I had to say no.

 

"Tony ..." I put my hands on his, pulling them from me. "Tony, wait."

 

"Why? You want me. I know you want me. I want you." His mouth pressed against mine again, claiming. I was ashamed to admit it, but it was harder to pull away than it should have been.

 

"We can't."

 

He grumbled.

 

"Why not?"

 

"Because ...because ..." I shook my head. "Because this isn't going to be what I'm here for. I'm not ...I'm not property, Tony."

 

"I never said you were."

 

"You said you were coming for what was yours."

 

"My child and the mother of my child. You're my responsibility now."

 

"Tony—"

 

He put his hands on either side of my head. I didn't know what to do—I felt angry at him for trying to trap me, but it excited me too. This possessiveness ...it was different than my father's. Was it a kind I wanted?

 

"You and I both know," he said, putting his face inches from mine, "that if that baby wasn't in you, you'd still have come crawling back to me. I would have too. Your pussy has been aching for me, I bet, just like my cock's been thick for you. That baby just made it happen a little sooner and little surer, and it ensures no one else gets that sweet, little piece of yours—"

 

I smacked him.

 

"I'm not some whore just because we fucked—"

 

He turned me around, putting his teeth at my nape. He growled, and I wasn't even afraid when he held my hands above my head with one hand and forced my shorts down with the other. I was dripping wet. What the hell was wrong with me?

 

I didn't stop him as he kicked my feet apart and bent me a little closer to him. I gasped when he shoved his fingers inside me.

 

"Tell me you don't want it now, Evie. Tell me you're not mine."