Chapter Six
Across the crowded restaurant Tobias caught sight of not only one of his ex’s but also William Hamilton, the very owner of the company that ran the Hamilton program that Adora was determined not to be part of.
William was a known hound dog. He’d fuck anything with a pussy. Tobias’s ex, Katerina, was well known for screwing anyone who’d pay her for the pleasure. He used to be one of those men like William, but not anymore. Looking at Adora, he saw the freshness, the innocence, the beauty within. He glanced at the other women, dressed up in their expensive dresses, the jewels, and wondered how many of them had a hard life. Did any of them worry about having a meal from one day to the next? Adora had helped open his eyes.
He’d read Adora’s file and her mother’s. They’d struggled most of their lives to make ends meet, and he was determined to make all that stop.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“It’s fine.” He reached across the table, taking her hand. She tensed up when he first touched her but slowly relaxed, and he gave her a smile, not wanting to think of William or anyone else. Tonight was about wooing his woman, and putting a baby inside her. If she’d not been hungry, he’d have already started the baby making.
“This is a really fancy place.”
“So, how often do you speak to your professor alone?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject. Seeing Hamilton reminded him of the conversation he had with her professor, and it also made him curious to know exactly why she didn’t want to go for the number one program.
“Really? You want to play the jealousy card again? I thought we went over that.”
“Why don’t you want to be part of the Hamilton program?” he asked.
He watched her tense up and pull her hand away from him. Being the astute businessman that he was, he knew something was going on there, something that he didn’t like, not one bit.
“I don’t like to do what everyone expects of me.”
“There’s something more going on there.”
“Nope, nothing.” She grabbed the menu, staring down at it. “Have you been here before? Do you know what’s good?”
He signaled the waiter over, and ordered them both some steaks, potatoes, and vegetables. It sounded simple, but each item was made with the perfect amount of butter, garlic, and herbs, only the finest ingredients. He loved coming to this place.
Returning his attention back to his woman, he saw that she stared down at her lap. Once again, he was struck by how young she was. Not only her age, but also her insecurity came through. This world would take women like her, chew them up, and spit them back out, and he didn’t want that.
“You remind me a little of a … person I once knew,” he said.
“I do?”
“He was determined to live life his own way. For a long time, he had these beliefs, searching for love, for something more.” He hadn’t told her about his brother, purposefully evading the question. Thinking about him now, Tobias was struck by a pain that twisted inside his chest.
“You make love sound like it’s a disease or a curse.”
“Love is overrated, and in his search for it, he killed himself.”
Her lips fell open, and she glanced around the restaurant. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Love … can hurt a lot of people. You don’t need to hunt for it. Ignore what you think the world expects of you. What I’m offering you is a future that no one else can. I’m a Bennett. I rule this world, and whatever you want, I can give it you.”
Adora’s eyes glazed over with a sheen of tears. “I want love, Tobias, and apparently that’s one thing you can’t give me.”
“I thought it was you.” They were both pulled out of their conversation by William’s presence. Sitting back, Tobias didn’t allow his annoyance to show. The Bennetts didn’t need someone like Hamilton, but again, his parents would bitch and moan at him if he caused a scene. He always had to be perfect. There was never any wriggle room.
“Hamilton, Katerina, what a surprise to see you both,” he said.
“Not that much of a surprise, I believe. This place is just lovely as you well know.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Adora wanted to be anywhere but at the table. If it was possible, it appeared like she was trying to shrink away.
“We wondered if you and your date would care to join us?” Hamilton said.
Adora stared at him and gave a shake of her head. He saw the pleading in her eyes.
“I want her all to myself tonight, Hamilton. Thank you for the invite.”
Hamilton finally looked at her. “Maria?”
Now this made Tobias tense up as Adora closed her eyes for a few seconds, and looked up at him. He didn’t know what it was, but he suddenly saw a little of Hamilton in her features, and everything made sense. Maria had been cleaning for him roughly around the time that Adora was conceived.
Not only that, her determination not to join the Hamilton Program now made sense.
Staring at the man, then at the girl, then at the man again, Tobias knew that he was looking at her father. Not only that, her father was finally staring at the girl he clearly denied.
Adora turned toward him. “I need to use the bathroom. Is there one here?”
“I can show it to you,” Katerina said.
Before he had a chance to dispute the two women leaving, they were gone. His anger started to build, especially knowing that she was about to be the mother of his child, and by right, she should inherit part of the Hamilton fortune. The man himself only had sons.
His parents would fucking kill to have a foot in the family, and right now, he was courting one of those chances, seeing as they didn’t have a daughter to send off to marry.
Hamilton watched Adora leave.
The man looked positively pale, and everything seemed to become clear to Tobias. “You’re a fucking asshole, you know that, right?” Tobias said, glaring at the man before him.
“Excuse me?”
“You know exactly what I mean. You fuck the cleaner, knock her up, and dump her on her ass.” He snorted. “I always knew that you didn’t own up to all of your shit, and Adora is one of them.”
“You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” Hamilton said.
“I know this is the first time you’ve ever seen your daughter.” Tobias laughed. “Wow, you know what? I want you to leave my table right now because when I look at that woman, and I think of all the shit she’s been through, I don’t like what I feel, or what I’m tempted to do.” He stared at the man who he once respected. Sure, Hamilton was a bastard, but right now, it was glaringly obvious the guy fucked up, and instead of dealing with it, he just brushed it aside.
He thought about Maria and her lack of English, her innocence being taken advantage of, and struggling to raise a daughter alone.
Hamilton left the table, and seconds later Adora joined him. Her cheeks were red, and she stared at him. “You really know how to pick women,” she said.
“Katerina is an ex. She’s a whore who gives favors to men.” He took a sip of his wine, her nerves palpable. “And William Hamilton is your father, which is why you don’t want to work for him. On your birth certificate it states the father is unknown.”
“How do you know that?”
“You’re going to be the mother of my child. Don’t you think I’d learn everything there is to know about you?”
She licked her lips, and the waiter came out with their food. Thanking him, he kept his attention on Adora.
“My mom kept a diary. She talked about him for a long time. Her time with him, and how she fell in love, how he made her think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. It was all lies.” She glanced over at the table where her father sat. “Nothing was the truth. She fell in love with a liar. When she found out she was pregnant, he kicked her out. Told her to get rid of it. That she was nothing more than a cleaner and a two-bit whore.” She paused, wiping beneath her eyes. “He broke her heart. I want nothing to do with him.”
“You’re entitled to your inheritance, and part of the Hamilton fortune.”
She laughed. “I’d rather clean apartments and homes for the rest of my life than accept anything from him. I’m sorry that you don’t understand that.”
“I do understand. It doesn’t have to be like that. Not for you, and certainly not for your mother.”
“That’s why I’m here though, right? You want me to give up my dreams for a baby. Tell me, Tobias, how are you any different from my dad?”
****
“You’re nothing special. Men like Tobias use women and spit them back out. We’re just a bit of amusement for him.”
Adora rubbed at her chest feeling open, exposed, and cornered. The anxiety threatened to spill out, and she took a sip of her wine to try to blank everything out. Her father was here. He’d said her mom’s name, and Tobias knew the dirty truth.
Katerina’s words still echoed around her mind, and now she wondered how Tobias was any different from the man who donated sperm. She couldn’t call William Hamilton her father. That bastard was anything but, and she wouldn’t give him or anyone else the satisfaction of trying to get him to own up to his responsibility. She wanted nothing else to do with him. Simply being in the same breathing space was too much.
All she wanted to do was curl up with her mom, and forget about everything.
“I’m nothing like him,” Tobias said.
She cut up the steak but didn’t even bother putting it in her mouth. Katerina was Tobias’s ex, and she looked like a super model. The few moments they shared in the bathroom had been a complete overshare. From the warning about how they were mere playthings, to talking about the length of Tobias’s cock, it was all too much. “I need some air.”
Without waiting for him to say anything, she left the table, stepping outside of the restaurant, and away from any prying eyes.
Grasping the wall several feet from the building, she took deep breaths. In a matter of days, she’d suffered with two anxiety attacks.
She had to get out of this deal with Tobias. She couldn’t handle it. She’d never be cut out for that kind of life. He didn’t do love, and all she wanted was someone to love her.
“Don’t leave like that,” Tobias said.
His hands stroked up and down her arms, and she kept her eyes closed, welcoming his comforting touch.
“Come on, the car’s waiting.”
“No, I can’t. I can’t do this.” She spun to face him, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, but I need you to leave me alone.”
Tobias stepped up close to her, invading her space. “Remember how good it feels to have my hands on you?”
She shook her head. “No! I don’t want to remember. I don’t want to continue this. Your ex was right there. My own father, who is married with kids, was right there. I don’t want this life. When I have a child, it’s going to be with a man I fall in love with. A man who will love me unconditionally and doesn’t care about me being a cleaner’s daughter.”
Tobias grabbed her arm, and pulled her toward the waiting car. She began to fight him, and he yanked her so she fell against him. To anyone watching, they were embracing.
“If you don’t get in this car, I’m going to cause a scene you’re really going to regret,” he said.
She hated scenes, not that she’d created many herself.
Adora much preferred to be out of the way of prying eyes. When Tobias opened the door, she didn’t argue. Climbing inside the car, she buckled her seatbelt, resting her head in her hand. Her elbow rested on the frame of the door.
She didn’t say anything to him as he got behind the wheel, and drove away from the restaurant. Their date and meal had been ruined.
He didn’t take her home, nor did he take her to her mother’s. She didn’t argue as he pulled up into the private parking lot of the condo where he lived. Opening her door, she followed him to the waiting elevator. Neither of them spoke as they made their way to his apartment.
Tobias closed and locked the front door while she moved toward his large window, which overlooked the city. He held so much power that it was almost frightening to think about. She saw his reflection in the window as he held up two glasses with dark amber liquid.
“I’m nothing like your father.”
She took the glass from him with a thank you. She stared down at the liquid, the scent of whiskey making her nose wrinkle.
“It’s not a taste you’ll like, but it’ll put some fire back inside you.”
Sipping at the dark liquid, she coughed as it hit her throat. “Thank you.”
“William Hamilton is not a close friend of mine. My parents would love me to marry into that family.”
She laughed. “Wow. He only has sons.” Younger brothers she’d never met. She didn’t know if they were like her father or not, nor did she care to find out.
“I wouldn’t ever allow a woman to raise my child alone. Even if I had nothing to do with a kid, I’d make sure they were taken care of. Everything their hearts desired would be theirs.”
Looking at Tobias was hard to do. His words were always so blunt that it was impossible to believe that she found herself falling for him. She wanted love. He refused to give it, told her constantly that she wouldn’t ever get it from him.
“It was hard for you and your mom, wasn’t it?” he asked.
For some reason she didn’t think it was a question that needed answering. “Seeing him tonight was … hard.” She finished off the whiskey, handing him back the glass, and finally looking at him. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him up close. Mom doesn’t even know that I know about him. I read her diary without her permission. I don’t want to be in her position. She never found anyone else. Her love has always been for a man who’ll never love her back. Tonight, he’s married to someone else, and he was with another woman.”
Tobias once again pulled her into his arms, and she didn’t fight him.
“I’m not like him. I’d never leave you, and I will always care for you and our child.”
She gripped the lapels of his jacket, and pressed her face against his chest. It wasn’t enough.
Tobias rubbed her back, and as the time passed, she closed her eyes, basking in his touch. His hands were so large and smooth. There were no callouses that scratched her as he touched her skin. Slowly, the tension in the room changed.
She became aware of the beautiful dress she wore. How her nipples tightened at the rub of fabric against them.
Biting her lip, she stared up at him, trapped by his gaze.
“I know you’re not like him,” she said.
He stroked her cheek, his hand cupping her face as his thumb ran across her lip. She closed her eyes, gasping as he pressed his thumb inside her mouth. Instinctually, she sucked on him, loving his moan as she tasted him.
“I’ll do anything for you, Adora. All I want is you, your body, and for you to be the mother of my child.” His hands moved around her neck. He stroked over the pulse before going to the straps of her dress, pushing them down.
Her pussy pulsed as arousal hit her.
His gaze was always so intense, so focused that she struggled to break free from it, not that she wanted to. She loved his gaze on her, the fire directed on her alone. She’d seen the annoyance in his eyes when Katerina had been close. He’d not been happy to see his ex.
Pushing away thoughts of the other women in his life, she followed his direction, turning so that he could slide the zipper down.
There were no words as the dress fell down on the floor, and she stepped out of it.
“You can take off the heels.” Kicking them off, she lost a couple of inches. “One day I’ll stare at you completely naked with only heels, but tonight’s not the time.”
He picked her up, and she wrapped her arms around her neck with a gasp.
“You feel perfect in my arms. I won’t have you any other way.”
She didn’t complain that she was too heavy as he carried her toward his bedroom. She held onto him tightly, afraid that he’d drop her. His strength was only another turn-on.
His bedroom door was already open, and he placed her on her feet. She watched as he removed his jacket, and became aware that she stood before him in only her underwear. He’d seen her before, touched her body, but right then she felt too exposed.
Tobias stepped in front of her after tossing his jacket on a chair. “Take off my shirt.”
She rubbed her arms, and reached out, sliding the buttons open, mesmerized by his hard, muscular chest as she opened his shirt.
“Now take it off.”
Her mouth went dry. Sliding her hands from his stomach up, she watched the crisp white shirt fall to the floor.
This is really happening.
I can’t believe it.
Her heart pounded, threatening to explode from her ribcage.
Tobias circled her, one of his hands going to her waist, trailing a circle around her body. She didn’t pull away from him, not that she wanted to. Away from the prying eyes of the people in his world, she lost any reason to deny him, deny this. He made her ache in ways that she couldn’t begin to think about, or describe. There was no way she’d ever feel this way about anyone else.
Does it matter he’ll never love me?
I can live without love.
She’d been doing it for years. His lips trailing across her collarbone, making her ache in all the delicious ways. He stepped behind her. His touch made her skin burn. She couldn’t wait for more to come.