Chapter Nine
The second his mother said she was entering the lobby with his father, Adora’s words rang in his head. His parents did like to control him; they had since he was a kid. He wasn’t a fucking pushover, and wouldn’t let them drive him to the breaking point. They’d trained him well, too well—he’d surpassed his father’s strength in their industry well over a decade ago. Tobias had protected himself and his investment in the Bennett Corporation, so his parents could never fuck him over like they did with Maximus. He’d been drilled to be the perfect son, but his parents had shown their true colors too many times over the years. His loyalty had begun to fracture long ago.
“Why are they here? Do they usually just pop in?” asked Adora. She was distraught, trying to arrange her hair and fix her shirt. Actually, it was his shirt, and she looked fucking adorable in it.
“Relax. I’m sure they’re not staying. We’re not exactly a close-knit family.”
Tobias decided this was as good a time as any to break the news to his parents. Adora would be the mother of his child, and, he hoped, his wife. This all happened so quickly, he still wasn’t sure how it would all work out. He knew he needed an heir, but didn’t have a plan of action until he saw Adora standing by his window.
A loud knocking echoed in the room. He could only imagine why they were stopping by, but he didn’t have a good feeling about it. Tobias had made sure there was plenty of distance between his condo and his parents’ home when he’d bought the penthouse suite. It had been one of his major deciding factors.
He opened the door.
“Tobias, is that any way to answer the door?” asked his mother. He glanced down at himself, not really giving a shit that he only had jogging pants on.
“What does social protocol tell us about showing up uninvited?”
She ignored his question and pushed past him into the condo, followed by his father and another woman. “Tobias, this is Gloria Ellen Palmer. You remember her, don’t you?”
“Should I?”
“Don’t be rude. She was at the country club golf tournament last year,” said Julia, his match-making mother. He was forty-five, not twenty-five. Tobias did not need help finding a woman, certainly not from his family.
“Julia, it’s early Saturday morning, and you’ve shown up without calling. I’m not in the mood.”
“I’ve tried calling, but you never answer your phone.”
His father, Andrew Bennett, stood there with the same miserable frown permanently creased into his features. He’d been a cold, demanding father growing up, never accepting an ounce of weakness from him. Tobias had to remind himself he was no longer a helpless child, and the old bastard no longer called the shots in his life.
“Your mother went through a lot of trouble to arrange Gloria’s visit today. I’d think you’d at least be grateful,” said Andrew.
“I never asked to be set up,” he said. “But if this has anything to do with the heir you’re so insistent on, I’ve got it covered.”
His mother looked back and forth from him to his father, confusion on her face. “I don’t understand.”
Tobias closed the front door and walked through the great room to the kitchen. Adora was still standing behind the counter where he’d left her.
“I’d like you to meet Adora Garcia,” he said, waving his hand in her direction. “Adora, my parents.” He internally cringed. This was not the first face-to-face he’d planned. It was supposed to include a nice dinner and grand introduction, everyone on their best behavior.
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Adora, her sweet, shy voice making him smile.
His mother didn’t even acknowledge her, rolling her eyes less than discreetly. “Now, what were you saying about an heir?”
He ground his teeth together. No one tested his patience more than his own family. “I’m trying to introduce you to the mother of my child.”
Julia’s jaw dropped. “The maid? What are you talking about, Tobias? Explain yourself.”
This was turning out to be worse than dinner last night. He kept fucking up over and over, and how long until Adora had had enough?
“Why would you assume she’s my fucking maid?”
“Language, Tobias.”
“You know, I thought you’d be happy. I entered this whole ‘keep the Bennett name alive challenge’ because of you. Now, I’m telling you there’ll be a baby here in nine months, and not even a congratulations?”
“You’ve impregnated this girl? I can’t even count the number of eligible women I’ve introduced you to. Are you purposely being defiant?”
“If either of you think I’m going to let you pick my wife, you don’t know me at all. I call the shots. I pick my own woman, and Adora’s the one I choose.”
Just then the sound of the front door opening and closing caught everyone’s attention. Maria came around the corner with her cleaning supplies in her arms for her usual Saturday morning shift. Tobias scrubbed both hands over his face. Fuck me.
“And who is this now?” asked Julia. “Another maid?”
“That’s my mother,” said Adora.
His mother snorted.
“Can we talk in private?” asked Andrew. “You’re going to give your mother a nervous breakdown.”
His mother would need emotions in order to have a breakdown. She was just pissed off she didn’t get her way. Appearances and the right people meant everything to her, so Adora would be a major letdown. He wasn’t desperate for their approval like he was years ago, but a small part of him had hoped his parents would accept Adora with open arms.
He wouldn’t hold his breath.
“Anything you have to say, you can say right here.”
Andrew adjusted his jacket and shoulders. “I was too lenient with you. Gave you too much freedom. Why else would you shame the Bennett name like this?”
“What shame? Because I won’t jump into bed with Rod Palmer’s daughter? You wanted a baby, I delivered. If you can’t accept my choice, then I suggest you refrain from popping in again.”
His dad began to lead his mother to the door, turning back once. “We will talk about this later.”
“Unless you’re planning a baby shower, we have nothing to talk about.”
When they got to the door, his father glared at him, only a couple feet away. Tobias waited for some smart-ass comment. “I can’t believe we put all our hopes on you. Such a mistake.”
Tobias held his arms out to his sides. “Well, I’m all you’ve got. Or have you forgotten what happened to your first son?”
They left without another word, and he locked the door, resting a hand against the wood as he collected himself. His parents’ reaction didn’t surprise him. What mattered was the fact Adora had witnessed the freak show. He didn’t want their behavior to impact him, but their bullshit parenting was deep-seated. Maximus had been right. Tobias was chasing the wind trying to please them. Nothing would ever be enough, and they’d destroy him if he kept striving for their version of perfection.
He took a cleansing breath and returned to the kitchen. Adora was in the same place, no expression on her face. She’d been talking to Maria, but her mother quickly left the room as he entered. “I should go,” she said.
“No.”
Her eyes began to glisten. “I don’t belong here. It’ll never work between us and you know it.”
“You can read my mind now?” he asked.
“That was Gloria Palmer, Tobias. She’s a model, for God’s sake. Her father is a billionaire hotel mogul. Even I know that.”
“And?”
“She wanted you, probably wanted to have your baby. That’s what you should want.”
“Because my parents say so? That’s not how any of this works, baby. I make the decisions for my own life, not them,” he said.
“They’ll never accept me.”
“Fuck them.”
Adora put her face in her palms. When she finally looked up again, he hated the insecurity in her eyes. “I told my mom about us. I didn’t exactly have a choice standing in your kitchen in just a t-shirt.”
“What did she say?”
She shook her head, coming around the kitchen island. “What do you think she said? She doesn’t approve. She expected to clean up after one of your one-nighters this morning, and didn’t expect to find me here. My mother wants better for me.”
His parents wouldn’t understand that logic. To them, better meant wealthier, having more power and influence. In Adora’s world, it meant happiness.
She tried to skirt around him to get to the bedroom. He grabbed her arm, yanking her against his chest. She struggled, tears filling her eyes. He refused to release her, letting her vent her emotions. Adora was such a sensitive little thing. It would be a full-time job to ensure the darkness in his world didn’t destroy her. He had to shelter her, make sure she never felt the same desperation Maximus once suffered through.
“Stop,” he whispered, kissing her atop the head.
“I’ll never work,” she repeated. “We’re too different. I need to get out of here.”
“If you think it’s over, you’re wrong,” said Tobias. “When you took my cock last night, screaming my name, you signed up for the long haul, baby. I never plan on letting you go. I don’t give a shit what my parents think, what your mother thinks, or what the whole goddamn world thinks. This is between you and me. You’re my woman now. Nothing and no one is going to change that.”
He released her.
After stepping back, she stared at him for a moment.
“Have a little faith in me, Adora.”
She walked away.
****
What was I thinking? Adora hailed a taxi on the downtown strip. She could only imagine what she looked like with her black evening gown on and oversized t-shirt tossed over it. Her hair was in tangles, and her eyes felt sore and puffy from crying.
She hadn’t bothered saying good-bye to her mother, not when she was an emotional basket case. Why was she a mess?
Because she was in love.
And it could never work.
He may say his family didn’t matter, but given time, he’d start to resent her. She’d always be the black sheep, and her baby would probably never be loved by his family. Adora clutched her stomach as the taxi weaved through the morning traffic. Could she be pregnant? If she was, history was about to repeat itself.
Adora arrived at her apartment in the shitty part of the city, a sharp contrast to where she’d been picked up. She slammed her door behind her, threw her purse, and dove onto her threadbare sofa in tears. Adora was angry with herself for going along with Tobias’s plan, for giving up her life for him. And now for not wanting anything more.
Why did she leave? She should have stayed and talked things out, allowing him to fend off her fears. But his family had made her feel so small, and that woman had been beyond beautiful. Adora had been standing in his kitchen in just an old t-shirt with morning hair, and her insecurities had gotten the better of her. It was hard to believe that Tobias could want her more than a fashion model.
She cried until there were no more tears. All she wanted was Tobias, and for their circumstances to have been different. Adora was in mourning, wanting something so badly but knowing it was forever out of reach. But she had to be strong, to try to pretend none of this whirlwind had ever happened. The midnight hour had passed, and her Cinderella fantasy was over.
Adora hung up her dress in the closet and jumped in the shower. She needed to wash Tobias’s distinct scent off her body, to start anew, and focus on her homework. Her mother had managed to move on after heartbreak, so she could do the same.
When she finished changing, still towel drying her hair, her cellphone rang.
It was him.
She reached to answer it, but stopped herself. Her emotional state was too fragile right now, and she’d too easily fall for his sweet words and promises. For the rest of the weekend, she needed to focus on her priorities.
By the time Monday morning came around, Tobias had called well over a dozen times before she finally turned off her phone. He’d have to give up sooner or later. Maybe a little time would help him realize how stupid it was to hook up with the maid’s daughter. Maybe his mother would help him see thing clearly.
She strolled through the campus grounds to her first morning class, her books cradled in her arms. The birds sang in the branches above her, the usual sights and sounds soothing her. You can do this, she assured herself. It was any other Monday.
Before she reached the building, she heard someone jogging close from behind. When she turned to look, the man stopped beside her, walking at her pace. He worse a suit and carried a briefcase. At first, she assumed he was a professor … until he spoke.
“I’m Jeff Langley. I represent Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. I’ve been authorized to pay a generous amount in your name.”
She stopped dead and faced him. “And what do I have to do?”
“It’s free money. You just need to keep your distance from their son, and not to list him on your child’s birth certificate. If you don’t want to go through with the pregnancy, the payout could be even higher.”
Adora seethed on the inside, a mix of shock and disgust twisting her gut. Just because she was poor didn’t mean she’d sell out for money. Tobias’s parents were too much, and she wondered if he knew what they were up to.
“Tell them to keep their money. I’m not interested in any of it.” She wanted to say so much more, but wouldn’t stoop to their level. Adora began to walk up the path at a faster speed.
“You’re making a mistake if you don’t take their offer. They’re a very powerful family.”
“Stay away from me!”
Adora rushed into the building and down the hallway toward her first class. Tears clouded her vision. If Tobias was able to blackmail her into having his baby, she could only imagine what his parents were capable of. She didn’t want any more problems in her life, and certainly not in her mother’s.
Before she got to the lecture hall, a strong hand grabbed her, bringing her to a stop.
“Adora.”
She looked up into Tobias’s face. His eyes were narrowed, his forehead creased, but her body still melted in relief. She’d been dreaming of him every night.
“Why are you crying?”
Adora shook her head and huffed. “You don’t know?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Your parents want to pay for my abortion. I don’t even want to imagine what they’ll do when their lawyer tells them I refused.”
If she thought he looked pissed off a minute ago, he looked absolutely livid now, his jaw clenched and eyes vacant.
He tugged her by the arm down the hall, away from her class. They came to an empty room at the other end of the building, and he forced her inside before locking the door behind him. “First things first, why haven’t you answered any of my calls? I’ve barely slept all weekend worrying about you.” He ran a hand through his hair, and she noticed he looked more tired than he usually did. “I’m supposed to be at the office right now, but I’m here, because you’re all I fucking think about.”
She had no response. His voice was loud and angry, but his words held so much passion. Passion she’d thought he was incapable of.
“Nothing to say? You think you can walk away from this, Adora?” He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her so hard, her body slammed against his, her books falling to the floor. “I’m never letting you go.”
“Did you not hear what I said about your parents?”
He scoffed. “You think that changes anything between us?”
“They’re your parents, Tobias.”
“I’ll fucking deal with them, but trust me, nothing they do can shock me. You have no idea the shit they’ve put me through.”
“Well, they have a high-priced lawyer after me, and I don’t want them destroying my life when I’ve done nothing wrong.”
He cupped her face in his hands, staring at her with such intensity her breath caught. “You think I’ll let them do anything to you? To our baby? They’re trying to control my life, but when it comes to you, there will be no compromises. I need you to understand that.”
“The lawyer threatened me, said they were powerful.”
Tobias chuckled, then exhaled away his anger. “I’m the majority shareholder at the Bennett Corporation, not my father. I’m the one to be feared, Adora.”
“I should be afraid of you?”
“I’m saying you shouldn’t be afraid of anyone or anything … not when you have me.” He placed a hand under each of her shoulders and lifted her off her feet, his strength amazing her. Tobias pinned her against the wall, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. His hard cock pressed against her core.
He nuzzled her neck, the scent of his familiar cologne arousing her effortlessly. “It’s been three days since you were in my bed.”
“We can’t do this,” she whispered, already under his spell.
He kissed her on the mouth, his tongue demanding entrance. She forgot all her resolve, falling victim to him all over again. She needed him like she needed air to breathe. They kissed like lovers being reunited, hungry and desperate for each other. “I want to see you after classes in my office,” he said.
“Your office?” She held him around the neck, wanting more of his kisses.
“I’ll send a car for you. I have a heavy workload today, but I have to see you. We have a lot of unfinished business to deal with.” His voice was hoarse and breathing labored.
“Have you thought about this, Tobias?”
She wanted to tell him that he’d stolen her heart. She wanted to be sure that his family wouldn’t be a problem, even though she couldn’t see a way around it.
“Nothing’s changed. We made a deal in the coffee shop, remember? One night in my bed isn’t enough reassurance that you’re carrying my baby.”
“Is that all this really is, Tobias? You want to breed with me?”
His growled, his hand cupping her ass as he thrust against her, making her gasp. Tobias combed his free hand in her hair, securing her head. “There’s no other woman I want,” he said. He nipped along her jawline, before shelling her ear with his tongue. “I’m going to fuck you until I’m certain you’re pregnant with my child. I don’t care how long it takes.”
She liked the sound of that, her overheated body craving his hard body all over hers. Her body had fully healed the past few days, and all she craved was more of what Tobias could give her.
The chimes for opening classes sounded in the hallway. “I have to go,” she said.
He lowered her to her feet, and her entire body ached for him when he pulled away. Tobias glanced at his watch. “Three-thirty, Adora. Be ready for my driver at the front of the school.”
“Okay,” she said. She couldn’t refuse him, didn’t want to refuse him. After the nightmare on Saturday morning with his parents, she’d convinced herself a relationship could never survive. But every time she was in Tobias’s presence, his confidence and commanding presence made all her worries slip away.
He adjusted his collar, then opened the door. Tobias turned to her, his dark eyes focused on her alone. “Never run from me again.”