CHAPTER EIGHT
A boy, not older than seven or eight, skidded to a halt in front of Ebony and gaped at her. He had the same shaggy black hair and bright green eyes as Atlas and Ebony smiled at him. “You must be Fino.”
A moment’s hesitation and then the boy smiled, the same wide, friendly, devastating smile as his uncle, and presumably his father. A moment later, Ebony saw his father, Mateo, as he came down the steps of the Tigri mansion to greet them.
“Hey, At, hey, Ebony, great to meet you.”
Ebony thought he was going to kiss her cheek; instead, Mateo picked her up and twirled her around, making her shriek with laughter. Atlas chuckled, shaking his head. “He likes to surprise people.”
“Ebony isn’t people, she’s family,” his brother corrected, setting Ebony back on her feet and grinning down at her. “You said it yourself.”
“Did you?” Ebony looked at Atlas and smiled, touched all over again even though he’d said as much at the dinner table.
“That’s the last time I tell you a secret,” Atlas teased his brother, while wrestling with his nephew.
“I’ve never seen him so enchanted,” Mateo went on, smirking.
Ebony flushed as Atlas sighed. “Dude.”
Mateo grinned, unrepentant. “Sorry, bro. Fino, come give Ebony a hug.”
Ebony was about to say he didn’t need to when Fino threw himself at her. She hugged the young boy, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the warmth of the Tigri’s greeting, but she soon realized it was par for the course for the Tigri twins. Their house, while as palatial as she would have expected, was also a place of love and laughter. Mateo introduced her to the sweet Molly, who clearly adored both Mateo and his son, and enjoyed a jokey relationship with Atlas. Their chef, Annalise, prepared a delicious buffet for their lunch, and afterward, Atlas took Ebony on a tour of the grounds.
It was bitingly cold, but Ebony hunkered down in her thick wool coat, and Atlas offered her his arm. The grounds looked like a Winter Wonderland – a hoar frost was clinging to the vegetation, the trees, and the fences around the property.
“You grew up here?”
Atlas nodded. “Most of the year. We spent a lot of time in Italy, too, Padua, where we were born.” He smiled down at her. “Maybe I can take you there sometime.”
Ebony grinned. “One thing at a time, Atlas, I’m still processing that someone like you could want someone like me.”
Atlas frowned. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I mean, look at this.” She gestured around the grounds, and to the house. “I’m just a kid from St. Anne’s. Obe and I went to regular high school, we brown-bagged our lunches, we worked three jobs through college to pay for it. I’m…ordinary, and you are…a god.”
Atlas chuckled, but his eyes were serious. “Ebony, you are anything but ordinary. And what does all this mean except we got lucky to be born wealthy? Yes, both Mateo and I have made our own fortunes, but we had doors opened for us to help us achieve that. Believe me, I am the last person you should consider a god, whatever that means. I have plenty of demons.”
Ebony wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Sexy.”
Atlas laughed, but his eyes were serious. “We don’t know each other yet, Ebony, but I won’t hide anything from you. I want to know everything about you, and there’s nothing about me, or my life, or my past I want to hide from you. Ask me anything.”
Ebony chuckled, pushing aside the fact that she was very definitely hiding something from him. “Um, okay. When did your parents pass?”
“Our dad when we were kids, Mom a few years ago.”
She nodded. “And your step-dad remarried?”
“On a whim, we think, but Stan practically brought us up, so we support him no matter what.”
“And he has a son who looks like death.”
Atlas half-smiled, but there was a serious edge to the curl of his lips. “It’s not that I don’t like Cormac, rather that we have nothing in common with him. The man has no sense of humor, and he’s a shark. He’s engaged to the heiress of a very, very wealthy New York family, because,” and he continued in a deadpanned voice, “inheriting Stanley’s billions won’t be enough.”
Ebony snickered. “Must be hard for him.”
“Right? Corman will always take the easy way to quick money – as long as it’s legal. I give him that, he’s a straight shooter. He doesn’t hide his ambition.” Atlas pulled her abruptly into a warm hug. “Ebs, he’s coming for Christmas, and I wanted to warn you about him. He has very little tact, and he’ll grill you endlessly. I’ll protect you, but he has a habit of being tenacious when he wants to know something.”
She read easily between the lines. “You’re saying he’ll immediately assume I’m a gold-digger?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Ebony shrugged. “Atlas, I wouldn’t care if you were poor and lived under a bridge. Your money is of no interest to me.”
Atlas stopped and tilted her chin up so he could kiss her. “I know that, Ebony.” He pressed his lips to hers, his tongue massaged hers gently. “God, you’re beautiful.”
Ebony’s mouth curved up in a smile. “I’m glad you think so.”
Atlas chuckled, then grabbing her hand, moved away from the house. “Come with me.”
He led her further into the grounds to an area shaded from the house, and Ebony gasped as she realized they were in a maze. “Wow. It’s like Harry Potter.”
Atlas laughed. “Fino thinks so too. But what I have in mind right now is way more R-rated than even JK Rowling’s adult books.”
“Adult what? She wrote books post-Harry? I think I’m brokenhearted,” Ebony joked breathlessly as he took her in his arms and kissed her, as his hands slid down the length of her body.
“Good idea to wear a skirt, baby.”
“In this cold?” she teased. “I knew you had skills.”
His hands slid her panties down her legs and over her boots as she unzipped his fly. Atlas produced a condom from his back pocket, and Ebony laughed. “So, this was a plan?”
“Oh, god, yes…Ebony in the snow…man, I’ve dreamed about this.”
She freed his cock from his underwear, and he cussed little at the cold, making her giggle furiously. Nevertheless, he was inside her in a flash, supporting her, as they fucked against the maze’s thick hedge. It wasn’t an entirely successful pairing; Atlas wobbled as their pace quickened and they tumbled to the snow, both laughing furiously. “Damn,” Atlas said, shaking his head, “In my head, that was so erotic.”
Ebony had tears of laughter in her eyes as he helped her to her feet. “Worth a shot,” she said as she helped him tidy up. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
“Yeah, you will,” he leered at her comically, and she giggled.
“You are so silly for a billionaire businessman. Aren’t you all supposed to be arrogant and aloof?”
Atlas shrugged. “That sounds like way too much effort. Mateo can do that to a certain extent, but he’s a better actor than I am.”
“You’re the softy of the two of you?”
Atlas considered as he took her hand. “In different ways. Mateo is quicker to anger, whereas I’m the one who will take a lot until I blow, then it’s like Armageddon.”
Ebony studied. “I can’t imagine that.”
“I lost my temper at work the other day,” he admitted. “A man showed up, one responsible for his wife’s death on Romy’s operating table. If she hadn’t been there to restrain me …”
She kissed him softly. “There are places and times when exploding is understandable.”
“I’m so glad you agree.” He grinned at her and rolled his hips, playful once more as he tumbled her back into the snow and kissed her over and over, their laughter ringing through the vast property.
The rest of the day passed quickly, playing with Fino, who Ebony was madly in love with, and joking around with the Tigri twins. As she and Atlas left for the city, Mateo hugged her.
“So, we’ll see you in two days for Christmas?”
Ebony nodded, kissing his cheek. “You will, thank you, Mateo. Thanks for making me feel so welcome.”
“My pleasure, honey.” He winked at his brother. “I always said my brother had good taste. You’ll meet my Molly then, too. I know you will get along.”
Fino also clung to her and Ebony felt something shift inside her. Was this what having a child would feel like? This joy, this wonder of the new? “Come back soon,” Fino ordered, and Ebony grinned at him.
“How can I resist such a request? Bye, Fino, next time I see you, you’ll have to teach me how to play chess.”
Mateo coughed something that sounded suspiciously like ‘geeks’ and Fino grinned at his dad.
In the car, Atlas looked over at Ebony. She was smiling to herself. “Did you like my family, baby?”
She nodded. “Very much, Atlas. Mateo and Fino have such a wonderful relationship.”
“They do. No one was more surprised than me when Mateo stepped up to be a father. He astonished me. He was always the playboy of the two of us, reckless, and sometimes irresponsible, but when Fino came along, it was almost instantaneous, the change in my brother. He’s incredible.”
Atlas smiled at Ebony but was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “Hey, hey, hey…”
Ebony half-chuckled. “It’s okay, it’s just so moving. And Fino is such a wonderful little kid.”
“He is.” Atlas touched her cheek. “How about you? Do you want kids?”
Her faint hesitation surprised him, given how well she’d gotten along with Fino. “In time. And I want a guarantee he or she will be exactly like Fino.” Ebony colored. “I mean…I’m not presuming…oh god, I really stuck my foot in my mouth.”
Atlas grinned at her. “No, you didn’t. I already know I would love to have kids with you. Does that scare you?”
Ebony gave a strange half-laugh, which almost sounded like a sob. “A little.”
“No expectations,” Atlas said lightly, trying to ease the sudden awkwardness, “Just a fact.”
Ebony was quiet for the rest of the journey and Atlas wondered if he’d scared her off. “Look,” he said, as they rode the elevator to his apartment. “All I meant was…”
“It’s okay,” Ebony interrupted him, her hand on his face. “I know what you meant, and I feel the same. But we’re in the very early days of whatever this is.”
Atlas smiled ruefully. “You’re discovering one of my many faults – I get overexcited, and overreach. I’m just happy we met.”
Ebony smiled at him. “Me too, Atlas.”
They sat up talking until late, cuddled together on the couch until Atlas swept her into his arms and carried her to bed.
Their lovemaking was tender and slow-burning this time, Atlas’s thick, long cock thrusting in measured strokes as they kissed and caressed each other. Atlas admired Ebony’s luscious body as she writhed beneath him, the dampness on her skin making it glow, the way her full breasts, her softly curved belly undulated with their movements. Atlas loved the feeling of being buried deep inside her velvety cunt. Her vaginal muscles contracted around his shaft, milking him, caressing him until he was shooting cum deep into her belly.
“God, you’re amazing,” he gasped, shuddering and groaning as he came, admiring the way her back arched up as she came, her thighs clamped around his waist. They fit together so perfectly.
They fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, but in the early hours Atlas woke suddenly. Finding the bed empty beside him, he sat up, listening. From the bathroom, he could hear violent wretching and immediately swung his legs out of bed in concern. “Ebs?”
Receiving no response, he got up and went to the bathroom door, knocking gently. “Ebony? Are you okay?”
The wretching began. “I’m coming in.”
“No, it’s…” But her words were cut off by more vomiting. Atlas pushed open the door, glad it hadn’t been locked, and crouched next to her as she hovered over the toilet. Reaching for a washcloth and wetting it with cold water, he gently wiped her face the next time she came up for air.
“Are you okay?” he asked with deep concern at her pallid, gray, sweating countenance.
“Yeah, I’m so sorry, Atlas. I just woke up and felt nauseous.”
“Why are you apologizing?” He smoothed her damp hair back, lingering on her flushed skin.
“This,” Ebony indicated herself, “is the opposite of sexy.”
Atlas rolled his eyes. “God forbid you should be human. Do you want me to call a doctor?”
Ebony shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll wait it out – hopefully it’s nothing more than a twenty-four-hour thing.”
Atlas frowned. “I hope so, baby. Look, let’s get you back to bed, I think I have some Pepto somewhere.”
Later, back in bed, Ebony pretended to fall asleep, and then when she heard Atlas’s breathing settle into a steady rhythm, she opened her eyes. You can’t put this off any longer, she thought, not if you want a future with this man. You’re pregnant, and it isn’t going to magically go away. See a doctor. See someone. Make a decision.
The thought of abortion made her feel wretched, even though she supported the right to choose; at the same time, how could she tell this wonderful man she was pregnant with another man’s child? What would he think of her if he knew the circumstances of the conception? Would he think she was a whore?
God, you stupid, stupid woman, she berated herself and felt her eyes fill with tears. No. I will not wallow in self-pity. In the morning, I’ll call Romy and ask for her help, her advice.
Decision made, she snuggled back into Atlas’s warm embrace and finally fell asleep.