“Don’t worry about what she said. She doesn’t know anything. We’ll fix whichever one you like best.”
She carefully took the first dress from the rack and started toward one of the smaller changing rooms.
“Ah-ah,” he said. “Right there, baby doll. I want to see it all.”
She looked like a deer in the headlights, but didn’t argue. It surprised him. She hooked the dress back on the rack and pulled her sweater up over her head, her ponytail swinging down over her back once it was off. Then she slipped off her shoes and wiggled out of her pants. Once she was in just her bra and panties, his cock grew harder than the stone floors. He ran his palm over the front of his pants, trying to get comfortable.
“What if someone comes in?”
“They won’t,” he said. “Untie your hair.”
She pulled out the elastic holding it back, her thick hair fanning out once released. It reached her ass, and she looked like a fucking angel. He’d chosen well. Adora had wide hips for child bearing and lush tits to nurse his baby. Just thinking about filling her with his seed made him feel like a horny teenager.
Adora wiggled into the first dress, a deep purple number. She couldn’t do up the side zipper, but it hugged all her curves in just the right way.
“How fancy is this restaurant we’re going to?” she asked, looking at herself in the mirror. When she glanced at the tag hanging from the dress, she gasped. “Tobias, do you realize how much this dress costs?”
“Let me worry about that.”
“But—”
“You’re worth it, Adora.” It would take a while to get her used to being spoiled. And he didn’t like her lack of confidence.
She tried on a few more, falling in love with the fourth one. It was black, form-fitting, with a deep plunging neckline. Her cleavage was killer, and he knew every man would be drooling over her tonight. The saleslady had been overdramatic, and the dress would only need some minor alterations.
“Are you sure you like it?” she asked.
“Come here.” He patted his knee, and she tentatively sat down. Tobias cupped her cheek and kissed her once on the lips. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Don’t say that.”
He growled in irritation. “I can have any woman I want, Adora, but the second I saw you, I knew it had to be you.”
“I’m so confused,” she said. “I should be happy. I mean, I feel like Cinderella right now. But I want more.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t care about money. I want to fall in love with a man who loves me back, not one who blackmails me to have his baby.”
He didn’t know what to say. The one thing she wanted, he couldn’t give her. How could he offer her love, something he’d never been exposed to growing up? He’d been taught to be strong, to be the best at everything. Love was a weakness. He’d been drilled to bottle that shit up. He wanted Adora, but couldn’t offer something he was incapable of.
“You’re right, this isn’t a fairy tale. It’s more complicated, it’s real, but it doesn’t mean I’m not giving you my all.”
She fiddled with his tie. “It’s just that my father never wanted me, and it hurt knowing that—more than you know. I had to watch my mother struggle, and had to live my life feeling unworthy. I’m an adult now. I want more.”
“I’m not your father, Adora. He was an asshole to walk out on your mother. I’m nothing like him.”
“You’re more like him than you realize,” she said. It sounded like Adora may know the identity of her real father, and it was something he was in the process of narrowing down.
He shook his head. “You don’t even know me.”
Tobias didn’t even know himself. He’d been programmed to succeed, but at what cost? He couldn’t help but
remember why his brother took his own life. Most people needed more than dollars and cents—did he?
“But we’re having sex tonight.”
“Yes, we are,” he said. “That’s non-negotiable.” He ran his hand up her thigh. “We’ll have all the time in the world to get to know each other after tonight.”