“You’re going to have to give me time to get used to all these changes,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not used to watching my tongue.”
“It’s like you live on a whole other planet where nothing affects you.”
“It doesn’t, baby. That’s the point. I’m not used to having to watch what I say. Love really doesn’t happen within my world.”
“I can’t believe that. Love is everything, Tobias. I probably sound fickle, but I’ve seen it. I’ve seen how it can bring people together, and I’m not just talking about sex either. What is life without love?”
Once again, he thought of his brother, and the memory was a sharp one. Since meeting Adora, he’d thought more about his brother in the past week, than in all the years since Maximus had died. Tobias had filed each memory away, as if it was just another contract that slipped his mind. “My brother would have adored you,” he said.
She tensed up. “You didn’t say you had any siblings.”
“I don’t have any that are living.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
He held her hands tighter, and he closed his eyes for a second. “His name was Maximus, and he was my older brother.” He laughed. “I was the spare heir.”
“What?”
“You never heard of it? It’s what I think is termed as the heir and the spare. Powerful families, even the royals, were always advised to have a son, and then another in case anything happened to the other.”
“That’s barbaric, and outdated.”
“Not in my family. They’re very much believers of it.”
“I don’t like this, Tobias.”
“My parents believe in business, in order, in structure, and control. They don’t believe in getting sticky with emotion. Everything is clean cut. More power, more influence, more wealth. When you have wealth and knowledge, you have power, and that keeps you on top. Maximus was … flawed, according to my parents.” He heard her sharp intake of breath. “He didn’t want the nannies or the money. He didn’t believe in power, or wealth, or furthering the family line.”
“What did he believe in?”
“Love. That’s all he wanted, all he searched for. He believed it was the answer for everything wrong in the world. In his quest for love, it got him killed.” It was on the tip of his tongue to give her the lie. The one his parents told the world, but wasn’t the truth. “No one knows this, but Maximus died of a heroin overdose. He used drugs to numb the pain. Our parents wouldn’t give him what he wanted, and he tried to find it himself. They considered him an embarrassment, and a waste of time.”
She turned in the bath, cupping his cheek. “Did you love him?”
“Yes. I didn’t have a clue what he was searching for though, and I couldn’t help him. He kept telling me there was more to life than studying, than being the perfect son, and I ignored him.” He laughed without humor. “I told him to grow up, and to stop believing in fairy tales.”
“You blame yourself?”
“If only I’d listened, he could still be alive, no?”
“You can’t blame yourself.”
He cupped her cheek, running his thumb across her bottom lip. She was so incredibly beautiful, so warm, so right. He didn’t deserve her. He’d blackmailed her to get her into his bed, and now he was set to impregnate her.
“What are you going to do when she sees through you, Tobias? When all of her hopes and dreams are crushed.”
It was like his brother was speaking to him, but that wasn’t possible. No one would ever be good enough for Adora. Only him.
Kissing her lips, he pushed his thoughts to one side. His parents had raised him to be strong, merciless, but he was starting to believe they’d created a monster. The longer he spent with Adora, the more he resented his upbringing. He just wanted away from their control, and any power they believed they had over him.
****
“Do you even watch any of the DVDs?” Adora asked. There had to be close to three hundred different kinds of movies on the shelves. They were all hidden behind a wall so no one saw them. Seeing as he didn’t want her to go out because it was hurting to walk just a little bit, he wanted to spend some time together, watching a few movies, doing normal things. She didn’t know what was normal or not.
Tucking her hair behind her ears, she walked toward the kitchen, and wrinkled her nose. The scent of burnt egg filled the kitchen. “Do you know how to cook?”
“You’re all for the questions today,” he said.
She watched as he scraped the pan, and shook her head. “Lucky for you, I can cook, and I happen to be willing to answer any question.”
“Fine, what was your favorite bit about last night?” he asked.
Adora saw the challenge in his eyes, and she rolled hers for good measure. “If you must know, I liked your mouth on me.”