Inked (16 page)

“Don’t blame yourself. You did an amazing job raising Parker. He’s an amazing kid.”

“That’s because he takes after his dad.” Avery couldn’t help but laugh. Chloe may have a knack for getting under her skin, but Brody had a way of making her smile when she needed it most.”Why don’t you go lie down? I’ll make you a tea and bring it to you. You can curl up in bed and finish reading that trashy book of yours.”

“What book?” Avery asked indignantly, and her cheeks turned a crimson shade of red.

“Oh, you know, the one sitting on your nightstand beneath that stack of old photography magazines.”

Had Brody been snooping through her things? No, he’d never do something like that. Surely he must’ve noticed it one of the times he was in there. Reading steamy novels may not be taboo, but it did give Avery a naughty idea. “I think I’ll pass on the tea, but you’re welcomed to join me in bed. We can act out my favorite scene.”

Wordlessly, Brody followed her to the bedroom, eager to see what millions of women worldwide were so hot and bothered about.

His pulse quickened with each languorous step he took across the bedroom. He and Avery had made love many times before, but this time felt different. After tonight, things between them would never be the same again. He removed his shirt and tossed is aside, then lowered himself onto the mattress. He felt nervous, like a teenage boy about to have sex for the first time, but this was Avery, the love of his life. He had nothing to be nervous about. Anxiously, he reached for the book on the nightstand and began thumbing through it. “So, what’s your favorite part?”

For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Avery turned an embarrassing shade of red. She snagged the book from his hand and turned to the very first sex scene then handed it back to him. “Read it for yourself.”

He lay on the bed, engrossed in what he was reading. With each passing paragraph, the bulge in his pants grew. When he was done, he returned the book to the nightstand and turned his eyes on Avery. “Vanilla, huh? Is that what they call it?”

Avery stifled a laugh. “There’s nothing wrong with vanilla sex.”

“I agree,” Brody replied, and stifled a laugh of his own. “Vanilla sex is perfectly fine as long as it’s topped off with whipped cream and a cherry.”

The two burst out laughing, but the laughing came to an abrupt halt when Brody leaned over and placed a chaste kiss to her lips. Clothing landed in a heap on the floor beside the bed as they undressed each other in silence.

Avery quivered when Brody pressed his lips to her stomach. The sensation of his touch sent chills up her spine and a moan escaped her lips as he trailed his tongue across her skin, stopping only when he reached the thin strip of moist fabric between her legs.

Using his teeth, Brody gently pulled at the fabric until Avery lay naked and exposed beneath him. Now free of the last remaining piece of clothing, he began to seek out the source of her wetness, his fingers leaving Avery’s skin scorched as his hand glided up the inside of her milky thigh. The pad of his thumb caressed her as he gathered her cream and gently slipped two fingers deep within, stoking her until she groaned and arched against him. He brought his mouth down on her, suckling her as his skilful fingers found what he’d been looking for, the sensitive spot deep within her body that brought her the greatest form of pleasure. He smiled against her heated flesh as her muscles clenched his fingers, and his strokes deepened.

Avery’s body trembled when the beginnings of an orgasm skittered through her body.

With slow and deliberate movements, Brody removed his fingers, only to replace them with his tongue. The taste of her filled his mouth as he drove his tongue deep into her. Mercilessly, he devoured her until, with a final shudder, she exploded in his mouth. He drank deeply from her, drawing out her orgasm until the trembling subsided.

Avery clenched the sheets tightly in her hands, the Egyptian cotton bunching between her fingers as she clung tightly to the fabric. The feeling of Brody’s mouth on her body was almost more than she could bear.

His lips glided silkily across her skin; tasting, teasing, tormenting her, his tongue lashing and laving her with every movement he made. A deep, guttural moan that began in her stomach worked its way up her throat and passed her lips as Brody closed his mouth around her taut nipple, suckling her as she writhed beneath him. Avery’s body inched towards another climax, but Brody held her precariously on the edge of orgasm.

His voice was hot on her skin when he whispered against her heated flesh. “Not yet,” he murmured, and his fingers once more slid deep within her body. “I’m not done with you yet.”

His hands and mouth ravaged her, and Avery was barely able to hold on to reason.

She shifted slightly on the bed, spreading her legs wider in invitation. As if of one mind, Brody released his mouth from her breast and positioned himself between her legs. He inched forward, pressing further and further into her body.

“What do you want?” he demanded, and slid within another inch.

“Brody,” she replied breathlessly, tilting her hips upwards and begging him silently with her pleading eyes.

“What do you want?” he asked again, his voice more forceful, more lustful.

“You, I want you.”

With one swift thrust he entered her fully. He moved slowly at first, relishing the feel of her tight muscles clenching him, encompassing every inch of him.

She clenched him tighter and his rhythm increased, his strokes becoming hurried as he thrust into her.

Avery arched into him and felt the warmth of his chest on her skin. She raced towards orgasm at a dizzying pace, all thoughts being driven from her mind under the onslaught of pleasure that he was bestowing upon her, all thoughts except for how completely he filled her.

She felt the tips of his fingers brush the inside of her thigh as Brody reached between their bodies. The pad of his thumb pressed down against her and that was all that was needed to send her spiralling over the edge. Avery convulsed as wave after wave of orgasm skittered through her body. She contracted around him, gripping him like an iron fist, and bringing him over the edge with her.

They collapsed on the bed, their bodies a tangled mass of limbs and flesh. Brody pulled Avery against his chest and ran his fingers through her hair until her breathing slowed.

With his heart rate still accelerated and his breathing laboured, he panted out, “Was that vanilla enough for you?”

“Screw vanilla, that was chocolate with a double helping of fudge.”

As the last vestiges of orgasm ebbed, and tiredness began to overtake them, they fell asleep in each other others arms, sated and happy.

Chapter 15

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Avery mumbled tiredly in her sleep and rolled over.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

She pulled the blankets over her head, trying to block out the sound of the malevolent noise determined to wake her up.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The rapping sound continued to echo in her head, growing louder and louder, drawing her out of a restful sleep.

Slowly, she opened one eye and then the other, gradually lifting the corner of the blanket. In the darkness of the bedroom, the red lights on the alarm clock glared brightly, and she squinted. 1am? She and Brody had just fallen asleep a little over an hour ago.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“What the hell?” Avery cursed, and sat up on the side of the bed. Who could possibly be knocking on her door at one o’clock in the morning? Whoever it was was going to get an earful if they woke Parker up. She stumbled sleepily across the bedroom. On the top shelf of the closet was a large aluminum baseball bat she kept on hand for situations such as this. Avery crept down the hall, holding the bat tightly in her hands as she sidestepped the creaky middle floorboard and silently navigated her way to the front door. She reached for the lock, but Brody grabbed her wrist before she could open the door.”

“What
on earth do you think you’re doing? Give me that,” he whispered harshly, and snatched the bat from her hand. “Get behind me.”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The rapping sound was even louder this time. Whoever was on the other side of the door must’ve heard them talking. Protectively, Brody stepped in front of Avery, forming a human shield. “Stand back,” he ordered, and inched closer to the door, close enough to look through the peephole. Just the sight of her made his blood boil. “For fuck’s sake!”

Even in the dark, Avery could sense his tension increase tenfold. “Who is it?”

Brody took a step backwards, unlatched the deadbolt, and opened the door. “Hello, Veronica.”

Avery stared at the slender, black haired woman standing in her doorway, too stunned by her appearance to utter a word. What in the hell was Brody’s ex wife doing at her door at one o’clock in the morning anyways?
She’s not his ex wife,
Avery quietly reminded herself after noticing that a wedding band still encircled the woman’s willowy finger.
They’re still married
.

Veronica tapped her foot impatiently and fidgeted with the envelope in her hand, all but ignoring Avery who stood in the shadow of Brody’s wide girth. “Let’s skip the formalities.”

“Fine,” Brody sneered. The woman made his skin crawl. “Why are you here?”

“I came to deliver this.” Veronica held the envelope in the air, waving it gingerly in front of his face.

“What’s that?”

“If you had the decency to return my phone calls and text messages, or showed up for the appointment I made you, I wouldn’t have had to disturb your tryst with this little bitch. You’ve known about this for over a month but kept putting it off. One of us had to tell her.” She smiled smugly and nodded in Avery’s direction.

“Watch your mouth,” Brody warned. The harsh tone of his voice reinforced the seriousness of his warning. As much as he’d love to tell Veronica to fuck off and die, he had to proceed with caution. As it was, he stood to lose a lot in the divorce proceedings. Anymore and he’d be bankrupt.

“I didn’t come here to fight. I came here to give
your
girlfriend
this.” She spat out the word girlfriend as if it were poison on her tongue.

Brody reached for the envelope, but Veronica jerked her hand back out of his reach. “I’m not playing your games, Veronica. Give me the damn envelope.”

“I can’t give it to you.” Her voice was upbeat and playful, a stark contrast to the devious glint in her eyes. “It has to be given directly to the person it’s intended for.” Veronica turned her icy stare on Avery. “You see, I think that bastard child of yours belongs to someone other than my husband, and this court order here is going to prove me right once and for all.”

“Who in the fuck do you think you are?” Avery yelled, having finally found her voice. Rage for a woman she did not know began to boil in her veins. Calling her a bitch was one thing, but no one—especially not this skanky, two bit tramp—was going to call her son a bastard. With little disregard for what she was about to say next, Avery stepped out from behind Brody’s shadow and into the light of the hallway. “How dare you come to my home in the middle of the night and call my son a bastard.”

Veronica scoffed and took a step towards Avery. “Listen here, you little bitch. You’re nothing more than a thrill ride for Brody. Once he comes to his senses, he’ll realize that you’re only after his money. Better he find out now that your kid isn’t his son before you take him for every penny he’s worth.”

Money? Since when did Brody have money? He’s a tattoo artist.
Avery knew that Brody must have some money, but she’d never thought of him as being wealthy. Of course, that would explain the $25,000 cheque and the brand new $80,000 SUV. But whether he had money or not never factored into their relationship.

“That’s enough, Veronica,” Brody warned sternly. “Give me the envelope.”

“I told you, I can’t give it to you.”

“Fine, then give it to Avery.”

At the sound of her name, Avery zoned back into the conversation. “What is it?”

Veronica handed her the envelope.

“I’m not taking it until you tell me what it is.”

Veronica shrugged indifferently. “It’s a court order for a paternity test.”

She took the envelope from Veronica’s outstretched hand, opened it, and began to read. The letter consisted mostly of legal jargon, but the bottom line was, if Brody wanted a leg to stand on during his divorce proceedings, she had to supply Parker’s DNA sample to prove once and for all that Brody was his father.

“You have seven days.” Without another word, Veronica turned on her heel and left.

Brody and Avery watched wordlessly as Veronica disappeared into the elevator and out of sight. When the elevator doors slid closed, they returned to the darkened apartment.

In the blackness of the hall, a small voice whispered out, “Mama?”

“It’s okay, little man, go back to sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“Alright,” Avery replied gently. She hated it when Parker saw her upset. “Wait for me in your room. I need to talk to Brody for a minute and then I’ll be right in.”

“Okay.”

The door to Parker’s room creaked shut.

Brody followed Avery to the bedroom. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he knew he had to say something. This was low, even for Veronica, and there was no way he was going to let her drive a wedge between him and Avery. “I’m sorry. I had no idea she was going to do this.”

Avery sat on the edge of the bed, rocking back and forth as she contemplated her response. Five minutes passed and she still said nothing.

“Please, tell me what you’re thinking.”

Her head snapped up as if she’d just awoke from a deep trance. “What do you want me to say, Brody, that everything’s okay? Because it’s not okay, it’s far from okay. How could you have known about this and not tell me?”

“This is nothing more than a speed bump.”

“No, this is
not
a speed bump,” Avery half screamed, half stuttered.  “A speed bump would be me being called into the courtroom as a witness, but dragging Parker into the middle of your messy divorce is
so
much more than a speed bump.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Avery. It’s one simple test.” Brody instantly regretted his choice of words the second they left his mouth, and the steely look that flashed across Avery’s face only confirmed it. Yep, he was a dead man.

“I’m not being dramatic,” Avery spat. “I’m being honest. Do you really think it’s fair to drag Parker into the middle of your divorce? He has enough problems of his own to deal with. He doesn’t need to deal with yours too.” Okay, maybe she was being a bit harsh, but this was for Parker’s own good. No good could come of subjecting her son to a nasty courtroom battle.

“He’s not going to be called into court. All they need is one simple blood test.”

“It’s not a blood test,” she countered. “It’s a mouth swab.”

“See? There’s nothing to it.”

Avery closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down. Lately, she’d been struggling with the decision of whether to move to New York and take over the family business, or stay in Boston and try to make a go of it with Brody. But in light of this evening’s events, the decision was becoming easier to make. No way would she put Parker through that. It wasn’t fair to him. “Listen, there’s something we need to talk about.”

“It’s a simple swab,” Brody implored, but he could tell by the instantaneous change in her demeanor that this was something more, something beyond a simple genetics test.

“Do you remember when I told you a few months back that my father had a heart attack?”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with this?” Brody gestured to the piece of paper in Avery’s hand.

“Everything,” she replied honestly.

He walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know,” Avery began, but was unable to go on. Tears stung the back of her eyes and threatened to spill over. How could she be a heartless bitch and break Brody’s heart in two. What right did she have to separate him from his son? And what about Parker? God, she was going to break his heart too. But the bottom line was, she had to do what was best for her son, even if that meant packing up and moving to New York. Certain she was making the right choice, Avery continued. “My father sent me to Harvard to earn my Master’s Degree knowing that one day I would take over the family business. When I found out I was pregnant, he almost disowned me, but Chloe convinced him that I was still the right choice to run the company. She offered to help with Parker while I finished my degree. My father was skeptical at first, but in the end, he agreed. So when Parker was old enough, I went back to school and finished my degree. If it hadn’t been for me getting pregnant, he would’ve retired years ago.”

“I still don’t see what this has to do with anything.”

“Let me finish, please.” Avery cleared her throat, chocking back the tears. “I had every intention of moving back to New York when I graduated, but then you showed up at my door
again
. Things got complicated
again
. Suddenly, I found myself wonder if we could really make a go of it, if we could be the family Parker deserved. But now, I’m not so sure. I’ll make things easier on you and take Parker for the test, but I can’t and I won’t subject him to a courtroom battle. It’s not fair to him.”

“There’s not going to be a courtroom battle,” Brody contested. “And what are you saying? You’re moving to New York and taking Parker away from me?”

“Yes and no.”

“There is no yes or no, Avery, it’s one or the other.”

“Yes, I’m moving back to New York, but I’m not taking Parker away from you. You can see him whenever you want and you can have him on alternate holidays.” Avery waited for Brody to snap, but he didn’t. She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“You don’t want me to say anything, not right now.” Brody’s words were a clear warning. He was pissed and about to explode.

“Yes, I do.”

“Okay, here it
goes. I think you’re a selfish. You’re only thinking about yourself, not me, and certainly not Parker. Not only did you keep me from Parker all those years, but now you’re going to take him away from me. Have you even given any consideration about how much this might set him back? You think he had problems before, but wait until you uproot him from his home and family and move him to a new city where he doesn’t know anyone. At least here he has me and your sister.”

“How in the hell can you say I’m being selfish?” Avery snapped back. “I’m doing this for him.”

In a fit of rage, Brody stood up and grabbed the camera from the night table. He turned it on and began thumbing through the pictures on the screen.

“What are you doing?”

Brody found the picture he was looking for and shoved the camera in Avery’s face. “Are you willing to give
this
up because of one simple paternity test?”

Avery looked at the picture on the screen. It was a self portrait she’d taken of the three of them having lunch in the park. Tears sprang from her eyes. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Of course you have a choice, Avery. You
always
have a choice. It’s called free will.”

“You don’t understand.”

“No, I don’t, so please explain it to me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a no brainer. You tell your father thanks, but no thanks. I’m staying in Boston with the father of my child, with the man I love. Or was that a lie too?”

“I never told you I loved you.”