Inked (3 page)

Avery rolled over on the bed and faced him
, “You, hopefully.” A smile played at the corner of her mouth as she leaned in and kissed him.

Chapter 1

“I’ll take a non-fat, low foam Grande latte,” the plump, platinum blonde woman standing directly in front of Avery yelled at the top of her lungs. But Avery didn’t care that the woman had blatantly bud in line, nor did she care that she’d stood in line for twelve minutes to buy an overpriced cup of coffee that would no doubt be lukewarm at best by the time she made her way through the crowded coffee house and to the nearly empty patio. She was in too good a mood to let a complete stranger spoil it for her. It was the
first time in months that she’d had time to herself, and after a marathon shopping spree, a coffee on the patio was exactly what she needed to unwind and finish off the day. With soaring temperatures, people were opting for the cool comfort of the air conditioning, which suited her just fine. The sun was shining and it was far too beautiful a day to be stuck inside an overcrowded coffee house full of people that smelt of expensive perfume and cigarettes. Using the tip of her foot, Avery slid her bags forward on the tile floor and shuffled one step closer to the counter.

“What can I get for you, ma’am?”

Avery looked to her left, then to her right at the expressionless worker drones that stood on either side of her, but none of them said a word or moved a muscle. Was the kid in the green smock talking to her? He must be. Pushing her way closer to the counter, Avery placed her order. “I’ll take a small coffee, please.”

“We don’t have
small
coffees,” he replied, smugly. “We have Venti, Grande, and Tall.”

She looked to where the boy in the green smock was pointed to a display that showcased the various sizes of coffee cups.
They sure look like small, medium, and large to me.
Avery sighed. She was determined not to let this small, insignificant road bump ruin her perfectly good day. “Fine, I’ll take a Venti coffee, please.”

“Would you like Blonde Roast, Pike Place, or our featured summer blend?”

What the hell?

“She’ll take a Venti Pike Place,” a gruff voice beside her growled. An older man with steely, grey eyes stared down at her. “You did just want a regular coffee, didn’t you?”

“Umm, yes, thank you,” Avery mumbled, and after paying for her drink and retrieving her bags from the floor, she moved down to the end of the counter where a steaming cup of coffee awaited her.

The condiments table was just as confusing as the coffee cups sizes. Small bottles of various spices lined the counter aside four different types of cream and milk, honey, and two varieties of sugar. Since when had buying a coffee become so complicated? Avery picked up the largest container of white granules hoping that it was nothing fancier than plain white sugar, and poured it into her cup. With coffee and bags in hand, she made her way to the exit, pushing it open with her hip and stepping out into the warm afternoon sun. Momentarily blinded by its brightness, she didn’t see the man who was entering at the same time she was trying to exit, and accidentally bumped into him, their shoulders painfully colliding. Avery flinched and cursed under her breath as scalding hot coffee spilled from the cup and onto her hand. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, and tried to push past him, but the man didn’t move. “Excuse me,” she said, her voice louder this time.

With the sun blazing directly into her eyes and clouding her vision, Avery could scarcely make out the form of the man blocking the door. She moved to the right to pass him, but his body shifted, blocking her exit. She moved to the left, and again his body shifted the other direction and obstructed her way. With her patience already wearing thin, she spat out, “Pardon me.” But the wide girth of the man didn’t budge. She repeated herself, “Excuse me, please. I’d like to get by.”

They stood face to face, neither of them moving an inch, until at last he spoke. The tone of his voice was laced with shock and disbelief. “Avery, is that you?”

Oh, God!
She’d know that voice anywhere, but surely it couldn’t be him, could it? Avery squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force the images that his husky voice conjured from her mind. Maybe if she stood there long enough with her eyes shut he would just walk away, or better yet, vanish into thin air. That’s it! This was all just a figment of her imagination. On the count of three she would open her eyes and he’d be gone. One… two… She got as far as two when a strong hand encircled her wrist and dragged her through the door.

“Avery, get out of the way,” the voice demanded. “You’re blocking the exit.”

No-no-no-no-no-no-no, it can’t be him
, she chanted, but no matter how many times she willed it to be true, that voice could only belong to one person. Slowly, she opened her eyes and tilted her head back, not stopping until her gaze fell upon a pair of warm, familiar brown eyes, intense eyes that were fixated solely on her, refusing to blink. The sun reflected brightly off the lenses of the silver framed aviator sunglasses that perched precariously on the tip of his nose, and his hair was shorter now, much shorter than she remembered. Where tousled brown hair once flowed down his neck and lightly brushed the top of his broad shoulders, streaks of flaxen gold now stained a mass of unkempt spikes that somehow managed to look perfectly groomed despite their wild appearance. He was leaner now, much leaner but no less muscular than the last time she’d laid eyes on him. His pecks strained against the tight black cotton t-shirt that hugged his chest and abdomen. And the length of his left forearm was now home to a myriad of new tattoos. Her gaze dropped lower, tracing the hard lines and curves of his thighs that were accentuated by his too tight jeans. Avery inhaled sharply. There was no doubt about it. She’d recognize this man anywhere. Her heart rate increased and her eyes fluttered shut as her mind was bombarded with images from the one and only night they’d spent together, a night that happened a thousand moons ago and one that she would never forget for as long as she lived. Against her will, his name slipped passed her parted lips in a murmured groan, “Brody.”

His eyes, careful and appraising, grazed the length of her body. Long golden brown hair diffused with traces of pale blonde hung in waves across her shoulders and cascaded down her back. Avery’s form, delicate and petite, looked even more stunning than it had when he’d feasted on it so very, very long ago. Her slender shoulders and ample breasts were just visible beneath her simple white blouse, and a black pencil skirt clung to her legs and hung an inch above her knees, enough to entice any man that dare gaze upon her beauty. But her captivating hazel eyes—the color of liquid honey bewitched with flecks of muted green—looked tired and drawn. Dark blue-ish black bags marred the pale skin beneath her eyes and the fire that had once blazed in their depths and set his soul on fire—if only for one night—had been extinguished.
God help the son-of-a-bitch that did this to her,
Brody cursed silently to himself. He wanted nothing more than to capture this delicate flower in his arms and whisper promises of reassurance in here ear, but those promises where not his to offer and she was not his to claim, not anymore. For one night he had taken her as his own, but surely a woman as breathtakingly beautiful as Avery must belong to another man. As much as it pained him to see his beautiful flower wilted and withered in the unforgiving afternoon sun, Brody held his tongue, and instead, quickly tried to think of something companionable to say before she disappeared from his life… again.

A small cough worked its way passed his lips and Brody cleared his throat, speaking the first intelligible words that came to mind. “We should move out of the way. We’re blocking the door.”

Avery felt Brody’s calloused hand brush lightly against the tips of her fingers as he relieved her of the heavy burden of her shopping bags. His free hand reached out and captured her wrist, pulling her out of the way of the flow of people waiting impatiently to pass. The contact of flesh on flesh sent an involuntary shiver up her spine, and she quivered under his touch. Even now, years later, her body still recognized him.

Think, damnit, think,
Avery coaxed herself, but it was no use. Her mind was clouded with images of
him
from that night so long ago, and her brain refused to formulate a rational response to his words. He was speaking, wasn’t he? His lips moved as if they were forming words, but yet her brain refused to cooperate. Slowly, the hazy fog that filled her mind began to lift and distant sounds began to transition into a legible string of words. Avery snapped out of her daze and the husky vibration of Brody’s voice echoed in her ears.

“Avery?” he asked in a commanding tone. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she lied, having finally found her voice. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you. You caught me a little off guard, that’s all.”

“Maybe you should sit down for a minute. You look a little pale.” Still gripping her trembling wrist, Brody led Avery to a nearby vacant table. He could feel her pulse beating rapidly beneath the surface of her tender skin, matching his own erratic heart rate beat for beat. After having settled her into a patio chair, he loosened his grip and placed the shopping bags on the ground at her feet. The cold cast iron pressed uncomfortably into his back as he lowered himself into the chair beside her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again. Brody’s jaw stiffened and concern etched his face. “I could get you a bottle of water or something.”

“Really, I’m fine,” she assured him. Avery set her coffee on the table, and placing her hands palm down on the cool surface of the glass tabletop, waited for her heart rate to resume its steady pace before engaging in small talk with the one man she never thought she’d see again… ever. Taking a deep calming breath, she shifted in the chair and raised her eyes to meet his. “It’s been a while. How have you been keeping?”

“I’ve been busy with work.” Brody fidgeted nervously with the ring on his finger. “It’s been what, three years?”

“Closer to five, actually.”

“Wow, has it been that long?” He steadied his twitching fingers and stared at Avery. God, she was still beautiful after all these years. “And what about you, how have you been keeping?”

“I’ve been busy with school and stuff, but the semester is almost over.”

“School? I didn’t know you were a teacher.”

“I wish,” Avery replied nervously. “I’m in my final year of graduate studies at Harvard.”

“Harvard? Really? Impressive.” The corner of his mouth quirked up into a forced smile, but inside he was silently cursing her. For five years the same question had plagued his mind over and over again. For five years he’d wondered “What If?” Could the course of their lives been permanently altered with one simple gesture? But now wasn’t the time to ponder such things. Now was the time to man up and ask her the question that had kept him awake at night for months following their encounter, knowing that at any moment Avery could disappear from his life… again. Gripping the edge of the table for support, he opened his mouth and the words gushed out as if having a mind of their own. “Why didn’t you call me back? I must’ve tried phoning you a million times but you didn’t even have the decency to return one of my calls. Do you know how many times I sat outside your window silently begging you to pick up your phone? But no, you didn’t even have the guts to tell me to fuck off. That weekend we spent together was the best weekend on my life and I thought that what we had was special, but you obviously didn’t feel the same way, or maybe you did but were too chicken shit to do anything about it.”

“Brody, I…” Avery watched as he slumped back in the chair, dejected. If someone other than Brody had called her as obsessively as he did, she probably would’ve filed a restraining order. But this was Brody, the man she’d fallen in love with over the course of one all too brief weekend, and she owed him an explanation, now matter how half hearted it may be. “I wanted to call you back, I swear I did, but I was so busy with school. Life was complicated for me back then.”

“Complicated as in boyfriend complicated?” The question slipped past his lips before he could stop it. Why on earth had he asked the stupid question in the first place knowing full well that he didn’t want to hear the answer?

“No, nothing like that,” Avery replied, and averted her gaze.
It was so long ago. Please just leave it alone, Brody.

“Why the cold shoulder then? Why didn’t you ever call me back?”

Before Avery had a chance to respond, a tall, slender woman appeared at Brody’s side, and nervously he once again began to fidget with the ring on his finger.

Caught off guard for the second time that day, Avery glanced up at the stunning woman who had placed her hand on Brody’s shoulder and was now leaning over to give him an affectionate kiss on the check. Her gaze wandered to his trembling hands and to the wedding band that encircled his finger, and wedding band that perfectly matched the on worn by the brunette standing beside him.

“Avery, this is Veronica, my wife. Veronica, this is Avery, an old friend of mine.”

A look of recognition flashed across the woman’s face and she scowled, but politely offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Avery.”

He’s married?
Avery searched her mind, trying to recall if Brody had worn a wedding band the last time she saw him, but was drawing a blank.
Oh God, did I sleep with a married man?
Not wanting to draw attention to her thoughts or to the frustration that was reddening her already flushed cheeks, she shook the woman’s outstretched hand and mumbled, “Pleased to meet you too.”