Chapter 15
Brody carefully slipped out of bed, trying not to disturb Claudia. He’d tired her out with their sex marathon. The woman was insatiable. He threw on a pair of pajama bottoms and made his way downstairs. He wanted to order dinner so they could eat when she woke up.
It had been a long day. He meant to go to the main house and take her home. He wanted to let her know that he wanted to care for her and would be there for her in whatever capacity she needed him. He never intended to tell everyone she was having his baby. But when he saw Gavin with her, and then when his brother acted as if there was no possible way the baby could be his, something inside Brody snapped. How could he treat her like she didn’t matter? Gavin’s behavior infuriated Brody.
He wasn’t going to stand by and watch as Claudia worked for the very family her baby belonged to. A woman like her didn’t deserve to be treated with such disrespect. If he claimed her baby, she would always be taken care of. Her child would have everything he or she was intended to have, with or without Gavin. Brody didn’t make his proclamation because of the child’s birthright. His reasons were selfish. He wanted a life with Claudia and her baby.
As he made his way down the steps, there was a knock at the door. Only a few people were permitted to come up unannounced. Autumn, John, and Claudia were on that list, but Brody knew who it would be tonight.
He opened the door to find his brother standing in the entryway. Gavin pushed his way inside the apartment, not waiting for an invitation, which didn’t surprise Brody as he expected Gavin to be pissed off.
“What the hell are you trying to pull?” Gavin paced the foyer. “Why did you do that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Her baby isn’t yours and you know it,” Gavin said. “What are you up to?”
“Apparently Claudia’s child isn’t yours either, according to you, so what do you care what I’m up to?”
“Cut the shit,” Gavin yelled.
“Lower your voice.”
“She’s here?” He looked around. “Why?”
“She’s asleep,” Brody said. “And she’s here because she’s my girlfriend.”
“Since when? I didn’t even think you knew she existed. You’re so stuck in your work, I wasn’t even sure you knew what women were.”
“Maybe if you were a little more focused on your work, you wouldn’t be making illegitimate children.”
Gavin tightened his lips in disgust. “There’s no proof the baby is mine.”
“It’s yours,” Brody said. “She has no reason to lie.”
“Really? Take a look around. She hit the jackpot.”
“You’re an ass.” Brody controlled the urge to punch his brother. “She didn’t even tell me until last night she was pregnant and the baby was yours. I’ve been seeing her since June. She’s never come after you. Don’t you think if she wanted our money she would have wanted a paternity test?”
“She can’t prove the kid is mine.” He shook his head. “That’s why she hasn’t pursued anything. But you walked right into the gold digger’s trap. I thought you were smarter than that. She found her way into your bed when I kicked her out of mine.”
Brody grabbed Gavin but the collar of his shirt and pushed him against the door. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
Gavin shoved Brody back. “You’re going to let a girl come between us? What the hell’s wrong with you?”
Brody closed his eyes and took a moment to regain his composure before releasing Gavin. “If the baby isn’t yours, then none of this concerns you.”
“And if it is mine?”
“You’ve already said you want nothing to do with them. You’re with Mona.”
“I am, and I’m not screwing that up. I love Mona, and I made a mistake by sleeping with Claudia. I’m not going to let her ruin what I have with Mona.”
“She doesn’t want to ruin anything for you. She wants nothing to do with you.” Brody was quite certain Claudia would never have told anyone who the father was, but she couldn’t keep the truth from him.
“You’re just going to take my place?”
Brody laughed over the absurdity of his brother’s statement. “No, I wouldn’t want to take your place.”
“Right, because you’re too good to be me.”
Brody ignored him. “I want you to go back to Boston on Sunday.” He didn’t want to argue with his brother. He could hear Claudia walking around upstairs. He wanted to get Gavin out before she came down. She didn’t need the stress.
“And if I don’t?”
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. My relationship with Claudia has nothing to do with the agreement you and I have in place about you learning from Jacob.”
“What are we going to do about Claudia?”
“You’re not interested in her. I’d like you to consider signing over your rights to her child.” Brody wouldn’t force Gavin to give up paternity, but if he did sign away his rights, it would make things much easier once the baby was born.
“I can’t sign over my rights if I’m not the father.”
“You’re impossible.” Brody sighed. “I’m sure Claudia will agree to a DNA test. Trust me, if you aren’t the father, my life would be that much saner.”
“I’ll go back to Boston and think about it.”
“That’s a wise choice.” Brody opened the door for him. “I’ll have the papers drawn up in the meantime. We can do this quietly. Mona and your mother will never have to know.”
“Why do you have to be in control of every situation?”
“Do the right thing for once in your life.”
“I said I’d think about it.” Gavin walked toward the elevators. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Don’t contact Claudia,” Brody said. “From now on you’ll deal with me.”
Gavin didn’t say anything else as he stepped into the elevator. He never made eye contact with Brody, not even when the doors closed.
Brody took a calming breath. He needed to figure out how he was going to handle Gavin. There was no way he was going to let him cause Claudia another day of stress.
“Brody?”
Claudia stood at the bottom of the staircase in his white dress shirt that he’d left on the bedroom floor before they made love. Her eyes were heavy, her long hair tangled at the ends, and her face flush with sleep. She took his breath away.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty.” He closed the door and walked toward her. “What are you doing down here?”
“I heard shouting.”
“Sorry.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Gavin was here.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “He’s going back to Boston on Sunday.”
“What did he want?”
“He thinks I’m up to something.”
“Because you said the baby was yours?”
“He probably thinks I’m going to hold it over him, but I would never do that.”
“He doesn’t even think my baby is his, so why would he care?”
“He knows this is his baby.” Brody kissed her forehead. “This is typical Gavin. He takes responsibility for nothing.”
“I’m better off without him.”
Brody nodded. “He’s going to make me wait this out for a bit, but I asked him to sign over his rights.”
“To the baby?”
Brody wasn’t prepared to discuss this with her tonight. She’d already been through so much the last two days. He didn’t want her to feel rushed when it came to him, but he wanted her to know he was committed to her and the baby.
“It will be better for us in the long run if Gavin relinquishes his rights now.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why would it matter?”
“Claudia, I meant what I said last night.” He ran his fingers through her long hair in an attempt to tame it from the sex they’d had earlier in the evening. “I want you and anyone who comes with you. I’m pretty sure you intend to stay with me.”
“Of course I do,” she said. “I love you.”
He would never tire of hearing her say those three little words. He’d never realized the importance of them until now. “I want to be able to adopt your baby, and the only way I can do that is if Gavin gives up any rights he has to this baby.”
“You want to be my baby’s father?” She sat down on the steps. “Legally?”
“Are you okay?” He knelt down in front of her. This discussion was more than she could handle tonight. “We don’t have to make any decisions now.”
“I didn’t expect you to want to do anything official.”
“I won’t do anything you don’t want. I know we’ve only been together a short time, but I love you and I want to take care of you. Do you have any idea how special you are to me? I’ve never felt anything like this for anyone before. I just want you to know I’m here for the duration. You won’t ever have to be alone. You’re child will always have me in their life.”
She reached out and gently traced her fingertips over his lips. He captured her wrist in his hand and kissed her fingers.
“I have an ultrasound on Tuesday afternoon,” she said. “Will you go with me?”
“I’d love to.”
“I’ve been doing everything alone,” she said. “I’ve been so afraid. I don’t know if I’m making the right decisions and sometimes I just want someone to talk to, you know? To tell me it will all work out.”
He stroked her cheek. “I promise everything will work out.”
“I trust you,” she whispered.
“Good.” He kissed her hand. “I came downstairs to order you dinner. You must be famished.”
She giggled.
She’s adorable.
“I forgot to tell you,” he said. “There are some things in the guest bedroom for you.”
“What kind of things?”
“I took the liberty of asking Autumn to go shopping for you and pick up some items.” Brody hoped Claudia didn’t mind, but he knew she didn’t have many clothes and she would never ask him for anything material. “Not that you don’t look amazing in my shirts, but I thought maybe you’d like some new stuff.”
“That was nice of you, but it wasn’t necessary.” She looked down at her lap, and Brody could see she was uncomfortable with this subject.
“I didn’t mean to offend you, but you stayed here last night and I hoped you’d come back with me tonight but you didn’t have any clothes here.”
“You didn’t offend me, but you don’t have to buy me stuff.”
“I know I don’t have to,” he said. “I want to. Besides, Autumn loves to shop and she loves to be pregnant, so it was a fun afternoon for her.”
“I told Autumn about the baby a few weeks ago.” She fidgeted with her hands. “She came to my apartment the Sunday after I ran out on you. She figured it out.”
“I know,” he said. “She told me she knew this morning when I confided in her you were pregnant. She said it was about time you told me.”
“I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn’t know how.”
“I understand, but now we can’t have any more secrets.” He took her face between his hands. “I’m here for you. Let me take care of you.”
“I’ve been alone for a long time,” she said. “I was convinced I was going to have to do this on my own.”
“You don’t have to anymore.” He kissed her. “Let’s take a few days to adjust. You can lean on me as much or as little as you need. I won’t pressure you.”
“You can’t be this perfect.”
“I’m not perfect.” He kissed her again. “Just glad I found you.”
“Thanks for the clothes,” she said. “I did kind of need some new stuff. I’ve outgrown mine.”
“I can get you whatever you need. We’ll go shopping tomorrow.”
“I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” she said. “Whatever Autumn picked out will be fine.”
“Why don’t you go and look while I order dinner? You can take a shower and put some fresh pajamas on if you’d like.”
“What?” She wrapped her legs around his hips. “You don’t like me in your shirt without my panties on?”
All she had to do was mention she didn’t have anything on underneath his shirt and he was completely distracted. He gripped her hips and pulled her against his erection. “Can you tell how much I like it?”
“Take a shower with me.” She draped her arms over his shoulders and kissed the skin just below his ear. “I could wash your back for you.”
Her warm breath caressed his ear, sending shockwaves throughout his body. “I’d want to wash more than your back.”
“What are we waiting for?” She rubbed against the thin material of his cotton pajamas.
“You keep that up and I’ll be forced to take you here on these steps.” He lifted her shirt up over her stomach, and then thrust against her bare sex.
“Lose these.” She tugged at the waistband of his pants. “I need you inside me.”
“Again?” Not that he was complaining, but three times in one evening was far more than he expected.
“I can’t help it.” She managed to push his pants down to his thighs. “You make me feel so good. Please.”
“You don’t have to beg.” He kicked out of his pants, gently leaned her against the steps, and then hitched one of her legs over his waist.
“Brody,” she moaned as he entered her.
He closed his eyes and moved deep inside her. Each time he made love to her, their link to one another grew stronger. He opened his eyes when she ran her fingers along his cheeks, jaw, and lips.
She smiled at him. It was pleasant to finally see her at ease and happy. He’d been waiting weeks for this moment.
“I like to touch your face. You’re gorgeous.”
He should be telling her that, but he was so consumed with the way she made him feel, he couldn’t form a coherent sentence if he’d wanted to.
She traced her fingers along his lips. “Every inch of you is spectacular.”
He picked up his pace, digging his fingers into her backside and swiveling his hips. “Claudia…I can’t…”
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Let go…”
Her muscles tightened around him, and then she gripped the back of his hair in and cried out his name. He came with her, releasing in long, hot spurts. He could have kept going. He never wanted to stop.
“Brody.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
He let go of her leg and slipped out of her. “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” she said. “But I think I need that shower now, my muscles aren’t used to all of this sex.”
He stood, picked her up, and then carried her up the steps. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but no more sex tonight. You need a shower, food, and a good night’s rest.”
“Can we do it tomorrow?”
“God, woman, you’re insatiable.”
“Is that bad?” She played with the hair at the nape of his neck.
He leaned down and kissed her. “Not bad at all.” He winked as he made his way into the bathroom.