Inked Babies (Inked Brotherhood 6)

We find Dylan watching over his brothers who are busy jumping on one of the trampolines and making a racket.

He’s the only one in the Inked Brotherhood who’s not yet a father—and yet he’s been acting like one before the thought of having children had even been a blip in our minds. When his mother left and then his dad went off the deep end, leaving him in charge of his little brothers, he had to grow up quickly and step into his parents’ shoes. That had been a hard time with his little brother and then himself getting sick with Lyme disease, then their dad burning their house and dying in the fire.

It could have ended really badly, but all three brothers are fine now, thankfully. Tessa helped them through those dark times, stood by them. She made Dylan understand she wasn’t leaving his side, their side, for as long as they needed her.

Dylan decided he needed her forever.

Though, speaking of whom… “Hey, man, you here alone? Where’s Tess?” I clap him on the back, and he nods at me and we bump fists.

“She’s in Guatemala, organizing an archaeological dig. She’s coming back on Tuesday.”

I eye him carefully. He’s lounging there, all relaxed-like, but I can read these guys like an open book by now, and the tension in his shoulders betrays him. “She’s been traveling a lot, hasn’t she?”

“What?” He blinks at me. “Well, yeah, but no more than normal.”

“Then what’s the gloomy face for?”

“Fuck off, Tyler.”

“She won’t marry your sorry ass? I bet that’s what’s gotten your thong in a twist.”

This gets him laughing, which is a fucking relief. I don’t want to be right, not about this shit.

“I’m wearing her down slowly,” he says after a moment.

I scratch at my arm, at my newest tattoo—black tribal patterns with the names of my kids inked on the underside, courtesy of Zane. “Whatever. That chick would give up everything for you.”

“And that’s what I don’t want,” he says fiercely. “She’s only just gotten back her freedom from her parents and found a job she likes. She’s discovering herself for the first time. I don’t want her to fucking give up everything, anything, to marry me and have my kids.”

“Trust me, Dylan,” Audrey says, leaning in to give him a quick hug, “having the babies of the man you love is no hardship.” She turns to watch Asher crawl onto the trampoline with Scott and smiles warmly. “Not at all.”

“Daddy…” Jax starts jumping up and down on my arm and ow, he’s getting heavy. “Trampoline. Put me down, putmedown, putmedown!”

Fuck. “Okay, buddy, calm down.”

I slide him down before he dislocates my shoulder, and he runs like a bullet to his uncle who helps him climb up. Ash nods at me that he’s got Jax covered, and I turn back to Dylan, shaking out my arm.

“He’s getting big.” Dylan smiles.

“Yeah. And you’d make a great dad.”

“Shut up.”

I shrug. “It’s the truth.”

“Tessa knows it,” my beautiful girlfriend says, coming to stand beside me, baby Isabella gurgling in her arms. “Trust me. Women know when a guy will make a good daddy.”

“Really? That’s creepy,” Dylan says, making a face at her.

“It’s sexy,” she replies and smiles up at me.

She’s sexy. The things I wanna do to her…Two kids with her and I want her like the first day. No, scratch that: I want her more.

She’s been insecure about her body since the birth of Isa three months ago, and I have to prove to her she has nothing to worry about. Not only because there’s no other girl for me, but also because I love how she carried our babies in her belly and fed them from her breasts.

“Ooh shit,” she says suddenly, grabbing one of her boobs. “I’m leaking.”

Am I a mind-reader or what? “Need help with that?” I offer magnanimously and lick my lips.