Carnal: Pierced and Inked

by Simone Sowood

  I can’t imagine plunking my baby in the arms of an unprepared twenty-two-year-old guy to take care of for a day, let alone forever.

  “How did you cope?” I ask.

  At first I felt like I was prying. But now it seems like he needs to get this off his chest. I wonder how many other people he’s told this.

  Knox’s lips move into a half smile, and he says, “I learn real fucking fast.”

  “Did your mom help you?”

  “At first, yeah, but then she moved to Florida with another of her boyfriends.”

  “To retire?”

  “She retired, but the guy was my age.”

  “She sounds like Darla,” I say, laughing.

  Knox laughs, and says, “She is like Darla. All my mum needs is that curly hair.”

  “Well, things worked out. Piper’s a great kid, you did a great job of raising her.” This time I don’t feel awkward when I tell him I think he’s a great father.

  “Thanks,” Knox says, and takes a sip of his coffee.

  “You’re too humble.”

  Knox grunts.

  “You should be proud of what you’ve achieved. You’re an amazing dad.”

  “She isn’t grown up yet, there are still plenty of opportunities to mess up.”

  “Somehow I don’t think you – or she – will.”

  “Like the bra? And the period? I don’t know anything about that stuff.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You let me help her, and that’s the best you could do.”

  “Maybe. At least it got me in your skirt.”

  “All you had to do for that was smile once in a while. And be nice. Neighborly, even.”

  “You want neighborly?” he asks, a gruff edge to his voice.

  “It would’ve been nice when I first moved in.”

  As I finish my sentence, Knox grips me by the back of my head and pulls me to his lips and crushes his mouth against mine. I whimper at his touch. Our tongues poke and twirl around each other’s and this time when my heart flutters, I do nothing to try to ignore it.

  I have feelings for this man, and I no longer have to ignore them. Somehow, that makes the kiss more powerful.

  Knox then kisses to my ear, and in a low voice asks, “So this is official?”

  I wrap my arms tight around him, and in a quiet voice say, “Definitely.”

  “And you’ll be at my table tonight?”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t miss your cooking.”

  Clamping his lips back on mine, he half scoops, half pushes me onto the floor. I’m wedged between the couch and the coffee table, on the old carpet. Knox fumbles with the belt of my housecoat before finally getting the knot out and yanking open my housecoat.

  I’m in my panties and old T-shirt, but don’t care. Neither does he. His big hands put my T-shirt up to my neck, exposing my breasts, before he pulls off my panties. His lips are back on mine, and my walls are slick with want.

  In moments, Knox’s weight is on me, and still dressed, his hard dick is at my entrance. Without waiting, he pushes into me. I moan as my walls stretch to fit him.

  Only then do I realize he didn’t stop to put a condom on. My heart is beating like crazy, and butterflies explode in my chest. I moan again, my walls tight around his bare cock.

  The hard floor holds me firmly in place while he pounds into me. Heat burns between my legs, but above that, my heart pounds harder for him.

  I wrap my legs around his, my body building and building and I clutch onto his shirt.

  “Knox,” I whimper as waves burst through my body. My pussy turns into a quivering wreck and spasms tight around his dick. His bare dick. I moan at the thought of him filling me.

  Knox groans and releases himself into me, his dick throbbing as he comes.

  Breathless, he kisses my lips and says, “I hadn’t planned to do that.”

  “Not use a condom?”

  “Not fuck you on the floor like this.”

  I swallow, and say, “Sometimes the situation calls for it.”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Knox?”

  “Yeah?” he asks, brushing my hair back from my face.

  “Thank you for trusting me.”

  He closes his mouth over mine, and our mouths lock in a tender kiss. I don’t think I could ever get enough of him.

  Eventually, he pulls away. While I clean myself up, he makes us each another cup of coffee. We sit on the sofa, and I snuggle up against him while we drink and talk.

  After half an hour, Knox says, “I have to get some work done, I have no choice.”

  “Of course. Me too. I’ll see you at dinner?”

  “I expect you there,” he says, and kisses my forehead.

  After he leaves, I stay on the couch both letting my body and mind recover and process what went on here this morning. It’s almost too good to be true.

  Eventually, I haul myself upstairs and dress. I have to film a product-pimping video today on the physically possible sex positions book, which is good because otherwise I’d end up making some gushing vlog about Knox.

  At my desk, I can see Knox out the window, working on his latest car. My heart flutters, knowing he’s mine now. I could sit here all day watching him, but I can’t. I have too many exciting ideas to share with my fans.

  But first, the book pimping video.

  I work all afternoon, shooting it, editing it and doing admin tasks. It wouldn’t have taken so long if I hadn’t spent so much time looking out the window at Knox. Somehow I’m going to have to find more discipline.

  Now it’s nearly six, and I wrap a fashion scarf around my neck to cover the still visible hickeys.

  I ring his doorbell, and Knox answers, a grin on his face. Before I can say hello, he leans over and kisses me. That’s a much better hello than I’d expected.

  Standing tall again, he says, “Come in.”

  Knox takes my hand and leads me through to the kitchen. Everything feels different now. The charged air between us settled, relaxed.

  Piper’s still upstairs, and we chat as we get supper ready. He’s made a beef and barley stew today. Somehow he found the time for that. I reach up to get the bowls out of the cupboard, and he puts his hands on my ass.

  “You’re bad,” I say, laughing.

  “I couldn’t help myself,” he says.

  “I’m glad you two are finally together,” Piper says.

  I drop the bowls and they shatter on the floor.

  “Piper,” Knox and I say at the same time.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be doing your homework?” Knox says.

  “I finished it, and thought you’d want help to set the table. I didn’t know Avery was here.”

  “Since when do you help set the table?” Knox asks.

  Piper looks at me and smiles. I guess my lecture yesterday about helping out her father has sunk in.

  “Do you have a broom?” I ask as I pick up the bigger shards of the bowls.

  “I’ll get it,” Piper says.

  I clean up the broken dishes, while Piper sets the table and Knox ladles out the stew in more bowls. Through dinner, Piper and I chat as usual. Knox even joins in, a lot more than he did before. He’s relaxed, smiling and visibly happy and is even more fun to be around.

  After dinner, the three of us clean the kitchen together.

  When we’re finished, we head into the living room. Piper sits on the armchair, and Knox sits beside me on the couch and puts his arm around me.

  It’s a perfect day. Sex in the morning, and cuddling in the evening.

  So perfect, we repeat it every day for the next two weeks.

  Knox

  “I’m so excited, tomorrow is going to be the best day ever,” Piper says, her face beaming.

  She’s finished grade school, and tomorrow officially graduates from eighth grade. All week, she’s been reminding me that she’s a high school student now, and officially almost a grown up. And that her birthday is in a month and she’ll be fourteen. As in not
my baby girl anymore.

  I know the next four years are going to get even worse. That she’ll want less and less to do with me, and more and more to do with her friends. Until the day she brings a boy home. How the fuck am I supposed to deal with that?

  “I still remember my eighth grade graduation,” Avery says from her position beside me on the couch, “I tripped when I went up to get my certificate.”

  “And that’s why we didn’t get the shoes with the heels too high, right?” Piper says.

  “Exactly.”

  “I don’t want to make a fool of myself tomorrow, especially with the surprise I have planned.”

  “What surprise?” I ask.

  “Duh, it’s a surprise. Surprise means I can’t tell you. Or it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

  Piper’s gone on about her surprise for the past two weeks. I don’t like surprises. No matter how much I’ve pressed her on what it is, she wouldn’t tell me. It’d better be something stupid, and not anything like introducing me to a boy at the ceremony.

  “You’d better get to bed, or you’ll be too tired to enjoy tomorrow,” I say.

  “Night,” Piper says as she runs up the stairs.

  “Good night,” Avery and I say.

  “What the fuck is the surprise?” I mutter.

  “No idea. She wouldn’t give me any hints,” Avery says.

  She’s been sitting beside me on the couch all night, and now that Piper’s gone upstairs, I pull her closer.

  “It better not be a boy.”

  “You might want to prepare for that. If it’s not tomorrow, it’ll be some day not too far in the future.”

  I grumble, too annoyed out by the idea to think about it any longer.

  Avery leans her body against mine, and we mindlessly watch some movie. I only pay attention when a car comes on the screen.

  Piper loves having Avery around so much, and the two have become even closer. She’s fit right into our family so easily, it’s like she’s always been a part of it.

  Part of me still worries that having an actual girlfriend and having Piper have a relationship with that girlfriend is a bad idea. But it’s an idea I’ve been religiously following Piper’s whole life, and breaking it is a weird feeling.

  Even though breaking it for Avery couldn’t feel more right.

  The credits roll up the screen, but neither of us moves. Avery’s been going home around eleven every night, but tonight I don’t want her to leave.

  She presses her hand against my chest and moves to stand, “I’d better get going.”

  “Stay here tonight.”

  Avery’s eyes move up to mine, and widen when our eyes connect. “What are you saying?”

  I lower my voice, and say, “To sleep. I want you in my bed.”

  “But what about Piper.” Avery raises her head to mine, inches away from me.

  “But nothing. I said to sleep. We both know you can’t be quiet. Besides, I’m surprised you’re not still sore from this morning.” I spent three hours at her house this morning, and when I left she was stuck on her bed.

  “You want me to sleep in your arms? But not fuck me?”

  “That’s what I said. You can leave before Piper gets up in the morning.”

  “I didn’t bring anything to sleep in.”

  “Good,” I say and bring her mouth against mine. I break the kiss just as fast, before I won’t be able to stop and we end up waking Piper.

  Pushing Avery off me, I stand and take her hand. She follows me around the house as I turn off all the lights, before she follows me up the stairs and into my bedroom.

  In silence, I strip down to my boxers while watching Avery peel off her clothes. She leaves her panties on and climbs into my bed. I finally have a woman in my bed and it feels fucking right.

  I get in bed, and pull her alongside me. She hooks her feet around my calves and I hold her tighter against me. My dick rests against her round ass, and I force myself to think of Piper to stop myself from sticking it in Avery.

  Avery falls asleep almost instantly, and I lie here, enjoying the rise and fall of her ribs under my arm. The scent of her hair fills my nose as I drift off to sleep.

  At some point, I wake with a massive hard-on. It’s pitch black, and Avery grinds her ass against me in her sleep.

  Still half asleep, I trail my hand over the curve of her hip, and flick my finger under the edge of her panties. She’s wet and she wants me. Fuck, I need to be in this pussy.

  I kiss her cheek, put my lips to her ear and say, “Can you be quiet?”

  She mumbles something and grinds into me.

  I flick my cock out of my boxers, hold her panties aside, and push into her. Being inside her bare, feeling her wetness against my skin, still sends shivers from my cock through my body. I stay motionless, enjoying the sensations.

  Moving a little, I move slow and deep. I’m waking up more now, but Avery is still half asleep. With each thrust, her ass pushes back against me. Her breath is shallow and fast under my arm, and she whimpers.

  “Quiet,” I whisper, increasing my thrusts.

  A moan comes from her throat. I know the noise, it means she’s close. Tingles race up and down my legs and my balls tighten.

  Avery’s body gyrates and she tilts her head back, her mouth open. I clamp my hand over her mouth in time to muffle her scream. I hope I muffled it enough.

  My body shudders and my dick explodes against her walls.

  In seconds, she’s back asleep and I wonder if she was ever even fully awake. Exhausted, I leave my cock in her and fall back asleep.

  I wake up with Avery still in my arms, the room bright with sunlight. Not wanting to wake her, I run my hand over her sleeping body before caressing each of her breasts and rolling her nipples between my fingers.

  My cock stirs inside her, but I know it’s too risky and that Piper would know. Having her sleep here in my bed is risky enough.

  Shit, it’s after nine. Piper will be up. Fuck.

  “Wake up, baby,” I whisper into Avery’s ear.

  “Hmm.”

  “Quiet, Piper’s up.”

  “No.” Avery jolts to her elbows, and my dick falls free of her in the movement.

  “We slept in. We have to be quiet,” I say in a hushed tone.

  “How do I get out of here?”

  “I’m going to have to sneak you out.” The way Piper had better never sneak a boy out.

  “How?”

  “I don’t know, I’ll distract her in the kitchen and you go out the front door.”

  Avery laughs, and I cover her mouth with my hand.

  “What’s so funny?”

  She creases her brow and pulls my hand away, “Did we have sex last night?”

  “I’m offended you don’t remember.”

  “I remember you putting your hand over my mouth. And I remember a pretty good dream.”

  “Dream?”

  “Not a dream then?”

  “No. Focus. We have to get you out of here without her knowing.”

  I should think it was a mistake having her stay here last night, but all I can think of is wanting more of it. Even though I know it’s a mistake.

  A mistake that makes me even more angry at myself, for putting myself ahead of Piper. Piper has to come first. I can’t forget that.

  Avery

  After Knox leaves the room, I pick my clothes up off the floor and pull them on, making as little noise as possible.

  Sleeping in Knox’s strong arms all night was too wonderful for words. And it turns out that the dream I had about him last night was real in all its glory. It’s no wonder I slept in and that was a dream I didn’t want to wake up from. And one I hope he’ll let us repeat. Assuming I can get out of the house without Piper seeing me.

  I creak the door open and creep into the hallway. At the top of the stairs, I strain my ears to try to figure out what room Piper’s in.

  At first I can’t hear anything, so I take a couple steps down the stairs, my
feet coming into view to anyone in the living room.

  “Avery,” Piper says, sobbing, her voice coming from the living room.

  Why is she sobbing? My heart races, and I rush down the rest of the steps.

  They’re standing in the center of the living room, Knox is holding Piper as she sobs against him. Her eyes are rimmed in red, and she wipes her nose on her sleeve as she looks at me.

  Panicking, I hurry over to them, and rub her back. “What’s wrong?”

  What if she’s upset because I stayed over? Knox will be furious, but hopefully not at me. Why didn’t I set my alarm on my phone? Why today, of all days, did I have to sleep in?

  I flick my eyes up to Knox and he shrugs, his eyes wide. Piper cries harder against his chest. He hugs her tight but she’s in hysterics, her body heaving as she cries. Knox breathes heavily through his nose, his body tense.

  “Talk to us, Piper. You’ll feel better, and maybe we can help you,” I say.

  “My surprise. It’s ruined,” she says and wails against Knox.

  Part of me wants to tell her to stop overreacting. Nothing is this bad. But Knox’s face is taut, and I bite my tongue.

  “What was the surprise?” I ask in my nicest voice.

  “It’s not fair,” she says between sobs.

  Knox picks her up and carries her to the couch. He sits down, cradling Piper on his lap. She looks tiny against his massive frame.

  I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to intrude on them, but I want to help them both. Neither are looking at me, Piper’s face is buried in Knox’s chest, and Knox is looking helplessly at his daughter. I end up perching on the coffee table across from them.

  “What was the surprise?” Knox asks.

  “I was following my dream,” Piper says. As she speaks, she looks at me.

  My eyes widen, remembering the conversation I had with her a couple of weeks ago. She asked me if she should follow her dreams, and I said always. I was in too much of a rush to leave before Knox got home bother asking what that dream was.

  “What dream?” Knox asks.

  Piper dissolves into another fit of tears, and Knox visibly tenses even more.

  “Avery said to follow my dream.” I flinch as Piper says my name. I’m officially a part of this.

  “We should all follow our dreams,” I say quietly, my eyes on Knox.