Time Will Tell (Maybe #3)(21)

Trillian runs her hands over my stomach, feeling my muscles and making my semi hard-on turn into a full-fledged one. She has a power over me that I normally wouldn’t like, because you can’t trust all women. Just like you can’t trust all men, I suppose. But with her, I know, I just know she’s good down to her bones. I can see it in her, in the way people around her treat her and in how she treats them. If I have to be owned by any woman, Trillian is a good choice. The best choice. In fact, I feel like I won the f*ckin’ lottery.

She leans even closer against my back, and for once, I wish I were off the bike so I could wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her neck. Kiss her from head to toe. I can’t lie to myself—I want a taste of her. Of her mouth, her *. I want to suck on those breasts of hers, squeeze the globes of her bare ass.

In my head, I torture myself by planning out exactly what I want to do to her. The bike comes to a stop in her driveway, and I’m about to pull her off the bike and drag her inside like a caveman when I realise we’re not alone. I do a double take when I see who is standing, his arms crossed, watching me from Zach’s driveway.

Dread hits my stomach.

Something must be wrong. Why else would Ryan Knox be standing before me—in Channon?

“Do you know that guy?” Trillian asks, her brows drawn together.

“Yeah, I do,” I say. “Can you do me a favour and go inside? I’ll be there in a second.”

“Is everything okay?” she asks, sounding worried.

I lick my lips. “I don’t know. That’s Summer’s brother-in-law, and if he’s here, it must be something important.”

“Okay,” she says. “I hope everything is okay.”

I kiss her forehead before she walks to her front door, and I wait until she’s safely inside before I walk over to where Ryan is leaning against his car.

“What’s happened?” I ask as I stand before him. “Is Summer okay?”

“Hello to you, too,” he says without the usual sparkle in his eye. “We tried calling you, but you haven’t been answering your phone.”

Oh, right.

Fuck.

I put it on silent last night, then forgot it at Zach’s this morning when I went to get changed.

“Talk to me.”

“You need to come home, Xander,” he says without blinking. “Now.”

Fuck.

*****

I pack up all my shit at Zach’s house, give him a call explaining the situation, then head over to Trillian’s house. I have to leave. Summer is in the hospital, and it isn’t good. I’m not sure how she’s going to handle something like this, but I know she needs me to be there for her. I scowl when I find Trill’s front door unlocked. walk inside and find her in the kitchen where she turns to me with a wide-eyed look.

“What happened?” she asks quietly.

“I need to go back home,” I tell her. “My sister Summer is in the hospital.”

She gasps. “Is she okay? I’m so sorry, Xander.”

I step to her and wrap her in my arms, burying my face in her neck.

Peace.

I feel peaceful when I’m around this woman.

“I need to leave, Trillian,” I whisper. “Right now.”

She rubs my back. “Of course you do, Xander.”

I lift my head up, staring down at her. “Do you want to come?”

I don’t want to let her out of my sight. She could come back with me and spend some time with me. We could get to know each other better. I can’t explain it, I just don’t want to say goodbye to her.

“I… I have uni and work,” she stutters. “I can’t just leave. Though I wish I could.”

I sigh. Of course. Her life is here. I can’t expect her to drop everything to come back with me, no matter how much I want her to. I lower my lips to hers and give her a goodbye kiss. She opens her mouth eagerly, her arms reaching around my neck, pulling me down to her. She tastes sweet, and I wish I had the time to show her just how much I want her, but I don’t. I pull away and kiss along her jawline, then place one kiss on her collarbone.

“I have to go,” I tell her. “I’ll call you, okay? I’ll be back whenever I can.”

She smiles sadly, looking like she doesn’t believe me. “Go, Xander, your family needs you right now.”

Another quick, almost desperate kiss, and then I walk out the door.

*****

Summer was pregnant. She hadn’t told anyone except her husband, Reid. She was waiting for the three-month mark but has lost the baby at two months. She isn’t taking it very well, as would be expected. After riding back to Perth, I went home for a quick shower then straight to the hospital. Ryan didn’t tell me the exact details; just that Summer had lost a baby and was asking for me. When I walk into the hospital room, my sister sits there staring straight ahead. At nothing. Her face is blank, her normally bright eyes dull.

“Summer?”

She turns her head to me. “Xander, you came.”

Her voice comes out cracked, broken, like she hasn’t used it much.

I walk to her bed, pull a chair from the side, and sit next to her, taking her hand in mine. “Of course I came. You know I’m always here for you.”

She looks down at our hands. “I lost her.”