Time Will Tell (Maybe #3)(24)

Two smile back at me, one doesn’t.

“Where’s Dad?” Zach asks them.

“Outside, grilling,” the one named Mia replies. “Trillian, you the girl who lives next door to Grim?”

I nod. “Yes, that would be me.”

“Come on, Trill. Let’s get this over with,” Zach murmurs, taking my hand and leading me to the back door.

“Get what over with?”

“My dad.”

“It’s not that much of a big deal, is it?” I ask, looking around.

“Me bringing you here is making you part of the club, Trill. Before you were family to us, but an outsider to the club.”

He opens the door for me.

“What the f*ck are you doing here, my Trillian girl?” is bellowed as soon as I step into the backyard, which is filled by bikers and their women.

I look up at Grim, who is standing on the opposite side of the lawn, tongs in his hand, and barbecue behind him.

All eyes are suddenly on me.

I lift my hand in an awkward wave as Zach leads me across the lawn to where Grim is standing. A few men, who were sitting stand and walk over to us.

“What are you doing here?” he asks me, scowling.

“I brought the cakes,” I reply. “And I wanted to come for the barbecue. You say I’m family, then don’t invite me to these events and I wanted to come. So I made Zach bring me.”

I know I’m completely na?ve to the whole MC lifestyle, and Zach and Grim only let me see what they want me to see. But like I said, they’re family to me, and I’d like to be more included and a barbecue seems innocent enough, right?

Two men stand behind him. One is young, and extremely good looking with jet-black hair and emerald green eyes. The other, slightly older, is a bulky man with blond hair and brown eyes.

“Where the f*ck you been hiding her?” the dark-haired man asks, checking me out from head to toe.

Zach pulls me closer to him. “This is Rex and Snake.”

Rex takes a step forward, grinning. “I call shotgun.”

Grim slaps him on the back of the head, and the blond man, Snake, chuckles.

“This is Trillian. You f*ckers don’t get to go near her, you hear me?” He raises his voice. “No one f*ckin’ touches this girl.”

Okaaaaay then.

I step closer to Grim, stand on my tiptoes, and kiss him on the cheek. “You going to feed me, old man?”

His lip twitches and then he turns to his son. “You let her come here in those f*ckin’ shorts?”





Chapter Twelve


Trillian


“You baked this cake?” Rex asks, licking his lips and staring right at me.

“I did,” I reply warily.

“Talented,” he murmurs, licking cream off his finger.

“For f*ck’s sake, leave her alone,” Zach growls as he takes the chair next to me on the opposite side of Rex.

Rex puts his plate down on the table and scowls at Zack. “I’m just talking to her, or would you rather her sit here alone while you disappeared?”

“I didn’t disappear. I was taking a piss if you must know,” Zach fires back, then turns to me. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I tell him honestly. And I am. Sure, a few of the men are very forward, and a little rough around the edges—okay, a lot rough, but they don’t cross any lines. Some of the women are a little wary, whereas others are very friendly. I keep to myself and speak when I’m spoken to. Grim introduced me to everyone like a proud father, muttering threats to any man who stared at me too long or showed a little interest. We all sat around and ate together in the backyard, and I listened to them all talk and watched them interact. They really are like one, big, unusual family.

“So, this wasn’t as wild as I was expecting,” I say to Zach, so only he could hear.

He laughs, loudly. “Wait until tonight when all the old ladies leave.”

“What happens then?” I ask, but I can guess.

He strokes the stubble on his face. “I get to have some fun, is what happens.”

“You’re dropping me home first, right?” I ask, saying each word slowly and deliberately.

He grins. “Why, you don’t want to stay and play? Forget about Xander?”

“I’ll make you forget anyone you want to,” Rex inserts as his eyes linger on my breasts.

I roll my eyes. “Maybe another time.”

Two men join us at the table, men I’ve never seen before. One has brown hair and eyes that match, a beard, and a gruff expression. But he’s hot. Like holy hell hot. Wow. The man next to him is also a looker, in a completely different way—blond hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile. He also has two facial piercings, an eyebrow ring and lip ring. He smirks in my direction.

“Hello there, beautiful.”

“Off-limits, Rake,” Zach instantly says. “Don’t worry, there will be more * coming soon.”

I elbow Zach in the gut, but he just grins. “Pig.”

“Oh, come on, I wasn’t talking about you.”

The bearded man looks at me. “You his old lady?”

A ‘f*ck no’ leaves my lips.

The men all laugh.

Zach puts a hand on his heart. “Don’t be like that, Trillian.”