Maybe This Time (2 page)

“Yeah, he
knows,” he answers, his tone and look telling Dash to shut up. I
look at Dash. I’m not gonna lie, he's ruggedly handsome. Dark hair,
piercing violet eyes and a perfectly sexy amount of stubble on his
face. I see a matching pair of dimples pop up when he flashes me a
flirty smile. I roll my eyes at him, feigning non-interest. The
twinkle in his eyes calls my bluff.

“How long are
you here for?” Dash asks me, picking up his own slice of pizza.

“Forever,”
Xander says, the same time I answer, “not long.”

My brother
pins me with a harsh glare. “What do you mean not long? This is
your house, too!”

“No, it isn’t,
Xander,” I say softly. This is his house, and his alone. I know my
father gave it to him. I want to spend some time with my brother,
and get on my feet, then I can find my own place to live.

“Summer, you
have to know that-"

“It doesn’t
matter. I don’t want to be in your way,” I tell him, cutting him
off.

“Is it cos all
of that shit your mother said about me? You don’t think that you’re
safe here?” he asks me, his voice mocking, but his eyes shine with
hurt. My whole life my mother has been telling me my brother is a
low life. A thug, a criminal, a waste of space. I’ve heard it all.
She tried her best to turn me against Xander and my father, tried
to instil it into me from the beginning. I had no idea that he knew
about the things she told me. I don’t think he cares what she
thinks, but from the look in his hazel eyes I can see that he does
care about what I think.

“If I listened
to everything my mother said I wouldn’t be here right now, Xander,”
I tell him truthfully. He shakes his head, staring down at his feet
in annoyance. Dash is watching him, a thoughtful look on his
face.

“She told me
you were a biker. Is it true?” I blurt out. The two of them eye
each other, almost like they are having a silent conversation. I
shrug, grab a beer and head to the couch, turning on the TV.

“How old are
you, baby?” Dash asks me. Baby?

I take a slow
sip of my beer before I reply. “What’s it to you?”

“Xander is
eighteen, so you must be, what, nineteen?”

“And how old
are you?” I ask.

“Older,” is
all he says. I give him a once over. I’d say he’s about twenty
five.

“You must be,
what, thirty?” I ask, pursing my lips so I don’t laugh when I see
his reaction.

He narrows his
eyes. “I don’t look that old.”

“Of course
not,” I say, dragging the words out.

He opens his
mouth to say something else, when two men walk into the house.

Does no one
even knock? Or believe in locking doors?

I peer up at
them, surprised to see that they are twins. Identical twins. Both
have blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. The only difference I can
spot between them is the scar one of them has, marring the right
side of his cheek. It looks like it might have been made by a
knife, and runs deep along his jaw line. His hair is shaved on both
sides, and a little longer on the top, while the other has his hair
longer and messier, falling charmingly over his forehead.

“Anyone ever
tell you it’s rude to stare?” the scarred twin says with a
growl.

“Reid,” the
other twin says, a warning in his tone.

“Summer, this
is Reid and Ryan,” Xander introduces as he sits down on the couch
opposite me.

“This is your
sister? Holy fuck,” Ryan says with a smile. Reid just glares at me,
brooding. He seems… charming.

“Yeah, and
she’s off limits,” Xander says, his eyes on the TV.

“Where’s the
fun in that?” Ryan says, sitting down next to me. He nudges me
playfully with his elbow, and I can’t help it when my lips curve
into a smile. I turn to look at Dash, currently staring daggers at
Ryan, his fists clenched. Having no clue what his deal is, I turn
back to Ryan.

“Nice to meet
you, Ryan,” I tell him. And I mean it. Ryan may seem flirty but I
can tell he's harmless. Reid, on the other hand - let’s just say I
wouldn’t wanna meet him in a dark alley any time soon.

“Jack said we
all gotta be at the warehouse in an hour,” Reid says, still
standing, his arms crossed against his muscular chest.

“Warehouse?” I
repeat, looking at Xander for answers. I eye all four men
warily.

And they all
ignore me.

“Alright,
we’ll be there, don’t worry,” Xander says, looking at Reid.

“He wants us
all
there,” Reid says, looking straight at me.

“I’m not going
anywhere.” I cross my arms over my chest in protest.

“Just fucking
great,” Reid mutters, his eyes darting to Xander.

“What?” I
ask.

“Of course
you'd be an uptight princess,” he says, looking pissed off.

I blink once.
“Fuck you.” I draw out each word.

“No, thanks,”
he replies, standing there with his feet shoulder width apart, his
arms crossed.

My eyes widen
at his response. “I'll take you up on that offer,” Ryan says,
scowling at Reid before flashing me a charming smile. A charming
smile that I can imagine has worked on many before me.

“Can you guys
not chase her away, please?” Xander says, rubbing his hand down his
face.

Something
works behind Reid’s eyes. “Let’s get ready to head out.”

Taking that as
my cue to leave, I stand up and head to my room. I close the door
quietly, although I want nothing more than to slam it with all my
might. I lie down on my bed, pulling out my e-reader.

Time to tune
out the world.

Jack’s
daughter is hot.

No, she’s
beautiful. Of course she’s fucking beautiful.

Jack’s told us
we needa treat her like she’s family. Protect her.

And sure as
hell not fuck her.

I think my
dick needs to get the memo, because as soon as I saw her, it was
standing to attention.

Full
attention.

Big brown eyes
and pouty lips begging to be kissed. She is a stunner. And her body
- holy shit.

She has a body
made for sin, huge tits, a tiny waist and hips that flare out. Her
ass is round and heart shaped, with a lot to grab onto.

“Stop being a
dick to her,” Xander warns, causing my lip to twitch.

“Jack wants to
see her,” I tell Xander. I glance towards what I assume is the door
to her room. I see Ryan eyeing me curiously, and I hate that he
knows me so well. I don’t normally give a fuck what others think of
me, of my scar. But when Summer was looking at me, I couldn’t help
but lose my temper. When there are two exact versions of a person,
and one is scarred, who do you think the women go for? Don’t get me
wrong, I get my fair share of those who want to take a ride on the
wild side. Summer doesn’t seem like that type, though. I don’t
think she’s anything like the women I’m used to.

I don’t know
how to feel about that.

“I’m not gonna
force her to go, she just got here,” Xander narrows his eyes at me.
He loves his sister, that much is clear. I know they've never met
before, but Jack told me Xander had managed to write and call her
over the years. Her mum was some vindictive bitch that wouldn’t let
them near her, ever since Jack cheated on her. Not only did Jack
cheat but the woman, Daria, got pregnant with Xander. Summer’s
mother was pissed and took Summer away for good. There’s probably
more to the story, but that’s all that I know.

“Tell Jack
I'll bring her when she’s ready, he’ll understand,” Xander
says.

“Fine, you
explain,” My eyes dart to her door once again.

“Someone’s
gonna need to stay here with her, I don’t wanna leave her alone,”
Xander says.

“Reid can
stay, he’s already seen Jack,” Ryan offers, a smile playing on his
lips. Xander looks at me warily, but then gives a slight nod.

“Fine, let’s
go. I’ll go and say bye to her,” Xander says, standing up and
walking over to her room.

“How long have
we got?” Dash asks the room.

“Two weeks,” I
reply. Dash nods and stands up, heading out the front door.

“Two weeks,
huh,” Ryan says.

“Yeah, I don’t
know how Jack is gonna keep Summer away from this shit,” I say,
looking down at my feet.

“We’ll make it
work,” my brother says, forever the optimist.

“We’re gonna
have to.”

I walk out of
my room after unpacking everything in my suitcase. I freeze when I
see Reid sitting on the beat up leather couch, slowly sipping on a
beer.

“Why are you
here?” I ask bluntly, walking to the fridge to get a bottle of
water.

“Xander wanted
someone to stay and keep you company,” he replies, eyes still on
the TV.

“So he chose
you?” I scoff.

“You got a
problem with that?” he grates out, sounding irritated.

“No, sir,” I
say sarcastically, closing the fridge with a push of my hip. Reid
instantly turns his head, staring at me blatantly.

“What?” I ask,
walking over to the couch and taking a seat opposite him. Reid rubs
his temple, like I’m giving him a migraine, and doesn’t answer. My
gaze roams lower, down to his muscular arms. He looks so strong, so
masculine. I almost sigh in appreciation when I see how his T-shirt
dips into a v, showing off a hint of his toned chest. Yum.

“Yes, we all
know I have a fucked up face, you don’t need to stare,” he snaps,
averting his eyes to the TV. A muscle ticks in his jaw, his posture
stiff.

“Actually, I
was thinking how sexy you are,” I say honestly, giving him another
once over. He turns to look at me, surprise evident on his face.
His eyes widen, and then narrow, as if he finally gets what I
said.

“But even your
sexiness doesn’t cover for your personality, or lack thereof,” I
say in a saccharine sweet tone.

He studies me
for a second. “You’re gonna be trouble, I can tell,” he mutters
under his breath.

“Me? I keep to
myself, how can I be trouble?” I ask, scowling.

His lip quirks
into a crooked smile. “We’ll see.”

“Cryptic
much?” I say, narrowing my eyes a little.

He changes the
subject. “Your brother and father love you, a lot. Don’t hurt them,
Summer.”

I gape.
“You’re kidding me, right?”

He gives me a
look that says he’s anything but kidding. “If you leave all of a
sudden, they’re gonna be heartbroken. They’ve been talking about
you ever since I’ve known them.”

“Right, so
they are the victims in all of this.” My voice sounds bitter even
to my own ears.

His eyes
soften. “No one’s gotta be a victim. I’m just saying, they are good
men, and you are their weakness.”

“I highly
doubt that,” I say. “I’ve wanted to meet Xander my whole life. He’s
the reason I’m here.”

“And Jack?” he
asks, studying me.

“You’re nosy,
you know that?”

He shrugs, and
tilts his head to the side. “I protect those I care about.”

“No one needs
protecting from me,” I say defensively.

“Maybe so,” he
says, turning his head. “They seem to think you’re the sweetest
thing, but I know there's some fire in you.”

“You’re making
assumptions based on what, the whole thirty seconds you’ve known
me?”

His expression
doesn’t change, but he stands up. “Do you want something to
drink?”

I blink once.
“Umm, sure.” I watch as he goes into the kitchen, and opens the
fridge.

“What would
you like?”

“Apple juice,
please.” He pours me some juice and brings it over to me, handing
me the glass. Our fingers touch as I take it, and my body instantly
reacts, my fingers tingling. As soon as I grasp the glass he pulls
his hand away, frowning slightly.

“Thanks,” I
say, sipping the drink.

He looks at me
once more, his blue eyes not missing a thing. I suck in a breath,
feeling those eyes penetrate my defences. He opens his mouth to say
something, but stops himself. Instead, he gives me a half shrug and
returns his gaze to the TV. When he doesn’t attempt any more
conversation, I mumble a goodnight and head to my room.

I wake up the
next morning and stare at the ceiling. I spent the night tossing
and turning, unable to rest. I pick up my phone from the side table
and send a quick message to my best friend back home, Lilly. I hear
someone moving around in the kitchen, so I drag myself out of bed,
desperate for some caffeine.

“Morning,” I
mumble to Xander, who is standing shirtless in the kitchen,
drinking some orange juice straight out of the carton.

“Morning, sis.
Coffee?” he asks, offering me a grin.

I nod eagerly.
“Yes, please.”

I watch as he
makes me a coffee, asking how I like it. “Black, please,” I tell
him.

“Same as me,”
he says, smiling. He slides it towards me.

“Thanks.” I
grab the cup and hold it between my hands. “You work out a lot?” I
ask him, as I blow on the coffee.

Xander flexes
his biceps, and I laugh. He’s pretty ripped.

“Yeah we have
a small gym set up that we all use.” He puts the carton back into
the fridge.

I wrinkle my
nose at him. “Where do you work?” I ask, realizing I really don’t
know much about him.

Xander
suddenly looks uncomfortable. “Jack has a business or two, I work
for him.”

“I see.” But I
really don’t. What sort of businesses would my father own?

“What do you
wanna do today?” Xander asks me, his eyes sliding to mine.

“I needa find
a job.”

“You don’t
needa find work straight away, Summer, I can take care of you,” he
says in a gentle tone.

“I’m pretty
sure that’s meant to be my line,” I say, my lips twitching.

“Why, cos
you’re a year older?” he says, amusement lacing his tone.

“Yes.”