Fifteen
He turned his attention back to Melly. Her expression was calm and self-contained, but she had wrapped her arms around her middle again. Her stance was so defensive, it made his chest ache just to look at her.
He thought of the laughter and closeness they had achieved in the bedroom for such a brief time, and he ground his teeth.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” he muttered.
She looked at him. “Say what?”
Walking over to her, he tilted up her chin and kissed her. “Come sit with me.”
She followed him as he walked to one of the sofas and sprawled at one end. “You’re not mad about the troops, are you?”
He snorted and pulled her down beside him. “No. We’re lucky if that’s all your mother chooses to do. Frankly, I’m a little surprised she hasn’t bombed Northern California yet, but that’s probably because you’re still here.”
She chuckled. The sound was wan.
Hungry to touch her and to feel her in his arms again, he pulled her against his chest. With a big sigh, she laid her head on his chest. He put his face into her soft hair. She smelled like his shampoo, and he loved that so damn much.
He said, “You don’t have to confront Bailey right away, do you?”
She lifted her head to consider him. Her expression had turned grim. “What do you mean?”
“You love your sister. I know you do.” He looked at her steadily. “Would you say that she loves you?”
A series of emotions flashed across her face. Fury, hurt, puzzlement. Even calculation. Finally, she said, “Yes, she loves me.”
“Here’s the thing,” he told her. “While we may have pieced together some information today, in reality, everything happened over twenty years ago. The truth is, we don’t know exactly why Bailey did what she did or if she regrets it. We don’t even know for sure that she did it.”
“She did it,” Melly said. “You know it, and I know it. It’s the simplest, most obvious explanation.”
He sighed. “Okay. But the only thing we really know for certain is that it’s old news. You can take time to think about things and decide what you want to say, or how you want to act. The past isn’t going anywhere.”
As he spoke, he took a curl and wound it around his finger. He loved to touch her. He simply loved it.
“Why are you saying all this?”
He responded slowly, so he could feel out his words. “Because you do love her, and because she loves you. If you and I can draw a line between now and what has happened in the past, maybe you can do that with her too.” He shrugged. “If you want to.”
She rubbed his chest, an absentminded caress that soothed his soul. A sense of well-being stole into him. He was enchanted at the exotic sensation. He and well-being… They were not well acquainted with each other.
After a few minutes, she asked, “What would you do?”
I would grind her bones to dust.
He was quite proud that he did not say it.
“That doesn’t calculate,” he said. “I don’t have a twin with whom I’ve been connected all my life. Relationships are breakable, Melly. It would be smart for you to be sure you know what you want to do before you break them.”
One corner of her mouth lifted. She cocked her head. “You’re so adorable when you’re being openhearted and wise.”
His eyebrows shot up. “I can honestly say nobody has ever said that to me before.”
“It was worth it just for the look on your face.” She grinned, but it faded again quickly. More soberly, she said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He brushed his lips on her forehead.
“You would totally destroy her, wouldn’t you?”
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “Her, along with anybody else who might have been involved.”
Groaning, she collapsed so that her full weight lay on him.
Hooking an arm around her neck, he murmured, “But I can see how things might be different for you. After all, she’s family. You have a golden opportunity, baby. Don’t do as I do.”
She stretched to kiss him lingeringly.
“Mmm,” she murmured against his lips. “I want to stop thinking about other people. We have… What do we have, forty minutes before Bailey and the troops show up? We could do an awful lot in forty minutes, soldier. Dirty, dirty things.”
The tip of her tongue tickled his lower lip in invitation. Instantly, he grew hard as a rock. He groaned against her mouth. “We have something closer to fifteen minutes, I’m afraid. Gregoire told me telepathically that Xavier will arrive very soon.”