Summer My husband plants his body in front of me. "What the—?" I shove at his immovable bulk. "Sin." I make a noise de ep in my throat. He wraps his arm around my waist, holding me in place. "Sinclair." He twists his neck and shoots me a glare. I glower back. "What are you doing?" "I am possessive." "You don't say?" I tip up my chin. "I can't change this part of me." "I don't want you to change that part of you." I dig my fingers into his bic eps. His muscles flex and the power thrums through the material of his shirt and jacket. His gaze drops to the ring on my finger. "I really do love the ring." "I'm glad." His lips kick up at the sides, "I'm sorry I couldn't get you another bouquet of wildflowers." I stiffen, peer up at him, "So it was you who gathered the flowers for me at our wedding?" "Ah." He shuffles his feet. I blink. Sinclair Sterling, with an uncomfortable look on his features. Wow. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way." He squeezes the bridge of his nose. "Are you apologizing?" I widen my gaze, "Why do I find that hard to believe?" "When it comes to you, Bird, I've learned never to underestimate your responses." The skin around his eyes creases, "Or mine toward you, for that matter." "Oh." "Oh!" He chuckles. "Love it when I drive you speechless, you know that." "I love you... Full stop." He straightens, pulls me forward and into his side. I melt into him, twine my arms about his lean waist, rub my cheek against that hard chest. "Like I said." Saint retreats into the office and drops into an armchair. "You look different." "The fuck I care about your opinion?" "It's not the fresh-faced look, which takes years off, by the way." I glower at him. "It's that disgustingly self-satisfied glow all you hitched- up couples in love have where you can't wait to shackle all of your friends into the same institution." "Do you find me saying or doing anything to that effect?"
Saint raises his eyes skyward, "Thank fuck for that." His phone pings, and he pulls it out of his pocket, glances at the screen. "The fuck?" Sin's shoulders bunch. "What is it?" "Probably a crank message, exc ept..." "Exc ept?" "He or she knows their poetry." Sin stiffens. He walks forward, his arm around my shoulders. I lengthen my st eps, to ke ep pace with him. We halt by his desk, and he pulls me against his chest. "Let me see that." "Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Sinclair, probably an irate woman I fucked." "Read it out." Sin's voice is hard. Saint's shoulders stiffen, then he glances at the screen. "I had a dream, which was not all a dream. The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars. Did wander darkling in the eternal space..." "Byron." Sinclair and Saint say in the same instant. Speaking of." Sinclair stiffens. He lets go of me long enough to grab his phone from the wast epaper basket. He straightens, pulls me back into the 'V' between his legs, then checks his phone. He stiffens. "What?" He shows me his phone. "The crowd was famish'd by degrees; but two Of an enormous city did survive, And they were enemies..." I read out. "The fuck?" Sin growls from somewhere above me. Saint's shoulders bunch, "Byron again." There's a buzzing sound from my bag. "Sin." I nudge him, "I need to get my phone." "Fine." He lets go of me so I can grab my bag and pull it toward me. He pulls me close, ke eps an arm around my waist as I fish out my phone. There's a missed call from Karma and a voicemail. I listen to it, then frown. "Everything okay, Babe?" "Yes... No... I don’t know. It's a message from Karma, saying she's going to Sicily. Her friend had an extra ticket so she's going with him." "Him?" His hold stiffens on my hip. "That's what she said. She shouldn't be travelling in her condition."
"She's stable, right?" He begins to draw circles over the curve of my waist. I shiver. "She's fine for now, but she needs to protect against over-exposure, excitement." I dial her number and it goes to voicemail. "Shit! She isn't answering her phone." My heart begins to race. "She didn’t mention anything yesterday or this morning, when I left her house." Saint glances at Sin, then stands up and stretches, "A few days in the sun, with a man..." He curls his lip, all casual like. "Maybe that's what she needs?" "Don't treat me like I don't know what's happening." I glower, then turn to fix my gaze on my husband. "You guys are worried, admit it. First my father mentions Byron, the Mafia boss guy, then you two get messages quoting Lord Byron and now..." I frown at my phone. "Karma suddenly takes off for Sicily?" I shake my head. "Something's not right." There's a knock on the door. Max springs up from his rug, races to the door and scrapes at it. Another knock, then Meredith pops her head through, "There's a woman here to see you." "I'm not expecting anyone." Sin frowns. "Besides" he wraps a strand of my hair around his thick finger, he rests his chin on my head, "we were leaving." "Not you, him." Meredith angles her head at Saint. "Oh! And congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Sterling." She beams at me. I flush. Wow. Mrs. Sterling. It sounds... sounds so right. My heart flutters. "Thanks, Meredith." "Always a pleasure, my dear." Her entire face lights up. "Thanks, M," Saint straightens, "send her in." Meredith nods and retreats. Sin growls, "Make yourself right at home." Saint lifts a middle finger at him, then turns to the door. It swings open. Victoria stands there. Not a hair out of place. Perfect make up. Exc ept, her lipstick is smeared. She glances at me, "Hope I am not intruding." She twists her fingers together. "You are already here." Saint looks her up from head to toe. "May as well come all the way in." Her dress falls to below her knees, and there's a tear at the hem. I stiffen, "Victoria, are you okay?" Max sniffs at her ankles, whines. She bends, pets him. He licks her fingers, then runs to his rug, settles there with his chew toy. "Victoria?" She looks up at me, "Everything will be fine now." Her tone is composed. She turns to Saint. "I’ve been looking for you."
Saint smirks, "About time." She takes a st ep forward, then stumbles. "Hey." Saint closes the distance between them. Her legs seem to wobble and she crumples, but he's already there. He grips her shoulders, straightens her, "You okay?" "Help me."