Page 67 of Taken By the Biker Daddies

She had fallen asleep slumped over a desk, her arms like a pillow beneath her head and her hair spread over her shoulders like a shawl. I smiled, remembering how she used to do this as a little girl, too, falling asleep on the dining room table when she hadgrown tired of drawing. Back then, whenever I saw her like that, I carried her to the couch or the bed as carefully as I could so that she could continue to sleep comfortably. I guess I could do that now, too, but for a moment, I just stared at her, admiring just how beautiful she’d become.

Unable to resist, I approached her, and I was about to touch her cheek when I saw the piece of paper on the desk. She had drawn a man with a little girl holding a gerbera daisy.

My eyes grew wide, my breath escaping me. Was that…me? Did Lauren remember who I was?

Just then, her eyelids fluttered open. She lifted her head, rubbing her eyes. They grew wide when they saw me.

“Jake?”

I scratched my head as I took a few steps back. “Sorry. I…I didn’t mean to wake you up. I’ll go now.”

“Wait.”

I stopped in my tracks and held my breath.

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

Shit. So she does remember. I guess there’s no turning back now.

I exhaled before facing her. “Yes. I knew you when you were little. We used to live in the same apartment building.”

“The one who taught me how to draw. That was you? JJ?”

She even remembered that name?

“My mom used to call me that,” I told her. “So yeah, everyone in the building did, too. And yes, I was the one who used to look after you sometimes and taught you how to draw.” I smiled as I recalled an image of her in braids with crayons in hand. “You were wonderful, even then.”

“So you’ve known who I was all along?” Lauren asked.

I nodded. “I recognized you from your necklace and your birthmark.”

She glanced at her pendant with a frown, then touched it as she murmured something I couldn’t catch. Was she angry with me?

“Is that why you’ve been so kind to me from the start?” she asked out loud, searing frustration in her voice.

So, she was angry. Well, I did think that was a possibility when she found out.

“That was part of it,” I told her. “But even if…”

“So you still me as a child, fragile and helpless?”

I paused, hearing the tinge of pain in her words. She wasn’t holding back, was she? Then I owed it to her to be honest as well.

“I did in the beginning,” I admitted, gazing into her eyes as I walked back to her. “But that hasn’t been true for a while now.”

I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and touched her cheek.

“Now, I see you as this beautiful woman who is so brave and so strong.”

She slapped my hand and stepped back, glaring. “Then why did you walk away from me before? Do you know how much that hurt me?”

I knew that now. I could feel her pain, which was like a dagger stabbing my own chest. I wanted nothing more than to soothe it, to make her pain go away and keep her from ever getting hurt again. I grasped her hand, looking into her eyes as I finally bared my soul to her.

“Because I thought you deserved more,” I told her. “I thought there was nothing good I could offer you because I’m no longer that man you knew. I’ve made many mistakes in my life. I’ve been in prison. I’m a mere tattoo artist who’s been in a relationship with my bike for the past several years. I didn’t think I deserved you.”

I let go of her hand, having said my piece. To my surprise, Lauren grabbed it back.

“And do you still think that?” she asked me.

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