Page 23 of Marked By the Possessive Biker

I hear him shut the door and then his footsteps following me. As soon as he walks into the bedroom, I set my bag down and pull out shorts, T-shirt, and underwear. “You care if I shower?”

I lay down my clothes and start to undress. Ben leans against the door jamb and crosses his arms over his chest. Damn, I hope I’m making the right decision here. His eyes are trained on meas I take off my clothes, and when I stand up, fully naked, I start walking toward him. “Ben… you mind if I shower?”

He tenses when I brush against his arm. He’s practically drooling as he looks at me, and that gives me a little boost of confidence. He runs his hand across his face. “Yeah, you can shower.”

I almost walk past him, but instead, I say what needs to be said. “If you want me out of your life, tell me now.”

He chokes over the words. “I can’t.”

I hold my hand out to him. “I’m just following rule number three, Ben. You said you’d fuck up, and you just did. You can’t make me feel what I felt last night and then tell me to walk away tonight. I’m sticking around so you can make this right.”

I walk into the bathroom but leave the door open. If he’s smart, he’ll join me, but I’m not sure if he’s going to appreciate the challenge. I turn the water on and wait for it to get warm. When I step in, I hear Ben behind me, and I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding. He steps up behind me and puts his arms around me and holds on to me. I’m tense but let myself melt into him. I cover his hands at my waist and wait for him to say something… anything.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters.

I lean my head against his chest. “I know you are.”

“Sometimes what I do is dangerous, and I wouldn’t survive it if something happened to you. I want to keep you safe, but I don’t want to let you go… I wouldn’t blame you if this is too much, princess.”

I turn in his arms and look up at him. “It’s not too much. I wasn’t the one wanting to walk away, Ben. You were pushing me away.”

He leans down, resting his forehead on mine. “If you left, I would have followed you.”

“If you didn’t follow me, I would have showed up to Heat & Ink tomorrow to ask Gunner for a tattoo.”

“Ugh.” He groans. “Rule number four, no one touches your body except for me.”

I laugh. “I’m fine with that.”

“You brought a bag. You staying tonight?”

Embarrassed, I realize that was pretty presumptuous of me. “If that’s okay. I don’t have class tomorrow.”

He puts his hands on each side of my neck. “If it was up to me, you’d be in my bed every night.”

I suck in a breath and let it out slowly. He pulls away from me and reaches toward a cabinet outside of the shower. He grabs a wash cloth, puts soap on it, and starts washing my body.

I’m concentrating on his touch when he breaks the silence. “I need Cruz’s number.”

I open my eyes in shock. “You want my brother’s phone number?”

When he nods, I ask, “Why?”

He touches my cheek. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it on the up and up. I’m not going to hide it from anyone.”

I lift my chin. “I’m not hiding anything.”

He looks into my eyes. “Have you told him about us?”

“No, I haven’t, but in my defense, this all happened pretty fast. I mean, last week, you wanted nothing to do with me.”

He puts his finger on my chin and lifts my head so I have to look at him. “I’ve wanted you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. It just took me a bit to get my shit together.”

I want to plead with him, but I try to remain calm. “I’ll talk to him.”

Ben chuckles. “Don’t you trust me, princess?”

I put my hands at his bare waist and try to suck in a breath. “You pushed me away not ten minutes ago, so don’t blame meif the trust isn’t completely there. I know my brother, and he’s pretty protective?—”

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