Page 7 of Marked By the Obsessed Biker
I nod because there’s no way I can tell her no. She unbuttons her shirt and then starts to take it off her shoulders. I tell myself not to look, but I do. My gaze travels across her neck, shoulders, and stomach. Her skin is red, and there are bruises already forming. I take a step toward her and touch my hand to her skin softly. “Oh, baby.”
I caress my hand over the pink, swollen bruises across her neck, her shoulders, and the handprint at her ribs. Anger ignites inside me again, and I want to stomp downstairs and finish what I started, but Alice puts her hands at my waist. “Gunner.”
I blink. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. If I was there?—”
She lifts her hand and puts a finger over my lips. “This is not your fault, Grey.”
I’m not going to argue with her, but I know this is my fault. If I’d been with her, there’s no way this would have happened. She lowers her hand, and I miss her touch. Fuck, I have it bad. “What do you need, Alice? What can I do?”
She lowers her head and looks at my chest. “I don’t want to be alone.”
I put my hand on her chin and lift her head so she’s looking at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She nods her head. “I want to take a bath.”
My chest seizes up. “Okay.”
I put my hand on her shoulder and walk her into the bathroom. I help her sit down on the closed toilet lid and then turn to the bathtub, turning on the water. I test the temp, and when I get it to where it needs to be, I grab two bottles off the edge of the tub. “Okay, you want jasmine or, uh, strawberries?” I ask her, reading the labels.
“Jasmine.”
I pour some in, and soon the bath fills with bubbles and the scent of jasmine fills the air.
I bend down in front of her, pulling at her boots and then rolling off her socks. She’s sitting in front of me with her bra and jeans on, and I’m not sure how much more she wants me to do. Unsure, I gesture to her jeans. “Can I?”
She nods, and I stand up, pulling her gently with me. Slowly, I undo her jeans and then pull them down her legs. She puts a hand on my back as she shifts foot to foot so I can remove her pants. I try not to look. She deserves more than me gawking at her, so I force my eyes to hers.
Before I can walk out, she has her hands behind her back and undoes her bra. I stand here tensely with my cock shamelessly expanding in my pants. The straps fall from her shoulders, and then she lets the bra fall to the ground.
I suck in a breath and hold it. For months, I’ve kept my hands to myself. I’ve wanted to touch her and to make her mine since theminute I first laid eyes on her. But this is a whole other level of temptation.
She puts her fingers into the waistband of her panties and then slides the material down her legs. My gaze travels down her body. Her round breasts and pert nipples are begging to be touched. I’m about to reach for her when the sight of her bruised ribs stops me. I can’t do this. Not now.
I turn back to the bathtub and turn off the water. I clench my eyes closed and try to get a hold of myself before I turn back to her. “I’m going to help you in, and then I’m going to give you some space.”
“No,” she says and shakes her head. “I mean, please don’t leave.”
CHAPTER 5
ALICE
I’m standing in front of him, naked. I should probably cover myself, but I don’t. Even though I’m curvy, I’ve never been ashamed or embarrassed of my body. And even though this is probably weird for him, I really don’t want him to leave. I start to ramble. “I know nothing is going to happen to me here. I know that I’m safe… I just… I know I’m safe with you, Grey… I don’t want to be alone.”
He nods tightly at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I look up at him, wide-eyed. I wait for him to say more, but he just stares back at me. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him to get into the bathtub with me, but I know he’ll really think that is weird. We don’t have that type of relationship.
He’s always kept me at arm’s length. He likes to boss me around. He took to heart what Pres said about keeping the guys away from me, and even though our friends have talked about how they think Gunner and I have some kind of relationship, we don’t. Heck, we spend most of our time arguing.
“I’m sorry—” I start, thinking I need to apologize to him.
He shakes his head, and his nostrils flare. “Don’t apologize to me. You never have to apologize to me.”
I nod and slowly walk to the bathtub. As soon as I’m about to climb in, Gunn reaches for my arm and helps me in. I settle into the hot water, letting it surround me. The bubbles hide my body, and I swear he’s relieved when he no longer has to look at me.
I try not to be offended. Greyson turns his back to me, and I hold back a laugh. “You just saw me naked. You don’t have to turn around.”
Awkwardly, he turns back toward me, but he looks everywhere but at me. I point to the shelf. “Can you grab me a hair tie?”
