Page 12 of Marked by the Protective Biker (Heat & Ink)

EMILY

I should march right out of here.

I should walk away and not turn back.

Jack has been upfront and honest this whole time. He said nothing could come of us, and I should have believed him.

But even knowing that, I can’t bring myself to do it.

It’s not just an attraction. It’s so much more. And no matter what I want to do, I can’t fight it. I can’t just walk away from him.

So now here I sit, waiting for him to stick me with a hundred needles like some lovesick fool.

“Is it going to hurt?” I ask him.

“Not too bad.”

I grimace. I hate pain. “Okay.”

He lifts the tattoo gun. “Do you want to know what I’m putting on you?”

I lay back. “Nope.”

I’m half afraid I’m going to chicken out, so I close my eyes and let him do his worst.

“Shirt off.”

I open one eye to look at him. “Excuse me?”

He laughs. “Shirt off. I’m going to tattoo your rib cage.”

I roll my eyes at that one. “You mean my roll of fat.”

He squeezes my thigh. “Don’t say that. You’re perfect.”

I lift my shirt up to expose my rib cage, but that’s not enough for him.

“All the way off.”

I grit my teeth and pull my shirt off over my head and then lean back. He starts cleaning the area, and my traitorous nipples pebble from his touch. There’s no way my bra is hiding my reaction, and I try to make up excuses for it. “It’s cold here.”

As soon as I say it, I slam my mouth shut. He sees right through me. He knows what his touch does to me. There’s no hiding it.

His voice is soothing. “The sound is going to bother you more than anything.”

I lie back. “Go ahead. I’m fine.”

At least I’ll have something to remember him by since he’s determined we can’t be together. I flinch at the sound of the gun coming on, and there’s a sting at my side. I clench my eyes shut and sit tensely.

“Breathe, baby,” Jack tells me.

I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. It helps, but I don’t open my eyes because I don’t want to see it.

I breathe through it, and my side seems to numb with each passing minute.

I’m not sure how long I sit here, but it doesn’t seem long before he turns the tattoo gun off. “All set.”

He avoids my gaze, and it kills me not to look down and see what he did. I watch as he cleans up his equipment and puts his things away, soaking up my last minutes with him.

I reluctantly put on my shirt. “Okay, well, I’m going to go.”

He looks at me, and it’s obvious he has something to say. I’m hoping he stops me, begs me to stay, and then tells me he loves me, but he does none of those things. “Let me lock up.”

I nod and walk to the front of the shop.

We go out, and he walks me to my car. Nothing is said in the short distance, and even though my head is filled with all kinds of things, I don’t say any of them.

He opens my door, and I sit down. He leans over, and I hold my breath, waiting for something… anything from him. “Drive safe.”

I nod, not trusting myself to say anything.

He shuts my door, and I waste no time starting my car and pulling away.

I get down the block when I see the single headlight behind me. I wipe at the stupid tear that escaped my eye and keep looking in the rearview mirror. As I drive across town and the bike behind me makes every turn I make, I know it’s him. He must be making sure I get home okay.

I suck back the tears. I can’t cry now. I’ll wait until I get home and he’s gone and then I’ll let my emotions go.

I pull down my road, and he follows me. I pull into my driveway, and he surprises me by pulling his bike in beside me instead of parking at the street.

I get out of my car as he turns his bike off. “Thanks for making sure I get home,” I tell him.

I walk up the steps and when I get to the door, he’s behind me.

I let out a breath. “Jack… I can’t do this.”

He takes the keys from my hand and unlocks my door. “Come on, we need to talk.”

He opens my door, but my feet stay planted where they’re at. “Jack, you don’t get it. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear you say we can’t be together and?—”

He points his thumb over his shoulder. “Emily, get in the house.”

I put my hands on my hips. “No. I already have to think about last night and what happened between us every time I walk into my bedroom. I don’t need you filling my house with more memories that I’m not going to be able to forget.”

He grunts, picks me up over his shoulder, and carries me inside. He kicks the door closed, flips the lock, and then strides down the hallway to my bedroom. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I’m on him. “Are you kidding me right now? You think I’m going to sleep with you again?”

I pace across the room to put some distance between us. “I would be a fool to let you fuck me again. I’ll give it to you, you never lied to me. You said it would be one time, and I should have believed you instead of getting my hopes up.”

“Emily—”

But I don’t let him say anything else. Maybe it’s because I really don’t want to hear the rejection yet again.

“No, Jack, it’s my turn to talk. You’re a fool, do you know that?

I lo—like you… a lot. It’s obvious we could be good together, but you’re so damn stubborn that you can’t see what’s right in front of you?—”

He stalks toward me, and I hold my hand up to stop him, but there’s no slowing him down. He puts his hands on each side of my face and forces me to look at him. The intensity in his gaze devours me. “I love you, Emily.”

My mouth falls open. Did he just say what I thought he said. “What?” I croak.

His hands circle around my neck. “I shouldn’t be here with you… I shouldn’t?—”

I smack his chest. “Don’t you dare ruin this moment, Jack Felon. You just told me you loved me, and now you’re going to push me away and?—”

He leans down, pressing his lips to mine. His mouth covers mine, and I get lost in the kiss. When he pulls away, I’m breathless, searching his eyes for an explanation. His thumb brushes across my lower lip. “You going to listen to me, Em?”

I blink. “If I don’t, are you going to kiss me again?”

He chuckles. “I love you, Emily Riles, and even though I know you can do better, that you deserve more than me, I can’t walk away from you.”

I put my arms around his waist and smash my body against his. “I don’t want you to, Jack. I wish… I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You’re a good man, the best man, and I don’t want you to walk away from me.”

He puts his hands on my cheek and pulls my face up to look at him. “I want us to be together.”

I’m smiling like a fool. “Me too.”

He strokes my cheek with his finger. “I don’t think you understand.”

I laugh. “You love me, that’s all I need to know.”

“I want you to have my babies.”

My mouth drops open, and he smiles. “I want you to marry me.”

I snap my mouth closed, and all I can do is stare at him, speechless.

He leans down. “Say something. Anything.”

I point at my chest. “You want to marry me?”

He nods. “More than anything.”

I put my hand around his neck and pull him down toward me. “You can’t change your mind, Jack. You can’t tell me all this and then change your mind. If you love me, you love me.”

He reaches for the hem of my shirt and pulls it up my body. I let him because right now, I want to feel him against me more than anything.

His hand strokes under my rib cage. “Did you look at your tattoo?”

I shake my head, and he smiles at me. “It says always, Em. Always. Because no matter what, I will always love you. You will always be mine, and I will always be yours.”

I gasp and look down my body. In black cursive font, it says always, and there is a red heart beside it.

Overwhelmed with emotion, I throw my arms around him. “I love you, Jack. I love you so much.”

His voice is gruff. “I thought I freaked you out with all the pictures. I thought?—”

I gasp and look up at him. “You thought that freaked me out? No, the fact that you felt that way about me and then were just going to let me go… that is what freaked me out.”

“Life with me is not going to be easy.”

I laugh. “Haha, I didn’t think it would be.” I point to myself. “Did you think I was going to be easy to live with? If we’re going to do this, there are things I’m going to want.”

I’m watching him closely, but he doesn’t even flinch at the idea of it. “I’ll give you anything you want.”

I cross my arms over my chest and jut my chin at him. “Okay, anything, huh? What about kids?”

He shakes his head. “Kids, huh? What about marriage?”

My mouth drops open. “Marriage? You really want to marry me?”

He puts a hand to his chest, right over his heart. “That’s not even a question, Em. We’re getting married. We’re having kids together.”

I lean into him. “Kids? I say we wait a few years for that.”

He kisses my forehead. “Whenever you want, as long as we’re together, I don’t care when.”

I pat his chest. “I’m going to be your ol’ lady.”

He chuckles, kissing the top of my head. It’s like he can’t stop touching me. “The club already knows you as my ol’ lady.”

I sigh contently and then reach for the buckle of his belt. I undo it and his pants and reach inside. As soon as I wrap my hand around his erection, he hisses a breath.

He picks me up in his arms and lays me back on the bed. We both undress, and we’re a tangle of arms and legs as we lie together. His hand slides between my legs, and I open my thighs to him. “I’m wet… for you.”

He brings his hand up, sucks a finger into his mouth, and moans.

When he presses his lips to mine, I whimper at the taste of myself on him. “Jack,” I mutter.

He smiles against my mouth. “Em, I’m done talking.”