Page 13 of The Biker's Forbidden Love
I know exactly what she was thinking, but I’m not going to tell her dad that.
Suspicion clouds his face, and he follows Lily into the bedroom we've been using. The blankets are all messed up on the double bed. A pair of Lily’s panties are on the floor.
It's obvious we've both been sleeping in the one room.
“What the fuck is going on?”
This is not how I wanted to tell Bruno. He’s like a bull when he’s angry, charges first and asks questions later.
“I can explain.”
His eyes dart to the crumbled pile of tissues on the bedside table and realization hits.
“Have you been fucking my daughter?”
I cringe at the crass language. He's technically right, but it's more than fucking. We've been making love, exploring our connection, forming a lifelong bond. But there’s no way to dress this up for her father.
“I'm in love with Lily.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” It’s like he doesn’t even here me he’s so blinded by rage. “You've been boning my girl?”
Bruno strides towards me with his fist in the air. I don’t even duck, and the punch hits me on the side of the cheek, catching my ear. My vision blurs and it fucking hurts, but I deserved that.
Lily screams, but I barely hear her over the ringing in my ears.
“You're my best friend, Jesse. You're my best fucking friend.”
The betrayal in Bruno's voice is more than I can bear. I get why he’s angry, but he needs to understand what’s going on between us.
“It's not like that, Bruno. I love her. I want to be with her.”
“She's half your fucking age.”
I try to raise my eyebrows, but my head hurts. Lily’s the exact same age as Scarlett, Bruno’s young wife. But Bruno’s so angry I can’t get a word in edgewise.
“How long has this been going on for?” Bruno demands.
“I’ve loved her for the last three years.” His eyes go wide, and I realize my mistake.
“You've been fucking her for three years?”
“No, no, no…” I hold my hands up, but it's too late. Bruno comes at me, and this time I dodge the punch. He lunges forward, sending us both careening over the back of the couch.
His fist connects with my nose, and I taste blood. I think he's broken it and I might have lost a tooth, but I won’t fight back.
“Stop it!” Lily screams at us, but Bruno doesn’t hear or he doesn’t notice. I’m not sure which.
“We’re in love,” I try to tell him, but he’s not ready to hear that truth. All I can do is dodge his blows as best I can. I deserve this. I disrespected my best friend, and I deserve this beating. I won’t fight back; I won’t make it worse. If getting pummeled by Bruno is what I have to do to win Lily, then I’ll gladly take the beating.
8
LILY
Iscramble into my clothes as the shouting in the living room gets more intense. My dad just saw me naked, which is all kinds of embarrassing, but that's the least of my problems. If I don't intervene, he's going to really hurt Jesse.
“Stop it!” I scream, but no one's listening to me.
Dad's got his fists all over Jesse, and Jesse's not fighting back. I understand why he's not. He thinks he deserves this, but no one deserves to be beat up this way.
