The Bikers forbidden claim

Mara I should have called first. That is what kept running through my mind as I stood frozen in Tyler's bedroom doorway as I watched my boyfriend of three bend by another man on the bed we'd picked out together. They had not heard me come in. Tyler had given me a key months ago when I insisted on it. I meant to surprise him today. Shock on me, I was the one being surprised. Looking at them lost in each other, I didn't know how to react. Maybe I would have shouted, thrown a tantrum or cursed him if the person in his bed was another woman. But a man? No, it was not worth my anger. "Tyler.” I called, my voice coming out steadier than I expected. They both jumped and Tyler scrambled off the bed. His face went from flushed to pale in seconds. "Mara. I…this isn't…" "Don't." I held up a hand. “ Don't say another word.” I cut him off. The other man whom I recognized as his gym buddy had the decency to look uncomfortable. He grabbed his shirt from the floor and muttered something about leaving. I stepped aside to let him pass and watched him practically run out the front door. Then it was just me and Tyler in the heavy silence. "How long?" I asked, my hands clenched into fists. “ Actually, don't answer that.” I didn't want to hear the answer to that, it might break me more than his betrayal. I didn't want to feel like a fool. I thought back to those kisses that always felt wrong. The excuses about being tired or stressed to him pulling away every time things started to go further than hand-holding. A f*****g whole year of me wondering what I was doing wrong. It all makes sense now. Unable to control myself, I burst out laughing. Tyler looked at me like I had lost my mind. "Mara?" He called my name cautiously. "No, it's just…" I pressed a hand to my mouth to control myself but the laughter kept coming. "It all makes sense now. I know why you wouldn't touch me. Why you would kiss me but nothing else. God, I thought it was me. I thought I wasn't attractive enough, wasn't sexy enough…” Frustrated bleeds into me as I look at the dress I had specially worn to ‘seduce’ him today. When I left my house, I had sworn to finally give myself to him. Maybe then… maybe… "It was never you," Tyler said quietly. "Mara, you're beautiful and attractive. This is about me and who I am." He says, as if admitting that is going to change s**t. "Who you are." I tasted the word on my lips, the laughter dying in my throat. “Then why didn't you tell me that before? Why would you waste a year of my life instead of being honest?” I asked. “ I didn't want to break your heart. That's not fair.” Tyler whispered. He didn't even sound sure with himself. “ And me finding out the truth this way doesn't break my heart? You talk about fairness but letting me plan about our future while you f****d another man is the most unfair thing.” I snapped angrily. Guilt flashed across his face. “ I'm sorry. I just... I needed time to understand what I was feeling." "Then you should have broken up with me." I pulled his key off my keyring and set it on the dresser by the door. "Instead of making me the fool." "Mara, please…" But I was already walking away, down the stairs, out the door of his apartment building. I made it to my car before the tears came. *** By the time I got back to my apartment, I had cycled through crying, anger, and landed to numbness. I kicked off my shoes, grabbed the pint of ice cream from my freezer that I had been saving to enjoy after an explosive night with Tyler and collapsed on my couch. Before I could taste the first scoop,my phone buzzed. It was Marcus, my brother. I almost didn't answer but I knew that ignoring my brother only made him show up in person. I didn't have the energy for that today. "What?" I said immediately I answered the call. "Well, hello to you too, sunshine." His voice was too cheerful. "Bad time?" My brother knew me best. "You could say that." I shoved a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. “ Does this have anything to do with that prick you call your boyfriend?” Marcus inquired and for the first time, I lacked words to defend Tyler like I always did. My silence was answer enough and my brother snorted. “ As long as you are alive.” He added, his nonchalance irritating me. "Is there a reason you called or are you just checking in on my rapidly deteriorating love life?" I asked, trying to mask my frustration. "Actually..." He paused, and I knew immediately that whatever came next, I wasn't going to like it. “Something came up and I can't go back in the next three months. I need you to pack. You'll be staying with Zander.” Marcus announced. The ice cream turned to lead in my stomach. "Zander?” I repeated, the name tasting bitter on my tongue. " We have a situation and I can't leave you unprotected. Zander will keep you safe.” Zander Cross. The name sounded familiar, actually, too familiar. He was my brother's best friend before he suddenly left the city seven years ago. "I don't need a babysitter," I said. Especially not a babysitter in the name of Zander Cross, that insufferable man. Seven years ago, he was capable of getting me riled up with words. Seven years later, what can I expect from him? "What you want doesn't matter in this case,Mara. I am your brother, it's my responsibility to keep you safe. After what happened to our parents, I can't take any chances.” Marcus' voice was final, leaving no space for me to refute. Three years ago, I was seventeen when my parents died mysteriously in a road accident. Marcus took over the family business and the role of raising me. I was no fool, I knew our family had enemies and probably the reason why Marcus would be away for three months. “ Zander will be there in an hour to pick you up. Pack for three months." "Marcus… " "This is not up for negotiation, Mara. I'll call you when I'm settled.” He didn't wait for me to say anything before hanging up. *** I packed in a daze, shoving my dissatisfaction in my ass. Marcus was having a hard time keeping everything afloat. I didn’t need to add more worries to him. It was only three months. I could survive. When the doorbell finally rang, I took a breath, smoothed down my sweater and reminded myself that I was twenty-three years old, not the awkward thirteen year-old who used to cry everytime Zander Cross teased her. I descended the stairs and opened the door. Then I forgot how to breathe. Seven years should not have been that kind to anyone but to Zander Cross, it looked like he had aged backwards. It seemed like time had just made him sharper, more dangerous, more…irresistible. Zander stood in my doorway in black jeans and a leather jacket, his dark hair longer than I remembered. My eyes wandered and I spotted tattoos from beneath his shirt. My gaze lowered and I swallowed at the bulge highlighted by his leather slacks. “ Like what you see, Princess?”