Free BLAMELESS: MC Biker Romance (Black Thorns, #3) by Franca Storm Page B

women naked. Ain’t gonna make a bit of difference to me. Not like I can tell her that. That won’t go over well.
    Instead, I step into her and untie the belt of her robe real quick. She tries to close it quickly, but in her struggle, it just ends up pushing the thing right off her shoulders, leaving her naked.
    “Fuck,” I blurt out, before I can reel it in.
    Scars.
    I step back, horrified. Not at the sight of ‘em, but cuz of the reason for ‘em. That someone’s caused this. Hurt her like this.
    There’s so many of ‘em.
    Several jagged ones across her stomach. Stab wounds? There’s one on her right upper thigh as well. “Jesus. Is that…a bullet scar?”
    She nods slowly and sobs, “Because…I…I tried to escape…for the third time.”
    I step closer and trace my fingers over a three-inch one across the top of her left tit.
    Before I can ask, she murmurs, “He bit me…deep.”
    “What?”
    She wipes her eyes with the backs of her hands. “His pain and pleasure experiments.”
    She don’t need to say more. I get it. And it’s beyond messed up. It’s downright sadistic.
    My hands are shaking from the rage I’m tryin’ to hide from her at seeing the permanent damage that bastard has left on her.
    She wraps her arms ‘round herself. She’s hiding from me. “Can you go now?”
    “Go?”
    “Now you know…you know why I never let you see that night. These scars…I’m ugly.”
    “Ugly?”
    “Yes. Now, go, okay?”
    “Ain’t going nowhere, Sarah,” I tell her, cupping the side of her face.
    She pulls away and yells, “I don’t need your pity, Zeb! I’m ugly, okay? I know it. Now…just go!”
    Everything makes sense now. The way she is ‘bout sex. Not letting me take her shirt off that night. Her always covering up, even though she’s got the hottest curves I’ve ever seen. I always wondered why she hid her body when it’s so damn smoking.
    I step into her and press my palms to her tits.
    She gasps and her gaze snaps to mine.
    I slide ‘em down her body, over the scars on her stomach and down to her thighs. My eyes are burning into hers as I tell her, “I been with a lot of women, Sarah. Hell, too many. And I ain’t never seen a body more perfect than yours. It’s outta this world. Your curves always get me so fucking hard just looking at ‘em. These scars don’t do nothing to take away from that. You hear me? You’re a goddamn bombshell, woman.”
    She lowers her head.
    And then she breaks down crying.
    “It’s okay, sweet angel.”
    I step back and pull my gun from my holster. I pull my phone outta my jeans pocket, too, and place both items down on the toilet seat.
    Then I sweep Sarah up in my arms and carry her into the shower with me.
    “Zeb!” she cries through her sobs.
    “Need to get you cleaned up,” I tell her as I put her down and reach for a cloth and some soap nearby.
    She moves away and shakes her head as I come close to her with it.
    I pull her into me, holding her steady with one arm as I start soaping her up with the other, tryin’ to scrub the blood off her.
    “Shh. Ain’t gonna hurt you. Never, Sarah. You’re safe with me,” I whisper into her hair.
    She relaxes against me and I take her weight as she collapses into me and just breaks down crying.

Chapter 12
    ~Runner~
     
    I watch Sarah’s eyes go wide as Ax steps through her front door with Dealer just behind him.
    “No!” she cries, tryin’ to scramble off the couch where she’s been sitting for the last hour just staring into space with me watching her from the armchair across from it. After drying my soaked clothes from the shower in her dryer, I pulled a beer outta her fridge and had her drink it to calm her down a bit. Since then, I been sitting with her, keeping an eye on her and waiting on ‘em to get down here.
    “They’re here to help, Sarah,” I tell her, getting to my feet and stepping into her path so she can’t bolt outta the room.
    “I told you I don’t want to go to the