Skylar (The Club Girl Diaries Book 7)

by Addison Jane

  We decided when all this began that we would take things slow, we were together, that was for sure, but we still had a lot to learn about each other. Sky lived in the clubhouse, and so did I, yet now she wasn’t a club girl, it either meant she had to move out and find a place of her own, or she moved into my room. And while it had been amazing having her with me every single night, she also had one more thing to consider.

  Emerald.

  Her sister was struggling. The clubhouse wasn’t exactly the place she needed to be right now while she was working on finding out who she was, and finding out what she wanted in life while also dealing with the fact that she had taken another person’s life, no matter how deserved the death was.

  I was falling for Sky, in a big fucking way, so for me, that meant putting her and her needs first. I knew she was going to fight me on this, I knew there was probably going to be an argument because this woman was as stubborn and strong as they came and she hated the idea of letting a man dictate her life. I just hoped she saw this for what it was, the start of an amazing adventure together.

  “So I’m just going to lay it out there,” I told her as I held her hand and basically dragged her up the steps of the porch.

  She huffed out a breath. “You say that like you don’t always just lay it out there.”

  I smirked. Shit was true. I didn’t like to beat around the bush. At least she was expecting it.

  “This place has been empty for over a month. I had a chat with the guy who owns it, and he’s happy for it to be rented out for six months or so and then he will let us decide whether we want to buy it, or move on.”

  Skylar pulled me back as I reached for the front door, and I turned to see her staring at me with wide eyes, brimming with tears. “What happened to slow?” she asked nervously.

  I rolled my eyes. “Well, if you’d let me explain rather than just freaking the fuck out…” Her returning glare did nothing but pull a smile on my face, but she closed her pouty lips and raised her eyebrows for me to continue. “Don’t think I can’t see the attitude behind that facial gesture.”

  She kept her lips shut tight, but I could see the fire return to her eyes, and the smile that was threatening to follow.

  “You and Emerald can move in here,” I finally continued. “I’ll pay half the rent, and spend half my time between here and the club. It’ll be like we’re dating, we’ll spend some time together, some time apart, until you’re comfortable with me moving in completely.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and I could see her brain working through what I’d just told her.

  I didn’t want to push Skylar to do anything that she didn’t want to do, she’d spent most of her life having it dictated to her by men, and the last thing I wanted was to put stress on our relationship by it seeming like I was doing the same thing.

  “You’re going to stay in Athens?” she asked, her voice a little croaky.

  I nodded. “I’m starting to realize that I was running from shit that I couldn’t change. There will probably be times where I feel like I need to take off, I’m hoping you’ll understand that, but I’m also hoping that when I do, you’ll come with me.”

  She blinked.

  Tears dripped onto her cheeks, and she laughed.

  Athens had become home for me. The people here were the kind of people who I wanted at my back

  “No more running?”

  “Why run when I have everything I need to help me breathe right here,” I told her, cupping her cheek and drawing her closer. I pressed my lips against hers, groaning into her mouth when she swept her arms up and around my neck, eager for more.

  For us, things were more complicated. Our relationship wasn’t like what the other boys had been through.

  Claim the girl and be done with it.

  Bang.

  Happily ever after.

  Nope.

  I wanted this to be forever, so I was going to put in the fucking work to make it so she could trust me. If that meant it took time, I would cherish every fucking minute.

  FOUR MONTHS LATER

  “Emma! You’re going to be late for school if you don’t move your butt right now!” I called up the stairs while tapping my foot on the floor impatiently.

  Eagle chuckled from the dining room table as he just watched on in amusement, making no effort to help.

  “I’m coming,” she said as she jogged down the staircase, her long maxi skirt billowing with her. Emerald had decided that when we moved into this house that this was her new start, so out went the name Emerald and in came Emma. “You don’t need to yell,” she said with a passing grin.

  And with Emma, I had officially taken responsibility for a teenage girl.

  Lord help me.

  Beep, beep.

  “Meyah is waiting, so… go, go, go!”

  I hurriedly pushed her toward the front door, and she leaned back, pecking me on the cheek before calling over her shoulder, “Bye Eagle!”

  “Later kid,” he called back casually.

  I literally wiped the sweat from my brow as I strolled back into the kitchen and switched the coffee pot on for the second time this morning, and it was only 7.30 a.m. “You are absolutely no help in the mornings, and we both know she’d listen to you if you told her to get her ass into gear faster,” I grumbled, standing at the kitchen window and watching the girls drive out the driveway.

  Emma was eighteen now, but she was in her sophomore year at school because despite her being super smart, she still was behind for her age. Meyah was finally finishing up high school as a senior in a month or so, and the two girls with one meeting had become quick friends. Meyah was patient with Emma and the way she was still growing, and Emma was someone who Meyah could really rely on and trust.

  My sister still had her quirks. She still refused to wear anything above her knee, she’s shy around anyone she doesn’t know but had come out of her shell like nothing I’d ever seen before around members of the club. She had nightmares, she was seeing a counselor, but Eagle had helped her a lot dealing with her guilt about taking a person’s life. He’d really been there for her, a male figure that she had never had in her life before. One she could rely on to support and protect her.

  Delilah hadn’t fared as well, unfortunately. She spent nearly four weeks in hospital and was now in live-in physical therapy trying to get the function back in her leg. It was getting there, but only slow progress was being made. She missed her mother and the Colony, and we were trying to give her the best environment so she could prosper and grow, but even with everything the Colony did to her she still hadn’t put all the puzzle pieces together due to her age.

  Therapy, therapy, and more therapy was going to be required to get my little girl to where she needed to be. The thing about family was you could rely on them, and I would be doing everything in my power to make sure Delilah was a strong, healthy and adjusted little girl moving forward.

  Was the process going to be long? Hell, yes, but she was worth every ounce of effort Eagle and I were putting into her.

  My other sisters and brothers—they were a different matter.

  Basically, I was tasked by Child Protective Services to help with my other sisters and brothers. My father had six wives, and I had thirteen sisters and nine brothers all ranging in ages from six months to twenty years old.

  The elder children had the most trouble adapting to their new lives. Of course, they had to find jobs and work to support themselves as well as find a way to adjust to the new world they were thrust into. Some of them chose to have their blood brothers and sisters live with them. I was helping as much as I could from the sidelines, but I already had two of my sisters living with me, and I couldn’t support anymore.

  Basically, all I could do was to make sure they were doing okay with their foster parents or siblings, and they were all told they could come to Eagle or me at any time if they needed help. All the children were being provided with counseling and therapy, as well as being taught life skills they ne
ver learned while they were in the Colony.

  It was going to be a long road, and they had only just started down it, but I could see progress, and I was happy with how things were traveling so far.

  Two strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind and instinctually I leaned back into them. His beard brushed at my skin, the sensation one that I’d come to love so much that it instantly sent tingles between my legs.

  “I gotta head into town. I told Megan I’d take Cleo to daycare so she could take an early shift at work,” Eagle murmured in my ear, pressing soft kisses to my neck. Megan and Cleo had also become permanent fixtures in our lives and I loved it. Not just because they were beautiful souls, but because I was excited for all these girls to have someone like Eagle to look up to. He was too young to be their dad, but he treated them all like they were his and most importantly, he offered that safety and protection as a strong male figure in their lives that they were really missing.

  The relationships he had with Megan, Emma and Delilah, made my heart so damn full, and the way he doted over Cleo made me so excited to have our own babies and know that he would be the most amazing father.

  It had taken us all of four weeks to figure out that we hated the arrangement that we had going, and that we just wanted to be together, damn it. I think we both knew in our gut that this was it.

  He was the man I wanted to have in my life. Eagle was the one I wanted to tell bad jokes to in hopes of making him smile because his smile was damn near everything. Eagle still had episodes, maybe a few times a week. I was true to my word when I said I didn’t want to fix him. I knew no matter how much I wished he’d never been through that pain, that it would never change the fact that he had. So I took him as he was. Every crack. Every scar. Every nightmare. And he did just the same for me.

  The decisions we made they were made together.

  I wasn’t just his.

  He was mine, and he wasn’t afraid to let people know it either.

  I wiggled my hips back against him. “Are you sure you have to go right now, because I don’t have class until ten,” I asked sweetly, biting my lip.

  “I have to leave in five minutes,” he growled, his hands moving to the waistband of my pajama shorts, his lips trailing the curve of my shoulder.

  I shuddered. “We’ll be done by then.”

  “If I didn’t love you so much, I’d take that as an insult to my abilities as a man,” he chuckled, tugging at my shorts.

  “If I didn’t love you so much, I’d just reach down my pants and do it myself,” I threw back, smirking at him over my shoulder.

  That was the kind of relationship we had.

  That was how things had been from the start.

  And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

  Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur at any time following traumatic events such as military combat, wars, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, serious incidents or violent personal attacks. Most survivors return to normal given some time. However, some do not, and people that do have a stress reaction may not be able to resolve it on their own, or it may become worse over time.

  PTSD can manifest itself in nightmares, flashbacks, you may have difficulty in sleeping, and you may feel emotionally numb. All of these symptoms can significantly affect a person’s daily lifestyle.

  If you are suffering from PTSD, or if you know of someone who is, then it is recommended that you seek treatment to help you deal with PTSD and its related conditions.

  If you are in emotional distress or struggling to cope, and are affected by any of the issues covered in this book, please contact:

  The Samaritans USA - 1(800) 273-TALK

  The Samaritans UK - 08457 90 90 90

  Lifeline Australia - 131114

  Check out these books by authors

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  Covert, stealthy, cunning—I’m trained as a weapon. A lethal killer. I do what needs to be done in order to protect those who can’t protect themselves.

  I’m never the same person twice.

  It’s never been an issue.

  But I underestimated her.

  The beautiful woman next door. There’s something sexy about the way she watches me, eyes wide with an innocent curiosity. I find myself aching for her attention. I want her to look at me, but not when I’m covered in the blood of the man I just killed.

  I live in the dark. She could be my light. I want her. And I know she feels it too.

  When what I do puts her life in danger, everything changes. And I start to realize that maybe not all is as it seems. Every part of me screams to save her...

  But what if I’m wrong.

  What if she’s the one saving me?

  This novel ends on a cliffhanger.

  Liberate (The Vindicated Series Book 2)

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  Lies, deceit, betrayal—everything has changed from the life I had. From the life I knew. I lost my team. I lost my livelihood. I never thought it could come to this.

  I vowed to protect her.

  I failed.

  But it’s not over yet.

  The agency made a mistake when they decided to take my life. Now I was free, and a man who answers to no one is a man who should be feared. I’m fueled by revenge, seeking justice for her, for me, and for the innocent lives I unknowingly destroyed.

  Lily drew me from the shadows. She burned so brightly. She made me see clearly and filled me with warmth. But her flame was smothered and she was cast into the darkness.

  I won’t let that be her end. I need retribution. I will take nothing less.

  They may have won the battle, but I’m about to start a war.

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  Addison Jane is a born and bred kiwi girl with a passion for romance and writing.

  When she gets the chance she enjoys the little things in life such as reading, dancing, music, and Facebook, but her world really revolves around the little girl who calls her Mum. It’s an awkward balance between alpha males and Disney princesses, but it works.

  Growing up on a small farm next to the beach will always make her a country girl at heart. But since moving away to a small town close to the city, she’s discovered a dangerous love for shopping.

  Writing stories has been something that’s come naturally since she was young, and with the massive support of her friends and family, she finally decided to step out of her comfort zone and share them with the world.

  She enjoys bringing her books to life with strong female leads, sexy, passionate men and a rollercoaster of twists and turns that lead to the happily ever after that her readers desire.