by Sam Crescent
“Where have you been?” Lash asked, walking over to Angel.
“I went to the spa.” Angel pushed some hair off her shoulder, smiling up at Lash.
Lacey watched the change in Lash. He wrapped his arms around his woman with a smile on his lips.
“I bumped into her and decided to walk her home,” Gash said.
“Am I forgiven?” Lash asked.
She nodded. “I can never be mad at you for long, even if she didn’t deserve your words.”
Lacey didn’t get to hear the rest of the conversation as Whizz dragged her back through the clubhouse. He led her upstairs. His grip was hard on her arm. She didn’t fight him as she was pulled into his room. He slammed the door, pressing her up against the door.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked, growling the words in her face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, you know exactly what I’m fucking talking about. Don’t ever hit me in the balls again.” He glared at her, yet she wasn’t afraid.
“Don’t speak about my club like that.” She should hate him. He helped to take out her club, lured her back to the clubhouse so she would be far enough away from the danger. “After all the lies I told you, why did you have to save me?”
“I wanted to fuck you.”
“So to get your loyalty I’ve just got to give you free access to my cunt?” she asked. She didn’t want to be hurt by his words, but she was.
“No, there’s a lot more, but you’re not ready to know the truth just yet.” His gaze dropped to her lips. Her gut tightened as his gaze darkened. She saw the change inside him.
“Whizz?”
“Shut up.” He closed the distance between them. His lips were so close that she felt the air of his breath over her face. Heat spilled from her pussy. She wanted him, and there was the problem. Lacey didn’t want to want him, but she did. He was an addiction she couldn’t stop.
“You’ve got to stop the guilt.” He slammed his lips down on hers cutting off any kind of protest. His tongue glided over her lips, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. She moaned at the contact of his lips, opening her mouth for his invading tongue.
She met him halfway, sliding her tongue over his.
He sank his fingers into her hair, tugging on the length.
Within seconds Whizz pulled away, opened the door and closed it, leaving her alone and confused. She didn’t know what had just happened. Her lips were swollen, and she was turned on. If Whizz intended to torture her, he was going the right way about it. Sitting down on his bed, she rested her head in her hands.
She was losing her mind. On the one hand there was the guilt of causing Dalton’s death. She didn’t feel she had the right to be happy. On the other hand, she wanted to be with Whizz. From the moment they first met at the coffee shop she’d felt a connection to him. Lacey didn’t want to lose that. He was the first and only man she’d ever felt such a strong connection to. It went far beyond the damage and pain they’d both suffered.
Dalton’s face flashed through her mind. She was never going to get away from him.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Chapter Three
Whizz rested his head against the door. He didn’t know why he kissed her or why he walked away from her. Her lips were too fucking tempting to ignore. She was driving him insane, and they barely knew each other. Everything they knew about each other was stuff they’d discovered through searching files. Whizz doubted she knew anything about him that would surprise him.
“What are you doing?” Killer asked.
Turning around, he saw his friend standing with his son on his hip. Killer held a baby bottle in his hand. The sight of Killer holding a baby was strange to Whizz. He’d watched him kill other men with his bare hands. The way Killer held his son showed the love and care he took.
“Nothing.” Whizz stepped away from the door. “Where’s Kelsey?”
“She’s not feeling well. From the smell, she’s got some kind of bug. I’m taking Markus for the night, letting her rest. She’s back in the room.” Killer started walking. Markus fisted his hands and started flailing them, making gurgling sounds. Whizz couldn’t help but smile. The little guy was so charming and full of beans.
“Can I hold him?”
“Sure.” Killer handed Markus over.
Together they walked downstairs toward the main clubhouse. A couple of the sweet-butts were on the table, dancing for the men. He wasn’t interested in the women and headed toward the pool room. Hardy was sitting in the corner drinking a beer. Lash and Nash were playing pool while Steven stared at the game on television.
“Thank you for coming forward for Lacey,” Whizz said, taking a seat.
“Hey, no babies allowed,” Steven said.
In response Markus just gurgled some more, looking totally adorable.
“Whatever.”
“Kids have got us wrapped around their little fingers,” Lash said, sipping his beer.
“Stop all the talk of fucking kids.” Hardy stood, looking angry.
“Still no sign of the ice breaking from Rose?” Steven asked.
“Do you all know my business?”
During the Gonzalez problem, the news of Hardy’s past affair had come to light when Rose refused to keep it quiet. The couple was holding on by a thread, but the cracks in the couple’s relationship were blatantly on show. Rose wouldn’t back down any longer.
“The whole club knows what happened, Hardy. We all know what happened,” Lash said, pointing at all of them. “So do the women.”
Hardy ran fingers through his thick hair. He no longer looked like the confident man that Whizz recalled. This man looked like he was about to lose everything. He’d put all of his chips on the one number, only the ball had passed that number one too many times to come back around.
“I’m trying. I’m always fucking trying to help her, but I can’t make her forgive me.”
“Why fuck another woman?” Whizz asked, looking from Markus up to Hardy. When he’d heard the news of what happened over ten years ago, he’d been shocked. Rose was a beauty, and any man would be crazy to cheat on her ass.
“I was young. I don’t know. Shit was different back then.”
“Rose is one hot woman. She’s completely in love with you. I can’t even imagine what she was like before you hurt her.” Whizz had only known Rose the past few years. She’d always been completely devoted to Hardy.
“She’s changed a lot since then. Ten years ago, she was sweet, charming, and I changed her.” He shook his head. “I’m calling it a night.”
“Where is Rose?” Nash asked.
“She’s in bed.”
“You do know you can’t get rid of her if you divorce her,” Lash said.
“What?”
“Rose is a big part of the club. If she decides to divorce you, Tiny’s not going to let her out in the world on her own. She’ll be part of the club, and if she finds another man, you’ll have to deal with that.”
“She’s not a member.”
Lash shrugged. “I back Tiny with what he says. Rose is family. She’s part of the club as much as you. She decides to divorce you we won’t kick her out. Tiny has already put his foot down. You’re not getting away from her.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Hardy said, heading out of the room.
“Why?” Killer asked.
Hardy looked back. “Because I will kill any man who thinks they can take my woman from me. Rose is mine, she’ll always be mine, and I’m not going to back down without a fight.”
He left the room.
“Do you really think she’ll divorce him?” Nash asked. He was drinking water. None of the men wanted Nash drinking anything alcoholic. He was an ex-addict, and as such, he was ordered to stay clear of the stuff.
“I don’t know. If someone was to tell me that Rose would even be considering it, I’d have laughed. It just goes to show we don’t really know the couples i
n the club.”
“It has been ten years. Surely, she must be over it,” Nash said, taking his shot on the pool table.
“If Zero fucked Sophia when he thought he was in love with her, would you have gotten over it?” Steven asked, speaking up.
In response Nash looked ready to commit murder.
Steven laughed. “It’s probably a good job Zero’s completely in love with Prue.”
“Someone called my name.” Prue entered the room with Zero trailing behind her. The couple rarely separated. Prue had taken to the club life better than most.
Markus started to cry on Whizz’s knee.
“He’s getting ready for his feed.” Killer took his son, resting him in his arms to start feeding him.
“I still can’t get over the fact you’re a father.”
“Kelsey and I had a rough start, but we’re getting there.”
Killer had fallen in love with Kelsey, who had been a dental nurse when they met. Kelsey had kept the fact she was married hidden from him, and it had strained their budding relationship. It didn’t help that her then-husband, Michael Granito, had arrived. The ensuing problems had Kelsey nearly killing herself, and the club being put in danger. Fortunately, Killer and Kelsey were now married and totally in love.
“You’re a lucky man,” Whizz said, watching the baby. Lacey couldn’t have this. She was like Rose in that regard. Only the two women had very different reasons for not being able to conceive.
Prue took a seat beside Killer. “He’s so adorable.”
Zero picked up a pool stick, getting ready to join in with Lash and Nash. It wouldn’t be long before Prue joined in, playing against the brothers at Zero’s side. She was a damn good pool player, and pretty decent at cards.
“We’ll have one soon enough,” Zero said. He rested his chin on his hands.
She stroked Markus’s head. “You’re going to be a heartbreaker. God, with the way you’re all breeding we’re going to be overrun with the next generation of Skulls. Can you see Anthony and Miles? They’re going to be big boys.”
Anthony was Lash’s son while Miles was Tiny’s.
Whizz smiled thinking about all the babies coming around. The family events were exactly that, full of family.
“Angel wants to meet Lacey. I’ve told her no. You’ve got to get your woman under control before I let Angel near her.”
“If any woman needs to be under control it’s Tate. She’s pissing me off, and I don’t give a shit about her hormones,” Prue said, biting back at Lash.
“I’m not in control of her. Talk to Murphy. Whizz’s woman kneed him in the balls today and tried to run off,” Lash said, point his stick at Whizz. “I’m not risking Angel’s life with her.”
“Lacey won’t hurt her.” He recalled what Lacey said about Angel being an innocent. She wouldn’t hurt Angel but would probably slap Tate a couple of times. “I said some awful things to her.” He deserved being kneed in the balls. Hearing her talk about Dalton had pissed him off. He’d gotten jealous over a dead man, and he didn’t like it.
“Why do you have her around?” Zero said. “Butch is back to being a prospect, and he’s in the hospital dealing with his wounds. They almost killed us. Devil and Tiny aren’t talking. The only connection we’ve got to the Chaos Bleeds crew is through Eva, and she’s not talking.”
“We’re better off without them,” Nash said, speaking up.
It had been months, maybe even years, since he had sat talking with his brothers. For a long time Whizz stayed in his room out of the way from the club, only coming out when they needed him to be present.
“I don’t know. I liked them.” Steven moved closer to start talking.
“They had no rules.” Nash argued back.
“I’m not going to fight with you. I happened to like Pussy, Devil, all of the men. I for one am going to miss their visits.” Steven shrugged. “Shit happens. It’s one thing Gonzalez wins on.”
“What do you mean?” Whizz asked, looking up at Steven.
“Tiny and Devil were torn apart. We were two clubs that banded together. We’re no longer banded together. There’s just us and Chaos Bleeds. Simon’s going to grow up, and if he decides against leaving us alone, there could be problems there. It’s just something to consider.” Steven shook his empty beer bottle. “I’m going to get another.”
“So your woman kneed you in the balls?” Prue asked, looking way too impressed.
Whizz nodded.
“This is a girl I want to meet.”
“Prue, she was part of the Savage Brothers.” Zero put his hand on her shoulder.
“So? She’s not some kind of savage beast, Zero! God, what is wrong with you men? She was part of a club that pissed you off. You guys got the last laugh. You took out all of her club. Imagine how it is for her, she’s in the clubhouse of the men responsible for killing her family.” Prue looked at each of them. “I don’t know about her, but I’d be damn scared. Scared, pissed, angry, she’s probably waiting for one of you to break the door down to kill her. I couldn’t imagine living like that.”
“Prue!”
“No, don’t Prue me. I mean it. Get your head out of your ass and think about her as something different. She’s a woman who’s alone in the world. There’s no one else out there who cares about her.”
“I care,” Whizz said. His caring wasn’t just about the sex either. It was a hell of a lot more.
They all turned to him. He stared at the table trying to find the right words.
“I care about her, and I will not let anything happen to her.”
“I want to meet her. I think you’ve kept her far enough away for now.” Prue sipped her beer. “You can’t keep her locked in your room for the next fifty years. That’s just a horror movie waiting to happen.” Prue stood, grabbing the stick from Zero. “I’ll break.”
Steven sat close as Killer continued to feed his son.
“You care about her?” Killer asked.
Whizz ran a finger over his bottom lip as he thought about his feelings. “She’s been through a lot. I mean when she was ten, they broke a part of her. She can’t have kids because of what those animals did to her.”
“So you’ve both had shit go on in your past and it has set your feelings for now,” Prue said.
“What?”
“You’re both in some way broken, but together, it feels like you’re whole. The club was there to see what happened to you, Whizz. She’s the first woman who doesn’t have a clue about your past. She knows what happened but hasn’t seen it. You’re probably one of the few men who know the truth but don’t see a broken little girl. In a weird kind of way it makes sense.”
Zero started to warn her again.
“You don’t need to worry about me running off or taking it personally,” Whizz said. “I know what she’s saying even if she doesn’t have the best tact about it.”
“Who needs tact? With the damage going through this club, there’s no time for tact. You don’t need tact, Whizz. You always need stone cold facts.” Prue shot a ball, whooping as it went down the hole. “It’s not bad to care about her. She deserves to be loved like other women. What happened to her wasn’t her fault.”
Whizz got up. “I’ve got to go.”
He made his way up to his bedroom, shouting from Hardy and Rose’s room made him stop.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Hardy asked.
“I’m packing. I want out of here.”
“For fuck’s sake, Rose, this was ten years ago. I’ve not touched another fucking woman. I don’t want another woman but you.”
“No, you didn’t want the person I was. I was too damn sweet for what you wanted. I changed who I was because that’s what you wanted. I took my clothes off because you loved it. I changed me.” The tears were in her voice.
Whizz didn’t want to move away, yet the emotion in her voice was hard to ignore.
“I can’t live without you,” Hardy said.
“I don’t kn
ow if I can live with you anymore.”
****
Lacey wrapped a towel around her body. Whizz hadn’t brought her any food, and she was getting hungry. She kept the movie playing in his bedroom and made sure it was loud enough to drown out the noise of Hardy and Rose. They were a broken couple. It was hard to listen to them fight as the emotion and pain were raw. She’d never been put in a situation like that. Lacey didn’t know what she’d do if the man she loved cheated on her. Hardy hadn’t just cheated, he’d gotten the woman pregnant. Rose was still heartbroken after all this time.
She used another towel around her head and stepped out of the room.
Whizz stood by the door. He didn’t have anything in his hands, and she was so hungry.
“You’ve not brought any food,” she said.
“What?”
“You locked the door, and I don’t have any food.” She bit her lip feeling like a child instead of a thirty year old woman. “I’m hungry.”
“When was the last time you ate?” he asked.
“Breakfast.”
“I’ll order us some Chinese food.” He pulled out his cell phone, and she stood watching him as he ordered enough to feed an army. When he was finished, he stared back at her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to forget about food. Shit, you must be starving.”
Her stomach chose that moment to grumble. Heat filled her cheeks at the noise. She wasn’t even trying to make him feel bad. Stupid stomach.
Whizz chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Why do you have the movie on so loud?”
“I don’t want to listen to Hardy and Rose. They’re always arguing, and it’s so sad to hear. Wouldn’t it be easier if one of them walked away?” She grabbed the remote from the bed, pointing it at one of the screens. Lacey didn’t know how he managed to get a television to become part of his computers.
“I’m starting to think you’re right about them.”
The sound of Rose crying followed by Hardy murmuring met their ears. Their argument was toning down. It wouldn’t be long before they would start arguing again. There were clearly a lot of issues between the two.