Stop it, Nash. This is not what you want.
He couldn’t stop it.
Her eyes narrowed. “No, I don’t.” She took a step close then closer still. The heels of her boots clicked on the floor with her advancing steps. He was at the edge of the mattress. The chains on his wrists gave him a little moving room. Not much, but enough to not make him feel trapped. She’d never looked at him with anything other than happiness.
Sophia glanced up and down at his body. “You don’t think I can handle what you’ve got to throw at me.”
“You’re not prepared for The Skulls’ approach to life, baby. You can’t handle anything.”
His lack of faith in her being able to handle the life was why he’d never tried anything else on her.
“You think I’m too innocent even though I heard you fucking my sister?” Sophia asked.
Nash didn’t break eye contact even though he wanted to. He kept looking at her waiting for her to cower away from him.
She chuckled. “You really think I’m sweet and innocent.”
There was something about her voice that made Nash stay quiet.
“Then what do you think now?”
He watched her walk toward Zero. Sophia dropped her bag to the floor along with her jacket. The sway of her hips captured his gaze. The bangles on her wrists gave an edge to her appearance. He wanted his hands on her hips and wanted to feel that lush body against his own.
She ran her hands up Zero’s chest.
Jealousy gripped every part of him, and he tensed in the restraints. Sophia turned so he got a good view and plundered her tongue into Zero’s mouth. His biker brother ran his hands over her body, squeezing that full ass.
He jerked to try to get to her. Nash was held in place.
When she withdrew her lips were swollen. She turned to him and started toward him. Sophia grabbed her backpack and then invaded his personal space. “The only person who can’t deal with me being part of The Skulls, is you. You could have me a long time ago, but you wanted my sister. I wasn’t ready to get over you with my sister. I didn’t want that, but I still wanted you to be my friend. I’m not the person you think I am, Nash. It’s time you opened your eyes.”
“I’m not a fucking mind reader,” Nash said, yelling the words.
“Well, now you know the truth. I’m here, and I’m waiting for you to get over yourself.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond before she was on her way.
“You’ve just had your ass handed to you, Edward,” Zero said.
“Touch her again and I’ll cut your balls off. She’s mine.”
Zero smirked. “You’re in no position to question me. I’ll go and see if she’s getting settled.”
He had to watch Zero walk toward Sophia. Yanking at the chains, Nash let out a growl. He couldn’t handle watching one of his brothers taking on Sophia.
Fuck, the look in her eyes would stay with him forever. In all the time he’d known her, he’d never once seen her look sexy. She’d always been beautiful to him but too innocent to ever explore.
Had she ever really been innocent?
Crap, his thoughts were all over the place, and he couldn’t think clearly at all.
“What are you thinking?” Lash asked.
His brother was stood with his arms folded over his chest.
“These restraints are fucking unnecessary.” He pulled on them hoping they’d pull away easily. Nothing happened. Until Lash opened them up this was where he was staying.
“Do you really think I’m going to believe that?” Lash stared at him, smirking.
“You’re being an asshole. It’s my least favorite quality about you.” Nash stopped pressing on the restraints and sat down on the makeshift bed. “Is this what you’re going to do to save me?” He laughed. “This is the worst fucking idea in the world.” Nash wiped his brow free of sweat.
“We’ll see who is laughing in a couple of weeks. When did you start using?” Lash sat down opposite him.
The desire to lie filled every part of him. “Why do you want to know?”
“I want to know when my brother started going off the rails. I need to know what I’m fighting against.”
Letting out a breath, he rested his arms on his knees. “Fine. The day I moved Sophia into her apartment we kissed, and she told me she couldn’t. She kicked me out with a box of Kate’s possessions. I found a little white bag of powder and figured I’d give oblivion ago.”
“Then you fucked over your life. Beating up drug dealers and making sure everyone knew The Skulls had a patched in member who couldn’t keep his shit together. Thanks a lot.” Lash stood up, going toward the fridge in the room.
“You’re welcome.”
The beer Lash was holding was thrown across the room where it smashed on the opposite wall, the ale spilling down the wall as the glass lay broken to pieces. “It’s not fucking funny, Edward. Alex is already having to deal with the fucking backlash from your incompetence.”
Nash didn’t say a word. He kept his gaze on Lash’s without looking away.
“You don’t give a shit about the club, fine.” His brother stopped glancing toward the open door where Sophia had disappeared. “Every day you spend here fighting me and what I’m about to do, she’s going to be here. Sophia is going to be here with Zero, Butch, even Whizz and Time. All of the brothers are going to be here on babysitting duty.”
“What’s your fucking point?” Gritting his teeth, Nash spat the words out.
“She’s a hot piece of ass. I’m sure many of our men would love a piece of her.” Lash licked his lips, giving the door a pointed look.
“You’ve got Angel.”
“And Murphy has Tate. The other men, they’ve got a sweet-butt. I think one of them if not all would love a chance to take Sophia out for a little spin. She’ll be a fucking wild woman.” Lash got up. “Think about that.”
Nash felt sick to his stomach. There was no way he could survive if one of his brothers started to worm their way into Sophia’s life. She was his woman. The reason he’d not already put a gun to his temple. Sophia was a fuller woman, rounded in all the right places. The guys would love her. He knew it in his heart and soul. It hadn’t taken him long to fall in love with her from that first meeting.
They wouldn’t do that to me.
Biting his lip, he stared at the door waiting for them to come back. He couldn’t hear a thing, and his body was starting to shake. Shit, how long had it been since he’d had a hit?
Don’t think about it.
Rolling up in a ball, he stared at the door, hoping and wishing they’d all come out and put him out of his misery.
Nothing happened, not one thing.
****
Lash walked into the other room to see Sophia putting away some of her clothes and Zero watching her. The hunger on the biker’s face surprised him. He’d only been testing his brother, but seeing the lust plainly on Zero’s face started a plan rolling. Sophia was completely oblivious to the attention she was getting.
“How is he?” Sophia asked, putting the last item of clothing in the wardrobe he’d purchased.
He’d always intended to intervene in his brother’s mess. Angel had picked out the furniture for the room.
“Cursing, ranting, being a bastard because he knows what annoys me.” Lash picked up the stuffed teddy from the floor.
She grabbed it out of his hands and placed the teddy on the bed. He wasn’t going to say a word at all. Angel still owned a teddy from her childhood days. The stuffed gorilla sat on a shelf along with some books in their bedroom. Women were freaky creatures.
“He’s your brother. Nash is going to know everything about you.”
“Yeah, I’ve got an idea though. When you go out there I don’t want you to call him Nash.”
Zero stood up.
“Why not?” Sophia asked.
“Nash is his biker name. By his actions, he’s not a Skull. It’s time for him to know the true extent of w
hat he’s done.”
“So he’s Edward or fucker,” Zero said.
“That’s pretty colorful.” Sophia smiled anyway.
“We’ll give him everything he’s earned.” Lash stared at Sophia knowing jealousy could help them bring his brother back. This woman had given his brother a reason to be better. He’d seen the love in Edward’s eyes when she came into their world all those months ago. If it was up to his brother, the men who put the marks on her face would be dead.
“You’ve got a plan?” Zero asked.
“Yeah. He’s not going to like it, but I think it could help.”
“Why do I feel I’m not going to like it?” Sophia asked.
“Because you’re not. I’m going to need you to be strong through this.” Lash waited for her confirmation.
“I will. I can do this. Nash, I mean, Edward, has always been there for me when he didn’t have to be. I owe him this.”
“He’s jealous around you, Sophia. When you kissed Zero, he was angry. He wanted to hurt him. I need you to make him jealous and to make him want to fight.”
Sophia started laughing. “You really think making Edward jealous is the key to waking him up. To keeping him alive and free from drugs?”
“By having the other Skulls here he’ll see them with you. I’ll let them all know it’s just an act. You don’t have to fuck any of them to get me what I want. You’ll make sure Edward is nothing on the drugs.” Lash caught her face in his hands. “Do you want my brother and I don’t mean as a friend?”
“Yes.” The word was a mere whisper, but he caught it.
“Then you need to make him believe he’s got a shot with you. All Edward has ever wanted is you. Kate was a means to be with you.”
“You’re reaching,” Sophia said.
“I’m not. Give him the idea you two could be together. Don’t bring your insecurities into this. Be the woman you want to be, and then Edward will fight this.”
They were all silent for a moment.
“Okay, fine, I’ll do this, but you better make sure all of your men know I’m not fair game.”
Sophia pushed past him heading toward the other room.
“You’re being serious about this?” Zero asked.
“What’s the matter? Afraid you can’t handle it?”
“I can handle anything the club throws at me. I just hope Sophia can handle Edward. This is going to be a tough couple of weeks.”
Lash nodded. “You can flirt, kiss, even stroke her, but don’t go too far. Sophia is taken.”
Zero held his hands up. “I wouldn’t cause any harm.”
“I saw the way you were looking at her. Don’t.”
While Edward was still in the club, even barely, Lash was going to look out for his brother and protect what was his, even his woman.
Chapter Six
Sophia watched as Edward shook on the mattress. Lash had left a couple of hours ago, and Zero was sat beside her. The biker had taken the first night watch with her. She’d never seen Edward like this. Leaning forward onto her knees she fought the urge to go to him. Lash had forbidden any comfort. It was horrid, and she hated not comforting him.
“Are you all right?” Zero asked.
While she watched the man on the mattress, she felt his eyes on her.
“I’m fine. I’ve got to be fine. This is all I’ve got left to do. Lash has seen to that.”
“Do you really think you can walk away after this?”
“I don’t know.” She turned to look at him. “I’ve got to take Lash’s opinion that we can fix Edward and that he wants me. Last time I checked the world doesn’t work that way.”
Running fingers through her hair she stood up heading toward the stove. She poured some milk into a pan.
“I’ll have a hot chocolate,” Zero said.
She went about making them both a hot chocolate.
“I saw Nash, not Edward, with Kate. He couldn’t stand her half the time, but whenever that woman mentioned she needed to go home and if someone would give her a ride, he was always there. No one was allowed to take her home but him.”
Stirring the chocolate into the milk she stared straight ahead of her. “What are you trying to say?”
“He was getting there to be with you. When you came to the club that day badly bruised, he was beside himself. You’re everything to him, Sophia.” She turned and handed him the cup of hot chocolate. “You may not think it, but I know you can get him through this.”
“What if this radical detox doesn’t work? We don’t even know why he got addicted in the first place.”
“We’re getting the drugs out of his system, and then we’re going to see about everything else. Lash won’t go easy on his brother.”
She sat down, taking a sip of the chocolate. An empty bowl lay beside the mattress ready for when he vomited. She’d placed a blanket around him to make sure he wasn’t too cold.
“I wish this had never happened.”
“It did, and now we’re dealing with the consequences of that. Lash knows his brother better than anyone.”
She nodded, watching the bed again. This was the first time she’d spent a great deal of time with any of his friends.
“What was Kate like at the club?” she asked, turning to him.
Zero looked uncomfortable. “You don’t want to know.”
“He spent a lot of time with her away from me. I need to know what he saw in her, if he saw anything at all.”
“She fucked everyone, Sophia. Her mission in life was to have all of The Skulls’ dicks inside her. I wasn’t into her, and she hated me for it. Edward just gave it to her because she was easy.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“What? Why?”
“I needed to hear that. You’ve just confirmed I’m nothing like my sister. I couldn’t sleep around, and I don’t make it my life’s ambition to fuck everyone. Thank you.”
“You’re one strange chick.”
She finished her drink. “I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’ve got a bed in there as well. I’ll give you twenty minutes for privacy.”
“Okay.” She left him alone, going through to the other room. In the corner, far enough away from the bed was where one of the Skulls was going to sleep when they stayed with her at night. She missed her apartment, the comfort of being off the floor.
Pulling her clothes off she quickly put on her nightclothes and climbed under the sheets. Without fail Zero walked in twenty minutes later. She watched him put his gun on the floor beside him and start to strip. Turning away, she gave him the privacy he deserved and closed her eyes.
In the other room she heard Edward whimper. Biting her lip, she stayed in bed waiting for sleep to claim her. This was the first time she’d been about to sleep in a room with a man.
She wasn’t completely innocent like Edward thought she was. She’d had sex before but had never actually spent all night in bed with a man. After the appalling sex she’d left the guy’s room immediately, not wanting to see him again. The first time was supposed to be the worst.
The sex had been so bad she’d not even gone looking for more.
Soon she felt sleep claim her.
The sound of vomiting and screaming woke her up. Jerking up in bed, it felt like she’d just fallen asleep. She scurried out of bed. Zero was also getting out of bed.
Going through to the other room, she found Edward puking into the bowl she’d left. She didn’t wait for Zero to tell her what to do. Charging for the bed, she wrapped her arms around his back, stroking his hair.
“Let it all out. I’ve got you, Edward.”
He grumbled but didn’t say anything.
“You shouldn’t be holding him, Sophia,” Zero said.
She looked up glaring at him. “Lash didn’t say anything about not being there for him. I’m holding him, which is what everyone deserves when they’re ill.”
Edward wasn’t all that co
nscious either. She could tell from the way he was acting. His body was covered with sweat, and the scent of the vomit was making her sick to her stomach. When he was finished, she left his side instantly even though he reached toward her.
“I need something. It hurts.”
“You’re not getting anything, pal,” Zero said.
“I wasn’t fucking talking to you.”
“Come on, Sophia, please.” He was looking at her with doggy eyes. Sad doggy eyes at that. She cleared away the bowl, wiped away the spillage, and grabbed his chin harshly.
“You’re not getting anything from me but a fucking bowl of porridge. You’ve been a bad little bear.” She shoved him away and walked off even as he started to curse her, calling her names.
Blocking everything out, she went back to bed, holding onto her teddy as if it was a lifeline. Minutes later Zero walked into the room. Within moments he was settling behind her.
She tensed. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m not going to try anything with you. It seems you need a hug. I’m offering you comfort, Sophia, without any crap.”
She turned toward him seeing the sincerity on his face. Slowly his arms wrapped around her. Sophia didn’t want to fight him and curled in close.
Not been alone with a man and now you’re sleeping next to one you don’t know. Classy.
“He doesn’t mean anything he’s saying. It’s the drugs. The detox makes you do crazy shit.”
“I did this, Zero. I pushed him away, and it has been a big regret. I love him, and I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
“He should have been stronger. Yeah, you pushed him away, but you didn’t force the fucking drugs up his nose. Do you really think you could have stopped him with that?” Zero asked.
“I don’t know.” She closed her eyes, enjoying being held even if it was by someone she barely knew.
“Thank you for being here with me,” she said.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
When she next woke up it was to see Lash staring down at them. “I see you two had a busy night.”
Sophia blinked the sunlight out of her eyes becoming aware of Zero lying right close behind her, along with the evidence of his happiness to be that close. Jumping out of bed she headed toward the kitchen without looking back. There was nothing going on between her and Zero. She didn’t even know why the other biker was being so nice to her. Zero’s kindness and attention were unnerving her.
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