Magnum (Rugged Skulls MC Book 1)

by Amy Davies

  My heart is racing, aching at the shit I spewed at my girl last night. Fuck me, I’m a motherfucking cunt. I retch again but nothing comes out. My stomach knots; my knees go weak.

  It’s only then that I notice all her girly, smelly things are missing from my bathroom. My gut churns again.

  “FUCK!” I bellow into the room. I fucked up. No other way to put it.

  After scrubbing my body raw, I climb out of the shower and dry off, quickly throwing on a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt, then sliding my cut on over my shoulders. Picking up my phone, keys and wallet, I race down to her room. The room we allocated to her when she first arrived.

  I knock on the door, but no answer. I knock again, but again nothing. Trying the handle, I’m surprised to find it open. I push it all the way and see her suitcase by the door, ready to go.

  “Fuck,” I mutter.

  “Not so supportive now, is she?” I hear Riley say from behind me.

  I spin around, glaring at her, and she backs up a step. My anger evident on my face.

  “You. You and your cunt Regs are out, do you hear me? Gone. Fucking done. You should never have been here in the first place.”

  “Seriously? You can do so much better, Magnum. No way can a girl like her keep you satisfied. She’s leaving by the looks of things, anyway.” She nods down at the suitcase.

  “Get out. She is fucking staying. She belongs here, you don’t.” I leave her there and walk down to the main room, scanning it for Risky. I need to see her, to talk to her.

  The main room is empty, so I try the kitchen.

  Pushing through the door, I come to a complete stop when I see her at the big oven we had installed years ago. She’s wearing a pair of denim shorts that curve her ass perfectly. The black t-shirt she’s wearing has had the sleeves cut off and she’s worn it to death, it’s that faded.

  She looks fucking beautiful, and she hasn’t turned around to look at me yet.

  Someone clears their throat, pulling my gaze from my girl. I look over at Edge, who’s glaring at me. Fuck me, if looks could kill, I would be six feet under right now. I swing my gaze back to Kara, hoping she’ll look at me.

  Kara looks over her shoulder at me, her eyes void of emotion. I get her eyes for a split second before she turns back to the food she’s cooking. Walking over to the coffee pot, I pour myself some hot java before stepping up to the table. I take my seat, keeping my eyes firmly on my girl.

  Neither of us say anything but fuck me you could cut the air with a knife, there is that much tension in here. Sipping the black liquid that’s slowly waking my brain up, I watch as Kara makes a shit ton of breakfast foods for the boys, ready for when they wake up. It seems she’s completely at home here, and I just fucked it all up.

  “So, is anyone going to rip me a new asshole or what?” I ask, fed up with no one talking. Edge scoffs and brings his gaze to mine with a truck load of daggers thrown in my direction. I send him a challenging look back; I am his fucking President, and he will show fucking respect. Even when he’s siding with my old lady.

  “You got something to say, brother?” I ask him, setting my mug down on the table.

  “I have plenty to say, brother.” He spits out the word like it leaves a disgusting taste in his mouth. “But I’m not the one you should be saying shit to and making things right with now, am I?”

  His eyes flick over to Risky, who’s now tight with tension; her shoulders tight and high. My gut tightens, knowing that I’m the one making her feel like this. I did this to her. To us.

  “What happens between me and my old lady is between us, so back the fuck off, Edge.” I clench my fist on the table, and I notice that his eye catches the movement, but at this moment, I really don’t fucking care.

  I will lay the fucker out if I have to.

  “Old lady? You didn’t treat her much like an old lady last night, Pres. You treated her like she was a piece of ass that you were done with.”

  “Edge,” Kara says his name sharply, still not giving me her eyes. Edge looks at her and nods, then brings his angry gaze back to me.

  “You don’t deserve her.” He downs the rest of whatever is in his mug and climbs to his feet. Rinsing the mug out, he adds it to the dishwasher and leans in to kiss Kara on the cheek, thanking her for breakfast.

  I can’t stop the growl that emanates from me when I see this, but neither of them take a blind bit of notice of me, and that fucks me off. Bringing his gaze to me, he cocks an eyebrow and takes on a defensive stance; legs spread wide, arms folded across his chest.

  “You got something to say, brother?” he spits my words back at me. I stand and step over to him.

  Kara turns around, leaning her back against the unit next to the oven. Her gaze bounces between the two of us but she says nothing. Her body has taken on a defeated stance; her shoulders dropped, arms slack at her sides. But I know how quickly that can change.

  “You don’t ever touch what’s mine,” I tell him, getting angrier by the second. This time, it’s Kara who scoffs. My gaze snaps to hers, and my heart aches seeing the sadness in her eyes.

  This isn’t my Risky. My Risky is full of fire and would stab me with the knife she’s been using to cut up the food.

  Ignoring me, Edge turns his gaze back to Kara and asks her a question that has my gut tightening, almost to the point that I vomit again and my heart shatters.

  “Do you have to go? I wish you would reconsider, Kara.”

  Nodding, she replies, keeping her eyes on him. “Yeah. I’ve already spoken to Colt. I can’t be here.”

  The sadness in her tone is a killer. I stumble back a step as the shock of her actually leaving hits me. I hate that she’s decided this before I can get a chance to explain the shit I did last night. It guts me.

  Something inside me snaps when I see a look pass between these two, and I speak. Not as Joey, but as Magnum, this club’s motherfucking President.

  “I’m standing right here, ya know. Neither of you get to disrespect me while I’m in the room. I’m the goddamn President of this club and you will show respect. Edge, get the fuck out. Go clean the garage or some shit, I don’t fucking care. You come between me and my old lady again, and I will have your patch, no hesitation about it,” I hiss, baring my teeth at him.

  Not waiting for either of them to say or do anything, I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial my dad’s number.

  “There had better be a good fucking reason as to why the fuck you’re calling me this early in the morning, while I’m trying to be buried deep in your mother, especially after your girl woke me up at the ass crack of dawn already.”

  I puke a little in my mouth when he tells me he’s trying to bang my mother. Fucking sick prick. My gaze locks on Kara, and I complain like a petulant child to my father, not some grown-ass biker man that runs a fucking MC.

  “First of all, old man, do not ever talk to me about you fucking my mother. Fuck, the images are forever burned in my skull, you fucker.” He chuckles through the line and my mom giggles.

  “Tell Mom to stop her giggling, and you, fucking concentrate for a second, yeah?”

  Kara smiles, and I assume it’s because she can hear my father on the other side of the phone call. I smile at her, but she looks away, yet I can still see the smile on her beautiful face.

  “I would say I’m sorry, son, but fuck me, have you seen your mother? She’s one hot piece of ass. I’m one lucky son of a bitch that she stuck with me all of these years,” he replies, making my mom laugh again. I can’t help but smile this time, because my mom is a pretty fucking awesome lady.

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Listen, change of plan. Kara is staying here. With me. I fucked up last night, but I will make it right.”

  Risky brings her gaze back to mine and we stay locked in a stare, neither of us letting go of the other. I wink at her, giving her the Masters smile, and her cheeks fill with a tint of red. She huffs and folds her arms across her chest in irritation.

  “Is that rig
ht?” Colt asks. Nodding, I answer.

  “Yeah, old man, so you can call off your guard dogs and let me fix this. You always told me that when I found her, I would know, call dibs. And I did.”

  Kara lets out a rush of air, keeping her eyes locked on mine, biting her lip. The action goes right to my dick, but I will him to calm the fuck down. Now is not the time.

  “Is she near you now?”

  “Yeah, she’s standing in front of me, but I’m not getting too close. You know how Risky can be, and she has a butter knife within reach. Blunt or not, she could cut my balls off with it,” I explain. He laughs through the phone and asks me to put him on speaker.

  “Risky?” he calls.

  “I’m here, Colt,” she replies, keeping her eyes on me.

  “Right, anyone else in the room?” he asks. Edge shakes his head and leaves the room.

  “Nope,” I tell him.

  “Okay, listen up. Magnum, you’re a dipshit, boy. You have a great thing in Kara. You know it, she knows it, hell, we all know it. Kara, you’ve had this thing for my boys for years, now is the time to step up and take your place at his side.” Kara goes to cut him off, but he senses that she’ll say something. “Button it, kid. You know I’m right.”

  “Fine, go on,” she tells him, tightening her folded arms across her chest. It’s then I notice she’s in an old Harley Davidson tee, not a concert one.

  “Good. Now, I know my son fucked up. He does that from time to time. Honey, he is a man after all, but with a strong woman like you by his side, speaking in his ear and keeping his dick happy, you’ll have a happy life.”

  “Really, old man?”

  “Shut it, boy,” my father snaps through the phone. Shaking my head at him, I give Kara a smile.

  “Now, Magnum, I know you think you know it all, but, son, you don’t. Have you not heard the saying ‘happy wife, happy life’? Get used to that shit, boy. You keep her heart and pussy happy, she will keep you happy.”

  “Here I thought my uncle was called ‘Crude’ for this very reason, but freaking hell, Colt, you don’t half take that title,” Kara tells him, her blush deepening. I step over to her and set the phone down on the worktop.

  She shakes her head at me to stop me from coming closer, but it’s my father’s voice that stops my next step.

  “Magnum, shit is happening here. I need you to keep her safe. Now, you’re going to grovel like a fat guy begging for his next twinkie. We still haven’t located Marvin, but that’s not saying that he did or did not come to you, so keep an eye out, yeah? Now, you two kiss and make up. I need to do some kissing and getting up of my own. Fuck off and make nice. No one stands alone.”

  With that everlasting image of my parents going at it burned into my head, the fucker hangs up. Once again, we’re left in silence, neither of us saying anything. Sucking in a deep breath, I break the silence.

  “What Colt said is true. All of it. You were meant for me. I was meant for you. Last night, I fucked it all up. Hell, I did a week ago. After I made love to you, stupid little feelings crept in, giving me doubts about us. Me mainly. Then the run happened, and I was consumed with getting that sorted. I never should have let the distance between us get so fucking big.”

  “Magnum, I—” I hold my hand up, cutting her off.

  “Let me say this, and then I’ll give you some space. I want you here, Kara. I need you here. I haven’t touched another woman since calling ‘dibs’ on you, I swear it. That's not the man I am, and never will be. I may be a fucking asshole, but never a cheater. Loyalty is ingrained in me. I hope you believe that.”

  Closing the gap between us, I lean in and kiss the corner of her mouth, lingering there for a second longer. Her scent invades my senses and I breathe in deep, savoring it.

  “You know where I am if you need me. I’ll be close by.” With that, I walk out of the kitchen, praying she fucking forgives me.

  Needing to clear my mind, I head for my bike and straddle her before starting her up and tearing out of the compound. I need the wind around me, soothing my thoughts.

  Let’s hope I still have an old lady when I get back.

  Twenty-Two

  Kara

  It’s been three days since Magnum said some shit that really hurt me but pissed me off also. Three days of him playing nice. Him and Edge seem to have forgiven and forgotten, but me… I’m as stubborn as a mule, and I never forget.

  Sitting in the yard, watching the boys work in the garage, I’m soaking up some rays; Suki at my side, eyeing Sarge over by a bike he’s working on. I chuckle because he is seriously scared of her.

  Running my hands through her fur, I relax and push thoughts of Magnum out of my head just for a minute or five. He’s been content with doing things for me over the past few days: bringing me coffee, offering to look after Suki for me. I mean, come on, she’s a cat and can pretty much take care of herself. But I let him.

  He even offered to get one of the prospects to do my laundry. Well, except my bra and panties. He told me he washed them by hand, adding a wink at me before leaving my room. He hasn’t pushed for me to stay in his room, but I know he wants me to.

  Every night he walks me to my room, kisses me on the cheek, makes some cocky comment and then leaves. He’s breaking down my walls. I’m not one to hold a grudge for long, but I need a reason to let it go and move on.

  Sighing, I relax more, letting the sun warm my body. I wish I could go full nude, tan lines be damned, but I know Magnum would gouge out every man’s eyes with a dull spoon if they looked at me.

  A shadow casts over me, bringing me out of my thoughts. I look up and see Magnum standing there, looking like a freaking Greek God, all tanned muscles and tattoos.

  “Come for a ride with me?” he asks, his voice slightly strained. I watch as his gaze trails over my body and he licks his lips.

  “See something you like there, champ?”

  “Definitely, babe. Just not happy that all my brothers get to see it too,” he replies, before casting a look over to his brothers, who are paying me no mind at all.

  Shrugging, I lean up on my elbows, which effectively pushes out my boobs further, and Magnum groans. He reaches down and uses the heel of his hand to push down his bulging dick.

  “Come for a ride with me?” he asks again. Sighing, I sit up from the picnic table, which puts me at chest height with Magnum.

  “I’m not sure, Magnum.”

  “Joey,” he states. I blink at him.

  “What?” I ask.

  “You haven’t called me ‘Joey’ in days. I like it when my name slips past your lips,” he adds, stepping closer. He cups my jaw, sliding his thumb over my bottom lip. My body shivers from his touch. Treacherous bitch.

  “Well, we haven’t exactly been on talking terms, have we.”

  “No, but I want to change that,” he tells me, sounding sincere.

  Huffing, I climb off the table, my breasts rubbing against Magnum’s arm accidentally. He hisses before gripping my wrist.

  “Come with me, please?” The desperate look in his eyes has me nodding. I turn to leave, but he hooks his finger into the beltloop of my jeans, just like he did the first day I got here.

  My breath hitches, and I watch his gaze shift from mine to the strap of my bikini. My skin heats just from his touch, which I’ve missed over the past few days.

  “Leave this on. Put a tee on over it,” he says, fingering the tie of my bikini top.

  Nodding, I jog to my room and slide on a R.O.E tee and my black bike boots. Grabbing a hair tie and my phone, I go back down to meet Magnum, who’s already on his bike. He hands me a helmet and starts the bike up.

  “Where’s yours?” I ask him. He looks over his shoulder at me and cocks his eyebrow, and I shake my head at the cockiness of him.

  I wrap my arms around his trim waist, loving the feel of his hard stomach against my palms. Resting my cheek on his back, I inhale the scent of his leather cut and the blissful smell of Magnum.

  We
spin out of the compound, and I smile against his back. The love the feel of the wind against my bare skin, threading through my hair, making it fly in a trail behind us.

  This is what I live for, the freedom of a motorcycle.

  We ride for less than an hour, hitting the State Park around noon. There aren’t many people around, so we can take in the scenery in peace and maybe talk a little.

  Climbing off the bike, I remove my helmet and Magnum takes it from me and tucks it into his saddle bags. Taking my hand without a word, he leads me over to a diner. The building is under an abundance of trees, but some sunlight seeps through. They have picnic tables and bright yellow chairs scattered. There’s even a huge chessboard that you stand on and move the pieces.

  “Come on, let’s eat,” he tells me and pulls out a chair for me.

  “Thank you.” I smile at him as he sits across from me. It doesn’t take long for the waitress to come to our table.

  “Good afternoon, what can I get you guys to drink?” She smiles at us and takes our order. I order a lemon water and Magnum orders a beer.

  I pick up the menu, looking over all the delicious food listed. I feel him staring at me, his hot gaze burning into my face. Bringing my gaze up, I meet his intense stare lined with regret.

  “What?” I ask. His eyes stare right into my soul, and I know I will be in so much trouble if I ever want to evict him from my heart.

  “I fucked up, no other words for it, babe. My head and heart decided to go to war over you. When I claimed you, called dibs, I meant it. Every fucking word. But when we made love that night… something went off in my head and I freaked out. You were hurt as the consequence. Nothing happened with the Reg. Like I said, I haven’t touched another woman. Hell, I haven’t even looked at another woman.”

  “Okay, so you’ve had your say. Can I have mine? And then I would like to move on. I’m not going to drag this shit out, Joey. I’m not that kind of girl. It’s all or nothing.”

  “Fair,” Joey replies, but before I can speak, the waitress brings us our drinks and takes our food order. Magnum orders a Pressed Cuban and I order a chicken salad wrap with a round of fries.