Page 4 of Killer (The Skulls #5)
Mouth tasting like shit, Killer rolled over feeling the effects of the alcohol he’d consumed the night before. Wiping a hand down his face, he groaned feeling the headache that was sure to kill what the alcohol failed to do.
“Fuck,”
he muttered, rolling onto his stomach. He was too close to the end of the bed and sank to the floor. No more nights out with Zero and Steven.
Those men knew how to party, and toward the end of the night, he’d fucked the redhead multiple times before …
shit, he couldn’t remember a fucking thing.
When he got back to the club the men had partied with him and partied hard. They had his back, and Killer had felt it for the first time since joining The Skulls. He no longer felt like an outsider looking in.
“There you are. I was wondering when you were going to wake up.”
Turning his head he saw the redhead he’d screwed last night entering his room at the clubhouse.
He didn’t own a place to crash and either stayed at the clubhouse or at Kelsey’s.
Kelsey, shit, he’d fucked another woman trying to forget about her, and now he felt fucking dirty. Regret filled him as the last night’s exploits started to come to him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
he asked, getting to his feet. The light shining through the window was hurting his fucking eyes.
“You ordered me back.”
“I was completely smashed, and you think I wanted you to follow me?”
He got to his feet not caring about his nakedness.
“All night you were taking me around back, fucking me or getting me to suck you. You told me I wasn’t leaving until you fucked every hole I possessed on a nice warm bed,”
redhead said.
Scrunching his face up in disgust he looked at her.
“And you still followed me back here? Jesus fucking Christ. I need a shower.”
He left her alone while he took a red hot shower.
Fuck, he’d been with a woman who wasn’t Kelsey.
Regardless of what happened yesterday he shouldn’t have been with another woman.
Crap, she was married to another man. What the fuck was he supposed to do? On the one hand he felt guilt, and on the other, he felt justified in finding another woman.
After he scrubbed his body with a hard brush, washed his mouth out and completely rid his body of the night’s shame, he climbed out to find Tate standing inside his bedroom with her arms folded.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Nice shiner you got there.”
Touching his face, Killer had forgotten all about the hit Tiny gave him.
“Courtesy of your father.”
She smirked.
“So I’ve got rid of the two skanks you and Zero brought home. They’re on their way, and I think you’re a fucking bastard.”
“You know what, you can talk shit to your dad and your man, but I don’t got to take it. Get the fuck out of my room.”
He brushed past her not caring that he shoved her a little. Out of all of the women he never liked Tate. She was a first class bitch, but Murphy was in love. Guy was a fucking fool for falling for such a bitch.
“You gonna run off to Daddy? Tell him to black the other eye?”
“Is this the real you, Killer? Are you a bastard in real life? Screwing whoever you want and leading women on by bringing them back here? The redhead really thought she was sticking around.”
Tate followed him in to his bedroom and just kept talking. He wanted her to shut up.
Sitting on his bed, he stared at her wondering what it would take to get her out of his room.
“First, I’m not the one who is married. You shouldn’t have gotten rid of my fuck. Now what am I going to do?”
he asked, not really in the mood to deal with her.
Tate unfolded her arms, launched a bottle of water at him, which landed on his stomach along with two pills.
“Take some painkillers for your head, get dressed, and go talk to Kelsey. You treat her right, or you’ll deal with me. She’s been a bitch, but she’s my friend.”
“She’s married.”
He shouted toward her retreating back. Was he the only one who thought the whole married thing was an issue?
“And you’ve got the whole club supporting you, Killer.
They’re not rushing to help her out or find out the truth.
She’s my friend.
Steven and Zero were there for you last night.
When you came back here, living it up, the other men were here for you.”
The whole of the club did have his back.
They hadn’t spoken out against Kelsey as he told them not to bring it up.
Steven and Zero had given him a wonderful night.
The only problem to him was the woman he brought home.
He wished he hadn’t.
“Her life is complicated.
What happened to her has nothing to do with you or this to make her married.
She has a past, and so do you.
Okay, her past has leaked into the present, but we’ll make it work.
She loves you, Killer, not this other guy. Deal with it. I wouldn’t bother, but she’s in love with you and you’re in love with her. Talk to her before you knock up some slut and get saddled with her for the rest of your days.”
Tate walked out of the room leaving him alone.
He wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Killer took the two pills and swallowed some water.
Shit, he’d have to thank Tate at some point for getting rid of the women.
He hated the thought of having to thank Tate.
Thinking of what he had done with her sickened him. No, he wasn’t going to even try to remember what he did under the influence.
Closing his eyes, Killer wondered if he should just up and leave.
The Skulls wasn’t his family.
They were a club he stuck around with.
Don’t think like that.
There was no family for him, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Kelsey.
The Skulls were his family.
They had given him a home and a family even though he’d started out his life in, The Lions.
No, he couldn’t leave it like it was.
He needed to see her, talk to her, get her to explain everything to him.
Getting up, he grabbed a pair of jeans, a white shirt and his leather cut.
He ignored the scent of breakfast and Tate’s glaring face, heading out toward his bike.
On the body of the bike he saw an envelope stuck.
Cursing, he stripped it off and opened the letter up.
His keys fell out.
Straddling his machine, he turned the ignition over and waited for his beauty to purr to life.
Smiling, even with a throbbing headache, he started out of the compound and rode toward Kelsey’s apartment.
The wind felt good on his face, and flashes of memory invaded his thoughts.
He couldn’t think about the other woman.
The very thought made him feel sick, exacerbated by all the alcohol he’d consumed.
Parking his bike, he nodded toward a couple of local kids before pressing the button for Kelsey’s place.
“Who is it?”
she asked. Her voice was so fucking sweet. His cock thickened at the sound alone. Killer knew he needed to get his act together before he did something stupid. Last night had been a big mistake, one he hoped never to repeat.
“It’s me, Kels. Let me in.”
The silence between them was deafening. Not long ago she’d have let him up without hesitation.
“Okay,”
she said, buzzing the door.
He walked into the building and went to her place.
She lived on the ground floor as she hated heights.
Kelsey stood at the door.
She wore a large baggy shirt with a pair of string pants.
They covered up her curves, and he hated them on sight.
Her hair was bound up on her head, the cherry blonde color calling to him to sink his hands in her hair.
He noticed her eyes were red and puffy. She blew her nose as he walked toward her.
“Are you sick?” he asked.
“No.”
She moved out of the way letting him pass.
The door closed leaving them alone in her sitting room.
He glanced toward the sofa remembering the feel of her in his arms.
They’d never gotten further than some heavy petting over clothes.
She always refused to get naked in front of him.
Killer liked her reserved nature.
He had also liked the fact no other man had seen her naked before.
Was that all in his head? What man would marry a woman and have nothing to do with her?
He went to the window looking outside wondering what the hell he should say.
The last time he’d been here, Snitch had arrived into town and he’d been on guard protecting The Skull women.
“Do you want some coffee?”
she asked, catching his attention once again.
“Yeah, I’ll have coffee.”
Removing his jacket he stared at her retreating back. What the fuck should he say? What was the protocol for this?
Dropping the jacket onto the chair, he paced the length of the room.
With his bulk it didn’t take him long to get tired of pacing.
She came back minutes later with two mugs of coffee.
He watched her place them each on a coaster on her coffee table.
When she was done, she gripped her hands tight together, looking at him. He saw her nerves but didn’t have the first clue what to say to her to help.
“How have you been?”
she asked.
“You’re married?”
She took a deep breath, dropping her gaze.
“Yes, I’m married.”
Gritting his teeth, he turned his back on her. Fuck, he needed to learn to get his anger under control.
“How long?”
“Since I was eighteen.”
Lashing out he sent the display of ornaments and pictures crashing to the floor. He spun toward her. The sound of the shattered glass and porcelain filled the air.
“You’ve been married nearly eight fucking years, and you didn’t tell me you were?”
He yelled the words, not caring if he scared her.
Her hands covered her ears.
“It wasn’t important,”
she said, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Not important. You don’t think it’s important to tell the men you’re intending to screw that you’re married. What kind of slut are you?”
“I’m not a slut!”
She finally shouted back. Her arms slashed the air in front of her.
“Don’t you dare call me such a thing?”
“I call it the way I see it, babe. You lead men on. You’re a fucking cock-tease.”
“I’m no such thing.”
She wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“You’ve got no idea why I married him.”
“Then make it clear to me,”
he said, panting for breath. His anger caught him unawares, and he needed to take time to calm down.
“My family needed the mon—”
“Fucking whore.”
He reached down, grabbing the edge of the coffee table and tugged it up. The coffee sloshed out of the cups coating the books, and the wood upended in the opposite direction.
****
Killer trashed her apartment, but she didn’t care.
The nastiness coming from his lips hurt her far more than any material goods.
Unlike her parents, she didn’t care about tables or ornaments.
He stepped close to her.
He was too big for her not to take another step back.
She kept taking a step back until her back was pressed against the nearest wall.
Killer’s hands went either side of her head.
The anger in his eyes startled her.
Even with his anger directed at her, she couldn’t stop the arousal building inside her.
Her pussy pulsed at the closeness of him.
“I’m not a whore,”
she said, hating the way he saw her.
“You slept with a guy for money. What does that make you?”
“I never said I slept with him. I’ve never slept with Michael.”
She cried out as his palms slapped heavily on the wall behind her. He was too strong and could kill her without any effort at all. She knew how he got his name, and he could snap her neck as easily as a twig.
“That his name?”
“Yes, I’ve never slept with him. I’ve never slept with any man, Killer. You’ve got to believe me. I couldn’t sleep with him.”
He stared into her eyes, and then his gaze dropped down to her lips.
“You’ve never let a man inside your pussy.”
Her cheeks heated. Killer rarely spoke to her so bluntly. You’ve hurt him deeply. You deserve this.
“No, I’ve never been with a man, and I had no intention of ever falling for anyone.”
She fisted her hands stopping herself from reaching out and touching him.
“Then why did you marry him? We all know marriage leads to something a lot more.”
“Not my marriage.
He was going to kick my parents out of their home.
They’d gone to rehab and stopped gambling, but we had debts.
Lots of debts.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many debts we had.
Michael was the one calling them in.
He needed a wife and offered to pay everything back providing I became his wife.
I didn’t think to ask him. I was too busy dealing with the fact I was going to be homeless and so were my parents.”
She told him everything going for the finer details rather than the long ones.
Kelsey told him the truth about Michael offering her a honeymoon for the sake of it, but she’d turned him down.
Neither of them had any real attraction for each other.
At first she didn’t want to tell him the truth, but he deserved to know exactly what happened in her past with Michael and her marriage.
When she was finished, he stared down at her.
The silence between them hurt.
They had once been able to talk about anything or at the very least have a silence that felt right rather than stilted.
“Why haven’t you divorced him?” he asked.
“I can’t. T-Tate is looking into everything for me.”
She had a feeling it was going to take more than a simple divorce to get rid of Michael.
He leaned down, and suddenly his lips were on hers.
His tongue danced over her lips before sliding inside.
She moaned, grabbing onto his shoulders as he suddenly deepened the kiss bruising her lips with his possession.
His hand moved down, grabbing her thigh to draw her leg over his hip.
Through his tight jeans she felt the heat of his cock burning through to her core.
This was more than she ever hoped for.
Circling his neck, he pulled her up close.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, shocked when he held her without making any noise at her weight.
He rubbed his cock between her thighs.
She felt him get harder as their kiss deepened.
Kelsey didn’t know if she could sleep with him. Sex was still something she feared. Killer still made her yearn for something more.
Pulling away, she stared down into his eyes.
She opened her mouth ready to speak, but Killer got there first.
“Last night I fucked a woman.”
Her heart was torn from her body at his admission. “What?”
she asked, unsure if she’d heard him right.
“I went to a bar out of town with Steven and Zero. We had a few drinks, and I fucked a redhead. Tate kicked her out this morning.”
Kelsey shouldn’t be hurting at the truth he spoke. She was married, but her heart was breaking. He’d been with another woman because of her. You have no right to be upset.
“Could you put me down please?”
she asked.
He lowered her to her feet. She couldn’t look at him. The moment she stared into his eyes, she didn’t know what she’d do. Ducking under his arms, she went into her kitchen, grabbing a brush and bucket. She walked toward the mess from her ornament display and some pictures she’d taken of Tate, the baby, and even Killer. Kneeling down, she started to pick up the broken pieces of her life.
He slept with another woman.
Why did she ever think Killer would forgive her? He truly thought she’d been with Michael. There was no way she could be feeling hurt or betrayed. She’d ruined his trust first. Kelsey knew he didn’t want to hurt her even though he’d been with another woman. You should have told him first. There had been plenty of opportunities for her to tell him the truth. She was the fat girl no one ever wanted to be with. Michael picked her because of the convenience. Killer was dumped with her because of Tate needing protection. She tossed the broken pieces of her life into the bucket, feeling her world breaking with each second that passed. The one thing she did in her life she did it for her parents so they didn’t end up on the streets. She had done it for her own peace of mind as well.
Lifting up the display unit she saw all the glass was smashed. There was no way to mend anything. It was all smashed, shattered, and broken, like her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on your apartment.”
He made to touch her display unit.
“No, you don’t need to do that,”
she said, holding the unit in place. A piece of glass was sticking out, and she sliced her palm on the sharp piece. Crying out, she pulled her hand away to see her hand was cut open. Cursing, she cupped her palm and walked into the kitchen. There was glass inside the cut. The pain had no effect on her.
“Shit, are you okay?”
he asked, coming up behind her.
He touched her back, and she tensed.
“I’m fine. Please, could you leave? I’ll clean up the mess, and I’m really sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you.”
What more could she say? Words were a real struggle for her.
“No, you’re coming back to the clubhouse with me. Sandy will look after you. Shit, I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Your men probably hate me. I’d rather clean this out myself.”
Killer turned her around to face him.
“No, you’re not going to do this alone.”
He pulled out a cell phone pressing the device against his ear.
“Will you bring a car to Kelsey’s apartment? She’s hurt herself, and I need Sandy to have a look. Sure.”
“They’ll be here in a few minutes.”
He grabbed her hand, going to have a look.
“Will you leave it alone? It’s fine. Just a cut.”
“I did this.”
He stared down at her hand.
Pulling away from him, she went back to her work, picking up the debris of her life.
“The woman you were with? Is she your old lady now? I don’t know what happens. Tate tries to keep club life away from the conversation.”
“No, she was just a woman, Kels. She meant nothing to me.”
Tears filled her eyes, but for so many years she’d learned to keep the tears at bay.
“I rather wish she meant something to you. Your life would be a lot easier without me in it.”
“Fuck, don’t do this.”
She turned to look at him.
“I’m not doing anything. I messed up, and you went and found solace in another woman. I’m sorry for hurting you. I hope you believe me. I didn’t give my marriage a thought, and hurting you was never my intention. I never thought I’d fall for a man.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, looking agitated.
“For fuck’s sake. You’re married, Kels. I saw fucking red when he turned up. You didn’t deny it.”
“Of course I can’t deny it. It’s the fucking truth. I married Michael Granito. My family needed the money, and I did what I could to make them happy.”
She cut off, staring past his shoulder and smiling. The smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“What did you want me to do?”
he asked, taking a step closer.
Staring at him, Kelsey wondered what she wanted from him. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she turned to stare out of the window.
“I didn’t want anything from you, Killer. I married when I was eighteen. I never once expected to meet a man who’d want me.”
She turned back to face him. The tears were thick in her eyes making him blurry.
“Don’t you get it? I’ve been a fat woman all my life. I’m fat and ugly. I’ve been told it enough, and you know what, I believe it. I believe every fucking word I’ve heard throughout my whole life.”
The blood from her cut dripped onto her carpet.
“Every man and woman I’ve passed has always found some way of putting me in my place.”
“Baby, stop this,” he said.
“No, it all makes perfect sense. I mean, why would any man go for me?”
She pressed her palm against her chest. The red blood coated the front of her shirt.
“I mean, look at me. I’m nothing.”
Her tears fell down her cheeks, coating her shirt.
Killer walked toward her. She shook him away, but he wouldn’t let her go. He tugged her close, and Kelsey saw it useless to fight him. What was the point in fighting him?
I’m nothing.
Her mother’s cruel words would stay with her forever.
Over the years she’d been dealt her fair share of hatred.
It was time she listened.
She may be a married woman, but there was no way she ever intended to be more to Michael than a convenience.
Someone knocked on the door, and Killer escorted her out of her apartment.
She felt broken. What was the point of her even living? She had hurt the one man she really loved.
****
Zero stared at Sophia as she handed her daughter to Nash. The woman he’d been with last night had looked nothing like Sophia, and when he woke this morning, he regretted even being with the other woman.
He held a mug of coffee watching her gather up the mess from the party before.
Why couldn’t he get her out of his head? He hated Kate, her sister.
The other woman had been a whore through and through while Sophia was different.
Her curves were sinful, and with his room at the clubhouse being close to theirs, he’d heard her come apart in Nash’s arms.
She walked past him, giving him a smile. He sipped his mug as she put the bottles into the trashcan.
“How are you doing today?”
she asked, tugging the bag out of the bin.
“I’m good.”
“We heard your little party last night. I hope you had fun.”
Her smile was big and bright as she tugged the bag out of the trash bin.
“It was.”
He lied so easily.
“I’m going to get rid of this.”
She nodded to him and then left the bar. Taking his mug of coffee with him, he followed her outside.
Bad move. Turn around and go back.
Still, he followed her outside and watched as she opened the large bin. She was too small to open the bin. Sipping at his coffee, he opened the lid for her to throw the trash in.
“You’re a lifesaver. What would I do without you?”
she asked.
“You’d be struggling to put the trash away.”
He stood close to her, inhaling her sweet scent. Since her pregnancy she’d not lost any of her curves or the sweetness about her. Part of him hated the fact she hadn’t changed.
“That’s certainly true.”
She took a step back, tripped over her feet and fell into his arms. Zero caught her to him, brushing his arm across her breasts as he held her.
“Great, now add clumsiness to my list of problems and faults.”
She giggled, standing away from him.
The mere touch of her body against his own made his cock thicken.
He wanted a hell of a lot more than a simple touch.
Zero wanted to fuck her.
Most of his nights were spent imagining what it would feel like to slide his cock inside her sweet, tight pussy, and simply fuck her.
She rested against the wall, tilting her head back to soak up the sun. He stared at her neck, slowly losing his mind. What would she do if he just grabbed her, kissed her and had done with it?
Tiny warned him against poaching other men’s women. Sophia didn’t belong to him.
“Baby, our angel needs a change. She’s, erm, yeah, I’m not changing that,”
Nash said, coming around the back.
Sophia giggled.
“Come on, sweetness.”
Zero watched her kiss Nash before smiling at him and then leaving.
“Can’t even change a diaper for your woman?”
Zero asked.
“You got a smell of that and you’d refuse to as well.”
Nash leaned against the wall, staring at him.
“You still got a torch for my woman.”
It wasn’t a question, and Zero didn’t feel like answering it.
“Everyone sees it, Zero. You’re not fooling anyone with the way you look at her.”
Turning to face one of his brothers, he stared at Nash waiting.
“Well, come on then. You want to fight me.”
Zero raised his fists, mocking the action.
“I’m sure I can take you.”
“I know what you’re feeling for Sophia. She has that way about her. When you’ve been around the club sweet-butts or seen Kate, she’s the total opposite.”
Nash smiled.
“She saved me in more ways than she even realizes.”
“What are you getting at?”
Zero asked.
Nash took a step closer until they were stood toe to toe.
“You can look at my woman. You can even speak to her and be in her confidence.”
Nash didn’t blink. The seriousness of what he was talking about didn’t leave his face.
“But if you ever lay a hand on what’s mine, touch her, kiss her, or even so much as tell her what you feel, then I will end you. Sophia is mine. She’s my wife, and I will not lose her because you want to fuck her. Am I clear?”
Nash asked.
“You’re crystal clear.”
He watched Nash walk away. When the other man was near the far door, he called out to him.
“What will you do if her sweet smiles and talks turn into something more? What happens when Sophia opens her eyes and decides she doesn’t love you at all?”
“It’ll never happen,”
Nash said.
Zero was stood outside with his mug of coffee. His drink was cold and unappealing. Cursing, he poured the coffee away and headed back inside. It was time for him to get over wanting a woman he could never have.