Page 9

Whizz took his shot on the pool table. Tiny was playing in the games room while Eva cooked dinner for the club. Lash and Nash were arguing over cards. Steven watched the game, drinking a beer. Zero kept looking at his watch.

“Why aren’t you guys worried about your women?” Zero asked, giving into his frustration.

Glancing over at the clock on the far wall, Whizz saw it was only a little after four. Lacey had been gone for most of the day. He missed her, but he hoped she had fun. When he asked for her to live, he’d not planned to keep her a prisoner within his home. This was his home. He’d not gone and bought a place like the other members. He would look into getting a place later.

“Gash is with them. I’m sure they’re okay,” Lash said.

Sophia walked into the room going toward Nash. She wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss his cheek.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Rachel’s spending some time with Eva and the kids.”

Whizz took his shot, listening to the couple. Rachel was Nash and Sophia’s daughter. Unlike Lash and Killer, who had sons, Nash had been blessed with a daughter. Sophia was also pregnant with their second child but only a few weeks along.

“Can you believe he’s coming to town? I was talking to him the other day and not once did he tell me he planned a visit,” Tiny said.

“Ned does what he wants. He probably is just coming to check on his daughter and grandkids.” Whizz watched as Tiny took the shot. The ball was going too fast and smacked into the side only to careen the balls all over the table. His head wasn’t in the game.

“I don’t know. I’ve got the money I owe him back. Our funds have gone back to normal, thank fuck. Child services have also taken a step back. There’s nothing wrong with our kids,” Tiny said.

“Rachel had a rough night after going with child services. She wakes us up in the middle of the night now only to make sure we’re there. The bastards put the fear of God knows what into her,” Nash said.

“She’s getting better,” Sophia said.

“It’s taking some time for her, but she’s getting there.”

Whizz was thankful he didn’t have any kids to worry about. Unlike most of the couples, they had kids who had been taken for one day and night before they were able to get them back. All of it was because of Gonzalez. Now Gonzalez was out of the picture, and all of their lives were returning to normal, or as close to normal as they could with Ned Walker coming for a visit.

Devil and the Chaos Bleeds crew were out of the picture as well. He’d helped them before he told Tiny that he’d given them a heads-up about Gonzalez knowing they were back in town. Whizz wouldn’t be responsible for anything happening to the other crew. He couldn’t live with himself if something did happen because of Tiny’s order. When he did tell Tiny what he did, Tiny had thanked him for acting right.

It was all water under the bridge.

“Ned is coming to see Eva and his grandkids, Tiny,” Lash said.

“You shouldn’t worry, unless you’re scared he’ll kick your ass. He is older than you.”

“Not by much,” Nash said, chuckling.

“I can still wipe the floor with you two little shits. Don’t fucking start.”

Whizz laughed along with them.

“I heard you went to see Butch today,” Tiny said, changing the subject away from Ned.

“I did.”

“How’s he holding up?”

Whizz took his shot, thinking of the right way to answer. When he was done, he looked at Tiny. The rest of the men were also waiting for him to answer.

“He was expecting a hit. I’ve told him we’re not going to kill him and I for one will be voting him back into the club.”

“You think he deserves to be voted back in.”

“What he did was no different than what Murphy did.”

“Murphy was acting on my orders and he didn’t have a secret club hiding away,” Tiny said.

“You’re going to kill him? He was acting on your orders, yours and Alex’s, to help the club. If you hadn’t put him in that position in the first place, we might have known about the Savage Brothers. They were his past. He fucked up, but I believe everything he said. Lacey told us what happened. You’ve got to believe him.” Whizz stopped talking as he looked at each of his brothers in turn.

“You’re going to turn him away?”

Tiny let out a breath.

“I hadn’t decided on what I was going to do. Nothing makes up for the fact that Butch has screwed up twice. He left the club for Cheryl, and now he fucked us over with the Savage Brothers. Out of all of us he was a loyal son of a bitch, but now, I just don’t know.”

“I don’t know what to think when it comes to Butch,” Nash said.

“It’s all fucked up. Before Cheryl he was one of the most loyal brothers to the club, and now, I don’t know.”

“You took drugs and almost killed Eva because you were high. After you were clean, we voted you back in and you took the necessary beating. Butch, he fucked up, but he paid us back. He left the club out of fear of this life. The club life is not for everyone. We didn’t push him out, and he didn’t fuck up. Gonzalez was already a threat to the club before Butch came back. He gave us the location and set it up for us to take down the club. He paid us back, and you’re not going to take that into account? There’s a chance he can earn back his trust.” Whizz asked.

“We’re a club. A family. We forgive.” He looked at each man in turn. Licking his lips, Whizz felt sick to his stomach.

“We’ve got to keep Butch around. We’re not the people we are if we don’t, and I can’t remain a member if we start to cut people loose.”

They all looked at him in shock.

“You can’t be serious,” Tiny said.

“Butch’s situation is different from everyone else’s. He got innocent people killed.”

“I know that, but he’s also a Skull. None of us know what he went through to get to this point. I don’t want to take my cut from a club who couldn’t forgive a brother. We all make mistakes, you included, Tiny. You were part of The Darkness in the beginning.” Whizz put the stick back on the table. He needed to calm down. It was important to him that they not push Butch aside. He was family, and family was what got Whizz through.

“When I was taken and Alan was torturing me…” He stopped as the memory gripped him hard. Not once since his attack had he spoken aloud the truth of what happened to him.

“When he was raping me, my only thought was of this club. I wouldn’t tell its secrets, and I wouldn’t doubt you in coming to get me. You’re a family at the heart of the club. Turn your back on Butch and I don’t see a reason to be part of what The Skulls have become. Butch came back to us. He lost his way, but he still came back. I understand he fucked up, but can’t we give him a chance? He made a mistake, and, yes, I agree that he should pay for what he did, but don’t you think giving away the location of your old club helped? We wiped out the club, Tiny. They’re not a threat anymore. We wiped them out. They were an entire generation of kids that survived an attack over twenty years ago.”

None of the brothers said a word, and he looked at each of them in turn.

“I know it’s hard to deal with what happened. Butch’s situation is unique. None of us know how we’d act. Gonzalez fucked us up with Chaos Bleeds. Don’t let him tear apart this club.”

He turned away from the room and left. Making his way up to his bedroom, he closed the door, shutting out the world. What he spoke was the truth. The Skulls were his family. They took care of everyone and didn’t cast anyone aside. If they didn’t give Butch a chance to come back in, he was done. If they couldn’t give Butch a third chance then what hope did he have of them accepting Lacey as his woman? She’d been part of the club they destroyed. They’d never accept her into the fold, and he couldn’t live with that. Family meant everything to Whizz. The Skulls was the only family he had left.

Whizz removed his clothes, taking a long shower, loving the feel of the hot water cascading down his body. With the mention of Alan, he needed the hot water to feel clean. He picked up the soap and started to scrub at his skin. Every time he mentioned Alan or allowed the truth to enter his mind, he felt dirty. He needed to be clean. Once he was done with the shower, he climbed out, wrapping a towel around his waist. When he entered the bedroom he came to a stop when he saw Lacey standing in the center of the room. The door was wide open, and several bags were on the bed.

“Hey,” she said smiling at him.

He closed the door, leaning against the wood. Staring at her, he took in the sight of her dressed in Angel’s old maternity clothes. The sight of the clothes did nothing to quell his raging hard-on.

“Did you have fun?” he asked.

“I did.”

He’d missed her. It had been hard not to go and find her. This had been an experiment to him to give her trust. Not only had she gone shopping, she’d come back and no one was harmed, apart from his wallet. He hoped Prue had made sure she bought plenty of stuff for herself.

“What happened to your face?” she asked, dropping the bags to move toward him. She reached out to touch his face. He didn’t jerk back even though he wanted to. When her cool fingers touched his skin, he wasn’t scared or repulsed. Her touch felt right to him.

“I ran into Hardy’s fist.” He touched her arms, loving the feel of her close to him.

“Why would you do that?”

“He said some shit. I said some shit. We both said some shit, and this is what happened.” He shrugged.

“Rose came, and now she’s gone.”

“Gash said Rose had left Hardy.”

“I didn’t realize how much Gash liked to talk.”

She shrugged.

“He didn’t exactly talk. Prue and Angel asked why there wasn’t a prospect tailing us or something. Gash then explained there were no prospects left and he’d lost the game of cards.”

Her fingers moved down to his chest where more bruises lay.

“Does it hurt?”

“It aches a little, but it’s not that painful.” He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back for her to look at him.

“Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah, I did. I don’t think I should go again if this is how you’re going to end up. You could seriously hurt yourself.”

“It’s not that bad. I promise.”

He dropped a kiss to her lips, wishing for more but waiting.

“Show me what you got.”

“I can’t believe you gave Prue so much.” She took a step back, going back to the bed.

Whizz took a seat watching as she upended several of the bags. He saw the underwear and knew he wanted to see her in those.

By the time she finished the bed was strewn with new clothes and underwear. Sitting back, he watched the animated look on her face as she started to hold clothing up to her body.

He groaned.

“You know you could get naked and show me exactly what they look like on. It’s just a suggestion.” Holding up a red thong, he eyed the fabric then her body.

“Or we could skip the clothes and go straight to this.”

She snatched the thong out of his hand. He caught her wrist, tugging her down to sit on his lap.

“Your head is always in the gutter,” she said, complaining.

“Actually, my head is always thinking about your sweet pussy and how I can get inside you. I like to see you happy,” he said.

“Thank you for today. This was my first time going shopping with the girls. I like Prue and Angel. They’re nice.”

Whizz chuckled.

“Wait until you’re forced to go with all of them. You’ll be in for a rude awakening then, I can tell you.”

She laughed.

“I don’t know. It was nice having Gash there. He said some things that I took on board.”

He tensed.

“What kind of things?”

Lacey smiled up at him.

“There’s no need to be jealous. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll let you know when his words came in handy.” She struggled off his lap.

“Please, try this set on for me.” He held up the red thong with the matching lace bra. There was nothing to the set, but he really wanted to see her ink covered body inside them.

She took the items and walked back into the bathroom.

“You’re no fun,” he said, calling after her.

Lacey didn’t respond, closing the door behind her. He climbed off the bed, looking at her clothing. Whizz didn’t wait around. He tore the tags off and started to add the clothing to his wardrobe. Until he found a place for them both to stay they were camping out at the club. He didn’t mind. Whizz whistled as he worked putting her new clothes away. The silence was welcoming to him.

****

Lacey tucked some hair behind her ears, staring at her reflection in the mirror inside the bathroom. She could do this. There was nothing to it. Whizz was outside waiting for her. The lingerie she wore at Gash’s encouragement decorated her body like a second skin. She wasn’t as young as she used to be, but that no longer mattered. Whizz wasn’t that kind of man. He’d been through so much that he wasn’t that shallow. The ink that covered her body reminded her of a second life, another life that had long since disappeared.

The Savage Brothers were behind her.

Running her palms down her hair, she saw Dalton’s smiling face, staring back at her. No, she couldn’t let his image invade her thoughts, sickening her with the memories. The past was the past, and there was no way she was going to let it destroy right now. She wanted to be with Whizz, and even if she could go back and change what happened, she wouldn’t. Whizz meant more to her than the Savage Brothers, which was why the guilt was so damn bad.

“You can do this, Lacey.” She blew out a breath, holding onto the sink as she kept staring at herself.

“There’s nothing to it. You’ve been naked together before. He has scars just like you.”

She wiggled on the spot, closing her eyes as another wave of doubts assailed her. Whizz was different. He would always be different for her. When they first met at the coffee shop she’d known it would be different.

“Are you alive in there?” Whizz said, calling through the door.

“Give me a moment.”

“I’ve given you twenty. If you keep making me wait longer, I’m going to get nervous. Any guy would get nervous.”

She laughed, dropping her hands away from the sink and taking a step back. He was right. Her doubts were her own. Whizz didn’t deserve this.

Nodding her head at her reflection, she gave herself a small pep talk.

“You can do this. It’s just like riding a bicycle or something.” Shaking her head in laughter she made her way toward the door. The moment she opened it there wouldn’t be any backing down.

“I don’t want to back down. I’m going to go ahead with this.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” he asked, calling through the door.

“You know I’ll have to send you to a special home if you are.”

She shook her head, laughing at him.

Giving herself no chance to back down, she turned the handle, and opened the door. Whizz sat on the bed looking at his hands. He looked up at the door opening, or at least she thought it was the door opening. She rested her hand on the doorframe, smiling in at him.

“Hey,” she said, drawing one shoulder up.

“Hey.” His voice croaked as he looked back at her. She watched as his gaze ran down her body going to her feet then back up, lingering on the tiny panties and bra she wore. Lacey was tempted to cover her rounded stomach and thighs but tightened her hand into a fist. His gaze landed back on her face.

The arousal struck her hard at his dark gaze. Whizz stood up, tugging the shirt he wore over his head and throwing it aside. He was so tall and muscular. The very sight of his masculine stature turned her on. There wasn’t anything small about him. He was all man, and he was all hers. She was going to take Gash’s advice and make sure she kept him all for her own. She wouldn’t give him the chance to go looking elsewhere for another woman.

“You’re just going to stand there?” he asked.

Entering the room, she leaned against the nearest wall.

“I thought you only wanted to see.” Her nipples were incredibly tight from arousal. Glancing down the length of his body she caught sight of his rock hard cock, thickening. It was like a balloon growing in his pants. She tried to smoother her laughter with a hand covering her mouth.

Whizz smiled along with her, clearly not knowing what was making her so happy.

“Do I even want to know what you’re laughing at?” He took a step closer toward her.

Lacey stayed against the wall, watching him move a little closer with each step.

“Is that a balloon down there or are you just happy to see me?” She raised her brow for him to see the humor. Whizz didn’t look down at his pants.

In two quick steps he was in front of her.

“There is no air in my cock, baby.”

She released a scream as he tugged her hard against him, spinning her around. His grip reassured her as he moved toward the bed. She started laughing as he threw her down and started to tickle her.

Her laughter turned to ear piercing screams as he continued to tickle her without letting up once.

“Please, stop.”

Whizz flipped her onto her back, resting between her thighs as he kept stroking her body. Slowly, she became aware of his obvious state of happiness resting at the juncture of her thighs. His tickles slowed down as he stared at her.

Silence filled the air between them. In all of her life she’d never been tickled for fun. Her parents had always been too busy with club life to take the time. After the attack she wouldn’t let anyone hold her or love her. This was different, intimate. Whizz made her want so much, and to wish her life had been a lot different.

They both jumped as Whizz’s door came crashing open, revealing Gash and Steven holding guns. Lacey squealed, pulling Whizz down to use as a blanket.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Whizz asked, glaring at the men. He didn’t lift away from her and allowed her to use his body how she needed.

“We heard screams,” Gash said, looking confused.

Lash and Nash suddenly appeared in the doorway. Lacey groaned, burying her head in his chest.

“What the fuck is this?”

“We heard screams and were worried,” Steven said, adding a little extra to what Gash had said.

“And what? You thought someone had managed to sneak into the clubhouse undetected while everyone was present within the club?” Whizz asked. She heard the hitch in his voice that he was trying to control. Any second he was going to break down into a fit of laughter. She didn’t know how long she was going to be able to hold out for before she started laughing.

“Well, after everything that happened, you never know,” Gash said.

Whizz’s face broke into a grin.

“Get out of my room. I don’t need any protectors. I’m trying to fuck my woman.”

She let out a groan, wishing the bed would just open up and swallow her.

“Will you stop?” she asked.

“What? I could have been inside you and those idiots would have seen everything.”

Her cheeks were on fire. Either option sounded like a nightmare to her.

“Come on, let’s leave him alone,” Nash said, taking the lead.

“You’re going to lay claim to her?” Lash asked, determined to stay.

“Yeah, I’m laying claim to her. She’s mine, and the club better stay away.” One of his hands held her head tight, stroking her hair. She found the action strangely possessive and soothing to her.

“I’ll let the rest of the club know. Angel will be happy. She really likes you, Lacey.”

“I like her as well.” She shouted out her response without looking back. The last thing she wanted to be doing was looking at the men who were currently seeing her naked.

“I told you to start fighting for him. I see the red set had it down,” Gash said.

Whizz moved quickly, grabbing something from the drawer beside his bed, and launching it at Gash.

“I said get out.”

They were both laughing by the time the door was closed. When she heard that sweet sound of the door closing, she pulled away to look up at him.

“I didn’t think they’d ever leave.”

“They’re not used to screams coming from my room that are any good.”

She reached up to cup his cheek.

“I’m here, Whizz.” There was no need to ask him what kind of screams he was talking about.

“I know.” He closed the distance between them, taking possession of her lips. She closed her eyes melting against him and his touch. Whizz took hold of her hands, pressing them above her head where she couldn’t move.

“No more moving for you.”

“What are you doing?” she asked, feeling the fire start to build inside her.

“I’m going to play with my wrapped toy. You’re my toy tonight, right?”

She closed her eyes gasping as he sucked on her neck.

Her neck had always been an erogenous zone for her. Licking her lips, she tried to close her thighs, but he was between them. He chuckled against her skin.

“You can’t get the friction you want for that little pussy, Lacey. You’re going to have to wait for me.”

Trying to close her thighs with Whizz in the way was useless. She was nowhere near as strong as he was.

“Please, Whizz,” she said, begging him.

“What does my woman need?” he asked.

“I’m your woman?”

“You’re not going to be anyone else’s. I don’t like to share, and you’re mine.” He started to kiss down her chest going above the red bra. His tongue traced the outlines of her ink. Opening her eyes, she stared down at the top of his head while he worked her body as if it was his own personal instrument.

She was. There was no denying what she meant to him.

“You’re so beautiful, Lacey. Gash was there when you picked up this set?” Whizz asked. His hands released her but only long enough for him to start to work the bra straps down her arms. Whizz took his time dragging the bra strap down. She had no choice but to rest her arms at her sides while he did. The straps kept her arms in place.

“Yes, he was there.”

He eased the cups beneath her breasts. She felt the back of his fingers, running across one breast then working his way to the other. Taking a breath, she tried not to get overly excited by what he was doing to her body. Was Whizz jealous? He sounded jealous when he had no need to be.

“Did he see you in this?”

“No. I wouldn’t let that happen. I’m yours, Whizz.”

There. She’d admitted the truth that she’d denied herself for so long.

“You’re all mine?”

“Yes, I’m all yours.”

“What did Gash have to do with you purchasing this item for me?” he asked.

His hands were replaced with his lips. Whizz didn’t bite. No, he laid kisses around each breast before moving onto the next. He took his time as if he wasn’t in a rush to get off. His cock was rock hard where he was pressed between her thighs. He held the bulk of his body off hers so she wasn’t uncomfortable by the weight of him.

“Answer me, Lacey.”

“He told me to make a decision when it came to you. I had to decide on what I wanted.”

“What do you want, baby?” he asked.

“I want you. I want to make this work.” She opened her heart up to him. Whizz had done what no other man had been capable of doing. He made her want to love again. She was in love with him. The very thought of losing him cut a hole in her chest, ripping out her heart. There was no chance of her ever getting over his loss. She’d rather die than risk losing Whizz. He’d come into her life during the time she needed him most. Whizz kept her sane in ways the Savage Brothers had failed. She’d not wanted to take out revenge like her fellow brothers. All Lacey wanted to do was forget the past that Gonzalez had tried to ruin. He’d not succeeded as she was still alive to tell the tale.

“You’re not going to fight me anymore?” he asked.

She snorted.

“I’ll always fight you. I just won’t push you away. I don’t want to lose you, Whizz. I’ll be here for you.”

He cupped her cheek. The tenderness in his gaze startled her. She wasn’t used to this kind of emotion from him.

“Like you, I don’t see the pain you’ve been through or how broken you’ve been for some time. I see you, Whizz. I see the man you are, and you’re amazing. I can’t lose you.”

“You’re not going to lose me.” He dropped a kiss to her lips.

She wrapped her arms around his body. The bra straps bit into her arms as she held onto him. He kissed her neck.

“There’s no chance of you getting rid of me, baby.” He started kissing down to her breasts once again, circling each bud before moving onto the next. There was no rushing him even though he drove her insane with his touch.

Lacey didn’t know how she was going to survive the rest of the night if he was determined to make her wait for the pleasure.