The Skulls

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2013 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-580-8

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  Thank you to Evernight for giving Lash a home and also to my readers. Your support is amazing and I appreciate everything you do.

  LASH

  The Skulls, 1

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  Angel Marston continued to clean away the mess on the floors of the biker bar where she worked. The place was a real shithole, and she wished there was something else for her to do other than clean away beer bottles and the occasional used condom wrapper. Whatever happened in the club stayed in the club, and no one spoke. It was the biker club that ruled the town. No one was under any illusions that the sheriff’s office had any such control. They didn’t. If you wanted something done, you made sure to see the president of the club or you’d never see any kind of justice.

  The Skulls controlled the town, and if anyone had a beef with another person they came here to get it sorted out. The crime rate was down, and no one gave a shit about the occasional beating they witnessed in the middle of Fort Wills. They were a small town situated off the beaten track. The town made money through the club and a few investments in the land markings around the area.

  The Skulls were not commercial trading, and they were not about the niceness that the Law Castle Bad Boys were known for. The Skulls were a real bad-ass biker club. They worked hard, played harder, and sometimes someone got beat or killed. Letting out a sigh, Angel leaned over the bar to grab the cleaning cloth and bacterial spray. The skirt she wore was down to her knees even though the club demanded miniskirts that only covered the ass. She, however, wasn’t here working willingly. No, The Skulls had taken her as a down payment for one of her father’s debts. While she worked for them, lived under their roof, and was seen around Fort Wills, then her father had to keep paying up the money he owed. Angel didn’t really know why her father had gone to them for money. Her mother, before she died, had set them up with plenty on the royalty payments from the books she had published.

  Instead, her father wasted all the funds, borrowed money he couldn’t pay back, and then she got taken as collateral in the process. She hadn’t spoken to any of her friends, not that she had any, and when she left the bar she was escorted by a Prospect.

  God, she hated her life more than ever. Turning around, she ignored the heavy metal music playing out and started wiping the tables down.

  Several other girls were lying around or fucking some of the club members. Angel ignored them. There was nothing else for her to do other than clean, wait, and then get sent to her room when all was done.

  Moans filled the air as she passed tables. Angel kept her gaze down not wanting to see what they were doing. She was nineteen and hadn’t been with a guy intimately. Sex wasn’t something easy for her.

  “Oh, baby, you’ve got a big cock. I love your cock.”

  Rolling her eyes, she picked up a beer bottle she’d missed and made her way to the bar. Mikey, one of the older members of the club, smiled at her as she passed. She nodded her head, finding it easier not to interact with them. They didn’t like her, and she’d gotten that from the glares and the sneers as they watched her. She didn’t understand why they hated her. Before she’d been taken from her home, without packing anything, Angel had never spoken to one of The Skulls, apart from the few she’d been in school with, but that was before they became official members, or patched in. She would never understand the lingo and hoped never to.

  All Angel hoped for was her father to pay his debt so she could leave. Her hopes for her father paying his debts were diminishing every passing day. She’d been allowed a few phone calls with him, and each time he always told her to make the most of her situation and that he was only human. He’d also hinted for her to try to use her body, big though it was, to cut him some slack. What kind of father asked that of his child? There was a time when she’d loved being around her father. Now, she didn’t even know if she wanted him to live with the way he spoke to her. He’d told her there were worst fates than being with a Skull. She should learn to do something to help him out. The insults kept getting worse, and she dreaded his phone calls. She never asked for him to get in touch anymore either. Glancing around the club again she let out a sigh. The late nights, the sex, and everything around them were really starting to get to her. She hated it.

  “You know, it would go a lot easier for you if you were nice to the guys,” Mikey said, handing her a glass of lemonade.

  She took the drink he offered. “Thank you.”

  Standing behind the bar, she sipped from the straw and didn’t say a word. Angel found it easier to keep her thoughts to herself rather than talk with anyone.

  “Being closed off is not going to help your cause, sweetheart.”

  Turning to look at the older man she wondered what to say to him. “I have no idea what to say. I’m here, and I don’t know what to say.” Staring down at her feet she felt heat fill her cheeks. The only people who were nice to her were the men’s women, “old ladies”, she’d heard them called. None of the women looked all that old, and neither did the men. Mikey was in his forties, and that wasn’t old at all.

  “You’re too fucking young to be here,” Mikey said, shaking his head and walking away.

  There was nothing for her to say. She sat down, sipped her drink, and waited for more work to be done. It wasn’t over until she was ordered to go to her room. Any of them could order her to go there. None of the men hurt her physically. Sometimes they called her names, but she was used to that. Name calling was nothing new to her. Biting her lip, she tapped her hand on the counter wishing she was anywhere but at the bar.

  “Why do you keep her around if she’s no one?” A dyed blonde sat at the bar laughing up at Nash. The blonde was Kate, and Angel had gone to school with her. Nash, one of the members, sat beside her.

  “She’s business, baby. Keep your little nose out of it.”

  “How can Angel be business? She’s fat. A fatty frumpy bitch.”

  Angel cringed. She hated her name. Her mother had felt she was an angel seeing as she wasn’t supposed to have ever gotten pregnant according to the doctors. So her mother had decided to name her “Angel” to celebrate.

  Nash grabbed Kate’s neck, roughly.

  “It’s business. You want to last around here then you keep that mouth open for other things besides talking, like my dick. Got it?”

  Kate smiled adoringly at him even as Angel winced from the rough way he was treating her. The women really loved it here, and she didn’t get it. Her parents were never violent to each other. She’d seen the way the bikers had treated women, and she never wanted to be on the receiving end of their attention. The “old ladies” never got such treatment. They were the few women who were not treated like convenient holes, and she’d never seen any of the married men with another woman.

  Angel tried her hardest to stay unnoticed. She was one of the few big women who worked inside the club. Cringing at her own thoughts directed at her body, Angel tried to blank out their conversation.

  “I’m good with
my mouth,” Kate said, licking a line up the side of his face.

  “Get her away from my bar.” Micky shoved Kate’s arm off the counter so the woman went sprawling to the floor.

  “Mikey, what the fuck?” Nash cursed the barman then left the bar. Mikey was old school and demanded respect.

  “You’re just going to let him do that to me?” Angel heard the other woman whining as Nash did everything he could to push her away.

  “He’s one of the original members. Shut your trap if you don’t want to cause a problem.”

  When they were far enough away Angel glanced up to see Mikey stood beside her. She twirled the straw in her glass and tried her best not to look away. Even with Mikey’s advanced years he had the ability to be frightening, or at least to her he was.

  He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back to look at him. There was nothing sexual in his touch. Mickey seemed to look at her with parental affection, which she didn’t understand.

  “You may be here because of your deadbeat dad, but don’t let anyone ever make you feel less than you are. Angel, you’re a beautiful, young woman, and if I was twenty years younger I’d make a play for you. As it is, I’m not, but don’t let a dirty fucker ruin you.”

  He tapped her cheek and walked away. Angel frowned, wondering what had made him speak such words to her.

  Sipping on her drink Angel closed her eyes wishing she was anywhere but inside the club.

  ****

  If Angel kept sucking on her straw Lash wasn’t going to be able to control the urge to claim her. He’d been watching her for a long time, and he’d done everything in his power to protect her from her own father. Still, club rules were club rules, and if he didn’t make a play for her soon it was only a matter of time before someone else did, or Tiny collected the debt sending Angel back out into the town alone.

  He didn’t like the thought of her alone out in the world without him. There were too many men to keep away from her.

  His brother, Nash, stumbled over toward him. Nash’s jeans were partially open, and he knew Kate had given Nash a blow job in the last few minutes.

  “What’s up with you?” Lash asked, turning his attention back to Angel. Mikey was keeping an eye on her and always did when she was working the bar.

  “I’m good, man. I just got my dick sucked, and the bitch swallowed. No mess and I can walk away. I love women who don’t want forever. That shit is always a drag.” Nash folded his arms looking proud.

  Where his brother wasn’t looking for commitment, Lash was staring at commitment across the bar. He turned his attention back to his woman. Angel was completely out of place in The Skulls bar. She would be out of place as his old lady, too, but she was the woman he wanted and intended to keep. Angel’s long chestnut brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, but the locks looked silken as they glistened in the light. He’d not had the pleasure of touching her hair or her body, but he would. Lash wasn’t going to let that opportunity pass. Her body was also out of place in the bar. She was the only real woman with large tits, thick hips and thighs, and a small waist. Most of the women were slim with fake breasts or nothing in that department to rave about. Looking at Angel had Lash’s cock thicken with renewed need. He wasn’t a small man at all. Being over six feet tall with plenty of muscle he needed a woman to be able to take him.

  The women he’d fucked at the club would often complain about his strength, and he’d seen the bruises he’d left behind because of the pounding he’d given them. He needed a woman who could take his strength, and Angel looked like the woman to be able to do that. Not only was her body calling to him, but her innocence surrounded her. She was the only woman in the club who hadn’t fucked a member, and he liked that.

  Lash wasn’t any kind of man to talk about innocence. He’d been a member of the Skulls since he was a Prospect, and after two years of showing his loyalty he’d become a full member. He was the muscle and worked out hard to keep in shape to protect their group. The Skulls protected their town and made sure nothing bad went down. If it did, the problem landed on him.

  In all that time he’d fucked plenty of women, and he’d been with a couple who were now old ladies to some of the guys. No, he wasn’t going to have a woman by his side that’d been with the rest of the club. It was not going to happen. He was a selfish, possessive type, and he accepted that.

  “Kate’s good for her blows.” Lash didn’t tear his gaze away from Angel. She was sucking on her straw with her eyes closed. He wondered what she was thinking about. The club was dying down for the night, and it was only a matter of time before Mikey sent her to her room. The room that was next to his, and he listened to her at night as she moved around. He thought about crossing the distance and staking his claim. Each time he moved toward that door, he found himself hesitating.

  The last thing he wanted was for her to look at him with disgust or with fear. Angel had been protected from The Skulls for a long time. Her father, David, was the only reason she was here now. The bastard had spent all of her mother’s money gambling and through bad investments. Taking the loan was the best and worst decision David had ever made. Bad for her father but good for Lash as it gave him what he needed, Angel close.

  He’d spoken to Tiny and the rest of the club members about what he wanted. They were fine, and even Tiny was okay with it even though they didn’t think Angel could hack it being in the Club. This was who he was, and nothing would ever change that.

  “All you do is stand and watch her. You’ve not taken a woman in over a year. You must be begging to let off some steam. Go and take her already. Tiny is going to start getting angry. She’s been at the club for a long time, and you’ve not made a play for her. He’s not going to curb the guys’ behaviour for much longer, Lash.”

  Tiny was the club leader, and at Lash’s request he’d made sure no parties were out of control.

  Looking back over his request to the club Lash knew he’d asked for so much. The Club was his family. Tiny had taken him and his brother under his wing when their family died in a turf war with another Club. Tiny raised them from the time they were boys all the way until now. He’d been the man to give them the names, Lash and Nash, stupid names but way better than the ones on their birth certificate. They both earned their right to be in The Skulls, but Tiny’s patience would only go so far.

  “She’s different.”

  “Yeah, she’s a virgin and a civilian. Of course she’s different.” Nash let out a frustrated sigh. “You’ll never find her giving club members a blow job or a free ride. She’s a good girl. You always said you wanted a good girl. She’s right there, under your nose, and you’re not doing anything about it.”

  Lash couldn’t argue with his brother.

  “I’m going to find a piece of ass for the night. Good luck with whatever you’ve got planned.”

  Nash walked away without another word.

  Looking over at the woman he’d claimed for his own, Lash watched as she stood up and moved to wash the glass up and toss the straw in the trash.

  She was way out of his league but the only woman he wanted. He was Lash, the muscle and a member of The Skulls.

  Watching her was out of the question. The only thing he wanted in life was standing right in front of him. He wasn’t going to let any more time pass. Angel was his for the taking.

  Chapter Two

  Angel rinsed out her glass and felt a presence behind her seconds before a hand reached around to turn off the tap. She didn’t recognise the arm, but it was covered in tattoos. There was a snake wrapped around a sword down the arm. Angel noticed several of the members held the same kind of tattoo. She paused, waiting for the man to say whatever he wanted to say or to leave.

  He did neither. The man stood behind her, close enough that his breath brushed along the nape of her neck, without speaking.

  The hand left the tap and travelled up her arm. The pads of his fingers felt like a caress over her skin. She didn’t know what to do and stood still. None o
f the men touched her, but this man was touching her and the simple caress of his fingers was igniting a path of fire along her arm.

  Her nipples tightened, and heat swamped her pussy. She’d never felt anything like it. The pleasure was immense, and in that moment she didn’t want it to stop.

  From the simple touch Angel forgot about where she was. She forgot about the fact she was a virgin and her life was owned by a rough, bike riding club. Never in all of her nineteen years had she felt anything so pleasurable, and all the man was doing was caressing her arm.

  “You shouldn’t be washing the dishes,” he said, whispering against her ear.

  Closing her eyes, Angel willed for herself to gain control of the situation. Whoever the man was behind her, he was tall, and his body made her feel small.

  “It’s my job. I have to clean after everyone.”

  “No, you don’t. You clean the tables to keep yourself busy. Tiny gave you the job to keep you occupied.” The man’s hand left her arm and settled on her waist. He rubbed against her ass, and she wasn’t stupid. She did well in school, and knew he was rubbing his very erect cock against her ass.

  Angel couldn’t help her response. She tensed. No man had ever come near her in such a blatant, possessive way. Nor had she ever felt so desired in her life. His hand left her waist and moved to her stomach, which was rounded.

  “Sh, don’t be scared, baby. I’m never going to hurt you.”

  “Lash?” Mikey interrupted the moment. Pulling out of Lash’s arms she turned to see the large man was in fact behind her.

  She knew who he was and had seen him around Fort Wills plenty of times. He was the muscle of The Skulls, and he was downright sexy even with the scar down the left side of his face.