Butch Read online

“I can get that covered. I know the owner, and I’ve already had a word. We can be gone in ten minutes.” Eva pulled out the keys to the shop. “I wouldn’t pull you away. You’re also getting paid for being away. Come on, I think it’ll be fun. Just us girls, no men, pampering each other with nothing to worry about.”

  Eva waved the keys in front of her like a lifeline. A day of simply being a woman was too hard to resist.

  “Can I go and talk to Butch? I mean, yeah, I’d love to go with you, but I’d like to see Butch first.”

  “We’re not going to kill you or hurt you, but yeah. Go and talk to him, and I’ll be the one to lock everything up.”

  Wiping her hands down her thighs, she passed Eva, thankful the other woman didn’t mutter or laugh.

  Entering the café she nodded toward the owner then made her way in the back. Cheryl found Butch standing at a sink, washing plates and cups. Seeing how large he was with all of his ink on display she knew this was not the right place for him. He stood out like a sore thumb. There was no happiness in the work he was doing. She didn’t want him doing stuff he hated. The club made him a lot happier even if there were a lot more dangers around.

  “Hey,” she said, letting him know he wasn’t alone.

  He turned to face her.

  “Baby, I wasn’t expecting to see you ‘til lunch.”

  Wringing her hands together, she stepped up close. “Eva stopped by.”

  Butch tensed at the mention of the other woman’s name. “Do I want to know why she stopped by?” he asked.

  “She and all the girls are planning a pampering spa day. If you don’t want me to go let me know and I’ll go and cancel.”

  “You’re excited about going?” He folded his arms, staring at her.

  Cheryl smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never been to a spa before or been pampered. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

  “Men come in and give you a massage.” He reached out, wrapping an arm around her waist, and tugged her close. She gasped, falling against him.

  “Really? I’ll get my body rubbed and caressed by an experienced guy?” she asked, teasing.

  “Don’t test me, baby. I’ve got no problems with you going, but I do have an issue with you getting mauled by any guy with a dick. You need to know who you belong to.”

  His concern thrilled her.

  “If I promise not to get a massage by a strange man will you make it up to me?”

  “Baby, I’ll give you a massage of the erotic kind that will have you begging for more and I’ll give them to you on a regular basis. I won’t even ask for money for the service. I’ll do it for free.” His hand glided down her back to grab her ass. Butch drew her up close against him.

  She felt the hard ridge of his cock against her stomach. He was long, thick, and he turned her on.

  “Butch,” she said, moaning.

  “Fuck, Cheryl. I can’t think when you make those sweet sounds.”

  Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his chest, loving the feel of his arms being wrapped around her.

  “I don’t want to move,” she said.

  “Do we have a deal?”

  “Yeah, we’ve got a deal.”

  “Get your mom to take Matthew for the night.” Butch pulled out his cell phone, handing it to her. “I want you to myself so I can make you scream and beg for my cock.”

  She glanced around the back room expecting to see people watching her.

  “No one would dare look your way. I wouldn’t embarrass you.”

  Typing in the number, she made the necessary arrangements for her son to stay over with his grandma. When she was done, she handed the phone back to him. “She’ll look after him.”

  “She’s still not my biggest fan?”

  Cheryl shrugged. “My mom doesn’t like me very much at the moment. She thinks I should be with Alex seeing as he’s the father. I don’t want to be involved with him. He gave up that right three years ago.”

  He stroked her cheek. “Go and pamper yourself. Stay at the spa and I’ll wait for you when I’m done.”

  “If you don’t want me to go, I won’t.”

  “I want you to go and have some fun.” He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers. Her body heated up at the feel of him.

  “I’ll see you soon.” Turning away from him, Cheryl made her way toward the front of the café. Eva stood waiting for her.

  “Is he okay with everything?” Eva asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve been ordered to have fun.”

  “Great. I’ve just got a call that Kelsey is joining us as well.” Eva reached out, taking her hand. “I want you to relax. None of us are going to be bitchy. Well, Tate will be a bitch, but it’s in her nature. Prue will put her in her place. She’s my stepdaughter, so I can’t really do anything nasty to her.”

  “No problem.” They walked across the street and along the path toward the corner spa. She’d passed it many times while running errands, but she’d never gotten a chance to be inside one.

  “So, you and Butch are a couple?” Eva asked.

  “I think we’re a couple. I want us to be a couple, but it’s complicated with Alex’s involvement.”

  “All of us were shocked to hear about Alex and you. How’s Matthew doing?”

  Pulling her hand away from the other woman, Cheryl smiled. “He’s doing okay. Does Alex want to be involved? I’ve not really spoken to him. I don’t know if I want to.”

  “He’s an asshole with the way he’s dealt with this crap. He’ll pull through. Alex is many things but not a loser.”

  “It was a mistake on my part at least. I couldn’t deal with him. I mean, we were together, and then he was gone.”

  “Like I said, this is the first time I know he’s been a complete asshole, but I can’t stay mad at him. He’s part of the club, and I know he’ll make up for what he’s done. You should give him a chance, not as a boyfriend or anything, but as a father to Matthew. He’s great with kids.” Eva opened the door to the spa, giving her some space to enter.

  The main reception was quiet. A slender redhead was working the front desk. She left Eva to book them in. Cheryl stayed silent feeling out of place and lost. Her life hadn’t been adventurous in the last three years. In fact, she’d not even had the time to take a long relaxing soak in the bath.

  “Come on, let’s go and have some fun. We’ve all got a room, so be prepared for a lot of exposure. I wish you could meet Angel. She’s the sweetest one in the group, never says a bad word to anyone, but she’s away for a long time. She deserves it, too. We all adore her.”

  Eva led the way toward the back. They passed several women in different states of undress along with men. “This is a spa and a gym. You can have your pick of it all.”

  “It’s a large place.”

  “Don’t worry. The girls wanted to meet you.”

  The other woman opened the door at a long corridor.

  “Step the fuck back, Tate. I mean it. You start bitching and I’m going to shut you up.” One of the women in the room was yelling at another one. They stood in the center, one red head and another dyed black.

  “Zero’s not here to help you out, bitch.”

  “I’ve never needed a man to fight my battles. I can take your ass down, and I don’t need a fucking excuse to do it.”

  Cheryl tensed at the fight about to happen.

  “Tate, back down.”

  “Kelsey, stay out of it.”

  “Ladies, we’ve got company,” Eva said, raising her voice to be heard over the noise.

  All the women turned to look at her.

  “Okay, the two arguing are Prue and Tate. Prue is married to Zero. Tate is with Murphy. Then we’ve got Rose. She’s with Hardy. There is Sophia, and her man is Nash.”

  She met all of the women and knew the men’s names as well. They all smiled toward her.

  “This is the bitch who took Butch away?” Tate asked, growling.

  “Back the fuck off. Butch made his own choice,” P
rue said. “It’s not her fault he’s being a dick.”

  The two women glared at each other before turning their gazes to her. Cheryl didn’t have a clue what to do or to say.

  “She’s not responsible for Butch making his choice. I think it will be good for all of us to be nice,” Eva said.

  “It’s great to meet you. I can already sense that you’re going to be best friends with Angel when she gets back,” Kelsey said.

  Smiling, Cheryl followed Eva’s lead. Today suddenly didn’t seem half as much fun as she anticipated.

  ****

  Butch sat in the waiting room of the spa. He’d been finished work for over an hour, and Cheryl still wasn’t finished. Killer, Nash, Murphy, Zero, Hardy, and Stink had arrived. They were waiting as well. All of them had tried to pull him into a conversation, but he didn’t want to talk. After Whizz’s insightful chat, the last thing he wanted to do was start talking about the club. Whizz had a point in his argument, and Butch saw no reason to fight it.

  He’d abandoned the club. Butch was sure a lot of the guys thought that way, and he didn’t need to hear any more about it.

  “Devil and the crew have gone back home. They’ve got a shipment of girls to transport back to Piston County,” Nash said.

  “I don’t want to hear it,” Butch said, picking up a women’s magazine. There were multiple pictures of celebrities in different states of undress. He didn’t have the first clue as to why women were always happy to compare their body shapes.

  No one saw men pulling out their cocks and measuring them against another man’s size. If a guy ever did that to him, he’d cut the guy’s junk clean off.

  “You’re really going to cut us out like this?” Murphy asked. “After everything we’ve been through, you’re just going to stop caring.”

  “I’m never going to stop caring. I love you guys like fucking brothers. I just can’t do it. I can’t take my woman and allow danger to come her way. I can’t do it. I won’t.”

  “Do you think we’re happy putting our women in danger? It kills us knowing they’re going to be hurting. We don’t get off on it. This is what we all agreed to when we entered the club. You’re changing the rules,” Killer said.

  “I’m not changing anything. I backed out.”

  “Then get your ink removed, or we’ll remove it for you. I’m done asking you back,” Hardy said. “A brother who can walk away because he’s scared is no fucking brother of mine. I’ve got a woman and a club to protect.”

  The far door opened. As Butch turned in the direction of the laughing females, his heart tightened. Cheryl was laughing along with all of them. Her arms were linked through Eva’s and Rose’s. The three women were giggling about something.

  “Baby,” Rose said, running toward Hardy.

  He watched the couple embrace. Rose wrapped her legs around her man as she kissed him. All of the women moved toward their men with love in their eyes. Cheryl walked up to him, smiling.

  “I don’t know if I’m allowed to kiss you in front of them,” she said.

  Her sweetness hit him in the gut. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her in close. “You can do whatever the hell you want with me. I’m yours just like you’re mine.”

  She circled her arms around his neck. “I had fun today.”

  “I can tell.”

  He’d never seen her smile be so bright.

  “You’ve got really nice friends. I think they’re awesome.”

  Butch chuckled. The rest of the world fell away as he held her in his arms. “I missed you today.” Running his hands down her back, he cupped her ass. The full flesh filled his arms. He loved her softness and the way she melted against him. Inhaling her scent, Butch calmed down. He’d been growing angrier the more he talked to his friends. With Cheryl in his arms, leaving The Skulls was worth it.

  Was it, really?

  Doubts assailed him at his decision to leave the club. Shit was happening, shit he didn’t know about. Devil and Tiny were about to fight another force against both clubs, and he was scared about Cheryl.

  “I missed you, too.” She looked up at him. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get out of here. I want to enjoy our evening together. I don’t want to waste a moment of it.” He took her hand leading her out.

  “Cheryl, call me if you ever need to,” Eva said.

  “Me, too, Cheryl. It’s lovely to meet you. I look forward to hearing more about Matthew.”

  Each of the women called after her, smiling and laughing.

  Gritting his teeth, he kept walking outside not caring what they thought of him taking her away from it all.

  “Butch, are you angry with me?” she asked.

  By his bike, he handed her a helmet. “They’re trying to lure me back to the club,” he said. “They’re using you to do it.”

  “No, we’re not,” Eva said, exiting the spa. Tiny pulled up in a car. He saw their two children strapped into the back.

  “Hey, baby, did you have fun?” Tiny asked, climbing out.

  “I had a lot of fun until this fucking jerk just pissed me off.” Eva crossed her arms, looking ready to do murder.

  The whole of the club was glaring at him. The women were looking at him with murderous rage.

  “What the fuck is going on now?” Tiny asked.

  “I invited Cheryl for a girls’ day at the spa. She loved it, and now he’s acting like we were trying to lure him back to the club through his woman.” Eva shot a glare at him.

  Tiny wrapped his arms around Eva. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not okay. Look at her. She’s so sad by what he said.” She pushed Tiny away from him. “You know what, Butch? You’re an asshole. Cheryl, honey, I came to see you because I wanted to get to know you. We’re not a bad lot of people, no matter what people think.” She glared at Butch. “Today had nothing to do with you. You’re the one who left the club. She’s got a son with another member, so stay the fuck away from it all. In fact, she’s got more right than you, so stay the hell away.”

  He watched Eva storm to the car. Her face turned into a smile when she saw her children. Butch felt like an ass, the shame clawing at him as the other members left. The humiliation was deep.

  “Are you going to take me home?” Cheryl asked.

  Crap, what the fuck was he doing? She didn’t deserve his anger or anything else he had to say to her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Why did you leave the club?” she asked.

  Looking down at the ground he shook his head. “This conversation needs to take place in private.”

  He straddled the bike then waited for her to climb on behind him.

  You’re a fucking bastard for what you just did.

  Feeling selfish and stupid, he turned the ignition on. Once her arms were tight around his waist, he made his way toward her home. The sun was setting. She headed inside her home as he put the bike away. There was a time when he’d spend hours cleaning his machine after riding on it. Since meeting Cheryl, he didn’t find the time to simply clean a machine that got him from one place to another. He preferred to spend time with her.

  Locking the door behind him, he heard her in the kitchen. She was banging pans and cups as she worked around the small room. He really needed to find them a bigger place to live.

  “What was that outside the spa? If you had a problem with me getting to know them you should have told me,” she said, turning on him with hands on her hips. She looked so fucking sexy when she was angry.

  “I don’t have a problem with you hanging out with them. I overreacted, and I shouldn’t. I’m an asshole.”

  “Yeah, you’re an asshole. We’re all getting the fact you’re an asshole.” She started to laugh. “What do you want from me?”

  “Nothing. I just want you, Cheryl.” He reached out, taking her hands.

  “You’re confusing me.”

  “I left the club because I didn’t want you hurt,” he said. It was tim
e for her to know the truth. “Angel, the woman everyone keeps mentioning, she’s on vacation in Italy. A much needed vacation. She’s been through so much in the last couple of years.” He stopped, gritting his teeth. The truth needed to come out. “Angel has lost a baby, and it almost drove her mad. She’s been hurt, beaten up, and shot because we’ve all got enemies. This is what she’s been through. Tate, Kelsey, all of them have been through their fair share of fucking pain. I did not want to bring that to you.”

  Her eyes were wide. “What?”

  “The Skulls is dangerous. We’re a club that takes care of the town, but it all comes with risks. We’ve had members die because of it. Women get hurt. I don’t want you to get hurt or Matthew.”

  “You quit the club before we were even a couple,” she said.

  “I knew what I wanted. The only way I could take a chance with you and Matthew was to be free of the danger.” He cupped her face.

  “You shouldn’t have left the club.”

  “I’m not going back.”

  She pulled away from him, folding her arms, shutting him out.

  “They’re your family, Butch.”

  “Not anymore. We’ve got our own family here. We can make this work for us.”

  Cheryl chuckled. “We can make this work with you washing dishes and me working at a florist? The Skulls always being there with no chance of ever leaving the town.”

  “It wouldn’t be like that.” The doubts reared their ugly heads.

  “How can you know that? You’re a Skull, Butch. A lot of people know who you are. How do you know you’re not a liability to Matthew and me?” She looked past his shoulder. “You can’t do this. You can’t quit the club because of me. This is not who you are.”

  “We can do this.”

  “No, we can’t! You’re not supposed to spend your fucking life in front of a kitchen sink, Butch. You look out of place in the café. In fact, you looked miserable. Staying inside a building, confined there for hours at a time is not suitable for you.”

  Butch tightened his fists. Staying in the café for hours at a time was driving him crazy. He’d been ready to hurt anyone who told him he couldn’t wash dishes when Cheryl turned up today. The moment he saw her it felt worth it.

  “I can do this.”