Reign (Skulls Renegade #1) Read online

  Reed flew out of the bathroom doorway, pinning me down on the bed. “Come shower with me,” he growled. He nuzzled his head into my neck, biting softly.

  “Are you trying to tell me I stink?” I had to make the guy work for it occasionally, right?

  He removed his mouth from my neck, coming right on my face, and he stared me right in my eyes. “No. You smell lovely. Like vanilla and orgasms.” I tried not to burst out laughing at his assessment. It was kind of cute for a macho MC prez.

  “Vanilla and orgasms? That must be nice.”

  “You have no idea.” He growled again, sounding like a wolf about to attack prey. He pressed his lips down onto mine. He slid his arms under my thighs, repositioning himself, so his hands were cupping my ass. He lifted me into the air, walking us towards the bathroom. While his dominance was admittedly sexy, I had my anxieties.

  “Wait!” I screeched, Reed’s seen me naked plenty of times, but not under completely fluorescent lighting.

  “What’s going on?” Reed asked, his gaze was concerning.

  “I have scars,” I blurted it out without thinking about it. It was probably my biggest insecurity and my biggest reminder about the past I was always running from. “I don’t think you’ve been able to see them, but you will.”

  “I don’t care about scars.” He said he didn’t, but he would. Once he saw them, he would have to ask me about it.

  Reed slid me onto the ground once I was steady, he yanked off my top. “Where are they?”

  “My back” I whispered, not even knowing why I felt the need to do so. I’m not particularly ashamed of my past. My past made me who I am. I’m proud of the woman that I am today. I just hate that I had to go through it.

  Reed took hold of my shoulders and turned me around, his hand traced along the scar between my shoulder blades. It went all the way down to the bottom of my back.

  And that was just the first one.

  He found the others, they were a bit smaller, but he did the same thing. Tracing his fingers down the length of them. I had small scars on my inner arm, but nothing like the ones on my back. Reed surprised me, kissing all my scars.

  He turned me back around, his hand going to my jaw. His eyes weren’t open; he breathed through his nostrils. Finally, when he opened them, I saw the water in his eyes. “Reed.” I grazed my hand over his jaw; he was hurt by this. “It’s okay, I’m fine,” I told him, I would reassure him until he believed me.

  I am okay. I am fine.

  It took me years to admit that to myself. After someone who is supposed to love you does something like that? Literally, stabs you in the back? It took me a long time to be okay.

  “Who did that to you?” He growled it out, his arms pulling me close, he held me against him.

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s in my past, and I’m over it.” It was a mantra that ran through my head every day. I also repeated it to Rich, though his concern had been quite different than Reed’s.

  “Elena, you fucking tell me who did that to you.” I yanked away from Reed.

  “It doesn’t matter because if I ever see him again, I will kill him.” It was a promise. The one I intend on keeping. “I’m serious Reed.”

  I took a breath, gathering my thoughts. Thinking of what I wanted to tell Reed as his…what was I? His girlfriend? And then there’s what I could tell him, as an active agent for the FBI.

  Screw the FBI. I hadn’t held a promise to them in the whole time I’d been on the assignment anyway.

  “That’s what this tattoo means.” Reed pointed to the tattoo on my hip bone. It read ‘Forget what hurt you, but never forget what it taught you.'

  I nodded, walking into the bathroom into scorching heat. “Are you coming Buttercup?” I yelled over the strong sounds of the jets, and he popped in behind me.

  “I hate when you call me that.”

  “Lies!” I laughed as he scooped me up into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his torso. His cock was at the entrance of my heated center. “I love where this is going.”

  He smiled, thrusting into me completely, filling me up. “I thought you would.”

  I gripped his shoulders as he slammed into me; it wasn’t a nice, love making. It was down, dirty fucking; one thing Reed and I were great at. Any sort of sex with Reed was great, but this was heaven.

  I felt myself getting close, so I gripped Reed’s shoulders, digging my nails into his back. “You’re so sexy when you claw at me,” Reed grumbled, biting the bottom of my neck. He pulled out, slamming into me again and again.

  “Oh my god – Oh – Reed, -yes – Oh,” I screamed, my orgasm shooting through me like electricity. Reed released too, slowing his thrusts. He held me in his arms as the aftershocks came to a halt. He slid out of me, helping me stand. “Can you walk after that?” he joked.

  “Of course, you’re not a sex god.” I wasn’t sure if I meant that or not.

  “Wanna bet?” He scooped me back into his arms, picking back up where we’d just left off.

  Chapter 4

  Elena

  It’s been another three weeks, and I’ve figured out I’m smitten for Reed Michaels.

  I’m really freaking smitten for him.

  I told myself, I’d never, ever, get back into the MC lifestyle, but I could be wrong. I could get back into it for Reed.

  I was an MC baby, the daughter of a Prez. I left Austin, leaving behind my past, leaving behind my MC princess title. Princess, ha, more like a captive.

  I hadn’t been happier to leave that lifestyle behind. It caused me so much pain, and still to this day does. The scars on my back remind me every day.

  “What are you in deep thought about?” Jenna asked, coming into Reed’s room, which was, in turn, my room, at that point.

  “How’d you know?” I scoffed.

  “Woman’s intuition baby, you’d better be thinking about what you’re gonna wear,” Jenna chided.

  “Wear for what?” I questioned, cocking my head at her in confusion.

  “Um, we have another club coming here tonight. We’re gonna party. The boys do some business, it’s great!” Jenna went through Reed’s closet, which I’d basically made my own, she pulled out a few things. “You look hot as fuck in everything, damn you!”

  Jenna yanked up a black leather mini skirt and a form-fitting olive tank. “You just like to see me in leather,” I teased, raising my eyebrows at her suggestively.

  “Doesn’t everyone?” Jenna pulled out another one of my outfits, keeping it in her hands. “I’m just gonna borrow this one.” She wrinkled her nose in the cute way she sometimes did, her signature move, and wiggled her way out of the room without another word.

  ***

  The party came into full effect, and I sat on the bar top with Jenna and Daisy. Michelle was working at Bubba’s tonight, which meant she missed the party, which sucked for her I guessed. But I was glad it meant Daisy was there with me. Secretly, she was my favorite. “How much do you like him?” Daisy said, elbowing me in the side. Reed was sitting on the couch across the room. He looked up to me for a second and smiled. I knew who she was talking about. Daisy always had a way of prying, but then again, it helped me sort out my thoughts in a way I couldn’t do on my own.

  “Too much. Way too fucking much.” I really liked Reed. I mean…. really liked him. He just got me, and we just fit together. It wasn’t forced, it was just…us. “I thought I would get a good fuck out of my system and be done with it. But there’s no getting Reed out of my system.” I smiled at the last bit.

  “You’re so stinkin’ adorable!” Daisy smacked me on the ass, making me hop off the bar.

  “Oh, my god, Dais!” I yelled. A loud round of laughter came in from behind me.

  The door to the front of the clubhouse creaked open, “I’ll be damned Reed you’ve kept this place the same way your Pop did.”

  I knew that voice.

  I knew it too well.

  I wanted to freeze. I wanted to yell, or scream, or maybe even both
. I wanted to duck and hide and beg Reed to protect me from him.

  Instead, I didn’t do a thing. I just stared at Jenna and Daisy. I then quickly scanned the bar area for anything I could use as a weapon.

  “Ugh, this guy is such a fucking tool,” Daisy groaned, “I’m all about making the men happy, but not this one. No way, Jose.”

  I listened in on Reed’s conversation with him. “Heard you’ve been with a girl lately, never thought I’d see the day.” I heard Reed laugh with him, but Reed’s voice was quiet compared to his. “Is she here? Love to meet the woman who settled you down.”

  Oh god, no.

  “El’ are you okay?” Jenna whispered. I shook my head because I was so not. There was no point in hiding it because everyone was about to know who I was.

  Escaping Texas didn’t do me much good. anymore

  My memories came flooding back to me, being fourteen, Mom trying to get us out of there before he came back. We’d almost made it out, almost. He saw us going out the front door. I remembered the look on his face. He was going to kill me. Until she stepped in, he killed her instead. He cut me up that night. All those scars are because of him.

  I ran away, made a new life and went to Quantico to hurt people like him.

  The fucking devil.

  I’ve avoided seeing my father for ten years. Ten entire years of peace. I knew this day would come, and I was more than capable of doing what I promised.

  I didn’t have my Glock on me. All the members of the club had theirs except the women. I didn’t even bring my certified piece, but that would have blown my cover. If I even had a cover at this point.

  “Firecracker, is that you?” I forgot there was a god damned mirror in front of the bar. He could see my image clear as day. I turned around, facing the beast, the monster that created me. Everyone in the room turned their direction to me. Jimmy Jacobson moved towards me. I looked for a gun, one I could reach, I didn’t find it.

  Seamus came up to the left of me, and then Max came on my other side. I’d never been more thankful for some backup. Did I look as terrified as I felt? Or did Reed send them both a silent signal?

  “Shit! It is you. Been a long time sweet cheeks.” My father clapped his hands together. The sound was sickening and instantly set my blood boiling. Was he really going to stand there and play nice?

  “Not long enough,” I growled back, and Reed’s eyes were glued to mine. He was watching my reaction. He did send his guys over to me. Thank god, this man knew me so well even after this brief time that he could tell something was wrong.

  He turned around the room. “Do any of you have an idea who she is?!” He grinned from ear to ear. “I’ll take that as a no. Elena is my daughter.” Gasps filled the room, “My prestigious daughter. She is the heiress to the Vipers MC. How funny is it that she abandons the lifestyle, and now she’s here?”

  He reminded me of Neagan from The Walking Dead. He was just as nasty. He looked to Reed. “So, my whore of a daughter is the one who locked you down?” He laughed, and Reed tightened his jaw in response. Jimmy redirected his attention back to me, taking a couple steps towards me.

  “Come at me. I fucking dare you.”

  “Really now?” Jimmy challenged me, taking a step towards me. I didn’t think; I took Seamus’ Glock out of the holster, turned the safety off and shot him in both kneecaps with exact precision. He fell to the floor, and the motherfucker laughed.

  I flipped the safety back on, handing it to Seamus. “Sorry, but not really.” Seamus nodded at me. Reed continued to stare at me, almost in disbelief. I didn’t regret what I did. They would believe what they wanted to, but this was personal.

  I walked up to my father, “I promised you I’d end this, and I will, but not yet. I want you to suffer just like we did. I want to watch the life go out of your eyes, you sick fuck.” I walked out the front of the clubhouse, feeling the stare of everyone on my back.

  Once that cool Tennessee air hit me, I felt like I could finally breathe. I stood next to one of the posts, gripping my hand around it. If the wind blew in the wrong direction, I knew I would fall over.

  I’d expected some sort of reunion with my father. Part of me craved the day I would see him, the day I could repay all the pain that he caused my mother and me. What I didn’t expect, was to be caught off guard by him.

  “Elena.” Reed's voice was stern, but I didn’t even look back. Tears were sliding down my face. It wasn’t because I was guilty, or sad, or even angry. I was terrified.

  I was terrified that I was going to lose Reed.

  He stood behind me for a moment; he put his hand on my shoulder, I jumped at the contact. “S-sorry.”

  He came around the front of me, cupping my face. He wiped the tears away, just letting me silently cry. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.” And he did. He had me.

  “Prez, what we doin’ with him?” Someone asked Reed, and he mumbled something about being back inside in a bit. He kept me close to him, gently caressing me. “Your father gave you the scars.” It was a statement, and true.

  “Yes.”

  I walked out of his grip since I was going to tell him everything, I needed to do it on my own. I couldn’t have him comforting me through it. “My father had always beat my mother and I, the first time I remembered it, I was…four I think? When I was fourteen, we’d planned to leave. We had two duffle bags packed, and we were leaving that night. We timed it. He normally came home around ten. If anyone had seen us leave early, they would’ve told him. So, we waited, we waited until the Prospect who watched our house left. Only, we didn’t know he would come home early that night. He caught us, he dragged me across the kitchen and marked me.”

  I took in a breath, the tears came down my face, and I looked right into Reed’s eyes. “My mom, she pleaded with him for it to be her, to not kill me. I thought I was going to die that night, and when she…I knew he would kill her. He wasn’t just going to mark her, or punish her, or do whatever else the twisted fuck thought he could do. She knew she was going to die. She kept telling me ‘It will be okay, stay strong, you can do this El’”

  “He brought out a baseball bat from the garage, tied her up to a chair in our kitchen and beat her to death. He made me watch.” I felt sick talking about it. “I trained, and trained so I could put men like him in one place, the ground.” He didn’t ask me about my marksmanship, but he would. It would come up, and I knew that much. Not many can make shots like that.

  One of my father’s men came out. It was Dmitri, his VP.

  “Boss, what do you want us to do with him?” Reed looked to Dmitri and began to speak.

  “Not you – her.”

  “I guess you just inherited an MC,” Reed said, and Dmitri nodded in confirmation. “I’ve looked for you, young blood. It’s time we have the change that we need.”

  “Dmitri, I can’t…” I’d known Dmitri since I was a child. He had been at my father’s side for as long as I could remember. When he interrupted me, I wasn’t surprised. He said whatever the hell he wants to.

  “Elena, you can and you will. Without you, we don’t have a club. He’s done fucked up things. More fucked up than good, but we have people depending on us. We have Old Ladies and kids. We can’t just stop.”

  I chewed on his words for a moment, knowing he was right. As much as I had always wanted to walk away and be done with it, my actions had just committed me to a whole new slew of outlaws that needed my protection as much as the ones I have grown to love over the last few weeks. But if I was going to be Prez of the sinister MC group my devil of a father had run for so many years, it was going to be on my fucking terms.

  “One condition, everything illegal stops. Everything, Dmitri.”

  He nodded, “I’ll get started on it.”

  Things just got more complicated. I was working with the FBI, and now I had an MC all my own. A soap opera writer couldn’t come up with this shit.

  It was going to make me just as much of a target as Reed. I n
eeded to figure something out fast; it was only going to get more and more complicated.

  I needed to talk to Kris, as soon as possible.

  Chapter 5

  Elena

  I woke up in Reed’s arms; he was still in bed. Normally, he would be up at the crack of dawn. I knew last night took a toll on both of us.

  I reached over the side of the bed, pulling out my burner phone, knowing there was no better moment than the present to start working things out with the FBI. The sooner things were sorted out, the safer myself and everyone I cared for would be.

  To: Kris

  I need to see you ASAP. When can you get here?

  Not even a minute later, she texted me back.

  From: Kris

  6 hrs. Where?

  To: Kris

  Bubbas, call me when you’re close.

  Reed rolled over, pulling me back against him. “Turn the damn phone off, babe.” I turned around to face him, brushing my hand across his face. I loved touching his face. I loved waking up with him in bed. I loved him. I hadn’t told him that yet, though.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” he asked, reading me once again. He had become an expert at that one.

  “Nothing.” I tried to play it off, but I doubted he bought it.

  He laughed at me, opening his eyes. “I can sense when you’re doing the squishy face, and you were squishy facing it.”

  “You know me so well,” I said. I sat up on the bed, Indian style. He did know me, but he didn’t. I didn’t alter my cover story when I came here. Everything I’d ever said to him had been the truth. Minus the fact that I worked for the FBI.

  Yeah, minus that.

  “I do, and don’t you forget it.” He slapped my ass. “Ouch!” I yelled, but he just smiled at me, that devilish smile that I’d come to adore. Reed shot up, pulling me onto his lap. He slid his hand underneath my shorts, rubbing the reddened flesh. With his other hand, he went under the pathetic excuse of a shirt I had on. It had so many holes in it; it could count as lingerie from Victoria’s Secret. He stopped at my breast, rubbing his thumb over my erect nipple. Reed put his mouth over the other, sucking me into his mouth.