HIS SWEETNESS (WOUNDED SOULS Book 1)

by Leah Sharelle

  “Booth?” I called getting his attention. Looking up at me, he instantly masked his face. I held up my phone as I walked over to the table and plugged my phone into a wireless speaker.

  “Darth, you’re on.”

  “Pres, been talking to Commando Company in Sydney. Some weird shit has been going on with the rest of our guys still serving over there.” By over there, we knew he meant Afghanistan.

  “Lucky?” One of our club prospects, Lucky, was still an active member of a paratrooper team for the army.

  “What they could tell me makes no sense. Only Lucky was targeted, Pres. He is in Germany, recovering slowly from a gunshot wound. His fiancée and his mother are with him. I spoke with him this morning.” The last few words from Darth had an ominous feeling about them. I almost didn’t want to ask what Lucky had told him.

  “And?” Booth barked the word. Obviously, he was in no mood for Darth’s way of talking. Sometimes, you felt like you had to rip each word out of the big prick.

  “Said he thinks he was shot deliberately. Not insurgents or Taliban or ISIS. He says there was no way the shot came from outside the forward operating base and only one shot was taken. Hitting him, Pres. This feels like revenge.”

  I nodded my head in agreement. The more I thought about it, the more what Darth was saying made sense. The club’s businesses taking hits, sure, it was just stupid shit, but it was really fucking annoying and potentially damaging shit.

  But this was taking it to a new level. Being shot inside the FOB by the enemy was next to impossible. The security was spot on, and Lucky was experienced, so he would know where a shot had originated. We all would.

  “Lucky all good?” Booth asked concern for his former team member and club prospect at the forefront of his mind.

  “Well, he ain’t called Lucky for nothing. Bullet passed clean through his lower abdomen, taking out only his spleen. It will take him a few weeks to recover, and he says he is going straight back in.”

  Booth nodded, but I could see the worry on his face. His eyes had a faraway look in them as he glanced quickly at the monitors once more, then he pushed the button to black out the screen.

  Good call, Pres. You need to be here, not out in the main room with Stella.

  “Darth, head home. And be careful, brother. I don’t know who the fuck out there is after us, but I’m now convinced someone is.”

  I felt cold dread grip my chest. Someone was trying to hurt our club—or more than one someone. Or were they only after one or two of us? My mind was reeling with so many different scenarios, and I didn’t like any of them. Who was next? Darth riding home from Sydney? Squid and Seb out of town four hours away?

  “Heading that way now, Pres. Hey, Deck, brother, maybe this ain’t a good time for Charlotte to be driving on her own with the squirt. Yeah?” The underlying message of his words chilled me to the bone.

  Booth’s gaze snapped to mine. How had we not even considered our families might be targets, too? But targets of fucking what? Or who?

  “Fucking hell,” Booth’s cursed, his voice echoing around the room.

  “This needs to be figured out, brothers. Now, before this small shit that’s going on turns into something more serious and someone gets hurt.” Booth stopped talking, and I could see his torment, feel it even. If it was anything like mine, he had shit going around in his head. I had visions of Shiloh hurt or worse. And Charlie, fuck me, this needed sorted out.

  “Darth’s right. Deck, I will drop you off at the day care later on today, and you can drive the girls home. I don’t think the women are in danger, but let’s just be cautious for now.”

  I could see Booth had transformed himself back into our CO. His face was now passive, in control. And really, really pissed off.

  “All the women who aren’t needed for work tomorrow, I want them all here at the compound. Bar and Grill girls, Body and Souls, and any regular soul girls. Charlie, Shiloh, and Stella. Deck, you get onto Vegas and set some shit up to keep them busy tomorrow night.”

  “You got it, Pres.” Darth’s response was immediate, and then he hung up.

  Powering off my phone, I looked at Booth. “What’s on your mind, brother?”

  Booth looked like he was looking right through me. His eyes were almost black.

  Whatever is going through his mind, can’t be good.

  His hands on the table, Booth leaned down and dropped his head for a brief moment. When he looked back up at me, I could see more clarity in his stare.

  “Deck, get Creed. We are going for a ride tomorrow,” Booth said, and something told me this ride had one hell of a purpose.

  I took out my phone once again and searched my contacts for our road captain, then put in the call.

  I wasn’t sure what was going on, but Commando Team Five was about to do some recon.

  23

  CHARLOTTE

  If I could be anywhere right this very minute, it would not be here. The compound was void of men except for Squid, who was sitting over by the bar, looking incredibly uncomfortable and not too happy.

  Of course, I wasn’t too happy myself.

  Deck told me yesterday after he was dropped off at the day care school to drive Shiloh and myself home, that he and the other men had a ‘run’ planned for tonight, and Vegas had something planned for us as entertainment.

  I had a few problems with that.

  One, I had been looking forward to the end of the school day so I could sit in the driver’s seat of the big, black beast of a truck and drive it again.

  Two, tonight I had planned to take Shiloh to the recital hall to check things out.

  Both were vetoed. Without argument, apparently. Well, the way Deck got his way made my core clench with need. Again. But if he thought he could win everything by rendering me speechless with oral sex followed by effing me senseless until my bones turned to jelly—well, yeah, that would only work several dozen more times before I began to question his methods. And I was firm on that. No more than five or six dozen times.

  The giggling and cackling interrupted my daydreaming and brought me back to one of the worst possible moments of my life thus far. Shaking my head, I honestly believed being cut by a glass door while trying to flee a burning building was better than sitting here in a circle while dildos and vibrators and fluffy pink handcuffs were being passed around the group of women for a closer inspection.

  “Now, ladies, this is the most popular of the vibrators with a tickler. Pass it around, feel it, hold it firm. Try all the speed settings, and see how you like it. Then we can start with my new line of blow-up dolls—truck drivers with flannel shirts,” Tori, the loud and proud sex-party lady, announced as if she were telling us about a new cheesecake or something.

  “Are you fucking shitting me?” I heard from across the room and gave the poor prospect a sympathetic look as elicit giggles erupted from some of the girls. Not me. I felt the same way as Squid. I wasn’t a prude—well, not much of one, anyway. After all, it took me twenty-four years to lose my virginity, but this party would make a callgirl blush, I was sure of it.

  Although not a stripper and a housekeeper slash cook, no way. There in the middle of it all was Vegas, Rainn, and Stella, the beautiful pole dancer and the club’s amazing cleaner helping Tori, sex-party extraordinaire, blow up the male truck driver sex doll.

  The alcohol consumed throughout the night was obviously kicking in big time.

  “Should we stop them from drinking anymore, or, at least, take the doll man with the silly dick thing away from them?”

  I turned to face the woman beside me. As if she didn’t want to turn the attention to her, her question was posed in a hushed tone. Tori was gleeful in her quest to call the quiet ones in the group out. Thankfully, she left me alone so far, but I saw Rainn giving me a look, and I was afraid she was up to something.

  I wished I could disappear from here. Go to the room and join Shiloh sleeping. Sighing, I returned my attention back to the pretty woman beside me.<
br />
  “Hi, I’m Mia Stone. I work for the bar and grill.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mia. I’m Charlotte, Shiloh’s dance teacher and Deck’s girlfriend.”

  Mia’s eyes lit up. “How is Shiloh? I haven’t seen her for a few months.”

  I raised my eyebrows and looked at Mia. Surely, she wasn’t a soul girl, too. She didn’t look the type.

  Mia must have caught on to what I thought. Instantly, she shook her head. “I’m not a club girl if that’s what you are thinking.” She laughed as she denied my unasked question. “Deck has used me in the past as a babysitter for Shiloh,” Mia explained hastily.

  But it still stirred jealousy in me. Mia was absolutely gorgeous. Her long chocolate hair was halfway down her back, and her fringe cut in a choppy style and pushed back over her forehead. Her eyes were the most expressive deep golden-brown eyes I had ever seen, but there was something a little familiar about her. I couldn’t put my finger on why I thought I knew her.

  Suddenly, there was an explosion of laughter from the main circle of girls, startling both Mia and me. A blonde woman was sitting on the ‘lap’ of the male sex doll, gyrating and pretending to ride him.

  She looks rather vulgar, I thought to myself as I watched. I really needed to plan my escape. I wondered briefly if Deck and the others knew this was what Vegas had planned during their absence.

  “Oh, God, must she do that?” I heard Mia mumble as she, too, watched the display before us. Then, suddenly, a light went off in my brain. The woman gyrating on the sex doll was why Mia looked so familiar to me. It wasn’t Mia who was familiar, but the woman on the doll. Though Callie’s hair was blonde from a bottle and a lot longer, there was a definite resemblance between the two, except for the eyes. Mia’s were kind and welcoming, friendly. Callie’s had a calculating look to her, and I got the feeling she wasn’t too keen on her quiet sister.

  “Relative?” I asked Mia knowingly.

  Mia nodded her head and grimaced. “Sister,” she whispered, confirming what I’d just figured out. “The guys let me hang around because of Callie. Then one day, Steel offered me a job at the bar and grill.”

  I didn’t miss the way Mia said Steel’s name. Oh, Lord, I saw trouble brewing. I hadn’t missed how wrapped up Steel was in Callie over the last few weeks. She, however, didn’t appear to be as wrapped up in him, especially when I remembered, not long ago, Callie took off with one of the prospects.

  “Charlotte!” Someone shouted my name loudly. A very drunk Rainn was on the end of that shout.

  I knew this was coming. I had a feeling Vegas and Rainn had something planned after the night they had given me a tutorial of sorts on oral sex. My desperation to give Deck a blow job had just come back to bite me on my small and inadequate arse.

  I blew out a frustrated breath and accepted an apologetic look from Mia, whom I noticed was inching slowly away from me now. Coward.

  Rising to my feet, I reluctantly made my way towards the club’s number one strip dancer.

  I liked Rainn. Her interest in my past career in ballet led us to create some choreography together for one of her new routines. I’d even loaned her an outfit for it and was really looking forward to dancing it with her here in the club. The guys let some of the girls put a few poles off the main room for some fun. But the rule was Shiloh was not to see anything too sexy or inappropriate.

  Vegas looked a little uncomfortable. I noticed she looked at Squid for guidance, and even though he was shaking his head, Rainn was too far gone on the fruity cocktails she has been devouring all night to notice or even care.

  “Okay, being Deck’s girlfriend, you know how the big man uses his dick. So here, tonight, I want you to take this huge dildo and show us how far you can take it in your mouth,” Rainn shouted out for the whole room to hear.

  Oh, God, this was so humiliating. I saw that Rainn, in fact, did have an insanely massive dildo in her hand, and she was waving it around in my face. Seriously, what woman can take something that big without being torn in two? I couldn’t stop the silly thought from entering my mind.

  “Rainn, I think maybe we might give Charlotte the benefit of the doubt and just let her sit this one out.” Vegas tried to settle her, but Rainn wasn’t having it. The alcohol was driving her.

  Flapping the dildo around like a baton, she nearly fell over.

  “Rainn, I think you have had enough,” Squid barked from his seat over at the bar.

  “Phish posh, we all know how good Deck is with his cock, don’t we, ladies? Now it’s time for Charlotte here to tell us what we’ve already had.”

  I was stunned silent and still. What in the dickens did she just say? Rainn had slept with Deck? Who else? What about Vegas? I knew he wasn’t a choirboy and had a ton more experience than I had—after all, he had a daughter—but I honestly never even considered that these women had been with my man in any intimate way. I suddenly felt stupid. Humiliation like I had never experienced washed over my face. All eyes were on me. Vegas looked furious with Rainn, and Mia and Stella, who had stopped playing with Rainn, had much the same looks on their faces. Even the skanky Ingrid and Callie were somewhat surprised by how far Rainn was taking this. The tears were threatening to spill, but I tried hard to stop them. I was a grown woman and sensible enough to know a man like Deck at his age had a sexual past. But damn, my heart hurt from Rainn’s drunken admission.

  Suddenly, I saw Stella turn her head, and her low curse caught my ears. “Oh, shit, fuck, bugger.”

  In my peripheral vision, I caught a movement near the entrance of the main room. Looking over my shoulder, my gaze collided with the deep, dark blue eyes of my man. And he was not happy.

  Oh, bugger.

  “What in the ever-loving fuck, Rainn?”

  24

  DECK

  The scene before me had the makings of a fucking bad comedy movie. The women were sitting in a semicircle with most of them holding some kind of sex toy. Or, in Callie’s case, straddling a sex doll wearing a flannel shirt. All were drunk or close to it except for Mia and my woman.

  No, my woman had fucking tears in her eyes and looked embarrassed as fuck.

  “Rainn, want to explain what I just heard,” I demanded, my tone harsh. Harsher than I would normally use on a woman close to the club, but right now, I didn’t give a single fuck. I wanted to know why she would humiliate Charlie that way. I didn’t give a shit about me. Yeah, Rainn and I have been together a few times. Mannix knew about it and was cool with it. He hooked up with other women, too. Their relationship was not exclusive. Charlie’s and mine, however, was and what we did in the bedroom was private between Charlie and me. And what I had done in the past was exactly that, the past.

  Looking over my shoulder, I found Mannix staring at Rainn. I could see he was pissed off at her, but he also looked kind of happy. Why I had no fucking idea.

  I, personally, was incredibly pissed off. The recon run had been a complete waste of time. Booth’s old commando leader knew nothing of any other bad shit going down over there or here, but he had heard about Lucky. Once we told him about the shit that was happening to the club, he promised to pull some strings and get some inside intel.

  We had our own connections still, but since we were now civilians, it was harder to get our hands on classified stuff. Ford was good, but hacking into military databases was a definite last resort kind of a deal.

  So, on the ride back to the compound, all I could think about was my woman and her tight wet, willing pussy and the new positions she wanted to try. Riding a motorcycle with a hard as fuck dick didn’t make for a pleasurable ride or a good mood, so to come into this shit… Yeah, I was fucking annoyed as fuck. Shiloh better not have seen any of this shit. I would be fucked if I got called to day care because Shiloh took a big, black fucking dildo for show-and-tell.

  “Deck, honey, it’s okay. Rainn didn’t mean anything by it,” Charlie tried to calm me, then looked over at Rainn and nodded her head vigorously at the redhead as if tryin
g to get her to agree.

  Watching Rainn, I saw her face was bright red. She was embarrassed. Well, so she should be. I was so pissed off. Never would I or any of the guys disrespect any of the girls by talking about how they were in bed. Mannix would have my balls if I did, and I knew that for a fact. He may not be able to commit to Rainn or even want to, but I knew he wouldn’t have anyone discussing her pussy or tits and how good they were.

  “Ummm, ladies, I think this party needs to break up now.” Booth’s loud voice boomed from behind me. He was taking in the state of Stella, who was pretty drunk. The blonde-haired beauty was a favourite around the club and not just because of her kick-arse cooking skills and how clean she kept the club. We looked at her as a little sister.

  I glanced at Booth one last time and saw as his mouth thinned and his eyes narrowed at her, but he wasn’t looking at her face. Even I could see her nipples were hard under her tight tank top.

  Interesting, indeed.

  That definitely wasn’t a big brother look coming from the pres. I just hoped Booth knew what he was doing. Pursuing Stella may not be the right thing, but from her obvious reaction to him watching her, if he didn’t pursue her, he might end up hurting her, anyway. Damn, have I grown a vagina?

  Shaking off the soap opera drama of my club, I looked at Charlie. I was still not happy, but seeing her hug Rainn made it a little better. I was a son of a bitch when it came to holding a grudge, but when it came to my woman—yeah, fucking off the Richter scale. I made a mental note to have a chat with Rainn later about her oversharing personal shit.

  “Squid,” I yelled.

  The prospect sitting at the bar looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here right then. “Yeah, Deck.”

  “Get these packed up, and then show the lovely Tori out, and make sure she gets back to the strip club in time for her shift.”

  Squid slipped off his stool and walked over to the plethora of sex toys Tori brought with her.

  I hoped the mountain of toys that were littering the table affected Charlie a little. My eye instantly landed on a pair of fluffy handcuffs. Oh, the possibilities, I thought wickedly and made a mental note to grab some.