by Roma, Laurie
Evie chuckled as she shook her head. “My uncle Tony is a retired Navy SEAL. Everyone is scared of him, but despite all the tattoos and the bad-ass persona, he has a weakness for the dogs.”
“He’s a sweetheart, just like Hunter. I’m going to see if one of the boys can give me a ride into town so I can meet my man for dinner. See you girls later. Kali, come visit again soon, or I will come track you down at your shop.”
“I will,” Kalista promised, afraid that Maddy would do just that.
After Madeline left, Kalista felt the tension she had been feeling finally ease. “That was…”
Evie winced in sympathy. “Yeah, she is something else. Sorry about the baby thing. She seems to be very focused on that lately. Just imagine what we go through seeing her every day. We never hear the end of it.” She raised a brow. “Ready for that glass of wine yet?”
Babies? Kalista shivered as she thought about it. “I think I might need two.”
Chapter Six
Hammer pulled his motorcycle to a stop in front of his gym and looked across the street toward Kali’s bakery. He knew she was out at his cousin’s place, but he couldn’t help but hope that she had finished early so he could see her.
Since he had lost control and taken her on the stairs in her apartment building, they had been almost inseparable when they hadn’t been working. He loved spending time with her, loved the way she responded to him with pure abandon every time he touched her. At first he had thought his hunger for her would fade into something more manageable, but every time they were together it only made him want her more.
His little fairy was a delight to him. A few days ago he’d surprised her by going to the doctor and getting a complete check-up so he could give her proof he was clean. He was a man of his word, but he knew his reputation and didn’t want her to worry.
Hammer had tried to be careful, to make love to her showing her the sweet side of his touch, but the strain of holding back his desperate need for her was taking its toll on his control. Where once she had been completely shy around him, she was now opening up, letting him past her guard—and he hoped—into her heart. She was still skittish at times, unsure of herself and his attraction to her, but Hammer was confident that it wasn’t because she didn’t trust him.
It was because she just didn’t trust herself enough.
Not wanting to push her, he had been stealthy at his integration into her life. He knew she was the woman he wanted, but after hearing her mother’s hurtful words on her answering machine the other day, he knew he had to take his time and make her understand that he wanted her for more than just sex. Over the last week he had made it clear to her that he was now her man, but he could still see the uncertainty in her eyes at times. He struggled with his temper at her family and her ex for making her doubt her self-worth, but he knew it would be hard for someone to overcome that kind of emotional abuse overnight.
He had the pleasure of watching her pretty green eyes light up whenever she saw him, and she’d gotten more comfortable with him hanging around the bakery when he stopped in everyday. Pride had filled him when they’d had their first self-defense class two days ago and her happiness all but radiated from her as she learned something new. They had decided on having the class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, but he had made it clear she was welcome in the gym whenever she wanted.
At first it had made him wince when Kali and her girlfriends had started calling the self-defense class the “girl fight” class, but he soon found the humor in it. It had only taken fifteen minutes into the first class when his friend, Samantha Kane, had taken over teaching the women. Sam was one of the physical therapists who helped out upstairs and she was far better suited to teach the group of young women. Hell, who was he kidding? Sam ran the rehabilitation center like a general whom everyone feared to disobey, but she related to Kali and her friends in a way that Hammer couldn’t even begin to understand.
Sam was a fighter pilot in the Air Force until she was shot down on a mission. Injured and alone, she had made it out of enemy territory by herself, but her wounds had left her unable to fly anymore. She had been working at the rehab center Hammer had gone to after his surgery, and she had kicked his ass back into shape sooner than anyone had expected. He figured if she could put the fear of God into him, that he’d better hire her. She was the only member on staff that had been in the Air Force, but they didn’t hold it against her.
Much.
A less confident man would have been concerned how well Kali had gotten along with Sam, but Hammer was happy to see that his fairy had befriended the usually self-contained physical therapist. While they had been working out, Hammer had found himself unable to stop watching them. No, not them. Kali. Anytime she was in the same room he had a difficult time looking away from her. That was why it took him a few minutes to notice that all the other men in the room had stopped what they were doing to watch the women as well, but a few hard looks had them going back to their own workouts.
It was his day off today, and he had been feeling restless without Kali. He had been spending every night at her apartment with her, but today he had come up with other plans for this evening. It was time to move things forward in their relationship. After he had finished setting things up at the house, there had been a brief moment he’d considered heading out to the Beaumont Rescue Center to join Kali for her meeting with his cousin. Ultimately, he’d decided against it for one very good reason.
And that reason was his well meaning, but very nosy, mother.
Erring on the side of caution, he decided to come to the gym for a workout instead. But first, he had something else to take care of.
Hammer frowned as got off his bike. When he’d pulled up, he had seen Nate walk out of the shop only to be stopped by two teenage boys on the street. He could tell by Nate’s defensive posture and clenched fists that whatever he was talking about with the other boys wasn’t good.
He had met Nate a few days ago and saw so much of himself in the younger man that it was downright scary. There was a well of emotion hidden inside of Nate that Hammer worried would come out at the wrong time. He had been more surprised than anyone when Kali told him that Nate had been helping her make the dog treats. It had relaxed him to see how well Nate got along with Kali, Becca and Anna. He was always respectful to the women, and Hammer sort of liked knowing that the young man watched out for the women at the shop.
Not that he would ever tell them that.
When he had first introduced himself to the teen, Nate had been cautious to the point of being hostile. Taking his reaction in stride, Hammer had been patient, and the next few times they had spoken, the boy seemed to relax a little. The truth was, Hammer liked the kid and wanted him to see that he didn’t have anything to fear from older men. He knew it would take time for Nate to see that after what he had been through with his mother’s abusive boyfriend.
Hammer knew that from his own experience.
Not liking what he was seeing, he strolled across the street and heard one of the boys snarling at Nate. Nate was big for his age, but Hammer knew the two other boys played football at the high school Nate was now attending, and two against one was never good until you knew what you were doing.
“You think you’re some kind of bad ass because you’re from Dallas?” one of the boys taunted.
“I don’t even know you, so I don’t know what your fucking problem is.”
“My problem is you were flirting with my girl,” the other the teen growled at Nate. “I’m telling you, if I hear you talked to Claire again I’m gonna beat your ass.”
“I don’t know any Claire.”
“Liar. You were here with her yesterday.”
“I work here, so if your girlfriend was here I might have talked to her, but I wasn’t with her.”
“You work at a bakery? Are you gay or something?”
Nate sighed with exasperation. “I’m supposedly hitting on your girl, now I’m gay? You guys are fucking idiots.
”
“What the hell did you call us?”
“Dude, we should trash this place. Get this asshole fired.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Hammer said casually behind the two young men. He saw them stiffen before they turned around to look at him, and he caught the smirk Nate shot his way. The kid didn’t back down even when confronted by two teens who were bigger than him. He had courage, but he could learn a thing or two about how not to rev his opponents up.
The teens’ eyes widened. “Oh man, you’re the Hammer! Dude, we’ve seen all your fights. You’re awesome!”
Hammer smiled, but it held an edge to it. “Yeah? It’s always nice to meet fans, but I don’t really like hearing someone threatening my girlfriend’s shop. Hey, Nate.”
Hammer walked around the two young men and held up a fist. Going with Hammer’s friendly greeting, Nate raised his fist and tapped it with his own. “What’s up, Hammer?”
“Shit, you guys like friends or something?”
“Yeah, and as I said, Nate also works for my girlfriend.”
Both young men’s jaws dropped open, and they stumbled over themselves trying to apologize. “We didn’t mean it.”
“We were totally kidding, man.”
“That’s what I thought,” Hammer said. Acting his part, he stood with his feet spread apart and crossed his arms over his chest, looking intimidating as he stared down the two teenage boys who shifted nervously on their feet. “I’d hate to have something happen to the bakery so I would have to call Sheriff Wyatt about it.”
The teens visibly winced. Sheriff Storm Wyatt was a good friend of Hammer’s. They had grown up together and served in the same unit when they were in the Army. Hammer knew that most people in Breakers feared to get on the Sheriff’s bad side.
“Honest, man. We weren’t serious.”
Hammer studied them for a moment before nodding. Dismissing them, he turned to Nate. “You done for the day? Good. Why don’t we head over to the gym and start those training sessions we talked about.”
Nate’s eyes widened slightly, but his reaction was nothing compared to the gasps the two boys let out. “But Fight Hard doesn’t take members under eighteen! We checked,” one of the boys complained.
“Yeah, we don’t usually, but Nate’s a friend of mine, and since I own the place…” Hammer shrugged.
“Do you think we could—”
“Maybe some other time. Just ask Nate, and maybe we could set something up. But until we change the policy, it’s still eighteen and older for membership,” Hammer said cutting the teen off. “Come on, Nate. Let’s go.”
The teens watched sadly as Hammer and Nate walked away, crossing the street.
“I don’t get it,” Nate muttered. “If his girlfriend is cheating, shouldn’t he be pissed at her?”
“Kid, I have been asking myself that for years. The only answer I’ve got is nothing makes sense when women are involved.”
That made Nate snicker. “I bet you don’t say that kind of shit in front of Kali.”
“Hell no, and if you ever told her I would deny it with my last breath.”
“I won’t tell her. She thinks you practically walk on water or something anyways.”
“She does?” Hammer asked as he stopped when they were standing outside of the gym. He could practically feel his own chest puffing out at that statement. Christ, did he have it bad for his little fairy.
Nate sent him a long look. “I know you’re all famous and shit, but I like Kali. She’s been really nice to me and my brother. I hope you aren’t playing her.”
Getting called out by a freaking teenage boy…
Damn, he liked the kid a lot.
“I’m not. Not that this is any of your business, but I’m pretty serious about Kali.”
Nate’s shoulders seemed to relax. “That’s what I thought.”
“You tell me if those guys cause any trouble at the shop,” Hammer ordered.
The teen rolled his eyes. “How much you wanna bet those guys will be kissing my ass from now on since you said you were training me?” He paused and studied Hammer. “Were you serious about that?”
“Sure, why not?” Hammer tried to keep his answer light, but he felt his chest tighten at the veiled look of hope in the kid’s eyes.
Nate looked away at a car driving by. “My dad and I used to do some boxing together when he was on leave.”
Hammer forced himself not to stiffen up in surprise. From what he’d been told, Nate had refused to talk to anyone about his father since he had moved in with Anna. “Your dad was a Marine, right?”
“Yeah, he was killed in action.”
“I’m sorry.” Those words were too simple for what Hammer wanted to say, then again there were no words that could possibly make the loss any better. “Come on, kid. Let’s go hit something.”
Nate smiled. “Sounds good.”
****
“You want me to what?”
Hammer smiled as he held out the leather jacket he’d ordered for Kali the other day. The leather was soft, but thick enough that it would keep her warm on his bike. On the back of the black leather was the black, white and red logo for Rough and Tough, but underneath it was the specialized tag they used for the things they made specifically for Hammer. Yesterday he had gotten in a large box of all kinds of clothes for Kali to wear. He had taken it home with him and put it away in the dressers where he would show them to her later.
They were standing in the entrance way of her apartment as she looked at him with that cute expression of bewilderment that always made him want to kiss her. He was holding two helmets in his hand other hand as he waited for her to take the jacket. “It’s a nice day out. You have tomorrow off, right? So do I. I want you to put this on and come for a ride with me.”
“But I’ve been drinking,” Kali said as she hid her hands behind her back.
Hammer laughed. “It’s a good thing I’m not letting you drive then. Honey, you said you had a couple of glasses of wine at my cousin’s place hours ago. You’re fine. Now, put this on and come with me. I’m going to make us dinner, then I want you to spend the night at my place.”
“Oh!” Kalista’s eyes had widened in a look of such shock he felt like an asshole for not having her over sooner. “But, won’t I need stuff?”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve got stuff for you there. Stop stalling.”
She pursed her lips and slowly reached out to take the jacket from him. She slid it on and he felt a deep sense of pride seeing her in something that had his name on it. He helped her zip the jacket up, then leaned down to press a kiss against her lips.
“Now you’re my sexy biker chick.”
Kalista burst out laughing, pleased with his teasing, and decided to give a little back. “I thought I was your fairy?”
“Ok, so you are my sexy biker fairy.”
“You are so crazy,” she said with a shake of her head.
Grinning, Hammer waited as she locked up her apartment before he led her out to his bike. He handed her one of the helmets and she frowned down at it.
“You normally don’t wear one when you ride.”
Swinging his leg over the seat of his wicked looking black and silver Harley, he turned back to see the look of fear on her face she tried to hide from him. “I’m not taking any chances with you. There are mics in the helmets so we can hear each other. Hey, you know I won’t let anything happen to you, right?”
“You can’t possibly know that.”
He sighed. Maybe he wasn’t being fair pushing her to go for a ride with him if she was that afraid. “My house is only fifteen minutes away, but if you really don’t want to go we can—”
“No, I want to go to your house with you. I’m just…a little nervous,” she admitted.
Taking a deep breath, Kali put the helmet on, then allowed him to help her onto the back of the bike so she was sitting behind him. He had surprised her with the jacket and the offer to take her out to hi
s house. She knew that he had bought a house near the beach when he had moved back, but she hadn’t seen his place since they started dating. She hadn’t realized how much it had been bothering her that he had not invited her over to his place until that moment.
Sure, her apartment was convenient for both of them since they worked so close. Kalista had been so happy every night he spent with his arms wrapped around her while they slept, even if it had taken a little getting used to. For one, Jared’s body was huge and took up more than half her queen-size bed. She also wasn’t used to sleeping naked, but she had gotten into the habit of just passing out from sheer exhaustion after he made love to her for half the night.
She came back to the moment as he slid his own helmet in place, then fired up his motorcycle. She was amazed by the power of the machine they sat on. Scooting toward him from behind, her bent legs cradled his body as she set her feet on the foot pegs where he told her to place them. Not knowing what do to with her hands, she braced them lightly on his sides, until he pulled her firmly against him.
“Hold on tight, sweetheart. Ready? Here we go.”
Giving in, she wrapped her arms around him, loving the feeling of his hard abs against her palms. She let out a squeal as they took off down the street, and she could hear his deep laugh over the roar of the engine when her grip tightened on him. After the first few minutes, Kalista was astonished to find herself relaxing and actually enjoying herself.
Being on Jared’s bike with him almost made her feel like she was flying. She let out an exhilarated laugh filled with all the joy she was feeling, and he sped up, thrilling her. He did that for her. Gave her new experiences and taught her how to let go. With each passing minute she felt more of the chains that had always been holding her back fall away.
She had never been the type of woman who would ride on the back of a Harley with a bad boy she was sleeping with…until Jared. Without him she would have never had the courage to ride on his bike, no matter how much she had always wanted to. And she did. She’d always wanted to be the kind of fearless woman who could do anything, but so many people in her life had told her that she couldn’t do things that she had started to believe them.
