Hammered with You: Book 2 (Ross Brother's Trilogy)

by Nikki Mays

  Luckily, all the other women in the salon jump in with how annoying those calls are. Which is true, they really are. I continue to finish up Doris’ hair while her keen eyes watch every move that I make. I just keep the smile on my face and add in my two cents every now and then.

  Another bonus is that Ben is walking back out of the breakroom. I might not have to deal with him at all today. Score!

  Unfortunately, tall, dark and too damn good looking walks up directly behind me and puts his hands on my hips. I narrow my eyes on Doris when I see the way her eyes light up when she catches Ben’s move. The nosey ass Kellie doesn’t even pretend that she’s not watching with rapt attention.

  He moves in closer and I can feel his warm breath on my neck. My body moves back into his without my consent, the traitorous hoebag. I can feel him smile into my neck and I wish that I was getting annoyed instead of turned on. “I’ll see you tonight.” He whispers into my ear. “Do you want me to pick up anything for dinner?”

  “Sure.” I reply before my hormone riddled brain comes back online. I shake my head like a wet dog. “Wait, I meant no.” I huff and try to push the wall of muscle back, to no avail.

  “So, you don’t want me to bring anything? Do you want me to cook instead?” He asks.

  “No, you’re not coming over.” I grumble and then pause. I turn around to look him in the eyes. “You can cook?”

  He pulls me even further into him and places his hand right above my ass. “Of course I can cook. How do you think I eat?”

  I shrug. “Takeout, it’s what I do mostly, since it’s just me.” I cringe mentally at how pathetic that last part sounded.

  He blinks a few times and then frowns at me. “Do you know how unhealthy all of that crap is for you? Just the sodium alone in all of that shit can raise your blood pressure.”

  “Ah, no?” I say to the man who is looking slightly unhinged right now. Okay, fine, he still looks hot, just a tad crazy.

  He backs up a bit and I tell myself that it’s relief and not disappoint that gores through me. “Forget it, I’ll stop at the store when I leave work and get some stuff to cook dinner.” He says out loud but it kind of seems like he’s talking more to himself than to me right now. He looks me in the eyes. “I’ll be at your place by six.”

  “Umm, I’m here until seven tonight.”

  “I know. I’ll start cooking and let Dragon out, that way you can relax when you get home.”

  “How do you plan on getting in?” I mean I guess I could give him my keys.

  “I took your spare from your drawer last time I was at your place.” He gives me a swift kiss on the cheek and walks out the door before I can process what he just said.

  My mouth drops open when I realize that the crazy stalker actually has a key to my place. “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I shriek.

  The only thing I’m met with is laughs and a “Language!” from Kellie.

  What am I supposed to do now?

  Chapter 6

  Ben

  It’s almost time for me to leave for the day. I’m just going over a few last minute add-ons that our newest client has asked for. Nothing extreme but it will take a little bit of maneuvering. Especially since they already asked for a custom shower that can double as a sauna. But the deep clawfoot tub shouldn’t be any problem.

  I look over the revised contract and blueprints to make sure that I haven’t missed any details. We pride ourselves on being truly professional and I like to make sure that we never miss anything. I’m the one who goes over all of our contracts to make sure that everything is in order. My brothers have never really cared about going over the finer details, which suits me just fine. We all have our strengths and this is one of mine. I like the way my brain calms when I go over it all.

  “He’s too happy,” I hear Mason state, but I pay him no mind.

  I hear a chair squeaking under a heavy weight. “You know looking at contracts for hours excites him.” Noah decides to chime in, allowing me to realize that they’re talking about me.

  “No,” A soft feminine voice belonging to Elle says. “He’s just really happy that Jessie is letting him come over tonight.”

  I look up, having had enough of being the topic of conversation. “Don’t you three have anything better to do than talk about me, while I’m sitting here?”

  “Would you rather us talk about you behind your back?” Mase asks to annoy me.

  “I would rather if you three talked about something else,” I go back to looking at the contract before lifting my head again. I look over at Elle and narrow my eyes. “How do you know that I’m going over to Jessie’s and that she’s letting me?” I leave out the sort of part since she doesn’t really have much of a choice.

  It was fate, okay sheer dumb luck, that I found that spare key. I frown mentally. I really need to talk to her about not hiding an extra key in plain sight like that. Any creep could come into her house and find it.

  Elle blushes as the three of us turn our curious glances on her. Luckily, Noah hasn’t been such an asshole to her lately. They’re even on somewhat normal speaking terms. Well, normal for them at this point. Truthfully, they kind of growl and grunt at each other for the most part. And I’m still pretty sure that Elle plots his death at least once a day. But hey, progress and all of that.

  “Well,” She starts while moving her lips around and fidgeting in her seat. “I’m friends with Katie who also works there. She called me once you left.” She shrugs her sweater clad shoulders.

  “Oh.” I say for lack of anything better.

  Elle snaps her fingers. “Oh and you should know, Jessie looked pretty mad when she realized that you stole a key to her house.”

  My brothers slowly turn their heads in my direction at the same time, reminding me of a slightly less creepy Declan and Damon. Mase is wearing a smirk, where Noah looks like he’s sucking on a lemon.

  Noah pinches the bridge of his nose and looks at me. “You stole a key to her house?” He asks slowly.

  I scratch the side of my head behind my ear. “I didn’t really steal it.”

  “Katie said that she definitely didn’t give it to you.” Elle chirps, looking too pleased with herself. What happened to that somewhat quiet girl I met a few months ago? Geesh.

  I give Elle a droll look and roll my eyes. “Did Katie say anything else?”

  Elle gives me a smirk and nods her head. “Yup! Jessie kept calling you a stalker and was wondering if she could get your mother after you to stop.”

  Her statement is met with laughs from my brothers. “I’m not stalking her.” I mutter petulantly to myself.

  “Dude, you’re everywhere that she is these days.” Mason says while wiping under his eyes. “I’m surprised that you haven’t tried to move yourself into her place like Rocco did to Lav.”

  I tap my fingers on my desk. “He got her pregnant. He had a great excuse. It’s been weeks and she still drinks every now and then. I don’t think I’m that lucky.”

  Truthfully, I didn’t actually mean to say all of that out loud. And looking at the three faces staring at me with different degrees of horror, it probably would’ve been best to keep that to myself.

  “Please tell me that you are joking?” Noah’s voice is dripping with disdain.

  “Of course I am,” I lie.

  Mase scratches his head with a pencil. “I mean, it worked out well for Rocco. It’s not a horrible idea.” I smile internally. Leave it to Mason to be on board with a bad idea. Poor Kellie.

  Noah looks at Mason with a scowl before turning back to me. “Please do not try to get her pregnant just to make it easier for yourself.” He sighs loudly while rubbing his temples. “What the hell is happening to you? You’re the most levelheaded out of all of us.”

  I start packing up my stuff. “Will you stop looking at me like that!” I grumble. “I’m not going to do that. If it had already happened, sure, I would’ve rolled with it. But I have no problem taking my time to get her to s
ee that we’re a great match.”

  “Do you two have anything in common?” Elle asks with a frown marring her face.

  I pause and think for a few moments causing everyone to look at each other. “I’m sure we will when I can actually get her to talk to me for more than five minutes. Plus, opposite attract… right?”

  Elle nods her head slowly like I’m an idiot. “Right. Do you even know what she likes to eat? You are making her dinner, correct?”

  My body goes still and I turn my head to give Elle my full attention. “What do you mean? I was just going to make some steaks and mashed potatoes.” I say suddenly feeling a lot less confident than I was a few minutes ago. Damn these nosey asses.

  “She doesn’t eat steak, or much meat for that matter.” Elle say patiently.

  I blink a few times. “Then what does she eat?” Who the hell doesn’t like steak?

  “Seafood, pasta or tofu usually.” She pauses and taps her chin thoughtfully. “We all had a girls night that Katie invited me to, not too long ago. She really liked the shrimp tacos from that Mexican place in town. Maybe try making those?” She lifts one shoulder.

  I start nodding my head with a smile. “I can do that, no problem. I’ve got this!”

  “Yeah, you’re doing great.” Noah says sarcastically.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. You guys need to have a little faith in me.” I say as I walk towards the door to head out.

  “We have faith in you.” Mase states cheerfully. “Faith that you’re probably going to get pepper sprayed.”

  I walk out the door to their chorus of laughs. This will be a piece of cake.

  An Hour Later:

  Okay, maybe not a piece of cake but still pretty easy. I left work, went to the grocery store and got everything that I needed to make shrimp tacos. I even decided that I was going to make some fresh salsa and got a bag of chips. Who can ever say no to salsa?

  I made it back to her place and got everything settled before going to look for Dragon. I still can’t believe that she named that tiny ass dog Dragon. Worst is, when I found the horrible little guard dog, he was wearing a dog sweater with rainbows on it. Fucking rainbows. If that dog hasn’t already had his nuts chopped off, they sure as hell have shriveled up being forced to wear that monstrosity. I promptly took him out of it and found an all black outfit. At least he can feel a little manly now.

  After I finished taking the less pansy looking Dragon for a quick walk so that he could do his business, I got right to work in the kitchen.

  Upon looking in her fridge, I realized that she wasn’t joking when she said that she mainly eats takeout. There was container after container of questionable food. She literally had no actual ingredients to make herself any sort of nutritional food. The only thing in her pantry was cereal and poptarts. She would make any child proud.

  Oddly enough, she has a ton of kitchen gadgets though. She has everything that you could possibly think of and some stuff that you wouldn’t. I have no idea why she would have all of this if she doesn’t cook, but whatever, it came in handy for me.

  I’m just steaming the tortillas as I hear the door open and her call out to Dragon. “Come here baby, Mommy’s home.” Her voice holds a lyrical quality to it.

  I can hear his claws against her wood floors running, I’m guessing, towards her. “How’s my good boy? Did you have a good day? Were you a good boy?” Her voice is absolutely ridiculous and I turn my whole body so that she doesn’t see me laughing at her when she comes in.

  I can hear her footsteps stop at the entrance to the kitchen. “It smells good in here. What are you making?” Her voice is cautious.

  I turn and look at her. Her hair that was down this afternoon is up in one of those large ball things on the top of her head. She has Dragon cuddled up to her chest like he’s an actual child and she seems to be mindlessly rubbing her face against his fur. Her eyes look tired. However, she is still the most beautiful thing that I’ve ever seen.

  I give her a smile. “Shrimp tacos and fresh salsa.”

  Her eyes light up at my words like I was hoping. “I love shrimp tacos.” She says with a huge grin. “Do you need any help?”

  I shake my head. “No, go have a seat and relax, I’ve got this.”

  She stands there for a few moments as if she’s unsure. I tilt my head towards her kitchen table. “Seriously, have a seat. I brought a bottle of wine and opened it up for you. It’s in the fridge staying cool.”

  That was all the prompting that she needed. She gently put down Dragon and got out the bottle of wine. She walks to her cabinets and gets out a glass. She pours herself a healthy amount, before putting the bottle back and taking a seat. Her moan of appreciation as she takes her first sip goes straight to my dick.

  I turn to make sure that my suddenly growing lower half is out of sight. I continue to make dinner while giving her a few quiet moments to enjoy her wine.

  I look over my shoulder and see her staring aimlessly into space. She seems a million miles away in some unpleasant thoughts. “A penny for your thoughts.” I say in a teasing voice.

  She jumps, a little startled by the sound of my voice but quickly schools her face “I charge more than a penny.” She snorts into her wine glass before taking a sip. “And trust me, my thoughts are not something that need to be talked about.”

  “I think that they do.” I tell her seriously. “I want to know all of your thoughts. But I’ll settle for the ones that are currently making you frown.”

  Her gaze is intense but I don’t dare turn away. Something in my gut tells me that this one moment in time will be very important for our future together, or lack thereof.

  She taps the side of her wine glass with her nails I can see the wheels in her head turning while trying to decide if she can trust me or not. Decision made she stares at me as she speaks. “Have you ever had a family member that you wish you could just get out of your life, once and for all?” Her eyes are so earnest, but the miles of pain that are there as well speak volumes.

  I put down the spatula that I was using and fully turn, giving her my full attention. I lean back against the counter and cross my arms over my chest. I don’t miss the way that her eyes track the movement, but now isn’t the time for any of those thoughts.

  I quirk my eyebrow and give her a smirk. “You do know that my brother, Kayla’s ex-husband tried to shoot his kids, right?”

  She pauses for a brief second before tilting her head. “I always forget about him.”

  “Don’t worry, we all try to.” I mutter to her amusement. “So who is it that you would like to forget about?”

  The flicker of pain that crosses her face is there and gone in a blink of an eye. If I hadn’t been looking directly at her, I would’ve missed it.

  “It’s more like two people really. They only call when they need money.” She says and looks down at the table. “Or just want to make me feel bad about myself.” Her voice is just a whisper and I know that it wasn’t meant for me to hear.

  I pretend that I didn’t hear the second part. “Got a loser sibling? I can definitely relate to that.” I say jokingly, trying to get a small smile out of her.

  When her lips quirk upwards, my soul feels like it’s lighter and I realize that she’s under my skin more than I thought. Although, me practically stalking her should’ve been a pretty good clue. Especially since I’ve never wanted to let anyone disturb my carefully crafted life. She’s like a wrecking ball who never actually wanted to destroy anything. But she knocked down all of my carefully built walls, it’s only fair that I return the favor.

  “I’m an only child. Unfortunately,” She sighs heavily. “The losers are the ones responsible for my existence. They just can’t seem to get their shit together.” She lifts her glass of wine and gives me a wary smile. “You would think that I would be used to it by now.”

  I start plating up our food as she takes a long sip of wine. I’m guessing that this isn’t something she likes talking about. Can�
��t say that I would be any different if my parents were doing that. As much of a nut as Mom is, she’s always been steady. Her and Dad made sure to set a great example of a hard work ethic for us.

  “So, why don’t you just block their number?” Seems easy enough I think.

  Her chuckle holds no mirth. “Because they would just show up in person begging for money. At least over the phone, I can pretend that they aren’t the true train wrecks that they actually are.”

  I put our plates down on the table and get a weird enjoyment at how her eyes light up at the sight. Jesus, I’m turning sappy if I get excited about feeding her. I wonder if I left my balls at the bar the night that we met.

  She bends forward and inhales deeply. I swear her moans in and out of the bedroom are going to be the death of me. She looks up at me with bright eyes. “This smells so good.” She says with a genuine smile before it turns wicked. “Thanks for breaking into my house and making me dinner.” She says as she grabs a taco and stuffs half of it in her mouth. I have a feeling that she’s trying to change the subject, but I don’t push the issue instead I sit down and shake my head. “It’s not considered breaking in if I have a key.” I tell her before picking up my own taco and taking a large bite.

  She chokes a bit but recovers quickly. “It definitely does count as breaking in, since I never gave you that key.” She’s trying to sound serious but her dancing eyes are giving her away.

  “Gave, found.” I shrug. “Same difference.”

  She snorts around another bite of food and shakes her head firmly. “It really isn’t.” She says through a full mouth. I really should find that disgusting instead of charming.

  “Mom always told me to look on the bright side of things. She also taught us to find a way to get around any problems that we face.”

  She looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Of course she did. I have no doubt that woman would’ve helped you break in if you’d asked her.” She isn’t wrong about that. If you want to get up to no good, Mom is usually more than willing to be your partner in crime.