When she was done, she looked much more like her old self and she smiled at her reflection. Even if she was still shaken up, she had to remember she was back at home now and safe. She had a lot of people around her working at the house and the place was like a fortress. Not that the muggers would ever try to find her, but if they did, there was no chance they would ever be able to reach her.
They would have to get past gate security, the maids and the gardeners, and now, there was Hammer to contend with.
She couldn’t help but laugh.
“I still can’t believe my dad has hired me my own personal bodyguard, it’s ridiculous. It’s like something out of a movie.”
She picked up her new cell phone and slipped it into the back pocket of her shorts and made her way over to the door, opening it slowly and carefully.
She had half been expecting Hammer to be waiting behind it with his big stupid arms folded over his chest, but the hallway was empty and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She tiptoed down it quietly and listened out for signs of life but the house was so big and cavernous, noises seemed to get lost amongst the rooms and hallways.
She descended the stairs and skipped as she reached the bottom step and instantly regretted it. She was really going to have to start remembering she had an actual injury.
She clutched her side and straightened up before she carried on past the atrium and down one of the long corridors that led to the immense kitchen at the very end.
She always loved walking into her father’s kitchen. It was big and half of it had a high vaulted ceiling with a glass roof. Sunlight poured in and even though it was hot, the air conditioning kept it cool and crisp at all times. Lush plants were nestled in every corner and everything was marble and perfectly clean and tidy. It was more traditional in style than modern, and it always felt as if she were walking into a dream.
She crossed to the other side of the room, past the island and straight to the refrigerator. She opened the door and looked inside as she hummed a tune to herself and got out the milk and a pre-prepared fruit salad.
She placed them down on the counter and started to boil some water, and as she was standing there waiting for it to finish, she suddenly heard the back door open and a heavy set of footsteps come marching into the house.
She gritted her teeth and waited for it.
Hammer.
He strode into the kitchen and glanced at her over his shoulder before he went to the table and set down a black briefcase and took off his sunglasses. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt and a black pair of jeans that fit him so well it had to be illegal. He looked much smarter than he had the previous day in the hospital, but there was still something about him that screamed rough and ready.
“Morning,” she offered eventually, determined to make this day much more pleasant.
“Morning,” he replied in the same deep, gruff voice.
“Coffee?” she asked snappily as she turned and stared at him.
He looked up at her with half surprise and half suspicion but then he slowly shook his head.
“No, thanks,” he answered.
She shrugged and then turned back around and continued to make her own, but she couldn’t help but give a secret little roll of her eyes to herself.
She grabbed a fork from the drawer on the island and pulled one of the tall stool chairs out and climbed up on it. Hammer was on the farthest side of the room with the briefcase and it looked as if he was trying to keep out of her way. He was so deep and brooding, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“What’s that?” she asked, feeling both playful and nosy.
“It’s a briefcase,” he said sarcastically.
Shelby scowled and sipped her coffee. It felt so good to be having one and to be bringing her brain back to life. But she didn’t know how long she would be able to stand being around Hammer if he was going to continue to be such an arrogant prick.
She ate her fruit salad and drank her coffee, and he sat on the other side of the room in silence. When she was finished, she got down from the stool and took the cup over to the sink and she was aware of his eyes watching her as she quickly washed it and left it on the draining board to dry.
“I’m surprised you don’t leave that for your maids,” Hammer said with a half laugh and Shelby glared at him.
“I can take care of myself, thank you,” she sniped.
And he nodded and furrowed his brow even more.
“You know, my dad didn’t need to hire you,” she fired at him. “I don’t see the point of any of it.”
“Well, your father does, so here I am.”
“But you don’t want to be here, and I don’t want you to be here. So why don’t you just go back to wherever the hell it is he found you and leave me here in peace.”
“Because I can’t,” he growled. “Do you not think I would if I could? Like I told you last night, the last thing in the world I want to be doing is sitting here with some spoiled little princess who daddy thinks needs protecting.”
His words were so cutting that Shelby physically winced.
“Can you stop saying shit like that?” she snapped at him. “It’s really insulting. And you don’t even know me, so maybe you should stop making so many snap judgements.”
“Ha,” Hammer laughed as he leaned back and kicked his boots out and crossed them at the ankles. “Are you kidding me? Are you trying to tell me that you didn’t judge me the moment you laid eyes on me?” he raised his eyebrows and she knew he had caught her there.
“Well…” she stalled. “Maybe I did. But by the looks of things, I had good reason to, and I was clearly right.”
He laughed and clicked his teeth.
“In that case, maybe I was right as well,” he said confidently. “And that’s why you don’t like having me here. You don’t like it when someone who isn’t afraid of you points out your flaws. I bet you’re not very used to people being brutally honest, are you?”
Shelby bit her tongue. This could all easily escalate into an argument and the last thing she wanted was more drama and to feel any worse than she had the past couple of days.
“You don’t know me, Hammer,” she said with a shake of her head. “So you can’t be brutally honest about me.”
He gave her a wry smile and she walked past him, toward the back door. As soon as she opened it, she was aware he was already following her, hot on her heels.
“What are you doing?” she snapped as she spun around and glared at him.
“I told you, you want to leave, I come with you,” he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m not going anywhere, I was going to sit by the pool. Is that allowed?” She fired angry stares at him and he nodded his head and looked as if he was ready to admit defeat.
“I’m only doing my job,” he said. “I’ll be up here,” he motioned to the outdoor patio area and she watched him pull out a seat and sit. His skin was so tanned but it seemed to glisten in the morning sun and made Shelby feel somewhat hot and bothered.
She turned around quickly and marched down to the pool area. She grabbed some towels out of the cabana and wandered over to one of the sun loungers and sat down.
It was day one and, already, she wanted to scream and run for the hills. But she couldn’t figure out if it was his presence that was specifically annoying her or just the fact, in general, that her easy life had been ripped away from her and she was back under her dad’s watchful eye.
She remembered when she had been younger and she watched a drama on TV about the mob and of how the women in their lives sometimes felt like prisoners, and she could totally relate. She knew her dad wasn’t in the mafia, but he had some seriously dodgy connections and she knew he had taken part in plenty of illegal activities. He worried about her because he always said she would be a target if he ever made some serious enemies, and it was clear it had terrified him. And she couldn’t blame him. She had never had children, but she could understand the feeling of co
mplete responsibility. How would he ever forgive himself if anything happened to Shelby because of his own questionable actions?
She was going to have to give him a break. Whereas, she was annoyed at him for putting her in this position in the first place, she also knew he would do anything in the world to keep her safe and it was all out of her control. She was just going to have to accept and deal with it and move on.
This was the life of Shelby Petrov. And when all was said and done, it obviously wasn’t so bad.
She listened to the calming sounds of the water trickling from the waterfall into the pool below. After spending so much time away from the family home, it was actually really good to be back; she had almost forgotten how luxurious and beautiful it was.
Jeez, no wonder Hammer thinks you’re a spoiled brat, she laughed to herself. You’ve been acting all moody and ungrateful since you woke up and look at where you are… I think it’s time to get some things in perspective.
She relaxed on the lounger and promised herself that from that moment on, she would just make the best of her situation. It was her vacation from reality for three weeks, and she would just go with the flow.
6.
She managed to avoid Hammer for the majority of the day, and later on in the evening, after she had eaten and helped one of the maids tidy up the kitchen area out of boredom, she found herself wandering around the hallways and staring out the windows.
The sun was setting over the mountains and the world looked beautiful. She wondered what had stood on the land before the Petrov Estate and what would be there right now if they weren’t. It was so isolated and alone it was almost as if they had invaded and taken it over. Shelby had never realized, before, just how out of place they were there, but it also felt right. The house and grounds had been lovingly created with no expense spared, and it truly was a beautiful setting.
She sighed and pressed her nose against the glass as she looked out the floor to ceiling windows and over the gardens. She hadn’t heard from Molly all day and she was both irritated by that and relieved. She was glad her friend was all right, but at the same time, she felt as if she needed a bit of distance to get her thoughts in order. Being back at the house was such a change from reality that she may as well throw herself in head first and not be reminded too much of life in Iron Hill.
She wandered past the atrium and went down another hallway that led to the cinema room. When she was growing up, she had spent many afternoons with her friends in there, jumping all over the huge couch beds and pretending they had their own movie theatre to run.
It was quiet and dark, and although the memories were still there, they had definitely faded. Shelby couldn’t believe how much smaller the room seemed, even though it was still huge. There were sixteen low couch beds, all plush and comfy looking and all lined up in row after row. Beside them, they had their own little tables and lamps that let off low lights, that could either be left on or turned off while the show was playing. The screen at the front of the room had been replaced and looked a lot flashier than the last time she had seen it and she walked down to the front and looked back out at all the rows of seats behind her. Her dad really had been ambitious when he built this place, and he had gotten it right. It just seemed so over the top for just the two of them, and he was barely ever even home.
“Do you need a hand getting it set up?” Hammer’s voice cut in from the side door and made Shelby jump.
She hadn’t been expecting him, she had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even heard him coming. Her skin tingled with the knowledge that he was close to her again, but she pushed the thoughts right to the back of her mind.
“I know how to do it,” she said proudly. “I grew up in this house, remember?”
Hammer smiled and nodded before he shrugged. He was watching her now with a wry little smirk across his face.
“Of course, Princess Petrov,” he joked as he walked around the side of the room and took it all in. “However, I have been told a lot of things have changed around here.”
Shelby felt her irritation rising and she put her hands on her hips.
“I’m sure a lot of things have,” she agreed with a sarcastic little smile. “Anyway, I don’t want to watch anything, I was just having a look around. It’s been years since I’ve been down here.”
Hammer ignored her comment but kept his eyes on her.
“Your father has been in touch,” he said suddenly. “He wanted to know how you’ve been settling back in.”
“And what did you tell him? That I’ve been a delight, I assume?”
Hammer raised his eyebrows.
“I told him you were fine,” he said sincerely.
Shelby turned and looked back at the screen behind her. It was only 8pm and she had no idea what she was going to do for the rest of the evening. If she went back to her room it was only going to be a long night twiddling her thumbs. Maybe she should just swallow her pride and let him show her how to work the new screen.
“Will you help me turn this thing on then?” she asked as she pointed behind her. “I can see its new and I don’t want to break it or anything.”
Hammer took a step forward and began to walk down into the main body of the room. He was so tall and intimidating, the room with him in it suddenly felt a lot smaller.
He stopped in front of her and she looked up into his eyes. He kept them fixed firmly on her as his hand reached down and into a flap underneath the screen. It was where her father had always stashed the controls, but what he pulled out was most certainly new and looked complicated as hell.
“Take a seat,” Hammer said slowly, as he motioned to the massive choice of couches and beds.
Back when she was younger, Shelby had always wanted to be right down at the front, but this time, she felt as if she wanted to be right in the center of the room with the best view in the house. She walked along the second middle row and chose the middle seat, and she flopped down on the couch and instantly felt more relaxed.
The screen lit up and Hammer was punching in buttons and flicking through menus and movie choices.
“What do you want to watch?” he asked over his big, wide shoulder.
“Anything, as long as it’s funny,” Shelby replied, feeling the desperate need to experience something light-hearted after all the drama of the past few days.
“It’s your house,” Hammer said over his shoulder. “Tell me when to stop…” He was scrolling through the movie choices but Shelby couldn’t even really be bothered to pick one. She was only sitting there out of sheer boredom and the fact that it would pass the time for a couple of hours. Plus, Molly had been right, he wasn’t so bad to look at.
“Stop,” she said mindlessly. She hadn’t even been looking at what movie he had been anywhere near and he looked over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows at her.
“What?” Shelby asked defiantly before she looked up at the screen and felt her heart plummet into her chest.
50 Shades of fucking Gray.
Oh my God…
Hammer smirked and started to chuckle.
“Hey, whatever floats your boat,” he smiled as he pressed play and Shelby grabbed a pillow and brought it right up to her chest.
She had seen the movie once before and she could only assume by the look on his face that Hammer had too. Even though it was one of the last things she could ever imagine a big brute like him watching.
Maybe an old girlfriend forced him into it, she thought as she watched him make his way to the back of the room.
“I didn’t see what you were on,” she blurted out as he put the controls down, ignoring her again. “Honestly, I didn’t. Can you change it?”
She looked up at him with pleading eyes and the worst case of anxiety she had ever felt.
Hammer smirked and finally nodded.
“I knew you weren’t looking,” he said as he picked the controls back up and handed them back to her. “Although, I’ve heard it’s good, maybe you should gi
ve it a try.”
Her fingertips brushed against his as she took the control from him and she had to stifle a gasp. It had been a long time since she had felt heat from another person in that way, and the way his skin had felt sent her into electric tingles.
“I’ve seen it already,” she said sternly. “I don’t need to see it again.”
She was lying, of course, but she wasn’t going to admit it to him. She could watch that movie all day long and never get bored.
“I want to watch something funny,” she declared. “A comedy.”
Hammer pointed to a button on the controls to show her how to access the menu and then he took a step back.
“Now it’s on, it should be pretty straight forward to find your way around the system,” he said. “If you need anything, just give me a shout.”
He turned and made his way back toward the door and Shelby felt a pang of disappointment. Even though he drove her up the wall and made her want to tear her hair out with frustration, it had been nice to just talk to someone, even if it was mainly just argumentative.
“Stay if you like?” she said nonchalantly. “Or don’t, you know, whatever.”
Hammer eyeballed her and she noticed how big the vein in his neck was and how she was sure she could see it throbbing. Much like the incredible bulge in his pants that she kept having to stop herself from ogling.
“I’ll be down the hall,” he said and then turned and left the room.
Shelby breathed in and sighed, sinking into the couch bed. How had she managed to get herself into this situation, she hadn’t even wanted to sit in the damned cinema room and now, she was stuck there with Hammer down the hall guarding the way.
“I really am a prisoner,” she pouted dramatically as she selected a movie she had seen a hundred times and sank even further down into the seat. “More like Prisoner Petrov over Princess…”
She laughed at her own joke as the sound suddenly blared on around her and the movie burst to life on the screen.
A little over an hour later, she emerged from the movie room and saw Hammer right outside the door. He was tapping away on his cell phone but rose to his feet as soon as she came into view.
HAMMER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 16) Page 5