HAMMER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 16)

by Samantha Leal

  “You weren’t the only foolish one. Evidently,” she said and he looked up at her. His eyes softened, but only for a few seconds.

  “You think this was a mistake, because you’re some kind of a celebrity? That it has no effect on my life? Because I’m a lay, man?” she huffed as she spoke and crossed her arms in front of her.

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said softly, but Erin could see that he was still worrying about himself, so she rolled her eyes.

  He saw her do it and his expression darkened again.

  “In fact, Erin, it is exactly like that. My face gets splashed across cheap tabloids because of things like this. I misjudged you,” his voice was still gruff and low pitched, although it was clear to her that he was very close to entirely losing his temper.

  “Misjudged me how?” she dared to ask him.

  “I thought you’d be able to keep it between us,” he answered, almost immediately.

  “Treat it like my own dirty secret?” She was clenching her own arm, her nails were digging into her flesh as she spoke to him. She couldn’t stand to look at him anymore.

  “I did not expect you to go gossiping about it with your girlfriend immediately after, that’s all.” He had become even quieter and his prolonged silence made her feel worse.

  “I wasn’t gossiping. In fact, I misjudged you too. I didn’t think it was just about the sex,” she spat out the words and whipped away from him. She had spoken her mind, she didn’t care anymore. She didn’t care that he knew she had feelings for him in such a short while. How did it matter anyway? In his attempt to keep it a secret, he wouldn’t exactly go around discussing her with his buddies.

  Xavier remained silent and it made Erin more furious.

  “You can come off your high horse now, Mr. Xavier Cowen. You might be a celebrity, but you’re just like every other man out there.” She turned to look at him again and she could feel the tears prickling the back of her eyelids. This was such a huge mistake. She didn’t need another man to make her feel like a complete idiot.

  “Stop comparing me to your lying cheating ex-boyfriend,” he suddenly thundered and took a few steps toward her. Erin inched away from him, he hadn’t raised his voice before and for a second, it frightened her. His towering frame loomed over her, even though he was still standing a good distance away from her.

  “Not just him. You’re like every other man. You saw something you liked, but you only liked it for the night. Now you can’t take responsibility for your actions.” She tried to keep her voice low, tried to frighten him away from her with the ferocity in her eyes.

  “Take what responsibility? Do you want a foot massage? A scented love letter? A marriage proposal?” Xavier said with a sarcastic laugh, even though he didn’t look like he had faith in his own joke.

  “That’s really rich. Yeah, it makes me laugh.” Erin tried to laugh too. “You think that is what responsibility looks like? You’re so far out. No wonder stupid rom-coms are the only movies you get cast for.” She turned away from him again and made for the door.

  But he had stopped her. His hand was gripping her arm now, his fingers embedded themselves in her flesh. She tried to ignore the force with which he was pulling her away and tried to push the door open.

  “Come back here,” he said gruffly and pulled her to him. She landed with a thud on his chest, her back to him.

  “You can’t just throw something like that at me and try to make a smooth exit,” he spoke through gritted teeth, but softly and into her ear.

  “Why, you always get the last word, is that it?” she tried to laugh, but this time she couldn’t. His hands had now traveled up from her arms toward her neck.

  “Something like that,” he whispered into her ear again and with one hand, pushed the door shut in front of her.

  “Let me go now. Aren’t you afraid I’m going to gossip about this too?” She tried to wriggle herself free, but his grip on her only strengthened.

  “You know what? I actually don’t care anymore,” he said and without giving her a second to react, he bent her over. In order to avoid tripping, she placed her hands firmly on the closed door in front of her.

  She heard the sound of him flicking open the buckle of his belt and then unzipping. Just the sound of that made her go wet between her legs. She had no idea how he could have this effect on her. She felt his hands grab her butt and give it a squeeze before he reached over to unzip her pants.

  He peeled down her pants and then wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her closer to him. Erin closed her eyes and arched her back. She felt him slide into her as he held her tightly. She could hear him breathing raggedly behind her. His beard scratched against her cheek and ear.

  It was the same feeling of being taken, of being owned by him, only this time it was without any restraint. He was pumping into her from behind as she tried to keep herself steady with the door. He was big and hard inside her, and she could feel the ferocity of his thrusts increasing with every passing second. His hands eventually found her breasts underneath the sweater and he squeezed them and played with her nipples. The combination of sensations was too much for her to deal with, she didn’t want to pass out again.

  They were both moaning and he eventually let her go, placing his hands on her butt. She was completely bent over, her legs wide apart and he pushed inside her in a quick rhythmic motion. This time, he reached the edge even sooner and so did she. They both came together and she didn’t care how loud they were or that the door squeaked with his every thrust.

  He groaned as he emptied himself inside her again and pulled out. Her thighs were still quivering from the intensity of the orgasm, and when he was out of her, she slumped to the carpeted floor.

  “Erin,” Xavier said and she turned sleepy exhausted eyes to him. He was standing, naked from the waist down, in front of her and he had his hand stretched out toward her. She took his hand and he helped her up.

  “Are you planning on tucking me into bed again?” she asked him with a shy smile. He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “Into my bed, you mean?” he spoke softly into her ear and she couldn’t help but giggle. He led the way and directed her to lie down on his bed. It smelled of him, she pressed her eyes closed and took in a deep breath of his scent. She opened them when she felt the mattress slump, he was getting into bed with her.

  “I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve got some kind of hold on me.” His breathing was ragged as he spoke into her ear. His hands had found their way underneath her sweater and she felt a sharp tug on her nipple.

  “I thought we were having a nap?” she teased him, just as he started licking her earlobe.

  They exchanged looks and broke into laughter.

  Chapter 6

  It had been three weeks. Three weeks of bliss. Alicia had left the cabin and gone back to the city nearly ten days ago. Erin and Xavier had walked to the lake and were throwing pebbles in, watching them skid over the portions that were still frozen in the lake.

  Erin watched Xavier as he laughed, collecting more pebbles from the bank. She had news to give him.

  “What are you looking at?” he asked her when he caught her staring. He jiggled his butt in front of her to tease her into breaking into giggles. He came over to give her a hug, but when he started pulling away, he caught sight of a serious look on her face.

  “Wanna tell me what’s going on?” he chucked one of the pebbles toward the lake but didn’t look to see where it had landed.

  “I have to get back to work, Xavier. I can’t stay cooped up here with you forever.” Erin bit down on her lip as she spoke, already detecting annoyance in him. He had been trying to avoid this conversation for the past few days.

  “You promised we won’t speak about it till the end of the week, Erin. Can we just enjoy the day?” Like a child, he was digging the ground with his shoes. She almost wanted to forget about the important decisions, hug him and stroke his head.


  “I have to be back at work by the end of the week. I need to make arrangements now. I can’t keep postponing it.” She tried to remain as calm and collected as possible. He looked up at her sharply.

  “You don’t need my permission, Erin. Leave if you want to leave. I can’t stop you.”

  “It’s not a question of wanting to leave. I have to. For my work. Just like you should go back to Los Angeles and stop trying to run away. It’s time you took charge of what you want to do.” She reached for him and held onto his arm, but his muscles were tensed. Even though his voice remained steady, it was easy for her to tell that he was now upset.

  “So what you’re saying is that we’ll never see each other again?” he spoke after several minutes of silence. He had turned away from her so that she could see him in profile now. His shaggy blue-black beard illuminated in outline by the orange light of the setting sun.

  “What do you want, Xavier? You’re the celebrity here. I’m just a simple math teacher.” She let go of his arm and he turned to look at her. They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds till he looked away.

  “I don’t want to go back to LA. I don’t want you to go back to Seattle and I most definitely don’t want us to be apart.” When he said it, she smiled. She would never have admitted it, but this is what she wanted to hear from him. Despite having spent three intimate weeks with him, Xavier Cowen was still an enigma to her. She knew he was fond of her, found her irresistible in bed, but she could never be sure what she meant to him, seriously. Now she was convinced. She could see it in his eyes, and the way he refused to look at him.

  “I’m glad you say that because I have some news that I believe you should know about,” she said and he looked at her with a worried expression. Erin didn’t want too much time to elapse, to give him a chance to prepare himself. “I think I’m pregnant. In fact, I’m sure of it,” she said, keeping her gaze steady on him. She watched as his expression changed from surprise to disbelief to panic and then a struggle to calm himself.

  “When did you realize?” Those were his first words. Erin wasn’t so sure if it was the right decision anymore.

  “A few days ago?” She hung her head down as if embarrassed. He took a few seconds, and then came forward, hooking his forefinger under her chin. He lifted up her head gently and craned her neck backward so that she could look up at him.

  “All the more reason to not go,” he said.

  “What am I going to do then?” She was seriously asking him. She didn’t want a hypothetical answer.

  “Quit your job. Move in with me in LA.” He was smiling now, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

  “So you do want to go back? You don’t want to live in the wilderness alone forever?” she was only joking when she said it, but he answered in all seriousness.

  “I’m going to be a father now. It’s time I called my agent and have him sign me up for a few casting calls.” He was serious but smiling now, almost speaking to himself.

  “Are you serious? What kind of films are these?” She was excited too. She hadn’t seen him seriously consider or talk about his work.

  “Some films that won’t pay much but are the kind that I’ve always wanted to do. If I’m going to be a dad, I might as well start building my legacy.”

  THE END

  Billionaire Yes Please

  Katrina Bliss

  Copyright ©2016 by Katrina Bliss. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Chapter 1

  Jasmine knew she wanted more the moment she had finished. She sank back in her seat and pushed the bowl with the last creamy drops of her chocolate chip ice cream away from her, the spoon clattering in the bowl. It slid from her end of the table top until it reached the other end, grazing her mother’s arm.

  “Jasmine!” her mother growled at her, while her eyes remained glued to the book she was reading. “Don’t you see? I’m a child pining for attention, Mom,” Jasmine responded and pouted her lips. Her mother turned a page of her cheap paperback and sighed.

  “I wonder when you’ll begin to act your age. You’re a twenty-five year old woman. It must be all the kids you surround yourself with all the time,” she said, without lifting her head to look at her daughter.

  She could be right, Jasmine thought. The only real conversations she had on a daily basis were with five-year-old tiny humans at the kindergarten where she worked. Her mother, Camilla Kiberd, had made it obvious that she didn’t approve. The unanimous dream of both her parents had been that their only child would grow up to become a doctor or an engineer; a profession that would reel in the money, in any case.

  Jasmine had chosen teaching and she had chosen kids. Not for a second did she regret her decision, especially when she walked into the classroom to find a dozen shiny happy faces staring up at her. Her mother, on the other hand, never failed to remind her how disappointed she was with her daughter’s life choices.

  “Your father would have been so disappointed!” is the line she threw at Jasmine from time to time; just to really rub it in.

  Jasmine tore her exhausted gaze away from her mother and turned in her seat to catch the waitress’ eye again.

  “What are you doing?” she heard her mother remark.

  “I want some more ice cream,” Jasmine said, while she waved furiously to the waitress who still had not noticed her.

  “Your sweet tooth will be the death of you,” Camilla admonished, her attention was diverted from the book finally. In fact, she always had time to throw caustic remarks at Jasmine.

  “Relax, Mom. We’re on a holiday,” Jasmine said, and smiled broadly as the waitress finally began walking over to their table.

  “Another one of those delicious cups of chocolate chip ice cream, please. And, Mom, anything for you?” Jasmine turned to her mother at the last minute.

  “Just some coffee please. Black,” her mother spoke to the waitress curtly and smoothed the lapel of her grey jacket. She was every inch the properly dressed woman.

  Jasmine watched her mother as she went back to concentrating on her book again. She had no idea where she had gotten her own looks from. While Camilla’s most striking features were her sky-high cheek bones, her straight and slim, somber lips, and a head of thick, straight hair which she now, like any proper sixty year old Englishwoman, chose to cut into a neat greying bob; Jasmine was an apple from a completely different tree. In fact, she was more of an orange. Her oval face barely gave away the hint of cheekbones; her lips were wide and in a perpetual pout, while her auburn curls were constantly unmanageable. Her mother was tall and slender, where Jasmine was petite with an ample chest – more than ample in most cases. Her father, too, had looked more like her mother than he did like Jasmine.

  Jasmine sighed as she watched her mother read and gazed out of the smooth, cool glass panes that they were sitting next to. She could hear the seagulls in the sky and when she looked at it, it was bright blue and clear. She didn’t need to step outside to know that the sun would beat down on them, and yet, her mother was in a business suit. Well, she was always in a business suit.

  “Aren’t you warm in that thing, Mom?” she asked.

  “Don’t be silly, Jasmine.” That haughty tone in her mother’s voice which Jasmine knew so well had returned. “I couldn’t possibly have worn anything else,” she said while glaring at her daughter through narrowed eyes.

  “Mom. It’s not a business meeting. It’s only a property viewing,” Jasmine suggested just as the waitress came back with the cup of coffee for her mother and a paper cup with two scoops of ice cream.

  “Exactly. It is a business meeting. It’s a meeting between two individuals who will be embarking on a business contract,” her mother replied, as she gingerly pinched the handle of the cup with her forefinger and
thumb. She even put her pinky finger out like only those who were royalty – or true snobs – did.

  “He’s going to buy the house. You don’t need to impress him,” Jasmine said as she scooped a large spoon of ice cream into her mouth and relished the sensation of it melting in her throat. The feeling of it trickling down the heated skin on her lip was heavenly. Her tongue whipped out quickly to catch it before it fell down her chin.

  “Well, if I don’t impress him and the house doesn’t sell, then I’m stuck with that place. And it’s falling apart with nobody else making any offers,” her mother’s voice had risen by a few decibels and Jasmine looked up with a raised eyebrow.

  “Okay, okay,” Jasmine said, her voice muffled by the big dollop of ice cream in her mouth.

  “I just can’t afford to have the property lying around anymore. At this rate it will never sell,” Camilla added and shut her book with an audible ‘swoosh’. Jasmine had never been able to develop the skill of consoling her mother. She was always too distant, too self-aware to betray the need to be consoled or allow anybody else to comfort her. So Jasmine didn’t try anymore.

  “It’ll sell, Mom. The man is the wealthiest man in this town, you said yourself that he is a billionaire. This purchase will be pocket-change for him. He is clearly interested in it, and didn’t you say he knew Grandfather?” Jasmine offered instead, avoiding eye contact with her mother since she had mentioned the grandfather she never knew. Whom her mother despised.

  “Yeah, apparently my father encouraged his stamp collection when he visited here on his holidays. You know, when he was shacking up with that woman,” Jasmine’s mother said through gritted teeth, her anger being vented on her molars. “At least, that is what he says in his letters. Anyway, I suppose we’ll simply have to wait and watch,” she added and opened her book again.