HAMMER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 16)

by Samantha Leal

  “I don’t believe I’ve seen you with a beard before,” Sue said and he walked over to her side of the bed.

  “Are you implying I wasn’t man enough to grow a beard in college?” He kissed her on her lips. That kiss was enough to remind her of the number of times they’d had sex in the past twelve hours and she blushed.

  “What time is it?” Sue asked, looking around the room for a watch.

  “Where do you need to be?” he asked and walked over to the arrangement of armchairs and a coffee table by the balcony doors.

  “It’s Monday morning…or afternoon. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” She watched him slide the glass doors open and a soft breeze blew in, billowing the white lace curtains in the room.

  “I don’t remember, anymore, and I’ve ordered Luke to hold off all the messages.” He turned to look at her and Sue smiled.

  “You never played hooky in college. God forbid!” she said and her hand flew to her mouth dramatically. Gerard laughed and started pouring coffee from a French press into two mugs on the table.

  “I’m older now, and wiser,” he said without looking at her and Sue stepped out of bed. She found a matching blue satin robe laid out carefully on the ottoman at the end of the bed and she slipped into it while Gerard studied her naked body. She walked over to him and they both sat down facing each other. The balcony overlooked what seemed to be a forest and Sue assumed it was a part of Gerard’s property, his billionaire version of a backyard.

  “What did you want to talk about last night, Sue?” He was blowing over his coffee. She smiled at him and did the same with hers. He remembered the way she liked her coffee.

  “I don’t quite remember. It might have had something to do with the fact that we jumped into bed after twenty years of not seeing each other.” She raised an eyebrow and he laughed.

  “Did it feel strange to you? Was it offensive?” he asked her and sat back in his chair.

  “I can’t say that it did, but I still feel as though there is more conversation involved there. I don’t exactly know what,” she said and shied away from his gaze. She didn’t know how to talk about her feelings anymore. Vincent’s reaction to this would have been to storm out of the room, bang doors and stay somewhere else for the night.

  “Maybe. Or maybe not,” he began and she looked up at him, surprised by the response. “It was unfortunate that we broke up, that you had to experience the pain of a failed marriage. But we’ve found each other again. Yes, we had a rough start, but look at us now,” he said and smiled widely. “Do we need to analyze it? Unless this was a one-time thing for you,” he said and his smile dropped.

  Sue shook her head wildly. “No, it’s not a one-time thing, Gerard. I guess what I’ve been trying to say is that I want us to give it another try. I didn’t know if it was a one-time thing for you.” She looked away from him again, embarrassed.

  “I never stopped loving you, Sue. You left, but I couldn’t forget you.” She detected a quiver in his voice and she looked at him.

  “I was a fool. For not believing in you or your intentions. I love you,” Sue said and stifled a wail.

  “Good. I’m glad you blame yourself because I’ve always blamed you.” She jerked her head up to look at him and he was grinning. She laughed and shook her head, wiping away tears from her cheeks. He always knew how to stop her from dissolving into a crying mess.

  “Can we talk about more optimistic things now? Like when you’re moving in?” he asked casually.

  “Shouldn’t we go on a few dates first? Shouldn’t you woo me and surprise me with a key to the house?”

  “Why? To get to know you? I’ve known you for twenty-three years and nothing has changed. Other than the fact that I don’t live in my parents’ attic anymore, and I have a butler,” he said and they both laughed.

  Sue placed the mug of coffee on the table, stood up and settled herself on Gerard’s lap. They kissed, for several minutes, and finally pulled away for air.

  “I am truly sorry, Gerard,” she said while she played with a lock of his hair.

  “You should be!” he admonished her like she was a small child. “So do you want to tell the others, or should I?”

  “I feel like I’m getting my whole family back,” Sue said as Gerard nudged her off his lap and walked over to the cordless phone on his bedside table. He laughed while dialing Carl on speed-dial.

  “I get the feeling that we’ll have to throw a dinner party again tonight,” he said, just as Carl answered the phone. Sue couldn’t stop giggling while the two men talked, they were back in college.

  “You won’t believe the news I have for you!” Gerard spoke into the phone.

  THE END

  Time Travel Romance

  In the Time of the Caveman

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. 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.

  1.

  Melissa sat looking out across the runway and sipped her coffee slowly. She had waited for a moment like this for her entire life, and now the pressure of being on the verge of launching herself into an important discovery was starting to weigh heavy. Deep down, she knew she was ready for it, but there was still a small, nagging doubt at the back of her mind. What if she missed something? What if she did something wrong that lost some important information? What if Jake continued to distract her?

  She looked down at her watch and saw that she still had three hours before their flight was due to leave. She had gotten to the airport ridiculously early so she wouldn’t find herself flapping around at the last minute and risk getting caught in traffic. Melissa was always prepared, but she didn’t feel like there would ever be enough time to prepare for this. Her whole career had been building up to it, and now she was on her way to discover something no one else in the world had ever seen. As she thought about how fortunate she was, a smile slowly unfolded across her face. She could do it. And she would do it well.

  “Mel!” a voice called from a distance.

  She spun around on the leather coffee house chair and scanned the crowd of fellow travelers placing orders, swimming around duty-free shops and having pre-flight drinks to calm their nerves. She saw his hand in the air before she saw his face, but nonetheless she knew it was him. Jake stood tall and proud as he marched through the crowd to reach her, and Melissa stood up reluctantly to greet him.

  “How’s it going?” he asked as he slung his backpack down to the floor by her table.

  “Great,” Melissa smiled, unsure of what else to say.

  “So I guess this is kind of weird,” Jake shrugged. “The two of us, heading off for a fortnight of fun in France.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. Melissa found herself wanting to wince.

  “Yeah,” she smiled. “It is a little strange…” She looked down at the floor and decided to go back to her seat. Tension between her and Jake had been mounting since the Christmas party when they’d both gotten obscenely drunk and ended up getting to know each other a little too well in the lab’s stock cupboard. Melissa liked Jake a lot at first until she found out he had a fiancé at home. Now Melissa tried to avoid him at all costs and thought of him like the love rat that he was. She didn’t need someone like him in her life, and she was almost free until the original archaeologist planned for this expedition crashed his car and broke his leg, rendering him unable to travel. So now it was just the two of them traveling the eight-hour journey from JFK to Charles de Gaulle, and Melissa couldn’t wait to finally meet up with the rest of the crew so things weren’t so one-on-one.

  “Guess I’ll get a drink then,” Jake said as he rooted for his wallet and crossed over to the counter.

  Melissa watched him. Since the night they had sex in the laboratory, she knew that he had broke
n up with his fiancé, but she still couldn’t consider him a good choice for a boyfriend. There was something about him that made her skin crawl.

  Melissa reached into her purse and pulled out her journal. She had been making notes and references ever since the cave was discovered, and she wanted to do nothing on the flight except continue recording her ideas and research theories. She had always been the type of girl to put her personal life on hold while she pursued her career, and her present situation was no exception. She would have to push Jake and their predicament to the very back of her mind while she threw herself into the excavation and investigation. This cave was still a secret to the world and what was down there no one truly knew.

  She flipped open her laptop and opened a document she received the previous week. It said CONFIDENTIAL across the top and was only viewable to her by password. She still couldn’t believe what it said. She scanned the document again…

  An underground cave-like structure has been discovered in the Dordogne region of Southwest France by farmers working in the area. Early reports suggest the presence of prehistoric paintings similar to those of the Lascaux Caves in the same region. The Lascaux Caves have been sealed to researchers and all visitors since the discovery of fungi which began destroying the paintings, rendering them irreparable. If this recent discovery of a new structure is what it appears to be, this may be one of the most significant pre-historic discoveries of all time…

  Her heart was beating fast in her chest as she looked at the initial snapshots captured by the farmers on their cellphones as they loitered at the opening to the cave. It was an incredible sight, even for someone like Melissa who had spent her whole life studying similar images. She knew this was something big, and she couldn’t wait to get there.

  2.

  The flight across the Atlantic went without incident except Jake making a cringe-worthy suggestion that maybe they should join the mile-high club. Melissa had flashed him a fake smile and turned her shoulder to block him out as she read through her notes and jotted down some other things that came to mind.

  Jake had never been on a serious expedition before, and it was becoming more obvious with each passing moment. His inexperience oozed from him and his questions to Melissa were both irrelevant and irritating. When he finally drank enough vodka to send him off into a soundless sleep, Melissa closed her journal and picked up the headphones. She hadn’t had the time to watch a movie for years, and she was determined to take advantage of the opportunity while she knew Jake couldn’t hassle her.

  As she flipped through the endless choices of horror, action and comedies she finally settled on an innocent-looking rom-com and made herself comfortable. If she didn’t have real love in her life, she could always live it through someone else’s fictional ideal. She smiled and wrapped the airline blanket around her as she settled into her seat. By the time the movie finished, they would pretty much be there and the next phase of their journey would begin… A three-hour train ride from Paris to Bordeaux.

  Charles de Gaulle was hectic and stressful as Melissa and Jake waited for their bags. Exhaustion coursed through her and all she wanted to do was climb into bed.

  “Come on, Mel,” Jake chirped as he raced ahead towards the taxi rank, “I don’t want to miss this goddam train.”

  Melissa cursed him under her breath as she tried to keep up with him, mentally ripping him to shreds for not helping her with the heavy backpack she had slung over her shoulder.

  Some gentleman you are, she thought. Not that I would expect anything less!

  She couldn’t believe her terrible luck in having her first world discovery tarnished by Jake’s presence. If only another, more experienced archaeologist were by her side, they would have had an interesting and productive time. But now Melissa was going to be stuck carrying dead-weight Jake, explaining every aspect of the excavation to him and avoiding his lustful advances. The thought of going there again made her stomach churn. She was so angry with him for lying to her and taking advantage when she was drunk but also at herself for lowering her standards. She always knew Jake had a crush on her, and she could have avoided it. She should have known better than to trust a man like him. Someone so cocky and confident, it was more than arrogance. It was pure nastiness.

  They jumped into the cab and swung out into the busy French traffic. It wasn’t far to the station but Jake still sat on edge, acting like they were going to miss it even though they had over an hour to spare.

  He’s overcompensating now for his lack of capability, Melissa mused. It’s going to take a hell of a lot more than this, Jake…

  After they paid the driver and made their way through the bustling station to the platform, Melissa threw her backpack down on the floor and sat down on top of it. She had been qualified in her field for almost six years, and she hadn’t roughed it like this since her student days when she and her friends had gone traveling across Europe. As she waited for the train to arrive, she felt a rush of nostalgia. She remembered trekking through the Italian Alps, inter-railing across France, Italy and Austria, and all of the people they had met along the way. It had been the most free and liberating time of her life, and she had never dreamed then that one day she would be back there working on something as high profile and important as this expedition.

  “Here we go,” Jake broke her train of thought.

  She looked up at him and was surprised to see him holding out his hand to help her to her feet. She reluctantly accepted and they stood side by side as the train heaved to a halt and they joined the rush to board.

  They were the only two in their cabin room and Melissa kicked her feet up onto the opposite seat so Jake couldn’t be in her eye line. She sat by the window and watched the intense green of the French countryside roll by. It was lovely to be back in such a beautiful country and experiencing the culture once more.

  “Where are the rest of the crew meeting us?” Jake asked. This was his first relevant question since they had met at the airport.

  “At the hotel in Bordeaux,” Melissa replied. “We’re meeting the excavation leader there, and he’s going to debrief us all before we head over to the site in the morning.”

  “And then what?”

  “What do you mean?” She looked up from her notebook and his eyes locked with hers.

  “I mean, what do we just sit in our rooms and wait for morning to come?”

  “That’s entirely up to you,” Melissa said sarcastically.

  “Maybe we should head out and check out the town?” Jake asked with enthusiasm.

  “Maybe not,” Melissa laughed. “I’m heading to bed… Don’t want to ruin tomorrow by being over tired.”

  “Well then, maybe I should join you?” Jake wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Shut up, Jake,” Melissa hissed. “Let’s get one thing straight: What happened with us was a terrible mistake, and I’m not going to spend the rest of the night avoiding your unwanted advances. Okay?” She said it with much more seriousness and force than she realized she had in her, and Jake sat back, completely chastised and shocked.

  “Okay,” he said quietly. “I get it.”

  “Good,” Melissa crossed her arms over her chest and looked back out of the window. Hopefully with that out of the way now, she would be able to enjoy the rest of the journey, both to Bordeaux and with whatever was to come after…

  3.

  The hotel in Bordeaux was in the center of the city’s historical square and much more exquisite than Melissa could have imagined. She had traveled away for expeditions before and had been put up in some nice places, but this was something else. It was the kind of hotel a couple would go to on their honeymoon, the sort royalty would check into while away on official business. Melissa marveled at the opulence of the décor and her mouth gaped open as she and Jake walked into the reception area. A huge hallway greeted them with gold leaf walls, six foot urns with luscious plant life and marble flooring that was ice cool on the balls of her feet as she rested her foot down and
readjusted her shoe. There were some of the biggest chandeliers Melissa had ever seen, and candelabras adorned the top of every surface.

  “Wow,” she said. “Looks like someone really came through for us…”

  “You’re not wrong,” Jake gasped. “This place is insane.”

  As they checked in, Melissa told the receptionist that they were with the Archaeologists Association and the girl behind the desk instantly changed her manner. She became overly friendly and presented them with their room keys, telling them they were on a private floor with the rest of their party.

  As they followed the bell boy, who was carrying their bags on a trolley and wearing an adorable red jacket and matching cap, Melissa turned back to look at the hotel entryway… It was such a beautiful hotel. She had no idea why they had been taken there and why they were being treated so well.

  Jake and Melissa’s rooms were thankfully at different ends of the same hallway so she didn’t have to worry about him pressing his ear to the wall and trying to hear her on the phone. She could imagine him doing something like that before coming and knocking on her door with blatant sexual bravado. She just hoped that after telling him off on the train, he had finally gotten the message.

  As she entered her room, she stopped and stared in awe. It was a beautiful suite with rich red velvet curtains tumbling down the sides of the windows, a big separate living area with a bottle of wine on ice waiting for her and the biggest super king-sized bed she had ever seen. She tipped the bell boy, closed the door and ran straight over to it, flopped down and stretched out. She could hear the hustle and bustle from the square below through the open balcony doors, and she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. It almost seemed criminal that this would be the only real time she got to spend at the hotel, as come morning, she would be in full on work mode and heading over to the research site. As she rolled over, she noticed a large folder resting on the desk in the living area. She got to her feet and crossed over to it. It had her name embossed on the front, and when she opened it there was a welcome letter from Dr. Quattro, the leader of the expedition. It requested her to be present in the hotel’s business center at 9 pm. She checked her watch and realized it was almost eight. She put the folder down, quickly unzipped her bag and pulled out a change of clothes. She would have to shower quickly in order to get there in time, and she needed to revive herself after the past twenty-four hours of travel.