by Marie Harte
Vi did her best to pretend everyone wasn’t assessing her. While she and Hammer hadn’t outright stated an intention to remain quiet about their sexcapades together, Hammer had struck her as more mature, a keeps-his-private-life-private kind of guy. Though he hadn’t broadcast to anyone that they’d been intimate, the way he kept touching her and including her gave him away.
She frowned.
He frowned back. “Hey, this is important. What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Is food all you think about?”
“Well, not all.” He didn’t crack a smile or say the line with innuendo.
Her cheeks heated anyway.
“Holy shit.” Deacon gaped.
Solene elbowed him in the gut and nodded at the baby. “Deacon, little ears.”
“Holy shoot. Vi and Hammer are—”
“Not real pleased with your big mouth right now,” Hammer growled. “So shut the frack up.” He smiled at Solene. “And bless you for putting up with his sorry ass.”
“Ass?” Vi glanced at the baby. “Little ears?”
“Deacon’s an ass. That’s one truth that should never be kept from the kid.”
Noel bit back a grin. “Right. So, could you guys do your breakfast order later while we get back to Angel?”
The baby started to fuss, and Vi gratefully handed him to Addy, who took him away to sleep. “I just have one question first, Noel.” She turned to Solene. “I thought you ran a daycare.”
“I did. I sold it to my assistant. Now Deacon and I run a coffee and sandwich shop.”
“It’s the most popular place on the island.” Deacon beamed with pride. “Ain’t my woman amazing?”
“It’s because of your cooking more than my business sense,” Solene said.
“Oh my God.” Hammer scrubbed his eyes. “Coo at each other later. We’re trying to tell you something about the kid.”
“The kid has a name,” Noel said, sounding as Icy as his namesake. “And it’s not Little Dee or Noel Jr.,” he added before Hammer could pounce. “It’s Gunnar.”
Hammer looked back at Vi. “Gunnar?”
She smiled. “I like it. I know Angel would.”
“Wait, so you think the baby is Angel’s too?” Deacon asked.
Addy returned, and Noel quietly filled her in on what she’d missed.
“Not only that,” Hammer cut in. “Vi tested Gunnar, and the little guy is definitely Angel’s. Oh, and something I should probably mention. I have a feeling the locket she left was meant for me.”
Eight
Monday morning, Hammer lay in bed in the room he used at Addy’s old place next door—Vi had insisted on being given her own room, not surprising him in the slightest. He stared at the ceiling, wide awake after only five hours of sleep. The clock’s neon green numbers flashed 5:15, and he sighed, wishing he had something better to do than stare at the ceiling and think so damn hard.
He didn’t like the others believing Big Joe might have something to do with their mess. Granted, their handler hadn’t been telling them everything, but Big Joe was like that. He compartmentalized better than anyone Hammer had ever met. Assignments here, personal life there, Business shenanigans completely separate from everyone.
The man—and it was a man—took everything on his broad shoulders to protect those he considered his. Not a warm and fuzzy kind of guy, Big Joe still had everyone’s back. He went out of his way to make life easier on people who lived with life and death decisions on a daily basis.
Take how easily Noel and Deacon had separated from the Business life. No drama, no fuss. Except for this hit out on them all and the drama with Gunnar, life for Noel and Deacon would be ideal.
Hammer left the bed and took care of business in the bathroom. Then, still wired from too many thoughts in his head, he showered and returned to stare at his empty bed, wishing Violet had joined him.
He’d wanted to ask her to last night, but after dropping his bombshell about the locket, Vi had pleaded exhaustion. Solene and Deacon had stayed over at Noel’s, and the guys had grudgingly agreed to pick back up this morning, after Deacon and Solene went to work.
Deacon and Solene. Noel and Addy. Perfect couples who suited each other. Hammer and Violet?
He didn’t think he’d been overly possessive about Vi or anything. Though the woman had glared at him a few too many times. She’d been the one being obvious, way too insistent on having her own space.
He glared at the empty bed, clutched his towel tight around his waist, and decided to see if she’d woken yet. They needed to talk.
He walked down the hall to the spare bedroom Vi was using. Since Addy had moved in with Noel months ago, the house mostly sat empty unless Hammer was around. Solene and Deacon had a huge place off Manitou Beach five miles away. A place that definitely fit his friend. Solene had money from her modeling days, and Deacon, like the others, squirreled away his payments for jobs well done. Danger came with a price tag that either paid well or planted a guy in the ground. There was no in between.
He readied to knock on the door when it flew open. Vi stood there, dressed in a short robe, her hair a fuzzy halo that said sex and now in the same breath. A soft light by the bed illuminated the room.
“Took you long enough,” she groused and dragged him inside by the towel.
She shut and locked the door behind him then yanked his towel off and shrugged out of her robe.
Hammer grinned. “You miss me, baby?”
“Yeah, yeah. On your back and you’ll get a treat. But no talking.”
“Oh, I love when you get bossy.” He winked.
She was too busy staring at his cock to notice because it had risen under her regard.
He did as ordered, liking this side of her, and stretched out naked on top of her bed, linking his hands behind his head. “I’m yours, sweetcheeks.” Talking could wait.
She bit back a grin, but he saw it. “Alright, mighty mouth, you asked for it.” She jumped on top of him, her luscious curves settling against his hard body and causing his cock to swell even more. Then she kissed him, demanding entry with a tongue that wouldn’t stop moving and set him on fire.
It had been two days since they’d had sex, each wanting a little space after that marathon the first night at the hotel. He totally agreed to needing distance, his head swimming in thoughts and feelings about Vi he’d never thought to feel. But… Why the hell had he waited two long-ass days to share a kiss?
He must have been out of his mind, was all he could think before the ability to process anything faded under an onslaught of Vi. Her lips and hands were everywhere, and he could only moan and reach for her, until she wasn’t there.
A hot, wet mouth engulfed his dick, and he was lost. He found her hair and held tight, not hurting, but not wanting to ever let her go.
“Yes, baby. Oh fuck, Vi…” He pumped into her mouth, her suction driving him insane.
Then she stopped, and he swore with frustration.
“Hold on, Destroyer,” she whispered and crawled up his body. She straddled his hips and reached between them. “Watch me.”
The image burned into his brain as she sank over him, taking him fully inside her. Then the sultry woman closed her eyes and moaned as she began riding him. Even better, she fingered herself while she did.
Hammer fell hard, so in lust and in…something else…while he gripped her hips and held on as she took him to new heights of pleasure.
“Oh, oh yes,” she hissed as she moved up and down, slamming harder and faster as she reached her climax.
He couldn’t wait any longer. Hammer yanked her down one final time and exploded, shouting her name. She keened and stilled over him, coming while he continued to fill her.
He opened eyes he hadn’t been aware of closing and looked up into a face he didn’t think he’d ever get tired of seeing. Each time he looked at Vi, he saw a different aspect of her. Sexy, sultry, dangerous, sweet. He never knew what he’d get from her, with the exception of
thrilling desire.
But maybe it was the newness of fan-fucking-tastic sex. Perhaps seeing his friends happy and in love had made him long for something more, and Vi was a temporary filler for a need that would soon pass. Yet that seemed unlikely. He’d never been so stimulated, physically, mentally, and emotionally, by a woman.
It didn’t escape him, as he sought to get his breathing back, that she’d been the one to instigate this time.
He smiled. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“And good morning to you, Mr. Cliché. Can’t remember my name so you go with beautiful? How about baby or sweetheart? Oh, or honey,” she teased, running her fingers over his chest.
He laughed, wanting to purr like a cat. Man, this woman made him feel so damn good. “Oh yeah. I’ll happy cliché you whenever you want.” He sighed and reveled in feeling her all around him. “I’m not moving. Gimme a few minutes and we’ll go again.”
She smirked. “You wish. Women are superior. We can have sex whenever we want. But you pitiful men always need a break.” She huffed. “Lightweight.”
“Well, I think we can agree that’s something you’re not.” He gave a fake grimace and pretended to try to lift her off him. But when she started to move up, he refused to let her go. “Now, now. Just teasing, love chops.”
She snickered. “You’re funny.”
“I know.”
“And not bad in bed.” She stretched her arms, showcasing those mouthwatering breasts. “Great to know you’re good for a few rounds. Want another shower?”
“Where you’re wet? You bet I do.” But not yet. “How about we wait until we’re both ready though?”
She shrugged, still petting his chest. Her clever fingers plucked at his nipples, stirring him all over again. “I do like your body. So much muscle. You must work out a lot.”
He shivered under her touch. “You playing with me, lady contractor?”
“Killing you with pleasure, one kiss at a time?” She arched a brow. “Why? Is it working?”
“Hell yeah.” He shifted under her, semi-hard, and lifted her off him. “Stay right there.” He hurried to the bathroom and cleaned himself, then came back with a damp cloth for her. After wiping the mess from between her legs, he settled on his side, propped on an elbow to watch her, now seeing hints of her sister in the small play of shadow over Vi’s face.
But where Angel had been sweeter, classically beautiful, Vi was all fiery, fierce woman.
“You are so my type,” he murmured and cupped her breasts. He leaned forward to suck at each tip, desire a drugging lust that continued to burn his blood.
“Your body is smokin’. I know,” he said before she could. “Another cliché. But Vi, I mean it. You are fucking fine as hell.”
She smiled up at him, her expression unguarded for once. And so beautiful she stole his breath. “Well, thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“No, no. You don’t get it. Your face, your skin, your hair. It all turns me on. Then there’s that banked rage I see in your eyes, and it makes me so hard. And happy.”
She blinked. “Happy?”
“Yeah, happy. Because I know I could never break you. You’d snap me in half before I could even think about hurting you. Not that I would, but you’re so damn strong. It’s… Fuck.” He took her hand and wrapped it around his thickening shaft. “See what you do to me? And I’m a guy. I like visuals. But I close my eyes and think about you, and I’m hard enough to split iron.”
He moved in her hands, loving that she squeezed him.
He squeezed back, a hand at her throat. “And this. You love this,” he said, his voice deep with arousal. A glance at her eyes and parted lips showed her equally impassioned. “God, I want to fuck you and keep on fucking you.” He gave her a mean smile, knowing how much she loved him taking charge. “And I’m going to. No condoms, huh, Vi? You do like to live dangerously.”
“Unless you were shagging someone else from the time we left the hotel to now, I figure I’m safe.”
“Safe?” He chuckled and spread his fingers over her neck as he settled over her, caging her within his large frame. He remained conscious to never harm her, only to give her the sense of domination they both enjoyed.
Her breathing increased and her pupils dilated, her excitement easy to read. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.” He removed his hand and kissed her, a rough ravaging of lips and tongue that had her moaning his name and arching up into him, all but grinding his dick into a monstrously huge erection once more.
“Easy, baby. Time to get fucked when I say it’s time.” He put her arms above her head and held her narrow wrists with one hand. Then he played with her breasts while rubbing his knee against her pussy, getting her nice and wet. “I’m gonna come again, right up in you. But I’m done looking at you.”
She frowned. “What?” She tried to move her hands but couldn’t.
He gave her more of his weight, holding her firm. “Let’s turn you over, hmm?” He quickly let go of her wrists to flip her over and dragged her up on her hands and knees. Kneeling between them on the bed, he rose to one knee so he could angle himself at her pussy.
“Hammer, wait. I want to—”
“Get fucked. I’m done waiting.” He gripped her hips and shoved home, the whole of himself gliding inside her hot body until he could go no farther.
She gasped and moaned his name. And he gave her what she wanted. He fucked her hard, riding her toward orgasm before retreating. He reached under her to feel that tight little clit, and he pinched it, eliciting a long, drawn out groan from her.
“You close?”
“Yes, oh fuck,” she swore as he pumped again. “Oh yes, yes. More.”
He tugged her head back by her hair and leaned forward to kiss her throat. “Come around me. Now.” He yanked again, small bites of pain at her scalp as he thrust hard, fast, and deep.
“Hammer,” she cried out, seizing around him, her body so in tune with his she triggered his climax as well.
“Fuck.” He let go of her hair to straighten so he could piston inside her, the orgasm drawing him into an all-encompassing bliss he hadn’t expected. The pleasure obliterated him when the whole of it finally rushed through him, his body jerking as he jetted into her, his knees weak.
When he came back to himself, he felt limp. Sweaty and covered in the mess he’d made, yet he’d never felt better.
“You’d better not collapse on me, you big, kinky killer.”
He laughed then groaned when he started to slide out.
“Oh hell. We need to wash these sheets before Addy sees them.” Vi sighed. “And why is it I’m always the one covered in you when we orgasm? How come the man is never a mess?”
“Hey, you want to squirt all over me next time, have at it.” Hammer smiled, loving the thought. “I like any part of you on me or in me. You name it.” He wiped between her legs, stupidly pleased he’d come so much inside her. It wasn’t as if he wanted a baby with her or anything. Not now.
Not ever, he told himself and headed for the bathroom before he did something stupid and cuddled with her.
But she beat him to the shower. Once inside, she let him wash her all over, even letting him shampoo her hair.
“You have amazing hands,” she said, sounding dreamy.
“Aw, thanks…Beautiful. Sorry. What was your name again?”
* * *
Vi opened her eyes and saw the big goof laughing, and happiness stuttered in her brain. Then moved to burn in her chest. Hammer was the beautiful one, his joy something she’d never forget.
Vi liked sex, but trusting a partner enough to give up control had never been possible before. She’d had intense orgasms with Hammer, so intense he could have done anything while she writhed, incapacitated with pleasure. Yet she trusted him to give her that ecstasy and keep her safe.
So…strange.
“Hmm.” Hammers fingers pushed through the wet silk of her hair as he rinsed out the conditi
oner. “What’s that look? It’s a mix of sleepy and happy with a chaser of death glare.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re so weird.”
“But hung like an elephant. Remember that.”
She glanced down and nodded. “Oh, that I can remember.”
“I swear, if I wasn’t sucked dry of all my sperm, I’d do you right now.”
“Gee, Hammer, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He hugged her to him, turning so that she got her share of the hot water.
And something in Violet melted. That shield of ice holding everyone back collapsed as she basked in his warmth. In the solid defender who did his best to keep the world safe.
“It feels like nothing can get me when I’m in your arms.” As soon as she said it, she wanted to take the words back.
He froze for a moment, then hugged her tighter.
She squeaked, and he eased up with a laugh. When she glanced up, she saw him looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
“That’s because nothing will ever hurt you when you’re standing in my arms. Not anything, Vi.” A pledge that arrowed straight into her heart. Then the blasted man kissed her, keeping her totally off balance. Not until he smacked her on the ass and ordered her to hurry up and get out so they wouldn’t miss breakfast did she realize how far she’d already fallen for Hammer.
Something she really needed to stop.
What a mistake falling in love would be for a woman as independent and strong as Violet.
Nine
Had Violet thought it would be a mistake to fall for Hammer? More like a Herculean task. Dealing with Hammer in a good mood could be work on its own. Keeping up with his snarky sense of humor was easy, but reading his growling and huffing and puffing and realizing it was because he wanted her kept safe…
That pissed her off to no end.
“Look Hamilton, you don’t get to tell me what to do,” she bit out as the team—Noel, Deacon, Hammer, and Violet—sat around Noel’s kitchen island, eating breakfast while discussing possible planning.