by E. C. Land
My heart clinches at the sound of the woman calling out Hammer’s name. Why? I don’t know, but I do know I need to get the hell out of there quickly.
Walking double time, I step through the doors leading outside and take a deep breath of the night’s air. Now I understand why he didn’t come back to his room. I’d invaded his space, so he’d had to go somewhere else to get what he needed rather than attempting it with me.
No, don’t go there. It’s not worth it.
Holding my head up, I make quick work of putting space between me and the clubhouse. As well as Hammer. It’s bad enough to know he’d left the way he did storming out of his room, but to hear his name on another woman’s lips through a closed door is gut-wrenching. And a blow to a woman’s pride.
With fast paces, I make my way into town. I’d decided with needing to leave so early in the morning, I’d left at two something to give me time to make it in time to open on time. The cool, crisp air prickles my skin, and by the time I get to my shop, I’m chilled and wanting nothing more than to get warm again. It might be warming up in the daytime, but at night it’s still cool, and I don’t need to get sick. It’s the last thing I need.
Finding my spare key, I open the back door and step inside. Heaviness sets in my chest as something dawns on me. This is the only thing I’m meant to have. I mean a man like Hammer, even if I wanted him and he took me to his bed, which wouldn’t happen, I’d never be enough. Who wants a woman who doesn’t have curves. My ass is small, and my breasts are barely B cups.
I let out a shaky breath, hit the lights in the kitchen area, and head to my office; first things first, change and get out of Hammer’s shirt. The sounds of his name still ring in my ears, and I don’t need or want to have anything of his touching me right now.
Changing out of my clothes, I also make another decision. The place I go to for restock, they deliver, it costs more, but it’d be worth it. I could have them bring me my order if I put one in now. I can put my order in while getting everything ready for opening. This way, I won’t have to leave considering I don’t have my car. It’s at my house, and I don’t want to go anywhere near the place right now. I might have said I needed to go by there, but Hammer was right about me not needing to be there. Especially when he said it was animal blood coating my walls.
I mean, who does that? It’s just plain gross for anyone to use blood but freakier to use animal blood. Okay, well, any type of blood.
My mind wanders over everything that happened last night, from the moment I got home to the moment I left the clubhouse to come here. I’m surprised no one saw me leave. Then again, I did leave in the middle of the night, and if anyone were awake such as Hammer, who’d been getting his rocks off, they were probably doing the same.
God knows I need to stop thinking of Hammer. I don’t understand how in such a short amount of time, a man like him could take up so much space in my head.
By the time it’s time for me to open the front doors, I’ve put in my order for the stock I need and set the delivery for this afternoon right after closing, baked what needed to be baked and put out, started the brewing of coffees and got everything switched on for the day. Flipping the sign next to the door over to open, I unlock the door and head back behind the counter. Doesn’t take thirty minutes before the customers start to trickle in.
I stay focused on my customers, losing track of time. By the time I’m through rush hour, I’m even more exhausted and ready to pass the hell out. Grabbing a cup of coffee, I lift it to my mouth and pour the contents down my throat needing the jolt to stay awake.
Sighing, I get back to work as more customers come in. I’m busy taking care of them, and though I hear the sounds of the bikes going by, I don’t pay attention as they stop directly in front of the shop. Handing the cup to the person standing in front of the counter, I lift my head to the door as it opens, and my eyes widen at the man followed by his men into the shop. All of them glowering at me with hits of frustration, but it’s the man in front of them that confuses me more, along with gutting me with the fury pouring off him.
“You have got to be fuckin’ kidding me,” he snarls, stepping around the customers still waiting in line.
“Um, I’m sorry; if you can give me a few minutes to help my customers, I’ll get you some coffee,” I mutter and switch my attention to the woman standing in front of the counter.
“Uh, holy crap, is that your boyfriend,” the woman murmurs quietly before I can ask her for her order.
“No,” I say just as quietly, not missing the air in the room becoming more stifling. None of the men say anything as I finish dealing with the last of my customers.
Lifting my gaze, I square my shoulders and ask the room in general, “Does anyone need coffee?”
Chapter Eight
Hammer
Wakin’ up after a shit night of sleeping on my couch in the office put me in a foul mood from the get-go. What the fuck was I thinkin’ not getting my ass back to my bed?
Oh right, I had a woman in my room sleeping, and I needed to figure out what to do with her.
Avery. Fuck, thinking of her in my bed causes my cock to jerk to attention behind my jeans.
Getting up, I twist my neck side to side, loosening the kink I’d given myself. I stand and get ready to leave my office when a knock sounds, and Malice steps into the room before I can speak up.
“What?” I demand, seeing the hardened look on his face.
“Heads up, brother, you’re not gonna like what I’m about to tell you,” he mutters gravelly.
“Tell me what?” My gut tightens, and my shitty mood grows tenfold at what it could be.
“Avery’s gone,” Malice announces. “She left around two this morning and brace, Prez, because this shit is gonna piss you off even more; Cheeks and Bunny are back. Came back last night, and Cy caught them on the video feed going into one of the rooms right before you get to the main room. They did this mere seconds before Avery left the clubhouse.”
“What the fuck? All clubwhores were supposed to be gone all night,” I snarl, not even allowing the last bit about Avery to sink home yet. My shit mood peaking even higher.
“Don’t know, Prez,” my VP mutters. “Know they were pissed when they heard you had a woman in your room and then were beside themselves with glee snickering about how you weren’t in there with her and that she needed to learn a lesson about not being the only one you fuck.”
“You’ve got to be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. I passed out on my couch in here after drinkin’ three-fourths of a bottle of my Wild Turkey at my desk while given her some motherfuckin’ space, and they want to pull this shit,” I growl, not liking this bit of information Malice has given me. Those two cunts crossed a serious line with this stunt. Let alone being here in the first damn place when we’d told all the whores to stay gone last night.
“Those two are pissed because they’ve been your go-to whores for a while now and seem to think they got a claim on you,” Malice informs me.
Fuck.
“Where’s Avery now?” Her ass had best still be here, though I know she’s not. Swear to fuckin’ god the woman is gonna do my head in, and I barely know her from Eden.
“Knuckles went to town and said she’s at the coffee shop,” Malice announces, and I nearly see red. The woman is bound and determined to kill herself in that place. I could see it in the exhausted state she’d been in last night. And I’m sure she didn’t get any sleep. Again, on that, though, my anger grows. My fist clench at my sides, and I’m ready to beat the shit out of someone or take my hand to a certain woman’s ass for leaving here.
“Find those two cunts, we’ll deal with them, and then I’ll deal with Avery. Tell me Knuckles is still on her,” I grind out, deciding I better handle the whores before going to my woman.
Motherfuckin’ shit. My woman.
My brother had been right in what he said about meeting the right one. Granted, I’m not feeling the joyous feelings shit he did at the mome
nt.
“Yeah, he’s sitting outside the tattoo shop, keeping an eye out on the place until you or someone else can get there,” Malice confirms. “As for Bunny and Cheeks, what do you wanna do?”
“Until I know what the fuck they’re up to, I don’t fuckin’ know. But we’ll see what they have to say. I know the brothers would be happy to continue fuckin’ them cause I’m not going there anymore,” I growl with a jerk of my chin and storm forward and throw the door open. Those two bitches weren’t even supposed to be here last night, and I want to fuckin’ know what the hell they’re up to.
Stalking down the hall toward the rooms that hold all the clubwhores. We keep them separated from the rest of our rooms so they know where they belong. Bunny and Cheeks both share a room, and as I step in front of it, I twist the knob for it to open. The door slams against the wall as I push it open. Both clubwhores scream as they sit up in the bed.
“You two cunts get your fuckin’ asses out here and into the main room now,” I order with a curl of my lip at the sight of them and the fear in their gazes.
Turning on my heel, I stalk back into the main room to find my brothers, all of them, standing around the room looking pissed.
“Hammer,” Cheeks says hesitantly as she comes out into the main room in nothing but a shirt and thong. Bunny is dressed the same way, looking scared of what’s about to happen.
“You wanna tell me what the fuck you two are doing here at the clubhouse when you’re not supposed to be here, considering the club told you to go stay somewhere else,” I sneer.
“But, Hammer, we didn’t want to be away from you,” Bunny says, giving me a smile that has never worked on me in the first place.
“Why were you in the hall near my room?” I demand.
“We . . . came in there to check on you after hearing you weren’t in your room,” Cheeks states in response. A look of hurt, no matter how fake, crosses her features.
“Cheeks, don’t pull that shit; I told your ass to get the fuck out when you two bitches came strutting your asses in here drunk as fuck. You heard Gunner and I talking about Hammer’s woman, he claimed, and you got pissed about it. Now tell the fuckin’ truth,” Rogue sneers, stepping forward and crossing his arms over his chest.
“We . . .” I stop her by holding a hand up in a stop motion, not wanting to hear any of her bullshit excuses.
“You know what, I don’t give a damn about what you have to say. Except for one thing, what were you doing in my fuckin’ clubhouse when we told all of you to motherfuckin’ stay gone for the night?” Fury clings to me, and I’m pissed I’m having to deal with this first rather than going after Avery.
“We didn’t think you were serious, and besides, Cheeks and I don’t have anywhere else to go. When we saw her coming out of your room, we decided to play with her and figured she’d leave if she thought you were fuckin’ us. You were in your office,” Bunny stammers, fiddling with her hands in front of her.
“That true about them not having a place to go, Cy?” I ask, tilting my head to my brother.
“Yeah, Prez, from what I know of these two, they don’t got shit we don’t give them. However, we did pay for a hotel room for them to stay at,” Cy says, lip curling up in disgust.
Nodding, I turn back to the two clubwhores. “Tellin’ you now and hear me when I say it because this is the only fuckin’ time I’m gonna say it. Probation, you’re both on a month’s probation. You fuck up even minimally in that time; you two cunts are out of here. You’re damn lucky I don’t put you out right now, but I ain’t got time for it. Now stay the fuck away from Avery and me,” I snarl and wait for their response.
Fake tears spill down their cheeks, and I’m not in the mood for that shit. I need to get out of here.
“I’m heading to town,” I declare and stalk toward the doors with several of my brothers following.
Pulling up to Rise-N-Shine Coffee, I push the kickstand down and shut my bike off, then I’m storming into the shop even more pissed to find Avery is handling customers, smile in place with dark circles under her eyes.
“You have got to be fuckin’ kidding me.” I stalk to the counter next to where the customer at the front of the line is getting ready to place their order.
“Um, I’m sorry; if you can give me a few minutes to help my customers, I’ll get you some coffee,” Avery says quietly and goes back to what she’s doing.
“Uh, holy crap, is that your boyfriend?” the customer standing next to me asks in a hushed whisper.
“No,” my woman says just as quietly, causing me to narrow my gaze on her. She’ll learn here soon what I am to her, and it ain’t puny, runt boyfriend. No, I’m her man.
Shit, what the hell am I thinking?
Finally, the last of the customers leave the shop, and I nod to Gunner to lock the door to keep anyone else from getting in. At the same time, Avery pisses me off even more. “Does anyone need coffee?” she asks sweetly to the room as a whole.
“Woman, we don’t want coffee, and you’re not gonna make any. As of now, the shop’s closed for the rest of the fuckin’ day. Your ass is getting back to the clubhouse and sleepin’ so we can discuss some shit,” I state, my voice harsh and demanding.
“I . . . I can’t leave. I put an order in to be delivered since my car is out of commission, and it should be here this afternoon after closing,” she protests.
“I’ll get one of the prospects to handle it.”
“No, you can’t. I have to do it. This is my place, and I know where everything goes, and then I need to get things ready for in the morning. You don’t know what it takes to run this place. Now leave me alone and go away. I don’t need to go to the clubhouse and go to sleep. I’ll sleep on my couch in the office when I’m ready to.” Avery did not just say that shit.
Seeing red, I reach out over the counter and snag her by the waist; with her weighing absolutely nothing, I pluck her up over the damn thing and throw her over my shoulder. With her kicking and screaming, I stalk past my brothers as Gunner unlocks and opens the door for me.
“We’ll take care of the shop, Prez,” he mutters as I pass him.
Grunting, I take the short strides to my bike. I swing a leg over it to straddle my girl and drop Avery down in front of me. I’m gonna make sure she can’t get away from me by keeping her in front until I get us to the clubhouse. There I’ll handle the rest of the shit once we’re in my room.
It may have only been a day since I met this woman and having set eyes on her days before, but it’s time I do what my gut tells me, and I’ve always listened to it. Making Avery mine is exactly what it’s telling me to do, and so that’s what the hell I’m gonna do.
Come hell or high water, Avery will know who she fuckin’ belongs to.
Chapter Nine
Avery
The first thing to come to my mind when it comes to this man is something I shouldn’t even be thinking. For one, he’s older than me. A lot older, not just three or four years, no he has to be in his late thirties, early forties. So yeah, that shouldn’t happen.
Only I can’t help but think these thoughts that cause my panties to dampen. I want him to touch me, but at the same time, I can’t allow myself to do so. I mean, I’ve never had luck with men; granted, it always comes down to my family interfering, and they’re not here, but I’d never be enough for a man like Hammer.
Early this morning proved it when I heard that girl moaning Hammer’s name in pleasure. How could I compete? Why do I even care?
Hammer coming into my shop and throwing me over his shoulder, and storming out to his bike is maybe one reason. I have to admit, though it infuriates me he could do something like this; it’d been hot. Even hotter with him putting me on the bike in front of him. I’m sure it’s illegal with the way he rode back to the clubhouse with me wrapped around him. My arms and legs held on to him tightly to keep from falling off. I realized by the time we pulled up in front of the clubhouse, I had nothing to fear in falling off because he
’d made sure to take care in curves and such with me being in front of him.
Parking his bike, he doesn’t give me a chance to release him; instead, as he cuts the motor or engine, I don’t know what you would call it on a motorcycle and moves his hands to grasp me by my rear and lifts me up as he climbs off his bike.
Holy cannoli.
Without putting me down, Hammer prowls toward the clubhouse. Once inside, he keeps going. Men who hadn’t been with him at the coffee shop go quiet as they take in what he’s doing. Some even start to whistle and chuckle. During this, Hammer doesn’t say not one word.
Getting to his room, he opens the door, steps through, and uses his foot to kick it closed. The door slams closed as he moves a little further into the room, and then I find myself falling backward onto Hammer’s bed. The man comes to loom over me, his arms caging me to him.
“Don’t know what the fuck was going through your head leaving the clubhouse at two in the fuckin’ morning, Sunshine, but that shit ain’t happenin’ again. Nor will you not getting any sleep be happenin’ again. Last night I’d been reminded of some shit that fucked with my head, and I needed to be alone.”
“I’m sure you did,” I grumble, interrupting him in the process as that woman’s voice pops into my head.
“I know I fuckin’ did. Not that I need to explain myself to you, Avery, considering neither of us knows shit about the other, you’ll come to find, I don’t fuckin’ bullshit, and I don’t lie. Lie to me, and I’ll put your ass out. Or, in your case, tan your ass red for thinking you can do so. I won’t put up with it. Now we’ve got a lot to talk about, but first things first, I didn’t fuck some bitch in another room last night or earlier this morning. I passed out in my office after downing Wild Turkey. Slept on the couch, which gave me a fuckin’ kink in my neck.