by E. C. Land
“If you were fine, you’d be out of here right now trying to get a hold of that man of yours and dragging him to whatever closed-off space you could and have your wicked way with him. I know that’s what I would be doing if I were you,” Quinn snorts.
“Hammer’s not my man, and I’m not going to be doing anything with anyone,” I mutter in protest though it guts me to say he’s not mine. Why? Because I can’t be his. I mean, seriously, who wants a woman who comes from a home that’s nothing but trash. I’m sure in some way that trash is sticking to me, and soon he’ll smell it and decide I’m not what he wants.
“Babe, you’re loco if you think that. Willow and I’ve seen how he looks at you. He might be one scary-ass mofo, but I’m telling you now, that man has claimed you,” Quinn says.
“Okay, so if that were the case, why doesn’t he seem to show that to me? I mean, I know it’s been a couple days, but jeez, a girl can only take so much,” I say snippily.
So, what, Quinn’s right. I am sexually frustrated. Having Hammer’s lips against my own, his tongue darting in to dance with mine as we have some very hot make-out sessions only to stop abruptly each time and leave the room. I sometimes think he’s gone to get one of those other girls I’ve seen glaring at me to take care of the bulge I’ve felt behind his jeans.
“I don’t know, Avery, I’m not a guy, but I do know he’s into you. We can all see it. Doesn’t matter if it’s only been a few days. That man is gone for you. Maybe he’s trying to do good by you,” Quinn says, leaning forward until she’s bracing her elbows on the countertop near where I’m working.
“Why don’t you take measures into your own hands?” Willow suggests quietly.
“What do you mean?” I ask, unsure what she’s talking about.
“I mean, go to the clubhouse, get cleaned up, and seduce the man into taking you to bed,” Willow murmurs, a pink coming over her cheeks.
“I can’t do that. For one, I can’t leave the coffee shop, and for another, I wouldn’t even know how to seduce a man like him,” I mutter, shaking my head.
“Avery, why don’t you let us help you more with this place. You’re gonna kill yourself if you keep it up,” Quinn says gently.
How do I answer her without hurting her feelings? I don’t ask either of them to help more than they do because they have lives outside of this place, and I won’t let them mess up what they have. Me on the other hand, I don’t have anything.
Even this stuff with Hammer, he’ll realize soon enough I’m not what he wants. It’s why I take pride in holding my head up high even when all I want to do is crumple to the floor and sob into a pillow. I don’t feel good enough for a man like him, and it hurts. I need to just stop fooling myself and get him to see the truth. The sooner he sees that, the quicker I can get him to leave me alone, and I can nurse my heart. A heart I didn’t even realize he’d gotten into until just now.
Great, I barely know this man, let alone his real name; there’s no way he’d be named Hammer; all the guys go by road names and Hammer’s no different. And here I am, falling for him like what’s between us is quicksand, and it’s pulling me under as fast as it can.
“Avery?” Willow calls my name, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I’m still trying to get the numbers in the black a little more than they are so I can take you both on more,” I fib, coming up with an excuse. I figure this will keep them from asking more.
The bell on the door to the front lets us know a customer has come in, and I inwardly sigh in relief when both women shake their heads as they leave the back room. From here, I can hear them engaging the customers, and I relax somewhat. I finish what I need to do for the time being and go into my office. So much to do and never enough time to get it done.
Sitting in my desk chair, I notice my phone light up. I lift it up off the desk and look at the screen. Bile rises in my throat at the sight on the screen. But not just at the image that’s been sent to me but by the number.
Why?
I knew it, and yet I’m so naive to think it wouldn’t be this way. God, how can I be so stupid? Closing my eyes, I allow the tears to slip down my cheeks. This is my life, and it’s never going to be one where I get to have a happily ever after, like in the fairy tales where the prince helps the princess. I’m doomed to live a life hidden in the darkness all alone with no one to turn to. I shouldn’t have allowed this to happen.
Now I need to figure out what to do. I don’t want to leave here, but if I stay, it could cost me more than I could ever have imagined wanting. They won’t stop until I’m brought down to their level. That or I’m dead.
Leaning back in my chair, I pull my legs up and wrap my arms around them. To leave means leaving everything behind. The shop that I take pride in. Quinn and Willow. The club. Though that shouldn’t matter since I’m honestly nothing but a burden to them. All of them. I could give Quinn and Willow the shop. They could have it, and then Quinn could stop working at the strip club and have more time with her little girl. Willow would be able to help and go to school. Those two could work something out. As for Hammer, he doesn’t need me. From the image sent, he can do without the hassle of me raining on his parade.
A sob escapes me, and I can’t stop it. The image is now burned into my brain. Hammer sitting with one woman between his legs doing something I’ve wanted to do while his face is buried between the legs of another woman. Both women, I’ve seen at the club. Both women would love to see me gone, and now I am. I can’t go back there. Not this time. To look at him would truly gut me.
This is what I get, and as the message read, ‘You’ll never be enough for him. Nor will you be for anyone, whore.’ I know the number that sent me this picture all too well, and the fact it’s now popping up on my new number sends panic straight through my system. Because now my brother’s found me, and he’ll make sure to make me pay for running when he had plans for me.
Chapter Twelve
Avery
I sit in my office longer than I should, staring at the phone on my desk. It’s long since darkened, the screen hiding the image that is still open in the messages. I have two options, confront Hammer and tell him to leave me alone, or I get the first bus ticket so I can get the hell out of dodge.
Powering up my laptop, I pull up my bank account—the one I use for myself and not the business. I quickly calculate in my head how doable getting a ticket and leaving town is gonna be.
My head is a jumbled mess, and I can’t think straight. What with my heart in shambles over a man I’ve barely known, I think it’s safe to say I’m entitled to be in a mess? But as a pair of arms encircle me from behind, I wish I hadn’t been. I let out a screech of terror and nearly jump out of the chair. If not for the arms enclosed around me, I probably would have and, in the process, would have landed on my ass.
“Sunshine, what the fuck?” Nausea churns at the sound of Hammer’s voice behind me.
“Wh—what are you doing here?” I ask nervously as I pull out of his grasp, stand to my feet, and look at him. I don’t need him touching me right now. His hands on me will confuse me even more and make me feel dirty with the knowledge that I know I’m not enough.
How did I not see or hear him come into the room?
“Came to check on you,” Hammer says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Quinn and Willow were worried and asked Tap to get a hold of me ‘cause you hadn’t been in the front of the shop and weren’t in the kitchen. What’s wrong?”
Oh, God.
That question is hilarious, and if I could, I’d probably laugh my tail off at just how many things right now are wrong. But then again, I can’t get the image that’s now burned into my brain of him and those two bimbos.
Shaking my head, I cast my eyes down to the floor. “I think you should leave. I’m fine,” I murmur, unsure if I can handle getting into it with him. But this right here confirms I’ll have to make it work getting a ticket and getting out of here.
“You’re not fine, Avery. N
ow tell me what’s wrong, or I’ll find a way to make you tell me,” he demands, taking a step forward.
“Don’t,” I utter mutely as I step back, my thighs hitting my desk. I knew I didn’t have any way of escaping him.
“Don’t what, Avery? Don’t worry about what the hell has crawled up your ass? Or the fact, I came in here to find you completely out of it with tears in your eyes. Told you, babe, you’re mine, and I will protect you from whatever it is. Now tell me what’s wrong,” he growls.
I close my eyes, lower my head. He wants to know what’s wrong, but he already does. But I’ll give him what he wants this one time. Without opening my eyes, I reach out and snag my phone off my desk and open it. I then hold it out to him as I give him his answer. “I knew I wasn’t enough, so you don’t have to hide it anymore.”
Hammer snatches the phone from my hand, and all of a sudden, I hear the sounds of my phone smashing against the wall. “That shit, Avery, isn’t me. I wouldn’t do that shit to a woman I’ve claimed to be mine. I’m a lot of things, babe, but I’m not a fuckin’ cheat. This shit about you not being enough needs to stop,” he snarls, his fingers wrap around my biceps, and he pulls me into him. “Look at me,” he commands, and I’m unable to go against his order. I open my eyes and tilt my head to look up at him. “I’m not goin’ to have you sittin’ here thinkin’ shit like that and looking at bus tickets. What the fuck?”
Um, ugh.
I decide to go with the only thing I can think of. “If I were enough, why haven’t you had sex with me?” I ask ever so quietly.
Hammer stares down at me for a brief second before he moves, and when he does, I’m not ready. His mouth comes down in a crushing, bruising kiss. Hands move, ripping my shirt from my body then he shoves my jeans down. Without breaking the kiss, he leans me backward until my back presses into my desk.
My mind is reeling, and his hands don’t stop as he spreads my legs and steps in between them. Hammer lifts his head just enough to meet my gaze at the same time I feel him release himself. I open my mouth to speak, but Hammer has other ideas and slams his mouth on mine at the same time thrusts his girth deep inside my entrance.
I moan into his mouth, my body arching at the invasion. He stills deep inside me for a second. I mean a second before he takes me with savage thrusts. The entire time he powers into me, his mouth stays on mine absorbing the cries of pleasure and pain combined. I’ve never experienced anything so raw and powerful. If he didn’t have his mouth on mine, I know everyone would be hearing the noises coming from me.
Hammer breaks the kiss and lifts his body over mine; his thrusts don’t stop, but his gaze focuses on mine, and I see the harsh lines in his face. “You’re mine, Avery, say it,” he commands.
“Yours,” I whisper without hesitation because it’s the truth. Even if I were to leave, I’d never be able to find anyone like him. He’s it for me. Doesn’t matter the age difference. He consumes me.
“That’s fuckin’ right, and it’s my cock you’re about to come on. I’m not lettin’ you go, Avery, you try to run, and I’ll find you and bring you back to where you belong. I won’t have you leaving me. Not now, not fuckin’ ever. I’ve waited long enough for you,” he growls, and his thrusts still long enough for him to lift me off the desk and turn us to press my back against the wall. I cry out as he starts slamming into me once again. “That’s right, baby, let everyone know who owns you,” he says through clenched teeth, and that’s my undoing. My orgasm washes through me, and I call out his name as I do so. Hammer follows suit several thrusts behind me with a roar of my name. I can feel his cock twitching inside me as his cum leaves his body. This action sends me straight into another orgasm that seems to have no ending in sight.
Panting for breath, I wrap myself tighter around Hammer as he moves us once again, this time for him to take a seat in my chair. With his cock still inside me, my legs fall to straddle him.
“Fuck, Sunshine, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” he mutters, causing me to stiffen. I try to climb off his lap, but Hammer has other plans and holds me in place. “Don’t, Avery. You gotta listen to me and stop jumping ahead on shit. I wasn’t done with what I was sayin’,” he growls.
“Then say it so I can get dressed,” I say weakly.
“Avery, babe, what I meant by that was I’ve been trying to do right by you. Give you the time to get to know me. To adjust to being with me for who I am. Wasn’t trying to rush you into anything you weren’t ready for. With you, I didn’t want something that could’ve been seen as callus or some shit like that. Fuck. I don’t do this whole relationship bullshit. I’m new to this game, and I want to do right by you.” My heart thuds in my chest, and I lick my lips nervously as I hold Hammer’s gaze. I know in my heart I believe him, and my mind for once agrees.
“Is that why you would abruptly leave when we were . . . well, you know kissing?” I ask in a hushed tone.
“Yeah, Sunshine, it’s why I’d leave because if I’d stayed any longer with your mouth on mine and the little noises you make when I barely have my hands on you, I would have already sunk deep inside you. Now I’ve had you, felt your fuckin’ tight as fuck pussy, I’ll be sliding inside you a hell of a lot more. You can guarantee I’ll be inside you three maybe four times daily.” He smirks.
I give him a small smile and take a deep breath. “What . . . What about that picture?” I ask, unsure of myself as the image pops back into my head.
“I’ll tell you that isn’t me, and I can prove it. The dude in the image has a tattoo on his chest in the same spot as mine, but Avery, that tat isn’t mine. If you look close enough, you can see it doesn’t have the wolf head in the middle of the hammer,” he says calmly though I feel him tense and take note of his eyes flaring.
“I think I’ll just take your word on that. I don’t want to see that image again. It’s already seared into my brain, and it makes me sick,” I mutter.
“Don’t worry, baby, I don’t want you seeing that shit again. But I’m tellin’ you now. Something like that happens again. You need to call me. Talk to me don’t go off the wall and decide to leave ‘cause that shit ain’t about to happen,” he declares.
“Um, okay. Ugh, does this all mean you’re only mine as well? Because I’ll admit now, I’m scared. I’m scared you’ll decide I’m trash and throw me away. That you’ll see me as nothing but scum when you find out where I come from and who my family is. I don’t want to . . .” Hammer presses a finger to my lips to stop me from speaking any further.
“Avery, my cock is still deep inside you’re pussy, and I’ll tell you this. Never had pussy as tight as yours, and I don’t think anyone could ever see you as anything but this bright light. Everyone who is around you, baby, can’t help but smile because of you. Now don’t ever think badly about yourself again. We’ll get to the part about your family in a little while. First, I wanna find out who sent you that image in the first place,” Hammer says, growling the last part of it out.
“But I know who sent it; it’s my brother, Aidan. Or one of my sisters at his command. He and Adam are a part of a gang that thinks they’re unstoppable, and they refuse to leave me alone because they have plans for me. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to run,” I mutter, being completely truthful. Hammer deserves to know the truth, and he’s right about one thing, I can’t leave. Not now, not after what he and I just did. My heart’s too attached now for me to even think about running from my life, let alone this man.
Chapter Thirteen
Hammer
Anger seeps in not at Avery but for the fact she’s a target in all of this. I’ve kept her within my sights from the moment we got back to the clubhouse. Avery hadn’t wanted to leave her coffee shop, having felt guilty for having her meltdown while leaving the work to Quinn and Willow, the two women who work with her. Instead of arguing with her right then and there about it after having my mind blown by the way her pussy gripped my cock, I simply dragged her out of there and out to my bike. Again when I got
on the bike, I’d had her ride straddling me rather than pressed against my back.
From my spot at a table across the room, I can see her moving around behind the bar. Avery declared since I brought her home early, she was going to straighten up behind the bar because it needed to be cleaned up.
Whatever. Long as my woman is within my sights, I’m good.
Her words about her family still ring in my ear. I messaged Gunner tellin’ his ass to get here along with Cy. I need more information, and I don’t want to press Avery for it. She doesn’t deserve to be put in the middle of shit. No woman does. I get why my brother cherished his wife so much now.
“What’s goin’ on, Prez?” Malice asks taking a seat next to me. Normally I’d do this in church or in my office; however, I can’t keep my eyes on Avery then. I refuse to allow anything to happen to her. I’ve seen my brothers go through hell for women, and I’m not about to go through the same shit.
Hades, my nephew, he and his ol’ lady went through trauma where even today, she still has nightmares. Hades has told me about them and how that fucker who’d hurt her still haunts her dreams. Not as much, but all the same, it still guts my nephew every time.
“Need Bunny and Cheeks taken to the cellar,” I mutter; the thought of the image sent to Avery fills my head, and I ball my fist.
Avery must sense my eyes on her or the tension or whatever it is because she lifts her head, her gaze comes to mine, and she gives me a look of concern. Lifting a hand, I motion for her to come here. Her brows crease, but she does as I want her to.
“Why?” Malice grunts.
“Tell you in a minute,” I say, not wanting to repeat myself. Malice nods and pulls out his phone to issue the job to one or two of our brothers.
I push back from the table soon as Avery gets close and reach out to snag her around the waist. “You okay?” I ask, wanting to make sure after everything.