Hammer's Fall (The Breakers' Bad Boys) (8 page)

Eyes wide, she gaped at him. “What was that for?”

“Every time you insult yourself you are gonna get spanked, baby. No one insults you…even you. Got it?” He reached up to caress her cheek and pressed his lips lightly to hers. “You’re mine now, and I take care of what belongs to me. I won’t ever hurt you, so I don’t want you thinking that, but I don’t like it when you put yourself down. You’re so fucking perfect, Kali.”

She reached up and wrapped her small hand around his thick wrist. “I’m not perfect, Jared. Although flattering, that is also a pretty high standard for you to set for me. I can’t help but worry how you’ll feel when you really get to know me better.”

“Kali, I know you. Hell, I’ve been watching you since I bought the building across the street.”

“You have?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. At first it was just because I thought you were hot, but the more I got to know you, the more I wanted you.”

“I had no idea. I’ve watched you, too,” she admitted shyly.

“Have you now?”

Hammer lowered his hand, brushing the back of his fingers against her tight nipple and watched her shiver. His cock throbbed in response and he shifted her on his lap so she was straddling him. He wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her close so he could capture her lips with his. Surprise filled him as she took control of the kiss this time, and he let her push her tongue in his mouth where it stroked against his. She leaned forward, rubbing her breasts against his bare chest until he groaned with need.

“Jared…”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I love kissing you.”

“Thank fucking God for that.”

She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again. He wanted to take her. To shove his pants off and slam her body down onto his cock, but he forced himself to hold back. He would take this time slow if it killed him, and the way she was rocking her body against him made him think it just might.

The phone rang in the background, but they both ignored it. Needing to be inside her again, he was about to carrying her into her bedroom, but froze in place as the answering machine clicked on and the voice of an irritated woman filled the room.

“Kalista Rose? It’s your mother. I just got off the phone with your cousin Bethany, and she is very upset. I think it is very inconsiderate for you to insist on bringing someone with you to the wedding, considering we both know how unlikely it is for you to be able to find another date in time.”

Hammer felt Kali stiffen in embarrassment and he felt his own anger spring to life. How dare her mother speak to her that way!

Kalista’s mother’s sigh could be heard over the line. “Really, darling. You could never hold onto a man like David if you don’t take care of yourself. I tried to warn you that eating all those sweets was just going to make you fatter. It’s such a shame that silly little shop of yours has damaged the only real chance you had at finding someone. Anyway, I told Bethany that I would make sure this date of yours isn’t just one of you girlfriends you decided to bring along. Really, it’s very selfish of you not to think of my sister and your poor cousin on her big day. They have to worry about paying for all the dinners and it’s not like they have a trust like you do. Speaking of, your father and I think it’s time for you to reconsider signing over the trust to us. It’s obvious you haven’t been making very good decisions on your own, and we worry what you are doing with all that money. Call me back.”

The message ended and Hammer was surprised he wasn’t shaking with the rage coursing through him at the sight of the tears in Kali’s eyes. Going with instinct, he said the first thing that came to mind. “How the hell did you turn out so sweet with that crazy bitch as your mother?”

Kalista let out a laughing sob as she threw her arms around his neck and burrowed closer to him. His arms immediately wrapped around her, hugging her close, and he took the throw from where it was draped over the back of the couch and pulled it around her trembling form. She felt him press his lips to the top of her head as he stroked her back in a soothing motion.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that,” she whispered against his neck.

“I’m not.” Shock had her pulling back to look at him. He lifted his hands to gently wipe away the tears that had fallen onto her cheeks. “You warned me that your family wasn’t nice, but honey, that woman sounded pure evil to me. Like wicked witch material if I ever heard it.”

She gave him a shaky smile that tore at his heart. “I try to avoid them as much as I can.”

“I don’t blame you. Sometimes…” Hammer paused as he tried to choose his words carefully. “Sometimes words can hurt more than a fist.”

Kalista nodded, desperately relieved that he understood. Her lips trembled, and she took a shaky breath. “Still want to go to the wedding with me?”

He drew her back into his arm and held her tight. “Baby, you aren’t going without me.”

She let out a little sigh and stroked a hand over his chest. “Thank you.”

“See if you still want to thank me after I punch your ex in his stupid fucking face.”

She had to laugh at that. “You swear a lot.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t really mind. Especially when we’re…”

He tilted his head down so he could look at her. “When we’re, what?”

She could feel herself blush. “You know.”

He pressed his hand over hers to hold it still on his chest. “Ah, so my little fairy likes when I talk dirty to her? What I know is if you keep petting me like that I am going to take you on this couch.”

A mischievous glimmer entered her eyes. “Is this your idea of a workout regimen for me? You know, Becca and Zoe said they wanted to take the self-defense class with me. I hope you aren’t planning on giving this type of one-on-one instruction to everyone.”

He slowly smiled. “Nope. I have a special plan just for you. Tell you what, I’ll put together some sort of self-defense class for you and your girlfriends in a few days. For now, you and I have some of our own cardio to do.”

“Oh, really? What do you have in mind?”

“Why don’t I just show you?”

Kali smiled at him and he stood up, carrying her in his arms. He followed her directions into her bedroom, kissing her softly as he walked.

“Why do you call me a fairy?”

“Because you are. You’re my pretty little fairy.”

She let out a wistful sigh that had him taking her lips again. He would make love to his little fairy on her bed. Take his time like she deserved, and show her how truly special she was. That telephone message from her mother had infuriated him, but it also helped him understand how much damage her parents had done to her self-confidence over the years. He was in her life now, and there was no fucking way he was going to let her be around her family without him there to protect her. Sure, she was a strong, capable woman, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to be there for her.

She would learn over time, she wasn’t alone anymore.

He’d make damn sure of it.

Chapter Five

Kalista drove down the long driveway leading toward Beaumont Manor and gawked at the picturesque view. The sun was bright and shining over the paved driveway that was lined with tall trees, and the lawn was well tended, even for January in Texas. Evelyn Beaumont’s property looked like one of those estates people only saw in magazines or old movies that highlighted the glory days of the south.

The first building she saw was a large plantation house with columns lining the front porch of both of the second and main floors, making it look stately and grandiose. She wasn’t surprised to see a number of motorcycles mixed in with a few trucks and a van in the small parking lot near the side of the structure. She knew that the plantation house was now being used as a boarding house for former soldiers who were transitioning back to life away from the battlefield.

Kalista continued down the road for a few more minutes, passing a large barn that was the size of a warehouse. She knew that was the rescue center by the large sign on the building, but noticing the parking lot next to the structure was full of cars, she wondered why there were so many people there on a Sunday afternoon.

She continued driving around a large pond until she reached Evie’s house, then gasped at the sight. The elaborate residence was made of stone, with large glass windows and a tiered roof that made it seem almost Zen-like. A massive two story building sat in the center with two ranch-style wings spanning from the main structure, making it look like it was three houses connected into a large “U” shape. The design was far more modern than the plantation house, but both buildings seemed to suit the property.

Evie walked out of the front glass doors, wearing jeans and a camel-colored coat that she had paired with a Burberry scarf. Even dressed casually, the blonde looked stunning. She came down the steps with four beautiful, well-behaved dogs flanking her sides as Kalista parked in front of the house on the circular drive. Two of the dogs were clearly German Shepherds while the other two were Belgian Malinois. Kalista wouldn’t have had a clue what those noble looking dogs were, but she had seen pictures of them with information about their breed on Evie’s website.

“Hi!” Kalista said after she had turned off her car and got out. She was instantly glad she had worn jeans and a long sleeve shirt under her white coat. The air was chilly outside, despite the sunshine.

“Hi, Kali. Thanks for coming today.” Evie shot Kalista a rueful smile. “I guess I should have asked you if you are afraid of dogs before you came here.”

“I’m not,” Kalista assured her. “Oh wow, they’re so beautiful.” She knelt on the ground and held out her hand. All four dogs seemed to quiver with glee, their tails wagging at the thought of meeting a new friend, but they simply sat there, looking up at Evie for permission before they moved from her side.

After receiving a release command from Evie, all four dogs surged forward, licking and rubbing against Kalista until she was laughing at their exuberance.

“Sorry, they love people. This is Lancelot, Gawain, Percival and Galahad.”

Kalista’s eyes widened. “You named your dogs after knights of the Round Table?”

“Yep, all four of them are trained for search and rescue, so it seemed fitting. They are my best guys.” Evie walked over to rub two of the dogs on their backs. She loved her dogs, and relaxed when she saw how comfortable Kali was surrounded by the cheerful animals. Wanting to distract them, she pulled out four tennis balls from a small bag hanging at her side, holding two in each hand. “Hey, guys! Go get’em!”

She hurled the balls across the yard and Kalista watched the dogs fly after them, then turned back to look at Evie’s home. “I have to tell you, your house is absolutely amazing.”

“Thank you. I really love it, too.” Evie waved her hand toward the building. “I live in the main part of the house. The right wing belongs to my cousin, Francesca, and the left, my cousin Beckett. Francesca is an author so I can go days without seeing her, and Beckett is our resident veterinarian. He works at the clinic in town three days a week, but the rest of the time he can be found in his office here over at the kennel.”

“I thought you have three cousins who live here,” Kalista said.

“Hunter, my oldest cousin, lives over at the boarding house. He says he wants to be available if any of the guys over there need anything, but I think he is more comfortable over there because he’s a former soldier, too. Truthfully, I think he does a good job connecting with the guys that stay here, even if he doesn’t talk much. Did Hammer tell you what happened to him?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Evie shrugged. “They don’t talk about that kind of stuff much. Hunter was a Navy SEAL, and he was in a pretty bad explosion when he was overseas. I don’t know exactly what he was doing, he doesn’t talk about that stuff, but he was badly burned on one side of his body.”

“Oh my God. I’m so glad to hear he made it home.”

“So am I,” Evie said with feeling. “My parents died when I was still a teenager, but my aunt and uncle didn’t hesitate to move their family here to take care of me. My cousins were great, and we became close almost instantly. When I talked to them about starting this place, everyone supported the idea. Now, we all get to do something we love. Even my uncle, Tony, and Madeline work at the kennel. They live in that house over on the other side of the pond.”

Kalista looked across the pond and saw a smaller ranch house. It warmed her heart to think of Jared’s mother in a happy relationship after what she went through with Jared’s father. Pushing those distressing thoughts aside, she opened the trunk of her car and took out a large canvas bag that held three gallon-sized plastic containers filled with dog treats. “I was really excited about coming to see you about the upcoming adoption event. I made three kinds of treats to start us off.”

She had taken care to do a little research online before she tweaked the recipes until she was happy with the results. Becca and Anna had helped her make the treats over the last few days, but some unexpected help had come from Anna’s nephew, Nathan Diaz.

The sixteen year old had recovered from his ordeal with his mother’s abusive boyfriend, and had started attending classes at the local high school. When the school day was over, Nate had started coming in to help out in the bakery. With his brother Shane still in the hospital, it seemed best to keep the teen occupied. He had offered to clean the pots and pans in the back of the shop, and had learned to work the register in the front. He had a good work ethic, despite how screwed up his home life had been before he’d moved in with Anna, and he had been very grateful when Kalista officially offered him a part-time job.

Over the last week they had noticed an increase of young girls visiting the shop. Nate was a handsome young man, with a dark, brooding attitude that automatically drew those young girls to him like forbidden fruit. It seemed odd that the young man wanted to work in the bakery with his bad boy demeanor, but he was a natural in the kitchen and seemed to like what he was doing.