Hammer

22

Hammer straightened and lifted his chin. “Listen up, Ajmal. You keep coming after me, and one of these times, I’m going to kill you. When will your luck run out?”

“We need to change directions!” he growled, pulled out his map for a moment, and then grabbed her hand. Charlie let him. There was no way he was going to have a conversation right then.

After several hours, they entered a small village, and Hammer got directions to the only space for visitors. He moved so quickly that it made her dizzy. But they were checked into a room within minutes. She wasn’t even sure where Hammer had gotten money.

Hammer dumped his bag onto the floor as they entered the room and headed for the bathroom. While Charlie looked around, she heard a bang in the bathroom. She winced but headed for the bathroom.

When she pulled the door open, Hammer was on the ground. The bathroom mirror was broken.

He was breathing hard, and his face was flushed again. Though this time, it wasn’t from a fever.

She got to her knees next to him.

“How do you know Ajmal?” Her voice was as gentle as she could make it.

He sighed heavily before he spoke.

“We were best friends at one time. But when our country was invaded, Ajmal turned on me. He accused me of crimes I did not commit.” Hammer looked at her with defiance in his eyes.

But all Charlie saw was exhaustion.

“And I spent the next ten years in a Supermax prison.”

She wanted to burst into tears for him. It was clear he had gone through something traumatic.

And he had also been betrayed by someone he had loved like a brother. Because he must have considered Ajmal family. Otherwise, the betrayal would not have hurt as much as it did.

“I am so sorry for you. I wish you had never gone through that,” she whispered, placing a hand on his arm. But to her surprise, he pushed it off. Then he pushed her away and got up off the floor. He walked out of the bathroom, and Charlie followed. She came to a stop when he turned on her.

“I don’t need your pity.” There was a rumble in his voice again. The rumble of a furious dragon. “And I certainly don’t want it.”

The words were another slap in her face. And Charlie wanted to hurt him back. She took a step breath, inhaling deeply.

When she looked up at Hammer, she did not see aversion in his eyes.

What she did see was pain spilling from his blue eyes. The golden flecks in his eyes shimmered slightly.

“I don’t want your pity,” he repeated as if to reinforce the wall he had just put up.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Charlie said slowly. She walked up to him and took his hands in hers.

She lifted them, kissing both palms.

“I don’t pity you, Hammer,” she said as earnestly as she could. She needed to make him believe her. “But I feel hurt for you.”

Reaching up to kiss him was the most natural thing to do. She stretched up to him, cupping his face in the palm of her hand.

He didn’t yield at first. But when her lips pressed softly against his, she felt him crumble against her.

The kiss was rough and fast. They were both angry for different reasons. But then it softened, deepened.

A thrill of happiness sparked through Charlie as she felt Hammer relinquish to her.

CHARLIE

Hammer’s kiss radiated through Charlie’s body.

Her knees went weak. Charlie leaned into Hammer’s chest. He picked her up and carried her to the bed.

She felt a connection knitting them together; an invisible line like a net of golden fire pulled them closer as they knotted themselves into the throes of another round of pleasure.

Although Charlie didn’t quite understand it, she still didn’t care to explore it.

Charlie ran her hands through Hammer’s hair. It was as soft as down feathers. The tips of his hair tickled her palm as she traced over his face with her fingers.

She cupped his jawline and rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone. Hammer massaged her tongue with his. The kiss was warm and tasted like holiday spices. It fluttered over Charlie’s skin and spun itself into a tightness throbbing at the center of her womanhood.

Charlie wrapped her legs around Hammer’s waist as she clinched her hips to his. She pulled the hard rock at his core into her targeted spot of pleasure and ground into it. His c**k was swollen and throbbing beneath the fabric of his pants.

“Mmm,” Charlie hummed as she ran her hips over the solid piece in his pants and opened her eyes.

Their gazes locked.

In unison, they moved. Hammer rolled onto his back, and Charlie straddled his hips. She lifted her bra and shirt off, and Hammer’s hands shot up to her breasts.

Charlie bent her back to push them into his hands. He squeezed with a gentle force that made Charlie knead her hips over his manhood faster.

She felt his hardened member, long and thick, between her legs.

Power thrummed through Hammer as he gasped, “You have to slow down. We don’t even have our pants off yet. Things are going to get sticky.”

Charlie laughed and stood. She shimmied out of her pants and kicked them to the side. Then she pulled Hammer up and helped him out of his clothes.

As he towered over her, he looked down on her gingerly. “Do you feel okay? Are you sore? Should I go slower this time?” He caressed her cheek, chin, and neck as he asked.

Hammer looked Charlie over. Now that she was naked and standing next to him, he could get a proper look. At first, he told himself that he was searching for signs of roughness, but as his eyes raked over her nude, taut body, his passion began to grow, and he started to memorize every inch of her. He knelt in front of her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Charlie closed her eyes, carded her hands through his hair, and hugged him as he searched her body.