Page 12 of Ten Hammers

Spending weeks living in the Hammer house with all the brothers certainly has its allure. Still, trepidation, from the idea of walking through Gram’s old house, a place where I never felt a happy moment other than when the boys across the street were calling at my window to take me away, gnaws at me.

Leo slides a hand lower, to the top of my thigh, his fingers splaying. I’m not sure how intentional he’s being when it comes to turning me on, but god, it’s working. I have to hold my breath and stop myself from shimmying my ass into him, like I’m a cat in heat.

Needing to get a hold of myself before I embarrass myself, I pull away from their twin embrace. “Can I think about it while we eat?”

I’m only buying time. Obviously I’m going to say no.

Leo’s fingers begin doing this stroking thing that has me wanting to yell “TAKE ME NOW” for the whole city to hear.

I’m absolutely going to say no.

I have to say no.

Can I say no?

Chapter 5

Winnie

Morning sunlight casts a golden glow upon the soft, creamy hue of the Victorian house, highlighting the inviting, wrap-around porch and stretch of large windows adorned with delicate lace curtains that hint at the elegance within. The front door opens.

“Where is she? I need to see my Winnie!”

I hear Anna Hammer, the matriarch of the Hammer family, before I see her.

“Where did she go?” Axel’s voice is full of confusion, because two minutes before, I’d been standing right behind him on the porch steps of the brothers’ childhood home.

Now I’m on the side of the house, puking into Anna’s periwinkle hydrangeas.

I’d been determined not to even look at Gram’s, but I caught a glimpse of the small house in my periphery, run-down though unassuming on the outside, and that was enough to bring my breakfast up.

Why the hell did I let them convince me to do this?

Oh yeah, it was me who let my pervy fantasies of losing it to Max in the pool house take over all rational thought.

“Oh Winniefreeeeeeeeed,” Gunnar sings out. “Where are you, my pretty?”

Your pretty is currently making sure she didn’t get cereal bits in her hair, I think.

“Be there in a minute!” I shout. “I wanted to check out the hydrangeas!”

I untie the hoodie I sometimes wear around my waist to make it clear I have a waist and dab around my mouth and chin with the sleeve. Then I stuff it under the bush to retrieve later because nothing says I’m so happy to see you! like vomit, right?

I’d hurriedly wrangled my hair into a disaster of a ponytail using the scrunchie on my wrist when the first wave of nausea hit. Now I let it down and shake it loose and free–the way nature intended.

“Win?” It’s Cruz that appears around the corner. “Are you really checking out the flowers? Because if you wanted one of us to follow you around here and, y’know, maybe sneak off to the pool house for a little makeout session, I’m all about it.”

Cruz waggles his eyebrows and makes a kissy face at me.

He’s joking. Obviously he’s joking. But I’m surprised my face doesn’t erupt into flames.

His eyes still twinkle, but the corners of his mouth turn down. “Hey. You did not come around here to check out the flowers.”

“Had to throw up,” I admitted.

The cringe is slight. Then he lifts a chin in his patented I got you gesture.

Walking towards me, he teases, “Let’s say rain check on the makeout sesh, then, but…”

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