Page 31 of Ten Hammers

Did that just happen? What is my life!

But as mind-blowing as the last half hour was – holy shit, is that really all it’s been since I followed their voices out of bed? – I need to not think about the others for five minutes and talk to Max.

Somehow I push aside thoughts of Theo and Leo sandwiching my body between theirs… the feel of Gavin’s stud against my tongue… Axel’s breath ghosting along my neck as he curled his fingers into my….

Whoa, girl, get it together.

I pause to squeeze my thighs together when I reach the door at the bottom of the stairs. There’s a lot of thunking and clunking, clinking and clanking coming from the other side of the door. When I ease it open, the subtle aroma of cleaning spray hangs in the air, softening the tangy scent of sweat leftover from whichever Hammer worked out earlier this morning. There must be an intense amount of lingering pheromones, or else I really am so freaking horny that the smell of the Hammer brother’s sweat makes me want to race back to the living room at once, flinging my pajamas off as I run…

Focus. On. MAX!

There’s another round of thunking and clunking to distract me. I want to call out and ask if he’s lifting weights or throwing them around, because that’s more what it sounds like. But I catch sight of him in one of the full-length mirrors, and my mouth goes dry.

Max doesn’t seem to notice me from where he’s doing bicep curls with astonishingly large dumbbells. Or if he does, he doesn’t show it. He’s too deeply focused on his workout routine. His bulging muscles are the epitome of grace and strength.

Popsy and the boys put this gym together several years ago, between seasons of the show. He let the boys buy the latest everything, to their absolute delight. The tall windows and back door are at ground level to the patio and Anna’s vegetable garden. Sunlight bathes the entire basement with a soft morning glow. It’s beautiful down here.

This is my first time seeing it in person and it’s hard to believe that this was ever an actual basement, dark and packed full with long-forgotten boxes of toddler clothes and building blocks. We used to play hide and seek in the darkness, but now everywhere I look is bright and open.

Hidden speakers around the room soften the space with light music. Wait, is that…? Yeah, it is Adele, her voice drenched in sorrow and pain.

Thunk. Clunk.

Clink. Clank.

“Sounds like a poltergeist down here.” I call as I head over to him.

Sweat glistens on his skin, evidence of his exertion even though he doesn’t show any exertion whatsoever.

Max shoots me a wry look as he sets the barbells down. “Well, I’m happy to see your lips haven’t fallen off.” His voice is light, joking as he grabs his towel and dries the sweat on his face and shoulders. “I wasn’t quite sure my brothers would leave you in one piece.”

He puts down the towel and looks at me. First in the eyes, then along all of the places his brothers touched me, his expression impossible to decipher.

Is he mad?

That I can’t tell bugs me. I can always tell with Max.

I close the gap between us. “Hey.”

When I reach out to touch him, he turns his head away and says, “Don’t, okay?”

Oh, boy.

“Max,” I begin.

“It’s okay, Win.”

He grabs his phone from the floor beside the workout bench. Staring hard at the screen, he flicks his thumb enough times that I wonder for a fraction of a second if this is how he’s dismissing me, and the hurt cuts through me almost as hard as when I learned about the pact and his stupid lies.

The music shuts off. Max drops his phone, though he still doesn’t look my way.

“Max, I–”

“Really,” he interrupts. “It’s okay.”

But it doesn’t feel okay. It feels like I’ve severed some connection between us. I try again. Because it’s Max. I have to try until I get through to him. “I probably should’ve at least talked to you first, though. I mean, before…”

“Before you let every one of my brothers rub you all over themselves, one after the other, like they were some kind of kinky assembly line, with a saliva-cleansing machine and–”

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