Page 45 of Hammer

“Hmm,” was all he said, but I noticed he kept his gaze firmly fixed on his magazine after that.

Small victories, I told myself as I settled in for another night of enforced distance.

The next night, I was bolder.As I reached to turn off the bedside lamp, I “accidentally” brushed against him, my arm grazing his chest.He stiffened immediately, his breath catching audibly.

“Sorry,” I murmured, letting my hand linger a moment longer than necessary.

He cleared his throat, shifting away slightly.“No problem.”

By the seventh night, subtle wasn’t working.I waited until we were both in bed, the lights dimmed, before I spoke.

“Hammer,” I said into the darkness.“We need to talk about what’s happening between us.”

He was silent so long I thought he might be pretending to sleep.Finally, he sighed.“Nothing’s happening, Amelia.That’s the point.”

“Exactly,” I agreed, turning to face his profile in the dim light.“Nothing’s happening, but something should be.I know you want me.I felt it when you kissed me.”

His jaw worked beneath his beard.“Wanting isn’t the same as should.”

“Why not?”I shifted closer, emboldened by the darkness.“We’re adults.We’re married, even if it wasn’t our choice.We’re attracted to each other.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he said, his voice strained.

“I think I do.”I reached out, my fingers tracing his arm through the thin fabric of his T-shirt.“I’m asking my husband to touch me.To want me.To stop fighting whatever this is between us.”

Hammer caught my wrist, gently but firmly stopping my exploration.“I’m old enough to be your dad.Hell, my son is older than you,” he reminded me.“I’ve been to prison.I’ve killed men.I’m not some fantasy of a bad boy with a heart of gold, Amelia.I’m just bad.”

“If you were just bad,” I countered, “you wouldn’t be fighting this so hard.You wouldn’t care about taking advantage.You wouldn’t have helped me and my boys escape Piston.You wouldn’t have saved Aura.”

He released my wrist, turning away.“Go to sleep, Amelia.”

The stonewalling continued each night, despite my increasingly direct attempts to break through.More revealing sleepwear was met with studious avoidance.Physical proximity earned me nothing but tense muscles and careful distance.Conversations about our relationship were deflected or cut short.

But I noticed other things too -- the way his gaze followed me when he thought I wasn’t looking, how his breathing changed when I emerged from the bathroom in my tank top, the way he sometimes reached for me in his sleep before catching himself and pulling away.He wanted me.He just wouldn’t let himself have me.

On our tenth night of sharing a bed post-kiss, but not really sharing it, I lay awake long after Hammer’s breathing had deepened into sleep.In the dim glow of moonlight through the curtains, I studied his profile -- the strong nose, the full lips partially hidden by his beard, the furrow between his brows that didn’t completely relax even in sleep.Something protective uncurled in my chest at the sight.This man, with all his scars and history, had offered shelter when we’d had nowhere else to go.Had given my boys a sense of security they’d never known with their own father.Had fought his own desire rather than risk pressuring me.

His restraint, which had first frustrated me, now seemed like its own kind of tenderness.

Still, as I watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, I knew I needed a new strategy.Subtle wasn’t working.Direct approaches were being deflected.What I needed was something that would make it impossible for him to maintain this careful distance between us.Something that would force him to acknowledge what was growing between us, whether he wanted to or not.

As I drifted toward sleep, a plan began to form -- risky, perhaps, but I was tired of playing it safe.Tomorrow, I’d enlist Aura’s help.Tomorrow, I’d stop trying to seduce Hammer and instead make him realize exactly what he stood to lose by keeping me at arm’s length.

Tomorrow, the real battle would begin.

Chapter Thirteen

Amelia

Aura’s plan required me to look the part, so I stood in front of the mirror scrutinizing the outfit she’d helped me pick -- dark jeans that hugged curves I’d hidden for years, a deep burgundy top that dipped just low enough to be interesting without being desperate, and leather boots with a modest heel.My hair fell in loose waves past my shoulders, and I’d even applied makeup for the first time since leaving Florida.The woman staring back at me looked like someone with confidence, someone who belonged on a biker’s arm.

“Mom?”Chase called from the hallway.“We’re gonna be late.”

I took a deep breath, smoothing my hands down my jeans one last time.“Coming.”

My boys waited by the front door, both looking uncomfortable in the new clothes Aura had insisted on buying them.Chase wore dark jeans and a button-down shirt that made him look older than his sixteen years.Levi had chosen a simple black T-shirt and jeans, his glasses freshly cleaned, his blond hair combed neatly to one side.

“You look nice, Mom,” Levi said, his voice sincere.

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