She closed her eyes, exhaled, and glared at her sister. “We’ll talk about this when they leave, Stef.”
Hammer raised his hands to show that he had nothing to hide. “Look, I’m sorry we disturbed you, but I need to talk to Stefani real quick. Could you have a look at my friend’s face in the meanwhile? He’s really precious about it.”
Dex sighed. “I know you can’t tell right now with all the grime, but I have a face that makes moms pass me their babies to hold, and I’d love to keep it that way.”
Kate wasn’t having it and instead glared at Hammer. “Is he dangerous?”
“Harmless.”
“Then why is he cuffed?” she raised her voice.
“Club business.”
Kate wrapped her arms on her chest and stared into his eyes after letting her gaze linger on his club patch. “Should I call them to make sure?”
Blood buzzed in Hammer’s head, and he snarled. “Do not contact them, or they might blame you for what I’m currently dealing with. Just… please, help him with that cut, and we’ll be on our way.”
She stiffened, but the magical wordpleasedid its job and seemed to make her ponder what to do instead of demanding they leave as soon as possible.
“Fine, but only once you release him.”
Dex beamed at her. “I don’t even mind anymore at this point.”
Kate shook her head and gestured at him. “To my office.”
Dex still turned to Hammer on his way in. “Thanks, man, I appreciate it.”
Left in the silence with Stefani, Hammer wasn’t sure how to approach the porcupine she’d become since they last saw each other. He could of course think of a million things that came naturally to him, but he’d learned over the years that women were easy to spook.
Stefani rolled her eyes but then pulled on his arm to get them out of the corridor and into her bedroom, clicking her tongue as if he were a dog expected to follow his mistress. Was this another of her mixed signals, or did she just not want to be overheard?
Decorated according to her gothic sensibilities, the interior featured inexpensive, simple furniture in black and white, and would have been boring if it weren’t for the many pictures and candles adding flavor to the space. Hammer quite liked the end result, even if he considered the Ouija Board throw a bit on the nose.
Stefani closed the door, crossed her arms under her tits and glared at him until he felt like a defendant expected to deliver a speech for the judge and jury all in one. But he wouldn’t let that break his resolve.
“So… I think there was a misunderstanding. I didn’t want to scare you, but you just didn’t say anything. I would have stopped if I knew.”
She squinted at him, so he must have said the wrong thing. “You’re twice my size, and you know you can be scary as fuck. In the moment, I was confused if I wanted it or not, so maybe it was me backtracking a little, but this is where we’re at,” she said, raising her voice. If she’d taken him here to keep this conversation private, she wasn’t doing a good job.
Hammer exhaled, hoping to exude both confidence and safety. He was dangerous, yes, but not to his lovers. “I get that, but how the hell was I to know your thoughts? I’m not a mind reader.” He’d been annoyed at Dex spilling every thought that came to his mind, but right now, he would have loved for Stefani to tell him everything in plain words, even if it had to involve a pizza analogy.
She scowled at him, shaking her dark locks. “And this is the whole problem! Why do you have to be so rude?”
“‘Rude’? What? How was I rude?”
She raised her hands with an exasperated groan. “Telling me you’re not a mind reader so you can say it’s all my fault. I thought I could put up with it all, but you clearly think I can just take anything you throw at me, and I have feelings, you know?” She gasped and ran her thumbs under her watering eyes.
When did this happen? When did she get all emotional about a fuck going a bit different than planned?
“Well… everyone is responsible for themselves. If you didn’t like it, you should have—”
“And you should have asked if I’m fine with choking before you grabbed my throat!”
Hammer shut his mouth, taken aback as a tear rolled down her cheek. “W—what? You expect me to ask for every single thing? Would it be sexy if I asked you whether you want me to eat your pussy instead of going for it? You seemed to like it when I took initiative.”
“Well, you obviously don’t need to do it for the standard things everyone does,” she hissed, raising her voice in anger.
“Oh yeah? What’s even standard? Tell me. What sex things are normal, and which require a fucking contract drafted beforehand?”