Hammer's Fall (The Breakers' Bad Boys)(30)

“Sure, why not?” Hammer tried to keep his answer light, but he felt his chest tighten at the veiled look of hope in the kid’s eyes.

Nate looked away at a car driving by. “My dad and I used to do some boxing together when he was on leave.”

Hammer forced himself not to stiffen up in surprise. From what he’d been told, Nate had refused to talk to anyone about his father since he had moved in with Anna. “Your dad was a Marine, right?”

“Yeah, he was killed in action.”

“I’m sorry.” Those words were too simple for what Hammer wanted to say, then again there were no words that could possibly make the loss any better. “Come on, kid. Let’s go hit something.”

Nate smiled. “Sounds good.”

****

“You want me to what?”

Hammer smiled as he held out the leather jacket he’d ordered for Kali the other day. The leather was soft, but thick enough that it would keep her warm on his bike. On the back of the black leather was the black, white and red logo for Rough and Tough, but underneath it was the specialized tag they used for the things they made specifically for Hammer. Yesterday he had gotten in a large box of all kinds of clothes for Kali to wear. He had taken it home with him and put it away in the dressers where he would show them to her later.

They were standing in the entrance way of her apartment as she looked at him with that cute expression of bewilderment that always made him want to kiss her. He was holding two helmets in his hand other hand as he waited for her to take the jacket. “It’s a nice day out. You have tomorrow off, right? So do I. I want you to put this on and come for a ride with me.”

“But I’ve been drinking,” Kali said as she hid her hands behind her back.

Hammer laughed. “It’s a good thing I’m not letting you drive then. Honey, you said you had a couple of glasses of wine at my cousin’s place hours ago. You’re fine. Now, put this on and come with me. I’m going to make us dinner, then I want you to spend the night at my place.”

“Oh!” Kalista’s eyes had widened in a look of such shock he felt like an asshole for not having her over sooner. “But, won’t I need stuff?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ve got stuff for you there. Stop stalling.”

She pursed her lips and slowly reached out to take the jacket from him. She slid it on and he felt a deep sense of pride seeing her in something that had his name on it. He helped her zip the jacket up, then leaned down to press a kiss against her lips.

“Now you’re my sexy biker chick.”

Kalista burst out laughing, pleased with his teasing, and decided to give a little back. “I thought I was your fairy?”

“Ok, so you are my sexy biker fairy.”

“You are so crazy,” she said with a shake of her head.

Grinning, Hammer waited as she locked up her apartment before he led her out to his bike. He handed her one of the helmets and she frowned down at it.

“You normally don’t wear one when you ride.”

Swinging his leg over the seat of his wicked looking black and silver Harley, he turned back to see the look of fear on her face she tried to hide from him. “I’m not taking any chances with you. There are mics in the helmets so we can hear each other. Hey, you know I won’t let anything happen to you, right?”

“You can’t possibly know that.”

He sighed. Maybe he wasn’t being fair pushing her to go for a ride with him if she was that afraid. “My house is only fifteen minutes away, but if you really don’t want to go we can—”

“No, I want to go to your house with you. I’m just…a little nervous,” she admitted.

Taking a deep breath, Kali put the helmet on, then allowed him to help her onto the back of the bike so she was sitting behind him. He had surprised her with the jacket and the offer to take her out to his house. She knew that he had bought a house near the beach when he had moved back, but she hadn’t seen his place since they started dating. She hadn’t realized how much it had been bothering her that he had not invited her over to his place until that moment.

Sure, her apartment was convenient for both of them since they worked so close. Kalista had been so happy every night he spent with his arms wrapped around her while they slept, even if it had taken a little getting used to. For one, Jared’s body was huge and took up more than half her queen-size bed. She also wasn’t used to sleeping naked, but she had gotten into the habit of just passing out from sheer exhaustion after he made love to her for half the night.

She came back to the moment as he slid his own helmet in place, then fired up his motorcycle. She was amazed by the power of the machine they sat on. Scooting toward him from behind, her bent legs cradled his body as she set her feet on the foot pegs where he told her to place them. Not knowing what do to with her hands, she braced them lightly on his sides, until he pulled her firmly against him.