Chapter Seventeen
Hammer didn’t ignore the way Camila blushed. Even as she invited him up to the bedroom they shared, he noticed the way her face turned an enticing shade of pink.
When they reached the clubhouse door, he opened it and held it for her to enter, then followed her inside.
The place was quiet, at least compared to the weekends when things could get a little wild, even by his standards.
Brothers were scattered across the room, several with club ass either sitting on their laps or rubbing up against them, trying to entice them away for a few minutes.
Hammer scanned the room, aware of Camila biting her lip, then closing her eyes and taking a slow deep breath beside him.
Her actions only reinforced his suspicion that she wasn’t totally innocent but was likely untouched.
Especially after the way she’d blushed but not reacted otherwise when she’d realized what Goliath and Velvet had been up to.
Then she’d ignored it in a way that only someone who had seen that kind of thing before could.
“Carino, why don’t you go on up, get started on that shower. I’ll grab us a couple of drinks and be right up.”
She turned to look up at him and he couldn’t help but notice her eyes were dilated.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Go on up. This won’t take me more than a couple of minutes.”
“A-all right.” She released his hand and headed for the stairs.
He watched until she disappeared then headed for the bar.
There, he didn’t bother to wait for the prospect to take his order but stepped behind the bar and fixed Camila a margarita, then grabbed a beer for himself and followed Camila up to their room.
He heard the shower running when he stepped into the room. He set their drinks on the nightstand then shed his boots and cut. He pulled his t-shirt off then knocked on the bathroom door before trying the knob. When it twisted easily, he eased it open, not wanting to scare Camila.
“You want me in there or to wait out here for you?” he said.
“Um, in here would be good.” The way her voice shook said she wasn’t as certain as she tried to sound but he also heard determination in her voice.
“All right. Give me just a second.” He stepped back and stripped out of his jeans and shorts then picked up both drinks and carried them into the bathroom.
“Stick one hand out.” he said. Then he set the margarita he’d made into her hand and watched as she pulled it behind the curtain.
“You can put it in the windowsill so you’re not holding it the whole time.
” He waited a couple of moments, giving her a chance to take a sip and set the cup down before he left his own drink on the counter beside the sink and stepped into the shower with her.
Camila’s eyes went wide as she stared at his bare chest. The drink in her hand trembled, but she quickly steadied it and took another drink before reaching over her head to put it in the window.
“Sorry. I didn’t think you might not be able to reach.” He took the cup and set it up in the sill for her. “Have you ever had anyone wash your hair?” He fingered one strand away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“Not since I was a child.”
“Will you let me? I’ve wanted to get my hands into your hair for days.
” He searched her face for what she really felt.
From what he’d learned about her father, both from his research and from what she’d said, Camila probably wouldn’t be open with what she wanted and how she felt.
She was too used to doing what was needed to avoid her father’s wrath.
She looked up at him, her wide eyes surrounded by spikey black lashes, then nodded.
“I’m sure you don’t want the water spraying in your face the whole time. Want to trade me places?”
She blinked a couple of times, then nodded.
Hammer wasn’t sure if she was nervous or if she was having second thoughts.
Either way he had no plans to make things more difficult for her.
He waited while she tipped her head back and soaked her hair then traded places with her.
Hammer took his time with her hair, working the tips of his fingers against her scalp then working the soap through the length before grabbing the nozzle and carefully rinsing out all the soap, then repeating the process with her conditioner.
He quickly washed and rinsed then left her under the spray as he stepped out and dried off.
“Let me know when you’re ready to come out—I want to dry you off.”
“I’m done.” She shut off the water as he grabbed a towel. She shoved the curtain back and he wrapped her in the towel, using a second to wrap up her hair before drying her body. When he’d finished, he wrapped the towel around her, and removed the one from her hair.
“Come sit on the bed and I’ll comb it out.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Go get comfortable, carino, I’ll be right there.
” He grabbed the brush they’d gotten for her when the women had gone for supplies, took a long pull from his drink, then fetched hers from the window and took them both into the other room.
After setting everything on the table beside the bed, he went to the closet and pulled on a pair of underwear.
He didn’t mind wandering around with no clothes on, but he thought she would be more comfortable if they both covered up, at least a little.
Pulling out one of his t-shirts, he tossed it her direction.
“Here’s something to wear for a bit, if you want.”
“D-do you want me to cover up?”
“No. I like you like this, and if things go the way I hope, you won’t be wearing it long, but I’m not going to push you into anything you’re not ready for. You don’t have to wear it. I just though the shirt would be more comfortable than the towel.”
He waited while she slipped the shirt on then pulled the towel from under it.
His shirt hung almost to her knees. When she’d settled onto the bed, he settled in behind her, leaving plenty of room between them so his erection wouldn’t freak her out, then he gave her the margarita and picked up her brush.
It didn’t take him long to have the length all combed out and the few snarls he’d found eased loose.
“Want to dry it? I could go ask one of the old ladies if they have a blow dryer you could borrow?”
Camila shook her head, making her hair shift in a soft waterfall. Hammer ran one hand through the strands, loving the silky feeling of it between his fingers.
“Thank you,” she said taking a deep breath and letting it out before reaching up and pulling her hair over her shoulder and leaning back against his chest. Luckily, she either didn’t know what the thick rod between them was, or she ignored it
“Why?” she said, her head resting just below his chin.
“Why what?”
“Why are you so sweet to me? Why do you take care of me like this?” a wistfulness in her tone told him she’d likely wondered why her father was the way he was and why he couldn’t be better. Or that maybe she thought Hammer was after something. He was, but probably not what she suspected.
“There’s something about you, carino, that makes me want to take care of you.”
“Like a child?”
“No, baby, like a partner.”
Camila tilted her head back and looked up at him
“A partner? You want me to work with you? To do what? Give you information on my father? I don’t even know what he does.”
“Yes, a partner, but not like you’re thinking.”
“Then what?” A crease formed between her brows. She still sat in front of him, the top of her head propped against his chest as she looked up at him. She held up her empty glass, so he took it and set it on the table beside the bed.
“I was thinking in life, you know, like Winter and Bishop or Miranda and Ashes.”
Her eyes went wide.
“But we barely know each other. We don’t even know if we’re compatible, you know, sexually.”
“Carino, with the fire between us, the way you set me aflame with a look, I have little doubt how that will be. And I know we just met but sometimes when you know, you know. The rest will come with time.” He smoothed one hand up and down her arm, hoping to soothe her worries.
“You think so?”
“I know so.” He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Nothing long or lingering, just enough that he hoped she understood that he was trying to behave here.
“Hmm. Maybe you do,” she said when he broke the kiss, then she winced and lifted her head.
He let his hands fall to rest on his thighs as he watched her shift up on to her knees, the hem of his shirt barely covering her ass, her honey colored, toned thighs a nice contrast from the dark cotton.
Still on her knees, she turned around to face him, and he let his gaze climb her, taking his time to enjoy the view.
When he reached her face, she was watching him, one brow lifted.
“See something you like?”
“Always, carino. How drunk are you?”
“I’m not. I’m a little relaxed but there wasn’t that much tequila in that. Certainly not enough to get me drunk after one drink.” She waved one hand toward where he’d set her glass.
“How relaxed?” Relaxed but not drunk was what he’d been aiming for. He wanted her able to make decisions but relaxed enough she wouldn’t be so concerned with what everyone would think of her or what her father might say if he found out.
“Relaxed enough to do this.” She placed a hand in the middle of his chest and leaned in. Hammer sat still, watching her as she moved closer. Then she pressed her mouth against his. Hammer only hesitated an instant before opening his mouth beneath hers and deepening the kiss.
A soft whimper escaped her throat as he brought one hand up to cup her cheek and put the other on her side so she didn’t fall.
As he tilted her head to one side and angled his own in the other direction, Camila slid her hand along his chest then around his neck.
She pressed her tits against his chest. He felt her taut little nipples through the thin barrier separating them and ached to put his hands on them.
But he went slowly, he didn’t want to scare her, and he was afraid moving too fast or being too dominant, at least to start, would do just that.
Instead, he moved slowly and eased her into the idea of staying with him, permanently, and all that would entail.