Hammered with You: Book 2 (Ross Brother's Trilogy) Read online

  The waitress walks up to our table, breaking our stare down. I pull my hand from his large, warm one and place it in my lap. It’s tingling everywhere that he touched.

  “Would you like something else to drink?” Our waitress asks.

  Ben looks at me with raised eyebrows. Ah, screw it. I could definitely use another drink.

  I smile at her and nod. “I’ll take another, please.” Gerald is all but forgotten now that Ben is here.

  She gives me a brief smile and turns to Ben. I have to smile when she bats her eyelashes and licks her lips. Can’t blame her; the man really is too gorgeous for words.

  “I’ll have a Johnny Walker Black on the rocks please.” He gives her a brief smile.

  “Sure thing.” She purrs seductively. “I’ll be right back.”

  I look at him with a smirk. “Ten bucks that her phone number is included with those drinks.”

  He shakes his head while smiling. “Too bad for her, it will go unused. I’m way too busy to think about dating anyone right now.”

  For some reason I can feel a tinge of disappointment. Ignoring it I say

  “I’m sure that upsets Dee.” I giggle. His mother, Dee is constantly telling me how much she wishes that her boys would finally start settling down and giving her more grandbabies.

  “My mother means well, but she is a damn menace when it comes to our love lives.”

  I can’t help but burst out laughing. He’s now giving me a quizzical look just as the waitress drops off our drinks. She also non-too-subtly hands Ben a napkin with writing on it before walking away. This just makes me crack up even more.

  “What are you laughing at?” He grumbles while moving the napkin off to the side. He also looks a little pink, but I’m nice enough not to mention anything.

  “I’m pretty sure that your mother has gone from menace to meddler.”

  He brings the glass to his lips. I can’t help but watch the way his Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he swallows. “What do you mean?” His voice sounds half amused and half resigned.

  I take a sip of my own drink before answering. “Well, a certain injured brother showed up today and asked out his attacker I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively.

  A huge smile covers Ben’s face as the realization of what I’m talking about hits him. “God, I love Kellie. She is my most favorite person in the entire world right now.” I just shake my head at his glee.

  “How did it go?” he asks. I see the twinkle in his blue eyes.

  “It was kind of painful to watch,” I tilt my head to the side then smile, “but they do have a date.”

  Ben shakes his fist triumphantly.

  “Yeah, it was kind of funny watching them last night too.”

  I take another sip and nod my head. “Yes, that’s kind of strange how your mother invited Kellie over for dinner last night, all things considered.” My eyes roam around the bar and notice that the crowd has begun to thin out. Directing my attention back to Ben I watch as he swirls the amber liquid around in his glass. “We were trying to figure out my mother’s end game. We all suspected something but now we know for sure.” He takes another swig. “I’m definitely interested to see how this plays out.”

  I tilt my head and stir my drink with my straw. “What do you mean? I think that they look kind of cute together.”

  He leans forward and I get a whiff of his spicy aftershave. I may or may not inhale four more times for good measure. I lean in and mimic his pose. Our faces are mere inches apart.

  “What’s going to be interesting, is watching two people who have liked each other for years, try and navigate a relationship.” He says lowly, like it’s some big secret that they like each other.

  I raise an eyebrow. “And how do you know that they won’t just go on one date and decide that they don’t really like each other.”

  Leaning back he gives me a wicked smirk that makes my stomach twist. “Because, they’ve known each other for years. They already know that they like each other. Now they just need to stop pussyfooting around what everyone else already knows.”

  “Which is?”

  “That they’re perfect for each other. We all know it. They really just need to get their shit together.” Ben says this as if it’s the most obvious answer in the world.

  I raise my curiously, almost empty glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

  He clinks his practically empty one with mine. “Another round?” He raises his eyebrows in question after we’ve both polished off our drinks. Again my eyes dart around the bar. Closing won’t be for a few hours and I still have the hassle of calling an uber.

  I can’t believe Gerald thought that I would sleep with him.

  Shrugging my shoulders I beckon for the waitress.

  “Sure. Why not? Might as well.”

  Besides what woman would give up spending time with such nice eye candy?

  What’s the worst that can happen?

  Chapter 2

  Ben

  I wake up to the most painful headache that I’ve ever had. This one even beats out my college days. It feels like someone is taking a jackhammer to my skull. I open my eyes and then promptly shut them when even the smallest amount of light makes me want to vomit. Pressing the palms of my hands to my eyes I try to stop the pain. I was definitely hungover.

  Holy shit! How much did I have to fucking drink last night? Jesus, all I did was meet a client for one drink. How could one drink affect me so badly?

  At the thought a flood of memories from last night rush back to me. Memories that are telling me that I had a hell of a lot more than one drink. The small flashes are also telling me that I didn’t go home alone either; A pretty face comes to mind. I curse silently. Jessie came with me.

  Well, that would explain the fruity scent that’s surrounding me.

  That scent brings back even more memories of being up close and personal with different spots that scent was placed. My lips, hands and tongue have traced every inch of her body.

  Despite the pain in my head, I still manage to smile; last night was a great night.

  I roll my head to the side and cautiously open my eyes; fully expecting to see a slumbering Jessie beside me. However, what I actually see is an empty spot and a pillow that’s cold to the touch.

  I slowly sit up and look around my room. Clothes are thrown all about, but there isn’t one article of clothing that doesn’t belong to me.

  “No fucking way.” I mumble to myself.

  Getting out of bed I grab a pair of boxers out of my dresser drawer. I throw them on before walking out of my bedroom.

  I walk down the hall and check the guest bedroom and hallway bathroom to make sure that she isn’t in one of those.

  My house is pretty small but the perfect size for myself. It only has the master bedroom, guest bedroom, hallway bathroom and an office. I figured that I didn’t need any more room since it’s just me.

  The living room is empty as I walk through it to get to my kitchen.

  My brothers and I all decided to buy ranch style houses. Our parents taught us not to need overly flashy things. Just because we have some money, doesn’t mean that we have to flaunt it.

  Except for my truck. My baby girl gets all the bells and whistles that she could ever want. She also gets a wash down and a good waxing once a week. I do all that by hand. No need to allow someone to scratch her up on me.

  I walk into the kitchen and see that it’s empty. I’m not even going to bother looking into my sitting room or garage... she’s gone.

  I stand in the middle of my kitchen and shake my head. My hands are on my hips and I just can’t seem to get myself to move.

  The only woman that I’ve been with in far longer than I’d ever care to admit, left without a word. Hell, she’s the only woman that I’ve wanted to spend any time with who isn’t family.

  A flash of yellow catches my eye and I walk towards my huge silver fridge. I may not be overly flashy, but all of my appliances and furniture are extremely ni
ce and very large.

  I take the post it note off of where it was stuck and begin reading.

  Ben,

  Thanks so much for your help last night. I’m leaving so that things don’t get awkward and weird. I’ve never done the whole one night thing, so I’m not really sure how it goes. I figured that you wouldn’t really want me around in the light of day anyway.

  Thanks again,

  Jessie

  I can feel my eye and cheek twitching while I read this bullshit again. I know damn well that I didn’t give her the impression that I wouldn’t want anything to do with her. I mean, shit! I worshiped every single inch of her body last night for fuck’s sake!

  I crumple the note and toss it into my garbage can. I go about making myself a pot of coffee, since I’m going to need every last drop to help nurse my hangover along.

  For the rest of the morning I can feel the foul mood hanging over me like a dark cloud. I couldn’t believe that she left like that after the night that we had together.

  I know that we were drunk but there is no way that the chemistry between us wasn’t a thousand percent real. Hell, I felt it from the moment that I sat down and stared into her big brown doe eyes.

  Eyes that looked so sad, yet somehow resigned after what that douchebag said to her. Eyes that made me want to take away every bit of sadness until the only thing that was left was joy and lust.

  I know that she felt our connection too. It was in the way she would look at me when she thought that I wasn’t looking.

  She seemed to have a great time, I muse while washing my hair. She had three orgasms, I made sure that she was more than satisfied.

  I angrily scrub at my hair and wince when I hit a sore spot. That prompts the first smile I’ve had since I realized that she was gone. She held onto my hair so tightly, that I’m pretty sure that I’m missing a few patches.

  I rinse off and turn the water off. I step out of the shower and towel off before walking into my bedroom. As I’m getting dressed for my day, I decide that I’m not going to let her get away that easily. If she doesn’t want to see me again, she’s going to have to tell me to my face, instead of taking the coward’s way out.

  I smile at my reflection while buttoning my shirt.

  I’ll just go and talk to her. I’m sure that she’ll change her mind in the light of day. Simple as that.

  Two weeks later:

  I’m starting to realize that I may have underestimated her desire to become a fucking ghost. In the two weeks since she has left my bed, it’s like she never existed.

  That first day, I left work early and decided that I would go to her job under the ruse of needing a haircut. That backfired spectacularly, as I found out that she leaves early on certain days.

  Katie was nice enough to inform me after she learned who my mother is. I may or may not have told her that my mother recommended Jessie to me. It was really only a tiny white lie. My mother would most definitely recommend Jessie, if I had ever asked her.

  So, fine, I was disappointed, but not discouraged. Nothing ever worth having, comes along easily anyway. Not a big deal. I’m a patient man.

  The next day, I called late morning and asked to speak with Jessie, again under the ruse of wanting to make an appointment.

  Now, here is where I think I might’ve gone wrong. They asked for my name and number, to take a message and whatnot. I didn’t realize my mistake until later on, when I was told that Jessie wasn’t accepting any new male clients.

  A bit of a speed bump, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. I just made another appointment with Katie. I went to my next appointment extremely confident that Jessie would come to her senses when she saw me in person.

  However, that backfired when Jessie saw me and then ignored my entire existence. The woman wouldn't so much as glance in my fucking direction the entire time that I was there.

  I’ll admit, that was a shot to my ego.

  And in between all of this, Mason has had his date with Kellie, after having a movie day with Ella. Truthfully, I still can’t believe what that waste of life sperm donor had said to sweet little Ella. That little girl is one of the sweetest little girls that I have ever met. Too bad Marc isn’t still into pushing people in front of cars.

  The only highlight was finding out that Mason got arrested for kicking the shit out of that asshole. Even with it happening during his date with Kellie, he still thinks it was the best date ever.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Mason whines from his chair.

  I look up at him and shake my head. “No, not really, why?”

  His eyes narrow at me. “Because it involves you two idiots as well.” He huffs with his arms crossed.

  I look over at Noah with a raised eyebrow. We are all sitting in the office. He just shakes his head at me with a smirk. “He was telling us about how Ella has decided that we’re all dressing up for Halloween this year.”

  My head twists back to Mason in horror. “What is he talking about?” God only knows what a little girl could come up with.

  My brothers burst out laughing. “She wants all of us to dress up in matching outfits this year.”

  “I assumed that part.” I say drily as I rub my temples. I feel a bitch of a headache coming on.

  “Don’t worry, she wants us all to dress up like our favorite Avengers characters.”

  I can’t help the hiss that comes out of my mouth. “I am not a Marvel fan.” Everyone who knows me, knows that I’m a D.C. Comics guy, all the way. Give me Batman any day of the week.

  “How do you think that we feel?” Noah points between him and Mason. “We prefer the new Star Trek movies to all of those superhero ones that the rest of you watch.”

  I just stare at my brothers in disgust, especially at how Mason is nodding his head in agreement. “There is something so wrong with the two of you. How you can even choose those movies over everything else is mind boggling. Even Marvel is better than them.”

  “This just proves that you’re probably the mailman's kid or something.” Mason states with an obnoxious smirk.

  Noah gives me a thoughtful look. “What’s going on with you lately? You’ve been distracted.”

  I scrub my hands up and down my face a few times. “Nothing is going on with me. I’ve just got a lot going on right now, that’s all.”

  “Yeah, I call bullshit on that.” Mason states. “You’ve been off for the past couple of weeks. Since the day that you walked in hungover as hell really.”

  It’s moments like these, that make me wish that my brothers and I weren’t so close. Or that we at least didn’t work together.

  “I have not, I say. But the lie is useless.

  “You have.” Noah states calmly. “You’ve been distracted and easily agitated. That’s not like you.”

  “So, people can be off at times.” I growl out and pretend to go through my emails in hopes that these two drop it.

  “Maybe.” Noah agrees. “But very rarely you.”

  I glare at him. “Says the man who has been the poster child of normal lately.”

  His cheek twitches. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Mason is just looking between the two of us with a gleeful look on his face. I wish he was closer so that I could kick him.

  “It means, that you start acting like that guy from The Shining anytime a certain new office manager is brought up.” I say boldly. We’ve all been tiptoeing around this particular topic lately.

  “Excuse me for not wanting to put our business in the hands of a child.” He hisses. “Of course I would be upset about that.”

  Noah starts slamming his drawers and putting a bunch of paperwork into his briefcase. He shoves his chair back and stands. “If you both need me, I’ll be working from home for the rest of the day.” He’s out the door and slamming it angrily behind him without another word.

  I look over at Mason who just stares at me and shrugs his shoulders. “He’ll be fine.” He says breezily. “So,” he rubs his hands t
ogether. “Who’s the chick that’s got you all jacked up?”

  I try to put on my best poker face. “Why do you think that my mood has something to do with a woman? I never get upset when it comes to that.”

  Mason leans back into his chair and smiles at me. “That’s true.”

  I can hear the but that’s coming. And just like I expected he continues.

  “But you also don’t act like this normally either. My guess is that you’ve met someone who is driving you insane.”

  “You don’t know that.” I mumble while looking down at the paperwork on my desk.

  “No, I don’t.” He agrees. “But it makes the most sense. So, who is she?”

  I take a deep breath and close my eyes. “Jessie.”

  “Kellie’s best friend Jessie? The Jessie that Ma likes? That Jessie?” His voice is slow and deliberate.

  I look up and see a blank look on his face. I nod my head. “Yes, that’s the one.”

  “I didn’t know that you knew her.”

  I lean my head back against my chair and close my eyes. “I didn’t until about two weeks ago.”

  “Okay, I’m going to need a little more here.” He says in an unsure tone.

  “There’s nothing else to tell. I ended up meeting her at a bar when her date was being a horrible asshole and I went in to get him away from her. We drank, a lot and then ended up back at my place.” I sigh as the memories come rushing back. I still can’t wrap my mind around it. “We had an amazing night and when I woke up the next morning she was gone. She left a post it note attached to my fridge with some bullshit about it being one night. Then anytime that I have tried to see her since, she acts like I don’t even exist.”

  “That’s a lot to take in man.” Mason says with wide eyes. “But that doesn’t really vibe with the Jessie that I’ve met a few times.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that the woman doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She’s nice to everyone, even people who are blatantly treating her like shit because of her appearance. Her acting like that to you just doesn’t seem like her.”