She managed to avoid Hammer for the majority of the day, and later on in the evening, after she had eaten and helped one of the maids tidy up the kitchen area out of boredom, she found herself wandering around the hallways and staring out the windows.

The sun was setting over the mountains and the world looked beautiful. She wondered what had stood on the land before the Petrov Estate and what would be there right now if they weren’t. It was so isolated and alone it was almost as if they had invaded and taken it over. Shelby had never realized, before, just how out of place they were there, but it also felt right. The house and grounds had been lovingly created with no expense spared, and it truly was a beautiful setting.

She sighed and pressed her nose against the glass as she looked out the floor to ceiling windows and over the gardens. She hadn’t heard from Molly all day and she was both irritated by that and relieved. She was glad her friend was all right, but at the same time, she felt as if she needed a bit of distance to get her thoughts in order. Being back at the house was such a change from reality that she may as well throw herself in head first and not be reminded too much of life in Iron Hill.

She wandered past the atrium and went down another hallway that led to the cinema room. When she was growing up, she had spent many afternoons with her friends in there, jumping all over the huge couch beds and pretending they had their own movie theatre to run.

It was quiet and dark, and although the memories were still there, they had definitely faded. Shelby couldn’t believe how much smaller the room seemed, even though it was still huge. There were sixteen low couch beds, all plush and comfy looking and all lined up in row after row. Beside them, they had their own little tables and lamps that let off low lights, that could either be left on or turned off while the show was playing. The screen at the front of the room had been replaced and looked a lot flashier than the last time she had seen it and she walked down to the front and looked back out at all the rows of seats behind her. Her dad really had been ambitious when he built this place, and he had gotten it right. It just seemed so over the top for just the two of them, and he was barely ever even home.

“Do you need a hand getting it set up?” Hammer’s voice cut in from the side door and made Shelby jump.

She hadn’t been expecting him, she had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even heard him coming. Her skin tingled with the knowledge that he was close to her again, but she pushed the thoughts right to the back of her mind.

“I know how to do it,” she said proudly. “I grew up in this house, remember?”

Hammer smiled and nodded before he shrugged. He was watching her now with a wry little smirk across his face.

“Of course, Princess Petrov,” he joked as he walked around the side of the room and took it all in. “However, I have been told a lot of things have changed around here.”

Shelby felt her irritation rising and she put her hands on her hips.

“I’m sure a lot of things have,” she agreed with a sarcastic little smile. “Anyway, I don’t want to watch anything, I was just having a look around. It’s been years since I’ve been down here.”

Hammer ignored her comment but kept his eyes on her.

“Your father has been in touch,” he said suddenly. “He wanted to know how you’ve been settling back in.”

“And what did you tell him? That I’ve been a delight, I assume?”

Hammer raised his eyebrows.

“I told him you were fine,” he said sincerely.

Shelby turned and looked back at the screen behind her. It was only 8pm and she had no idea what she was going to do for the rest of the evening. If she went back to her room it was only going to be a long night twiddling her thumbs. Maybe she should just swallow her pride and let him show her how to work the new screen.

“Will you help me turn this thing on then?” she asked as she pointed behind her. “I can see its new and I don’t want to break it or anything.”

Hammer took a step forward and began to walk down into the main body of the room. He was so tall and intimidating, the room with him in it suddenly felt a lot smaller.

He stopped in front of her and she looked up into his eyes. He kept them fixed firmly on her as his hand reached down and into a flap underneath the screen. It was where her father had always stashed the controls, but what he pulled out was most certainly new and looked complicated as hell.

“Take a seat,” Hammer said slowly, as he motioned to the massive choice of couches and beds.

Back when she was younger, Shelby had always wanted to be right down at the front, but this time, she felt as if she wanted to be right in the center of the room with the best view in the house. She walked along the second middle row and chose the middle seat, and she flopped down on the couch and instantly felt more relaxed.

The screen lit up and Hammer was punching in buttons and flicking through menus and movie choices.

“What do you want to watch?” he asked over his big, wide shoulder.

“Anything, as long as it’s funny,” Shelby replied, feeling the desperate need to experience something light-hearted after all the drama of the past few days.

“It’s your house,” Hammer said over his shoulder. “Tell me when to stop…” He was scrolling through the movie choices but Shelby couldn’t even really be bothered to pick one. She was only sitting there out of sheer boredom and the fact that it would pass the time for a couple of hours. Plus, Molly had been right, he wasn’t so bad to look at.

“Stop,” she said mindlessly. She hadn’t even been looking at what movie he had been anywhere near and he looked over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows at her.

“What?” Shelby asked defiantly before she looked up at the screen and felt her heart plummet into her chest.

50 Shades of fucking Gray.

Oh my God… 

Hammer smirked and started to chuckle.

“Hey, whatever floats your boat,” he smiled as he pressed play and Shelby grabbed a pillow and brought it right up to her chest.

She had seen the movie once before and she could only assume by the look on his face that Hammer had too. Even though it was one of the last things she could ever imagine a big brute like him watching.

Maybe an old girlfriend forced him into it, she thought as she watched him make his way to the back of the room.

“I didn’t see what you were on,” she blurted out as he put the controls down, ignoring her again. “Honestly, I didn’t. Can you change it?”

She looked up at him with pleading eyes and the worst case of anxiety she had ever felt.

Hammer smirked and finally nodded.

“I knew you weren’t looking,” he said as he picked the controls back up and handed them back to her. “Although, I’ve heard it’s good, maybe you should give it a try.”

Her fingertips brushed against his as she took the control from him and she had to stifle a gasp. It had been a long time since she had felt heat from another person in that way, and the way his skin had felt sent her into electric tingles.

“I’ve seen it already,” she said sternly. “I don’t need to see it again.”

She was lying, of course, but she wasn’t going to admit it to him. She could watch that movie all day long and never get bored.

“I want to watch something funny,” she declared. “A comedy.”

Hammer pointed to a button on the controls to show her how to access the menu and then he took a step back.

“Now it’s on, it should be pretty straight forward to find your way around the system,” he said. “If you need anything, just give me a shout.”

He turned and made his way back toward the door and Shelby felt a pang of disappointment. Even though he drove her up the wall and made her want to tear her hair out with frustration, it had been nice to just talk to someone, even if it was mainly just argumentative.

“Stay if you like?” she said nonchalantly. “Or don’t, you know, whatever.”

Hammer eyeballed her and she noticed how big the vein in his neck was and how she was sure she could see it throbbing. Much like the incredible bulge in his pants that she kept having to stop herself from ogling.

“I’ll be down the hall,” he said and then turned and left the room.

Shelby breathed in and sighed, sinking into the couch bed. How had she managed to get herself into this situation, she hadn’t even wanted to sit in the damned cinema room and now, she was stuck there with Hammer down the hall guarding the way.

“I really am a prisoner,” she pouted dramatically as she selected a movie she had seen a hundred times and sank even further down into the seat. “More like Prisoner Petrov over Princess…”

She laughed at her own joke as the sound suddenly blared on around her and the movie burst to life on the screen.

A little over an hour later, she emerged from the movie room and saw Hammer right outside the door. He was tapping away on his cell phone but rose to his feet as soon as she came into view.

“Any good?” he asked only half interested and Shelby shrugged.

“I’ve seen it before,” she replied as she walked past him and continued down the hallway. “Oh, I don’t know how to turn it off, could you do it for me?” she called back over her shoulder with a mischievous grin on her face.

Hammer breathed deeply out of his nose and she could tell she had annoyed him, but she didn’t care, the fun was only just beginning.