Unleashing his frustration on the punching bag had done nothing to alleviate Liam’s rage. Every morning in the week following Thanksgiving, he’d slipped away to the gym to escape Shadows and the pressure cooker of problems there, if only for a while. After nearly an hour of the repetitive rhythm, sweat dripped in his eyes and his muscles screamed…but he still couldn’t fatigue himself enough to silence the chaos crowding his head.
Finally, he stripped away his gloves and headed to the shower. As he sagged against the tile wall and let the hot spray cascade over him, he tried to decide what the fuck to do next. His options were limited. Stay or go? Fish or cut bait?
Liam sighed. Hammer was a secretive asshole and his rival for Raine. But he also made a hell of a sounding board, and ironically Liam missed him now.
Once dressed, he headed out of the gym and fought the morning rush. As soon as he pulled into the car park of the first beach he encountered, Liam took out his cell and rang Seth.
When his friend answered, he heard the sound of a woman’s soft voice in the background.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“This had better be good, Liam. The things I’m willing to forego for a friend has its limits.”
He could hear the laughter in Seth’s voice and smiled faintly. “I wouldn’t call any of this good, but I could use an ear.”
Seth sobered. “You got it. What happened?”
Liam leaned his seat back a bit and stretched out. “How much did you know about Juliet’s death?”
“Just that she committed suicide.”
“You didn’t know why?”
“No,” Seth answered. “I figured you’d know far more about that than me.”
“I would have thought so, too.” Liam sighed. Exhaustion and frustration tugged at him. He swiped at gritty eyes. “Macen finally told me.”
He related the conversation to Seth. Afterward, his friend said nothing for a long moment. “Holy shit.”
“That sums up how I feel. Hammer held all that in for eight fucking years.”
“He never hinted why Juliet had done herself in?”
“Not once. Not during any of our phone calls, not when I stood beside him at Juliet’s grave on the anniversaries of her death and we talked about old times. Not in the two months since I moved out here. Never…until last week.”
Seth whistled. “You must feel run over by a truck.”
“I was in shock at first. Now, I just keep thinking what the fuck? Hammer blindsided me. Then he blamed it all on me. Fuckwit.”
“You feel betrayed.” Seth didn’t ask.
“I do. And how am I supposed to feel about the fact that Juliet might have killed herself because of my baby?” Somewhere between incredulous and wretched, for sure. “Even though I didn’t know and I can’t do anything about it now, guilt is eating me.”
Juliet’s suicide was ancient history, but Liam’s wound felt fresh.
“She chose to end it without talking to either one of you,” Seth pointed out. “Don’t beat yourself up. So are you and Hammer talking now?”
“We haven’t since that night. I can’t decide if I should beat the fuck out of him or apologize for missing the boat completely.”
Liam couldn’t bury his anger toward Hammer…but he could only imagine what the man had assumed all these years. That he didn’t care. That Juliet hadn’t mattered. That the grief of losing his wife meant nothing. Strictly looking at Hammer’s version of events, Liam supposed he came off like an insensitive prick. He cursed himself for not following his instincts and rushing home from Miami.
Had Hammer’s resentment spurred him to take Raine to bed the night Liam had first claimed her? It wouldn’t surprise him if Macen had purposely tried to get her pregnant, too.
Bloody rat bastard.
And no matter how fucking angry he was, Liam couldn’t rail to anyone at Shadows. Who would listen? Hammer? Liam rolled his eyes. Raine? Well, if Hammer had never told the man sharing Juliet’s bed about his wife’s tragic suicide, Liam doubted his old pal would have whispered a word of it to Raine. Not that Liam wanted to spill their dark past to the bruised, half-broken girl. He wanted to earn her trust, and telling her that story wouldn’t help the cause.
“It’s a tough break, man,” Seth commiserated. “But how the fuck were you supposed to know what happened if no one told you?”
True. But that didn’t eradicate his guilt or halt the need to unleash his wrath.
“To add insult to injury…” Liam gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “Hammer made it clear, that he’ll take whatever opportunity presents itself to drag her back to his bed again.”
Seth paused. “Clearly, he’s being a douche, but what’s more important to you? Is it preventing Hammer from taking Raine to bed again or serving the needs of your sub? We already talked about this. If she needs you both—”
“So the last sub you cared about, you wanted your friends fucking her?” Liam countered.
“Don’t try to make this about me. Focus on Raine. What are you really afraid of? Is it just that she’ll spread her legs for Hammer again? Or that she’ll ultimately choose him over you?”
The question made Liam’s heart seize. Hell, Seth saw right through him. “Hammer is too screwed up for her.”
“Maybe confessing to you means he’s finally letting go of the past. I understand you’re pissed off at him, but what does she need?” Seth sounded infinitely patient.
That made Liam want to grit his teeth. “I’ll give her what she needs, damn it!”
“All I’m hearing is your jealousy. You’ve got to put Raine before Hammer and your anger. So far, you’ve done everything right for her. Don’t stop now.”
Why did Seth have to be so damn right?
Liam sighed in defeat. “Asshole.”
“It’s asking a lot of you, I know, especially when you’re not sure where you stand with her.”
“She’s shouted her love for Hammer to the rafters. But me? I don’t know.”
“I get that you’re afraid that Raine will run back to Hammer, maybe for good. But you can’t control the choices either of them make. You can only focus on your own.”
“The plan we discussed last week…” Liam swallowed tightly. “I don’t know if I’ve ever done anything more difficult.”
“You told me then that she’s crumbling. If she doesn’t get what she needs, what then?”
Liam raked a hand through his hair. “I know, you bastard. Shut up.”
“You came to me for help—twice. We came up with this plan together.”
“I told you then it was fucking terrible. It could all blow up in my face.”
“It could. But if you do nothing, it will. Unless you’re not sure Raine is worth the effort and sacrifice?”
Liam didn’t hesitate. “She is.”
“Then do what you know you’ve got to. I’m here if you need anything, but you have to keep it together and focus on the needs of your submissive.”
“You’re bloody good at nagging,” he groused.
Seth chuckled. “Do you want me to come out there and help you keep your head screwed on straight?”
It would be damn nice to have someone in his corner. “If you can, I’d be grateful.”
“I’m on my way, Faultline U.S.A.”
Liam let out half a laugh. “Thanks, Seth.”
“You’re welcome. Now fuck off and leave a man in peace. I’ll let you know when I land in L.A.”
#
After a somber trip back to Shadows, Liam sat at the foot of his bed, watching Raine sleep as he gathered his fortitude. She looked so damn beautiful—peaceful—in his bed.
The serenity on her face wasn’t real.
The lass would never be whole if he didn’t follow through with his plan. And he would never be whole without her. Dread nearly crushed him. But Seth was right; he had to put his fears aside and help her. The worst part was knowing that it wouldn’t matter how gently he proceeded, the impact could be vicious.
Fuck.
His heart twisting, Liam reached out for Raine, stroking the luscious leg she’d thrust out from the covers, reveling in her soft skin. It was his…at least for the moment—just like she was.
How had the girl branded his soul so quickly? Raine was everything he’d never known he sought. Parts vulnerable, funny, tart, giving. Mysterious. Clever. She oozed sex. The Dom in him wanted to own her. The man in him wanted to conquer her. Liam shook his head. Hell, he sounded like a knuckle-dragging ape.
What he should be pondering was the ways in which he could imprint himself on Raine in return. He’d told her he loved her a hundred times. She’d never returned the sentiment. Liam felt sure it was, at least in part, because she didn’t believe him. How could he make her understand his devotion before their conversation? How could he make her believe his love?
“Raine, wake up.” He caressed his way up her body, then scooted closer, bending to smooth the dark locks back from her sleep-soft face, willing himself not to get lost in her.
God, he wanted to make love to her again. It had been eleven days, but it felt like forever.
Her dark lashes fluttered open to reveal her sleepy blue eyes, her expression welcoming as her lips curled up in a little smile. “Morning, Liam...”
She sat up and snuggled into his arms. He embraced her, savoring her closeness while he could, breathing her in, tangling his fingers in her silky hair, nuzzling her smooth cheek.
“Raine,” he whispered finally. “I need to talk to you.”
“Hmm.” She purred into his neck, her breasts soft against his chest. “It’s so early. Come cuddle with me again. You’re so warm, and I’m happy when you’re next to me.”
In typical Raine fashion, she stalled any discussion that might result in him peeling away her layers and exposing her vulnerabilities. She kissed her way up his neck, across his jaw, angling toward his mouth, enticing him. Liam gritted his teeth.
“Not now. I’ll give you ten minutes to use the bathroom and ready yourself. Then I want you back here, flat on the sheet, hands above your head, with your thighs spread wide and that gorgeous pussy open. And I want your full attention. Understood?”
Her eyes opened wider at his low demand. “Yes, Sir.”
Sparks ignited down his spine. “Best get a wriggle on, then. The clock starts now.”
Raine sent him a kittenish smile as she rose and disappeared into the bathroom. When he heard the soft snick of the door closing, Liam prepared the space with everything he might need, methodically setting items in their place. He slid into that heady Domspace he always enjoyed with Raine. Not since their time at the lodge had he felt so in control of himself and their scene. He’d allowed too many distractions to derail him since then, but now, thanks to his conversations with Seth, he felt focused, steady.
He just hoped like hell that Raine understood the message his actions meant to convey.
Moments later, she emerged from behind the closed door, hair and teeth brushed, face scrubbed and glowing, collar on. She wore nothing else, and that was precisely the way he liked her. His cock stood tall.
As she surveyed the room and saw everything he’d set out, a smile of anticipation lifted her lips. That, he expected. But the hope in her blue eyes surprised him.
“I’ve missed you. The last few weeks have been so...” She stopped herself, just when she might have said something important, and caressed his face with a soft, clinging stare. “I’m glad you’re here and that you want me.”
Her voice said that she’d been worried by the possibility that he hadn’t after their Thanksgiving row, but she didn’t verbalize it. That frustrated Liam. “No matter what you think, I’ve always wanted you, Raine. From the very first minute I laid eyes on you.”
She smiled, and he swore he could see her heart in her eyes. Something far deeper than desire lay there. Why wouldn’t she just bloody tell him?
Liam caressed the silky hair at her crown, then cupped her cheek. “I’ve tried to voice how I feel about you. I’m still not sure you actually understand how strong my feelings have become, but now isn’t the time for talking. Open yourself to me and let me show you.”
“I’m not very good at telling you my feelings.” She brushed a kiss across his lips. “But I’ll do my best to show you, too.”
Then she lowered herself to the bed, legs parted, arms over her head, just as he’d requested. It was a sight to behold. Her rosy nipples cresting plump breasts, the long, lean line of her torso leading down to sleek thighs, and the strip of dark hair above her otherwise bare folds made him ache and sweat.
As Liam hovered above her, he couldn’t look away. Sexually, everything between them had always been as hot as a live wire, urgent, connected. This was one place her submission shined. Raine gave him everything in bed. But sharing her whole body was a thousand times easier for her than sharing even a part of the woman beneath.
Unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off, he toed off his shoes, and sat on the chair opposite to strip off his socks. He still couldn’t take his eyes off her, all gracefully arranged and spread out before him. He growled in satisfaction as she spread her thighs even wider, displaying his cunt and his ass, both reserved for his pleasure alone. Sorrow and pride blended, beautiful and bittersweet.
He pushed the melancholy aside. By god, regardless of today’s outcome, she would feel him so deeply inside her—mind, body, and soul—that she’d forever hold a piece of him close.
He unfastened his belt and unzipped carefully over his straining erection. His cock already wept for her, throbbing to be enveloped in her silken heat. He forced himself to be patient.
Walking to the bed, he reached for the cuffs, securing her wrists and ankles. He heard the soft quiver of her indrawn breath, then watched her test his restraints.
“You’ll not be going anywhere until I say so. While you’re with and under me, I’m going to talk to you with my mouth, my hands, my body. I want you to listen and tell me what I’m saying to you. Be specific, Raine. I want to hear about the sensations, your level of intensity.” He leaned over her, knee pressed to the mattress between her legs, and delved into her eyes. “More important, find the words to tell me how my actions make you feel. Do that for me.”
“I’ll do my best to communicate.”
He leaned into her face, pinning her to the bed with a firm stare. “Your very best, Raine. Nothing less.”
Sudden apprehension rolled across her expression. She grasped his displeasure, lingering since Thanksgiving. She felt it. But she didn’t broach the subject. In fact, they hadn’t spoken at all about that day. He’d tried. The first time she’d lured him to silence with a blow job, and he cursed himself for letting her lead him astray. The second time, she’d suddenly remembered a task she’d neglected to finish to ready the dungeon for play that night. Liam had followed her, still talking…only to be stopped short when he spied Hammer and Beck already in the room. He hadn’t bothered trying to talk to Raine again.
Now he’d get her attention.
“I expect you’ll let me know how you’re feeling with the colors of the traffic lights. Do you remember?”
“Of course.”
“And tell me your safe word.”
“Paris.”
“Excellent.” He released a little slack in the chains attached to the cuffs at her ankles and bent her knees to make a cradle for him.
Wretchedly eager to feel her, Liam covered her body with his own—and forced himself to do nothing more than rub his cock along the wet, engorged lips of her sex. Raine whimpered and tried to wriggle her hips to align the head with her opening. Sliding inside her was so tempting. It would be so easy to simply let the pleasure take over. But so unfulfilling in the end.
Liam pulled back. “I told you to communicate what you want, not wiggle. Do I have to punish you before we start?”
“No.” She swallowed, hesitated. “I, um…like it when you touch me. I miss having you inside me. I want to feel you now.”
At her words, he barely managed not to snort. Raine had a bad habit of topping from the bottom that made his inner Dom roar to subdue her. “Eventually.”
He nipped at her ear, laving the lobe with wet kisses. As she moaned in appreciation, he reared back enough to cup the hot, silky weight of her breast in his hand, kneading it firmly all the way to the tip. Rolling and pinching her tight nipple, it swelled and lengthened between his fingers. He rolled beside her and nipped at the base of her throat, then suckled her nipple, even as he reached for a clamp.
She hissed as he slid the little alligator-toothed implement into place. She gasped sharply with the shock of pain and pleasure. He waited for her to speak. She didn’t.
Running his hand over her warm skin and reaching for her other breast, he pinched and laved its tip, then applied the twin clamp, reveling in the way she tensed, then exhaled out all her tension with a low moan.
“Raine?” he prompted.
“Green.”
“And? Use your words.”
“All the sensations in my body are centered around my nipples.”
“Do you like it?”
She gave him a shaky nod, inky strands of her hair brushing the tops of her pale breasts, flirting with the clamps. The sight of her flushed and aroused beneath him played hell with his self-control. He forced himself to rein in the urge not to fuck her.
“I love it. The pain is just enough to excite me. It sounds odd, but I feel so female and submissive when you bind me this way.”
“Not odd at all. It’s designed to.”
Liam tugged on the little chain between the clamps, loving her shaky little gasp. “How does it make you feel, knowing I’m giving you these sensations?”
Her lashes fluttered before she focused on him. “Desired.”
“Good. You are, love.”
On hands and knees, he settled himself over her, then brushed the hair from her eyes, waiting until she met his stare. “So beautiful. You’re not like any woman I’ve met.”
A wry smile played at her lush mouth. “You mean I’m more challenge than submissive.”
“You’re both. You’ve always intrigued me. How did I make you feel when we first met?” He cradled her breast, thumb caressing the inner curve.
“Intimidated,” she admitted. “You were polite to a fault. With a smile, you tried to set me at ease. But I realized you were assessing me and drawing conclusions.”
“I was studying the woman who had Hammer tied up in knots. How did the way we spoke make you feel?”
“Scrutinized.”
Liam shook his head, pointing to her chest. “In here.”
She took in a shaky breath. “Nervous. Dizzy. Watched. A little excited.”
“That’s good. You filled my head that day. Your face, your scent, your voice. You were like a tingling in my spine, surprising but not unwelcome.”
She lifted her face toward him, and Liam didn’t resist the need to kiss her. Rather than diving into her mouth and taking all he wanted, he teased her with a brush of lips, then lifted away. He did it again, lingering a little longer before he pulled back. But fuck, she lured and addicted him. He parted her lips and dove in for a long, exhilarating moment, moaning when she arched beneath him. Before he lost himself in Raine, he eased back, peppering her cheeks and neck with his kisses.
“Stop pulling away!”
Liam heard the frustration in her tone. It ramped up his need. “Do you give the orders, sub?”
“No,” she whispered, suitably chastened. “I’m sorry, Sir.”
“What made you demand more?”
“I want more.”
“I want a billion dollars, but you don’t see me robbing banks for it.”
She sighed. “That’s different.”
“Tell me how.”
“You’re right in front of me, looking at me like I mean…something to you.”
“Everything,” he corrected. “You mean everything to me.”
Raine lowered her gaze. She was still afraid to believe him, damn it to hell.
“Keep going,” he demanded.
“When you look at me like that, I…it makes me feel good inside,” she spoke, but she’d gone quiet. “Worthy. Your touch says you value me.”
He cupped her cheek, then caressed his way down to cup her chin, lifting it to make sure she had nowhere to look but at him. “Do you feel treasured when I touch you this way?”
A little flush splashed across her cheeks. “Yes.”
“You feel that I care for you, love?”
She hesitated. “Y-yes.”
Liam felt her body tighten, saw her expression start to retreat. He was approaching her comfort zone. She didn’t have a hard time loving, he realized. She had a hard time believing that anyone loved her. If he could change that, she would feel secure revealing her devotion in return. His chest twisted up. Raine might be closed off, but she had such a big heart to give. He wanted it for his own.
“I do, Raine,” he reassured her. “I’ve told you many times.”
He bent to press his mouth fully onto hers, sinking in for a slow melding of lips, an unhurried stroke of her tongue, and a shared breath. Liam anchored himself in the moment, never rushing, always simply letting her feel how much he wanted and adored her.
Her response began cautiously, as if she wasn’t sure whether to believe all the affection in the kiss. With every sweep, he met her, giving her a bit more, always there to guide her, catch her, encourage her.
The hesitation left her gradually, an inch of starch at a time softening, until she opened completely and whimpered, giving him all her passion in that one kiss. Desperation poured from her. And need. With every moan and glide of her tongue, she told him that he mattered to her. She loved him. Liam felt waves of it from her. This was part of what addicted him to her, not just her beauty or sexuality, but the way he could feel her vulnerability, need, and caring when he held her.
With one fist in her hair to keep her close and the other clamped onto her hip, he broke away. “Where are you?”
“Very green,” she breathed.
“What did that kiss make you feel?”
Raine shrank back a bit. A little furrow appeared between her brows. He tried not to grit his teeth in frustration.
“There’s no right or wrong answer, love. I only ask because I care.”
She relaxed. “Languid. Connected to you.”
“I’d hoped you would say that.” For starters, anyway. He ran a hand up her soft, smooth torso to her breast, brushing his knuckles across the swell. “What did that kiss tell you about my feelings?”
“That you were there for me.” She had a harder time getting the next words out. Liam watched her struggle and urged her to fight. “That you care.”
That shouldn’t be news to her. “Of course I do. But I always want you to feel it.”
She nodded. She didn’t speak, but her stare never wavered. Hope and need and a silent pleading for his affection all lay there. She wanted more and wanted to share herself.
Anticipation charged his blood. “Something you want to say, love?”
Raine blinked, bit her lip, then shook her head and lowered her gaze. She was so bloody bottled up. Liam forced down more disappointment. He refused to give up.
Lowering himself to his elbows, he settled his face closer, brushing his lips over hers. “You can tell me anything.”
“I know.”
No, she didn’t. He sighed.
Shimmying down her body, he knelt to kiss the insteps of her little feet and nip at her toes. The ticklish girl giggled, then watched him with wide eyes, her expression somewhere between awestruck and afraid. Bloody hell, there was a wealth of information on her face. She’d been fucked—by the bastard who had taken her virginity, by Hammer, even by him—but no one had truly taken the time to show her his caring through touch. It made him doubly determined to reveal his heart without words now.
He kissed his way up her smooth legs, lingered at the soft caps of her knees, laving his way up her thighs, until he breathed over her pussy. The lass was wetter than he’d ever seen her. The closer his lips came, the more ragged and uneven her breath turned. She thrust her hips at him. He pinned her gently to the mattress.
“No, love. Where are you?”
“Green.” She couldn’t get the word out fast enough.
He smiled, then blew a hot breath on her slick folds and rubbed the pad of his thumb right above the plump flesh. “What does my touch make you feel now? Tell me.”
“More than wanted. Like…no one else matters more to you. It sounds crazy, but—”
“No. You’re exactly right. I’m proud of you.”
With both thumbs, he opened her cunt to his gaze, his tongue. Liam lifted her hips high, his hands banded about her thighs, as he buried his face in her folds, eating her slick flesh like a man starved. He kissed the most feminine part of her with his whole body, giving her all the thoroughness he’d bestowed on her mouth. Even though his cock wept, hard as steel and pounding with need to be inside her, he lingered, aroused, encouraged, brought her higher.
Intoxicated by her slippery musk sliding across his tongue, he hummed his approval against her softness. “Does that make you feel cared for?”
“My head is swimming,” she panted. “My blood is rushing. My pussy aches.”
Easy responses to confess, and probably ones that had stroked his masculine pride in the past. Now he wanted more. “Good. What about your heart?”
“I…can’t imagine you giving that intensity, in that way, unless it meant something to you.”
A better response, but still not what he sought. “Yes. But what do you feel in your heart when I do this?”
He bent to give her another loving, longing lick deep in her furrow, delighting when she tensed under him and softly moaned, writhing.
“It makes me feel like…you want me to know that you care.”
“I do.” She danced around the words he really wanted to hear. Her insecurities and needs all glimmered in those blue eyes. She’d nearly drowned him at first glance; nothing had changed, especially the fact that she was too afraid to tell him how she felt.
But he still had more ways in order to help her try.
Crawling up her body, he rested his weight on one elbow, his face level with her breasts. After a quick tug on the chain, he released one nipple, sucking it directly into his mouth, soothing it even as he drew more blood to the tip.
“Raine?”
“I tingle. I ache. I…need. Liam…”
“What does my touch say to you?”
“That you know how to play my body so well.”
“Look at me.” He waited until she complied. “Why would I have paid so much attention to you, love?”
“I matter.” She whispered the words, and he almost didn’t hear. Almost as if she was afraid to voice the guess or jinx herself.
Liam grabbed her shoulders, his stare penetrating her, reaching for her soul. “You always have.”
He rewarded her by removing the other clamp and treating the nipple to a thorough coaxing with his tongue. He filtered his fingers through her hair, loving the little groans and whimpers that slipped from her throat.
Liam couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to be closer to her.
Covering her body with his own, he sank into her mouth and simply lost himself. No woman he’d ever fucked in a club, taken in a casual hook-up, shared with another, or even married had ever awakened this fever in his heart. Just Raine. He stopped trying to give her messages and simply let everything he felt pour all over her.
As he did, Liam pressed himself against her, his cock burrowing ceaselessly back and forth at her cunt, bumping her clit and avoiding the tantalizing well that coated his cock with her cream, promising nirvana if he’d only plunge inside.
Raine moaned, thrusting her hips up at him.
Reaching around her, he fisted her hair and clamped her delicate skull with his fingers. “You’ll hold fast to me. You’ll not come until I tell you. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Sir.” Her voice was breathy.
As she often did when he commanded her, Raine softened, turning pliant. Submissive. Anticipation zipped through him.
“Good. And you will not look away from me. Not once.” He tugged again at the thick strands of her hair to let her know he meant that. He could—and would—keep her stare exactly where he wanted it.
“I won’t,” she vowed, her stare clinging to his.
“Where are you?”
“Green.” Her face showed tinges of apprehension, but she still sounded steady. Strong.
“Good to hear.”
He leaned across the bed and grabbed a condom, wishing she’d already been protected with birth control as he sheathed his hungry, waiting shaft. Lifting Raine, he settled her delicate curves against him. Aligning himself against her silky body, his nerve endings ignited in a heated rush. He wanted to be tender with her, but when he parted her slick, wet heat with his ready cock, he plunged home in an endless stroke that sent him deep.
“I’m completely inside you,” he groaned. “How does that make you feel?”
Her head fell back, her dark mane spreading across the pale sheets. She rocked beneath him. Her soft kitten moans made his inner Dom howl.
“Look at me,” he growled.
Raine did with a gasp, and a jolt of electricity rattled his spine.
“I feel taken,” she moaned. “Possessed.”
“Do you like feeling owned?” Using the fist in her hair, he cocked her head to one side, exposing her neck. He feathered kisses up the milky column, feeling her pulse flutter under his lips.
“Yes. Every time you touch me, I melt. Every time we’re apart, I can’t wait for you again. Please, Liam...” She writhed against him with a soft moan, trying to encourage him to thrust.
“Patience. I enjoy your body. Touching you. Commanding you. Making you come when I will it. You intoxicate me. I love to watch you unravel.”
A rosy hue crept over her fair skin, and he loved that he could still make her blush.
“I’m not just going to fuck you, Raine.” If he showed her how much he loved her, maybe it would take the sting out of all he needed to say.
He pressed a ravenous kiss to her throat, sucking and nipping the heated skin. He burned alive as her cunt consumed him. Her legs wrapped as tightly around his hips as the chains allowed.
“Oh, Raine. You slay me.”
“Liam,” she whimpered. “More.”
“Why?”
“It feels amazing.”
It did, and that barely scratched the surface of sensations jetting through his veins. “And?”
“I feel needed.” Her body bucked. Her eyes teared up. “I need that. From you.”
Clutching her, he stroked her torturously slow, a deep slide into forever. Again. And again. One blurred into the next, her cries filling his ears. She pleaded and begged. Her flesh squeezed him as he plundered her pussy with each thrust. With every retreat, her slick folds tightened, trying to suck him back in.
Baring his teeth with a grunt, he drove up into her tight, velvety passage. Her little feminine sounds boiled his blood and urged him to take her harder, higher, deeper. God, he loved this woman.
He could ask himself why. He could ask himself what tomorrow would bring. But the answers to those questions came back to Raine, as did the biggest question of all: What was it going to take to finally make her understand that peace and happiness lay within her own grasp? All he could do was shower her with his love and be the catalyst.
Gripping Raine tighter, he captured her lips, sliding inside her mouth to take everything—her flavor, her passion, her softness—all the way to her deepest recesses. Everything about her inflamed him. He’d come to crave her, need her like he needed food or water or air.
He pinched her nipples again. Yes, he needed those little cries, too. He needed her to beg. So he slowed his strokes to a torturous drag over every sensitive spot inside her cunt. “Tell me how you feel, Raine.”
She writhed all over him. “Burning, aching. I’m dying.”
He groaned and nipped the swollen tips of her breasts bouncing in front of him. She bit into his shoulder. With her, nothing was easy, nor would it ever be. He understood that, just as he understood that her love and commitment to them was worth fighting for. He was steeled for the battle of his life, but by god, if she wanted him, she’d have to fight, too. If she did…by the time this was over, she’d feel him beneath her skin and wonder how she’d ever done without everything he offered.
“Give me more,” he snarled. “Give me everything.”
She cried out at his rough invasion, the sounds of her pleasure only firing him up more as he filled his palms with her swollen breasts and pistoned his hips, thrusting wildly between the wettest, sweetest folds he could imagine on a woman’s pussy. Even while his heart bled.
“I feel like…” She panted, struggling, trying to hold the words back.
Liam stared into her eyes, so wide and pleading.
“Tell me!”
“Like you love me.” It rushed out almost like a single word, then she drew in a shaky breath, coursing with emotion. “I don’t know why. I don’t deserve it, but—”
“You feel like I love you because I do.”
He grabbed her hips until he felt sure they’d bruise and drove into her using every bit of his breath, every ounce of his strength, shuttling deep with every drop of determination. He’d put his stamp on her the best way he knew how. And prayed that something he’d done had reached her bloody stubborn heart.
“Liam!”
“Take me, lass. All the way inside you, to the places you don’t give anyone else. Take everything I’ve got to give you. Pleasure, pain, joy, sorrow. They’re all mine, just like you.”
Under him, she whimpered. Her body surged and rolled, swelled and arched. He slid even farther inside of her, her flesh grasping and clutching him.
“Yes!” she cried out. “I’m so close. Please...”
“I love you, Raine. No matter what, I love you today, tomorrow, always. Promise me you’ll not forget...”
But her keening cry of impending orgasm was her only answer. He reached between them and stroked her clit to launch her ecstasy. He relished in her trembling beneath him. “That’s it, love. Come for me.”
Liam closed his eyes and felt her release sweep through him like a shockwave as she wailed out her climax. He tried to hold his own for as long as he could, but his body would not be denied as he pulled free of her, tore the condom from his pulsating cock, and felt the surge of semen burst upward and out, covering her milky white belly and breasts. Liam marked her, roaring as he held on for dear life.
He rubbed his seed into her porcelain skin, determined to have his scent upon her, hoping it meant to her all that it did to him.
Liam had given her everything—mentally, physically, emotionally. He felt spent in every sense of the word as he sprawled on his back with Raine tangled in his arms. The fan above them lazily spun.
“Do you love me at all?” he asked, unable to stop himself.
Beside him, she tensed. He heard her swallow.
Rolling to his side, Liam pinned her with a stare. Her heart was in her eyes. She wanted to say yes, damn it. He’d felt it in her touch. He could bloody well feel it now.
“I—” Her mouth hung open, but she said nothing else.
Raine sucked in harsh breaths. She paled.
“Be brave.”
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she sobbed and tried to roll from the bed.
As he grabbed her arm to stay her, agony gutted Liam. Weariness and crushing regret dashed the satisfaction spiraling through him just moments ago. He felt hollow. Destroyed. He gripped her tightly, willing her to look at him. Her whole body trembled. He felt her yearning, damn it. But she wouldn’t face him.
Maybe he wanted more than she was capable of giving. Maybe he wasn’t enough for her. He swallowed. Maybe she just didn’t love him enough.
“Wait,” he rasped.
The truth was, she was too afraid to tell him how she felt. Because of her father? No, she’d had no trouble telling Hammer. But his old pal had shoved her love back in her face over and over, bruising her ego. Breaking her heart? Yeah, probably.
His hopes of saving her dissolved. He’d been kidding himself that he could. It seemed he was years too late for that.
How ironic that he’d taken up with Raine to build her confidence a bit and prod Hammer with jealousy. But Macen was having the last laugh. Liam knew he’d never be the same.
With a heavy sigh, he lifted a finger and tilted her chin. The collar at her throat looked so lovely in the light. His heart clutched as he brought her mouth to his for a soft kiss.
As he brushed her lips with his own, he reached behind her neck and slipped the latch on the collar. The precious metal with its dangling ruby was warm from her skin. The catch fell open, and the piece slid into his waiting hand.
She froze—her kiss, her stare, her breath. Raine pulled back slowly, then looked at the collar in his palm, blinking with shock and confusion. Questions clouded her eyes. Anxiety tightened her face. He dragged in a sawing draught of air. He fucking hated hurting her.
“What are you doing?”
He set the collar on the nightstand. “I told you we needed to talk, Raine.”
She tried to jerk away. “You used me before you decided to tell me to kiss off.”
He held tight, not letting her move an inch. “I made love to you, hoping you’d understand. But you don’t.” He sighed. “So I’m going to explain myself, and I want you to listen carefully. For this to work, I need you to communicate—”
“If this is about the migraine, I swear that I wasn’t keeping it from you on purpose. I just had so much else on my mind that I forgot to mention it.”
“If you were thinking of me at all, you’d automatically share something like that with me. It would be second nature. You want my affection. You want my sexual domination. You don’t want to do the work necessary to truly submit. Hell, to have a real relationship.”
“That’s not true.” Her blue eyes pleaded, frantic. “I’m working on it. I’m not perfect, but I’m—”
“Still hiding big chunks of your heart and soul to yourself. You’re not ready to be collared.”
“That’s not fair!”
“What’s not fair is that I’m your Dom in name only. I won’t fight you if you don’t want to give yourself freely. Only you can decide how important I am to you—if at all. But I can’t keep submitting to you while I try to give you what I know you need. I’m not oblivious to your fears, but you either trust me and love me…or you don’t. I’m done trying to pry everything out of you, only to discover you’ve not been bloody honest. I get half-truths and subtle lies designed to make me feel better. Is it because you think I’m too stupid to understand or too weak to handle them?”
Horror crossed Raine’s face. “Neither! I told you before; I just don’t want to upset or trouble you.”
“Or have to risk my wrath, admit you’ve fucked up, and truly give yourself to me. I know the game, Raine. I’ve seen it played many times. And I won’t play it with you anymore. I want you back…but not until you learn to communicate. Be honest with me. Trust me. And surrender your control to me. I see the real you, no matter how much you try to hide. And I still want you, still love you. I always will.”
“You’re punishing me for Thanksgiving day,” she accused, her voice thickening with emotion.
“This isn’t any sort of discipline. But I’ve finally got your attention, lass. The pickles I fed you back at the lodge to coax you to open up just weren’t working anymore.”
That seemed like a lifetime ago.
Tears filled her eyes, and she struggled from his embrace again, this time with all her might.
Still, he held strong. “Stop.”
“You’re leaving me,” she accused.
“I’m not. I’m giving you a wee break so you can decide whether you want to go through life alone or open your heart and be loved. I can’t make the choice for you.” Finally, he released her with a sigh.
She scrambled away and jumped from the bed, spearing him with a teary accusation. Betrayal narrowed her eyes. “I knew you were going to do this eventually. I told you from the beginning that you’d give up on me and leave, just like everyone else. I knew I wouldn’t be good enough for you. I told you… I’m so stupid for hoping you’d be different.”
As she made a mad dash for the door, his heart sank. He ran after her and slapped his palms against the door on either side of her so she couldn’t open it. “Raine, hear me well. I’m not leaving you. I’m giving you some space so you can figure things out. You won’t have my expectations hanging over your head to cloud your thoughts. I’m always here to answer questions or reassure you. And don’t you dare be thinking about running away. But you have to search your own soul. If you’re willing to do the work to be whole and want what we could have, come back to me. If not…” His fucking heart was breaking, and he could barely choke the words out. “Then this is the end.”