Tearing himself away from the bench, he marched in long strides toward his office. The sound of the front door opening stopped him dead in his tracks. It was far too early for guests to play or even for anyone to man the lobby.
A flutter of hope burst inside him as he raced to the staircase, taking the steps up two at a time. When he rounded the corner, there she was. Raine. Oh, thank god. She’d come home to him.
Barely cognizant of Liam hovering closer by her side, Hammer couldn’t miss the resounding waves of anger rolling off him. Fuck the bastard. Liam could be as pissed as he wanted. All that mattered now was that Raine had returned.
Hammer’s steps quickly ate up the ground between them. He couldn’t get to her fast enough, couldn’t touch her soon enough.
As he reached to pull her in his arms, Liam tucked Raine behind his back, his stance both protective and warning. The man’s eyes leveled him with a glare that was flat, cold.
“Move. You have no right to keep her from me.” Hammer skirted the other man and invaded Raine’s personal space, staring his way into her eyes. But, for once, he couldn’t read what she was thinking. What the fuck was happening here? He leaned down to cup her cheek.
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” Liam growled.
Hammer froze as he held Raine’s gaze. “I need to talk to you, precious. Come with me to my office where we can have a few minutes.” He glared at Liam. “In private.”
She bit her lip, then turned away from him to look up at Liam with a silent question in her eyes. It felt like someone had kicked him in the nuts when he realized she was asking Liam for permission to speak to him. Oh, fuck no!
How the hell had Liam tamed her in little more than twenty-four hours?
Hammer gulped in a stunned breath. This had to be some kind of fucked-up episode of The Twilight Zone.
Liam shook his head. Raine’s shoulders sagged with her sigh, but she nodded and cast her gaze to the floor.
“Motherfucker!” Hammer hissed as his heart clutched in shock and agony. “What did you do to her, you son of a bitch? Turn her into some kind of Stepford sub?”
“What you should have done!” Liam stepped in Hammer’s face and lowered his voice. “And if she is pregnant, you selfish prick, I swear by all that’s holy, they’ll need tweezers to find all the parts of your body.”
Liam’s threat pissed him off, but her soft face erased the hurt. Pregnant? The logical part of him recoiled, but his primal side? That chunk of his psyche wanted to celebrate. Raine was too softhearted to ever end a pregnancy, and the notion that there would be a part of her and him melded together always felt right, as if the natural order of the world were falling into place. God, wasn’t he a stupid bastard?
But if she was pregnant, he’d rip her from O’Neill’s arms faster than the man could blink.
“How the fuck could you treat her like that?” Liam went on. “There’s barely an inch of her body that isn’t bruised, inside and out.”
The stupid prick thought he’d abused Raine? Christ, Liam wouldn’t know the marks of passion if they raised up and bit the end of his cock off.
“So don’t be thinking for one minute that I’ll be leaving her unprotected and alone with you,” Liam continued. “Whatever you need to say, you’ll say in front of me or you won’t say it at all. Get it through your thick head, she’s mine. If you shit all over the code of conduct again, she’ll be leaving with me. Permanently.”
There was no fucking way on this green earth that Liam would take Raine away from him again.
“I didn’t give her anything she didn’t beg for,” Hammer snarled. “Over and over again.”
Raine’s jaw gaped open, and she sent him an imploring stare, one that begged him to stop throwing fuel on the fire.
Well, hell. And Liam’s gaze drilling into him left him no doubt that the fucker was looking for an excuse—any excuse—to make good on his threat.
Shit. All right. He was prepared to say or do whatever necessary to keep her here. If Liam took her away for good...the last interminable hours had proven that he’d go crazy without her.
As if feeling her approach behind him, Liam turned to look over his shoulder. Most submissives would stare at the floor in silence when two angry Doms turned this much intent focus on her. Not Raine. She sidled around Liam and stepped between them. She put a palm to the Irish bastard’s chest first. Hammer didn’t have more than a second to let jealousy eat at him before she put her hand on him, too. Her touch seared him all the way to his balls, then eased him down to his soul. Liam could say what he wanted; she was still his.
“I know I’m speaking out of turn, and you can punish me later if you want,” she said to Liam. “But I was thinking on the drive down the mountain... A lot has happened lately. Things have occurred, insults have been traded. But guys...you were friends long before me. This disagreement is just a momentary blip. I don’t want to fight with my boss or my Sir. And I certainly don’t want you two fighting with one another. It’s the kind of toxic thing that can only hurt all of us and the club as a whole. And I know tempers are running high now. Just...think about it. For me.”
Hammer feared that she was asking the impossible, but he remained silent when she faced Liam.
“I’m going to start tidying up and getting to work. It’s my day to check supplies and complete the liquor inventory. You two should talk.” She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss over the man’s lips before shooting him a little smile and walking toward the stairs.
“That’s fine by me, but we should make a few things crystal clear, right here and now.” Liam’s voice filled the silence.
She turned back to them both, lashes blinking over her wary eyes.
“If you want to continue working here, then fine, but working is all you’ll be doing, love. Hammer is capable of taking care of himself. Not only that, you know he has other submissives at his beck and call, should he require...extras.”
Hammer smirked, barely resisting the urge to shake his head. Liam must be slipping to play Raine’s insecurity card right off the top of the deck. That was fine by Hammer. The pompous prick only managed to remind Raine of her jealousy when he spent time with other subs. That’s it, asshole…keep that red-hot longing bubbling up inside her. In fact, Hammer was willing to give Liam all the rope he needed to hang himself.
“You’ll not be his maid, fuss after him, change his sheets, make his coffee, or bake him treats,” Liam insisted. “You will stop all the other hundred and one things you’ve done quietly with such grace through the years, Raine. He’ll not have the right to lay hands on you again. None of this is negotiable.” He stared at Raine, brow raised. “Are we clear?”
Hammer watched Raine flinch, then swallow slowly. His blood boiled.
“Yes, Sir.” She said the words, but no mistaking the sad note in her voice.
Apparently Liam didn’t understand Raine at all. The asshole was ordering her to deny a huge chunk of her submissive nature. Liam had crossed the line from losing it to fucking idiocy. And in that mental state, what would he do to Raine? Without conscious thought, Hammer’s fist curled into a ball and he lifted his arm.
Raine pinned a pleading stare on him and she shook her head. Oh, fuck. His violent urge goaded him to whisk her to safety and pound the hell out of his “friend.”
I’m not worth this, she mouthed for him alone.
She couldn’t be more wrong. But her beseeching blue eyes... Hell, he couldn’t make matters worse for her.
Hammer sent her a fierce gaze that told Raine she was damn wrong. Then without sparing Liam a glance, he spun away, taking in deep breaths to get his rage under control.
At least Raine was safe and home. It was far more than he’d woken up expecting today. But she was still Liam’s...at least for now. His calculating friend had been thinking with his head most every step of the way. He’d studied the girl, waited for a vulnerable moment, crafting a plan to convince Raine that he could give her what she needed. L
iam had likely made himself the balm that eased her wounded soul. And Hammer had no one to blame but himself. He’d been thinking with nothing but his heart and his dick.
And that had to change now.
Because no matter what Liam said, he didn’t have his shit together. The man had a dark side Raine hadn’t seen…yet. Eventually, he’d chew her up and spit her out, and Hammer meant to do whatever it took to keep the bastard from hurting her.
Jogging down the stairs, he plotted, waiting for just the right moment...
#
Hammer paced his room like a caged animal. Liam’s words rolled in his brain over and again… If she’s pregnant… If she’s pregnant... But what if she were pregnant and decided not to tell him? He’d know eventually, but that wasn’t the point.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair as uneasiness ricocheted through him. Stepping from his office, he prowled the hall, checking the kitchen, then the liquor storage room, then the sanitation room. No Raine.
Hammer passed through the hallway again, pausing at Liam’s closed door. Holding his breath, he pressed his ear to the wooden surface and listened intently. All was quiet. He spun on his heel and quickly rounded the corner into the dungeon and there she was, cleaning the equipment and readying things, like she always did, for the evening members.
Quickly scanning the room, a smile of triumph spread over his lips. She was alone. As he watched her work, calmness settled over him, and for the first time in two days, he was able to take a deep breath without feeling a knife slicing his chest. Beneath her short skirt, he eyed the ugly bruises on the tops of her thighs that Beck had left and clenched his teeth. As she turned to throw the cleaning cloths in the trash, he also saw the deep purple marks on her arms and neck that he’d left on her. His fingers itched to touch her again, to feel her silkiness upon his naked body once more.
Sucking in a deep breath, he quietly walked toward Raine, stopping a few feet behind her. As if sensing his approach, she turned and stared into his eyes for a half second before she lowered her gaze. She didn’t look away fast enough to mask the guilt flitting through her blue eyes. He shouldn’t be talking to her. Her body language screamed that she was dishonoring Liam. He should walk away and leave her alone, but he couldn’t.
“I know I have no right, but I need to ask a favor of you, precious.” He balled both hands into fists to keep from touching her as she raised her cautious stare to him again. “I’ll do my best to respect your choice of Liam.” His brain screamed a resounding like hell. “But if you miss your next period, I’d like to be the first to know, not the last. Would you do that for me, please?”
Raine hesitated, and his heart stuttered. He prepared arguments to convince her, but finally, she nodded. “It’s putting me in an awkward place, Hammer, and you know that. But...this concerns you. You have a right to know.”
Relief eased through his veins, and she looked like she had a thousand other things to say, but she fell silent.
Hammer hated the idea that she felt she couldn’t talk to him anymore. Liam had done that. Well, Liam and his own stupidity. But if he wanted to at least keep the lines of communication open between them, he couldn’t let her shut them down now.
“Whatever it is, precious, say it.”
He saw the debate flit through her head, then she sighed. “I owe you my life, and I know that. But I owe him now, too. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make things right between you two again.”
She licked her lips, and he noticed they were swollen, as if she’d been kissed a lot. Jealousy burned.
“You don’t have to bother. I’m more concerned with you. Be careful, Raine. He’s not what you think he is and—”
“Stop. I won’t discuss Liam behind his back. Don’t put me in that position.” She stood and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t know what’s happening with you or why Beck had to call me home to help you. Don’t make me regret my decision.”
“Beck?” He had a vague recollection of begging the sadist for help. Had Beck called Liam to find her? Had Beck spilled how drunk Hammer had been? How much like a pussy he’d behaved. Now, he had one more reason to kill the asshole.
“Yes. Liam talked to him, but Beck was shouting and pretty damn...darn insistent that we get back here.” She shrugged. “So Liam and I, um…talked about it and here we are.”
Meaning Raine had put her little foot down with Liam? She wasn’t going to confirm that now, but he’d dig into it a bit deeper soon. He had to think about the best way to do that without making the asshole suspicious. But fuck, all the thinking wasn’t helping his hangover.
Raine reached out to touch him, then seemed to think better of it and jerked her hand back. “My famous hangover remedy? I can’t make it for you, but...” She sighed. “Scramble yourself an egg and make dry toast, chase it with Gatorade, which you should mix with some of the Siberian ginseng in the spice cabinet. Take a B-complex vitamin. Then drink a lot of water today.” She scowled at the coffee in his hand. “And stop drinking that crap. It dehydrates you and will make you feel worse. And I’ve said enough.”
Hammer watched her go with a little smile. Raine hadn’t exactly broken the rules, but she’d bent them. For him.
“Thank you, precious,” he called after her.
#
As evening fell, Raine yawned and knocked on Hammer’s office door. Since she’d seen him a few minutes ago mingling with guests upstairs, she didn’t expect him here. Of course, he’d been holed up in here not thirty minutes ago with—gag me—Marlie. Blessedly, his “session” with the plastic skank was over for the day. Raine had stopped asking herself long ago what Hammer or any man saw in the Barbie doll.
When no one bid her to enter, Raine pushed the door open and dragged her trash bag in, then set about emptying the bins in Hammer’s private rooms.
It was kind of a gray area of Liam’s rules, but honestly, if she was in the office with a trash bag in hand, doing her job, why not take the extra ten steps to empty the bins in his personal areas? And okay, maybe she wanted to spy a little...
The trash cans in his bedroom and bathroom were both virtually empty. She tried not to imagine what it meant that, for once, there wasn’t a handful of used condoms at the bottom of those bins after one of Marlie’s visits, just a disposable razor and the box that had once held a bar of soap. Her ridiculous relief annoyed her. And made her feel guiltier than hell. She might have a future with a man who cared about her, who wasn’t pushing her away at every turn. She had to stop thinking about Hammer as anything other than a boss. She definitely had to forget about him as a lover.
Easier said than done. She didn’t care about Liam less. In fact, he’d shadowed her for most of the day, making her rest when she was tired. He’d also been there when she’d been too stubborn to stop and eat lunch. More than once, he’d demanded to know her emotional state, and he’d waited unblinkingly until she’d answered. She couldn’t ask for anyone more watchful, and her heart gave a silly thump every time he smiled at her.
But Hammer and the sadness in his eyes haunted her. She didn’t know what to do next, what to say to him...how to act. Every time their eyes met, she saw his carnal knowledge of her there, and her traitorous body tightened.
God, why couldn’t she just figure all this shit out and live a normal life?
After emptying the little bin under Hammer’s desk, she gathered trash from all the other private guest rooms, the main office, and the kitchen, then shoved open the door to the alley.
Raine had to gather her strength to toss the full bag into the dumpster. Damn, she was beat, and every bone in her body hurt. Tonight, she’d finally get a whole night’s sleep...unless Liam had other plans for her.
And that idea didn’t upset her at all.
Behind her, the door to the alley opened again, and she turned, half expecting to see him there, offering to help her lift the bag. But she was puzzled to find Marlie instead. The woman barreled toward her with as much of a snarl as she
could manage around all that Botox. Marlie walked right up to her, eyes thundering, then slapped her cheek. Raine raised a hand to the side of her stinging face. Her mouth hung open as her thoughts raced. If she didn’t work at the club, she would have hit the bitch back.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” she demanded of Marlie.
“You fucking cunt! What did you do to Hammer?” A howl of fury tore itself from Marlie’s throat as she raised her hand again.
Raine warded off Marlie’s oncoming palm with a shove. “I didn’t do anything to him.”
“You’re a fucking liar! He was the best fuck I ever had, and you, you just couldn’t stand the competition, could you? Now he’s totally useless.”
“What do you mean useless?” Raine frowned. “And don’t ever hit me again.”
“I’d rather scratch your batting blue eyes out. What do you think it means?” She railed. “I can’t imagine why he would ever waste his big, gorgeous cock on you when he’s got me. Like you’d know what to do with it…” She rolled her eyes. “But today during our session, he refused to touch me. All he wanted to do was chastise me for not being as kind as you, as sweet as you, as submissive as you. He wanted me to be more like you. As if I would lower myself, you good-for-nothing piece of white trash!”
Raine flushed and lunged into Marlie’s face. “I might be white trash, but at least I didn’t pay a doctor for my assets. And let me tell you something... Hammer did put his big, gorgeous cock inside me everywhere, and I have bruises all over my body to prove it.”
She lifted her skirt to show the colorful marks on her thighs and up one hip. Marlie’s eyes widened. Yeah, that news had clearly rocked her little country club world. Score one for the white trash.
“If he won’t touch you again...” Raine couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll just consider that, since he’s had better, he’s no longer interested in a plastic whore like you. Go fuck yourself.”
One Dom To Love (The Doms of Her Life - Book 1) Page 22