Hammer watched Gwyneth waffle between a contrived shock and her usual haughty ice-queen demeanor. Her body tensed with an almost palpable hum. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You’ve got two choices,” he drilled her in a calm, low voice. “One, you tell me exactly why you’re here. Once you do, I’ll write you a big fat check. Then you’ll haul your ass back to London so that neither Liam nor I will ever see, hear, or speak to you again.”

  She peeled back her lips in a scathing, humorless smile. “You can’t afford me.”

  “You sure you don’t want to try me? Give me a price and see if I’ll meet it.”

  She scoffed. “No. I’m here for Liam.”

  “Well, you’re going home empty handed, sweetheart. He stopped caring about you the minute he found you taking your personal trainer’s dick up the ass while you blew his boyfriend. Liam doesn’t love you. He will never love you. And he will never, ever consider being a part of your life again. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Her little smile sent a warning prickle up his spine. “We’ll see.”

  Chapter Seven

  Behind Raine, the bed dipped. As she lay on her side, an arm slipped around her waist. Moist breath on her neck, stubble grazing her nape, and a familiar, woodsy scent drew her up through the layers of consciousness. She woke to the feel of a hard male body, warm and naked, spooning her against him.

  Liam. Raine was intimately familiar with his touch. His musk—like the man himself—was a seduction. Alluring. Everything about him flirted with her senses, tempted and drew her in. Hammer felt completely different. Sharp, aggressive, darkly masculine. Unyielding.

  Liam pressed his ready erection against her backside as he filled his hands with her breasts and groaned. “I didn’t mean to wake you…”

  “I’m glad you did.” She lifted her heavy lids, expecting to see Hammer lying next to her, where he’d been before he’d stripped her down and tucked her in. Instead, she only saw the glowing numbers of the clock, noting that it wasn’t even ten thirty. “I guess I drifted off. Where did Hammer go?”

  “He’s got a club to run, remember?” Liam pulled her to him, clutching her close. “I missed you.”

  She snuggled back against him. After his odd mood in the car this morning and his stinging refusal to touch her, having him here was an unexpected but reassuring surprise.

  “I missed you, too.”

  “You feel good,” he breathed in her ear.

  As he spoke, the scent of Scotch hit her nose. He’d been drinking?

  She turned in his arms. “Is everything all right?”

  His grave expression took her aback. His dark eyes burned. “I need you to kiss me, Raine.”

  She met his stare, unblinking. Usually, he held her and pressed his lips to hers if the urge moved him. But now, the gravity in his voice said he needed her—and he didn’t often admit that aloud. Was he feeling guilty about his rebuff this morning? Maybe, but this felt like more, like him reaching out for her love.

  The woman in her responded. Maybe she should still be angry or hurt, but Liam had been her rock since their first day together. She sensed that now he needed her to be his. She ached to know why, but it wasn’t the time to interrogate him.

  Raine cupped his face. “Always.”

  She laid her lips over his in a soft caress, testing her welcome and his hunger. He tensed as she leaned in, then breathed through the initial brush of her mouth. He grabbed her hips, kissed her in return, but he didn’t move or make a sound through the achingly gentle press of lips. His fingers tightened on her. Long and slow, he inhaled as if drinking her in. Raine wondered what troubled him.

  She pulled back enough to search his face. “Liam?”

  “My sweet love,” he whispered against her lips, then rolled her to her back and covered her body with his own. He tasted of the tart, smoky Scotch he’d consumed—and of desperation.

  Clutching her nape, he held her still for his pleasure and delved into her mouth as if he could fuse them together. He didn’t test or apologize with this kiss. As he crushed her mouth beneath his, he claimed her, screaming “mine” without saying a word at all.

  Raine jolted. From the moment Liam had taken her into his arms as a lost girl aching to feel like a woman, he’d cradled her in his sure hands, always steady and strong, beside her, supporting her, helping her grow, and never asking for anything in return—until now.

  Carnal and thorough, he ate at her mouth. She felt his trembling, tasted his longing. He wasn’t asking her for help. Obviously, he had no intention of telling her what upset him. But in that moment, it didn’t matter.

  Flowing around and under Liam, Raine opened and gave him everything. She had a million questions, but they didn’t matter now, when everything about his demeanor told her that she’d become his life preserver in a raging sea. He entreated her by laving his tongue against hers again and again. He held her tight.

  Time slid by, endless and meaningless, until he robbed her of breath and she turned restless in her own skin, until the ache to have him deep took over and she clung, spread her legs beneath him, and moaned for his next touch.

  His swollen cock, hard and hot, slid against her sex. Raine basked in the intimacy as liquid heat rushed between her thighs.

  “Liam…”

  As if he realized he’d all but pounced on her, he pulled back and did his best to smile. “Did you rest well?”

  The warmth of his body matched the concern in his voice.

  “Yes,” she assured. “Did you get some breakfast?”

  “I’ll eat a hearty lunch,” he promised.

  Raine hated the thought that he’d gone without food. “I can make you something.”

  When she moved to roll out of bed, he pinned her beneath him. “Stay with me.”

  It was a command, brooking no refusal. She didn’t often see this side of her indulgent Liam. The only time she’d seen him uncompromising, he’d been very upset.

  As if he realized how out of character he’d behaved, he tried to smile. “Tell me about your breakfast with Hammer.”

  It set off all her alarm bells. “It was fine. I’m sorry you weren’t able to join us. Did you get everything taken care of?”

  Liam tensed. She felt the spike of his anxiety all the way to her bones, especially when he nuzzled her neck again, as though needing the comfort of her skin. Raine wanted to give it to him, but she desperately needed answers.

  “What’s going on?” She struggled to put some space between them so she could sit up.

  He used his body to keep her down. “The business I need to attend to is more complicated than I thought. I don’t like that it’s made you doubt how I feel. I hate that I’ll be busy—and probably preoccupied—for another day or two. Hopefully, no more than that.”

  Searching his dark eyes, she felt a flutter of fear low in her belly. “You’ll still be with us at night, right?”

  “I’m hoping so. I promise I’ll do my best. I’m clearing my schedule tonight so that Hammer and I can take you out for a romantic dinner. Would you like that?”

  Normally, she would, but the thick air of tension rolling off Liam made her insides knot. Something told her this invitation was more likely an apology or a precursor to bad news, rather than simply an amorous gesture. Raine didn’t like the worry notching up inside her…but she couldn’t seem to kill it.

  She pressed her lips together. “Will you have to go back to New York?”

  Liam cocked his head, then brushed his fingers down her cheek. “Don’t be putting the cart before the horse, love. Relax, will you?”

  Liam wanted her to believe everything was wonderful when it wasn’t. Because he’d reached out to her, she was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. She was certainly willing to hold and love him if he needed her. But she refused to be placated.

  Raine pushed at his shoulders until she made enough space to roll away and sit up. “What’s happening with you? With us? I’m scared.”

  He cupped her chin. “There’s nothing to be scared about. The last thing in the world either Hammer or I want to do is leave you. I don’t know of any reason I’ll have to return to New York, so set that worry from your mind. Like I promised, I’ll do my best to be with you as often as possible. Trust me, I don’t feel whole when I’m away from you.”

  His words warmed her. She felt the same.

  Raine bit her lip and nodded. She’d let her insecurities get the best of her again, even though they’d both tried to reassure her. Maybe she just had to stop waiting for the worst and believe that whatever was happening didn’t mean the end of them. Maybe they were trying to protect her from something. No idea what, but God knew they both had the instinct.

  “Can I do anything to help? I feel useless.”

  “No. This situation will work itself out, but I’ll have to be on hand to steer it in the right direction. Believe me, I’m not leaving you. I never want to.”

  The heartfelt vow made her sigh before he swallowed the sound with a searing kiss. He held her lips captive under his as if nothing in the world mattered more than making love to her mouth and cocooning her heart. Her uncertainty began to melt away.

  Then he urged her to her back, covering her body with his own. He stroked her waist, easing down to the curve of her hip with his big hands before drifting up again to caress the plump weight of her breasts. Her breath stuttered. Her body caught fire again.

  He loves me. They love me. It’s going to be all right.

  She repeated the litany in her head, wanting so desperately for it to be true.

  Raine caught his face in her hands, stilling his invasion as she held his gaze and lost herself in his dark, compelling eyes.

  Tension tightened his face. His expression turned somber. “Nothing matters more to me than you, Raine.”

  She tried to treasure the moment, but she still felt his disquiet churning the air between them.

  God, why did he keep downplaying whatever was going on when she could plainly see how much it worried him? But questioning him again would get her nowhere.

  “How long can you stay?” she asked instead.

  “Never long enough to get my fill of you. Reach back and grab the headboard.”

  Yes. Please…

  Raine needed him—his time, his affection, his passion—so she didn’t hesitate.

  Her breath caught when he pushed up and hovered, staring down at her. He pinned her hips, spread her wide with his big body, and slid his velvety-hard erection along her opening, back and forth, nudging her aching clit. Raine tried to wriggle under him. Needing more contact, more of him.

  “Please, Liam. Please. Fill me. I want you inside me.”

  “Not yet. Patience.”

  “But—” Her cunt clenched hard as he ramped up the friction on her bundle of nerves, his unswerving stare drilling down into her. She trembled. Beyond being wet and ready, she needed to feel close to him. To bond with him completely.

  “I said not yet. Hold on tight, Raine. Don’t move and don’t come until I tell you.”

  He looked every inch the Dominant he was. She realized he needed more than a sweet tumble from her. He craved control of this situation, likely because he couldn’t control whatever troubled him. And because he needed to own her.

  “Yes, Sir,” she breathed, giving him what he sought and giving herself over.

  He bent his head to her breast, drew her nipple between his lips, and held the erect tip between his teeth before sucking it into the heat of his mouth. The delicious pull reached down to her pussy, like an invisible cord.

  Liam plucked at her precisely and perfectly, in exactly the way he knew would make her melt in need and want to beg him for more pleasure. Then he gave her other nipple the same treatment, not stopping until she whimpered for more.

  God, she loved it when he did that. Raine grabbed at him, plunging desperate fingers into his hair and rolling her hips, silently pleading.

  “I told you, don’t move. Grab the headboard now.”

  As she complied, he gave a shove of his lean hips and spread her thighs farther. Then he sat up enough to push her legs back, exposing her completely. He stared at her slick opening, making her wait for him, as he fondled the bud of her clit.

  He worked her patiently, his free hand sliding up her body to pluck at her nipples again as he circled her needy button with his fingers until her breath hitched, until she felt a flush suffuse her, until the electric thrum of her heartbeat roared in her ears.

  “You’re close.” It wasn’t a question; he knew.

  “Yes.” She writhed under him.

  “Spread your legs wider. Plant your feet on the mattress.”

  Raine did it eagerly, ready to welcome him deep inside her. Less than eight hours ago, he’d made her scream out in pleasure. The way she needed him now, it felt as if she’d been waiting a decade. His impatience to tear open the condom and roll the latex over the head and down the smooth, thick shaft said he felt the same.

  “We’re getting you on some damn birth control tomorrow,” he grumbled.

  She loved the idea of having Liam and Hammer spontaneously, of feeling them bare and intimate inside her. “I can’t wait.”

  “You’ll take all of me, love,” he growled before guiding himself to her drenched pussy. Without pause, he thrust deep.

  Raine gripped the rungs of the headboard with all her strength. Her back arched, and she tossed her head with a wail, feeling every delectable inch of him slide home.

  Liam didn’t give her a second to catch her breath as he withdrew, then slammed back inside her. Raine shrieked as rapture drizzled like warm syrup through her veins. He held her captive, so completely open to him all she could do was feel each stroke stripping her of composure bit by bit.

  He braced himself over her body, staring down at her with those burning eyes again, his jaw tight, his breath sawing in and out of his chest. His hips pistoned as he slammed inside her with a dizzying rhythm. Every stroke drove her higher. She felt desperate for the end yet wished it would never come.

  Liam clutched her, plowing hard, fast. Repeatedly. He gripped her hips, his lips crashing over hers as if he would starve without her. Every touch dripped with a desperation that swept Raine up and along with him, rushing toward the terrible beauty of a stunning demise. He’d told her she couldn’t move, couldn’t climax until he gave her permission, but she trembled with the urge to thrust against his onslaught and release headlong into the bright agony he gave her.

  Just when she felt too close, he eased back, totally in control, and dangled her over a chasm of yearning so deep she couldn’t stop herself from begging.

  “Please, Sir. Liam…” she panted. “Oh…please? Please!”

  “Hold fast. Not yet.”

  She mewled, clenching the slats harder, her body bucking, searching, needy. She loved this man—and everything he did to her. “I’m falling. Oh, god, Liam. I’m falling and I can’t—”

  “No,” he barked. “You’ll stay with me now. Wait for it.”

  Raine felt like a powder keg ready to explode. She could feel each ridge and every inch of him sliding against her flesh as he cleaved rhythmically inside her pussy. The friction burned her. She gasped. Every stroke sent his hard chest rasping over the tender flesh of her breasts.

  She cried out once, then again, as he buried himself deeper still, gripping her hips and tilting her up for his pleasure. The powerful muscles of his shoulders, hips, and thighs bunched with effort. Pheromones surrounded them, and the animalistic hunger in his eyes consumed her. Everything about this moment—about this man—ignited her. Pleasure gripped her, squeezing out the need for everything but the agonizing release Liam held just out of her reach. When it came, she didn’t know how she’d survive.

  “Fuck, Raine. Come for me. Now!” he roared as he surged up again and thrust his hand into her hair, forcing her to stare into his eyes.

  Lightning caught her blood on fire. The conflagration gathered, burned, centering right where they joined. Then he pushed her over the edge with his next stroke, and she shattered, flinging herself headlong into the abyss and screaming his name.

  But she wasn’t alone. Never again because Liam was right there with her as he emptied himself of seed, worry, anger, pain. In return, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, giving him all her love.

  Their bodies pressed together beneath a sheen of sweat as the sounds of their ragged breathing hung in the room. Bliss filled Raine’s every pore. The haze of rapture left her languid and limp.

  “I needed that, love,” he admitted between harsh sighs.

  I know. “I did, too.”

  “Oh, Raine…” Liam leaned in to kiss her gently.

  The muffled ring of his cell phone from his pants puddled on the floor sent him cursing and scrambling across the bed, shattering their enchantment.

  As Liam silenced his phone and shoved it away again, Hammer surged into the bedroom. The fact that he’d burst into the room didn’t startle her. His furious glare did. He darted a gaze between her naked body and Liam disposing of his condom and donning his pants. The rolling waves of tension pouring off Hammer as he sucked in a rough breath seized her with anxiety.

  “Looks like you two had fun,” he drawled.

  She swallowed a lump in her throat. “We did.”

  It felt awkward admitting that to one lover when she’d just been busy with the other. Had she and Liam done something wrong? The three of them hadn’t had any time to establish do’s and don’ts. Hell, they’d only committed to trying to make this ménage work last night. Prior to that, they’d coupled off for sex—and jealousy had constantly brewed.

  If she stopped to think about it, it made sense that each would demand some one-on-one time with her. Both men had sworn that if she shared her affection equally, nothing would ruin their relationship.

  After this morning in the car, and now seeing Hammer’s face, she had doubts.

  She frowned, searching for the right words.